2024/25 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

SLSP5502M Research Strategy and Design

30 creditsClass Size: 180

Module manager: Dr Stella Oluwaseun
Email: S.C.Oluwaseun@Leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2024/25

This module is mutually exclusive with

SLSP5330M	Researching Gender/ Feminist Research
SLSP5366M	Approaches and Methods for Media and Culture

This module is not approved as an Elective

Module summary

This module focuses on the development of the methodological imagination. It will lead students to chart a course that neither depends on grand theorising nor abstract empiricism, but brings theory into a relation with evidence to investigate the social and cultural world. Research Strategy and Design is intended to equip students with foundational skills to build a bridge between the philosophy of social methods and the methods to investigate social problems; the critical faculties to interrogate the assumptions social researchers (and they) bring to the purposeful choice of methods to investigate, describe, interpret, and explain the social world; and the practical resources to design ethical and potentially impactful research and apply research methods to answer research questions.

Objectives

The module will help students to:
• understand the philosophical premises upon which (social) science research rests
• critically identify the links between descriptive / explanatory social science and normative discourse
• engage reflexively and ethically with the production of knowledge in social research
• develop research questions that formally express intellectual puzzles in social science research
• critically develop and refine a diverse range of skills necessary for social research (that may be applied in researching and writing a dissertation, for instance)

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
• understand the connections between different methodological perspectives and practical research strategies
• understand the connection between research problem, research questions or hypotheses and the methods required to explore these
• understand and critically evaluate the application of qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods in social research
• recognise, confront and resolve key issues and questions in the design and management of social research
• design a piece of social research and write a research proposal

Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
1. Apply critical thinking skills to a range of social issues
2. Deploy system thinking skills to a variety of social debates
3. Communicate complex information, including concepts, verbally and in written form
4. Present complex information on social issues verbally
5. Create digital content showcasing social issues using appropriate software package
6. Manage time appropriately to meet targets for completion of presentation
7. Employ ethical practices in the use of multiple academic sources to support your understanding of own work
8. Showcase evidence of independent thought

Syllabus

Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	11	1.00	11.00
Seminar	11	2.00	22.00
Private study hours			267.00
Total Contact hours			33.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			300.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

The students receive feedback from their dissertation supervisors on the two formative assessments which help them towards the summative assessment. There is also opportunity for peer feedback on the presentations in the final seminars to help students towards preparing for the research proposal (summative assessment).

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Assignment	Coursework	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 03/04/2024

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