Students will build on the knowledge and skills gained in Research Methods 1 to gain a critical understanding of research principles in quantitative and qualitative research designs. Students will advance their use and understanding of statistics and data analysis in addition to learning about qualitative methodologies. To achieve the course objectives students will complete a research methods portfolio and write a qualitative research report.

10 x 1 hour Lecture

9 x 1 hour labs

None

Students will produce a qualitative report weighted at (50%, max of 3000 words) as well as a research portfolio (50%).

Students should expand their practical skills in quantitative analysis methods and use of statistical analysis software. Students should gain practical skills in formulating qualitative research questions and conducting qualitative research using focus groups, including ethics documentation. They should further develop their academic writing and analysis skills through writing a collaborative qualitative report and working as part of a research team.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Generate and explore research questions for qualitative research designs 

■ Select appropriate research designs and methodologies for different research questions and demonstrate critical awareness of the assumptions of these methods

■ Critically evaluate data sets from the wider psychological science community

■ Identify the ethical issues involved in qualitative research designs 

■ Work as a group to plan and execute a small-scale qualitative research project

■ Demonstrate critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of ideas through peer review and reflection

■ Use the programming language R to conduct a range of advanced inferential statistics.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.