RE-DWELL. Research Methods and Tools – Report 1

The purpose of this report is to document the objectives, content and implementation process of the Research Methods and Tools 1 (RMT1) course. The course is worth 4 ECTS, which is equivalent to about 100 hours of learning, including online and in-person sessions and self-directed work. As indicated in the RE-DWELL research proposal, RMT1 introduced the main concepts of the RE-DWELL research structure: sustainability, affordability, and transdisciplinarity. Moreover, the course aimed to stimulate ESRs to critically engage with these concepts by integrating them in their research projects. Participants evaluated the course through an online survey, the results of which are presented in Annex 1. The content of the course generally scored highly (4 out of 5 points), while the learning objectives scored satisfactorily (3 to 4 out of 5 points). The written feedback highlights that the course fulfilled the requirements of the kick-off phase of the project: ESRs were introduced to the key terms of RE-DWELL’s research and were able to link them to their research projects. In addition, they were able to develop their academic writing and peer reviewing skills. Important takeaways for the design of future RMT courses include a clearer management of expectations, for example, to provide 80% self-work per ECTS, which gives ESRs an important responsibility to link the learning activities as smartly as possible to the progress of their dissertation. Furthermore, the link between learning activities and learning objectives could be strengthened. Also, ESRs expressed a preference for more interactive sessions and shorter lectures, as well as more guidance on techniques for preparing fieldwork and understanding the academic literature. ESRs will also be asked for feedback on the course design before the next course starts.