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Research in Education I: Epistemology and Foundations

Code: 45003
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Research in Education OB 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Carla Quesada Pallares
Email :
carla.quesada@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Laura Arnau Sabates
Gustavo Gonzalez Valencia

Group languages

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

Prerequisites

This module is mandatory within the master program.

Objectives

 

This module introduces students to epistemology, foundations and design of research in the field of education.

Learning outcomes

  • CA01 (Formulate a research problem, justify its relevance and define the research questions and goals.) Formulate a research problem, justify its relevance and define the research questions and goals.
  • CA02 (Defend criteria of methodological quality.) Defend criteria of methodological quality.
  • CA03 (Propose innovative designs that are aimed at improvement and based on evidence obtained from research.) Propose innovative designs that are aimed at improvement and based on evidence obtained from research.
  • KA01 (Describe the paradigms, approaches and methodological designs of education research, assessing how suited they are to the nature of the research goals and questions.) Describe the paradigms, approaches and methodological designs of education research, assessing how suited they are to the nature of the research goals and questions.
  • KA02 (Understand and appreciate the ethical principles of education research.) Understand and appreciate the ethical principles of education research.
  • SA01 (Produce a comprehensive review of the scientific literature, selecting databases and methodologies on the basis of the subject of study and the purpose of the review.) Produce a comprehensive review of the scientific literature, selecting databases and methodologies on the basis of the subject of study and the purpose of the review.

Contents

• Introduction to research in education: meaning, contexts and objects


- Epistemological/philosophical framework for educational research


- The nature of scientific knowledge


- Research paradigms. Emerging paradigms


• Statement of the problem, theoretical and contextual frameworks of reference


- Delimitation of the problem. From the identification of the topic to the research question


- The problem in its theoretical context. The literature review: sources of information and theoretical references.


The research design: the research project


- Decision making: design and completion of the proposal


- Phases of the research process.


- The quality of the research process: reliability, validity and credibility of research in education


- Scientific communication: conventions, types of texts and writing


• Ethical and deontological aspects in the educational research process





Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Public oral presentation 4 0.16
Workshops / Class exercises 12 0.48
Personal study activities: supplementary reading, case studies, information research 94 3.76
Final Module paper (readings, final written paper) 16 0.64
One-to-one and group tutorials 4 0.16
Lectures 20 0.8

The methodology is consistent with the competences of the MURE, the learning outcomes linked to this module and the evaluation system designed.


It allows the implementation of different types of activities such as debates, research analysis, exhibitions, expert visits, case studies, etc.


Each of the sessions allows combining different types of activities to ensure a competency and global approach to the teaching and learning process.:

• Lectures / lectures


• Reading of articles and documentary sources


• Analysis and collective discussion of articles and documentary sources


• Classroom practices:


• Public oral presentation


• Tutorials


The attendance of all the students in the group, involvement, good attitude and participation are elements that ensure a good methodological development.


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.


Recommendations on gender perspective and inclusion will be pursued.

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
Final report 40% 0 0 CA01, CA02, CA03, KA01, KA02, SA01
Classroom activities 20% 0 0 CA01, CA02, CA03, KA01, KA02, SA01
Attendance and participation in sessions 10% 0 0 CA01, CA02, CA03, KA01, KA02, SA01
Presentation and monitoring of work 30% 0 0 CA01, CA02, CA03, KA01, KA02, SA01

The module will be assessed through the activities indicated.

The final grade will be the weighted average of the planned activities. In order to apply this criterion, it will be essential to obtain a minimum grade of 5 in each of the planned assessment tasks.

The oral presentation of the research project will be made during the two sessions prior to the end of Module 1. The Final Project will be delivered, via Moodle, one week after the end of the module. The rest of the classroom activities will be distributed throughout the module, timed on the start and delivery date; these dates will be included in the subject program that will be made accessible on the first day of class.

If a student opts for the single assessment modality, they must submit, via Moodle, a PORTFOLIO with all the evidence established as assessment activities, and also make the oral presentation of the research project in person in the two sessions prior to the completion of Module 1. The oral presentation will be recorded videographically.

The return and monitoring of the activities that form part of the qualification will be equal to or less than 20 days. The test review procedure will be carried out individually. The student who wishes to review the grade must do so within 15 days of its publication during the tutorial schedule that the teaching staff has established for this module, and which is stated in the program of the same. Class attendance is mandatory. In order to obtain a positive final assessment, the student must have attended a minimum of 80% of the classes.

The recovery of the Final Module work and/or any classroom activity (in the case of students who do continuous assessment) or the Portfolio (in the case of students who do a single assessment) is planned to be carried out within a maximum period of one month after the end of the module, being able to obtain a maximum of a 6. The oral presentation (whether continuous or single assessment is carried out) will not be recoverable.

Copying or plagiarism in the case of work, constitutes a crime that implies failing the subject. A work or an activity will be considered to be “copied” when it reproduces all or part of the work of another colleague. A work or an activity will be considered to be “plagiarized” when a part of a text by an author is presented as one's own without citing the sources, regardless of whether the original sources are on paper or in digital format.

