Research Methodologies (RQ9021C)

Content

This unit introduces students to contemporary approaches to qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, with a particular focus on those that are most often used in research in areas of theology and ministry. It provides students with tools to select and apply those methodologies in the formulation of a research proposal. The unit outlines the methodological challenges, hermeneutical questions, and new directions for recent theological research, and the responses across various disciplines to those new developments. Students will be introduced to the skills, competencies and technical methods that are needed to conduct and present high quality research, including identifying a research topic, citation and bibliographical protocols, and obtaining ethics clearances.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Prohibited combinations : EDS9119F Spirituality Research Seminar (Sentir)

Pedagogy

Lectures and Tutorials – face-to-face Recorded lectures which students will listen to for methodological or discipline-specific content, online asynchronous tutorials through ARK forum, interacting with both the lecturer and the other students.

Indicative Bibliography

• Abraham, W. Canon and Criterion in Theology: From the Fathers to Feminism. Oxford: Clarendon: 2002.
• Anderson, R. A. The Shape of Practical Theology: Empowering Ministry with Theological Praxis. Downers Grove: IVP, 2001.
• Booth, W., et al. The Craft of Research, 3rd ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2008. (recommended for purchase)
• Browning, D., ed. Practical Theology: The Emerging Field in Theology, Church and World. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983.
• Corbin, J., and A. Strauss. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2008.
• Fink, A. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to the Paper, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2010.
• Hall, D. J. Thinking the Faith: Christian Theology in a North American Context. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1989.
• Kwok, O. Postcolonial Imagination and Feminist Theologies. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.
• Lonergan, B. Method in Theology. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003.
• Marshall, C., and G. B. Rossman. Designing Qualitative Research, 5th ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2011.
• Mueller, J. J. What are they Saying about Theological Method? New York: Paulist Press, 1984.
• Penslar, R. L., ed. Research Ethics: Cases and Materials. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.
• Ricoeur, P. Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences: Essays on Language, Action and Interpretation. Edited translated by J. B. Thompson. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1981.
• Ruether, R. R., ed. Feminist Theologies: Legacy and Prospect. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007.
• Swinton, J., and H. Mowat. Practical Theology and Qualitative Research. London: SCM Press, 2006.

• Turabian, K. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations, 8th ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2013. (recommended for purchase)

• Whitehead, James D., and Evelyn Easton Whitehead. 1995. Method in ministry: theological reflection and Christian ministry. Rev. and updated. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward.

• Yaghjian, L. 2015. Writing theology well: a rhetoric for theological and biblical writers. 2nd ed. New York: Continuum.

Assessment