Research Skills

SKL4400

Title	Research Skills
Code	SKL4400
School	RBS
Module Level	4
Module Code	SKL4400
Available Summer	N
Semester	1
Credits	6
ECTS Credits	3
Contact Hours	48
Course Length (wks)	12
Course Leader	Samantha Lai
Lecturers	Oliver Sterland
Course Aims	The module aims to: Enable students to understand the rationale behind referencing Provide students with a working knowledge of referencing systems, in particular, the Harvard system and to become conversant with that system and its proper usage. Develop students’ awareness of the variety of information sources available to them. Enable students to use the library catalogue and research databases effectively and within given time constraints Help students identify key authors relevant to research/assignments Help students critically evaluate the reliability of sources. Help students to undertake primary research effectively and to understand constraints likely to impede such efforts.
Course Content	Referencing Research retrieval and collection methods Selecting, analysing and synthesising information Organising and writing up research projects; Active engagement in independent learning
Learning Outcomes	On completion of this module, students should be able to: LO1 Understand the importance of including both in-text references (citations) and end-of-text references and apply them appropriately to written work according to the type of source (internet, book, journal etc). LO2 access and manipulate the Regents College library catalogue system and database both on campus and remotely (from home). LO3 recognise the differences between, and evaluate the usefulness of library research databases (Euromonitor, Emerald etc) to the task in hand. LO4 conduct a topic “search”, narrow that search within the results and alter keywords in order to produce alternative results. LO5 use bibliographies from existing sources to identify potential research links and identify key authors in a particular field. LO6 critically evaluate the relative merits of research media, identifying the reliability (or otherwise) of internet sources and making explicit within text the nature of less widely recognisable sources. LO7 conduct effective primary research, taking into consideration target population, sample size, sampling methods and data collection methods.
Presentation	The four hours allocated for this module each week will be split into two 2-hour sessions, divided between class-room based input, written activities and discussion and IT room based practical skills acquisition.
Reading Recommended	BIRLEY G & N MORELAND (1998) A Practical Guide to Academic Research Kogan Page COTTRELL, S. (1999) Study Skills Handbook. Palgrave WALLIMAN, N. (2005) Your Research Project. Sage Publications
Reading Required	PAYNE, E. & WHITTAKER, L. (2006), Developing Essential Study Skills. Harlow: Prentice Hall
Pre-Requisites	None
Asseseement Methods	Student participation and attendance based on secondary research with proposals for primary research - Throughout the semester - 10% Group research project based on secondary research with proposals for primary research - week 11 - 40% Short spot tests at the beginning of a session based on input from the previous session; tests to entail individual IT access with paper-based answers - Throughout the semester - 20% Individual computer-based tutorial tests lasting 20 minutes each towards the end of the course, where students will be asked to demonstrate skills related to information access Week 12 - 30%
Weekly Schedule	Introduction to research skills Developing a basic vocabulary Referencing Planning your research project How to conduct research on hardcopy material available in the library Researching on the library’s electronic databases How to use the research obtained on the internet to best advantage Ethical considerations in research Structuring a research-based report