| CODE | EER5105 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Research Methods for Education for Sustainable Development | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Centre for Environmental Education and Research | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will help students with the background they need to do research in ESD. It will address a number of issues relating to educational research such as different approaches to research, research questions, objectives and hypotheses, techniques and tools that may be used for data collection, and the interpretation, analysis and presentation of data. The study-unit will also address the concepts of reliability, validity and triangulation as well as the ethics of educational research. Study-unit Aims The study-unit aims to: • introduce students to research methodology as a systematic way of answering a research question by evaluating literature related to the area and adopting a series of steps, tools for data collection and analysis; • introduce students to different approaches to educational research and to research strategies (e.g. the survey, the case-study, the experiment, ethnography); • present the strengths and limitations of each research strategy; • explore different data collection techniques and tools (e.g. questionnaires, interviews, observation studies and diaries); • discuss the advantages and limitations associated with the various methods and research instruments; • consider different methods of interpreting, analyzing and presenting quantitative and qualitative data; and • introduce students to examples of different research approaches that have been used in research on ESD. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • write clear and focused research questions/objectives to guide a specific research study; • select the research methodology and tools which are appropriate for investigating different education research questions; • justify the decisions and choices made in designing a research study by applying theory and evidence related to strengths and limitations of research approaches, methods and tools; • interpret, analyse and present data and research findings using appropriate procedures according to the type of data; and • plan and conduct a piece of research, paying attention to validity, reliability and ethical issues, and reflect upon the limitations of the research. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • design a questionnaire using items/types of questions that match the information required/objectives; • code and analyse qualitative data; • design an interview schedule and conduct an interview skillfully, following up ideas, probing responses and investigating feelings and motives; • plan and carry out an observation session preparing checklists/seating arrangements/recording methods that are appropriate for the situation and type of observation; and • use information from field notes, diaries, and interview transcripts to create a narrative (story) of the experience. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K (2011) Research Methods in Education (7th Edition) Routledge. Reid, A. D. and Scott, W.A.H. (2009) Researching Education and the Environment: retrospect and prospect. London: Routledge. Reunamo, J. and Pipera, A. (2011) Doing Research on Education for Sustainable Development. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Vol.12 No. 2, pp. 110-124 Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. and Tight, M. (2001) How to Research (2nd Edition) Open University. Other readings will be provided to the students as a reading pack. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | |||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Josette Farrugia Mark C. Mifsud |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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