Research Methodologies (RQ9021Z)

Content

This unit introduces students to a range of contemporary methodological approaches to non-human subject research methodologies across various disciplines including biblical studies, history, philosophy, systematic theology, religious studies. The unit outlines the methodological challenges, hermeneutical questions, and new directions for recent theological research, and the responses across various disciplines to those new developments. The unit focuses on the skills required for drafting a research question or objective, selecting appropriate research methodology and method(s), literature review, research design, and the preparation of a research proposal. The Unit will encourage students to identify methodologies and methods that are appropriate to their likely fields of study and offer each student the opportunity to gain advanced skills in one of several alternative research methodologies. A student who successfully completes this unit will be better equipped to write a research essay or thesis, and/or draft an HDR research proposal.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Graduate Certificate in Research Methodology, all Graduate Diplomas, all Masters awards, all Doctorates

Pedagogy

Asynchronous online learning and online synchronous attendance of six compulsory seminars and four online tutorials.

Indicative Bibliography

• Becker, Lucinda M. Writing Successful Reports and Dissertations. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2014.
• Booth, W., et al. The Craft of Research, 3rd ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2016.
• Bradley, James E., and Richard A. Muller. Church History: An Introduction to Research Methods and Resources. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2016.
• Mewburn, Inger, Katherine Firth, and Shaun Lehmann. How to Fix Your Academic Writing Trouble: A Practical Guide. London: Open University Press, 2019. *Reay, Stephen, et al. Are You Making A Meal Out of Research? A Recipe for Research Success. [S.l.]: Routledge, 2023.
• Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Third edition. London: Zed, 2021.
• Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. Edited by Wayne C Booth, et al, 9th ed. Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018. *Vyhmeister, Nancy Jean, and Terry Dwain Robertson. Quality Research Papers: For Students of Religion and Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.
• Yaghjian, Lucretia B. Writing Theology Well: A Rhetoric for Theological and Biblical Writers. Second edition. London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 2015.

Assessment