Modiwl SXU-4404:
Research Stratergy & Design
Research Strategy and Design 2023-24
SXU-4404
2023-24
School Of History, Law And Social Sciences
Module - Semester 1
10 credits
Module Organiser:
Alison Orrell
Overview
The course is organised around the following topics:
- Introduction: brief history of social science research
- Experience, evidence, research and knowledge
- Research questions and hypotheses
- Populations, measurement and survey sampling
- Questionnaire design; design of questions
- Principles of research design
- Uses of official data
- Structured interviews and standardization, Questionnaire testing
- Introduction to quantitative data analysis, frequencies, means, distributions
- Simple statistical models: testing research questions. The t test and the significance of significance.
- Presenting your findings and report writing
Assessment Strategy
-threshold -50-59% A satisfactory grasp of how to formulate research problems and questions, free of major errors in understanding the relationship between epistemology, theory generation and empirical research methods. -good -60-69% A good understanding of the connection between research problems and questions based on an accurate appreciation of the significance of alternative epistemological positions for research design and strategy. A sound knowledge of methods of simple quantitative analysis to explore data on a social issue. -excellent -70%+ A developed and critical understanding of the philosophy of social research which supports a detailed appreciation of the relationship between epistemology, theory generation and empirical research methods.
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate the capacity to manage the research process, and conducting and presenting research in a way that is consistent with professional practice and research ethics.
- Display critical understanding of the significance of epistemological positions that provide the context for theory construction, research design, and the selection of appropriate analytical techniques in quantitative research
- Manifest the ability to interrogate the essential principles of research design and strategy, based on a clear grasp of how to formulate researchable problems and critical discernment of alternative approaches to social research
- Show competence in recognising, evaluating and applying a wide range of quantitative data sources and tools of analysis
Assessment method
Essay
Assessment type
Crynodol
Description
Critique of a quantitative or mixed methods research paper focusing on the relationship between epistemology, theory and empirical procedures.
Weighting
50%
Due date
06/11/2023
Assessment method
Essay
Assessment type
Crynodol
Description
Critique and design of a questionnaire based on the results of a pilot study testing the students' own/ or a previous set of questions.
Weighting
50%
Due date
18/12/2023