ISSUES IN SOCIAL RESEARCH - 2027/8

Module Overview

This module introduces students to a range of issues associated with conducting research. Students will have the opportunity to identify and explore in detail a topic of their choice. Teaching input will focus on methods of investigation and supporting the development of a feasible, ethical research project proposal. The development of students’ research project proposals will be supported through workshops and formative feedback opportunities.

Module provider

Psychology

Module Leader

WALLACE-WILLIAMS Hazel (Psychology)

Number of Credits: 30

ECTS Credits: 15

Framework: FHEQ Level 3

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None.

Module content

This is an opportunity for students to draw together strands from the previous modules and apply them to an area of their own interest within a social science context. They will be guided in their choice of topic areas to ascertain relevance and learning opportunities.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

If a student has an EC (their deadline date is different from that stated above) they will complete the same assessment at a later date

Reasonable adjustments to assignments are made on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the module convenor to discuss as soon as possible and before you start the assignment

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate subject-specific research skills that will benefit their introduction to Level 4. 

Summative assessment

The summative assessment for this module consists of:

• An ethics application form which provides the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of pragmatic, methodological and ethical issues in conducting psychological research. (LOs 1, 2, 4, 7, 8)
• A research project proposal poster and response to questions which provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of conducting research in psychology. In addition, the questions will require students to reflect on the process of developing their research project proposal and demonstrate insight into their learning journey. (LOs, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Alongside both assessments students will be assessed on the process of developing the final submission. (LOs 7, 8)

Formative assessment

Students will receive formative feedback from both the lecturers and each other throughout the module during teaching sessions. Students will also have the opportunity to engage with discussion boards on SurreyLearn and the teaching team will respond to queries or issues that arise there. Formative feedback will be used to support the summative assessments, and the development of knowledge and understanding, intellectual and cognitive skills.

Feedback

Continuous feedback strategies are built into the module to capture students¿ experiences, and to support the development of their feedback literacy, and in turn, their development as independent, resourceful and resilient learners. These strategies will be both peer and tutor facilitated and will provide students with opportunities to reflect upon and discuss learning, develop their interpersonal skills, and encourage engagement and the development of communication skills. Feedback on the summative assignments will be provided via Surreylearn and will highlight the strengths and areas for improvement. Feedback on the first assessment will directly inform the development of the second assessment.

Module aims

• Give students the opportunity to develop their independent research, writing and communication skills by focusing on a topic of interest and planning a research project.
• Develop understanding of issues associated with conducting social research.
• Build confidence in own research skills in preparation for the undergraduate programme.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to enable students to plan a piece of research in a context where they are advised and monitored on an ongoing basis in order to meet the learning outcomes. There will be regular opportunities for students to seek input as they develop confidence in their own ability to interrogate source material, draw conclusions and further their own knowledge.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Lectures on research methods and quantitative and qualitative approaches 
• Seminars/workshops offering the opportunity to seek feedback and guidance on the assessed components
• Guided individual reading and study
• Independent study

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: PSY0002

Other information

This module has a capped number and may not be available to ERASMUS and other international exchange students. Please check with the International Engagement Office email: ieo.incoming@surrey.ac.uk

Surrey Curriculum Framework

In line with Surrey's Curriculum Framework this programme is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module contributes in the following ways:

Digital Capabilities: Throughout the module students learn to navigate and use SurreyLearn, the University's Virtual Learning Environment. They are also introduced to other digital resources and software, to support their development as independent learners. A key focus of the module is on developing academic skills, to ensure students develop a strong foundation ahead of joining the undergraduate programme. They are therefore introduced to, and required to use, specific digital techniques, including online searching, using search mechanisms including Google Scholar and the university's search engine, SurreySearch. They may also engage with platforms used by researchers for example, SONA (School of Psychology participant recruitment platform). Students are also required to engage with a variety of digital media, for example, Teams, Padlets, polling software (e.g.PollEv). Students will also be required to use cloud/file sharing platforms such as SharePoint when working collaboratively.  In addition, all students have access to AI tools through the My AI Surrey platform to enhance their learning and develop skills in using AI tools effectively and ethically. Module assessments require students to draw on their experience of using a wide range of digital platforms and resources. In line with university policy, assessments are submitted through SurreyLearn. 

Employability: A key skill which underpins psychology as a discipline and hence this module is a focus on developing the ability to critically evaluate evidence and to discuss the appropriate application of knowledge within the limitations of the research design and data collection methods. In this module, students are also required to apply this knowledge and understanding by developing their own research question and an evidence-informed research project proposal. Thus specific transferable skills are developed that are utilised in many areas of employment include the ability to evaluate sources, to critically engage with material, to evaluate data and to communicate information clearly and effectively. In addition, the tasks and assessments undertaken across modules are specifically chosen to prepare students for the assessments they will take on the undergraduate programme, but also to prepare them for tasks they might undertake as psychologists, or in other forms of employment. As aforementioned, in this module students are required to produce a research project proposal that is ethical and feasible for an undergraduate student to conduct, demonstrating transferable skills for later study and future employment.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: In this module students are expected to apply the insights gained from their engagement with psychological research across the programme in the development of their own research project proposal. In developing their own research question, they will be engaging with wider literature and thinking from a range of sources in order to develop and to contextualise their own research question.  In addition, students are provided with the opportunity to listen to speakers who have an interest in different research approaches and methods, raising awareness of the importance of selecting appropriate research methods for gaining insight and understanding of different groups.

Resourcefulness and resilience: The key aim of the programme is to support the development of students in their journey to becoming resourceful, resilient and independent learners. Over the course of the programme students are introduced to a range of academic skills and positive psychology interventions to support (i) their development as learners and (ii) their overall resilience. Opportunities to develop these skills are mapped both within and between modules, and chronologically across the academic year. Teaching and learning activities, and assessments (formative and summative) have been developed at a programme and module level to enable students opportunities to develop and demonstrate their capabilities in a ¿learning spiral¿ format.  Within this module, the assessments schedule has been carefully designed to enable students to build on formal and informal formative feedback to support their development as research practitioners, and to enable their end-of-module summative assessment to provide an opportunity to demonstrate the insight they have gained from their learning journey into issues surrounding psychological research.

Sustainability: The key focus of the module is on students applying the insights they have gained across the programme into conducting psychological research, and developing a research project proposal that is both feasible for an undergraduate student to carry out, and ethical. As part of their learning journey into issues affecting social research, students evaluate a range of examples of research which provides the opportunity to explore how psychology may be used in ethically, socially and environmentally responsible ways, within the context of the UN Sustainable Goals, to support the development of a more sustainable future society. The assessment provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate the insights they have gained in the development of their own research project proposal.  Students have the opportunity to identify research questions within the applied areas of psychology they have been introduced (for example, environmental, health and educational psychology) and therefore there are direct opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of issues directly pertaining to sustainability.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2027/8 academic year.