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Research in Education

Code: 101655
Credits: 12
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Social Education OB 2
Education Studies OB 2

Contact lecturer

Name :
Montserrat Rodriguez Parron
Email :
montserrat.rodriguez@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Laura Arnau Sabates
Anna Ciraso
Valeska Lisbeth Cabrera Cuadros
Carla Quesada Pallares

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites. For block B2, it is advisable for students to review some content related to statistics (concept of probability, construction and interpretation of basic graphs, etc.) studied during compulsory secondary school.

Objectives

The purpose of this subject is to give a basic and applied vision of educational research’s approaches and processes and also about the collection, treatment, analysis and interpretation of the data, using specific software.

In the last years, the need and importance of the research in the area of the Sciences of the Education and Social Sciences has increased. Thus, this subject is of prime importance to configure the professional profile of a pedagogue and social educator due to one of the fundamental functions refers to the capacity to research, evaluate and innovate.

On the other hand, is promoted the capacity to analyze, to teamwork, to use specific software and to interpret the data gathered from socioeducational contexts. Among all, the knowledge that will be provided, will be used in many other subjects that also develop or analyze researches.

The objectives to be achieved, are:

  • To help to understand the concepts and basic terminology of the contemporary educational research, so the students will be able to read research reports, published in specialized media and also, in the future, enroll themselves in advance courses of methodology.
  • To develop a positive, critic and plural attitude toward the research as a tool to comprehend and improve the educational reality.
  • To know and understand the main characteristics of the most common research methods applied in the educational field.
  • To assess the advantages and limitations of quantitative, qualitative and mixt approaches.
  • To learn the basic characteristics of a research work.
  • To develop a wide range of skills and procedures to collect, analyze and interpret data.
  • Identify the main software to analyze data.
  • Develop a research project in the context of a working group

Learning outcomes

  1. Produce reports based on results received
  2. Properly formulate research problems and hypotheses in real or simulated contexts.
  3. Develop descriptive studies by producing strategies and tools to obtain and record quantitative and qualitative information.
  4. Relating research results with processes of innovation.
  5. Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
  6. Analyse a situation and identify points for improvement.
  7. Explain the explicit or implicit code of practice of one's own area of knowledge.
  8. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  9. Analyse a situation and identify its points for improvement.

Contents

BLOCK A (4 ECTS)
Construction and development of scientific knowledge in education. Research epistemology and methodology:



  • Education as a scientific knowledge.

  • Research process in education.

  • Paradigms in educational research.

  • Research methods and design: quantitative, qualitative and mixed.


BLOCK B (8 ECTS)
Techniques and tools of quantitative and qualitative data collection and registration.



  • Main tools to register and collect data.

  • Construction and validation of instruments.


Quantitative analysis of socioeducational variables:



  • Quantitative data analysis software.

  • Socioeducational variables: characteristics and measurement.

  • Role of statistics in scientific research.

  • Descriptive statistics of categorical variables.

  • Descriptive statistics of quantitative variables.

  • Bivariate analysis.

  • Introduction to statistical inference. 


Qualitative analysis of socioeducational variables:



  • Qualitative research characteristics.

  • Models of data analysis.

  • Qualitative data analysis research processes.

  • Qualitative data analysis software.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Activity autonomy 150 6 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Activities supervised 60 2.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8
Seminars and Laboratory 30 1.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8
Large group 60 2.4 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Teaching in large group: It is done for the entire class group and allows the exhibition of the main contents through an open and active participation by the students in different discussion forums.

Seminars and lab practices: Working spaces with reduced groups supervised by the professor. Through the data analysis, the analysis of documents, case studies and various activities, the students will examine in depth the contents approached in in-class sessions.

Evaluation activities: Activities to verify and grade the achievements through the works and tests.

Autonomous activities: Self-managed activities to acquire competencies through a self-regulated learning.

The recommendations on gender perspective and inclusion will be pursued.

The possibility of organizing a field visit is being considered



Throughout the course, it is planned that an activity linked to the professional fields of the degree programme and the learning outcomes of the subject will be carried out. This activity may consist of a field visit to a centre. Attendance is mandatory. The teaching staff will inform students of the details once the specific date on which it will take place has been confirmed.


Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Evidence 1. THEORY. Exam Block A (individual) 15% 0 0 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Evidence 3. PRACTICE. Compilation of the practices of Blocks A, B1 and B2 (group) 50% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Evidence 2. THEORY. Exam Blocks B1 and B2 (individual) 35% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Continuous Assessment. To pass the course, the final grade must be at least 5. The minimum grade required to pass each block (A, B.1 and B.2) is 5. In order to calculate the average of the assessment evidence within each block, students must obtain at least 3.5 in each piece of assessment evidence, provided that all recovery opportunities established in the course programme have been exhausted.

At the end of each block, an assessment test will be carried out, except in Block B2, where two tests will be conducted.

Students who have submitted less than one third of the assessment evidence will be assigned a grade of Not Assessed.

The teaching team establishes a period of 20 working days to provide feedback, returns, or grades for assessment activities.

SCHEDULED TEST DATES:

GROUP 1 – PEDAGOGY:

  • Block A: 10/11/26
  • Block B1 (qualitative): 2/2/27
  • Block B2 (quantitative): Exam 1: 30/3/27 // Exam 2: 25/5/27

GROUP 2 – SOCIAL EDUCATION:

  • Block A: 19/11/26
  • Block B1 (qualitative): 04/2/27
  • Block B2 (quantitative): Exam 1: 1/4/27 // Exam 2: 27/5/27

The correct submission of the activities assigned by the lecturer is an essential requirement in order to be assessed. Students who have adequately followed the course throughout the semester and still have some unmet activity requirements will be given the opportunity to recover them.

In Block A, only one resubmission will be allowed for the activity related to project formulation. The maximum grade obtainable through resubmission will be 5. When the grade obtained is below 3.5 or the block average does not reach 5 points, the possibility of taking a group oral examination will be considered in order to pass this block.

Regarding Block B activities, resubmissions will not be allowed. However, if an assessment evidence does not reach 3.5 points or the block average does not reach 5 points, the possibility of taking an oral examination will be considered in order to pass the block. The maximum grade obtainable in the oral examination will be 5.

At the end of the course, students who have not passed the examinations may take a recovery examination. The maximum grade obtainable for the failed component will be 6. The requirement to participate is that students must previously have been assessed in a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to at least two-thirds of the total course grade. Likewise, the lecturer responsible for the course may require a minimum grade of 3.5.

RECOVERY DATES

PEDAGOGY GROUP: 15/6/27

SOCIAL EDUCATION GROUP: 17/6/27

Practical activities, case studies and problems will be distributed throughout the course, with deadlines established from the start date of the activity to its submission date. These dates will be specified in the course programme, which will be made available on the first day of class.

The teaching staff considers class attendance essential and will monitor attendance.

SINGLE ASSESSMENT. Students opting for single assessment will submit a single written assignment (40%) at the end of the teaching period. This assignment will include the content of both course blocks, Block A and Block B (qualitative + quantitative), through the resolution of case studies and practical situations linked to software applications: NVivo for the qualitative block and Jamovi for the quantitative block. It will have the same level of difficulty as continuous assessment.

This written assignment will be assessed through an oral examination (60%), conducted face-to-face and recorded before members of the teaching team, according to the date established in the schedule. Students must obtain a minimum grade of 3.5 in each part in order to calculate the average. Only an average grade of 5 or above will be considered a pass.

SINGLE ASSESSMENT EXAMINATION DATE

Pedagogy Group: 25/5/27

Social Education Group: 27/5/27

Students who have opted for single assessment are entitled to recovery according to the course schedule, and the same type of assessment will apply (submission of the written assignment + oral defence). The review of the final grade follows the same procedure as for continuous assessment.

Students opting for single assessment will neither submit nor receive formative feedback or grades for the continuous assessment activities carried out during the development of the course.

SINGLE ASSESSMENT RECOVERY EXAMINATION DATE:

Pedagogy Group: 15/6/27

Social Education Group: 17/6/27

Feedback and monitoring of activities that contribute to the final grade will be provided within a maximum period of 15 to 20 working days. Students wishing to review their grade must do so within 15 days following its publication, during the office hours established by the lecturer for this course and specified in the course programme.


**This course does not offer a comprehensive assessment.


Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI)

In this course, the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, among others) is restricted to non-substantive support functions, such as:

  • Searching for general bibliography or initial sources of information.
  • Generating ideas or preliminary outlines for the organisation of one’s own work.
  • Reviewing formal aspects such as grammar or style, without modifying the substantive content.

