Research Designs

Course manual 2025/2026

Course content

The Research Designs course equips you with the knowledge and practical skills to independently design and execute a research project, starting with your Bachelor Project that runs parallel to this course. The course is structured in two parts.

In the first part, Research Foundations, you will develop a solid understanding of core research concepts — including problem definition, research questions, methodology, and the principles of reliability and validity. You will apply these directly to your own project context, culminating in a research proposal that forms the basis for your Bachelor Project and assessed by a written exam.

In the second part, Research Skills Lab, you take ownership of your own learning by selecting workshops that are most relevant to your project and development as a researcher. Topics range from statistics and data analysis to interview techniques, thesis defense, and research ethics. You will document and reflect on your growth in a skills portfolio.

Together, both parts provide the scaffolding to help you not only complete a well-structured research proposal, but also to develop the transferable research skills that will serve you throughout your academic and professional career.

Study materials

Literature

• Patten, M.L., Newhart, M. (2018) Understanding research methods: An overview of the essentials. Selected chapters, Taylor & Francis

• Pontius, J., McIntosh, A. (2020) Critical Skills for Environmental Professionals. Selected chapters, Springer

• Clark, T., Foster, L., Sloan, L., Bryman, A. (2021) Bryman's Social Research Methods. Selected chapters. Oxford University Press

   

Other

• In the Research Design course we only provide you with a minimum amount of required reading on your problem topic, and this will be limited to the start of the course. Main reason being that in this course we aim to provide you with the necessary methodological knowledge to enable you to successfully execute your Bachelor Project and write a good research report (your thesis). Your supervisor and guiding teachers in the Bachelor Project will provide you with additional literature on your topic, to help you lay a good basis for your thesis. After the first weeks, you can tailor the papers and resources that you read to your particular research question and your individual needs as a researcher. 

Objectives

• Explain core concepts of research design, including problem definition, research questions, methodology, and the principles of reliability and validity.
• Apply appropriate research methods and designs to a self-chosen research question within your own disciplinary context.
• Construct a well-structured research proposal that includes a problem statement, research question, theoretical framework and methodological justification.
• Evaluate the quality of research designs by assessing reliability, validity and methodological choices, both in existing literature and in the work of peers.
• Demonstrate practical research skills relevant to your Bachelor Project by completing self-chosen workshop assignments.
• Reflect critically on your own development as a researcher by assessing your learning goals, progress, and the transferability of acquired skills to your Bachelor Project.

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Self-study
• Supervision/feedback meeting
• Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis
• Seminar

Lectures During the lectures, you will be introduced to the core concepts of research design, including problem definition, the formulation of research questions, methodology (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods), and the principles of reliability and validity. The lectures provide the theoretical foundation for the work you will do in the seminars and in your Bachelor Project.

Seminars The seminars are where theory meets practice. Each session is built around guided exercises that ask you to apply what you have learned directly to your own research project. You will work on concrete steps such as defining your problem, structuring your research design, and developing your proposal. Peer feedback is an integral part of the seminars — you will regularly review and discuss each other's work, which sharpens both your critical thinking and your academic writing.

Workshops The workshops form the practical core of the Research Skills Lab. You will choose three workshops from a range of topics — such as statistics and data analysis, interview techniques, writing your discussion section, or research ethics and AI — based on your personal learning goals and the needs of your Bachelor Project. Each workshop offers hands-on training in a specific research skill and is paired with an assignment that becomes part of your skills portfolio.

Learning activities

Attendance

Additional requirements for this course:

Attendance is mandatory for all seminars and for three workshops.

The seminars are built around collaborative exercises and peer feedback, and each session builds directly on the previous one. Your presence is essential — not just for your own learning, but because your peers depend on your input and feedback. During the seminars, you work towards learning objectives 2, 3, and 4: applying research methods to your own project, constructing a research proposal, and evaluating research designs through peer feedback. These objectives are assessed through the exam and the formative peer feedback session in Seminar 4. If you are unable to attend due to special circumstances (e.g. illness or a family emergency), please inform your seminar lecturer (werkgroepdocent) in advance by email. If you miss more than one seminar, you will be excluded from further participation and will not be able to complete the course.

