Research Methods

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

96 hours

Communication: Students must be able to participate in and produce performances and exhibitions as required; they will also need to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written forms. Communication with fellow students, professional and academic staff, and the wider public about their knowledge and application of practising Arts disciplines is essential.

Creative, Intellectual and Organisational Abilities: Students require the capacity for high-level creative performance or production. They are also expected to have the ability to develop problem-solving skills and to comprehend disciplinary and crossdisciplinary information. Students must have the ability to establish study plans and prioritise training objectives and outcomes.

Behavioural and Social Attributes: Students must possess behavioural and social attributes that enable them to participate in a complex learning environment. They must take full responsibility for their own participation and learning. Students also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative environments and must therefore demonstrate a wide range of interpersonal skills which consider the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students.

Disability: Students who have a disability which may prevent them from participating in tasks involving these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/ Adjustments can be provided to minimise the impact of a disability; however, students will need to participate in the course in an independent manner.

A weekly seminar that examines the relationship between research and practice in the creative arts. It introduces students to a range of research methods and addresses key philosophical issues and practical skills relevant to research undertaken in the creative arts. Seminar content will include traditions of authorships and collaboration, arts-based research, research ethics and scholarly research skills appropriate to all disciplines. Students will be assisted to develop a research framework appropriate to their discipline and project.

The subject will:

- provide student researcher with key research concepts and skills relevant to their chosen project;
- provide students with an overview of contemporary debates and methodological traditions in the field of arts-based research;
- facilitate discussion of research ethics, including codes of conduct and ethical frameworks governing research;
- enable students to develop a research design specific to their discipline and project;

Assessment includes:

· Annotated bibliography 1000 words (20%);
· Class presentation 15 minutes (30%);
· Written research design 2000 words (50%).

Subject Reader

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completing this subject students will have acquired key research skills, including:

· the ability to engage in independent and contextually-informed artistic practice;
· an ability to initiate research projects and to formulate viable research questions;
· a demonstrated capacity to design, conduct and report independent and original research on a closely-defined project;
· an ability to manage time to maximise the quality of research;
· an understanding of the major contours of international research in the research area;
· a capacity for critical evaluation of relevant scholarly literature and artistic practice;
· well-developed and flexible problem-solving abilities appropriate to the discipline;
· the capacity to communicate effectively the results of research and scholarship by oral and written communication;
· an understanding of and facility with scholarly conventions in the discipline area;
· a profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, and for the ethics of research and scholarship;
· a capacity to collaborate with other researchers.