Action Research

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

As well as to potential action researchers this course appeals to those for whom AR is not a possibility but who are interested in reflexive and participatory approaches. The course starts with definitions of action research and an introduction some of the theoretical perspectives to be picked up later in the course. The practicalities of planning and structuring a project using both cyclical and linear approaches are considered.

You will explore the tension between the participant and researcher and how this impacts on the micro politics of the research setting. A review of the methodological implications of different theoretical stances will focus especially on critical theory and post-modernism. Reviews of frameworks for evaluating action research will lead to discussion of the extent to which claims made by AR enthusiasts can be justified.

The course will encourage you to participate and will offer opportunities for you to give your own presentations. Readings may also be differentiated according to your background and interests. As action research is not a method as such it will adopt a reflective approach rather than provide tips for new researchers. Throughout the course, you will be asked to keep a reflective journal, which will form the basis for assessment and will feed into discussion.

During the course you will: develop understanding of practical and political issues posed by action-orientated research in a variety of settings; develop a theoretical stance towards action-oriented and participatory research and gain competence in planning and evaluating action research projects.

Comparative Method

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

During this course you will cover the rationale of comparative method, its variety, development and problems. More specifically you will consider the logic of comparative inquiry, the number of cases involved, the issues of measurement and bias, and QCA methods, before completing exercises in which you are required to design comparative research proposals and to critique published research.

By the end of the course you will have developed a critical understanding of and competence in the purpose and value of comparison; the range and variety of comparison; the logic of comparitive inquiry; case selection and truth tables and designing comparative research projects.

Discourse Analysis

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This course provides you with an introduction to and hands-on experience of carrying out discourse analysis. Whereas most methodological approaches treat linguistic and other textual material as an unproblematic representation (of social relations, cognitions etc.), discourse analysis suggests that texts may have performative or rhetorical functions: mitigating blame, justifying power relations, creating consensus, and so on. The task of discourse analysis is to unravel the form and functions of particular discursive constructions in themselves, and to indicate how they arise from particular social contexts.

Discourse analysis is essentially a way of thinking about (and being sensitive to) textual material. However, researchers have developed a number of techniques for carrying out analysis, which you will be introduced to during the course. Discourse analysis is not a unitary approach. Varieties of discourse analysis have their roots in ethnomethodology, speech act theory, post-structuralism and critical linguistics. Versions of discourse analysis have been applied in a range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, including literary theory, cultural and media studies, sociology, linguistics and education studies. Social (and, to a lesser extent, health) psychology provide the disciplinary framework for this course. However, you will find the principles and techniques presented in the course relevant to other disciplines. The course will cover three types of discourse analysis: discursive psychology, Foucauldian Discourse Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis. The readings provided will act as pointers to, and references for, other forms of discourse analysis not covered in the course.

Ethnographic Methods of Data Collection

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This course develops your understanding of, and competence in, ethnographic research methods. You will address various questions of data collection within familiar and unfamiliar societies and social settings, exploring what kinds of information ethnographers can look for and find. You will uncover the romantic and the practical aspects of conducting ethnography.

You will acquire knowledge of ethnographic research through both reading secondary accounts and, most importantly, by designing and conducting a research project in collaboration with others. As part of a small team made up of two-five people, you will conceptualise a research problem, identify appropriate ethnographic methods to investigate it, design a research strategy, carry out the research, reflect critically on the research process and collectively develop and undertake a group presentation for the tutor and larger seminar group. The course focuses on access to ethnographic settings, comportment in the field, and the interpretation of observations. It concentrates on the process of recording ethnographic data through field notes, and encourages you to reflect on the process of turning fieldwork into a narrative account. You will also be asked to reflect on the possibilities and limitations of ethnographic methods within the wider framework of research methods.

