(LO's 1, 2)

A written Report that considers a key aspect of research theory or practice.

To achieve a pass in this module the assessed work must demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes as listed above.

Bell, J. (2010) Doing Your Research Project: A guide for First-time Researchers in Education and Social Science (Electronic book). Maidenhead. Mc Graw Hill.

Bryman, A (2004) Social Research Methods (2nd ed). Oxford. Oxford University Press.

Clough, P & Nutbrown, C. (2002) A Student¿s Guide to Methodology. London. Sage Publications.

Cottrell, S. (2005) Critical Thinking Skills. Basingstoke. Palgrave.

Creswell, J. W. & Piano Clark, V. (2011) Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research (2nd ed). London. Sage Publications.

Crouch, C. & Pearce, J. (2012) Doing Research in Design. London. Berg.

David, M. & Sutton, C. D. (2004) Social Research: The Basics. London. Sage Publications Ltd.

Denscombe, M (2010) The Good Research Guide: for Small-scale Social Research Projects. (4th ed). Maidenhead. Mc Graw Hill.

Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, California. Sage Publications.

Flick, U. (2002) An Introduction to Qualitative Research. (2nd ed). London. Sage Publications.

Yin, R, K. (1994) Case Study Research. Design and Methods. (2nd ed). California. SAGE Publication Inc.

A computer for accessing Blackboard, websites and electronic journals.
Course texts and course learning pack.
The Blackboard virtual learning environment will be available (where relevant) to support this module. Details will be supplied in the module handbook.

TYPES OF RESEARCH: PRIMARY; SECONDARY

RESEARCH APPROACHES - PHILOSOPHICAL STANDPOINTS (WAYS OF SEEING THE WORLD)

QUALITATIVE
QUANTITATIVE
EPISTEMOLOGY
ONTOLOGY
AXIOLOGY

METHODOLOGIES: (RESEARCH STRATEGIES)

SURVEYS
CASE STUDIES
EXPERIMENTS
ETHNOGRAPHY
PHENOMENOLOGY
GROUNDED THEORY
ACTION RESEARCH
MIXED METHODS

EMPIRICISM
HERMENEUTICS
POSITIVISM
PRAGMATISM
OBJECTIVISM

RESEARCH METHODS: (WAYS OF FINDING OUT THINGS)

INTERVIEWS
OBSERVATIONS
NARRATIVES
FOCUS GROUPS
SURVEYS - QUESTIONNAIRES
SELF-COMPLETION METHODS
TEXT/DOCUMENT (IMAGE) SURVEYS
SOCIAL MEDIA

RESEARCH TECHNIQUES (WAYS OF DOING RESEARCH)

INTERVIEWS - STRUCTURED - SEMI-STRUCTURED
OBSERVATIONS - PARTICIPANT- NON-PARTICIPANT COVERT - OVERT
SURVEYS - QUESTIONNAIRES- ONLINE, FACE-TO-FACE, TELEPHONE, EMAIL
SELF-COMPLETION METHODS - DIARIES, LOGS, KEY EVENT JOURNALS
SOCIAL MEDIA - FACEBOOK, TWITTER, BLOGS

TRIANGULATION (MULTIPLE WAYS OF SEEING)

ANALYSIS (WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING)
Critical thinking

VALIDITY AND CREDIBILITY

RESEARCH ETHICS (WAYS OF CONDUCTING RESEARCH)

The main focus will be on self-instruction, within a tightly structured framework and relying largely (but not exclusively) on materials supplied. Week by week you will work through self-instructional course material (delivered via Blackboard), which provides the framework and focus for reading key texts and papers and undertaking the specific tasks set. This work will be undertaken on an individual basis, but at various points you will be expected to interact and share material with other students in your learning group and your tutor.