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Duration
5 weeksWeekly study
8 hours
Action Research in Education
Practical advice on producing a high-quality education action research project
This course will help you to develop your education research project title and scope. It introduces the research process and then focuses on practical activities to help you frame an appropriate research question.
The course explores the role of a literature review within your project and how it links to the research question and design. It then moves on to the purpose of research design and will help you decide which design best fits the aim of your project.
You will then look at your methodology which determines how you will go about gathering evidence and analysing it, in order to answer your research question.
Finally you will examine the typical sections of an action research project report and what each section should include. The course covers what makes a good report, and advice is provided on how to write well, including tailoring it to the needs of the intended audience.
What topics will you cover?
Week 1: Action Research Project: Your project title and scope
- How to work through the module and how to interact with the short courses
- The process of identifying, refining and deciding on a potential action research project topic
- The importance of checking that your topic fulfils the necessary criteria
- How to write a precise aim and objectives, and use them to define the scope of your research question
Week 2: Action Research Project: Your Literature Review
- Linking the literature review to the research question and using it to inform the project design
- Analysis of the main purposes a literature review
- Some approaches to doing a literature review
- Discussion of strategies for identifying which sources to include in a literature review
- The University’s guidance on plagiarism and ways to avoid committing it
Week 3: Action Research Project: Developing your Research Design
- Establishing the need for a research design
- Discussing some different designs and the factors which influence the choice of research design
- Illustrating the main steps when selecting a research design, using an example scenario
Week 4: Action Research Project: Methodology and Methods
- The link between methods and research design
- The criteria for judging research quality
- Practical advice on using different research methods
- Issues of ethics in research, and how to avoid them
Week 5: Action Research Project: Writing Up
- Examine what sections should be present in an action research project report and what content they should cover
- Discuss practical advice on writing strategies
- Identify criteria for recognising good project writing
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
Who is the course for?
Postgraduate students undertaking their final project as part of an MA in Education or an MA in Educational Leadership course.
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
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