PY0791 - Historical Psychology and Qualitative Research Methods

You will participate in lectures and workshops designed to provide breadth and depth of conceptual knowledge across topics in the history of psychology. Independent study will give you further opportunity to enhance skills in critical analysis, explore key theoretical underpinnings and think critically about the implications of qualitative research design. The module will encourage student-led discussions where you will work collaboratively in small groups to generate and present your ideas or to engage in critical but supportive peer review. You will become familiar with a wide range of qualitative methods and develop the capacity to judge which methods are appropriate given different contexts of enquiry.
Directed and independent learning will be encouraged through the provision of electronic reading lists, journal articles and other resources relating to session/workshop topics. These lists and resources will then serve as a basis for further independent study. Discussion board forums will be available to encourage you to exchange ideas with your peers. Together, the lecture/workshops, directed and independent learning and online discussion will enable you to gain greater depth of knowledge and understanding in these three psychological fields. Tutorials will provide an opportunity for you to discuss issues related to the development of your learning with a member of staff.

You will be supported in the module not only by the learning experience in the sessions themselves but though the presence of resources out with of these scheduled sessions. You will have access to the teaching staff, through tutorials, where you can discuss issues pertinent to your learning experiences. Staff contact details and locations will be listed on the module site on the E-learning Portal, Blackboard. In addition, not only will session (PowerPoint) and PANOPTO resources be present on Blackboard but Blackboard will also have, via the reading lists, explicit routes to guided and independent reading resources and where pertinent, further web based resources. Module information will be e-mailed through the Blackboard site and Discussion Boards will be established to encourage your explicit conversations with other students on the module. The AllPsych pages on Blackboard will also provide details on university wide services to support your academic study, Student Wellbeing, University Assessment Regulations (ARTA), Library, Careers, etc.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
• MKU1: Critically evaluate the evolution of theoretical and methodological approaches in psychology
• MKU2: You will be expected to demonstrate critical understanding of a range of approaches to qualitative research in psychology
• MKU3: You will be expected to collect, analyse and interpret qualitative data in a framework of current knowledge in the discipline.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• MIPSA1: You will conceptualise, plan and undertake guided qualitative research projects

Personal Values Attributes:
• MPVA1: Understand the development of professional ethics and research integrity

Formative assessment:
In the Qualitative Research Methods component you will have in-class module tutor feedback on interview data and possible forms of analyses.

Summative assessment:
In the Historical Psychology component assessment which is worth 35% of the module assessment, you will have the opportunity to undertake a 2000 word written assignment which will provide the opportunity for you to demonstrate your achievement of learning outcomes (MKU1, MPVA1.)

In the Qualitative Research Methods component you will have two assessments.
Assessment 1- you will complete a research plan proforma, describing in detail how you plan to collect and analyse data in anticipation of assessment 2. You will also provide a rationale for your chosen methodology by outlining the core theoretical principles underpinning thematic analysis, Grounded Theory, and IPA. The assessment load will be 20% of the module assessment (MKU1, MKU2,, MIPSA1, MPVA1).

Assessment 2- you will carry out a qualitative research study employing a suitable qualitative approach to analyse your data. The assignment word length will be 4000 words. The emphasis will be upon the analyses of qualitative data. The assessment load will be 45% of the module assessment (MKU2, MKU3, MIPSA1, MPVA1).

Written individual feedback will be provided on all three of your assignments and you may request a tutorial with the tutor to further discuss the feedback.

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In the Historical Psychology component you will be exposed to historical changes in the research approaches and techniques in the different branches of psychology. You will be introduced to a series of ‘classic’ studies and asked to evaluate and debate the way that psychological knowledge, methods and ethical approaches may have changed since that original study. Each classic study represents a pathway in the discipline of psychology, embracing diverse areas such as social, developmental, cognitive and health psychology. For each pathway, you will be asked to reflect critically on the original epistemological and methodological assumptions made within the discipline and consider the major changes in the development of the discipline (this component assessed via a 4000 word essay).

The Qualitative Research Methods component will allow you to explore theoretical aspects of psychology in a practical research focussed way. You will have the opportunity to engage with qualitative methodologies to answer a research question that you will develop yourself under supervision. Specialist resources will be available for you to use in mini research projects to aid your understanding of how qualitative research is an important tool in the creation of new psychological knowledge. Your qualitative report writing skills will be developed to prepare you for the thesis that is the capstone of the programme. All of this will be achieved in tandem with discussion and application of ethical principles and best qualitative practices.