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We obtained Diversifying the Curriculum funding in 2024\/25 for expanding and revising the content\u00a0and accessibility of course materials for POLI60312 Research Design and Skills. This is a compulsory\u00a0module integral to all MA programmes in Politics intended to guide students through the intellectual\u00a0and practical tasks of conceiving and developing an MA Dissertation\u00a0 research proposal. The module\u00a0is interactive, taught through one lecture, discussion group workshops and student\u00a0 presentations.\u00a0Students are supported in literature searching, identifying a focus and a research question, situating\u00a0this in existing literature, and determining appropriate methodological approaches. These include\u00a0philosophical, epistemological and ontological stances from both within and beyond the discipline,\u00a0ultimately culminating in the production of a complete\u00a0 proposal.<\/p>\n
What was the rationale\/aim of the project?<\/strong><\/p>\n In previous years, some students reported struggling to see the relevance of particular aspects of the\u00a0research design process to their particular projects. As well as a broader reading list, the core\u00a0textbook (Thomas, G. (2022) How to Do Your Research Project<\/em> 4th ed, London: Sage) is an excellent\u00a0starting point, and the module provides a step-by-step guide through key research development\u00a0stages and typical proposal structures. For some, a distinct methodology chapter is appropriate; for\u00a0others, methodology is integrated into a critical theoretical approach, or the approach may not be\u00a0easily expressed in social scientific terms. This initiative aimed to address the needs of students\u00a0undertaking more critical, esoteric or atypically structured projects.<\/p>\n The particular goals included making course materials fully accessible in line with best practices;\u00a0researching and producing a reading list on feminist, postcolonial and decolonial research methods;\u00a0incorporating these where possible into each step of the research process, or providing readings that\u00a0laid out alternative ways of conceptualising research. As part of this, the intention was to build up\u00a0the existing research methods database of resources (videos, podcasts, blogs) on Blackboard with\u00a0additional material on critical and feminist research methods, including making videos illustrating\u00a0how feminist, postcolonial, and decolonial research methods can be employed in a PGT research\u00a0project.<\/p>\n What was the output of the project? How was it delivered to students or included in the\u00a0curriculum\/syllabus?<\/strong><\/p>\n The main output was a revised reading list and lecture slides. Key reading list modifications included\u00a0adding Ackerly, B.A. & True, J. (2019) Doing feminist research in political and social science<\/em>. 2nd ed,\u00a0London: Macmillan and recent journal articles on decolonising methodologies. Video resources were\u00a0also added, including an NCRM Webinar series Decolonial Research Methods: Resisting Coloniality in\u00a0Academic Knowledge Production<\/em>.<\/p>\n The layout of slides and the course guide was revised with accessibility and general quality\u00a0improvements, including all sans serif fonts, improved spacing and screen reader-friendly\u00a0formatting, clearly structured tasks, alt-text for images where applicable, and consistent formatting\u00a0and live hyperlinks for all online materials.<\/p>\n How was this received by students? Any evaluation? First impressions?<\/strong><\/p>\n Initial impressions from course staff indicate the changes were well-received and helpful. There was\u00a0a noticeable increase in dissertation projects on explicitly intersectional topics, including decolonial\u00a0approaches, LGBTQ+ issues, and everyday violence, among others. Whilst this cannot be inferred as\u00a0causal, students were observed engaging with new materials and references, and verbal feedback\u00a0was positive.<\/p>\n Did you encounter any difficulties\/challenges?<\/strong><\/p>\n Practical obstructions prevented the timely production of two planned original videos. However, the\u00a0inclusion of high-quality external resources, such as the NCRM Webinar series and other additional\u00a0resources located and added to the course materials mitigated this as they covered similar content\u00a0effectively.<\/p>\n A structural challenge of this module is the regular rotation of teaching staff, which makes it harder\u00a0to monitor the impact of changes over time and to sustain continuous staff involvement in the\u00a0module development process.<\/p>\n What are the next steps\/plans?<\/strong><\/p>\n As the Lead Course Convenor is changing for 2025\/26, next steps are currently undecided. However,\u00a0a productive next step would be to involve students more directly, perhaps through a focus group.\u00a0Engaging past and present students in planning, feedback, and forms of assessment could provide\u00a0more focused and substantively documented insights in learning experiences, as well as engaging\u00a0students in co-production of pedagogic innovation to meet their needs.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.17.6″ show_avatar=”on” show_reply=”on” show_count=”on” background_layout=”light” header_font_size_tablet=”51″ header_line_height_tablet=”2″ custom_button=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_use_icon=”off” locked=”on” parent_locked=”off” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_size__hover=”null” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover=”null” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover=”null” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover=”null” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover=”null” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover=”null” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover=”null” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover=”null” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover=”null” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover=”null” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover=”null” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover=”null” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover=”null” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover=”null” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover=”null” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover=”null” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover=”null” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover=”null” \/][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.0.106″ area=”sidebar-1″ orientation=”left” show_border=”off” background_layout=”light” locked=”on” \/][et_pb_post_nav _builder_version=”3.0.106″ in_same_term=”off” show_prev=”on” show_next=”on” prev_text=”Previous” next_text=”Next” locked=”off” parent_locked=”off” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Connect Title” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” _builder_version=”3.0.90″ background_color=”#1d1d1d” module_class=”footer-section” prev_background_color=”#ffffff” global_module=”380″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” global_parent=”380″ locked=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” make_equal=”off” module_id=”footer-row” _builder_version=”3.0.89″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Contact Us Title” global_parent=”380″ background_layout=”dark” text_text_color=”#ffffff” parent_locked=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Contact Us” global_parent=”380″ text_text_color=”#aaaaaa” parent_locked=”off” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” module_class=”contact-us” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n +44 (0) 161 306 6000<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Find Us Title” global_parent=”380″ background_layout=”dark” text_text_color=”#ffffff” parent_locked=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Address” global_parent=”380″ background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” module_id=”address” parent_locked=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\nContact Us<\/h4>\n
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