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Research Apprenticeship

Module description

In this module you will undertake, under the supervision of a member of academic staff, a substantial research project. You will learn about formulating research questions, designing experiments and studies, analysing and interpreting data, and communicating research to others. You will gain vital skills in being both a consumer and a producer of cutting-edge psychological research. You will also gain important personal development skills in terms of project management, working within a research team, and communicating your ideas to others.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of the research apprenticeship is to provide extensive practical experience, under supervision via an apprenticeship model, of all or most of the stages of a research project, from the formulation of the research questions, through to research design and analysis, to the formal write-up of the research report. This module will provide you with the opportunity to work closely with an experienced researcher and to be part of an established research group within the School.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Describe extensively current research and theories in your research field
• 2. Work closely and collaboratively with an experienced researcher in the design and execution of a research project
• 3. Apply the general research and analysis skills covered in the programme to your research question

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Describe extensively current research and theories in your research field
• 5. Evaluate critically your research field and demonstrate a thorough working knowledge of the content of your research field
• 6. Command a variety of research skills to address research questions
• 7. Conduct high quality empirical research
• 8. Communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively, fluently and professionally by written, graphic and oral means
• 9. Consider ethical issues in research

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 10. Interact effectively and supportively within a research group
• 11. Manage your own learning with minimum guidance using the full range of resources of the discipline
• 12. Seek and make use of feedback
• 13. Manage a self-contained research project and meet all deadlines
• 14. Engage effectively in debate and communicate effectively about research

Syllabus plan

The exact form of the research apprenticeship will depend on the research field and the research supervisor.  The project typically involves the collection of original empirical data from participants or equivalent alternatives such as computational modelling of empirical data or secondary data analysis, such as a meta-analysis. If you collect original data this may either be on campus or online.

Apprenticeships are typically run within the Psychology department although you are welcome to pursue an external apprenticeship but in that situation you will also need to have a named supervisor with the Psychology department to act as a liaison supervisor.. Details of available apprenticeships or available supervisors will be available to you at some point during term 1.

In consultation with the supervisor, you will generate research ideas, select a suitable research design, choose appropriate research methods, obtain ethical approval, collect (where appropriate) and analyse the data, and write the research report.

You will submit a research proposal that outlines the rationale for the research (i.e., the introduction) and the proposed method and analysis strategy.

You will present your research to your peers and to members of academic staff.

Data collection for the project should, ideally, be completed by the end of July. This milestone ensures sufficient time to analyse and write up the results of the research for final submission.

You are expected to keep a research diary for the duration of your research project and submit this with your dissertation. The research diary should consist of at least 20 entries of approximately 1 page each. These entries can be recorded minutes of supervision meetings, notes on data analysis, plans for parts of the dissertation, or field notes. The diary does not need to be typed.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The module mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further dissertation, by a date to be recommended by the examiners, normally not more than one year after the original submission date. The module mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will count for 100% of the mark and will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

The readings assigned will depend on the specific research project undertaken by the student.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE page: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1809

Key words search

Research apprenticeship