| CODE | ACA5065 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Research Methods in Adult Education | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Arts, Open Communities and Adult Education | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit seeks to briefly describe the application of the most frequently used quantitative and qualitative methods that support decision-making in adult education policy and planning by using open-source and proprietary software packages. It will allow students to acquire research knowledge and skills and apply them in researching issues in adult education. The students will have the opportunity to discuss research ethics, the strengths and limitations of quantitative and qualitative methods and how to integrate different methods to mitigate the limitations of the single-method approaches. Students will learn about different approaches to empirical studies, analyze available data and engage in ongoing debates in this domain, focusing on quantitative and qualitative methods and their integration through the mixed methods approach. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to enable students to become familiar with the main epistemological and methodological approaches in the domain of adult education. The main objective is to enable students to become adept at employing a variety of research tools and techniques in the domain of adult education, to expand their knowledge and skills in the domain of research ethics and methodology and develop skills to effectively use computer-assisted data collection and analysis techniques, as well as to integrate quantitative and qualitative data collected in adult education research. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify links between educational research and adult education theory and practice; - apply research ethics pertinent to the domain of adult education; - implement qualitative, quantitative, mixed method research in adult education research; - critically appraise case studies and action research in adult education research; - map the entire research process in a given adult education context. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - critically analyse and evaluate research studies in adult education; - build research proposals in the domain of adult education that feature qualitative, quantitative, or mixed approaches; - design self-administering, online or computer-assisted data collection instruments; - use pertinent ICT for data collection, analysis computer-assisted qualitative data analysis (CAQDA) and visualization; - use proprietary and open-source software for quantitative data analysis and data visualization. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: Bazeley, P. & Jackson, K. (2013). Qualitative data analysis with NVIVO. London: SAGE. (Available) Boeren, E. (2018). The methodological underdog: A review of quantitative research in the key adult education journals. Adult Education Quarterly, 68(1), 63-79. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0741713617739347 (Available) Creswell, J.W. & Creswell, J.D. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage. (Available) Field, A. (2013). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. London, UK: SAGE. (Available) Grummell, B., & Finnegan, F. (2020). Doing Critical and Creative Research in Adult Education: Case Studies in Methodology and Theory. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004420755 (Available) Navarro, D., & Foxcroft, D. (2022). Learning statistics with jamovi: A tutorial for psychology students and other beginners (Version 0.75). https://doi.org/10.24384/hgc3-7p15 (Available) Raykov, M. (2020). Education researchers鈥� perceptions of and experiences with the research ethics application process in Europe and beyond. European Educational Research Journal, 19(1), 10-29. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1474904119893461 (Available) Rubenson, K., & Elfert, M. (2015). Adult education research. Exploring an increasingly fragmented map. European journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 6(2), 125-138. https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.rela9066 (Available) Taylor, A., & Raykov, M. (2020). Towards Critical and Dialogical Mixed Methods Research: Reflections on Our Journey. In Doing critical and creative research in adult education (pp. 127-137). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004420755_011 (Available) Supplementary Readings: American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication manual of the American psychological association, (2020). American Psychological Association. (Available) Arthur, J., Waring, M., Coe, R. & Hedges, L.V. (Eds.) (2017). Research methods & methodologies in education. London: Sage. (Available) Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2002). Research methods in education. Routledge. (Available) Comstock, G. (2013). Research Ethics: A Philosophical Guide to the Responsible Conduct of Research. New York: Cambridge University Press. (Available) Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.). Pearson. (Available) Daley, B. J., Martin, L. G., & Roessger, K. M. (2018). A call for methodological plurality: Reconsidering research approaches in adult education. Adult Education Quarterly, 68(2), 157-169. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741713618760 (Available) Gefen, D. (2019). A Post-Positivist Answering Back. Part 1: Good for You, Karl Popper! The Data Base for Advances in 福利在线免费 Systems 50(2): 9-17. (Available) Hewson, C., Yule, P., Laurent, D., Vogel, C. (2003). Internet Research Methods: A Practical Guide for The Social and Behavioural Sciences. Sage. (Available) Janghorban, R., Roudsari, R. L., & Taghipour, A. (2014). Skype interviewing: The new generation of online synchronous interview in qualitative research. International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being, 9(1), 24152. (Available) Schutt, R.K. (2012). Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research. Sage. (Available) Sloan, L., Quan-Haase A., (2017). The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods. Sage. (Available) Wellington, J. (2015). Educational research: Contemporary issues and practical approaches (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury. (Available) Willig, C. (2008). Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology: Adventures in Theory and Method. New York: Open University Press. (Open Access: https://resv.hums.ac.ir/uploads/introducing_qualitative_research.pdf) UNESCO. (2005). Quantitative research methods in educational planning. International Institute for Educational Planning. (Modules 1-10). https://www.iiep.unesco.org/en/publications/Quantitative%20Research%20Methods%20in%20Educational%20Planning (Available) Willing, C. (2013). Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education. (Available) Additional readings will be available to students through VLE. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Qualification: Undergraduate degree & proffesional experience in AE | ||||||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Independent Study and Online Learning | ||||||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Maria M. Brown Joseph Gravina Milosh Raykov |
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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 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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