Abstract:

Research and development are getting more and more intertwined as governments and funding agencies are requiring evidence based policies and projects. Many staff in NGOs and research organisations are struggling due to poor research methodology. They often recognise the need for improving their research methods skills but traditional statistics training has not helped them. This paper describes a modular eLearning MSc in research methods that has been launched to provide the core skills needed to do and to support good research. Since the delivery is eLearning the training is accessible to people in full time employment and some participants have commented how the concepts and skills they have learned have been immediately applicable in their place of work. The modular nature of the program allows for single modules to be taken as stand-alone training or to count towards the MSc degree. This paper outlines the design of the degree and the mode of delivery as well as reporting on the participants’ experiences.