Module Information

This module is designed to be an integral component of the new RT masters courses which the University has introduced. Through this module Masters and PhD students will gain a broad knowledge of a range of research skills which they can apply in a variety of research contexts.

This module aims to give research students a knowledge of the basic principles of research design and strategy. It will enable them to demonstrate their capacity to: formulate their research question, analyse them and where appropriate, formulate testable hypothesis; explain why their research questions are significant, what kinds of question theirs epistemologically are and why they are adopting their chosen modes/methods of enquiry; and assess the implications of the outcomes of their research. To this end, this module provides students with a sytematically guided opportunity to familiarise themselves with certain key issues in the philosophy of social science and of history, such as: causation and multi-causality; modes of explanation and understanding; the nature of historical knowledge; sampling, sampling error and generalizability; society/history as social/historical constructs; critical functions of social science.