MSc Educational Research Methods(Part-Time)

Year 1

Learning outcomes

On completion of the programme students should have shown evidence of being able to:

- demonstrate in-depth specialist knowledge and mastery of techniques relevant to the discipline and to demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of concepts, information and techniques informed by knowledge across or in aspects at, the forefront of the discipline, namely the nature and design of educational research, including the diversity of its traditions, paradigms and ongoing debates, including evaluation, practitioner and committed stance forms of research, and epistemological, ontological and ethical issues;
- exhibit mastery in the exercise of generic and subject-specific intellectual abilities, namely the nature and role of surveys and questionnaires, experiemental and case study approaches, interviewing and naturalistic observation, alternative sampling procedures, triangulation and data integration, statistical description and testing, and the use of computer packages to manage and analyse numeric and non-numeric forms of data;
- demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to their own research, advanced scholarship, namely effective management and analysis using computer packages of textual and visual forms of data and of numerical data sets and introductory understanding of the use of multivariate statistical procedures in educational research. They should also be able to design, implement, analyse and report a small-scale research project;
- take a proactive and self-reflective role in working and to develop professional relationships with others;
- proactively formulate ideas and hypotheses and to evaluate these;
- evaluate current issues and research in the discipline.

Transferable (key) skills

Masters (Taught) students will have had the opportunity to acquire the following abilities as defined in the modules specified for the programme:

- the skills necessary to undertake a higher research degree and/or for employment in a higher capacity in industry or area of professional practice;
- evaluating their own achievement and that of others;
- self direction and effective decision making in complex and unpredictable situations;
- independent learning and the ability to work in a way which ensures continuing professional development;
- critical engagement in the development of professional/disciplinary boundaries and norms.

Assessment

Achievement for the degree of Master (taught programme) will be assessed by a variety of methods in accordance with the learning outcomes of the modules specified for the year/programme and will involve the achievement of the students in:

- evidencing an ability to conduct independent in-depth enquiry within the discipline;
- demonstrating the ability to apply breadth and/or depth of knowledge to a complex specialist area;
- drawing on a range of perspectives on an area of study;
- evaluating and criticising received opinion;
- making reasoned judgements whilst understanding the limitations on judgements made in the absence of complete data.