MCH2069 : Research Design and Practice
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Graeme Mearns
- Co-Module Leader: Professor James Ash
- Lecturer: Dr Joanne Sayner, Dr Clifton Evers, Dr Gareth Longstaff
- Owning School: Arts & Cultures
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
This module aims:
- To deepen students’ knowledge and understanding of critical scholarly skills with an emphasis on designing research, conducting it, and analysing data collected with focus on what can be known and how.
- To provide diverse insights as to a range of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods frequently used by those working in media, communications, cultural studies and interrelated fields to collect, gather and interpret a variety of primary and secondary data.
- To allow students to develop their own skills in research design by enabling them to put methods into practice.
Outline Of Syllabus
The module draws on expertise across the Media and Culture subject areas to enable students to begin understanding how particularised research questions meld with different ways of thinking about and doing research. Methods that we may look at in the context of research in media, communications and culture include:
- Qualitative approaches
- Quantitative approaches
- Mixed methodologies.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 75:00 | 75:00 | Formative and summative assessment |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 11 | 1:30 | 16:30 | N/A |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 1 | 36:00 | 36:00 | Seminar preparation and follow-up tasks & essential readings |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 11 | 1:30 | 16:30 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 56:00 | 56:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures: These will be used to introduce students to a given method and associated methodological issues in research. They will also provide students a formal introduction to the different kinds of research practices aligned with their area of study.
Small-Group Teaching: This provides practice-based skills sessions geared towards enabling students to develop skills in designing and undertaking research.
Assessment preparation and completion: This category enables students to complete their assessments.
Guided independent study: This broad category refers to independent student work and covers a range of activities. These activities can include reading and preparation as well as the development of supplemental skills associated with a method or set of methodological approaches.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | M | 40 | Written Exercise 1: Research Outline |
| Written exercise | 1 | A | 60 | Written Exercise 2: Methodology and Methods |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
Assessment 1 is a research ‘outline’ (1000 words) comprising of aim, objectives and research questions together with a short statement as to academic literature that has informed the above.
Assessment 2 (1500 words) ‘methodology’, including details of the approach and method(s) used to answer the research questions devised in Assessment 1.
Together, these two assessments offer an opportunity to apply the skills and knowledges associated with different methods and provide the basis for the development of third-year projects.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- MCH2069's Timetable