Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Research Methodologies English
Other languages of instruction: English, Spanish,
Teaching staff
Yolanda Scott, English specialisation: yscott@uic.es
Introduction
The subject Research Methodologies intends to offer students the fundamental concepts of educational research, such as the characteristics and paradigms. Likewise, students will delve into the process of educational research as an instrument for professional development and better educational practice.
Pre-course requirements
C1 level, according to CEFR, in the specialization language.
Objectives
- To know the fundamental concepts of educational research.
- To apply basic educational research and evaluation methodologies and techniques.
- To design and develop research and evaluation projects in the area of specialization.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CE15.- To apply basic educational research and evaluation methodologies and techniques and to be capable of designing and developing research, innovative and evaluation projects.
- CT1.- To critically analyse one's own work and employ adequate resources and strategies to improve professional development.
- CT2.- To work in a team and develop participative and collaborative attitudes as an active member of society.
- CT4.- To develop the capacity to evaluate inequalities for reasons of sex and gender, to design mechanisms to attain real equality, avoiding partial and discriminatory interpretations.
- CG3.- To fit in and actively collaborate in the attainment of common objectives with other people, areas and organizations.
- CG6.- To incorporate and use Information and Communication Technologies in various fields effectively and responsibly.
- CG7.- To express oneself in public and make presentations with digital supports adapted to different groups of interest in the school context (teachers, families, students, etc.).
- CB10.- That students know how to apply learning abilities that allow to continue studying in great measure in an autonomous and self-directed way.
Learning outcomes of the subject
RA2.- Acts according to the need to perfect and adapt the teaching function to scientific, pedagogical and social changes.
RA3.- Analyzes one's own teaching activity from a communicative approach of action-research.
RA4.- Reflects on classroom practices to innovate and improve one's own teaching practice using quality indicators.
Syllabus
- Best practices of teaching-learning.
- Introduction to educational research for teachers. Evolution, concept and characteristics. Paradigms: quantitative, qualitative and socio-critical.
- The general process of educational research as an instrument for professional development and improvement in educational practice.
- The process of educational research in educational centres. Criteria for problem selection and approach.
- Instruments to gather information. Validity and reliability.
- Strategies and techniques to develop research practice in the teaching-learning process of the subject. Proposals and activities.
Teaching and learning activities
Online
Teaching methodologies:
- Online practical classes
- Resolving exercises and questions
Training activities:
- Online master classes
- Online practical classes
- Virtual forums and debates
- Individual study and work
- Group work
- Online tutorials
Evaluation systems and criteria
Online
Assessment of this subject is continuous and the activities are carried out in small groups during the sessions. Therefore, class attendance is necessary for positive assessment results.
English specialization:
- Formative activities - 35%
- Debate forum - 35%
- Multiple choice exam - 15%
- Open-answer exam - 15%
To successfully pass the subject, it is necessary to achieve a minimum passmark (5) on all activities that form part of the assessment.
The tasks must be presented for assessment in English. Work submitted past the deadline will not be accepted. Tasks assessed with serious language errors will be considered Uncorrected; they can be re-submitted in 2nd call but the maximum grade will be the passmark (5).
The exam is carried out with proctoring software which needs to be downloaded before the test. You will find information concerning this in the classroom and the teacher will explain it during the first day of class.
1st call deadline: 22 March
2nd call deadline: 1 July
Other considerations:
Linguistic quality will count for 20% of the mark of assessed tasks.
Points will be lost for language errors: 1 point for a serious error and 0'25 for a minor error. In the exam, 0'5 for a serious error and 0'2 for a minor error.
Bibliography and resources
Bisquerra, R. (2004). Metodología de la investigación educativa. La Muralla.
Burns, A. (2009). Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching: A Guide for Practitioners. Taylor & Francis Group.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2011). Research Methods in Education. Routledge.
Creswell, J. Research Design (2009). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Denscombe, M. (2010). The good research guide for small-scale social research projects. Open University Press.
Gorard, S. and Taylor, C. (2004). Combining methods in educational and social research. McGraw-Hill Education.
Hernández, R., Fernández, C. Baptista, M. (2014). Metodología de la Investigación. McGrawHill Education
Justo, A., del Rincón, D., Latorre, A. (1994). Investigación educativa. Fundamentos y metodología.
Labor
Lodico, M. et al. (2006). Methods in educational research: from theory to practice. Jossey-Bass.
Pérez Juste, R., Galán González, A., & Quintanal Díaz, J. (2012). Métodos y diseños de investigación en educación. UNED.
Román-González, M. (2021). Elección de técnicas e instrumentos para la recogida de información. En Ortega Navas, M.ª C., García-Castilla, F. J., De-Juanas Oliva, Á. (coords.). Guía para la elaboración de trabajos fin de máster de investigación educativa (pp. 147-159). Octaedro.
Wisniewska, D. (2011). Mixed Methods and Action Research: similar or different? Glottodidactica, 37, 59-72.
Winn, W. (2003). Research Methods and Types of Evidence for Research in Educational Technology. Educational Psychological Review, 15(4), 367-373.
Yates, L. (2004). What does good educational research look like? Conducting Educational Research. Open University Press, McGraw-Hill International.