KF7028 - Research Methods and Project Management

This module is delivered through a combination of workshops and independent study. Each workshop will focus on a particular aspect of the module providing the main theories, techniques and approaches and enabling you to practically apply them. You will be allocated into an action learning set early on in the module and these will be used in the workshops to provide a group environment for applying your learning and to enable you to reflect on your learning and engage in peer support and evaluation. Outside of the workshops you will be expected to engage in follow up activities from that week and prepare for future workshops as well as engage in more independent learning and keep a reflective journal. This reflective journal will form a key part of the evidence for the two assignments. Informal feedback will be provided throughout the module mainly through the workshop sessions.

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You will be supported throughout the module by the module team During your workshop you will receive informal feedback from your tutors and from peers particularly through your action learning set. The main BB module site will provide the key resources to support your learning and will also be a forum for sharing practice and queries with your tutor and other students at any time.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Deploy comprehensive knowledge and understanding of appropriate research tools, techniques and approaches including data and information analysis and management in the field of computer and information sciences

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2. Be able to effectively apply project management to successfully implement a computing related project.
3. Be able to effectively search, evaluate and develop a critical literature review
4. Appreciate and apply appropriate research techniques, tools, analysis and evaluation to support effective research in computer and information sciences

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Demonstrate an ethical and professional approach to research including an appreciation of risk, societal, legal and sustainability issues and how they apply in a research environment.

Formative assessment
The main source of formative feedback will be via the workshops where your tutors and peers, particularly those in your action learning sets, will be providing ongoing feedback on the tasks in hand. The BB module site will also be a source for sharing queries and the module tutors will be available for students to meet up with individually or in groups outside the formal scheduled teaching time.

Summative assessment
There will be two summative assessments for the module.
1. The first assessment will be a team project where you will be required to undertake a critical literature review of research in a relevant area of computer and information sciences and project manage this process as a team. You will be expected to keep a reflective journal through the process. You will be formally assessed on your reflective journal and the presentation of the results from your critical literature review itself and the process of managing the team (worth 40% of the marks for the module).

This assessment will assess MLOs 2, 3.

2. The second assessment will evaluate your understanding of different research methods and data and information analysis together with your ability to evaluate and address ethics, professional and related issues. You will be expected to keep a reflective log throughout the module and use this to prepare an oral presentation on research approaches, analysis and ethical and professional considerations (worth 60% of the marks for the module).

This individual assessment will assess MLOs 1, 4, 5.

You will receive written feedback on both of the summative assessments via the main BB module site.

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This module has research at its centre, therefore it addresses and embeds all four elements of research rich learning. You will be expected to undertake research yourself (research/enquiry based), conduct a significant literature review as a team, and analyse your results from this (research tutored), explore and apply different types of research approaches and data analysis and project management techniques relevant to the research environment (research led) and consider ethics, professional and related issues in relation to research (research orientated). You will also be exposed to examples of research in the computing discipline including examples from the academic staff here at the university and have the opportunity to discuss and critically engage with this. Throughout you will be expected to practice self-reflection to enable you to evaluate the research learning you are gaining through this module.