SOCL19069 - Social Research Methods

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit familiarises students with the practice of researching and the collection of data. Through the development of core skills, students are introduced to both qualitative and quantitative methods. Links between theory and social research methods are investigated in an effort to understand the production and analysis of social research data. At the end of the unit students should be able to critically assess and analyse the application and use of appropriate research methods. Within this framework students should be able to devise and undertake a social survey, understand and explain the application of both quantitative and qualitative research methods, and be able to use both quantitative and qualitative approaches to their research.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Successful completion of 48 credit points.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
2. Written Assessment 40%
3. Written Assessment 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 63.16% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 36.54% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Unit Evaluation
Feedback
Students to be allowed to select their own research topics for the two written assessments.
Recommendation
Students will select their own social issues for the assessments. Examples of suitable social issues will be provided and students will be encouraged to confirm their selected social issues with the unit coordinator.
Action Taken
A new list of social issues is given to students with each offering, along with the option to select a social issue of interest to the student. If a student is setting their own social issue they need to obtain agreement from the Unit Coordinator.
Source: Unit Evaluation
Feedback
Provide students with more exemplars of report format and quantitative assignments.
Recommendation
More exemplars will be provided and clearer Assessment structure information provided.
Action Taken
Where possible examples from published social science research and the unit coordinator's research were used to inform the unit content and support students' learning. These resources are continually updated and expanded to illustrate the variety of social research conducted and the tools available.
Source: Unit Evaluation
Feedback
Finding some assessment resources in the Assessment tile.
Recommendation
The Moodle site will provide separate sections for each of the three assessments in the Assessment tile.
Action Taken
In the Assessments tile, the resources were grouped under their respective assessment items to provide a single location for students to easily find and access.
Source: Unit Evaluation, email
Feedback
An engaging and interesting unit with good assessments. The lectures, tutorials, teaching and support provided by the unit coordinator helped students learn.
Recommendation
To continue to support and engage with students.
Action Taken
The unit coordinator values and encourages student feedback to continually develop and improve the unit for students.
Source: Unit Evaluation
Feedback
Provide a better practice quiz.
Recommendation
The practice quiz will be expanded in the number of questions and improved.
Action Taken
The practice quiz was completely revised and expanded to give students a similar experience to that of the Assessment 1 online quiz.
Source: SUTE unit comments
Feedback
Students reported the unit provided good insight into how research was conducted and the lecturers and material provided were good.
Recommendation
The content and delivery of the unit will be continually updated to improve the learning experience of students and their knowledge of social research and the methods available for use.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE unit comments
Feedback
Students requested more real-world social work practice examples to show how research relates to social work practice.
Recommendation
More real-world and current social issues related to areas of social work practice will be presented and discussed in the tutorial sessions and the discussion forum. To support students from other discipline areas (e.g., Arts) studying in the unit other research examples will be presented.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE unit comments
Feedback
Students wanted more detail in the marking rubrics with every section and activity of the assessment included.
Recommendation
An itemised checklist for each written assessment will be provided to support students' preparation of their assignments for marking.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE unit comments
Feedback
The terminology used is complex and further clarification is needed to help with understanding the concepts.
Recommendation
In the early weeks of the unit, additional attention will be given to providing students with resources and discussion points in the tutorial sessions and online forums to clarify key terms used to aid familiarisation and understanding of the social research terminology. The quiz assessment can also be adjusted to help students learn key terms.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE evaluation result
Feedback
Require more useful knowledge and skills to be added.
Recommendation
The required readings will be revised to include stronger social work content and a variety of instructional learning material incorporated into the weekly content.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE evaluation result
Feedback
Students wanted to see more relevance of the unit to their social work degree.
Recommendation
Revision of the readings will focus on more updated social work texts and journal articles, along with examples of how social research methods aid social work practice and policy-making.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Apply a range of skills and competencies that critically evaluate the use and application of research methods and the analysis of data.
  2. Conduct a social survey.
  3. Explain and discuss both the benefits and limitations of qualitative and quantitative research and their appropriate contexts for application, while having and understanding of the constraints and concerns associated with undertaking and supervising a research project.
  4. Apply both qualitative and quantitative research techniques.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • • •
8 - Ethical practice • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10