• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Research Methodologies in Action

Module description

This module provides grounding in the knowledge and skills required to understand and apply social research methods used by human geographers. The module introduces you to a range of qualitative and quantitative social research methods (spanning data collection and analysis). Discussion of, and training in, these methods will draw on examples of social research across a range of topics. The module will be taught using a combination of lectures and practical workshops.

This is a compulsory module for second year BA Geography programme students and is recommended for FCH students wishing to undertake a human geography field trip and/or dissertation.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module is designed to equip you with foundational research skills that you will be able to use during your degree and beyond.  Specifically, the aim of this module is to introduce you to qualitative and quantitative approaches to empirical social research in human geography, and to a selection of primary data collection and analysis techniques associated with those. By the end of the module, you should have a good understanding of a range of uses and purposes of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches, both in principle and practice. You should also be in a position to identify methods appropriate to your own research questions, to undertake your own data collection and analysis, and to understand the methodological choices made by social researchers (as well as the implications of those choices for the sorts of claims that can be made in their research).

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Describe methodological approaches to analysing empirical information in social research
• 2. Demonstrate a formal understanding of relationships between data, concepts, and explanation that characterise research methodologies used in human geography and related fields

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Explain the uses of particular research methodologies used in human geography
• 4. Apply methods for analysing and/or interpreting data suited to human geography research

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Interpret empirical data effectively and critically
• 6. Analyse and synthesise research data in a methodologically rigorous way

Syllabus plan

The following syllabus plan is indicative of the issues we will explore in the module:

Part 1: Research Methodologies in Action – collecting and analysing textual data

• An introduction to qualitative research methods and methodology
• Collecting textual data (with a focus on data generated through interviews)
• Making sense of textual data – analysis and interpretation

Part 2: Research Methodologies in Action – collecting and analysing survey data

• An introduction to quantitative research methods and methodology
• Principles and practices of survey design
• Making sense of survey data – analysis and interpretation

A key feature of both parts of the module is that we will be attending to both the principles (in lectures) and practices (in workshops) of select social research methods. As such, the workshops have been designed to give you the opportunity to apply the methods we cover in the lectures. , Over the course of the module we will also attend to the collection and analysis of data beyond textual and survey data, introducing you to other forms of data used in empirical human geography research.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you have been deferred for any assessment you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

• Flowerdew, R. and Martin, D. [eds.] (2005) Methods in Human Geography: A guide for students doing a research project [2^nd ed.]. Abingdon: Routledge.
• Harris, R. (2016) Quantitative Geography: The Basics. London: SAGE Publications.
• Hay, I. and Cope, M. [ed.] (2021) Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography [5^th ed.]. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Lovell, S.A., Coen, S.E. and Rosenberg, M.W. [eds.] (2023) The Routledge Handbook of Methodologies in Human Geography. Abingdon: Routledge.

Web-based and electronic resources:

• ELE
• Sage Research Methods portal https://methods.sagepub.com/ (available using a University of Exeter institutional login)

Key words search

Research Methods, Human Geography