On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• describe and explain qualitative and quantitative research methods in relation to research involving child participants
• describe ethical considerations relevant for designing and conducting research in child studies.

• perform descriptive and analytical statistics
• perform qualitative analysis
• independently develop and write a research design adapted to child studies.

• evaluate the quality of scientific studies using various designs in child studies
• critically reflect on the relation between research problem, theory, methods and ethics in empirical studies.

- research design and research process
- quantitative methods
- qualitative methods
- systematic reviews
- research planning
- library search
- research ethics
- child studies

The course is implemented through lectures, seminars and exercises performed individually and in groups.

Undervisningen bedrivs på engelska.

The applicant must hold the minimum of a bachelor’s degree (i.e. the equivalent of 180 ECTS credits at an accredited university) within health and caring sciences, behavioral science, social work, disability research, or educational sciences, including independent, theoretical based work, i.e. a thesis or equivalent. Proof of English proficiency is required.

Kursen bedöms med betygen A, B, C, D, E, FX eller F.

The course is examined through two individual written assignments, a seminar, and a thesis planning.

Examinationsmoment	Omfattning	Betyg
Individuell skriftlig inlämningsuppgift 1	5 hp	A/B/C/D/E/FX/F
Individuell skriftlig inlämningsuppgifr 2	5 hp	A/B/C/D/E/FX/F
Seminarium	2 hp	U/G
Examensarbete planering	3 hp	A/B/C/D/E/FX/F

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Sage.

Creswell, J.W., & Creswell, J. D. (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE.

Field, A. P. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. Sage Publications.

Jesson, Jill, Matheson, Lydia, & Lacey, Fiona M. (2011). Doing your literature review: traditional and systematic techniques. Sage.

Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2008). InterViews: learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing. SAGE publications.

Okasha, S. (2016). Philosophy of Science: very short introduction. Oxford University Press.

Palant, J. (2014). The SPSS Survival Manual. Open University Press.

Suri, H. (2020). Ethical Considerations of Conducting Systematic Reviews in Educational Research. In O. Zawacki-Richter, M. Kerres, S. Bedenlier, B. Melissa, & E. Buntins Katja (Eds.), Systematic Reviews in Educational Research: Methodology, perspectives and application (pp. 41- 54). Springer.

In addition to listed course texts there will be, in accordance with lecturers’ recommendations, reports, articles and internet resources proposed to supplement the texts above.

The latest edition of textbooks will be used.