Faculty of letters – Oujda

Department of English
Research methods and study skills
Semester 5
Prof. Chourouq Nasri
Fall 2021

Research Methods and Study Skills:

an Introduction
What is research?
Research is a process, not
a product, and the most
important skill in
research is thinking.
Have you ever done
research?
 How is knowledge created?

How do we know what we know?

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 The ability to formulate a question,
find the data relevant to your question,
analyze those data,
and present your findings
are skills that will benefit your professional and
personal life.
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
 Gain a practical
understanding
of some of the
various
methodological
tools used for
research.

Learn how to
Learn to collect, read literature,
analyze and how to think
interpret critically about
research data. it and how to
write about it.
Examples of situations where we
need to do research.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
 Assignement
What do you know about Mohammed Premier University?

- architecture and design,time schedule, technology, staff, students and libraries,

catalogs …
-online research, field visits and interviews

Write a one-page report in which you present the data you collected investigating

about Mohammed Premier University libraries.

What steps to take to do this
research project?
 Do you go to libraries?
Do you like libraries?
Do you have a favourite library?
 What is
research?
Research is something we undertake when we wish to explore an idea, probe
an issue, solve a problem or make an argument that requires us to go beyond
our personal knowledge or experience.
 Why do we
conduct
research(es)?
True investigators are
sustained in their work not
by instructions but by
CURIOSITY.
Research can help us further
our thought and reflection
about a particular topic and
ask critical questions.
To have confidence in one’s
own decision-making
abilities.
To have fun searching for the
information and building
confidence as we put the
information together into writing,
following the rules of research
papers.
What does preparing
a research
paper mean to
you?
A research paper is an intellectual
ADVENTURE; it is a form of exploration
leading to DISCOVERIES that are new.
The mechanics of the paper, important
though they are, should not override
the intellectual CHALLENGE of pursuing
a question that interests you.
To conduct research, you need to
be acquainted with strategies for
gathering information, analyzing,
synthesizing, and evaluating that
information through critical
thinking.
Fieldwork and Critical Thinking
Fieldwork is the collection of information outside of a classroom or workplace
setting.
The outdoor classroom
- Often more than the four walls of a classroom, the outdoor classroom is
more enjoyable, beautiful, inspiring, stimulating and relaxing, creating an
optimal learning environment.

- An opportunity to be involved, physically, with real situations in the field.

- All of this promotes a deeper understanding of the subject being studied and
an improved ability to recall the information and experiences, later, as
needed.
 See,
share and
understa
nd
Main Methods of
Data Collection
Research methods should
flow logically from the
questions one asks.
 · Observation
· Interviewing
· Questionnaires
What are the Research Tools
Used?
 · Field Notes: Jotted - key ideas, phrases etc - may include other
matters recalled that had been previously forgotten - purpose to jog
memory when writing up –

· Personal Journal: impressions, feelings, reflections; ideas for

analysis / further data collection.

· Tape Recorders, Cameras, Video Recorders

Fieldwork and critical thinking
 to form quick and faulty
assumptions without complete
information, thought, or
investigation. That’s why I include
a field research component in this
class.
Field work assignment is designed to
guide students to gather significant
amounts of objective information and,
subsequently, uncover and question
their own faulty assumptions and
hasty conclusions. In short, field work
helps you develop important critical
thinking skills.
Writing
 Theses are the titles of novels
about libraries. Choose one and
write a flash short story inspired by
its title.
 - The Midnight Library (MATT HAIG)
- Lost in a Good Book (JASPER FFORDE)

- I Work at A Public Library (GINA SHERIDAN)

- The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians (CARLA
MORRIS)

- The Case of the Missing Books (IAN SANSOM)

- Dewey's Nine Lives: The Legacy of the Small-Town
Library Cat Who Inspired Millions (VICKI MYRON)