Teaching plan for the course unit (Short version)
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General information

 

Course unit name: Construction of Knowledge in Psychoeducation: Epistemological and Methodological Principles

Course unit code: 569212

Academic year: 2023-2024

Coordinator: Isabel Pellicer Cardona

Department: Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology

Credits: 3

Single program: S

Estimated learning time

Total number of hours 75

 

Face-to-face and/or online activities

30

-  Lecture with practical component

Face-to-face

30

Supervised project

20

Independent learning

25

Learning objectives

Referring to knowledge Learn to consider and analyse research as a social practice of knowledge construction. Understand the principal epistemological and methodological correlates of research in educational psychology. Understand the logic of interpretive qualitative research in terms of its basic principles, procedural orientations and criteria of quality and rigour for the production of knowledge.

 

 

Teaching blocks

 

1. Epistemological metaparadigms and models of scientific truth

2. Epistemological and methodological logics

3. Quantitative and qualitative frames of enquiry in mixed methods research

4. Logic of research questions and research hypotheses

5. From "sampling" to "participant selection": logics and justifications

6. Instrumental and comparative case studies

7. Quality and rigour: credibility, reliability, generalisability and interpretive validation

8. The question of reflexivity: biography, researcher bias and social structure

9. Knowledge construction policies: research "into", "with" and "from"

 

 

Official assessment of learning outcomes

 

Students obtaining a final grade of 9 or more, may, at the discretion of the faculty, be awarded a ’matrícula d’honor’, albeit that no more than 5% of the students enrolled on the course can receive this award. Student assignments must be original work. Students copying on a test or plagiarising in a written assignment will be deemed to be in breach of the student code and automatically failed (see Article 16.7 and the annex to the Regulations governing the teaching, assessment and grading of learning at the University of Barcelona: http://www.ub.edu/acad/noracad/avavaluacio_2020.pdf). Students are evaluated by means of continuous assessment. Active participation in class is therefore compulsory as is regular attendance. (Students must attend at least 75% of the sessions to guarantee continuous assessment.) Likewise, failure to comply with course requisites (readings, task preparation, participation) means students cannot adhere to this mode of assessment. Assessment criteria are in full adherence with both UB norms and the internal regulations of the MIPE. Assessment takes into account: Individual contribution of students to class dynamics, that is, the quality of their participation in class discussions and debates (Individual assessment: 10%). Assessment criteria include the quality and relevance of student contributions in relation to clarifying concepts worked on, generating debate and facilitating group learning. Supervised group assignment on one of the core subjects taught on the course (Group assessment: 30%). Criteria include the quality and adequacy of the content developed; the relevance of sources consulted; the argumentative quality, and the ability to take a critical standpoint on the issues discussed. Student contributions to tutorials are also taken into account. Feedback on assignments is provided at the end of the course. Individual written summaries of each set reading (Individual assessment: 20%). A total of four summaries have to be completed. Feedback is provided in class at various points in the semester. Assessment criteria include the students’ critical reasoning skills and the extent to which concepts and ideas are developed and exemplified. Final written essay. This essay has the greatest weighting in the assessment process (Individual assessment: 40%). The essay is an opportunity for students to undertake a critical synthesis of the main content and ideas discussed on the course. Assessment criteria include the use of specific examples of research in educational psychology to illustrate the main arguments, the extent to which concepts and ideas are developed and exemplified, clarity of thinking, critical reasoning, the quality of the documentation and formal aspects of academic discourse. Feedback on the essays is provided at the end of the course. Continuous assessment: Repeat assessment Students that fail the continuous assessment mode of evaluation are entitled to repeat the assessment tasks. Repeat assessment comprises a written exam covering all course content, both theoretical and practical. Students sit the exam on the date and time set by the MIPE Academic Committee. The final grade for students sitting the repeat assessment is the grade obtained on this exam and this exam alone.   Examination-based assessment In accordance with University regulations, any student can request they be evaluated by single assessment. To do so, they must fill out the "Single assessment request" form, which can be downloaded from the virtual classroom, and submit it within the deadline established by the Faculty of Psychology. Students accepted onto the single assessment mode of evaluation sit an examination covering all the theoretical and practical themes discussed on the course on a date and time to be decided by the MIPE Academic Committee. Single assessment: Repeat assessment Students that fail the single assessment mode of evaluation are entitled to repeat the assessment tasks. Repeat assessment comprises a written exam covering all course content. The final grade for students sitting the repeat assessment is the grade obtained on this exam and this exam alone.

Reading and study resources

Check availability in Cercabib

Book

Becker, H. (1998). Tricks of the trade. How to think about your research while doing it. The University of Chicago Press.

Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1966). La construcción social de la realidad. Paidós.

