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ENG 8305/9303: Course Description, Topics and Teaching Load

Department of English and Literary Studies

Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano

ENG 8305/9303: RESEARCH METHODS

All investigations require evidence of reading

— Bell (1993: 51).

Lectures:
Prof. Ibrahim Bello-Kano
Dr. Ali Umar Muhammad

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND TEAM TEACHING SCHEDULE

THIS COURSE seeks to get the postgraduate (MA and PhD) student to confront
the wider issues and topics in the philosophy, identity, and gradations of the two
principal methods in humanistic research, namely of Qualitative and Quantitative
Methodologies beyond the typical undergraduate offering on such a course. It will
also broach on the contending issues in postgraduate research in general, book
reviewing and other academic critiquing techniques, the canons of advanced
research studies, dissertation, thesis, academic-paper writing, the different kinds of
documentation and style sheets, recent developments in academic writing (in light
of the demands of inter- and multi-disciplinary studies).

Thus one other principal objective of the course is not only to acquaint the
postgraduate student with the intricacies and delights of academic writing,
including thesis and scholarly writing, but also to help the student appreciate the
conceptual nature of all forms of academic writing, the practical skills required for
its development, not least the contingency of academic writing, in which
dogmatism, intellectual complacency, and laziness are out of place and unhelpful
(both at once).

Others are topics in advanced research proposals (for academic credit or for
endowments and other forms of institutional or private funding), topics in the
ethics of research (issues of plagiarism, appropriate conventions of referencing,
handling Web sources, etc.), writing for academic journals and audiences, where
and how to find primary and secondary sources (such as print, electronic, Web, and
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ENG 8305/9303: Course Description, Topics and Teaching Load

unpublished material, etc.), compile an annotated bibliography, and other topics on

the supervisor-supervisee relationship. Finally, students will be required to produce
a short piece of researched writing in an effort to better prepare them for their own
research and writing.

Course Objectives
On completion of the Course Unit, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the complexities of academic research,
proposal writing, and other aspects of academic writing.
2. Demonstrate an ability to produce learned, scholarly, and methodologically
sound research papers, proposals, dissertations, and monographs.
3. Explore, interpret, and critique a range of the main assumptions within the key
literature on the subject matter of academic and dissertation writing, and other
forms of the “How To” literature in the relevant field.
4. Analyze the articulations of the relationship between the different kinds of
academic writing and scholarly presentation.
5. Grasp the modern techniques of research in English language and literature so
that they would be better able to choose research topics, collect and organize
materials, plan the research essay, and compose and document it in a scholarly
manner.

Course and Written Work and Assessment Requirements

1. There will be a written exam at the end of the semester the course is taught
2. Attendance at lectures is compulsory.
3. The course work will involve reading the relevant material
4. The written work will involve writing one long (approximately typed 15-25-
page A4 paper) research paper to be counted as part of the continuous
assessment for the course which will be presented at an open seminar
presentation at which students will take turns to present their research papers
(which the student could develop into a draft proposal for a future
dissertation topic)
5. Attendance at the seminar series is compulsory.
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ENG 8305/9303: Course Description, Topics and Teaching Load

LECTURE TOPICS AND TEACHING LOAD FOR PROF IBK

Topic 1: The Research Process
 The Research Inventory
 Reading For Advanced Research I: Isolating The Relevant Sources
 Reading For Advanced Research Ii: Handling The Relevant Material
 Project Management (Time, Finance, Etc.)

Topic 2: Types of the Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

Topic 3: Academic Writing & Academic Writing Practices

 Rudiments of Academic Writing
 Book and Article Reviewing and Other Scholarly Critiquing Procedures
________________________________________

LECTURE TOPICS AND TEACHING LOAD FOR DR. ALI UMAR

MUHAMMAD
Topic 4: Data Collection and Analysis

Topic 5: Research Ethics: Plagiarism and Fair/Accurate Attribution of

Sources

Topic 6: Style Sheets and Style Manuals

Topic 7: Writing Up & Finishing Off of the Thesis/Dissertation

 From Writing to Completion to Submission
 Submission Guidelines and Conventions
______________________________________

PROF IBK AND DR. ALI U. MUHAMMAD

Topic 8: Proposal Writing: The Structure of the Proposal Text

 Abstract
 Introduction
 Problem Statement
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ENG 8305/9303: Course Description, Topics and Teaching Load

 Hypothesis (where applicable)

 Research Questions
 Objectives
 Research Methodology
 Scope and Limitations
 Justification/Significance
 Theoretical Framework
 Literature Review at Proposal Level and beyond

RECOMMENDED READING
(Note the mix of “author-date” and “author-title” style formats)
Bell, Judith. Doing your Research Project. London: Open University, 1993.
Blaxter, L. et al. (2006). How to Research. Third Edition. London: Open
University Press.
Burgess, R.G. (1984). In the Field: An Introduction to Field Research. London:
Unwin Hyman.
Creswell, J. W. (1994). Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches. London: Sage.
Friedman, M.S. (1994). Strategies for Interpreting Qualitative Data. London:
Sage.
Given, L.M. (ed.). The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. 2
vols. London: Sage, 2008.
Morse, J. M. (ed.) (1993). Critical Issues in Qualitative Research Methods.
London: Sage.
Murray, Rowena. How to Write a Thesis. Second Edition. London: McGraw-Hill,
2008.
Murray, Rowena. Writing for Academic Journals. London: Open University,
2008a.
Murray, R. and Moore, S. (2006). The Handbook of Academic Writing. London:
McGraw-Hill.
Pulmmer K. Documents of Life: An Introduction to the Problems and Literature of
a Humanistic Model. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1983.
Schratz, M. & Walker, R. (1995). Research as Social Change: New Opportunities
for Qualitative Research. London: Routledge.
Stevens, P. J.M. et al. Understanding Research. Edinburgh: Crompton Press, 1997.
Strauss, A.C. & Corbin, J. Basics of Qualitative Research. London: Sage, 1990.

Ibrahim Bello-Kano
Coordinator
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ENG 8305/9303: Course Description, Topics and Teaching Load

November 6, 2023