RM100 Introduction to Research Methods This unit provides students from a wide diversity of social science backgrounds with an appreciation of the ways in which social science research is undertaken. No mathematical experience is presumed and no prior research exposure is expected. The unit is not a statistics unit per se. Indeed, some statistical language will be introduced and the logic of statistical testing will be one way of looking at data analysis. High levels of mathematical ability are not required.
RM150 Introduction to Statistical Methods
This unit will complement RM100 by focussing on the statistical thinking and methodologies associated with collecting and managing data and transforming data into information. The unit provides an introduction to the iterative nature of investigation and the selection and use of various statistical methodologies and designs towards inference (estimation and hypothesis testing).
RM5015 Writing a Literature Review
This unit will be conducted in a 'writers' workshop' mode. While an initial teaching session will establish the guidelines and principles of a good literature review, exemplars of literature reviews from a variety of sources and disciplines will be offered as models. The bulk of the time of the unit will require participants to start writing a literature review and develop a style that suits their purpose and research question. Each day will consist of an analysis of the participants' efforts within a collaborative critique to offer guidelines towards further improvement and focus. It is envisaged that each participant will re-write their review, or at least significant parts of it, a number of times within this process. This unit will be offered in the intensive mode in the Winter Term. It is anticipated that a number of staff will assist in the presentation of this unit.
RM5050 Research Ethics This Unit offers those students interested in the ethics of research an exploration of the best current practice as well as a survey of the requirements of the various ethics bodies for the conduct of empirical research. This unit will prepare students for the requirement of a Research Proposal and the submission of the research plan to the UNDA Ethics Committee as well as acquaint intending research students with the ethics requirements for their research. The approach of this unit is not that Ethics approval is a necessary evil. This unit encourages students to engage with ethical concerns, both the research of others and their own proposed research, in the sense that better understanding the problems will facilitate better outcomes and more robust research. Hence, ethics will be constructed as a powerful force to promote the usefulness and appropriateness of the research project. The unit will take a multi-disciplinary approach to the topics covered while expecting that students will be immersed in the literature and defend their views by close reference to the literature. The unit will allow students to engage with the developing literature of research ethics and at the same time expand their understanding of the compliance issues and the possible alternative approaches of their own research projects.