Attendance at your three chosen workshops is required because the hands-on activities form the direct basis for your portfolio assignments. During the workshops, you work towards learning objective 5: demonstrating practical research skills relevant to your Bachelor Project. This objective is assessed through the skills portfolio assignments (40% of your final grade). Each workshop is offered only once and cannot be made up at a later point.

Attendance at the lectures is not mandatory, but strongly encouraged. The lectures provide the theoretical foundation for everything you do in the seminars and workshops, and form part of the exam material.

Assessment

Exam The exam is taken digitally via ANS. No materials or resources are permitted during the exam. The pass mark is 55% (grade 5.5). The exam covers all lectures and the compulsory literature of the course.

A resit is available for students who did not pass the regular exam. Students participating in the Sri Lanka fieldwork who are unable to attend the regular exam will take the resit as their first attempt. These students will additionally have access to a second resit opportunity.

Portfolio assignments Each portfolio assignment has a fixed deadline. Assignments submitted after the deadline will be graded as insufficient (0). If you anticipate difficulties meeting a deadline, please contact your seminar lecturer in advance.

The table below gives an overview of the various components of the Assessment, the deadlines and further details.

Table: Assessment, deadlines and exam dates

Assessment diagram

Students that were enrolled in the course in previous years

Students that were enrolled in the course in previous years and did not get a passing grade, will need to re-do the full course.
Students that were enrolled in the course in previous years with a passing grade, but who will conduct their BSc thesis this year are encouraged to participate in the working groups, as these are supporting the proposal and thesis writing of the BSc thesis project. Please contact Anne Uilhoorn (a.g.uilhoorn@uva.nl) for more information.

Inspection of assessed work

After each grade has been released, an inspection session will be scheduled. During this session, you can review your assessed work, the answer model, and the corresponding grading criteria. The date and time of each inspection session will be announced in the class schedule.

You will have a second chance to submit an improved Research Skills Portfolio within 2 weeks after receiving the final grade with a maximum grade of 6.0. The deadline for resubmission will be communicated to you once we have completed grading. 

Assignments

1. Formative seminar assignments Each seminar includes a short preparatory or in-class assignment, such as a literature matrix, an analysis of your own research idea, or a methodology exercise. These assignments are designed to help you make direct progress on your research proposal. They are made individually and are not graded. No formal feedback is provided, but the assignments form the basis for discussion and exercises during the seminar.

2. Research Proposal Throughout the course you will work towards a complete research proposal, including a problem statement, research question, theoretical framework, and methodological justification. The proposal is made individually. A peer feedback session is held in week 5, during which you will give and receive structured feedback on a draft version. The final proposal is submitted at the end of week 5. Note: the proposal is written as part of this course but is assessed within the Bachelor Project — it does not contribute to your grade for Research Designs.

3. Personal Learning Plan At the start of the Research Skills Lab, you will write a short personal learning plan in which you identify your academic development goals, explain which three workshops you have chosen, and justify why these workshops are relevant to your Bachelor Project. The learning plan is made individually and is part of the final Research Skills Portfolio.

4. Skills Portfolio Assignments Each workshop is paired with an individual assignment in which you apply the skills practiced during the workshop — for example, a data visualization with written explanation, a short interview protocol with ethical reflection, or an annotated bibliography. Each assignment is graded and counts for 5% of your final grade. Feedback is provided by the workshop lecturer.

5. Research Skills Reflection At the end of the course, you will write an individual reflective report in which you look back on your personal learning plan and assess whether you have achieved your goals. You will use your portfolio assignments as evidence and reflect on how the skills you have developed will support you in your Bachelor Project. The reflection is graded and counts for 25% of your final grade.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Additional information

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Last year's student feedback

Vanaf 2013-2014 hebben we ervoor gekozen om d.m.v. onderstaande tabel de studenten meer inzicht te geven in de kwaliteitszorg. Daarom nemen we een korte weergave van de studentenevaluatie op en de daaruit voortvloeiende acties ter verbetering van het vak.

Contact information

Coordinator

• A.G. Uilhoorn MSc

Docenten

• Philipp Grammel
• Kavel Ozturk
• Jaap Rothuizen
• Sven Schellekens
• Anne Uilhoorn