Module SOCI59415: Research Design and Process

Department: Sociology

SOCI59415: Research Design and Process

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• To provide training in research design and an understanding of the research process in preparation for the MA dissertation/PhD research and careers in social research.

Content

• Introduction: Planning and designing research effectively and the timeline of a research project.
• Formulating and 'pitching' research questions and abstracts to peers and understanding their relationship to research design and social theory.
• Reviewing the literature critically and its relationship to research aims, design and methods.
• Theorising and conceptualising one's research: moving from theory to research and back again.
• Engaging with pragmatic, logistic, ethical, and reflexive positionality aspects of research (including access, fieldwork, consent, data management).
• Overviewing qualitative and quantitative designs, case studies, mixed methods, and online research (with in-depth discussions of these methods and designs addressed in other optional modules).
• Reviewing and critically evaluating research proposals.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module students will:
• Have an understanding of how to formulate, design, and present a research question, abstract, and project proposal;
• Understand general aspects of epistemic, ethical, technical, political and organisational issues involved in social research;
• Understand the rationales, processes, and stages involved in planning a research project.

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

• During periods of online teaching, for asynchronous lectures in particular, planned lecture hours may include activities that would normally have taken place within the lecture itself had it been taught face-to-face in a lecture room, and/or those necessary to adapt the teaching and learning materials effectively to online learning.
• Through lectures, seminars, and course assessment.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Students will have the opportunity of presenting a short plan of their research proposal, in class, for feedback and further improvement (up to 1000 words or 5 minutes speech).