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Unit of Study MAT93010 - Research Design and Methods (2017)

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Unit Snapshot

  • Enrolment information

    Students must have completed their undergraduate degree - or equivalent - with a GPA of five (5) or above.

Unit description

Introduces students to the methodologies, tools and techniques of research. Both qualitative and quantitative aspects of research methods will be addressed. The unit prepares students to undertake a substantial, independent research project in their area of scholarly interest. Students also learn to justify and defend their research proposal to an academic audience, via a formal seminar.

Unit content

Topic 1    Introduction to Honours research
Topic 2    Overview of research paradigms and methodologies
Topic 3    Planning research and the role of human ethics
Topic 4    Literature review
Topic 5    Research designs
Topic 6    Quantitative methods and data collection
Topic 7    Qualitative methods and data collection
Topic 8    Sampling for qualitative and quantitative research
Topic 9    Data analysis tools: Quantitative
Topic 10  Data analysis tools: Qualitative
Topic 11  Reporting research

Availabilities

Location Domestic International
Coffs Harbour Session 1 Session 1
Gold Coast Session 1 Session 1
Lismore Session 1 Session 1
Online Session 1 Session 1

Learning outcomes and graduate attributes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
Learning outcome count Learning outcome description GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the principles and practice of scholarly research
2 Formulate sound research questions and aims
3 Understand the role and importance of ethics in human research
4 critically assess, evaluate and choose alternative research designs, tools and methods for data collection and analysis (quantitative and qualitative approaches)
5 Define and design a research project and communicate this via oral presentation and written research proposal
6 Engage in self-directed research

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the principles and practice of scholarly research
    • GA1:
    • GA3:
  2. Formulate sound research questions and aims
    • GA1:
    • GA2:
  3. Understand the role and importance of ethics in human research
    • GA1:
    • GA3:
  4. critically assess, evaluate and choose alternative research designs, tools and methods for data collection and analysis (quantitative and qualitative approaches)
    • GA1:
    • GA2:
    • GA3:
  5. Define and design a research project and communicate this via oral presentation and written research proposal
    • GA1:
    • GA2:
    • GA3:
  6. Engage in self-directed research
    • GA1:
    • GA2:
    • GA3:

Prescribed learning resources

Prescribed Texts
  • No prescribed texts.

Prescribed Learning Resources may change in future Teaching Periods.