“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science.” — Albert Einstein
overview

The Media Technology MSc program recognizes creativity as an important factor in scientific innovation. This course combines an introduction into scientific research with the concept of creative research, a style of research that is highly valued by the lecturers.

Principles and organization of scientific research are presented, and through examples the concept of "creative research" is introduced. With that we mean actual scientific research that was brought about in unconventional or creative ways, in order to come to results that could otherwise not be envisioned or achieved. Topics of the course are principles of science, organization of the scientific world, scientific publication, creative and unconventional research, asking the right questions, and finding the right data. In-class participation by students is high, with multiple homework assignments and a final research project.

Seven lectures are combined with intensive homework, student presentations and projects. Compulsory attendance. Participants must do a final research project and write a paper about this.

Lecturers: Bas Haring and Maarten Lamers, both of the Media Technology MSc program at Leiden University
Location: room 413, Snellius building
Schedule: see the Media Technology calendar.

ongoing assignment 1: keep up with science news

During the course, each student must regularly (at least weekly) read one news source that provides science news. In class, students can be asked to comment on research about which they read. Example science news sources are

When asked to comment on scientific news in class, students must

lecture 1: principles and organization of science

Homework assignment: Read Chapters 2 (Science Culture) and 3 (The Scientific Life) of Doherty, Chapter 10 (Cargo Cult Science) of Feynman, part II (The Size of the Earth) of Bryson.

lecture 2: a short history of natural sciences, and publication

Homework assignment: find a scientific topic that interests your. Gather exactly 7 published scientific papers that together form a good overview of this topic and read them. Write a 2-page paper (in English, no longer!) in which you describe the current state of this scientific topic, and use the 7 papers as references. Three printed copies of your paper must be handed in during the start of lecture 3. These will be reviewed by your fellow students.
Remark: make sure that your topic is not too large or too small. A large topic will give you way too many papers to select from, a small topic not enough.

lecture 3: student work reviews

Homework assignment: Read Bargar and Duncan, plus chapters Introduction and 1 (What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?) of Freakonomics.

lecture 4: creative research

Homework assignment: think about a creative research project that you can and want to do in approximately 3 weeks time. Find other students (groups of 1,2,3) to work together with. Possibly tell us about your project idea shortly next week.

lecture 5: asking the right questions, finding the right data

“How can we better understand the process of adopting a new technology and its impact on business value in situations of high uncertainty?”

“How can we better understand coffee machines?”

“Research question (3): What can be the impact of a new technology adoption on business performace in stituations of high uncertainty?”
Homework assignment: form groups of 1, 2 or 3 students. Think of a research project that you can do in approximately 3 weeks. Present your proposal in maximally 5 minutes during lecture 6. Your proposed research must be scientifically valid, it must make sense, and you must be able to do it.

lecture 6: student research proposals

Final research project: if your research proposal was accepted, carry out the research and write an academic-style paper about it (2 or 3 pages, title, abstract, references, etcetera). If your proposal was not accepted, we will assign you one. The results of your research must be presented in maximally 5 minutes during lecture 7. At this lecture, your paper must be handed in also.

lecture 7: presentations of student research results

resources

[Doherty] Peter Doherty (2006), The Beginner's Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize, Columbia University Press
[Fisher] Len Fisher (2004), Weighing the Soul: The Evolution of Scientific Beliefs, Orion Books Ltd.
[Feynman] Richard P. Feynman (1999), The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, Perseus Books (amazon.com)
+ Wikipedia entry: Richard Feynman, slightly mad genius
[Bargar & Duncan] Robert R. Bargar and James K. Duncan (1982), Cultivating Creative Endeavor in Doctoral Research , The Journal of Higher Education, Vol 53(1), pp 1-31
[Science Writing] Introduction to Journal-Style Scientific Writing, Bates College, 2002.
[Posters] Lorrie Faith Cranor (2004), Research Posters 101, ACM Crossroads student magazine, Vol 3(2).
[Graduate School] Marie desJardins (2004), How to Succeed in Graduate School, ACM Crossroads student magazine, Part 1 (Vol 1 Issue 2), Part 2 (Vol 1 Issue 3).
[Swim in Syrup] B. Gettelfinger & E.L. Cussler (2004), Will Humans Swim Faster or Slower in Syrup?, American Inst Chemical Engineers Journal, Vol 50(11), pp 2646-2647
[Trinkaus] Alice S. Kaswell (2003), Trinkaus: An Informal Look, Annals of Improbable Research, Vol 9(3), pp 4-15
[101 Problems] Martin Cohen (2001), 101 Philosophy Problems, Routledge Publishers (amazon.com)
[edge.org] Edge Foundation, www.edge.org
[Freakonomics] Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner (2005), Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, HarperCollins Publishers
+ Wikipedia entry: Steven Levitt, rogue economist
[Black Names] Roland G. Fryer Jr. & Steven D. Levitt (2004), The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black Names, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol 119(3), pp 767-805
[Seafood Menus] Glenn Jones (2005), Restaurant Seafood Prices Since 1850s Help Plot Marine Harvests Through History, Texas A&M University, research in progress
[Bill Bryson] Bill Bryson (2004), A Short History of Nearly Everything
[Rosenhan Experiment] D. Rosenhan (1973), On being sane in insane places, Science, Vol 179, pp 250-258
+ A good description of the Rosenhan experiments
+ Wikipedia entry: the Rosenhan experiments
[Whale Falls] Professor Craig Smith of the University of Hawaii sinks dead whales to study fish
+ Craig Smith, Bigger is Better: The Role of Whales as Detritus in Marine Ecosystems, to appear in "Whales, Whaling and Marine Ecosystems" by James Estes (ed.), University of California Press
[Drug Finances] Steven D. Levitt & Sudhir A. Venkatesh (2000), An Economic Analysis of a Drug-Selling Gang's Finances, Quarterly Journal of Economics, August 2000, pp 755-789
[Small World] J. Travers & S. Milgram (1969), An experimental study of the small world problem, Sociometry, Vol 32, pp 425-443
+ Wikipedia entry: Small World Phenomenon in which Milgram's "small world" experiment is described, and criticized.
[Kevin Warwick] Website of Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, England
[Tapeworms] Biologist Mike Leahy grows tapeworms, inside himself. Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, BBC Television 26/11/2003
[Gorillas] D.J. Simons & C.F. Chabris (1999), Gorillas in our midst: sustained inattentional blindness for dynamic events, Perception, Vol 28, pp 1059-1074
+ The research video