Teaching Undergraduate Research Methods Using Action Learning Sets

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Teaching Undergraduate
Research Methods Using Action
Learning Sets
Thomas Lancaster
Birmingham City University
HEA Innovation In The Assessment Of Social
Science Research Methods

Computing Background

Alternative View To Social
Science
Research methods important, but not dominant on
the Computing courses
Covered informally:
Referencing/Writing/Information Finding/Core Skills/
Literature/Mathematics/Analysing Data/User Needs
Analysis
Covered more formally:
Used within Final Year Project

My Background
Thomas Lancaster
Senior Lecturer in Computing at
Birmingham City University, UK
Programme Leader BSc Computer
Science
Module Leader for Professional
Practice 2 UG2
Former BSc Project Coordinator
Researcher into areas such as
Plagiarism, Contract Cheating and
educational use of Social Media

Professional Practice 2 UG2

Module Overview
Level 5 (Year 2) module taken as part of BSc
Computer Science and BSc Business Information
Technology
Approximately 120 students in 2012-2013
Including Direct Entry students
15 credits
Taught over 20 weeks (including one non-
teaching week)

Delivery Style
Module taught in groups of 20s, in 2 hour sessions
Module delivered by several staff
No separate lecture
Module alternates between seminar room and
computer room
Module based around discussions and interaction
Supported by activities on Moodle

Module Content
Two sections:
Employability and placement skills
Research methods
Teaching designed to support success in final
year and introduce the idea of academic
research
Little attention paid to theory
Focus on practical application of research methods

Research Methods Content
Active understanding of
academic literature
Academic writing and
referencing
Information searching and
information validity
Comparative research
techniques
Questionnaire design
Ethics in projects and research
User testing
Data presentation and
investigation
Poster design
Poster fair
Planning of the Final Year
Project

Assessment

Research Methods
Assessment
Critical Literature Review
Individual work
Worth 30%
Traditional introduction to
academic literature, but
focused around topics
interesting students
Research Investigation
Action Learning Set
Worth 30%
Alternative take on research
methods, looking at choosing
appropriate
methods, collecting
data, analysing data and
presenting and communicating
this

Action Learning Sets
Students randomly drawn into Action Learning
Sets of 3 to 5 members
Students work together in labs and seminars on
practice tasks and assessed tasks

Research Investigation
Four parts
Identify Research Question (0%)
Show Research Design (10%)
Show Research Evidence (10%)
Poster Fair (80%)

Research Questions
Must focus on areas appropriate to the courses:
Computing/Technology/Business/Education
Must provide scope for all members of the ALS
to be involved
One research task per active member of the Action
Learning Set
Choice of research tasks should be sensible

Research Question
Examples
How do the usage patterns of LinkedIn by UK
students differ from the rest of society?
What economic effect has music downloads had
on modern day music stores such as HMV?
To what extent has the popularity of
programming languages changed since 2005?
How damaging to international society is the
violence in modern video games?

Poster Fair
“Highlight of the module…”
A1 sized poster
5 minute presentation, plus questions
Reviewed by tutors
Reviewed by other Action Learning Sets
To standard set of criteria, equally weighted

Research Posters

Evaluation

Tutor Experience
Have been using a variety of this assignment across
many modules of this type
Many students produce excellent work
(publishable)
Posters used for displays and university
promotion, and for teaching in subsequent years
Occasional “groupwork” issues, but catered for
within marking scheme
Experience useful for CV and future employability

Application
Feel that a version of this assignment could work
well within the social sciences
Perhaps within the first year?
Happy to provide support, guidance and more
detailed presentations
Keen to hear other findings and results and
continue to improve best practice
Always interested in experiences working with Action
Learning Sets in other academic disciplines

For More Information
Thomas Lancaster:
http://thomaslancaster.co.uk
thomas.lancaster@bcu.ac.uk
Slides Available At:
http://slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster
Video Discussion Available At:
http://youtube.com/DrThomasLancaster

Teaching Undergraduate Research Methods Using Action Learning Sets

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