Identifying Data 2021/22
Subject (*) Methodology and Research in English Linguistics Code 613505107
Study programme
Mestrado Universitario en Estudos Ingleses Avanzados e as súas Aplicacións (2019)
Descriptors Cycle Period Year Type Credits
Official Master's Degree 1st four-month period
 First Optional 3
Language
English
Teaching method Face-to-face
Prerequisites
Department Letras
Coordinador
Puente Castelo, Luís Miguel
 E-mail
luis.pcastelo@udc.es
Lecturers
Puente Castelo, Luís Miguel
 E-mail
luis.pcastelo@udc.es
Web http://www.imaes.eu/?page_id=31
General description Introducir ao alumnado na investigación e o estudo da lingua e a lingüística inglesas, axudándolles a desenvolver competencias profesionais útiles para o seu futuro en distintos ámbitos académicos ou de investigación. Os contidos deste curso facilitarán o proceso de realización de traballos académicos e do traballo fin de mestrado.
Contingency plan 1. Modificacións nos contidos
Non se realizarán cambios nos contidos.

2. Metodoloxías
*Metodoloxías docentes que se manteñen
Todas, con cambios na canle de comunicación (Correo electrónico, Moodle, Microsoft Teams)

*Metodoloxías docentes que se modifican
Ningunha.

3. Mecanismos de atención personalizada ao alumnado: Consultas por correo electrónico e Moodle e tutorías por Teams con cita previa



4. Modificacións na avaliación
As porcentaxes orixinais para cada item da avaliación manteranse, coas seguintes modificacións na modalidade de avaliación:
•Traballo Tutelado. O traballo será entregado a través de Moodle e a titorización realizase a través do correo electrónico, Moodle ou Microsoft Teams, e a presentación oral realizarase a través de Microsoft Teams

*Observacións de avaliación:
Sen observacións.

5. Modificacións da bibliografía ou webgrafía.
Sen cambios

Study programme competencies
Code Study programme competences
A1 E01 – Familiarity with the main research models in linguistic research.
A2 E02 – Familiarity with the main resources, tools and methodologies in linguistic research.
A3 E03 – Capacity to reflect on the factors which influence the learning and acquisition of English as a foreign language.
A4 E04 – Familiarity with cognition and processing studies within the scope of research into English linguistics.
B1 CB6 – Students should have the knowledge and understanding necessary to provide a basis or opportunity for originality in the development and/or application of ideas, often in a research context.
B2 CB7 - Students should be able to apply the knowledge acquired and a problem-solving capacity to new or lesser known areas within wider contexts (or multidisciplinary contexts) related to the study area.
B4 CB9 – Students must be able to communicate their conclusions, as well as the knowledge and reasoning behind them, to both specialized and general audiences in a clear and unambiguous way
B5 CB10 – Students should have the necessary learning skills to allow them to continue studying in a largely autonomous manner.
B6 G01 –The capacity to delve into those concepts, principles, theories or models related with the different fields of English Studies is a necessary skill, as is the ability to solve specific problems in a particular field of study via appropriate methodology.
B7 G02 – Students must be capable of applying the knowledge acquired in the multidisciplinary and multifaceted area of English Studies
B8 G03 – An efficient use of new information technology and communication in English Studies is a necessary skill.
B9 G04 – Students must be able to publicly present their ideas, reports or experiences, as well as give informed opinions based on criteria, external norms or personal reflection. All of this implies having sufficient command of both oral and written academic and scientific language
B10 G05 – Skills related to research and the handling of new knowledge and information in the context of English Studies are to be acquired by students
B11 G06 – Students should be able to develop a critical sense in order to assess the relevance of both existing research in the fields of English Studies, and their own research.
B12 G07 –Linguistic competence (C2 level) in oral and written English must be developed and consolidated.
B13 G08 – Students should become progressively autonomous in the learning process, and in the search for appropriate resources and information, via the use of bibliographic and documentary sources related to English Studies.
B14 G09 – Students are expected to be able to carry out research projects of an academic nature in the different fields of English Studies
B15 G10 – The ability to present and defend a research project using adequate terminology and resources appropriate to the field of study is a skill which should be acquired.

Learning aims
Learning outcomes Study programme competences
Introducing students to research in English language and linguistics as a professional activity, helping students develop professional skills that will be useful for their future in any academic or research setting. AR1
AR2
AR3
AR4
 BR1
BR2
BR4
BR5
BR6
BR7
BR8
BR9
BR10
BR11
BR12
BR13
BR14
BR15
Introducing students to the most important factors related to the research methods in English language and linguistics, such as identifying a research topic and formulating research questions and hypotheses, selecting an approach, designing their research, data processing, the main methodological problems... AR1
AR2
 BR1
BR6
BR7
BR10
BR11
BR14
Introducing students to the main aspects related to the processes of writing, presenting, disseminating and publishing research results in English language and linguistics. The topics discussed in this course will facilitate the process of writing research papers and the final MA dissertation. AR1
AR2
 BR1
BR4
BR8
BR9
BR12
BR14
BR15
Introducing students to useful resources and tools for research in English language and linguistics such as libraries, databases, tools and catalogues. AR2
 BR6
BR8
BR10
BR13

Contents
Topic Sub-topic
1. Literature research and resources for linguistic research 1.1 Searching for information: databases, catalogues, webpages, reference work
1.2 Management of information and literature: methods and tools
2. Methodology and research design 2.1 Identifying a topic or niche
2.2 Formulating hypotheses
2.3 Methodological approach
2.3.1 Quantitative and qualitative methods
2.4 Design of the study
2.5 Data collection
2.6 Data processing
2.7 Methodological problems and mistakes.
3. Ethical and legal aspects in research 3.1 Obtaining consent
3.2 Processing personal data
3.3 Intelectual property
3.4 Malpractice in research and academic publishing
4. Research papers 4.1 Types of research papers
4.2 Sections in research papers
4.3 Academic register and conventions
5. Presentation of research work 5.1 Oral presenations
5.2 Posters
5.3 Supporting material and handouts
6. Publishing research work 6.1 Publication formats: articles, book chapters and books.
6.2 Journals and main quality indicators
6.3 Editorials and main quality indicators
6.4 Preparation and submission of a manuscript
6.5 Revision and publication.

