Module: EDU6000-20 Education Dissertation Part 1

Level: 6

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Chloe Shu-Hua Yeh

Module Tutor Contact Details: c.yeh@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:  

EDU6000 Education Research Part 1 lays the foundations for you to carry out research in the field of education related to your award. It is a chance to build on the knowledge, understanding and skills you have already acquired through your work at levels 4 and 5. You will choose an education issue, question or topic which you are very interested in, an area which you have already looked into and would like to develop further, or an aspect of education which you think will be useful for your future career.

In this unit you will consider research methodologies, write a literature review and design a piece of research on a topic of your choice. What you write will depend on the type of research you choose to do. It is often a theoretically informed, small-scale empirical enquiry but a range of other kinds of educational research and enquiry are possible. You are expected to work independently, researching your topic thoroughly. 

You will produce a formative 1000 word research proposal. You will also complete the ethics approval as a mandatory requirement for any students who plan to conduct a research at the Bath Spa University. You will also complete a summative assessment - Dissertation Part 1 - 4000 words.

There will also be opportunity to engage in lectures, seminars, tutorials, and a number of support materials specific to this module. These will include blended learning sessions and key readings on Minerva.  In addition, there will be a range of online resources designed to support the development of your individual project.

2.Outline syllabus:

Content

• What is educational research 

• Common educational research approaches 

• Developing research questions and research design

• Philosophical foundation of research 

• Research ethics 

• Ensuring research quality  

• Primary research - qualitative 

• Primary research - quantitative 

• Secondary research - systematic literature review 

• Secondary research - critical discourse analysis to secondary documents 

• Theoretical research 

• Academic writing and Critical thinking

• Developing research questions and research design

3.Teaching and learning activities:

• Lectures

• Seminars

• Tutorials

• Online Resources

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Dissertation (4000 words)

• % Weighting: 100