Title: Content
Course: EDPS0009: Researching Education and Society: Qualitative Methods 2020/2021

Overview of the module

Within the social sciences, we aim to make sense of experiences, explain events and make predictions about the future. In order to be able to do so scientifically, we need theory and research. The purpose of this module is to introduce you to the practices of a social science research community. The structure of the module covers all stages in a research project from designing research questions and deciding on data collection methods and analytical approaches through to the presentation of findings.

You will undertake practical activities and reflection tasks to help you learn about qualitative research methods and theories. You will explore the advantages and disadvantages of different methods of data collection and analysis, and you will reflect on what constitutes research that is of good quality, ethical and impactful. You will work collaboratively with your peers to collect and analyse data so that you will be able to draw on practical as well as theoretical experience.

The content for this module is broken down week by week on white tabs above. Click on each tab to find out what you'll be studying each week.

Learning approach

The module comprises interactive lectures and small-group seminar sessions. Seminars are designed to support both understanding of the module content, in particular of core module readings, and the development of criticality and reflexivity.

Seminar sessions also help you to prepare for assignments, although you are expected to do a substantial amount of independent work outside of the taught sessions, including completing required readings prior to class sessions.

Aims of the module

The module aims to provide you with the following:
1.    Theoretical and practical understanding of qualitative social science research, with a particular emphasis on the relevance of and for educational contexts
2.    Opportunities to methodically evaluate benefits and drawbacks of particular methods and approaches to research
3.    Opportunities to critically reflect on key concepts relating to social science research and how they relate to education and society
4.    The ability to draw on the module content and learning to create a coherent research proposal

Learning outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:
1.   Demonstrate sound theoretical understanding of key issues and debates surrounding social science research
2.   Demonstrate the ability to apply theoretical module contents to real-life contexts
3.   Create a pre-recorded presentation to share relevant contents in different forms of communication
4.   Develop a sound research proposal that meets the requirements of academic writing conventions at this level.