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Research Methods

Module code: CEU44E03 · Semester: Full year

Resources​

How it's assessed​

No end-of-semester exam. It's assessed through coursework.

Research methods for engineers: research design, proposals, literature reviews, ethics, data collection and analysis, and report writing.

AssessmentWeight
Ethics approval report15%
Experimental design40%
Literature review45%

Summarised from the TCD module descriptor, checked 2026-11-09. Details can change from year to year, so check this year's descriptor and Blackboard.

From students who've done it​

No write-ups yet.

Questions by Year​

This module has no end-of-semester exam, so there are no past papers. See How it's assessed above.

Topics

  • Research philosophies, process and design; choosing a topic LO1, LO3
  • Literature review and research proposals LO2–4
  • Research ethics and approval LO5
  • Experimental design, data collection and sampling LO6
  • Statistical software and data analysis LO7
  • Report writing and presentation LO4
Learning outcomes
  1. Plan and manage a postgraduate research project
  2. Critically appraise research tools, methods and publications
  3. Scope future research and design a proposal
  4. Communicate research in writing and orally, inside and outside your field
  5. Recognise plagiarism, confidentiality, data protection and other ethical issues
  6. Design experiments and analyse quantitative data
  7. Choose and use statistical software

Summarised from the module descriptor, checked November 2026.