| Unit name | Research Design, Digital Methods and Data Skills |
|---|---|
| Unit code | GEOGM0073 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | . Fannin |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Why is this unit important?
Embarking on a postgraduate degree is an opportunity to engage more deeply with academic research and to gain skills in carrying out your own research in areas of interest to you. Carrying out research that makes a significant contribution to knowledge requires knowing more about the underpinning aims that motivate researchers in geography and in the wider social sciences, humanities, and sciences. It also requires understanding the process of generating research questions, applying methods to address those questions, and analysing the data produced. Across qualitative and quantitative research, these questions guide the academic research design process. This unit will provide the foundation for understanding what makes academic research distinctive and will introduce you to the skills that can help you shape your own research projects.
Research today is data intensive, in all fields, and this unit highlights the potential for making the most of the increasingly complex and digital forms that social and spatial research data may take. This is a mandatory unit as it lays the foundation for developing your research skills in other units and in your dissertation.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit will help equip you with the research skills to carry out your own research project and to better understand research as a process. Your degree programme involves carrying out independent research; this unit is designed to help you do this well and to write a more successful dissertation.
The primary aims of the unit are to:
This unit is complemented by the units that provide training in specialist research skills. You will go on to carry out this further research training in a range of qualitative and/or quantitative methods.
An overview of content
This unit will be organised through a series of learning sessions covering the following themes:
The main topics to be covered include: varieties of approaches to research design; question design and formulation; criteria for evaluating research and strategies to enhance research quality; critical evaluation of different methodologies; appreciation of the research process and communicating research findings.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students on this unit will develop academic skills needed to do well on their programmes and will deepen their knowledge of issues related to the uses of data, the design of research, and the challenges and opportunities posed by digital technologies for research.
Learning Outcomes
This unit will help you understand the connection between research questions or hypotheses and the tools required to address these questions. You will be given the opportunity to gain experience applying these tools to real-world research questions and problems.
At the conclusion of this unit, you will be able to:
This unit will introduce you to these principles in relation to the diverse forms of data available to social science researchers (primary and secondary) and the new and emerging potentials for digital research across the spectrum of qualitative and quantitative methods.
You will learn through a combination of practical activities, field visits, group discussions and lectures.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
You’ll have an opportunity to use some of the digital tools available for carrying out research and documenting the research process: learning how coding is used across the digital humanities and social sciences; carrying out some simple programming to collect data from social media and online sources; and posting to an online resource to reflect on your learning.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Reflective research essay (100%). The assessments will test all the ILOs.
When assessment does not go to plan
Reassessment will be by essay, to be completed in the reassessment period.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. GEOGM0073).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