It is also necessary for the student to show good general communication skills, both orally and in writing, and a good command of the language or languages ​​​​that appear in the teaching guide. In all activities (individual and in groups), linguistic correction, writing and formal aspects of presentation will therefore be taken into account. Students must be able to express themselves fluently and correctly and must show a high degree of understanding of academic texts. An activity may be returned (not evaluated) or suspended if the teacher considers that it does not meet these requirements. In addition, before submitting evidence of learning, the student must check that they have correctly written the sources, notes, textual citations and bibliographical references following the APA regulations. In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed as an integral part of the development of the work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution by the student in the analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases. Specific validations may be carried out to guarantee authorship and the acquisition of skills in the event of suspicion of academic fraud.


From the second registration, the evaluation of the module may consist, if the student so requests, of a synthesis test (according to point 2 of Article 267 of the UAB Academic Regulations).

Bibliography

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

American Psychological Association. (2019). Concise Guide to APA Style (7th Edition). American Psychological Association.

Arnal, J., Del Rincón, D., & Latorre, A. (1992). Investigación educativa. Labor.

Arnau, L., & 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

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

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

Bunge, M. (1980). Epistemología. Ariel.

Buckler, S., & Moore, H. (2026). Essentials of research methods in education (2.ª ed.). Sage Publications.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research Methods in Education (8th edition). Taylor & Francis

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

Chalmers, A.F. (1989). ¿Qué es esa cosa llamada ciencia?. Siglo XXI.

Denzin, N. K. (2008). The new paradigm dialogs and qualitative inquiry. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 21(4), 315–325.

Feyerabend, P. (1986). Tratado contra el método. Tecnos.

Gadamer, H.G. (2001). Verdad y método. Sígueme.

Gadamer, H.G. (2002). Verdad y método II. Sígueme.

García Bellido, R. (2024). Manual metodología de la investigación en educación ([1a edición]). Tirant humanidades.

Habermas, J. (1982). Conocimiento e Interés. Ed. Taurus

Habermas, J. (1990). La lógica de las ciencias sociales. Tecnos.

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

Hernández, R., Fernández, C. & Baptista, P. (2014). Metodología de la investigación. McGraw-Hill.

Hernandez-Sampieri, R., & Mendoza, C. (2020). Metodología de la Investigación. Las rutas cuantitativa, cualitativa y mixta. McGraw Hill Educación

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

Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. B. (2025). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches. 8th Edition. Sage publications.

Jorrín Abellán, I. M., Fontana Abad, M., & Rubia Avi, B. (2021). Investigar en educación : manual y guía práctica. Editorial Síntesis.

Kuhn, T. S. (1987). La estructura de las revoluciones científicas. FCE.

Lakatos, I. (1989). La metodología de los programas de investigación científica. Alianza.

Leavy, P. (2017). Research design: Quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, arts-based, and community-based participatory research approaches. Guilford Publications.

Lederman, N.G., Zeidler, D.L. Lederman, J. S. (2023). Handbook of Research on Science Education Volume III. Routledge

Marshall, C., Rossman, G. B., & Blanco, G. L. (2021). Designing qualitative research (7th ed.). SAGE Publications.

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

McKenney, S., & Reeves, T. C. (2018). Conducting educational design research. Routledge.

Mertens, D.M., & Ginsberg, P.E. (Eds.) (2009).The Handbook of Social Research Ethics. Sage

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

Molinari, J. (2022). What makes writing academic: Rethinking theory for practice. Bloomsbury Academic.

Neuschel, K.B., Rasmussen, A. M. (2025). Writing with Research A Practical Guide. Routledge

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

Patton, M. Q., Burkholder, L. M., Crawford, L. M., Cox, K. A., Hitchcock, J. H., Nickleberry, L. D., & Munce, S. E. P. (2023). Research design and methods: An applied guide for the scholar-practitioner. SAGE Publications.

Popper, K. R. (1985). La lògica de la investigació científica. Ed. 62.

Sala, J., & Arnau, L. (2014). El planteamiento del problema, las preguntas y los objetivos de la investigación: criterios de redacción y check list para formular correctamente. DDD: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/126350

Saldaña, J. (2024). Developing theory through qualitative inquiry. SAGE Publications.

Shields, S., Schartner, A., Curtis, W., & Murphy, M. (2024). Research and Education: An Introduction to Methods, Approaches and Processes. Taylor & Francis.

Thonney, T. (2011). Teaching the Conventions of Academic Discourse. Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 38(4), 347-362.

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

Woods, P., & Sikes, P. (2022). Successful writing for qualitative researchers. Routledge.

Young, M. D., & Diem, S. (Eds.). (2024). Handbook of critical education research: Qualitative, quantitative, and emerging approaches. Routledge.

Software

No software is used

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
(PAULm) Classroom practices (master) 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester afternoon
(PAULm) Classroom practices (master) 2 Catalan/Spanish first semester afternoon