Topic outline

  • About the module

    At this level and throughout the first semester, the research methodology module builds on students' prior knowledge of the research process. In that, it departs from revisiting students' understanding of how scientific research works; and focuses primarily on the scientific method. It then discusses in greater depth how research can be conducted using different approaches (i.e., quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods), designs, data collection instruments and analysis methods. The goal is to introduce students to the historical and current methodological debates and support them in developing an understanding and a feel of what these methods look like in practice.   

       

  • Contact Details

    Module Convenor: Dr Chaima MENNAI

    Email Address: mennai-chaima@univ-eloued.dz

    Credits: 2

    Coefficient: 1

    Target group: 1 Year Master Students.

    Weekly hours: 1.30

    Assessment: 50% Exam & 50% continuous evaluation (i.e. cc)

    At the department: 

                              Monday from 11h00 -03h30pm 

                               Tuesday from 08h00 - 11h00

                               Thursday from 09h30 - 12h30

                         

    Via email: 

    I try to respond to emails within 72 hours on working days (Sunday to Thursday). If you email outside these times, for example, at the weekend or when I am taking leave, it will take me longer to reply.  If I do not respond to your email, this will not be intentional, and therefore, please don’t hesitate to email me again with a reminder.

    • Intended Learning Outcomes

      Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

      Module-Specific Skills and Knowledge

      Demonstrate a critical understanding of a range of research methods used in research. 

      Demonstrate critical awareness of the place of quantitative and qualitative data in the different formats of research instruments.

      Synthesise and communicate the outcomes of research clearly, and with criticality to specialist and non-specialist audiences

      Discipline-Specific Skills and Knowledge

      Formulate effective research questions.

      Formulate testable hypotheses. 

      Design their research instrument, including a questionnaire, observation and interview schedule.

      Key Transferable Skills and Knowledge

      Synthesise and organise ideas to present a critical argument

      Undertake both directed and independent study to recognise, justify and analyse key ideas in the literature and relate these to research, theory, policy and practice




      • The Nature and the Process of the Scientific Method

      • Introduction to Research Approaches

      • Introduction to Research Approaches, cont'd

      • Workshop: looking closely at the competing dichotomies

        • QUANT vs QUAL        INDUCTIVE vs DEDUCTIVE 
        • Essential Material Folder

          The enclosed articles represent two examples: one for an inductive approach and the other for a deductive one. Make sure that you read through them and pinpoint the differences between them.

          Instructions to guide your reading and comparison: Look at the methodology used by both articles and state the differences in reporting. Also, check the findings sections of both articles. Look at how the authors used previous research in their reporting...etc

      • Mixed Methods Research

      • Mixed Methods Research...Cont'd

      • Introduction to Research Designs

        • Survey Research Design

        • Examples of survey research Folder

          Using closed-ended and/or open-ended questions, the two studies illustrate two common approaches to generating data through surveys. Check out these questions and how they relate to the research objective.

      • Introduction to Research Designs...Cont'd

        • Case Study Design 

        • Case Study: An Example to Explore (Education) Page

          A case study design was employed in the example provided to investigate teachers' beliefs and practices regarding grammar instruction. You do not have to read the entire document to understand how case studies can be used in education. As you can see from the introduction (in particular, the first paragraph and section on the Aims of the Study), the researcher is attempting to investigate 'ONE THING' (e.g., grammar teaching beliefs and practices) through the accounts of in-service teachers over a sustained period of time (i.e., within a bounded context). 

          For those of you who would like to gain a better understanding of the methodology of case study in education, you may want to refer to pages 37 and 38 of the methodology chapter.



        • CHECK THE EXAMPLE THROUGH THIS LINK! URL
          • Using the link provided here, you will be able to open the document containing the example outlined above (Case Study from Education) by simply clicking on it.

        • Case Study: An Example to Explore (Literature) Page

          In the example provided, a case study is not explicitly mentioned here as a design for framing the research. It is evident, however, that the dissertation exhibits the main characteristics of a case study. As an example, the study is bounded (i.e., in The Kite Runner's novel) and focused on 'ONE THING' in some detail (i.e., the dichotomy between guilt and atonement).


        • CHECK THE EXAMPLE IN THIS File!

          The example outlined above can be found here

        • Further Reading Folder

          In the folder, you will find a couple of resources that may be helpful if you wish to read more about case studies from various perspectives. 

      • Introduction to Research Designs...Cont'd