Studying at York
Research Methods for Investigating Mental Health & Wellbeing in Education - EDU00102M
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
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 30 |
| Essay/coursework | 70 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 30 |
| Essay/coursework | 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."