IL33320 - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Module Identifier

IL33320

Module Title

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Academic Year

2003/2004

Co-ordinator

Mr Raymond E Lonsdale

Semester

Semester 1

Other staff

Mr Allen E Foster, Dr Christopher M Baggs, Dr David A Stoker, Professor David Ellis

Course delivery

Lecture

13 Hours 13 x 1 hour lectrures

Seminars / Tutorials

7 seminars

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	Critical evaluation of four references chosen from the bibliography (equivalent to 2,000 words) - weighted 25%.
Semester Assessment	Compilation of bibliography of 20-30 resources after conducting a literature search on a chosen topic (equivalent to 2,000 words) - weighted 25%.
Semester Assessment	Formulation of a research proposal for the research project (equivalent to 3,000 words) - weighted 50%.

Learning outcomes

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

Discuss the nature of research and its relationship to professional practice

Describe the research process and identify the sections of a research proposal

Identify and search bibliographical sources of information about research

Undertake a literature search in the field of Information and Library Science

Demonstrate the principles of a literature review, and evaluate published information sources as a precursor to creating a literature review

Design a simple survey, and be able to use a range of basic descriptive statistics

Explain other relevant quantitative and qualitative research methods such as the case study and the comparative method

Analyse information and data gathered during the course of a project, be able to write a report, and consider ways of disseminating the results

Describe how to estimate the resources required to carry out the investigation and manage a project

Brief description

This module provides a basic introduction to research methods which can be used within information and library services professions. It will help students to propose, plan and carry out small-scale in-house investigations. It will lay a foundation for personal research such as the dissertation, or possibly a masters or other higher degree at a later date. This might not be part of the students? personal agenda at the present time, but continuing professional development plays an increasingly important role in the careers of information workers.

Aims

The aim of this module is to provide a basic introduction to research methods, which can be used within information and library services. It will help students to plan, propose and execute small-scale in-house investigations. It will lay a foundation for personal research such as the dissertation, or possibly a masters or other higher degree at a later date. This might not be part of the students? personal agenda at the present time, but continuing professional development plays an increasingly important role in the careers of information workers.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Background
Bell Judith (1993) Doing your research project: a guide for first time researchers in education and social science 2nd. Buckingham: Open University Press
Birley G. and Moreland N.A (1998) A practical guide to academic research Kogan Page
Blaxter L. et al (1995) How to research Buckingham: Open University Press
Bryman A (2001) Social research methods Open University Press
CRUS CRUS guides (series of guides published by University of Sheffield?s Centre for Research in User Studies
Gash S (2000) Effective Literature Searching for Research 2nd. Aldershot: Gower

Articles
Eager C. and Oppenheim C (1996) An observational method for undertaking user needs studies Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 28, pp15-23
Fidel R (1984) The case study method: a case study LISR 3, pp273-288
Goulding A (1997) Joking, being aggressive and shutting people up: the use of focus groups in LIS research Education for Information 15, pp331-341
Kuhlthau C.C (1991) Inside the search process: information seeking from the user?s perspective Journal of the American Society for Information Science 42(5), pp361-371

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6