Prerequisite courses for this course are: KK620C Media, Globalization and Development (passed) and KK621C Communication, Culture and Media Analysis (passed).

The purpose of the course it to let students get practical and theoretical experience of new media for social change as well as research methodologies of relevance for Communication for Development.

The aim of this course is to give the students the opportunity to gain practical experience of applying digital tools, software and research methods, and to reflect upon and discuss methodological issues of relevance for Communication for Development. Furthermore, the students will apply ICT and new media for social change by reflecting on their integration into existing international development contexts.

After completing the course, the student demonstrates:

(1) an understanding of the principles and rationale of a range of methods, research paradigms and approaches of

relevance to Communication for Development,

(2) in-depth knowledge about advantages and disadvantages of specific research methods, software and relevant digital tools

(3) the capacity to develop and apply a research design and framework in a meaningful, critical, ethical and self-reflective way.

(4) an understanding of how new media and ICT are analysed and theorised in media and communication studies, humanitarian and development studies.

After completing the course, students will be able to:

(5) apply methodological tools, formulate research questions, design a study, implement and select methods appropriate for specific research needs.

(6) critically reflect upon methodological aspects related to various research paradigms, and to understand the relationship between theoretical frameworks and choice of methods.

(7) critically review literature on new media, social change and development.

(8) present their academic work in written, oral and digital formats, e.g. weblogs, podcasts or videos.

After completing the course, the student demonstrates:

(9) the capacity to critically reflect upon their own role and position as researchers, regarding matters such as bias, power dimensions, ethical aspects as well as limitations and strengths of the methods,

(10) being able to conduct a methodological reflection and distinction upon issues such as epistemology and ontology.

(11) the ability to critically reflect upon the role of ICT and new media tools, digital platforms and software.

Lectures, in-class exercises, group work, literature studies and technical tutorials. The foundations of this course are online lectures and tutorials. A collaborative pedagogy is applied, based on the productive use of group dynamics through peer reviewing and other forms of interactive communication on the Internet. The lectures are hybrid and given in the Glocal Classroom.

The course is examined through two modules with two assignments each:

1) a literature reading group exercise (2.5 ECTS, pass/fail grading scale). Students prepare a reading seminar presentation, with a facilitated group debate.

2) an individual essay assignment (5 ECTS, A-U grading scale) for which the student writes an essay providing a critical evaluation of at least two different methods in preparation of the thesis project.

3) a group blog assignment (5 ECTS, A-U grading scale). Collaborative group work and peer-review form part of the assessments.

4) an individual blog assignment (2.5 ECTS, pass/fail grading scale). Students practice interviewing techniques and write a reflection on their blogs.

Assignments 3 and 4 are primarily linked to learning outcomes listed under SKILLS AND ABILITIES and CRITICAL SKILLS AND APPROACH; the reading group (1) and the individual essay assignment (2) focus on learning outcomes listed under KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING and CRITICAL SKILLS AND APPROACH.

Three examinations are offered during the semester in which the course is given or in close connection with the current semester. Students who have not completed the course have the opportunity to participate in examinations when the course is given again. In these cases, the literature and examination tasks that are valid for the course at the time of the examination apply.

- Given, Lisa (ed.) (2012): The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. London: SAGE.

- Heeks, Richard (2017):?Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D). Abindgon: Routledge.

- Kuckartz, Udo (2014): Qualitative Text Analysis-A Guide to Methods, Practice & Using Software. London: SAGE.

- A selection of classic readings is shared with students for the reading group exercise

Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).

If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that applied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented.

If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format. The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.