Evidence for Policy and Practice: A Critical Stance

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

Evidence has become a major part of governments' approaches to policy making, practice intervention and part of the machinery of evaluation, 'what works' and best value. There are undoubtedly many competing ideas about evidence led policy and practice, and many models from which we can learn a great deal. The competing ideas are complex and involve not only highly technical problems of logic and scientific fact but also larger philosophical considerations about the nature of meaning and knowledge, as well as questions about the relation between research, policy and practice.

This course will take a critical stance in analysing the relationship between research, knowledge production and policy, practice dissemination and professional decision making. You will explore research from the perspective of researchers, policy makers, practitioners and professional decision makers, and explore methods of evidence informed practice. You will draw on the extensive emerging literature of a theoretical nature, research synthesis and systematic reviews to provide a critical understanding, and practical models based on real examples.

Gender Politics and Social Research

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This module approaches feminist theory and methodology at advanced levels, critically exploring feminist research on a number of different issues and engaging with the politics of the research process itself. As a core module on the MA in Gender Studies, it is intended to prepare you to conduct independent research and to produce your dissertation.

The first half of the module introduces different methodologies and methods, encouraging you to reflect critically on their strengths and weaknesses, and how feminists have used them in the service of political projects. In the second half of the module, you will design research projects on two case-study issues and attempt to operationalise key feminist theories.

International Relations Theory

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This module introduces you to the major theories of international relations. We will investigate the historical context in which these theories emerged, which aspects of international affairs they focus on and how they explain international politics. We will tease out the strengths and weaknesses of these theories and identify their respective conceptions of international relations in theory and practice. The module provides a 'map' of international thought which enables you to identify your own and others positions and to reflect on your theoretical and political implications.

Introduction to Qualitative Methods

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This course introduces you to the nature and characteristics of qualitative social research and its applications in a range of contexts. It will also equip you with some key personal and practical skills relevant to successful qualitative research.

The course comprises of four sections. Section one will introduce the variety of methodological positions and research practices associated with qualitative research strategies. Section two focuses on the nature of ethnographic fieldwork and provides critical contexts for its exploration. Section three uses the key data collection method of interviewing to take you through the research process and especially issues in the analysis of qualitative data. Section four deals with the key dimensions of ethics and politics in qualitative settings and critically assesses the feminist contribution to qualitative methodology. The course will also include a workshop on NVivo.

Introduction to Quantitative Methods

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

Participatory Research in Cross-Cultural Contexts

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

There is a common perception that there are many opportunities for those based in an academic environment to get involved in research relating to different aspects of organisational and community development, but in practice many communities are dissatisfied with 'research as usual', often because of raised and unmet expectations, and complexities emanating from widely different cultural contexts. The course responds to this situation, and motivates researchers to come up with something different: research that is purposeful and empowering of the communities they work with within a specific context. The realisation of the limitations of traditional research in community development has resulted in increasing interest in participatory research (PR). But many researchers enter the practice of PR with little or no training, even if they are guided by a personal belief and set of values in participation for development and social change. This course will explore the basic principles that underpin PR, and examines the pitfalls that researchers may come across when using PR approaches, particularly in terms of their relationships and accountabilities to the communities they work with in a wide range of cultural contexts.

The course will explore the different responsibilities and expectations that arise amongst different stakeholders in the research process and outcomes, and also the range of strategies, approaches and methods which may be appropriate in different contexts. It will include some hands-on practice of specific participatory research methods, and highlight some possibilities for synergies between PR approaches and other forms of research.

Philosophy of Science and Social Science Research Practice

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

The aim of this course is to introduce you to some of the standard methodological and philosophical problems posed by social inquiry. These mostly branch out from one central question: are the methods of the social sciences essentially the same or essentially different from those of the natural sciences? An additional aim of the course is to show how theoretical and philosophical traditions in social science influence the methodological approaches and theoretical models that guide social research practice.

