Handbook : Unit informationEdith Cowan University

Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science

School: Nursing and Midwifery

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

• Unit Title

  Research Preparation: Principles and Approaches

• Unit Code

  RES5115

• Year

  2015

• Enrolment Period

  1

• Version

  2

• Credit Points

  20

• Full Year Unit

  N

• Mode of Delivery

  On Campus
  Online

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Description

The unit introduces the principles underlying the theory of knowledge and how this affects the approaches taken in research, before addressing the principles of research design. Students are exposed to a range of specific research methods, including quantitative and qualitative research methods. The unit considers issues and methods relevant to these forms of research, as well as the gathering, analysis and presentation of findings. The unit provides students with a foundation on which they will be expected to build for their research study.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Apply and interpret simple data analysis processes to quantitative and/or qualitative data.
2. Critically analyse and construct arguments and propositions.
3. Critically analyse quantitative and/or qualitative research studies in the pursuit of academic rigour.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of knowledge and how cultural, social and institutional perspectives influence the construction of knowledge.
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the research process, the key concept of sound research design and the construction of research questions, aims and hypotheses.
6. Develop an understanding of how perspectives of knowledge influence research methodology.
7. Identify a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches that can be taken to address research questions and the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various methods.

Unit Content

1. Analyses in qualitative research data.
2. Communicating research; audience; integrity; the nature of 'publication'; peer-review processes and its critiques, authorship and editorial processes. Elective module content Qualitative Research methods:
3. Conceptual/theoretical frameworks for interpretation and analysis.
4. Construction and framing of research questions, aims, hypotheses.
5. Core content:
6. Criteria for evaluating a qualitative research study. Quantitative Research methods:
7. Criteria for evaluating a quantitative research study.
8. Critical thinking the construction of arguments.
9. Data mining.
10. Descriptive statistics: levels of measurement, frequency distributions, measures of central tendency and variability, correlation & regression, risk.
11. Developing research questions, aims and hypotheses using a quantitative framework.
12. Estimating error.
13. Inferential statistics: parametric confidence intervals, null hypothesis, Type I and II errors, hypothesis testing; comparison of means; multivariate analysis e.g. ANCOVA/MANOVA.
14. Introductory multivariate routines.
15. Methods of qualitative inquiry: grounded theory, ethnography, phenomenology, historical research, case study methodology and action research.
16. Ontology, Epistemology and theoretical frameworks: The nature of knowledge; different forms of knowledge, truth and the perception of reality; cultural, social and institutional influences on the construction of knowledge.
17. Philosophical and theoretical foundations for qualitative research.
18. Questionnaires and interviews.
19. Research Design: research ethics including research benefit and integrity, observational and manipulative experiments; implications for questionnaires and consent; dependent relationships and National Statement special populations.
20. Research process the use and citing of literature; qualitative, quantitative and other approaches; how epistemology influences methodology; different requirements for replication: reliability, validity, transferability, bias, causality, sample size; inference and deduction; strengths and limitations of different methodologies.

Additional Learning Experience Information

On-campus students A combination of some or all of the following:- Seminars, lectures, discussion groups, debates. Online students study modules and learning guide including e-reserve and Workshops.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

Text References

• ^ Creswell, J.W (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage. Note: Qualitative Stream.
• ^ Creswell, J.W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). London: Sage. Note: Core Module.
• ^ Moore D.S. & McCabe, G.P. (2005). Introduction to the practice of statistics (5th ed.). London: W.H. Freeeman & Co. Note: Quantitative Stream.
• Jackson, S.L. (2006). Research methods and statistics: A critical thinking approach. US: Thomson Wadsworth. Note: Qualitative Research Methods.
• Knowles, J. G., & Cole, A.L. (Eds). Handbook of the arts in qualitative research. Perspectives, methodologies, examples and issues. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Note: Qualitative Research Methods.
• Portney, L.G., & Watkins, M.P. (2008). Foundations of clinical research: Applications to practice (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, MJ: Prentice-Hall. Note: Quantitative Research methods.
• Liamputtong, P. (2009). Qualitative research methods. London: Oxford University Press. Note: Qualitative Research Methods.
• Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oakds, CA: Sage. Note: Qualitative Research Methods.
• Quantitative Research methods:
• Bouma, G. D., & Ling, R. (2004). The research process. Melbourne: Oxford Uni Press. Note: Quantitative Research methods.
• Coakes, S. K. (1999). SPSS: analysis without anguish. Milton, Qld: Jacaranda Wiley. Note: Quantitative Research methods.
• Fowler, J., & Cohen, L. (1998). Practical statistics for field biologists. Wiley. Note: Quantitative Research methods.
• Greenfield, T. (Ed.). (1996). Research methods: Guidance for postgraduates. London: Arnold. Note: Quantitative Research methods.
• Norman, G. R. & Streiner, D. L. (1998). PDQ Statistics. Oxford: Blackwell Science. Note: Quantitative Research methods.
• Flick, U. (2006). An introduction to qualitative research. London: Sage. Note: Qualitative Research Methods.
• Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.). (2008). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Note: Qualitative Research Methods.
• Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia: Allen & Unwin. Note: Qualitative Research Methods.
• Leedy, P. D., & Ormond, J. E. (2005). Practical research: Planning and design (8th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Longman. Note: Qualitative Research Methods.

^ Mandatory reference

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