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Unit of study_
GOVT6139: Research Design
2025 unit information
This unit will provide students with the fundamentals for constructing and conducting effective research projects in the social sciences. An overview of social science inquiry will be presented through an examination of the diversity in theoretical and methodological approaches used in research. This will include a focus on both primary research, using interviews and questionnaires, and secondary research, using statistical databases, content analysis and textual analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be covered in the unit, as will an overview of ethical practices associated with research design. The assessment will be based around constructing practical research projects that can be utilised in both university and workplace-based research.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Arts and Social Sciences
| Study level | Postgraduate |
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| Academic unit | Government and International Relations |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. Develop an understanding of a range of philosophical worldviews and research approaches in the social sciences.
- LO2. Develop an understanding of the building blocks of research design in the social sciences, including research questions and hypotheses.
- LO3. Develop familiarity with commonly used methodological tools in empirical research, including surveys, introductory statistical methods, and qualitative data coding.
- LO4. Develop skills to critically engage with research in the social sciences, by understanding the processes by which research is conducted and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.
- LO5. Formulate a research question and develop a research proposal to examine the question, including identification of a suitable research design and methodological approach.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
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Semester 2 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
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