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 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

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
3 class presentations of the case selection, methodological choices and preliminary findings associated to each of the 3 research project that constitute the summative assessments.	15-minute presentations (each)	1-9	Oral

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
3 x 1500 (33.33% each) word projects One project based on the component taught at each of the three institutions.	100	4500 words	1-10	Written Feedback
	0
	0
	0
	0
	0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
3 x 1500 word projects (each one based on the components taught at the three institutions)	3 x 1500 practical assignments based on the word projects seen at each of the three institutions	1-10	August/September reassessment period

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Imai, Kosuke. (2017). Quantitative Social Science: An Introduction. Princeton University Press,