The use of GAI is not permitted for:

  • Writing, in whole or in part, the different activities and practical assignments proposed.
  • Generating content that is presented as one’s own work.
  • Replacing the process of personal reflection in assessment activities.

Improper use of GAI—understood as presenting AI-generated content as one’s own—may result in a failing grade (0) for that assessment evidence.

Copying or plagiarism of material, whether in assignments, practical activities or examinations, implies a final failing grade for the course. A paper or activity will be considered “plagiarised” when part of a text written by another author is presented as one’s own without citing the sources, regardless of whether the original sources are in print or digital format. A paper, activity or examination will be considered “copied” when it reproduces all or part of the work of another student.

Students must demonstrate an attitude compatible with the teaching profession as a requirement for passing the course. Some key competencies include: active listening, respect, participation, cooperation, empathy, punctuality, non-judgemental behaviour, argumentation, appropriate use of mobile phones, etc.

Students must also demonstrate good general communication skills, both oral and written, and a good command of the language(s) of instruction specified in the course guide. Therefore, in all activities (individual and group), linguistic accuracy, writing quality and formal presentation aspects will be taken into account. Students must be able to express themselves fluently and correctly and demonstrate a high level of understanding of academic texts.

An activity may be returned (not assessed) or failed if the lecturer considers that these requirements have not been met. Furthermore, before submitting a learning evidence, students must verify that they have correctly written all sources, notes, quotations and bibliographic references in accordance with APA guidelines.


Bibliography

 

Metodologia

Albert, M. J. (2007). La investigación educativa. McGraw-Hill.

Alvira, F. (2011). La encuesta: una perspectiva general metodológica. CIS.

American Psychological Association (APA) (2019). Concise guide to APA style (7a ed.). APA.

Arnal, J., del Rincón, D., & Latorre, A. (1992). Investigación educativa: fundamentos y metodología. Labor.

Arnau-Sabatés, L., & Sala, J. (2020). La revisión de la literatura científica: pautas, procedimientos y criterios de calidad. DDD. Disponible a: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/222109

Arnau-Sabatés, L., & Roca-Sala, J. (2023). La construcción de un redactado científico: normas de estilo, pasos a seguir y checklist de autocorrección. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/274378

Ballestín, B., & Fàbregues, B. (2018). La práctica de la investigación cualitativa en ciencias sociales y de la educación. UOC.

Bisquerra, R. (Coord.) (2004). Metodología de la investigación educativa. La Muralla.

Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods (6a ed.). OUP.

Celigueta, G., & Solé, J. (2014). Etnografía para educadores. UOC.

Corbetta, P. (2007). Metodología y técnicas de investigación social. McGraw-Hill.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2022). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (6th ed.). SAGE.

Creswell, J. W., & Guetterman, T. C. (2024). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Pearson.

Del Rincón, D., Arnal, J., Latorre, A., & Sans, A. (1995). Técnicas de investigación en ciencias sociales. Dykinson.

Fàbregues, S., Meneses, J., Rodríguez-Gómez, D., & Paré, M. H. (2016). Técnicas de investigación social y educativa. UOC. https://t.ly/3x8q

García Ferrando, M., & Escobar, M. (2017). Socioestadística. Introducción a la estadística en sociología (2a ed.). Alianza.

Hatch, J. A. (2023). Doing qualitative research in education settings (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury.

Hernández-Sampieri, R., & Mendoza, C. (2018). Metodología de la Investigación. Las rutas cuantitativa, cualitativa y mixta. McGraw-Hill.

Jariot, M., Merino, R., & Sala, J. (Coord.) (2010). Les pràctiques d'educació social. Eines per al seu desenvolupament. Servei de publicacions UAB.

Jhangiani, R. S., Chiang, I. A., Cuttler, C., & Leighton, D. C. (2019). Research Methods in Psychology (4a ed.). KPU Open Education. Disponible a: https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/psychmethods4e/

León, O., & Montero, I. (2015). Métodos de investigación en psicología y educación: las tradiciones cuantitativa y cualitativa (4a ed.). McGraw-Hill.

López-Roldán, P., & Fachelli, S. (2015). Metodología de la investigación social cuantitativa. https://ddd.uab.cat/search?f=title&p=Metodolog%C3%ADa%20de%20la%20investigaci%C3%B3n%20social%20cuantitativa&sc=1&ln=ca

McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2010). Research in education: evidence-based inquiry (7a ed.). Pearson

Mendia Azkue, I., Luxán, M., Legarreta, M., Guzmán, G., Zirion, I., & Azpiazu Carballo, J. (eds.) (2014). Otras formas de (re)conocer. Reflexiones, herramientas y aplicaciones desde la investigación feminista. Hegoa.

