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Research Methods for Investigating Mental Health & Wellbeing in Education - EDU00102M

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  • Department: Education
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. Beth Bell
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2023-24

Module summary

This module will develop your knowledge and skills in quantitative and qualitative research with particular focus on research ethics, research design, data collection and data analyses applied in evaluating mental health and wellbeing interventions in educations. You will also advance your skills in communicating research to a range of audiences.

Professional requirements

none

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 1 2023-24

Module aims

This module aims to develop the knowledge and skills needed for effective ethical research into mental health and wellbeing in education settings, with a particular focus on the methods used to evaluate mental health and wellbeing strategies, interventions and provisions. You will gain in-depth critical comparative understanding of both qualitative (e.g., focus groups, interviews) and quantitative (e.g., surveys, randomised controlled trials) research methods. You will also develop your ability to engage in qualitative and quantitative data analysis (e.g., correlations, analysis of variance, thematic analysis etc.) from an applied educational perspective.

Module learning outcomes

Subject content

By the end of this module students will be able to:

  • Design effective and ethical qualitative and quantitative research on mental health and wellbeing in education settings, including evaluation studies.
  • Apply key concepts relevant to research on mental health and wellbeing in education, including data sampling and data collection methods, research designs, research ethics and data analysis techniques, to answer research questions
  • Plan qualitative and quantitative statistical analyses.
  • Critically evaluate research on mental health and wellbeing in education
  • Effectively communicate field-specific research methods knowledge to a range of audiences
  • Collaborate with researchers, policy makers and teachers in the context of mental health and wellbeing in education

Academic and graduate skills

Students will have learned how to:

  • Formulate research questions
  • Design effective and ethical research
  • Critically evaluate research
  • Plan qualitative and quantitative data analyses
  • Communicate complex ideas to a range of audiences

Module content

Indicative content:

  • Epistemology and Ontology
  • Ethics
  • Systematic Reviews
  • Questionnaires
  • Experiments
  • Randomised Control Trials
  • Interviews and Focus Groups
  • Thematic Analysis
  • Mixed-Method Research

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Critical comparative analysis		 N/A 30
Essay/coursework
Research evaluation proposal		 N/A 70

Special assessment rules

None

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Critical comparative analysis		 N/A 30
Essay/coursework
Research evaluation proposal		 N/A 70

Module feedback

Individual written feedback reports for summative assessments, with follow-up tutor meeting if necessary. The feedback is returned to students in line with university policy. Please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.

Indicative reading

Indicative key texts:

Adler, K., Salanterä, S., & Zumstein-Shaha, M. (2019). Focus group interviews in child, youth, and parent research: an integrative literature review. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18, 1609406919887274.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. London: Sage Publications Ltd.

Dawson, A., Yeomans, E., & Brown, E. R. (2018). Methodological challenges in education RCTs: reflections from England’s Education Endowment Foundation, Educational Research, 60, 292-310. doi: 10.1080/00131881.2018.1500079

Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed). London: Sage Publications Ltd.

Khan, K. S., Kunz, R., Kleijnen, J., & Antes, G. (2003). Five steps to conducting a systematic review. Journal of the royal society of medicine, 96(3), 118-121."


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.