CSIT940 - Research Methodology

My Learning from Research Methodology

The subject was both interesting and somewhat disappointing.

The content was engaging, but I was expecting more from a research course at UOW, especially since I had never conducted formal research during my bachelor’s. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet my expectations.

While I didn’t learn much new in terms of content, the course did help me formalize how I approach research—how to systematically search for, validate, and evaluate information.

I was reminded of something I first learned when I began studying science:

Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

I never fully appreciated how crucial the concepts of systematic, organized, and observation are until now.

Science is fundamentally about observation, recording, theorizing, and testing. It’s not about belief—there’s nothing to “believe” in science. Science is a method, not a thing or an event.

When people say they “believe in science,” they often misunderstand what science truly entails. Science is about the process, not belief.

While I was not able to achieve a Distinction in this subject, I understand where I was lacking.

Time Management: I completed all my assignments for this subject at the last moment. This left me with no time for formal revision or to get feedback from the professor, which could have significantly improved my performance.

Overthinking: I wanted my assignments to go a certain way, focusing on the outcome and searching for evidence to support that outcome. But research isn’t about directing results; it’s about following the evidence wherever it leads.

Lectures
Assignment 1
Assignment 2
Proposal