(in Polish) Research Methods and Analysis in Philosophical Studies 3800-RMA24L-M

This advanced course in Research Methods and Analysis in Philosophy introduces students to scientific methods in philosophical studies. The course presents various perspectives on the philosophy of science and methods used in social sciences with application to specific problems, clarifies why philosophers should know about research, formulate a research topic, explore a wide variety of research practices, and show potential advantages and disadvantages of various methods. This course gives a unique lens to explore the issues and problems of scientific analytics. The course offers an opportunity to learn the principles of research design in philosophical writing. The teaching format is highly interactive, with preparing research projects based on a topic of interest as practical exercises in teams or individually, supported by lectures, teaching materials, and recommended textbooks. The emphasis of the course will be on the logic of research, essential tools of the argument, and the requirements regarding the research design.

SCHEDULE

Week 1 Essentials of Research I
Introduction into the scientific research field. Reasons why philosophers should know about research and how to conduct a research.
The Value of Rationality.
Argument and its basic tools.

Week 2 Essentials of Research II
Formulating a research question and problem. Research goals. Scientific problem, fact and scientific abstraction.
Think like a Scientist: Scientific method.

Week 3 Types of Research and Reasoning
The research process. Concept and Construct. Deduction and Induction. Operational definition and dictionary definition. Concept and variable.
Hypothesis and Proposition. Ontology, epistemology and methodology questions in research.
Theory and Model. Scientific Method and Scientific attitude.

Week 4 Philosophy of Science
Science, Research & Philosophy: Formal Sciences. Empirical Sciences. Applied Sciences.Types of research proposal. Research Proposal and Design
Structuring research proposal. Designing the study. Basic Concepts in Research Design: theory, hypothesis, data collection, findings, hypotheses confirmed or rejected, revision of theory.Valuing research information. Analysis and interpretation. Pilot testing. Evaluating research proposal.

Week 5 Ethics in scientific research
Research ethics, ethical treatment of participants. Ethical obligations of research community. Professional standards. Ethical guidelines in qualitative research.
Basic Rules of Doing Research: ethics, validity, reliability, confidentiality, data and research ownership (plagiarism), limitations, ethics in the University, Ethical Codes. Modern Publishing Styles and Reference Methods
APA, Chicago Style, MLA etc.

Week 6 Approaches and Tools of Research in Philosophy I
Investigation of Complex Phenomena. Application of Mixed Methods. Modelling.
Arguments, premices, and conclusions; Validity and soundness; Invalidity; Consistency; Fallacy; Refutation; Axioms; Definitions; Certainty and probability; Tautologies.

Week 7 Approaches and Tools of Research in Philosophy II Abduction; Hypothetico-deductive method. Structural-analytical research approach. Concepts and definitions. Reasoning and Logic: Formal and Informal. Modern learning theories, Technologies and practicies. STEM Education. Zetetic turn and other trends.

Week 8 Approaches and Tools of Research in Philosophy III
Philosophical Writing. Genres. Structure of the text. Composition and editing.
Thought Experiments.

Week 9 Literature review
Critically reviewing the literature. Aims and objectives of literature review. Evaluation of literature review. Process and organization: what is good review; how to get started / where to look. The use of appropriate referencing and bibliographic techniques. Preparing an effective presentation.

Week 10 Observational and action research
The uses of observation. Evaluation of observational method. Participatory research. The observer-participant relationship. Conducting and observational study. Designing and observational study.
Unstructured interviews. Action research.

Week 11 Methods of Research in Philosophy I
Philosophical theories, principles and approaches.
Dialectical method; Analytical method; Analogies; Logical Constructions; Performative and speech acts; Reduction; Representation; Useful fictions. Thought experiments (conclusion).

Week 12 Methods of Research in Philosophy II
Phenomenological Method
Hermeneutic Method
Linguistic Method
Features and Tools of Research in Philosophy:
Rigour and Coherence
Clarity and Conciseness

Week 13 Questionnaires and responses
Developing the instrument design strategy. Measurement research question hierarchy.
Constructing and refining measurement questions. Question content. Sources of existing questions.
Critical Thinking. The strategy of question formulation. ChatGPT prompts. LLM.
Critical thinking and Dialogue.
Review Problems Week 11-12

Week 14 Writing and presenting research outcomes
Written research report. Basics of Research Paper Writing and Publishing.
Research report components. Writing the report. Presentation considerations. Oral presentation.
Team or Individual Research Project Presentation (Final Exam)
Or Final Exam Test
Research Paper Final
Oral Presentation