Details for Research Project

This unit introduces the fundamentals of quantitative and qualitative research and the ontological and epistemological implications of these two approaches.   

The unit Research Project is part of the subject area Research and is offered as a part of the following Awards: Master of Arts (Christian Studies) (Alphacrucis College (NSW Dept. of Education)).

Unit Content

Curriculum Objective

Student should be able to: 

1. Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the difference between quantitative and qualitative approaches to research
2. Demonstrate the ability formulate a research question and outline an appropriate research plan for data collection
3. Demonstrate broad understanding of basic statistical techniques in data interpretation
4. Exhibit a critically reflective understanding of fundamental techniques in qualitative research
5. Construct an externally moderated research proposal, and carry this out over an extended externally examined project. 

Subject Content

1. Ontological and epistemological distinctions in quantitative and qualitative research
2. Introduction to statistical techniques and the use of related software
3. Basic ethnographic techniques
4. Fundamentals of hermeneutics and exegesis
5. Research questions and research plans
6. Literature Reviews and Peer;
Critical thinking and research ethics 

Assessment Methods

Research essay

Prescribed Text

• Esterberg, K.G. Qualitative methods in social research. McGraw Hill, 2002.
• Jackson, S. L., Research methods and statistics: A critical thinking approach. Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006.

Representative References

Bickman, Leonard and Debra J. Rog (eds.). The SAGE handbook of applied social research methods, Los Angeles: SAGE, 2009.

Brewer, J. and Hunter, A., Foundations of multimethod research: Synthesizing styles. Los Angeles, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2006.

Bryman, Alan. Social research methods. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.              

Ember, Carol R. and Melvin Ember. Cross-cultural research methods. Lanham, MD: Altamira Press, 2009.

Fetterman, D.M. Ethnography: Step by step. Los Angeles, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1998.

Gravetter, Frederick J. and Lori-Ann B. Forzano. Research methods for the behavioral sciences. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009.

Reinard, J.C. Introduction to communication research. New York: McGraw Hill, 2001.