Module Information

Module Identifier
PGM0330
Module Title
DATA COLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Academic Year
2008/2009
Co-ordinator
Dr Graeme A M Davies
Semester
Semester 1
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture 32 Hours.
Practical 25 Hours.
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment 2,500 word Quantitative Research Report.  Generate a set of testable hypotheses, discuss why specific variables were chosen, conduct univariate and multivariate analysis of those variables.  30%
Semester Assessment 3,000 word Qualitative essay - Application of methods.  Discuss the application of survey methods and three types of techniques to one of the research projects outlined in the handbook.  40%
Semester Assessment 2,500 word Text analysis assignment.  Write an essay which analyses an historical or contemporary text.  30%

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate competency in understanding and applying a range of research methods, to enable the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data
  • Display knowledge of the management of research data, and the use of IT in such data management
  • Demonstrate skills in conducting research in a manner which is consistent with professional practice
  • Demonstrate an awareness of the key skills involved in analysing quantitative and qualitative data

Brief description

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 methodological and analytical skills which they can apply in a variety of research contexts.

Aims

This module aims to give students a broad knowledge of a range of methodological and analytical skills, which they can apply in a variety of research contexts. The course is designed to give students a grounding in the basic principles of both qualitative and quantitative research methodology. It will provide students with an introduction to the major methods of qualitative data collection and analysis, how qualitative data are actively constructed and interpreted by the researcher, and an appreciation of the practical and epistemological concerns raised by qualitative data collection.This will include a consideration of questionnaire design, interviewing techniques, survey design and qualitative data analysis. This will be complimented by an analysis of the principles of quantitative research data and data analysis. The module will introduce students to the basic techniques of analysis, presentation and description of statistics, and in particular to SPSS using the PC Windows version.

Content

The module covers the following topics:

Qualitiative.
  • Combining methods
  • Data sources and context
  • Internet data collection
  • Survey design and interviewing
  • Questionnaire design
  • The nature and use of qualitative data
  • Focus groups
  • Participant observation
  • Semi-structured interviewing
  • Archival and documentary analysis
  • Content and discourse analysis
Quantitative
  • Measures of central tendancy
  • Dispersion- SPSS
  • Hypothesis testing - SPSS
  • Relations between two variables - SPSS
  • Multivariate Data analysis - SPSS

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7