module
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
SSIM904: Research Design Methods and Skills for AQM
This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
This course is delivered over six days, divided into two half-days at each institution (Bath, Bristol, Exeter) plus pre-reading material online in advance of each half-day session. Each half-day will entail lecture time plus seminars to discuss the material introduced. The main topics to be covered include: ontology and epistemology in social research; varieties of approaches to research design from different disciplinary backgrounds; question design and formulation; criteria for evaluating research and strategies to enhance research quality; critical evaluation of different methodologies; preparing research proposals and communicating research.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | 129 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 12 | 6 x 2 hours of lectures (2 hours per ½ day session). These lectures cover the main concepts of the course. |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 9 | 6 x 1.5 hours of tutorials/seminars (1.5 hours per ½ day session) .These practical sessions cover the application of techniques |
| Guided Independent Study | 30 | Reading the relevant literature discussed in class |
| Guided independent study | 60 | Reading and preparing materials for the 3 research projects that constitute the modules summative assessment |
| Guided independent study | 39 | Acquiring additional experience with software and computing tools required to conduct the type of analyses discussed in class |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
http://imai.princeton.edu/software/index.html
UK Data Services - https://www.ukdataservice.ac.uk
NCRM - http://www.ncrm.ac.uk