AZA3453 Research fundamentals
Faculty of Arts
AZA3453 Research fundamentals is a level 3, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Arts, offered in 2021 in Semester 2 at South Africa. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2021
- Semester 2
- South Africa
- Assessment
- Exam 30%
- and 3 other tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2021 handbook entry. See the 2022 entry.
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Requisites
Before AZA3453
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After AZA3453
No unit lists AZA3453 as a prerequisite in the 2021 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Prohibitions: AZA2453, ATS2453, ATS3453
Overview
The unit introduces critical and practical approaches to research in the media and communication industries. It presents a critical overview of the rationale for research in industry and academia. Various traditions of inquiry are explored and applied to typical research studies conducted in communication and the media with specific reference to South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Specific quantitative, and qualitative research methodologies are investigated. Various key ethical and critical research issues are deliberated.
Offerings in 2021
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Second semester - South Africa | South Africa | On campus |
Assessment
- Assignment 1 (Research context, literature review and theoretical framework)25%
- Online quiz15%
- Assignment 230%
- Take-home capstone assignment/examination30%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Understand the uses of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies in academic and industry contexts.
- 2
Understand the uses of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies in science and non-science environments
- 3
Understand the nature and use of a theoretical framework in a research project
- 4
Define and formulate a research project, including hypotheses, research problems and questions, goals, ethical considerations, literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and data collection, analysis and interpretation methods.
- 5
Demonstrate sound awareness of ethical principles in research practices.
- 6
Demonstrate familiarity with specific methodologies, including, for example, ethnography, case study, survey, textual-, thematic-, discourse- audience- and quantitative content analysis
- 7
Reflect on relationships between local and global frameworks in developing approaches to research.
Workload and teaching
- Tutorials-
- Lectures36 hours
- Teaching approachProblem-based learning
- Teaching approachEnquiry-based learning
- Teaching approachActive learning
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
Problem based learning (PBL) is an instructional approach where students learn by solving challenging, open-ended problems. The problems are authentic tasks and are solved in socially and contextually based teams of students. The students rely on their current knowledge of the problem, identify “information they need to know to solve the problem, and the strategies they use to solve the problem” (Stanford University Newsletter on Teaching, 2001).
Students are given or self-decribe a 'scenario' or problem, and identify and apply research knowledge and skills acquired.
Active learning instructional strategies will provide opportunities to apply research constructs and concepts to srudents' individual research projects to demonstrate what they are learning.
Learning resources
Required resources
Du Plooy-Cilliers, F., Davis, C. & Bezuidenhout, R. Research Matters . Juta. 2014. 978-1-48510-201-4.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Marianne Louw
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Rose-Marie Bezuidenhout
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for AZA3453?
AZA3453 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is AZA3453 offered?
In 2021, AZA3453 runs in Semester 2 at South Africa.
How much work is AZA3453?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does AZA3453 have an exam?
Yes. The exam is worth 30% of the final mark, alongside 3 other tasks.