Research Methods and Place

Overview

This module develops students’ capacity to undertake a research project/ dissertation within Environmental Planning. The aim is to encourage students to think about planning issues/problems in a structured and coherent methodological way. To this end students will firstly obtain a solid grounding in the philosophy of research, for example, an engagement with key ontological and epistemological issues in how we view, understand and make sense of the world around us (e.g. objectivism, social constructionism, positivism, realism, interpretivism etc.). The module then moves on to furnish students with key skillsets required in order to understand what a research project/ dissertation entails, in particular the importance of developing an appropriate strategy to analyse a research issue/problem within planning context. Here the emphasis will be placed upon encouraging students to: a) appreciate the role of theory in defining and articulating a robust research question(s) and determining a research issue/problem; b) how it/they drive(s) the research design process; c) understand the philosophical and practical differences between different research methodologies and how to select an apposite methodology; d) how to conduct empirical research and obtain relevant information and data, and how to rigorously interpret and present the findings of research. From this module students will be in a position to make confident choices between quantitative, qualitative and triangulation methodologies, and how to undertake a theoretically informed and methodologically rigorous research project/ dissertation.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module students will:

1. Understand key philosophical and research tools that enable them to understand the ‘what exists’ and ‘how do we understand’ questions in the research process;
2. Understand the importance of theory in guiding and structuring the research question(s) and how it/ they drive the research process;
3. Understand the use of these research tools in making appropriate and informed choices between different research design and methodologies;
4. Understand the differences and connections between theory and empiricism in a research project;
5. Be able to analyse and evaluate scholarly work linked to a specific research inquiry;
6. Be able to create a research plan and design appropriate data collection tools;
7. To have the capacity to critically reflect on the validity and reliability of quantitative and qualitative research methods;
8. Have the capacity to manipulate and analyse data using appropriate statistical and IT software;
9. Have appreciated the ethical dimensions to social science research on particular use groups;
10. Understand the role of strategic thinking, policy analysis and presentational skills in the delivery and management of an independent research project.

Skills

At the end of the module students should be equipped with the following transferable skills:

Development plan research; policy analysis and strategic thinking; presentational skills especially linked to technical report writing; numeracy and IT skills; project management skills.

Assessment

None