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SOCI59415: Research Design and Process

It is possible that changes to modules or programmes might need to be made during the academic year, in response to the impact of Covid-19 and/or any further changes in public health advice.

Type Open
Level 4
Credits 15
Availability Available in 2023/24
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department Sociology

Prerequisites

  • None.

Corequisites

  • Perspectives in Social Research (SOCI59515)

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None.

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 and the timeline of a research project.
  • Formulating research questions and their relationship with research design.
  • Reviewing the literature critically and its relationship to your own research.
  • Operationalising concepts: moving from theory to research.
  • Finding and accessing data and/or engaging research participants practicalities and ethical issues.
  • Quantitative designs, sampling, questionnaire designs, experimental methods, secondary data analysis.
  • Qualitative designs, focusing on small scale qualitative research.
  • Online research design and methods.
  • Case studies,
  • Mixed methods.
  • Reviewing and evaluating research proposals.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • By the end of the module students will:
  • Have an understanding of how to formulate and design a research project;
  • Understand the ethical, political and organisational issues involved in social research;
  • Understand the processes and stages involved in planning a research project.

Subject-specific Skills:

Key Skills:

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

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Lectures10fortnightly110 
Seminars10fortnightly110 
Preparation & Reading130 
Total150 

Summative Assessment

Component: AssessmentComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Research proposal3,000 words100 

Formative Assessment

Students will have the option of submitting a short plan (up to 1000 words) of their research proposal.

More information

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