MA Digital Technologies, Communication and Education

The unit is divided into three main components:  

1. Digital education research designs: 
   • • Identifying research problems and developing appropriate research questions
     • Developing a deeper understanding of ethical issues associated with digital education research
     • Conceptual issues involved in digital education research design
2. Digital education research methods: 
   • • Using appropriate frameworks and approaches in the design, conduct and analysis of digital education research 
     • Understanding key concepts of validity, reliability and trustworthiness in relation to specific methods and paradigms used for digital education research
     • Designing data generation instruments for digital education research
     • Generating data using instruments developed for digital education, including sampling strategies
     • Reflecting on theoretical, ethical, and practical implications of data collection and analysis practices

1. Enable students to identify and define a research problem, and to subsequently design, develop and complete an independent research project in the field of digital education.
2. Enable students to demonstrate critical understanding of digital education research design: how research methodology is selected given a problem, how the data are analysed and interpreted; how research is reported; and the implications of the findings to theory, research and practice.
3. Support students’ research proposal development and pilot studies for dissertation projects.
4. Enable students to understand the applicability of academic research practices to non-academic contexts.

For both DER1 and DER2, the intended unit learning outcomes aim to support and enhance students’ academic- and employment-related outcomes in various ways:

• By fostering understanding of DER methodological approaches and academic conventions in research, students will be able to effectively communicate and defend (and critique) research findings generated by themselves and others.
• Developing critical analysis skills through critiquing DER accounts and contributing to debates will allow students to demonstrate understanding and capacity for problem-solving, including through developing a provisional research plan and undertaking a ‘mock’ pilot research study.
• Understanding key concepts like validity and reliability will enhance students’ practical skills in research design and evaluation perspectives, and prepare them for real-world problem-solving applications in both academic and professional settings.
• Collaborative group activities online and in seminars aim to enhance students’ practice of teamwork, collaboration, and communication skills. In DER2, this involve working with fellow students to undertake a ‘mock’ pilot research study. 
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Texts and learning materials – both empirical/theoretical research and more methodological focused – introduce key principles, debates, and practices in research methods specific to digital education. Critical engagement with digital education research strategies – including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods – is intended. The unit builds on DER1 in Semester 1 and intends to provide a robust foundation for students’ later MA dissertation. 

Onsite/FT and DL/PT mode learning and teaching processes will include a combination of lecture and seminar style sessions, to include asynchronous introductory lecture by the course tutor, in class discussions, small group activities, presentations, critical reading, case studies, as well as self-directed work and reading outside of class, including online materials and activities through blended learning.  

• Articulate an addressable digital education research question.
• Select appropriate method(s) to investigate a digital education research question and justify this selection.
• Discuss the relationship between academic research and robust evaluations in digital education practice.
• Discuss the rationale for and practical experience of ethical approval processes.
• Understand the range of ethical concerns that inform digital education research study design and practice.

• Critically reflect on their own research designs in relation to wider literature and frameworks.
• Justify research design in relation to key concepts of validity, reliability, generalisability and trustworthiness in educational research

• Locate and critically analyse published research in support of research study design.
• Implement a research design in pilot study format.
• Draw on findings from a pilot study to justify further research.
   

• Persuasively and ethically present findings and related proposals to address specific problem spaces.
• Analysing practical and ethical implications of digital educational research
• Use the internet and library resources to research a specific digital education field.
• Use appropriate software and technology for generating, analysing and communicating data.
• Problem solve through critically engaging with key theoretical and practical issues around digital education research methods.
• Work collaboratively with others by productively engaging in collaborative group activities.

Assessment 1: Outline proposal of study design to investigate selected digital education problem space. Assessment 2: Report on pilot study and reflections on challenges and improvements to study design

 Feedback will be available online via Blackboard

Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2011). Research Methods in Education (7th edition). London: Routledge Falmer.

Creswell, J. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed). Sage.

Hine, C., Watson, H., Snee, H., Roberts, S. and Morey, Y. (Eds). (2016). Digital Methods for Social Science: An Interdisciplinary Guide to Research Innovation. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.

Laurillard, D. (2013). Teaching as a design science: Building pedagogical patterns for learning and technology. Routledge.

Ross, J. (2017) Speculative method in digital education research. In Learning, Media and Technology, 42:2, 214-229, DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2016.1160927

Savin-Baden, M., Tombs, G. (2017). Research Methods for Education in the Digital Age. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing.