About the Research Methods in
IB Course
• Slides will be on the MyCourses page after the
class
• Other material will also be made available
through MyCourses
What Do I Call You?
• Professor or Professor Sindhav
• Most people say I am a nice guy
– Ultimate reference: my wife, ask her
– If you are mad at me, please remember, as
Michale Corleone says, ”It is not personal, it is
business”.
– My ultimate aim – help you learn
The Nature of the Class
• Applied (practice) and Textbook Chapters
(theory), about equal emphasis
• Need to do well in both to earn a top grade
• The course chapters build on each other – For
example, difficult to appreciate the data
collection chapter if you missed the
questionnaire writing chapter.
• Keep missed classes to 0, if missed anything,
make up for that right away.
The Nature of the Class
• The class is fundamental to your thesis
process, however, it is also meant for
preparing you as
– Managers
• How to be a smart client of a resarch agency
• How to excute small projects yourself
– Master’s students
• Preparing for advanced research methods topics
The Textbook
• The textbook is very detailed, and will serve as
a manual of doing research throughout your
thesis process
• However, I cannot cover the entire book for
you in the class! The exams will cover mostly
the content covered or mentioned in the
classroom. Please take notes during the class
atleast about what is covered.
The Textbook
• Average length of the chapter is 25 pages. At 5
minutes/page, you may need to spend 2 hours
per chapter.
• Text material parallel to applied projects
Requirements (Blue is individual, Green is group)
Week 1
•Exam 1
•25%
Week 2
•Questionnaire
•Research Statement and
Bibliography
•10%
•10%
Week 3
•Data Analysis Assignment
•Qualitative Interview
•Exam 2
•Participation
•15%
•10%
•25%
•05%
The Projects
• Start working on finding a person for the
qualitative interview, details due this
Thursday
• The questionnaire writing will begin this
Thursday. I know there is a Wednesday
night before that!
The Projects
• My USA class will be respondent for your
online questionnaire, prepared using
Qualtrics
Absolutely Important Days, No
Absences of any Kind, Please
• Monday 1
• Thursday 1(Writing Quationnaires)
• Friday 2 (SPSS)
The Exams
• Two exams
• Probably multiple choice, 50 questions each
• The second exam is comprehensive (20
questions from the old material, 30 questions
from the new material)
Professional Expectations
• Treat this class as a professional meeting
– Arriving in class on time
– Internet browser is shut (not minimized but shut)
during the session unless asked to
– Not using the cell phone (no talk, texting, SMS,
games, surfing)
– Arriving after the break on time (10 minutes is all
you have)
• Remind me if I forget to give you a break after 50 minutes
– Not talking to classmates while the session is on
unless a group exercise
– If you are absent, make up the missed material
with help from your friends
Use of Stories and Humor in Class
• This is a 3-hour class!
• Humor is shown to be an aid in learning in
various studies
– Most is self depricating, invloves wife and kids,
sometimes you (but no malice)
• Stories will be related to the class content.
When they are not, they are aimed at
changing the rhythm of the class for a brief
while so our batteries are charged again!
What do I think of Finland
• Absolutely charming country and people
• Inspired by sisu
• Utmost respect for ”Just Enough”
Lifelong memory of Sääriselkä