Planeamento

Aulas do tipo Teórico-Prático

Process Methodology and epistemological issues

• The design and construction process of a Research Project
• Clarification of the intriguing question and its background
• Identification and critical review of relevant bibliography.
• Formulation and justification of the problem and identification and demonstration of the relevance of the research object.
• The planning of work and the calibration of the plan in relation to the resources that can be mobilised
• The critical monitoring of the processes of construction and execution of the project.
• Some operational concepts: Theorem and hypotheses. Observing and measuring. Experimentation. Explanation and cause. Proof and evidence.

Research methodologies in environmental sciences

•Environmental systems: components, relationships and boundaries. Spatial and temporal scope of research.
•The scientific process in environmental sciences: basic sciences vs applied sciences.
•Scientific method: from observation to hypothesis; from hypothesis to its confirmation or refutation.
•Limits of application to environmental sciences. Methodologies and methods in environmental sciences: descriptive and normative. Numerical observations and quantitative analysis tools. The interface with social sciences.
•Prospective methods: extrapolation vs. envisioning.
•The role of non-scientists in environmental science research.
•The normative value of sustainability in environmental science research.

Research methodologies in social sciences: potential and limitations

• Qualitative and quantitative methodologies: characteristics and procedures
• Interviews and fieldwork. Surveys (construction, application, and data analysis)
• Participatory Science and Citizen Science methodologies
• Research examples

Fieldwork methodologies

• Basic elements
• Landscape description and analysis

Cartography

• Graphic semiology basics
• Map analysis

Science communication and ethics

Science communication
• Audiences
• Formats
• Contents
Ethics in research
• Ethics in data collection, consent, and non-extractivism
• Ethics in publication and supervision
• Codes of ethics
• Permits from ethics committees

Scientific approach, Outputs and Impact

• Publications typologies and Peer Review Process
• Impact Metrics, Open Access
• Scientific Integrity: Plagiarism, authorship, conflict of interests
• Research Communication Activities, Scientific Profiles (ORCID; Research Gate, Google Scholar)
• Applying to Funding and Funding Sources

Generative AI in Doctoral Research: Practices, Challenges, and Implications

• What is Generative AI? 
• GenAI in Higher Education
• GenAI in Scientific Research
• A reflexive approach to the use of GenAI

Follow-up seminar

Practical example of a doctoral project application – doctoral candidate(s) or recent PhDs to be invited

Presentation of projects, discussion and evaluation I

Students present their research projects and discuss with lecturers and tutors

Presentation of projects, discussion and evaluation II

Students present their research projects and discuss with lecturers and tutors