Useful links
Unit of study_
GOVT6139: Research Design
2027 unit information
This unit explores what constitutes knowledge in the social and political sciences and how it is generated. It develops students as critical consumers of research and practitioners capable of designing rigorous studies for professional contexts. Students learn qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches through hands-on activities using standard research software. The curriculum builds from foundational concepts (research approaches, theory, ethics) to research design components (purpose statements, research questions, data analysis). Students will develop a research proposal integrating methodological concepts into a feasible project relevant to academic and workplace contexts.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Arts and Social Sciences
| Study level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Government and International Relations |
| Credit points | 6 |
|
Prerequisites:
?
|
None |
|---|---|
|
Corequisites:
?
|
None |
| Prohibitions:
?
|
None |
| Assumed knowledge:
?
|
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 ? |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Semester 2 2027
|
Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
|
Find your current year census dates
Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
Disclaimer
Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.
To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.