Development work methods and design (5cr)

Evaluation scale

Hyväksytty/Hylätty

Content scheduling

• Thesis process and related key practices in master studies; contexts of own thesis project, preparation and plan of the research and/or development project to be carried out as a thesis (September 2, 2025, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. first contact period and learning assignments)
• Data acquisition in a development project (in the first contact period, a start-up meeting followed by an online course, so that tasks must be completed on 14 December 2025)
• Utilization of research methods & research ethics and data management in a development project (7 October 2025 at 13 - 17, second contact period and related learning tasks)
• Project management tools (4.11.2025 at 13 - 17) third contact period and related learning tasks)
• Writing and communication in a thesis project, thesis plan to be carried out as a thesis (2.12.2025, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. fourth contact period and related tasks)

Objective

After completing this course, the students will be able to
• find and evaluate references, information and data relevant for the development task
• construct relevant conceptual framework for the development project
• apply project management tools in planning the development project
• write a research and data management plan
• consider ethical aspects and GDPR in their research and development work
• communicate of their development project and its results to different target groups through appropriate channels

Content

• Professional, theoretical and research contexts for individual development projects
• Ethical considerations and GDPR in research and development projects
• Planning research data collection and management
• Information and data retrieval and evaluation for the needs of the development project
• Applying project management tools in a development project
• The role of research in a development project
• Writing and communications in research and development projects

Materials

• Ethical recommendations for the theses of universities of applied sciences (2025): https://arene.fi/publications/reports/opinnaytetoin-ethical-recommendations/
• Salonen, K., Eloranta, S., Hautala, T. & Kinos, S. (2017): Development activities and methods of development in professional higher education. Turku: Turku University of Applied Sciences. http://julkaisut.turkuamk.fi/isbn9789522166494.pdf
• Research Ethics Advisory Board (2023): Good scientific practice https://tenk.fi/sites/default/files/2023-03/HTK-help_2023.pdf
• Advisory Board on Research Integrity (2019): Advisory Board on Research Integrity (2019): Ethical principles of human research and ethical pre-evaluation of human sciences in Finland https://www.tenk.fi/sites/tenk.fi/files/Human sciences_ethical_pre-assessment_help_2019.pdf
• Social Science Data Archive: Material management manual http://www.fsd.uta.fi/material management/en/
• Turku UAS Information Seeker's Guides, as applicable http://libguides.turkuamk.fi/, including Guide to cultural information seeking: http://libguides.turkuamk.fi/kulttuuriala
• In addition, teacher lecture introductions and, where applicable, research methodology literature on research ethics listed in the online learning environment (Itslearning)

Teaching methods

• Contact teaching on campus or as distance learning at Zoom: Teachers' lecture introductions, small group discussions and other functional and interactive activities.
• Independent Remote Work: Reading Instructional Literature and Doing Learning Tasks. In the online course Basics of Data Acquisition, familiarising yourself with the learning material and doing tasks.
• Preparation of a preliminary plan for a thesis project to be carried out as a thesis

Pedagogic approaches and sustainable development

Thesis projects are most often realised as individual work, in addition to which course involves working in contact meetings in small groups of different sizes and configurations, and giving peer feedback on the thesis ideas of others. The course also makes use of co-teaching.

Student workload

The course is 5-credit-wide, which means that it requires approximately 135 hours of student work. Participating and preparing for contact teaching requires about 22 hours of work.

The student's work consists mostly of the student's independent work between contact periods:
• Learning task: A mind map of your own development project (in September it takes about 16 hours of work)
• Essay on the key concepts of one's own research and/or development project (approximately 40 hours of work input)
• Contact teaching with related pre- and post-service assignments (22 h)
• Assembling task: preliminary plan for a research and/or development project to be carried out as a thesis, which will be built as the course progresses and will be returned no later than 14 December 2025. Preliminary plans are given peer feedback for use in the preparation of the plan. The plans are presented and commented on during the course Implementation and reporting of the development project during the January contact period.(Requires about 57 hours of work input)

The plan includes a research design, knowledge base, methods, a data management plan, project implementers and organisation, a work plan (project plan), resourcing, documentation and information, as well as risk management, as well as preparation of operational assessment and quality assurance, and a preliminary list of sources.

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

Accepted completion of the course requires approved completion of all sub-tasks. The approved execution of sub-tasks, on the other hand, requires that the tasks, when properly executed, contain all the contents that are presented in the assignments. The evaluation criteria can be defined in more detail in the assignment of each sub-task.

Accepted completion requires participation in contact teaching (at least 60% of contact sessions). In the case of possible absences, the approved performance of compensation tasks is required.

Evaluation methods and criteria

The assessment is focused on learning tasks during the course. Tasks are assessed on a scale of rejected - accepted. The assessment of the entire course is based on the assignments of the course, their approved completion.

Failed (0)

Performance is rejected if any of the subtasks are missing or not completed in an acceptable manner, or if there are more than 40% absences from contact teaching.

Further information

The Methods of Development and Planning course prepares the implementation of a research and development project that is part of the thesis. During the course, the student, supported by learning tasks, prepares his/her research and development project and related research data acquisition, and draws up his/her research and development plan.

The course includes common sections with other Master School courses at the Academy of Arts.