Research methodology

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1021029CNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (C) Bachelor - specialised level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculty of Languages & Humanities

Department

Linguistics and Literary Studies

Educational team

Koen Kerremans (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

13 contact hours Lecture
13 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
90 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course provides an introduction to - and an overview of - research methods (quantitative and qualitative) in applied linguistics and related disciplines. Students acquire insights into research methodological concepts (e.g. 'triangulation', 'research population', 'sample', 'axial coding', etc.) and also acquire practical research skills through various exercises and assignments: e.g. searching for (reliable) scientific publications, drawing up interview plans or surveys, designing experiments, creating and analysing text corpora, coding research data in qualitative research, etc. Students also learn to set up, test and refine a research design step by step by means of a small-scale project carried out as part of a team (max. 4 students).

Course material

Digital course material (Required) : Eigen notities, hand-outs, kopieën van artikelen uit de vakliteratuur, Canvas

Additional info

Learning content is offered through lectures and seminars on campus or through distance learning. During the semester, students have to do exercises or assignments related to the project work. In addition, there are also short meetings per team in which the progress of each project is discussed with the lecturer.

Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes

The student:

has gained insight into the building blocks of a high-quality research design and is able to apply these to his/her own research project
has gained insight into research methodological concepts and is able to apply these correctly in a research project of his/her own
has acquired knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods within applied linguistics or a related domain (journalism, multilingual communication, interpreting, translation) and knows how to apply these in research projects
can work with digital tools to support qualitative and/or quantitative research approaches: e.g. tools for drawing up surveys (e.g. Qualtrics), for coding qualitative data (e.g. NVivo), for creating, managing and analysing text corpora (e.g. SketchEngine)
is able to develop, test and present a high-quality research design – individually or as part of a team – centred around a research question within applied linguistics or a related domain (journalism, multilingual communication, interpreting, translation)

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 50% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Oral exam with a relative weight of 50 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Project portfolio with a relative weight of 50 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

In the first exam session, teams are assessed on the basis of their presentation and the research material they have developed for their project, such as surveys or interviews.

This material, together with the presentation, forms a project portfolio that accounts for 50% of the total mark. Within this portfolio, each student's individual contribution and effort is also assessed through a peer assessment, which constitutes 10% of the portfolio and is carried out via the CANVAS learning platform. This assessment results in a score that is multiplied by the group score.

The oral exam, accounting for the other 50% of the mark, tests whether students understand the learning materials and can apply it to their project. Students who have not submitted a project cannot pass the exam, as the exam mainly involves a discussion of the project work.

Students who fail in the first exam session can choose for the second session to set up and present a research project individually or as a team, following the same evaluation system as in the first session. However, if a student works individually, the peer assessment will be dropped, and the project will count for 50% of the marks.

For each assessment item, the teacher will explicitly indicate whether the use of generative AI is prohibited, limited to certain extent, or fully allowed. Non-compliance with these specifications will be considered academic fraud and will be penalised.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context