Bourdieu, P. (2003). El oficio de científico. Ciencia de la ciencia y reflexividad. Anagrama.

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

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage.

De Sousa, B. (2010). Para descolonizar occidente. Más allá del pensamiento abismal. Clacso.

Flick, U. (2004). Introducción a la Investigación Cualitativa. Morata.

Haraway, D. (1991). Ciencia, cyborgs y mujeres. La reinvención de la naturaleza. Cátedra.

Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2010). Mixed Methods Research. The Guilford Press.

Latour, B. (1987/1992). Ciencia en acción. Labor.

Lyons, E., & Coyle, A. (2007). Analysing Qualitative Data in Psychology. Sage.

Potter, J. (1998). La representación de la realidad: Discurso, retórica y construcción social. Paidós.

Stake, R. E. (1994). Case Studies. A N. K. Denzin i Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 236-247). Sage.

Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2010). Sage Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research (2^nd Ed.). Sage.

Taylor, S. J. y Bogdan, R. (1987). Introducción a los métodos cualitativos de investigación: la búsqueda de significados. Paidós.

Villasante, M. Montañés y J. Martí (Coords.), La investigación social participativa (vol.1). El Viejo Topo.

Yin, R. (2003). Case Study Research. Design and Methods. Sage (third edition).

Walford, G. (2001). Doing Qualitative Educational Research. Continuum.

Willig, C. (2009). Introducing qualitative research in psychology (2^nd Ed.). McGraw Hill-Open University Press.

Chapter

Hammersley, M. (2008). Troubles with triangulation. In M.M. Bergman (Ed.), Advances in Mixed Methods Research (pp. 22–36). Sage.

Reichardt, C. S. y Cook, T. D. (1986). Hacia una superación del enfrentamiento entre los métodos cualitativos y los cuantitativos. En T. D. Cook y C. S. Reichardt (Eds.), Métodos cualitativos y cuantitaivos en investigación evaluativa (pp. 25-58). Morata.

Article

Corbin Dwyer, S., & Buckle, J. L. (2009). The Space Between: On Being an Outsider-Insider in Qualitative Research.  International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 8(1), 54-63.

Hayfield, N., & Huxley, C. (2015). Insider and outsider perspectives: Reflections on researcher identities in research with lesbian and bisexual women. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 12(91), 91-106.

Levitt, H., Bamberg, M., Creswell, J., Frost, D., Josselson, R., y Suárez-Orozco, C. (2018). Journal Article Reporting Standards for Qualitative Primary, Qualitative Meta-Analytic, and Mixed Methods Research in Psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board Task Force Report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 26-46.

Madill, A., Jordan, A., & Shirley, C. (2000). Objectivity and reliability in qualitative analysis: realist, contextualist and radical constructionist epistemologies. British Journal of Psychology, 91, 1-20.

Mortari, L. (2015). Reflectivity in research practice: An overview of different perspectives. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1-9.

Peshkin, A. (1984). Odd Man Out: The Participant Observer in an Absolutist Setting. Sociology of Education, 57, 254 – 264.

Reicher, S. (2000). Against methodolatry: Some comments on Elliott, Fischer, and Rennie. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 39, 1-6.

Riba, C. (2011). Sobre las consecuencias metodológicas de la aceptación de la subjetividad en las ciencias humanas. Estudios de Psicología, 32(3), 333 – 343.

Ruddin, N, L. P. (2006). You Can Generalize Stupid! Social Scientists, Bent Flyvbjerg, and Case Study Methodology.  Qualitative Inquiry, 12, 797 – 812.

Shank, G. (2006). Six alternatives to mixed methods in qualitative research. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(4), 346-356.

Stake, R. E. (1978). The Case Study Method in Social Inquiry. Educational researcher, 7, 2, 5-7.

Varios autores (2004). Número monográfico de Qualitative Inquiry 10 (1), dedicado a la relación entre poder y metodología científica.

Verger, T. (2005). Què entenem per recerca activista? En Col·lectiu Investigacció, Recerca activista i moviments socials (pp.23-34). El Viejo Topo.

Web page

The Qualitative Report. Página general que contiene la mayoría de webs de Investigación Cualitativa. http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/web.html

Electronic text

Riba, C. (2008a). Introducción a los métodos de investigación en psicología. Barcelona: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Fundació per a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Edición electrónica.

Riba, C. (2008b). Métodos de investigación cualitativa.  Barcelona: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Fundació per a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Edición electrónica.

Baker, S., & Edwards, R. (2012). How many qualitative interviews is enough? Expert voices and early career reflections on sampling and cases in qualitative research. National Centre for Research Methods Review Paper. Economic & Social Research Council. http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/2273/4/how_many_interviews.pdf