Foundation Research Methods in Education PGA

Find out more about our Research Methods in Education PGA course.

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P-X9Y6

Postgraduate Award (PGA)

1 term part-time

6 October 2025

Education Studies

University of Warwick

This award is made up of one module that will help you understand, design and carry out research in the field of Education. It is suitable for anyone who is interested in researching any aspect of Education – whether you are a practitioner who is looking to apply research to practice or someone who is interested in researching Education from a more theoretical perspective.

The Postgraduate Award in Research Methods in Education will provide you with knowledge and understanding of the theoretical and methodological issues involved in conceptualising and designing educational research.

It includes general and specific aspects of research training including key dimensions of qualitative and quantitative research, their applications, understanding of relational aspects between them, and appreciation of the politics and ethics of doing educational research. The module is designed to contextualise educational research, in terms of its theoretical, epistemological and methodological underpinnings, for a broad cross section of students, enabling you to understand different facets of educational research in an integrated and coherent fashion.

The aim of the assessment method is to lead to research design and dissertation planning. In addition, practical skills are built into the module, through workshops, seminars and tutorials, designed to develop library, software, web and applied IT search skills, and research skills relevant to your needs and interests.

Skills from this course

• Understand the stages in designing and carrying out research in the field of Education
• Engage critically with the theoretical and methodological grounds on which education research is based
• Assess the efficiency and effectiveness of educational research from different perspectives and methodologies
• Gain familiarity with different research practices in relation to a range of empirical investigations within educational settings
• Be able to identify a topic to research and design and carry out a small scale research project in a field of interest to you
• Be able to communicate your research to different users

Depending on which module you select, the course is either delivered entirely online, through a dedicated distance learning portal over one term, or face to face over two terms. For the online variant, you will use a mixture of online text extracts and journals, and will undertake regular tasks alongside the end of module assignments. Support will be given via email and/or face-to-face with your subject tutor, depending on the delivery mode chosen for the module chosen. For the face-to-face variant, the course will be delivered through a variety of teaching methods: lectures, seminars, discussions, presentations and case studies etc. 

Class Size

Support will be given via email with your subject tutor.

The assessment on this course supports students to think about their dissertation project. Assessments include a research proposal (either a poster and presentation or written proposal document if completing the module online) and a critical reflective essay.

Reading lists

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platform.  

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogue.   

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department.  

Additional course costs

You may wish to undertake some research with children or young people that may require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check or a Certificate of Good Conduct for students from outside of the UK. A Certificate of Good Conduct can vary in price.

Please contact your academic department for information about department specific costs, which should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below, such as:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Find out more about our additional course costs.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you when you join us.

2:2 undergraduate degree (or equivalent).

• Band B
• IELTS score to 7 overall, no more than two components at 6.0/6.5 & rest 7.0+

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Optional Modules

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