THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Moray House School of Education and Sport : Research (EDU)

Postgraduate Course: The Nature of Enquiry (EdD) (REDU12002)

Course Outline
SchoolMoray House School of Education and Sport CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 12 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe aim of this course is to introduce philosophical and epistemological perspectives that inform the aims and practices of social and educational research. Discussion of the main debates between the various schools or paradigms will lead to a consideration of the arguments and assumptions which each makes about the social world. The course will focus on issues of methodology (i.e., the principles of research) rather than on providing training in the use of specific research methods, but these will then be linked with the discussions in other courses on the actual practice of research. It is also important that a course of this nature should address the values and ethical problems inherent in social and educational research and this course introduces them.
Course description Not entered
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  0
Course Start Full Year
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Learning and Teaching Activities
Assessment (Further Info) Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Assessment Methods
Additional Information (Assessment) Students should submit and assignment of 4,000 to 5,000 words that explores the nature, the context and the goals of social enquiry. The assignment should be illustrated with references to their own area of research interest and/or professional expertise.
The assignment might be tackled in a variety of ways. For example, it might involve a detailed discussion of the influence of a particular paradigm on research in their area, or it might take the form of an argument for more diversity, e.g. an argument (eg. an argument concerning the need to move away from a positivist perception of enquiry to a more interpretivist model). It should not be merely a descriptive account of the main features of positivist, structuralist and/or intrepretivist approaches to social enquiry.
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Academic year 2021/22, Not available to visiting students (SS2) Quota:  None
Course Start Full Year
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Learning and Teaching Activities
Assessment (Further Info) Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Assessment Methods
Additional Information (Assessment) Students should submit and assignment of 4,000 to 5,000 words that explores the nature, the context and the goals of social enquiry. The assignment should be illustrated with references to their own area of research interest and/or professional expertise.
The assignment might be tackled in a variety of ways. For example, it might involve a detailed discussion of the influence of a particular paradigm on research in their area, or it might take the form of an argument for more diversity, e.g. an argument (eg. an argument concerning the need to move away from a positivist perception of enquiry to a more interpretivist model). It should not be merely a descriptive account of the main features of positivist, structuralist and/or intrepretivist approaches to social enquiry.
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course students should be able to:

identify the main traditions/paradigms of social and education research

analyse the ways in which the different methodological positions affect research questions, research design and the choice of data collection instruments and analysis techniques

discuss the contribution of systematic enquiry to understanding social and educational issues and developing public policies to address these issues

demonstrate an awareness of the values and ethical debates inherent in social and educational research

Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserProf Morwenna Griffiths
Tel: (0131 6)51 6104
Email: morwenna.griffiths@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Mairi Ross
Tel: (0131 6)51 6433
Email: Mairi.Ross@ed.ac.uk
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