PHD-RESEARCH Designing Research Methods (Autumn 2025)

The introductory PhD course ‘Designing Research Methods’ provides a general introduction to research fields, research ethics, theories of knowledge, and research methods within AHO’s disciplinary fields. The course focuses specifically on the challenges and possibilities of multi-method approaches and how AHO’s disciplinary fields often design their own methods. External guests will contribute to the research lectures, seminars/workshops and share how they navigate in a multi-method landscape.

The reading list consists of articles and book chapters on a selection of methods. The aim of the course is to secure and enrich the required intellectual independence for carrying out the individual thesis work.

Knowledge:

• can position practice-based activities as formal research within particular fields
• has good knowledge of research philosophy and the different means and aims in research discourses (quantitative research, qualitative research, research by design, ethnography, urban theory)
• can reflect on the role of a researcher, and the requirements and expectations this entails in terms of social responsibilities and research ethics.

Skills:

• can recognize methodological implications of the various research designs in general terms
• has developed initial strategies in relation to framing their research project.

The course consists of lectures and seminars/workshops in which invited guests focus on their own methods; text discussion where PhD candidates present readings; individual fieldwork using a combination of research methods selected for the PhD project and presentation of the planning and design of the methods in each candidate’s individual PhD.

Course Activities:

• Active participation in the research lectures, seminars/workshops and text discussions.
• Presentation of text based candidate’s selection from suggested reading list or invited guest researcher’s set reading.
• Submission of a two-page introduction, including methods, to your PhD project for the school webpage. Submit by 15 October.
• Chairing and leading the discussion in one session of the AHO Colloquium, 6 November.

The course is evaluated as pass/fail.