General provisions

The course is part of the Bachelor's programmes Game Design and Graphics, 180 Credits, Game Design and Programming, 180 Credits, Game Design and Project Leadership, 180 Credits and Game Design, 180 Credits.

Entry requirements

60 credits in game design with progressive specialisation

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, students will be able to:

• formulate a research question for academic work that is suitable, adequate, and that can be answered in the given time frame
• find relevant topics that connect to ongoing scientific research
• present their research to the public in an understandable and instructive manner
• discuss and take a critical attitude towards the used theories and methods
• discuss ethical challenges in a reflective manner
• collect and analyse relevant data
• present a realistic plan of making a contribution to games research.

Content

During the course students will learn to identify relevant research subjects within games research, search for academic literature, and work with academic theories. The course introduces students to the philosophy of science and basic epistemological questions. The course also covers different forms of data collection, including qualitative and quantitative data analysis, both from a practical perspective and in relation to which research questions can be answered using the data. The also covers ethical questions for research, and deepens the students' understanding of academic writing.

Instruction

The course consists of lectures, seminars and workshops. Students work individually or in groups.

Assessment

Examination is based on participation in mandatory workshops, seminars with oral presentations, written assignments and a final written thesis plan. 

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

Other directives

The course substitutes/overlaps the course Theory and Methods in Game Design (5SD057)