Specialization in philosophy of science, theory, and methodology in physical education

The course addresses the student's needs for theoretical and methodological specialization with a focus on specific research area in the master's thesis. The course aims to help the student to apply the theory of science related to the development of his or her research question. Based on research areas in physical education, the student should familiarize with research methodology, theory and empirical work that are relevant to the master's thesis topic. The course aims to provide advanced knowledge and understanding within own research area in physical education by reading, understanding and reflecting on research literature. The course prepares the student for planning the master's thesis by critically assessing and discussing theoretical and methodological knowledge and applies this in relation to assessments of reliability and validity in his / her own project. The course focuses on in-depth qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods approaches to research in physical education. Research ethics is emphasized as a topic in the course.

Knowledge

The student is expected at the completion of the course to:

• have in-depth knowledge of ethical aspects of research
• have in-depth methodological knowledge in own research area
• have in-depth theoretical and empirical knowledge in own research area

Skills

The student is expected at the completion of the course to:

• be able to, under supervision, prepare research questions in the field of physical education
• be able to make well-founded methodological and ethical choices in research
• be able to assess reliability and validity within their own research area

General competence

The student is expected at the completion of the course to:

• have the competence to use different research literature in the development of issues and projects
• have integrated theoretical, empirical and methodological knowledge in own research area
• be able to assess ethical issues in research

The teaching methods will mainly be in the form of lectures, supervision and seminars. The course requires a great deal of independent work to get familiarized with the selected research area.