|
 Academic Year:
| 2013/4 |
| Owning Department/School:
| Department of Social & Policy Sciences |
| Credits:
| 45 |
| Level:
| Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7) |
| Period: |
Semester 2 |
| Assessment:
| CW 100% |
| Supplementary Assessment: | Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations) |
| Requisites:
| |
| Description:
| Aims & Learning Objectives: Aims: By using a contrasting method to that employed in Social Research Project 1 (i.e. either quantitative or qualitative), a process of supervised research study will be used aimed at refining and further developing understanding of: * how to define a research question * make methodological choices * design a research inquiry * operationalise at least one quantitative or qualitative method * analyse data * write a project report. Students will become familiar with the practicalities of undertaking these activities within limited time and other resource constraints. Learning Objectives: By the end of the course the students should have further advanced: Knowledge and understanding of * the kinds of constraints under which research is carried out * the connectedness of different stages of the research process * the importance of selecting methods of data collection and analysis that are appropriate to a topic and the practical constraints of the investigation * organising findings and other materials in a systematic and readable form. Intellectual skills * Ability to recognise and select research strategies in a relevant branch of the social sciences * Ability to recognise and take account of relevant philosophical and methodological issues associated with particular methods * Ability to identify how aspects of methods contribute to validation of results * Ability to identify features of methods that might weaken validity of results * Familiarity with the arguments, state of research and key concepts in the topic area of their research * Ability to interpret the significance of findings from relevant sources of quantitative or qualitative evidence. Professional practice skills * Understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different methods and the need to report these * Awareness of the types of skills needed to access different sources of data and the activities necessary to access these. * Ability to produce written reports to optimal standards of clarity, economy, and comprehensability * Understanding of relationships between nature of methods and the kinds of results and discourse arising. Content: Any social research area for which adequate levels of supervision can be offered. |
| Programme availability: |
SP50125 is Compulsory on the following programmes:Department of Social & Policy Sciences
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