Topic outline

  • Course home page

    The goal of the course is to introduce the participants to research methods, approaches and processes in software engineering and business both in academy and industry. In addition, the course provides students practice on formulating research questions and planning empirical studies for their doctoral or master's theses.

    After the course, a student is able to:

    • Explain the goals, nature and process of scientific research
    • Compare different research approaches and methods
    • Plan and implement different studies
    • Evaluate the suitability of research methods for scientific and industrial studies
    • Evaluate the validity and reliability of research results


    Iiris Hörhammer and Sari Kujala are the teachers of the course. If you have questions, please use general discussion forum or send email to Iiris (firstname.secondname@aalto.fi).

    Rough plan for the course


    Period 1: Lectures about scientific research and research methods

    Period 2: seminar/course assignment presentations - research planning

    The lectures and presentations are on site, in Computer Building, lecture hall T4, on Wednesdays at 14:15-16:00.
    An exam includes a reading package. Here is the list of articles for the exam: EXAM ARTICLES.

    On-site lectures

    1. Introduction to research methods 6.9.
    2. Qualitative methods 13.9.
    3. Quantitative methods 20.9.
    4. Case and action research 27.9.
    5. Design science 4.10. (Remote lecture by Prof. Tomi Männistö, you can attend with teacher and other students in T4 or via https://aalto.zoom.us/j/64776247589)
    6. Analyzing and reporting 11.10.
    Lecture slides will be here.

    Seminar presentations

    The research plan presentations are in the second period, in the normal lecture time:
    7. Student presentations 25.10.
    8. Student presentations 1.11.
    9. Student presentations 8.11.
    10. Student presentations 15.11.
    11. Student presentations 22.11.

    Each date has about four presentations. You do not need to submit the report before the presentation. The deadline for the final assignment is 3.12.2023.

    Passing the course

    Lectures are not obligatory but highly recommended as the topic is challenging to study alone. Passing requires 50% of the maximum points.

    • Weekly lecture tasks: min 12 max 24 points (6 tasks, max 4 points per task)
    • Assignment, presentation: min 13, max 26 points
    • Exam: min 13 max 26 points
    • Sum: min 38, max 76


    Collaboration rules

    • You are encouraged to discuss learning tasks and assignment  ideas with other students and the course staff. It also ok to consult the Internet or tools such as Chat GPT.
    • However, all text that you submit must be written by yourself (or your pair in pairwork). You are not allowed to copy text from any source (including that generated by ChatGPT).
    • Always remember to refer to the sources that you use!


    Important dates


    Date Event
    6.9. First lecture
    27.9. Research topic selection for the assignment (more information later)


    3.12.
    		 Deadline for final research plans
    12.12. First exam
    19.2. Second exam