SOC30550 Research Project

Academic Year 2022/2023

This module offers an opportunity to work in an ongoing research project of the UCD School of Sociology. All students will be offered a number of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research projects to choose from. It is expected that each research project will be able to take a group of not more than five students. Each group will work under the supervision of a faculty member from the School of Sociology. The faculty member will allocate tasks to their group and review the process of completing the tasks.
The module is designed to learn from practice. Students will be able to try out practical skills such as collection of data, analysis, literature review, presentation, etc. In other words, the module works with various stages of actual sociological job. The module's major purpose is to introduce students to sociological research through practice.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

- Application of skills in a sociological research project;
- Learning practical research skills;
- Gaining knowledge about practical solutions;
- Applying ethical rules in real research;
- Experience presentation of research outcomes.

Indicative Module Content:

The module is designed as a practical application of theoretical knowledge in an ongoing supervised sociological research. Thus, most of its time will be dedicated to conducting fieldwork and other relevant research tasks in small groups of five. The structure of the module will roughly look in the following way:
Weeks 1-3: Introduction, research ethics, overview of research projects on offer, choosing one's project;
Weeks 4-10: Conducting fieldwork and other tasks in groups under the supervision of a faculty member;
Weeks 11-12: Presentation of the outcomes of the group research projects, conclusion.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

8
Small Group

60
Field Trip/External Visits

82
Autonomous Student Learning

100
Total

250
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This is mostly a practical module. Therefore, it majorly consists of practical work in small laboratory-like groups supervised by a faculty member. Additional work will include: seminars, reading, reflective writing, and oral presentations. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Lab Report: A collective report on the research done during the fieldwork. Week 10 n/a Graded No

40
Presentation: Collective oral presentation of the research outcomes. Week 12 n/a Graded No

30
Fieldwork: Completion of all tasks assigned by the group supervisor. Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded Yes

30

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Depending on the tasks, your feedback will be either communicated online, or delivered in class discussions. Feedback is expected from both research supervisors and a module coordinator, as well as a faculty panel who will attend your final presentations and offer their comments. Your fieldwork and research reports are assessed by your group supervisors; your in-class presentation is assessed by a panel of faculty members; and your final reflection journal is assessed by the module coordinator. Module coordinator has the right to assess other assignments, too.