The module aims to:
•introduce students to the contemporary contexts for the production of social research in universities and other settings
•introduce students to the key practical, theoretical and methodological considerations in designing and implementing robust research projects
•provide introductions to some advanced and specialist research skills, including those which are relatively new developments in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis
•enable students to develop a research project through its initial stages, including considerations of research questions, methodological strategies and practicalities
•enable students’ understanding of methods to move beyond conventional divides within social research, such qualitative versus quantitative, empirical versus theoretical, experimentation versus research in “natural” settings, to develop an open critical and investigative appro ach to research design and implementation

(LO1) Students will be able to appreciate the differing social, political and economic contexts under which social research takes place

(LO2) Students will be able to understand the range of epistemological, methodological, and practical steps involved in the research process

(LO3) Students will be able to deploy some key data collection and analysis techniques, such as interviewing, focus groups and research ethics

(LO4) Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between data collection, research design and research findings

(S1) Global Citizenship: Ethical Awareness

(S2) Improving own learning/performance: reflective practice

(S3) Critical thinking and problem solving: problem identification

(S4) Critical thinking and problem solving: creative thinking

(S5) Critical thinking and problem solving: critical analysis

The module content:
•Week 1 – 3
Module overview/introduction, covering the breakdown of conventional research paradigms, and phenomena-led research design and investigatory methods. The Contexts of Social Research – this week focuses on the variety of contexts within which social research takes place, including critical commentary on how and why research takes place in these contexts. This will reveal some of the assumptions and orientations within different policy, academic and private spheres of research. Research design and proposal. Focus shifts to designing robust research proposals, covering strategies for formulating research questions and hypotheses. Foundational questions of methods and ethics, as a matter of thinking about the phenomena someone is interested in accessing, studying and potentially intervening in through research.

•Week 4-10
Focus on various methods including Interviewing, Focus Groups and Applied Research Ethic s

Teaching Method 1: Workshops

Scheduled Directed Student Hours: 20

Unscheduled Directed Student Hours:

Description:

The course will be delivered over 10 weeks in the form of 10 2-hour in person workshops. In the workshops, students will be guided by short lectures to undertake group or individual activities that facilitate the learning of the relevant weeks.

Attendance Recorded: Yes

Self-Directed Learning Hours: 180
Description: The self-directed learning hours allocated here include time for students to: complete online activities and weekly required readings, and research/write their individual essay.