Course Title: Doing Research

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Doing Research

Credit Points: 12

Course Coordinator: Nicole Pepperell

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 8248

Course Coordinator Email:nicole.pepperell@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Bld 37.2.14

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment.

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

There are no pre-requisite courses or assumed knowledge and capabilities for this course.

Course Description

This course is designed to introduce you to the craft of social research, by providing the opportunity for a hands-on research apprenticeship in the applied social sciences. The course allows you to pursue your own individual research interests, guiding you through the process of turning your interest into a research question, then linking your research question to the concerns of the academic and professional communities to which you want to speak. You will receive practical experience in planning a research project, developing an effective research design, writing a research proposal, carrying out applied social science research, analysing and communicating research results, and participating in peer review processes and the publication of your research findings.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course will enable you to orient yourself to new fields of research, understand some of the major ways to evaluate the quality of research in your own field, and design, carry out, and communicate a simple social research project in your area of interest.

At the end of the course you will be able to:

• move from an interest or topic to a research question;
• link your research question with a problem that might be of interest to some particular community;
• think about your research from the point of view of the community to whom the research is addressed – this process involves working out what members of that community already think about your topic (for example, by reading what they have written on the topic, or talking with them), and what sorts of common assumptions and standards of argument the members of that community share;
• reflect on your research from the point of view of people who might disagree – this process involves anticipating and working out how to respond to reasonable objections that might be posed to your question, how you try to answer that question, or the conclusions you draw;
• work out how to break down your question into elements (sometimes called “variables” or “factors”) that define things you need to learn about during the research process;
• develop specific strategies that will enable you to learn the things you need to learn, whether through reading, analysing data that someone else has collected, or collecting data yourself;
• carry out those strategies – revising and modifying when appropriate based on the research experience;
• develop plans and proposals that map out the research process you will undertake;
• ask for, and take on board, feedback from your peers on your research design and on draft work;
• give constructive feedback on others’ research design and draft work;
• write about your research and communicate it to others, so that you can publish the work that you do and thereby make your work available to a community of readers.

In this course you will develop the following program capabilities:
• Communication
• Creativity
• Critical awareness
• Social responsibility
• Teamwork

Overview of Learning Activities

This course uses lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions, individual research, and collaborative group work. 

Overview of Learning Resources

You will use a prescribed text as well as additional online resources, including text, video and audio resources.  You will make extensive use of online resources, and you will have the option of also receiving training in common forms of software used in social research.

Overview of Assessment

You will have the opportunity to carry out an applied social research project in cumulative stages over the course of the term.  Your work will be assessed in several different stages, allowing you to receive and take into account feedback before moving on to more complex assessment tasks.  The course mark will involve components associated with class preparation and participation, verbal presentation, independent research, and written reports.