Overview

This unit develops students’ understanding of the process of knowledge creation and their ability to think critically about their subjectivities. It broadly explores qualitative, quantitative, textual and practice-based methods/approaches, allowing them to focus on their own discipline’s methodological foundations.

Requisites

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Winter
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
23-June-2025
03-August-2025
Last self-enrolment date
23-June-2025
Census date
04-July-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
18-July-2025
Results released date
19-August-2025

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Demonstrate an advanced level of knowledge about the research paradigms, methods/approaches of a discipline
  • Examine critically the use of theory in their research paradigm
  • Identify and evaluate critically previous studies that contribute to decisions about their own methodological approach
  • Apply discipline-specific approaches to the design of their own research project

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
Face to Face Contact (Phasing out)
Seminar		2.00 6 weeks 12
Face to Face Contact (Phasing out)
Seminar		2.00 6 weeks 12
Unspecified Learning Activities (Phasing out)
Independent Learning		21.00 6 weeks 126
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
AssessmentIndividual 25% 1,3,4 
AssessmentIndividual 25% 2,3 
AssessmentIndividual 50% 1,3,4 

Content

  • How to think about knowledge and its relationship to methods/approach
  • Qualitative Research Methods
  • Quantitative Research Methods
  • Textual Research Methods
  • Practice-based Research Methods
  • Use of theory
  • Epistemological Foundations of Research
  • Methodology vs methods

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.