ACOM / Study / Units / X8190C Research Methodology

X8190C Research Methodology

This unit equips students to design a feasible and academically rigorous research proposal through engagement with diverse research paradigms, methodologies, and methods appropriate to different disciplinary contexts.
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Unit Overview

Qualification

Graduate

Unit Availability

Trimester 3 2026

Study Mode

No Facilitation, Online Facilitation

Placement

N/A

Tuition

Graduate BTM Fee

Prerequisite

36cp in any discipline

Corequisite

N/A

Notes

N/A

Schedule
Availability Facilitation Type Time Dates
Trimester 3 2026 Online Facilitation 7:30pm – 9:00pm
(AEST/AEDT)		 Monday 7 September
Monday 21 September
Tuesday 6 October
Monday 19 October
Monday 2 November

Unit Details

This unit introduces postgraduate students to research methodologies across a range of theological and practice-based disciplines, including Counselling, Professional Supervision, Theology, Missiology, Pastoral Theology, Biblical Studies, and Spirituality. It equips students to design a feasible and academically rigorous research proposal through engagement with diverse research paradigms, methodologies, and methods appropriate to different disciplinary contexts. Students will explore textual, theological, historical, interpretive, contextual, empirical, and practice-led approaches to research, and will learn to justify methods appropriate to the nature of their research question, sources, setting, and intended contribution.

At the end of this unit students will be able to:

  1. Have an efficient working knowledge of the aspects of formal scholarly research, including proposal development, review of resources, methods of inquiry, selection and organisation of information, ethical considerations, analysis and interpretation of findings, appropriate presentation of results, processes of supervision and examination.
  2. Compile substantial information pertinent to a specific topic to allow a viable research question to be developed.
  3. Employ advanced skills in researching a topic and organising information with a view to the production of an acceptable essay or project proposal.
  4. Construct a clearly defined and appropriate methodological approach and schedule of research for realistic implementation.
  5. Produce a formal proposal for a specific research essay or project.
  1. Introduction to Research across Counselling, Professional Supervision, Theology, Missiology, Pastoral Theology, Biblical Studies, and Spirituality – What Makes for Good Postgraduate Research?
  2. Developing Research Questions across Disciplines
  3. Literature Review and Scholarly Conversations
  4. Textual, Exegetical, Historical, Theological, and Interpretive Methodologies
  5. Qualitative, Quantitative, Mixed Methods, and Other Human-Based Research Approaches
  6. Contextual, Practice-Led, Ministerial, Missiological, and Interdisciplinary Research Design
  7. Ethics, Integrity, and Research with Texts, Communities, and Human Participants
  8. Writing the Proposal – Argument, Method, Scope, and Contribution
  9. Supervision, Feedback, and Research Practice
  10. Presentation, Integration, and Discipline-Specific Pathways to Proposal Completion
  1. Critical Analysis of a Research Paper (20%)
    Word Limit: 1000
    Due: Week 3
  2. Annotated Bibliography or Literature Review (30%)
    Word Limit: 1400
    Due: Week 5
  3. Research Proposal Presentation (10%)
    Word Limit: 3 minutes (600 words)
    Due: Week 10
  4. Final Research Proposal (40%)
    Word Limit: 3000
    Due: Week 12

Unit Details

Key Dates

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