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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Understanding Research Methods by University of London

4.6
stars
7,850 ratings

About the Course

This MOOC is about demystifying research and research methods. It will outline the fundamentals of doing research, aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at the postgraduate level. It places the student experience at the centre of our endeavours by engaging learners in a range of robust and challenging discussions and exercises befitting SOAS, University of London's status as a research-intensive university and its rich research heritage. The course will appeal to those of you who require an understanding of research approaches and skills, and importantly an ability to deploy them in your studies or in your professional lives. In particular, this course will aid those of you who have to conduct research as part of your postgraduate studies but do not perhaps have access to research methods courses, or for those of you who feel you would like additional support for self-improvement. No prior knowledge or experience in research is required to take this course and as such, the course is for everyone. This MOOC draws on a wealth of existing course material developed to support research training across SOAS, University of London and particularly drawing from the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy (CISD). In 2015, the course was nominated for the prestigious Guardian University Award for its innovative approach to online learning. Participation in or completion of this online course will not confer academic credit for University of London programmes...

Top reviews

CS

May 9, 2022

Really easy to follow and great advice from all the experts! It has helped me organise from the beginning of my dissertation and I feel more comfortable getting started on what is a big project ahead.

A

Jul 26, 2017

This is wonderful course especially for research scholars, one suggestion is instead of giving articles from books, please provide a PPT which will be more effective ! thank you for wonderful session.

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1976 - 2000 of 2,498 Reviews for Understanding Research Methods

By Sai D P

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Aug 6, 2017

It was a great course but I wish the repetitions in videos are cut out. A lot of scholars are repeating what the others have already addressed, if that can be taken care of, it would be great.

By Jaime L

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Apr 29, 2020

It is a very interesting course. The references are very helpful. It makes me read the whole books. And the task and reviews of other students make you think about how doing a well research.

By Itzel H

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Feb 14, 2017

This course is a good first step towards research in any field. Research is something important and delicate and this is a great way to start understanding its purpose, tools and activities.

By Sohaib A

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Sep 9, 2021

It is really helpful to join and interact in this course. Thank you Coursera for the opportunity and thank you very much to the organizers of the course and to throwing in other activities.

By Kshitiz L

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Jun 8, 2021

Truely professional. Great help for those who are starting in research area. Can be related to almost every research area and great platform for interaction between other learners as well.

By Pragallapati P

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May 31, 2020

In the initial stages, any research scholar will have a doubt how to take forward the project. But this course has given good knowledge of how to understand and take forward the project.

By Gianni C

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Sep 9, 2018

The course is well structured with a many stimulating activities. Maybe adding other suggested readings more in-depth knowledge of some arguments could be beneficial for the whole course

By Mohaimen S

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Jun 12, 2020

This course is good for understanding Research method but I will request that try to improve the quality. You should talk more and more about the details of structure portion. Thank u.

By Archie

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Apr 10, 2020

very nice overview of the main points, a liitle short on the videos and I wish there have been more debate between researchers about which way fits the best kind of different reserachs

By MOHAMMAD T H 1

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Apr 19, 2020

It is a good course to understand the criteria of a good research question and the approaches to research. However, the assignments are not that challenging as they are peer-reviewed

By Karimzada G V

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Nov 21, 2020

It is a very short and easy course but you ll learn a lot. Researchers give advice about their experiences, you get chance to share your research topic, and review others. Thank you

By BIKASH K

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Dec 30, 2023

A great general introductory course. Covers mainly about the philosophical, psychological type of research. Lacks the technical research part. Still the information is very useful.

By Leo Z

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Mar 13, 2021

I think this gives a comprehensive overview as to how to approach research methods, good videos and reading content, the exercises were useful in tying the course content together.

By Kamalakar V

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Nov 11, 2022

The Course is really useful who wants aim for Phd degree. Definition of Research and Research Methods chapters are nicely presented. The way the videos recorded is of great help.

By Genimon V J

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Feb 9, 2017

The course format and reading materials are of very much helped me to have the concept of research design and research formulation. I recommend this course to my fellow learners..

By Anhata R

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Feb 20, 2022

The course was very concise, the readings are definitely the more valuable part of the course content, the videos are just extensions of that. The reading material is wonderful!

By Winnie M

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Feb 23, 2021

This was a simple yet comprehensive course. Thank you. Perhaps an additional topic that could be added is on referencing within the research document. Thank you for the course!

By JAIDEEP T

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Aug 23, 2020

Good course, but presents mostly overviews. Can conceivably go into greater depth, with longer lectures and videos. Overall a good experience, learnt quite a bit. Thanks.

By Rainier G F

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Oct 9, 2019

This course gave me another perspective in understanding the research methods. The materials are good. It is not a very demanding course but enriching. Thank you very much!

By Md M U R

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Jul 10, 2020

This course is a fundamental course to understand research methods. This is not completely suitable for science students but effective for social science related students.

By Sandesha b

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May 22, 2020

Overall course was good i think more information should have been added to this so that we can get to learn more about research method, otherwise overall course was good.

By Sean C

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Jun 17, 2021

Nice overview of the 1st 3 chapters of a research methods course. I would like to see a more comprehensive course, the format and quality of instruction were very good.

By Fatima K

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Jun 7, 2017

I benefited from this course very well. i would love to see the teachers interacting with us. I feel peer assessment is great but not enough to know the final Guidance.

By Kharlo O

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Jan 6, 2023

Could be more comprehensive. But the required readings are interesting and brought up some ideas and topics that I did not previously know. So, kudos to the professor.