Research Methodologies
Type: Final project (TFG)
Area: Bachelor’s Thesis
ECTS: 2
Classroom hours: 28
Other contact hours: 2
Time for directed work (non face-to-face): 15
Hours for self-study and independent learning: 15
Department: Cultural and Musical Studies
Competences developed in the course
Transversal Competences
CT1: Organise and plan work efficiently and in a motivating manner.
CT2: Gather relevant information, analyse it, synthesise it, and manage it appropriately.
CT3: Solve problems and make decisions that respond to the objectives of the work being carried out.
CT4: Use information and communication technologies efficiently.
CT6: Exercise self-criticism regarding one’s professional and interpersonal practice.
CT7: Use communication skills and constructive criticism in teamwork.
CT8: Develop ideas and arguments in a reasoned and critical manner.
CT13: Pursue excellence and quality in professional activity.
CT14: Master research methodologies for the development of projects, ideas, and viable solutions.
CT15: Work autonomously and appreciate the importance of initiative and an entrepreneurial spirit in professional practice.
CT16: Use available resources responsibly with regard to cultural and environmental heritage.
CT17: Contribute through professional activity to raising social awareness of the importance of cultural heritage, its impact across different fields, and its ability to generate meaningful values.
General Competences
CG10: Argue and express viewpoints verbally on a range of musical concepts.
CG13: Understand the foundations and structure of musical language and apply them in performance, creative, research, or pedagogical practice.
CG18: Communicate the content and objectives of professional activity effectively, both orally and in writing, to specialised audiences using appropriate technical and general vocabulary.
CG25: Understand and be able to apply study and research methodologies that support continuous development and innovation in musical practice throughout a professional career.
CG26: Relate one’s own musical activity to other scientific and humanistic disciplines, to the arts in general, and to other musical disciplines in particular, enriching professional practice through a multidisciplinary perspective.
Specific Competences
CO7: Develop the interest, skills, and methodologies required for musical research and experimentation.
CO10: Communicate well-structured theoretical, analytical, aesthetic, and critical judgments orally, beyond their application to the strictly compositional field.
CO11: Develop a distinctive and flexible artistic personality capable of adapting to multiple creative environments and challenges.
DI10: Communicate well-structured, specific, and comprehensive musical ideas of a theoretical, analytical, aesthetic, and critical nature.
IN6: Argue and express viewpoints on musical performance, while addressing the challenge of facilitating the understanding of musical works.
PE1: Understand and explain the foundations of contemporary music pedagogy, both in terms of systematic knowledge and practical application, and use them to support critical reflection on one’s own and others’ music education practice.
PE10: Design, conduct, and evaluate research in music education, both individually and as an active member of research teams.
Learning outcomes (general objectives)
- Plan written work in accordance with the school’s regulations and the strategies for selecting the topic, objectives, methodology, and bibliography.
- Understand the procedures for collecting and analysing the documentary and empirical information required for the preparation of the work.
- Recognise and apply the conventions of academic writing to organise information effectively.
- Practise revision as a recursive tool to ensure coherence and cohesion in one’s own texts.
- Practise the oral presentation and defence of content expressed in writing.
Contents
Work planning. Regulations for the research proposal and the Bachelor’s Final Project (TFG) at ESMUC. General considerations on research. General considerations on academic writing. Types of Bachelor’s Final Projects. Generation and organisation of ideas. Selection of the topic, objectives, and research questions. Bibliographic exploration. General considerations on methodology. Provisional table of contents and introduction. Work plan. Collection and analysis of information. Documentary research. Abstract writing. Reading notes and annotations. Quantitative methods. Qualitative methods. Information organisation. Parts of the paper. Organisation and distribution of information. Citation, paraphrasing, and plagiarism. Referencing systems. Footnotes. Bibliography. Writing and editing aspects. Text properties: appropriateness, coherence, cohesion, correctness, and variation. Paragraph structure. Readability, academic writing, and specialist language. Punctuation. Graphic conventions. Oral defence. Preparation and script. Structure of the presentation. Explanatory and argumentative presentation strategies. Non-verbal communication.
Teaching methodology
Planning, writing, and revision of texts (written and oral). Planning, writing, and revision tasks related to different aspects of each content block, together with questionnaires for each content block to monitor and assess the reading of the bibliography.
Assessment systems
Formative assessment: online review of assignments aimed at improving results.
Final assessment: based on the sum of the final results obtained in the assignments.