Planning
Methodologies / tests Competencies Ordinary class hours Student’s personal work hours Total hours
Guest lecture / keynote speech A1 A2 B1 B5 B11 B15 5 11 16
Seminar A1 A2 B11 B15 7 10 17
Supervised projects A1 A2 A3 A4 B2 B6 B10 B12 B13 B14 B15 0 30 30
Oral presentation B4 B7 B8 B9 B11 B12 B15 0 10 10
 
Personalized attention 2 0 2
 
(*)The information in the planning table is for guidance only and does not take into account the heterogeneity of the students.

Methodologies
Methodologies Description
Guest lecture / keynote speech Lectures on essential methods and resources for linguistic research.
Seminar Seminar sessions with interactive discussions on the topics explored in the lectures.
Supervised projects Students are required to complete a research project supervised by the teacher.
Oral presentation Oral presentation based on the research project.

Personalized attention
Methodologies
Supervised projects
Description
Students will receive supervision for their projects. They should inform the lecturer throughout the semester regarding the progress of their supervised projects.

Assessment
Methodologies Competencies Description Qualification
Seminar A1 A2 B11 B15 Activities carried out by the students during the course, either in class or through the online platform. 45
Guest lecture / keynote speech A1 A2 B1 B5 B11 B15 Attending and participating in lectures, seminars and round tables. 15
Supervised projects A1 A2 A3 A4 B2 B6 B10 B12 B13 B14 B15 Students are required to submit a research project supervised by the teacher and present it orally in class. 40
 
Assessment comments

General Observations

In order to pass this course, students must complete at least 50% of the assessment tasks. Students who do not complete at least 50% of the assessment tasks or who do not submit the research project will be given a grade of NP (absent). 

Students are expected to complete all the assignments and readings suggested by the lecturer(s), and to come to the sessions prepared to discuss them. Students must visit the eLearning platform for the course regularly. Students are expected to check their university email on a regular basis: announcements and last-minute changes will be notified via email.

Academic misconduct (including cheating, plagiarism, collusion or fabrication of results) will not be tolerated and will be penalised. Essays and written assignments may be tested through Turnitin in order to detect wrong citations, plagiarism or any other type of fraud. Should this occur, the rules for plagiarism will be applied. Turnitin recognises papers previously turned in by other people (or the student him/herself) at this university or other universities, as well as other material found on the Internet.

All the written activities must meet the minimum requirements of linguistic correctness (spelling and grammar, punctuation, syntax, lexical precision, or formal register). The level in English language expected of students is equivalent to C1 level according to MCERL. Deficiencies in this area will be penalized in qualifying.


JULY OPPORTUNITY

Students who fail to pass the subject in January will be required to take the “second opportunity” in July, with the following distribution of percentages: 1) supervised research project and oral presentation (55%); 2) take-home activity/ies (45%). 


PART-TIME STUDENTS

Students who are officially registered as part time, and have been granted permission not to attend classes, as stipulated in the regulations of this University, will be assessed in either of the opportunities according to the same criteria specified for the second opportunity.


ATTENTION TO DIVERSITY

ADI is a university office specialised in attending to members of the university with special needs due to discapacity or other differentiating situations with regard to the rest of the community. Students can contact ADI directly at http://www.udc.es/cufie/uadi/, or by phone ext. 5622, or via email: adi@udc.es.

Sources of information
Basic Sebba, Mark (2000). Focusing on language. A student's guide to research planning, data collection, analysis and writing up. Lancaster: Definite Article Publications.
Yáñez-Bouza, Nuria & Rob Drummod (2011). Handbook of study skills. Manchester: Department of Linguistics and English Language.
Gibaldi, Joseph (2008). MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing. New York: Modern Language Association of America.
Wray, Alison, Kate Trott & and Aileen Bloomer (1998). Projects in linguistics. A practical guide to researching language. London: Arnold. (Later editions also available.)
Krug, Manfred & Julia Schlüter (eds.) (2013). Research methods in language variation and change.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Litosseliti, Lia (ed). (2010). Research methods in linguistics. London: Continuum.
Podesva, Robert J. & Devyani Sharma. (2013). Research methods in linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Sealey, Alison (2010). Researching English language. A resource book for students. London: Routledge
Cottrell, Stella (2008). The study skills handbook.. Third edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
(). Unified Style Sheet for Linguistics. http://linguistlist.org/pubs/tocs/JournalUnifiedStyleSheet2007.pdf

Complementary


Recommendations
Subjects that it is recommended to have taken before

Subjects that are recommended to be taken simultaneously

Subjects that continue the syllabus

Other comments


(*)The teaching guide is the document in which the URV publishes the information about all its courses. It is a public document and cannot be modified. Only in exceptional cases can it be revised by the competent agent or duly revised so that it is in line with current legislation.