Each week we take one or, in some cases, two examples of major philosophical or theoretical approaches. These will be outlined with an emphasis on the theoretical model of society that they advocate. Secondly, it will be demonstrated what methodological implications for social research follow from these philosophical and theoretical ideas. In this way it will be shown that broad theoretical frameworks and concepts, often based in philosophical traditions, lead to particular methodological approaches around theoretical models. Overall the objective of the course is to show how theory can be instrumentalized in shaping research methodology.

The topics that will be addressed include: developments in the philosophy of science from positivism to post-positivism and their relevance to social inquiry, explanation versus interpretation and the interpretive critique of social science; problems of validity and values; realism and constructivism; the advantages and disadvantages of taking a critical stance; and feminist and postcolonial critiques of social science. Although the problems will be illustrated in specific texts, you are also encouraged to pursue parallel arguments in different sources.

Policy and Programme Evaluation Research

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

Research Design and Ethics

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This research design course is taught by a multi-disciplinary team representing education, law and social work. Examples and perspectives relevant to these disciplines are drawn on. The course also provides a general introduction to methods and methodologies in the design of social research projects. The aim is to provide you with a grounding in the major research traditions and the requirements of research design within a range of paradigms associated with both quantitative and qualitative methods.

In particular the course will focus on distinguishing methodologies and methods; finding a research focus and generating research questions; using quantitative methods in research design; using qualitative methods in research design; combining qualitative and quantitative data in research design; ethical issues in social research with special reference to professional settings and post modernity and social research.

Research, Professions and Power

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

Researching Childhood and Youth

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

Self, Voice and Creativity in Research Writing

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This course will provide an opportunity for you to reflect on your writing process and on yourselves as writers, through reading and seminar discussion, as well as through the practice of writing techniques and creative writing exercises specially designed for this purpose. We will focus on academic writing as a genre, or 'authoritative discourse' in Mikhail Bakhtin's terms, and explore ways in which writers can develop their own voice and self-presence within it. We will consider the effect of the imagined reader in the writing process, such as the examiner or the institution, on the development of voice and writing identity in this context and how it impacts on the way we tell the story of our research. You will be expected to keep a learning journal during the course and to write a reflective paper on their learning at the end of the course. If feasible, at least one of the sessions will be held in the University's Creativity Zone.

Socio-legal Research Methods

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

Theories and Typologies of Migration

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This introductory core course examines a wide range of theoretical and conceptual frameworks for studying migration, both international and internal within countries. These frameworks encompass explanations of migration based on distance and interaction; individual and group behavioural models; 'push-pull' theory; micro-and macro-economic theories; the meso-level approach of families, organisations and social capital; Marxist interpretations; networks and systems; integration and assimilation; and theories which stress the gendered nature of migration. In addition we will examine the complex relationships between migration and (under)development as well as notions of diaspora, transnationalism, culture and identity. The course will seek to adopt an interdisciplinary perspective, though it will draw from relevant disciplinary theory in explaining the causes and consequences of migration. The relevance of theoretical and conceptual debates over migration to broader concerns of social science will also be explored.

Theories of Development and Underdevelopment

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

On this course you will examine the theories associated with modernisation, dependency, participatory approaches, post-modernism and all-encompassing trope 'globalisation'. You will explore how our thinking about development has changed over time and why it has changed. While theoretical in orientation, you will consider through seminar discussions that the division between 'theory' and 'practice' is to some extent misleading.

Understanding Processes of Social Change

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This module introduces you to classical sociological theories informing mainstream anthropological analyses of social change. You will focus on theorisations of wider processes of modernisation and change from structural, political and economic perspectives. You will consider debates concerning the effects and consequences of modernisation processes on social, political and economic realms, such as the formation of nation states, state bureaucracy and civil society; the development of markets and commoditisation of economic, social and cultural relationships. You will also reflect on recent critical approaches to the study of modernity and change as represented by theoretical trends associated to feminist theory, postmodernism, postcolonial studies and contemporary social theory. Particular attention will be paid to issues of globalisation and transnationalism; colonial and postcolonial relationships; and discursive constitution of practices and representations of modernity.