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Semester 1

Research Skills for Social Policy (SCPL08015)

Subject

Social Policy

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

2

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students should usually have at least 1 introductory level Social Policy course at grade B or above for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. Please see Additional Restrictions below.

Course Summary

This course will equip students with core research training skills in the field of Social Policy. It will also provide a forum for subject specific learning and community building. Working in small groups, students will develop: An understanding of the Research Process, An understanding of Research Design, An understanding of the basic principles of social research, An ability to learn to work with others in a group around a common problem, allocate tasks and responsibilities, mediate and manage group work processes, Confidence in the process.

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 European Social Policy and Evidence, Politics and 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.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 90%, Practical Exam 10%

Additional Restrictions

Students cannot take this course alongside Social Policy and Society (SCPL08004).

view the timetable and further details for this course