Gain hands-on experience of digital research methods
Digital data collection and analysis methods such as eye tracking and Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) are playing an increasingly important role in psychological research and practice. They make it possible, for example, to investigate the impact of advertising and products, or to measure stress and its triggers directly in everyday working life.
This makes it all the more important to gain practical experience with these modern methods whilst still at university. Students on the Business Psychology and Sustainability Management degree programme at Landshut University of Applied Sciences are therefore given the opportunity to put their own research ideas into practice as part of a three-day seminar.
Working in small groups, students develop their own research designs, implement them independently using eye-tracking and EMA software, and then carry out data collection in the laboratory. In this way, they gain first-hand experience of the entire research process – from conception and implementation to reflection on the methods used.
The aim is not only to familiarise students with the possibilities offered by digital research methods, but also to encourage them to critically reflect on their potential and limitations. Students learn which research questions are best suited to eye-tracking and EMA, where their validity is limited, and when it makes sense to combine them with traditional methods such as interviews or think-aloud protocols.
In this way, they acquire practical methodological knowledge and develop a sound understanding of how different research methods can be combined in a targeted manner to obtain meaningful results.
Fotos: Hochschule Landshut, Dr. Lusza
