Developing Your Research Project

Curiosity is one of humanity’s most important characteristics. It has enabled us to make the unknown known, to break barriers and to shine a light on all aspects of life, from our day to day hobbies to the exploration of the stars. Our innate desire to explore is responsible for many of our proudest achievements. This course will help train you to harness your curiosity and use it to undertake your own research projects in a scholarly manner.

The course is intended for anyone who is currently undertaking or planning to undertake a piece of academic research, be that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), International Baccalaureate Extended Essay, Welsh Baccalaureate Individual Project, coursework or a piece of independent scholarship. The course is running throughout the year so you can chose the start date that suits you (select your preference below).

Developed and delivered by research-active academics, the course will support you with every step of the research process, from developing a hypothesis and finding sources to writing up and presenting one’s findings.

The practical, hands-on lessons will give you the opportunity to share your ideas with fellow researchers from all over the world, to receive peer feedback on your research proposals and enable you to review and comment on the work of other researchers, building a supportive community of like-minded curious learners.

This course is designed for anyone currently undertaking or planning to undertake a piece of academic research at any level. You do not need any previous experience to get the most out of this course.

• Starting an academic research project
• Getting started
• Why do academic research?
• Critical success factors
• Week 1 - summary activities
• Drafting a research proposal
• Drafting a research proposal
• Developing your ideas
• Week 2 - summary activities
• Undertaking research and recording your findings
• Finding information
• What sources are available?
• Starting your research
• Week 3 - summary activities
• Choosing an appropriate research methodology
• Identifying different research methodologies
• Choosing an appropriate research methodology
• Week 4 - summary activities
• Academic reading
• Academic reading
• Developing academic reading techniques
• Week 5 - summary activities
• Referencing
• Referencing
• When to reference? what to reference?
• Week 6 - summary activities
• Writing up your research
• Writing up your research
• Writing a summary of your research proposal
• Week 7 - summary activities
• Presenting your research
• Presenting your research
• End of course test
• Week 8 - summary activities
• What next?