Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SSIM904: Research Design Methods and Skills for AQM

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 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 ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
211290

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities126 x 2 hours of lectures (2 hours per ½ day session). These lectures cover the main concepts of the course.
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities9 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 Study30 Reading the relevant literature discussed in class
Guided independent study60 Reading and preparing materials for the 3 research projects that constitute the module’s summative assessment
Guided independent study39Acquiring 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