In this portfolio-based unit, candidates demonstrate evidence of acquiring a range of research skills and practices appropriate to a higher degree by research degree with respect to research design. This unit develops candidates' understanding of strategies of inquiry and methodological approaches to research and the various decisions involved in creating a research design. An important component of the unit is developing strategies for research planning, including contingencies. The unit focuses on constructing appropriate research projects by illustrating the interactions between paradigms, theory, research questions and research methods for collecting and analysing data. Various methodologies are discussed and analysed to reveal the implicit but important assumptions that underpin them. Ethical issues involved in designing and conducting research are discussed and candidates will be familiar with the expectations of an ethics application to the Human Ethics Research Committee. A special emphasis is placed upon recognising the influences that choices about multiple components of research design have upon each other and the project as a whole. Pragmatic research management issues such as record keeping, data management, dissemination practices and authorship are also discussed.

Learning outcomes

The outcome of any unit for individual students is contingent upon what each student brings to class and the amount of energy and effort they deploy. However, a student who engages in all class activities with diligence can expect to be able to:
1. Identify research design issues and employ appropriate research methods appropriate for different paradigmatic research;
2. Critically evaluate designs in existing research according to relevant quality criteria;
3. Analyse interdependences between project components to explore how changes influence the overall design of a study and recognise the need to plan for contingencies in research;
4. Justify a research design that contributes to knowledge, evaluates existing systems, and addresses practical problems; and
5. Critically analyse the implications of ethics to identify relevant issues pursuant to ethical frameworks.

Graduate attributes

1. 黑料吃瓜网 graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. 黑料吃瓜网 graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. 黑料吃瓜网 graduates are professional - communicate effectively
2. 黑料吃瓜网 graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
3. 黑料吃瓜网 graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. 黑料吃瓜网 graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. 黑料吃瓜网 graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development

Prerequisites

10386 Research Fundamentals PG AND
10387 Reading and Critiquing Literature PG

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

6647 Research Methodology and Research Design PG AND 6648 Quantitative Research Methods B PG AND 6649 Qualitative Research Methods B PG

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.