SDP405 Framing the PhD
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Showing course contents for the educational year 2022 - 2023 .
Course responsible: Timothy Kevin Richardson
ECTS credits: 5
Faculty: Faculty of Landscape and Society
Teaching language: EN
(NO=norsk, EN=Engelsk)
(NO=norsk, EN=Engelsk)
Limits of class size:
14
Teaching exam periods:
The course contains two teaching blocks in the Autumn semester. The provisional dates for the course are:
Monday 26 - Wednesday 28 September 2022Monday 24 - Tuesday 25 October 2022Assignments will be carried out in the two weeks before first block, between the blocks, and after the second block until final assessment submission on 25 November 2022
Course frequency: Annually, in the autumn semester
First time: Study year 2018-2019
Preferential right:
PhD candidates enrolled at the Faculty of Landscape and Society
Course contents:
Learning outcome:
Participants will develop early competence in research design. They will understand the scientific requirements for a PhD, and be able to:
- critically assess the merits of alternative research designs
- identify and critically reflect on research design challenges of their own PhD study
- identify ethical challenges arising in research and adapt their research design accordingly
- improve their own PhD research design
Learning activities:
The course will be based on an interactive workshop format, with lectures, full group and small group discussions and exercises, individual tutorial and self-guided study.
Teaching support:
Teacher-led seminars. Workshop based supervision and feedback from teachers and fellow students. Individual tutorials will take place between the two course blocks.
Syllabus:
The course reading is selected to cover different research designs that will be useful for the PhD candidates that attend the course. It will cover research strategies that fit well with different theory of science approaches, as well as different kinds of methodology.
Key text: Farthing, S. (2016) Research design in urban planning: a student`s guide. London: Sage.
Indicative reading:
Biggs, M. & Karlsson, H. (2011). The Routledge companion to research in the arts. London: Routledge.
Blakie, N. (2000) Designing social research. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Creswell, J.W. (2009) Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. London: Sage. (chapter 6: The purpose statement).
Deming, M.E. and Swaffield, S. (2011) Landscape architecture research: inquiry, strategy, design. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and sons.
Edmonds, W.A., Kennedy, T.D. (2016) An Applied Guide to Research Designs: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods. London: Sage.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2001) Making social science matter: why social inquiry fails and how it can succeed again. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Goodson, P. (2013) Becoming an academic writer: 50 exercises for paced, productive and powerful writing, London: Sage.
Maggetti, M., Gilardi, F. & Radaelli, C.M. (2013) Designing Research in the Social Sciences. Sage. della Porta, D. and Keating, M. (eds.) (2008) Approaches and methodologies in the social sciences: a pluralist perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
O`Leary, Z. (2006) Researching Real-World Problems: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: Sage.
Muratovksi, G. (2016) Research for designers: a guide to methods and practice. London: Sage.
Reason, P. and Bradbury, H. (eds.) (2008)The Sage Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice. London: Sage.
Prerequisites:
Enrolled as PhD candidate
Recommended prerequisites:
Participants must submit the current version of their PhD research proposal (preferably in English) at least one week before the course starts. The proposal should include an abstract.
Preparatory reading: Participants should read all abstracts submitted to the course. They could also have made themselves familiar with the content of the reading list.
Participants will be allocated a fellow participant´s project descriptions to analyse before the first teaching block.
Mandatory activity:
80% attendance, and completion of individual and group assignments.
Assessment:
A
1. Active participation in the course sessions
2. A research project proposal submitted after the end of the course
3. A reflective report of up to 1000 words on how the candidate has improved their research design during the course
Submission deadline: 25 November 2022
Nominal workload:
Five full days of workshops including lectures, seminars, group and individual work (30 hours). One tutorial (1-2 hours). In addition, 95 hours of preparation, reading and independent work.
Entrance requirements:
Participants must be part of a PhD programme
Reduction of credits:
Complete overlap with ILP405
Type of course:
Five full days of lectures, seminars, group work , plus an individual tutorial.
Theme 1: Introduction. Participants´ backgrounds, projects and goals for the PhD will be shared and discussed. Short presentations by students, exercises and inspiration.
Theme 2: Research questions. How do we develop good research questions (and related framing of scientific problems) and research aims?
Theme 3: Research designs by experienced researchers. Several researchers will come and talk about different aspects of research design, in relation to their own research projects. There will be room for discussions in plenary.
Theme 4: Presentations by students. All students present their own research designs. We assign discussants, and discuss them in depth.
Theme 5: Ask a PhD student. Several experienced PhD students present the main challenges in their research design, and how they have solved them. Plenary discussions.
Theme 6: Research ethics. Lecture(s) on research ethics followed by an open discussion in the group. exercise on ethical challenges particular to participants' research designs. Exercises in smaller groups and well as plenary discussion.
Longitudinal work: During the semester, the participants are expected to work on their PhD research designs.
Note:
-
Examiner:
The external censor will read and assess all the submitted coursework.
Examination details: Portfolio: Passed / Not Passed