EDUC 7054 - Research Design

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2016

This course provides an introduction to all elements of designing a research project from developing a researchable question to ethical issues. It supports students in becoming critical consumers of research and provides strategies for searching for and critiquing literature. It also provides guidance on writing a research proposal.

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Course Details

Course Code	EDUC 7054
Course	Research Design
Coordinating Unit	School of Education
Term	Semester 1
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 4 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Incompatible	EDUC 7001 Educational Inquiry
Assessment	Research proposal (60%), Reflective blogs (20%), Seminar presentation 20%

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Michelle Picard

Dr Fizza Sabir
Email: fizza.sabir@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Develop a research focus and convey research goals clearly in oral and written form

2. Demonstrate self-evaluation skills through engaging in reflective practice and clearly articulating insights gained in oral and written form

3. Access resources necessary for individual and group research projects

4. Use print and electronic resources effectively to convey research goals

5. Evaluate and synthesize written materials

6. Critically review key research content in spoken and written form

7. Interact and network effectively with peers

8. Demonstrate ethical research considerations in both research practices and communication.

9. Demonstrate an understanding of how ontology, epistemology, theory, methodology and data collection and analysis methods work together in a well-designed research project

最新糖心Vlog Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

最新糖心Vlog Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	3, 4, 5, 8, 9
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	2, 6, 7, 8
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	7, 9
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	8, 9
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	2

Learning Resources

Required Resources

There is no compulsory textbook for this course. Rather students will be required to read selected literature on key research design processes covered in the course and disciplinary texts as appropriate. Key texts will be available on MyUni.

Recommended Resources

Education/Social Sciences students are encouraged to purchase the following textbook for the course and their future development:

Cohen, Manion & Morrison (2011), Research Methods in Education 7th Edition, Routledge.

Additional resources for Education/Social Sciences students are also available at the website for this book:

http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/cohen7e/

Online Learning

An online version of the materials is provided in modular form on MyUni along with additional resources.

Learning & Teaching Modes

The course is built around a series of lectures covering the fundamental research design processes. These are complemented by seminars addressing the practical application of these processes. Related assignments are designed to consolidate the learning of key principles and development of skills in the appropriate research design processes.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Workload	Total Hours
1 x 2-hour lecture/workshop per week	24 hours per semester
1 x 2-hour seminar per week or additional reading	24hours per semester
1 x 3 hours reading per week	36 hours per semester
Blog writing and interactive online activities	10 hours per semester
Preparation for formative and summative seminar presentation	20 hours per semester
Research proposal reading and writing	42 hours per semester
	Total = 156 hours per semester

Learning Activities Summary

Week	Lecture Topic	Seminar Topic
1	Understanding the nature of research. Research Design components (all)	Designing a group project question. Understanding the role of reflective practice in research. Research Design components (all)
2	Reviewing literature and searching strategies (all)	Research Paradigms (Education & other Arts only)
3	Taking effective notes and categorizing literature (all)	Endnote workshop (all)
4	Writing and presenting introductions (all)	Causation, validity and reliability (Education & other Arts only)
5	5 Slide, 5 minute Introduction to the Issue, Research and Gap (all)	5 Slide, 5 minute Introduction to the Issue, Research and Gap (all)
6	Research focus, questions/aims and objectives (all)	Inductive & Deductive Reasoning, Grounded theory as an extreme inductive methodology (Education & other Arts only)
7	Systematic Reviews/Meta-Analysis as a Methodology (all)	Extreme Deductive Reasoning, Experiments & Questionnaire examples (Education & other Arts only)
8	Ethics and integrity general module (all)	Methodology definitions and their relationships with paradigms (Education & other Arts only)
9	Writing ethics applications (human and animal) (all)	Presenting on different methodologies, historical and documentary research (Education & other Arts only)
10	Writing up research methodologies example presentations (all)	Action research and observations (Education & other Arts only)
11	Presentations (all + additional appointments)	Interviews and focus groups (Education and other Arts)
12	Putting it all together example PhD projects (all)	Presentations and example proposals assessed (all)

Specific Course Requirements

Note that at least 80% attendance at seminars is compulsory and that students must complete at least 3 assessment items (i.e. the presentation of the research proposal (group or individual), critical review OR research proposal AND reflective essay.

Small Group Discovery Experience

This class focusses entirely on research skills development. Students meet twice at least in small groups to receive individual and peer feedback on their research proposals. Numerous small group activities with the Senior research active academic are included throughout the course.

The 最新糖心Vlog's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Research proposal	Written proposal in three parts: 1) Introduction and Literature Review (including research question(s)) 2) Design (including paradigm, theory, overall design/methodology, data collection and analysis methods 3) Ethics, validity & reliability	60%	4, 5, 6, 8, 9
Seminar presentation	Oral presentation	20% (with 5% formative)	1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9
Reflective blogs & interactions	Written blogs, peer feedback and online activities	20% (4 x 5)	1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8

Assessment Related Requirements

Students who are unable to provide justification for non-attendance will fail the course. Also completion of AT LEAST the group seminar presentation and either the critical review and reflective essay OR the research proposal are mandatory.

Assessment Detail

Reflective Journal
Students will produce 2 blog entries and take part in interactive activities online (Formative & Summative)
Due Date: Week 2- 11
Weighting: 20%
Learning Objectives: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8

Seminar Presentation & Participation
Short presentation of a critique on selected readings and a final presentation of the research proposal. (Formative & Summative)
Due Date: Weeks 5, 11 & 12 (activities)
Weighting: 20%
Learning Objectivities: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9

Research Proposal
4000 word research proposal following appropriate Faculty template. This can be done in three parts as described above.
Due Date: Week 13
Weighting: 60%
Learning Objectivities: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9

Submission

All assignments must be submitted electronically either as blogs or as email attachments to the lecturer by 12:00 midnight of the Friday of the due week.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

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Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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