Research Methods and Design Part 1

MET5008

The module will focus on development of practical skills in qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as methodological reflexivity and the ability to make critical evaluations. The module will enable students to prepare for the Master thesis.

The content of the course is focus on research design and how the research question influences the design of the study. The tuition addresses the theoretical fundament of the different research methods, the most central qualitative approaches with focus on gathering and analysis interview data, as well as how to collect, process and analyse quantitative data. Students will develop one qualitative and one quantitative project. These will be submitted as two separate tasks in a folder.

Students must either be enrolled in Master in Social Analysis (full time) or Senior Teacher Education programme in Social Science, or apply for the course as a single course student/exchange student.

Single course students must meet the following entry requirements:

Applicants must have a Bachelor degree of 3 years' duration (180 ECTS).
Applicants must have passed exams of at least 80 ECTS credits in social sciences. The grade requirement is C on a weighted average.
Applicants must have necessary knowledge of minimum 10 ECTS in Social Science methodology (we also accept Historical methodology).

Completed a module in qualitative and quantitative research methods in social sciences or history (minimum 10 ECTS).

Upon completion of the module, students shall have achieved the following skills/results:

Knowledge and understanding

Students will:

Possess knowledge of the use of qualitative and quantative methods in a research process
Be familiar with different research designs and method triangulation
Be familiar with the main principles of statistical inference and likelihood estimation

Skills:

Students will be able to:

Develop a design for a simple process of data collection for qualitative and quantitative methods
Carry out a research process, from design to analysis
Interpret qualitative and quantitative data which they have collected themselves

General competence

Students will be able to:

Carry out data collection and analysis using qualitative and quantitative methods
Critically evaluate the different steps in a research process
Carry out less extensive investigations and evaluations

In addition to the semester fee and costs for purchasing course literature, the students are expected to have a laptop.

Theoretical subject. Mandatory subject for students enrolled in Master in Social Analysis (full time) and Senior Teacher Education programme in Social Science.

Combination of campus-based tuition, as well as supervision, seminars and group work which can be done on campus and/or digitally. Students will also carry out self-studies in using the statistical tool of SPSS, supported by instruction videos and written material. No compulsary tuitions.

The study program is evaluated annually by the students through course evaluations and study program evaluation. These evaluations are included as part of the university's quality assurance system.

A portfolio with two individual assignments that are graded overall A-F.

Generating an answer using ChatGPT or similar artificial intelligence and submitting it wholly or partially as one's own answer is considered cheating.

Overlap refers to a similarity between courses with the same content. Therefore, you will receive the following reduction in credits if you have taken the courses listed below:

ME310S - Qualitative and Quantitative Methods I - 10 credits

MET5009 - Research Methods and Design Part 1 - 10 credits

Curriculum literature

Leganto

Course language

Norwegian

Credits

Bodø

Teaching semesters

Autumn 2025

Responsible faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences

Course coordinator

Professor

Ingrid Fylling

ingrid.fylling@nord.no