Module GEOG41515: RESEARCH METHODS FOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Department: Geography

GEOG41515: RESEARCH METHODS FOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The module will provide applied training with the aim of developing a range of transferable methods relevant to professional and personal development. The emphasis will be on (a) enhancing students’ existing research skills: (b) exploring issues involved in the design and conduct of research; and (c) providing hands-on experience working with a variety of data sources and methods pertaining to global challenges.

Content

• Principles of good research design and practice, including the formulation of researchable questions and implementation of appropriate and complementary research methods
• Reflection on the role of the researcher in the context of different methods and approaches to knowledge production
• The ethics and politics of doing research in the context of contemporary global challenges and debates about research and its uses
• Introduction to a selection of research methods, such as interviews, surveys, ethnography, participatory research, thematic mapping, spatial analysis, critical data storytelling, and/or collaborative mapping that will enhance research skills while exploring the applicability of these techniques to emerging social science issues.
• Development and implementation of methods related to researching global challenges that includes practicing various methods, managing and making sense of data, analysing, and incorporating appropriate research design in a research proposal.

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of this module, students will be able to:
• Discuss key areas of debate around the production and use of data to analyse global challenges;
• Assess the range of issues including the ethics and politics involved in the conduct and use of good geographical research.

• At the end of this module, students will be able to:
• Demonstrate practical methods skills, which may include a selection of the following: interviews, questionnaires, surveys, ethnography, participatory research, thematic mapping, spatial analysis, critical data storytelling, and/or collaborative mapping; and
• Select appropriate methods and techniques and design research examining global challenges.

• At the end of this module students will be able to:
• Reflect on the use and suitability of research methods for undertaking independent research projects;
• Evaluate and reflect upon the ethics and politics of specific research methods, their implementation, and role in knowledge production;
• Develop and implement appropriate methods related to Human Geography research specific to student interests;
• Synthesize and communicate preliminary research design in a research proposal

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures provide background information and theoretical framing research methods introduced in the recommended reading.
• Practicals provide hands-on methods experience collecting and analysing primary and secondary data related to a geographic question or problem. Practicals will be guided by a small lecture, demonstration, activity, and/or set of instructions provided by the teaching staff.
• Tutorials provide support for the summative proposal from teaching staff in Term 2.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Students will receive formative feedback from both staff and peers throughout the module during lecture, practicals, tutorials, and/or individually.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University