Mertens, D. M. (2015). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods (5a ed.). SAGE.

Mertler, C. A. (2024). Introduction to educational research. Sage.

Mertler, C. A. (2024). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators. Sage

Opie, C., & Brown, D. (Eds.) (2019). Getting started in your Educational Research. Sage.

Poth, C. N. (2023). Mixed methods research design. Sage.

Quesada-Pallarès, C. (2024). Caso de práctica sobre la metodología cuantitativa. DDD. Disponible a: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/304785

Quesada-Pallarès, C. (2023). Casos de Pràctica Integrals per Investigar en Educació. DDD. Disponible a: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/275313

Quesada-Pallarès, C. (2019). Pautes de format per a la creació d'instruments de recollida de dades. DDD. Disponible a: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/275742

Quesada-Pallarès, C. (2019). Validació entre iguals del qüestionari. DDD. Disponible a: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/274837

Jariot, M.; Rodríguez Parrón, M.; Tello,J. (2024) Introducció al disseny metodològic de la investigació. (Guia bàsica pel desenvolupament d'una recerca) https://ddd.uab.cat/record/291886

Sala, J., & Arnau, L. (2020). El planteamiento del problema, las preguntas y los objetivos de la investigación: criterios de redacción y check list para formular correctamente. DDD. Disponible a: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/126350

Sandín, M.P. (2013). Investigación cualitativa en educación: fundamentos y tradiciones. McGraw-Hill.

Stevens, S. S. (Ed.) (2018). Stevens’ Handbook of experimental psychology and cognitive neuorscience (4a ed.). Wiley.

Van Manen, M. (2003). Investigación educativay experiencia vivida: ciencia humana para una pedagogía de la acción y la sensibilidad. Idea Books.

 

Anàlisi de dades

Biglia, B. (2022). Introduint la perspectiva de gènere interseccional a les estadístiques. Guia teoricopràctica. Institut Català de les Dones i Publicacions de la Universitat Rovira i Virgili.

Botella, J., Suero, M., & Ximénez, C. (2001). Análisis de datos en Psicología I. Pirámide.

Gibbs, G. (2012). El análisis de datos cualitativos en investigación cualitativa. Morata.

Gil, J., Diego, J. L., García, E., & Rodríguez, G. (1997). Problemas de estadística aplicada a las ciencias de la educación. Kronos.

Jariot, M. (2010). L’anàlisi quantitativa. En Jariot, M., Merino, R., & Sala, J. (Coord.), Les pràctiques d'educació social. Eines per al seu desenvolupament (pp. 143-152). Servei de publicacions UAB.

López-Roldán, P., & Lozares, C. (1999). Anàlisi bivariable de dades estadístiques. Servei de publicacions UAB.

Losilla Vidal, J. M., i Vives Brosa, J. (2023). Análisis de Datos conjamoνi. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/273258

Mateo, J. M. (2011). Estadística pràctica pas a pas. Publicacions URV. Disponible a: http://llibres.urv.cat/index.php/purv/catalog/view/22/22/57-1

Miguel Quesada, F. J., Ajenjo, M., i Griera, O. (2021). MUJADES: Manual d’us de jamovi per anàlisi de dades en estudis socials. DDD. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/238222

Pardo, A., & San Martín, R. (2004). Análisis de datos en Psicología II. Pirámide.

Pérez, R., García, J. L., Gil, J. A., & Galán, A. (2009). Estadísticaaplicada a la educación. Pearson.

Ritchey, F. J. (2008). Estadística para las ciencias sociales. McGraw-Hill.

Rodríguez Parrón, M. (2010). L’anàlisi qualitativa. En Jariot, M., Merino, R., & Sala, J. (Coord.), Les pràctiques d'educació social. Eines per al seu desenvolupament (pp. 153-159). Servei de publicacions UAB.

 

 

Throughout the course other books, articles and documents will be suggested to expand and/or deepen the different topics addressed.

In each block the teacher can propose compulsory readings

Software

The following software will be used for Block B: Jamovi and Nvivo.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 111 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 111 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 112 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 112 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 113 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 211 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 211 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 212 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 212 Catalan annual morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 213 Catalan annual morning-mixed