APL2007 : Visual and Creative Practice Research Skills
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Loes Veldpaus
- Lecturer: Dr Abigail Schoneboom, Dr Diego Garcia Mejuto
- Owning School: Architecture, Planning & Landscape
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
1 – To introduce visual, creative practice, and social research, as well as the key stages of the research process such as research design and question development for example.
2 – To develop an understanding of qualitative research through social, visual, and creative practice methods.
3 – To develop an understanding of a range of visual, social, and creative practice methods for collecting and analysing data, and have opportunities for practicing these skills.
4 – The research skills and techniques learned in this module will act as a foundation for the individual dissertation undertaken in Stage 3, with some time given for the outline development of each student’s individual project.
Outline Of Syllabus
This module will introduce the students to a range of qualitative research methods and analysis techniques, with opportunities for reflection throughout the module and assignments. It introduces different types of research approaches (Social, Visual and Creative Practice) from which the students will choose for their individual dissertation studies undertaken in stage 3. It will also introduce them to key stages of the research process such as research question development and research design.
1. Understanding academic social, visual, and creative practice research
2. Designing a research project generating a research topic, question, and aims.
3. Framing the research within the context of existing work - literature review, state of the art, state of the practice.
4. Understanding the research context (ethics and field sites)
5. Exploring research methods
• Exploring research methods (Semi-structured/unstructured interviews and focus groups, Ethnographic approaches (visual and sensory), Participant observation and visual methods, Mapping informing research.
• Textual and visual analysis (thematic analysis, discourse analysis and content analysis)
• Creative practice research, research through design (Participatory design / Design activism / Sensory intervention / Fictional novel)
6. Preparing your own research proposal
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 72:00 | 72:00 | Preparation for two assessments. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 8 | 2:00 | 16:00 | Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 9 | 2:00 | 18:00 | Workshops, methods, research proposal development, academic skills. |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 9 | 2:00 | 18:00 | preparing for lecture and workshop |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 4 | 1:00 | 4:00 | skills workshops |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Fieldwork | 1 | 10:00 | 10:00 | Field work practicing creative and visual methods in situ, day trip to experience doing fieldwork in a large city in the UK |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 62:00 | 62:00 | revising and reading, exploring possible research topics |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The module is designed to introduce research skills and knowledge and skills through a combination of lectures and workshops so that students gain an understanding of research processes and research methods.
Should the public health situation (or another emergency) not allow for present in-person teaching, then the core content will be delivered through recorded content and synchronous sessions, including weekly live online tutorials. The pre-recorded lecture materials will be complemented by learning activities as well as synchronous Q&A sessions.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 2 | M | 25 | 1,000 word illustrated essay (in the form of a magazine), reflecting on one of the methods presented in the module |
| Research proposal | 2 | A | 75 | 3,000 word illustrated research proposal Please note that the 75 % assessment of this module must be passed to pass the module overall. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The mini-magazine (25%) will:
1) Describe the use and appropriateness of one research method as practiced during the fieldtrip, or in one of the workshop sessions
2) Frame the chosen method using literature and (where appropriate) practice review.
3) Reflect on the relationship between methods and research questions.
The research proposal (75%) will:
1) outline students proposed independent dissertation study (APL3007).
2) explore why the topic is important, a research question to answer, a brief literature review, research approach, methods of data collection and analysis that are appropriate for addressing their research question.
3) address research ethics and potential obstacles to undertaking the proposed research
Students are expected to draw on skills from the visual and creative practice research process and apply them to a topic of their own interest, which they may wish to take forward for their dissertation in stage 3.
Please note that the 75 % assessment of this module must be passed to pass the module overall.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- APL2007's Timetable