Bell, J. (2010) Doing Your Research Project. A guide for first time researchers in education, health and social care. 5th Edition. Buckingham: Open University Press
Bergman, M.M. (2009) Mixed Methods Research: London: Sage
Brett Davies, M. (2007) Doing a Successful Research Project: Using Qualitative or Quantitative Methods. London: Palgrave Macmillan
Bryman, A. (2008) Social Research Methods. 3rd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Fraser, S. et al (Eds) (2006) Doing Research with Children and Young People. London: Sage
Thomson, P. (2008) Doing Visual Research with Children and Young People. Abingdon: Routledge
Whittaker, A. (2009) Research Skills for Social Work. Exeter: Learning Matters

The dissertation will require you to demonstrate the reading of relevant texts and use of other sources in order to show your critical understanding of the topic chosen for research. The dissertation will cover Learning Outcomes 1-6. Formative feedback is given to students on draft work.

This module incorporates three inter-related learning strategies. A tutor- led session will be held to give students an overview of the requirements of the module and the assessment (18 hours). Individual tutorials will be held to give students support and guidance in relation to their individual research (12 hours total). The independent study hours (570) will allow research and writing of the dissertation.

You will apply the skills gained through the Research Methods module and the knowledge gained at the Certificate and Diploma levels to an independent piece of work on Children and Families Ministry, on a topic you have chosen, undertaken through a literature survey and/or work-related investigation. The independent work may draw on your work experiences. The skills and knowledge you will use include:
- application of existing research ethics to the topic chosen
- surveying existing knowledge and research evidence on a topic of interest - using relevant literature - particularly peer reviewed articles, web-based and secondary sources
- undertaking a formal literature review
- defining a research problem
- formulating a research design
- organising research activity
- depending on the research problem and the focus, conducting an extensive literature review and evaluating previous research in the light of central theoretical issues in the field of children and families ministry and/or developing research instruments and applying qualitative and/or quantitative methods to already existing data sets
- analysing qualitative or quantitative data or results of literature review
- dissertation writing

-Module handbook.
-Access to appropriate texts.
-Computer facilities will be needed to access material available on the web and specialist on-line data bases.