Research Methods

Course structure

What you will learn

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Appraise the suitability of different research paradigms in the context of an identified research question;
• Construct a critical literature review of key texts, identifying the academic theory most relevant to an identified research questions;
• Compare and contrast different data analysis techniques;
• Distinguish between different forms of evidence; their validity and verifiability;
• Outline the key requirements in generating research of a publishable quality, including specific needs of specific journals;
• Relate research methods to the generation of innovative solutions and designs across defence and security challenges.

Core content

The course will cover the following topics:

• Research paradigms and their application;
• How to write a critical literature review including the assessment of evidence and how to select appropriate sources;
• Data analysis, including qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches;
• Creating publishable quality research including discipline specific journals and how to write academically credible and professional reports.

Timetable

Dates:

Compressed delivery 17/01/22-21/01/22 or distributed delivery 23/05/22 – 05/09/22 (with teaching in the first 2 weeks) to suit student preference. 

Upgrade to a professional qualification

After successful completion of this Short Course for Credit, 10 credit points can be put towards either the Defence and Security (Engineering) or (Leadership and Management) or (Technology) MSc.

Find out more about short course credit points.

Speakers

• Dr Iftikhar Zaidi
• Dr Tim Ferris