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2 Domains of action Expression Content High institutionalisationLow institutionalisation High institutionalisationEsoteric domainDescriptive domain Low institutionalisationExpressive domainPublic domain

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5 Doing Research Discursive Saturation Institutionalisation HighLow Highdiscourseidiolect Lowskill (competence)trick (performance)

6 Producing a Research Proposal 1.Identify a problematic eg the sociology of knowledge production in universities 2.Produce brief rationale eg whilst medicine is often held to be a model for education, there is little empirical research into knowlede production in these fields 3.Demonstrate that you are familiar with any canonical work relevant to your problematic eg Durkheim, Fleck, Feyerabend, Kuhn, Mannheim, Merton, Foucault, Latour, Bernstein 4.Demonstrate that you are familiar and can engage critically with recent research that is relevant to your problematic eg Knorr Cetina, Shapin, Turnbull

7 Producing a Research Proposal 5.Identify a plausible research setting Access, manageability 6.Identify possible data collection strategies eg participant observation, loosely structured interviews, survey 7.Identify possible data analysis strategies Engage with authors (eg Glaser, Strauss & Corbin, Coffey & Anderson, Dowling & Brown, Silverman) 8.Identify a possible general approach eg Bernstein, Dowling 9.Identify and discuss ethical issues

8 Qual or Quant? Quantitative Research Positivism, empiricism, realism Theorise in advance Sampling intended to generalise to a population Research designs and data collection instruments highly technical Data analysis highly technical Qualitative Research Interpretivism Theory, research questions come later Results may generalise to a process, but not to a population Fieldwork often extended Data analysis is difficult

9 Tips Proposal should be explicitly relevant to institution/supervisors Proposal should be explicitly relevant to your academic background Critical engagement with cited work Keep the rationale brief Be prepared to negotiate

10 Programmes Institute of Education University of London 20 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AL Tel +44 (0) Fax +44 (0) Web PhD Part-time or full-time Research training programme Final assessment only on thesis (80K words) Emphasis on knowledge production EdD (& International EdD) Part-time only Taught and assessed courses Institution-focused study (20K) Thesis (45K) Emphasis on knowledge production AND professional development

11 Programmes Institute of Education University of London 20 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AL Tel +44 (0) Fax +44 (0) Web MRes Part-time or full-time Taught modules Dissertation (15K) Online MRes University of London External Programme Part-time or full-time Taught modules Dissertation (15K) Associateship/Special courses/Postdoctoral students