There are no pre-requisites for this module to be added

Social research education often the focuses on methods and methodologies, but rarely on the real-world functioning of researchers undertaking research work for external clients. In this innovative module we address this niche and help you to understand the business of research and how to best serve the research needs of private, public and voluntary sector clients. This module not only covers the financial aspects of undertaking research for external clients, but importantly, places emphasis on the professional expectations of social researchersModule builds personal confidence and works on professional attitude formation, while deploying knowledge and critical skills gained from other modules, to ensure practical insight and applied skills practice. You will meet a range of external guest speakers, professionals invited to talk about everyday functioning of their organisations. You will learn key employability skills of understanding research job roles and expected capacities, to understand professional expectations on the market. You will practice how to build external relations with clients, and advance your presentation skills, increasing personal and professional confidence. You will strengthen this further with our group work and collaboration-based teaching method, preparing and testing your teamwork capabilities. We will discuss ethical implications of money in the research and consider what makes a good tender bid and a grant proposal. We will think about the digital footprint and presence (e.g. LinkedIn). We will also consider existing laws and various legal aspects relating to social research of which a professional researcher must be aware of.

Upon completion of this module you will be able to

LO1: Evidence a complex understanding of professional conduct in context of social research in various sectors, including skills and abilities for teamwork, handling feedback, negotiating collaborative agreements, problem solving, case study work, managing time and workload.

LO2: Create a tailored, professional social research bid in response to provided research brief parameters and objectives.

LO3: Show the advanced capabilities in designing and delivering professional communication message utilising a range of personal and professional skills and outputs (e.g. public speaking and oral presentation, online profile, PowerPoint slides, CV and cover letter).