POL6415 - Designing Practitioner Research

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1 - Critically formulate a researchable and professionally relevant problem within a policing context, demonstrating awareness of operational and organisational priorities;
2 - Synthesise and evaluate relevant academic literature, policy, and professional practice to justify a research approach; and,
3 - Design and justify a coherent, ethically robust, and methodologically sound practitioner research proposal suitable for implementation in a policing setting.

Content:

This module prepares students to plan and design a small-scale, practitioner-led research project grounded in their professional policing context. It introduces research design, literature review, ethics, and methodology.

Topics include the following:

- Framing and refining a researchable question in a workplace setting

- Reviewing relevant policy, legislation, and academic literature

- Selecting appropriate qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods approaches

- Ethical considerations in operational environments

- Access and consent in practitioner-led inquiry

- Structuring a research proposal with reference to impact and implementation.

Learning and Teaching Information:

This module uses an in-person and guided study approach designed to equip students with the critical planning skills necessary for workplace research. It emphasises alignment of academic rigour with professional relevance.



Learning will take place through:

- Workshops on research methods and ethics;
- Group exercises exploring real-world research problems;
- Tutorials offering personalised proposal development feedback; and,
- Independent study reviewing literature and planning methods.

Workshops (in-person)
Hours: 3
Intended Group Size: 5-10

Tutorials (online)
Hours: 2
Intended Group Size: 1-5

Guided independent study
Hours: 145



Further Details Relating to Assessment

The assessment must include:
- Problem statement and rationale
- Literature review and context
- Methodological justification
- Ethical considerations
- Project timeline and anticipated impact.

Assessment:

Fact File

Module Coordinator - PRS_CODE=
Level - 6
Credit Value - 15
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered -

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