Postgraduate Course: Research Design for Societal Challenges (PGSP11630)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Develop strong skills in social science research design through a rigorous introduction to intellectual, practical, and ethical challenges of social science research. Learn to connect epistemology and ontology to methods, evaluate diverse approaches, manage projects, and communicate impactful, real-world research with confidence and academic integrity across disciplines and professional contexts. This course is a good primer for planning and conducting research for academic dissertations, through to learning how to respond to research tenders. |
| Course description |
This course offers postgraduate students a rigorous introduction to the intellectual, practical and ethical challenges of research design. It focuses on how to plan, justify, and execute research to produce high-quality findings with academic rigour. Emphasis is placed on understanding how the epistemological and ontological basis of social science research provides the foundations for the creation of research questions and methodological choices. This course develops transferable skills for constructing effective and persuasive research designs. Students will learn to critically assess the strengths of diverse research approaches and design feasible projects that respond to real-world societal challenges. In addition, the course introduces key principles of project management within a research context and explores strategies for disseminating findings to relevant audiences. By the end, students will be equipped to design, evaluate, and communicate research with confidence and academic integrity.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Research Design (PGSP11208)
|
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 80 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
75 %,
Practical Exam
25 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Group presentation - 25%
Reflective essay - 75% - max 3000 words
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| Feedback |
Feedback on all assessed work shall normally be returned within three weeks of submission. Where this is not possible, students shall be given clear expectations regarding the timing and methods of feedback. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the principles of research design
- Evaluate the robustness of research projects that use a range of approaches and methods
- Demonstrate the ability to create a feasible research design in response to societal challenges.
- Establish an understanding of the principles of project management in research design.
- Formulate dissemination strategies for research.
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Reading List
Bechhofer, F. and Paterson, L. (2000) Principles of Research Design in the Social Sciences, London: Routledge
Blaikie, N. (2009) Designing Social Research, Cambridge: Polity
Hakim, C. (2000) Research Design: Successful Designs for Social and Economic Research, London: Routledge
Hancké, B. (2009) Intelligent Research Design. A guide for beginning researchers in the social sciences, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Moses, J. and Knutsen, T. (2007) Ways of Knowing: Competing Methodologies in Social and Political Research, Basingstoke: Palgrave |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Developing independent thought through questioning norms, practices and opinions
Facilitating and co-producing solutions
Considering choices, decisions and their outcomes
Able to connect with and learn from others |
| Keywords | Social science,research design,ethics,project management |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Carin Runciman
Tel:
Email: Carin.Runciman@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Maria Brichs
Tel: (0131 6)51 3205
Email: mbrichs@ed.ac.uk |
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