This module is designed to develop and enhance the critical competencies essential for successful doctoral study, including advanced thinking, analytical reading, critical appraisal, creativity, and intellectual exploration. It provides a structured introduction to the nature and scope of doctoral research by engaging you in a systematic examination of the foundations of knowledge and epistemological inquiry.

Throughout the module, you will be encouraged to cultivate key attributes for independent research, such as self-motivation, self-direction, effective time management, and learner autonomy. These skills will be integral to navigating the complexities and demands of the doctoral journey.

In addition, the module will support you in beginning to identify and refine potential areas of research interest. These early explorations may form the basis for the development of the thesis proposal and, ultimately, the doctoral thesis itself.

The module will enable students to develop awareness of the way research is shaped by worldview, and is approached by a critical exposure to the key elements of social science: empiricism, positivism, critical theory, constructivism, post-modernism, ethnography and hermeneutics. The module provides the broad conceptual framework within which students will develop research ideas. It is therefore primarily concerned with issues of truth, knowledge, methodology and validity. The intention is that by the end of the module students will be able to both defend and critique their own perspective with some confidence, as they begin to apply it to the research questions they are developing.

The aims of this module are:

1. To enable students to analyse professional practice using different theoretical frameworks.
2. To inform students in their work as key professionals and agents of change in the context of health and social care.

The module content will be made up of a number of strands of sociological enquiry, relating to both macro and micro approaches: the primary focus is on the relationship between the individual and society. 

1. Sociological theory, to include examination of symbolic interactionist, feminist, Marxist, functionalist and post-modernist perspectives as means of understanding the shape and delivery of contemporary professional practice.
2. Theorising health and social care policy, to involve deconstruction of contemporary policy initiatives to establish the emergence of a particular discourse, and the subsequent implications for the types of service delivered in practice.
3. Examination of the changing role of health and social care professions in contemporary society e.g. deskilling; proletarianisation; deprofessionalisation.
4. Contextualise the contemporary role of health and social care professions in relation to policy changes.

The aims of this module are: to enable students to justify their research approach and potential study designs, and demonstrate appropriate research skills that are congruent with their chosen methodology. Therefore, the module will:

1. Equip students to justify and develop a study design that is congruent with their research question and chosen paradigm.
2. Enable students to evaluate research from a variety of methodologies.

The module content further develops links between methodology theory and research study design in health and social care, looking at the practical implications of methodology for research methods, including:

1. Implications of methodology theory for study design – application of different methodologies to research, including experimental and quasi-experimental approaches; grounded theory; phenomenology; ethnography; narrative inquiry; discourse analysis; case study. Assessments of validity or trustworthiness in research studies.
2. Data tool development and data collection skills: questionnaire development and use; interview schedule development and interviewing skills.
3. Data analysis skills: statistical analysis; qualitative analysis; development of databases to facilitate analysis. Role of reflexivity in data analysis and discussion.
4. Large-scale, multi-site research including randomised controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies and cohort studies.
5. Desk-top research: meta-analysis; systematic literature reviews.

The module aims to offer opportunities for: 

1. Exploration and critical evaluation of students' proposals for the research questions, design, methodology and methods, and negotiation of ethical issues for their theses.
2. Presentation of the proposed enquiry among peers and to a panel of tutors involved in delivering the module for formative feedback and formal assessment.
3. Confirmation of the supervisor for students' theses.

This module will draw upon the comprehensive philosophical, theoretical and practical research approaches addressed in the preceding taught modules. Using reflexivity and critical argument, you will develop a robust research proposal that is commensurate with the ethical approval process and demonstrates ethical sensitivity more widely.

The content of the module is framed to aid the delivery of the assessed components. The main product of the module will be a written proposal for the thesis including a brief review of the literature, study design, and a methodology and methods section.

However, the framing and conceptualisation of the proposed enquiry will, in the first instance, be presented among peers to a panel of tutors involved in delivering the module. This viva voce scenario will serve as feedback to assist a process of deliberate and purposeful refinement of the proposal. The proposed design, methodology and methods will be considered in ways that seek to maximise the justification for the adopted approach, both ethically and reflexively, by the student. Moreover, formal ethical approval for this proposal will be undertaken by preparing a Faculty Research Ethics Committee application form along with supporting evidence (20% of the assessment weighting).

This module gives you the chance to deeply explore a topic that is directly relevant to your chosen field of practice. It encourages you to engage with, and contribute to, the expanding body of applied knowledge and professional practice in your area. Most importantly, it supports you in making an original contribution to knowledge through your research. As the final stage of the programme, the Thesis module builds on everything you’ve learned and developed throughout your taught modules, bringing your doctoral journey to its meaningful conclusion.

The module aims to:

1. Provide students with an opportunity to investigate, systematically and in depth, a topic of direct relevance for their chosen area of application.
2. Enable the student to draw on and contribute to the growing body of applied knowledge and professional practice.
3. Enable the student to make an original contribution to knowledge.