Undergraduate Course: Research Skills for Social Policy (SCPL08015)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will provide opportunities to reflect critically on research in Social Policy and prepares students for designing their own independent research projects. Through lectures and hands-on tutorials, students will consider the strengths and limitations of different research designs, discuss ethical dilemmas and think carefully about what makes reliable, robust and relevant
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| Course description |
In this course we introduce the key building blocks of social research. It lays the theoretical and practical foundations for designing and conducting research in Social Policy. Key concepts are set within the context of specific Social Policy issues, and the syllabus complements other year 2 courses such as Comparative Social Policy: Global Perspectives and Evidence, Economy, and Social Policy.¿
The course is designed to support students of Social Policy in developing their skills and training for honours work and beyond. Introducing research skills in year 2 will provide a pathway to future courses in research methods in year 3 (which focus on quantitative and qualitative methods) and culminate in the honours Dissertation.
The course will be delivered through a combination of lectures and tutorials. By the end of the course, you will have taken part in a student-led tutorial and used the feedback from this group task to develop a research proposal for a piece of Social Policy research. This module will be assessed through tutorial participation (10%), a reflective blog (20%) and a final research report (70%).
By the end of the course, students will be able to identify key concepts and debates that relate to the research process, have had hand-on experience of research design and will be able to embed these skills in substantive discussion of current issues within Social Policy.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Social Policy and Society (SCPL08004)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 1 introductory level Social Policy course at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
166 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
90 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
10% Tutorial Participation - Engagement with tutorial sessions, assessed through the quality of the contribution to weekly discussions and group tasks.
20% Reflective Blogs - Students are required to write a short entry (300-400 words) at the end of each section of the course, reflecting on their own learning and the topics discussed.
70% Research Report (2,500 words) - Students draw on the themes throughout the course, including feedback from their reflective blogs to create a detailed research design for a project of their choice. |
| Feedback |
Feedback will be provided for tutorial exercises throughout the semester, helping to build to the final assignment |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the basic principles of social research.
- Identify and discuss key elements of the research process.
- Think critically about research design and methodological approaches.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how group work, working in teams and producing collaborative outputs can be important to the research process
- Consider different research methods within the broader framework of a research design.
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Reading List
Alasuutari, P., & Brannen, J. (2008). The SAGE handbook of social research methods edited by Pertti Alasuutari, Leonard Bickman, Julia Brannen. (P. Alasuutari, L. Bickman, & J. Brannen, Eds.). SAGE.
Becker, S., Bryman, A., & Ferguson, H. (2012). Understanding research for social policy and social work (second edition): Themes, methods and approaches (Harry Ferguson, Alan Bryman, Saul Becker, & Rebecca Swift, Eds.; REV-Revised, 2, Vol. 43640). Policy Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1t892hf
Byrne, D. (2022). Research design / David Byrne. SAGE Publications, Inc.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Helen Packwood
Tel: (0131 6)50 3912
Email: helen.packwood@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Brodie Hamilton
Tel: (0131 6)51 3139
Email: Brodie.Hamilton@ed.ac.uk |
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