Module overview
This module will introduce you to solving real world problems in the area of Language, Culture and Communication with research methods including forms of Discourse Analysis, Multimodal analysis, Questionnaires, Surveys and Corpus Linguistics.
You will reflect on some key issues such as the nature of knowledge, theory and data. This will allow you to critically evaluate studies and their research methods, and to design your own study. You will also discuss practical challenges of designing and conducting research such as defining research questions, identifying appropriate methods, research management and problem solving, writing up research, ethical issues, presenting research and thinking reflexively about research.
You will also be introduced to the option of producing a professional project, which might be particularly relevant if you chose a year abroad or a year in employment.
Linked modules
This is the research skills module for the new BA Language Culture and Communication
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Critically review research literature and identify gaps in research
- Recognise the significance of alternative epistemological positions in applied linguistics, the social sciences and cultural studies
- Formulate researchable problems in the area of language, culture and communication and choose among alternative methodologies;
- Plan a small-scale research investigation
- Develop skills to identify forms of data
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Identify, select and draw upon a wide range of primary and secondary sources, printed and electronic
- Develop and maintain a personal bibliography
- Take appropriate ethical issues into account in research design
- Communicate research in a variety of written formats
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- How to challenge professional practice, and undertake improvement-orientated enquiry
- Qualitative and quantitative methods to research in language, culture and communication
- Different approaches to knowledge, truth and the nature of research
- Topic relevant knowledge specific to the chosen research area
- Theoretical approaches which are relevant to the use of different methods
Syllabus
The modules will prepare you for a dissertation or professional project by introducing you to research methods, relevant case studies and key issues of research in language, culture and communication.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
There will be one lecture per week and one seminar per week. The lectures will introduce and explain the key concepts of the module. The seminars will provide an opportunity for students to apply their learning about different research methods by completing different linguistic analysis exercises and by engaging with literature which utilises these methods.
The module will also encourage you to reflect critically on methods of language and communication research and how to employ them to solve problems encountered in everyday life.
Learning activities include:
- Completing specified preparatory reading tasks;
- Individual and collaborative critique of research design in published studies of language and communication;
- Written and oral presentation of findings;
- Practical exercises, group discussions and class debates on selected topics;
- Written critical reviews of research papers and design of research projects (assessed).
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Independent Study | 126 |
Seminar | 24 |
Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Barker, C (2016). Cultural studies: theory and practice. Los Angeles: Sage.
Rowell, L.L. (Ed.), (2017). The Palgrave international handbook of action research. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hult, F.M., Johnson, D.C. (Eds.) (2015). . Research methods in language policy and planning: a practical guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Bhatia, V.K., Bremner, S. (Eds.) (2014). The Routledge handbook of language and professional communication, Routledge handbooks. Milton Park: Routledge.
Bhatia, V.K., Flowerdew, J., Jones, R.H. (Eds.) (2008). Advances in discourse studies. London [u.a.]: Routledge.
Norris, S. (2019). Systematically working with multimodal data: research methods in multimodal discourse analysis. . Hoboken, NJ.: Wiley Blackwell.
Wodak, R., Meyer, M. (Eds.) (2016). Methods of critical discourse studies. Los Angeles: Sage.
Hua, Z. (Ed.), (2016). Research methods in intercultural communication: a practical guide. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.
Treadwell, D.F., Davis, A., (2020). Introducing communication research: paths of inquiry. Los Angeles: Sage.
Scannell, P., (2007). Media and communication. Sage, Los Angeles.. Los Angeles: Sage.
Rose, G., (2016). Visual methodologies: an introduction to researching with visual materials. London: Sage.
Costa, C., Condie, J (Eds.) (2019). Doing research in and on the digital: research methods across fields of enquiry, Routledge advances in research methods. London: Routledge.
Moses, J.W., Knutsen, T.L. (2012). . Ways of knowing: competing methodologies in social and political research. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire : New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Copland, F., Creese, A., Rock, F., Shaw, S., (2015). Linguistic ethnography. Los Angeles: Sage.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
There are two elements to the summative assessment for this module. Firstly, there is a research review exercise in which you will critically review different academic research articles and resources for the purpose of addressing a particular research question. Secondly, you will formulate a research proposal with a clear purpose and direction which is backed up by past literature and your understanding of research methods and design.
You will also receive formative feedback throughout the module as you participate in lectures and seminars and discuss your understanding of the module material in these settings.
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Research review | 30% |
Research proposal | 70% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Research proposal | 70% |
Research review | 30% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Research review | 30% |
Research proposal | 70% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External