PP7003 - Module 4: Research Design: Methodology, Methods & Ethics

You will engage in independent, directed and collaborative learning on this module through a diverse range of teaching and learning approaches. You will participate in iterative, social, and critical debate in the learning community as you revisit your positionality, and articulate and consider design elements and developing an appreciation of the dynamic process of research project design. Students will be challenged to present/ defend a rationale for their overall design, looking at evaluative criteria such as coherence and alignment.

You will be supported by the research active module team and will be assigned an academic supervisor at this stage. In addition, this module requires engagement with your organisation/ intended site of research stakeholders. The module ELP site will provide relevant supporting content and online reading list. Your module tutor(s) will support you using a coaching style, and will work with you to establish a respectful, supporting and challenging relationship focused on meeting the module objectives.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:

1. Identify and critically appraise research philosophies and methodologies
2. Select appropriate research philosophies and methodologies aligned to your research interest
3. Construct a research proposal applying and justifying your philosophy/ methodology of choice
4. Demonstrate an understanding of research ethics & governance requirements, and their application related to your research proposal

Intellectual / Professional Skills & Abilities:

1. Develop skills in writing a research proposal
2. Prepare an ethics application for your research proposal

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

1. Enhance critical academic debate skills
2. Reflect on critical feedback of research proposal and ethics application

Formative Assessment:
A 60-minute stakeholder workshop (where the student designs and facilitates in their host organisation). PP presentation & discussion/Q&A session.
Draft ethics application form. Not assessed but this discussion should inform your submitted research design. (Students who are not part of a staff team, or who work alone can deliver their workshop to the teaching team).
MLO’s: KU: 1 - 4; IPSA: 1,2; PVA: 1, 2
Feedback: Discussion of verbal feedback from workshop with peers & tutors.

Summative Assessment: Pass/Fail
4500-word draft of a research design with commentary on process, rationale, evaluation against group designed criteria. Draft ethics application form. The commentary provided should draw on discussions arising from your stakeholder presentation.
MLO’s: KU: 1 - 4; IPSA: 1; PVA: 1,2
Feedback: Written feedback from tutors and allocated supervisor/s

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This module aims to equip you with the skills and knowledge to develop a research proposal. You will participate in iterative, social, and critical debate in the learning community and engage with potential fieldwork stakeholders to fulfil the module summative assessment. You will review positionality, practice-research context and philosophical / theoretical perspectives and understand how these influence the development of your research proposal. The module will focus on the process of identifying, appraising and applying relevant methodological approaches aligned to your research question, and enable you to construct a robust, critically reviewed research proposal and successful completion of a related ethics application. You will be assigned an academic supervisor at this stage.