CONTENT + SKILLS GAINED

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

Research is fundamental to understanding how the world works and at the core of doing well-founded and evidence based work. You can make change if you don't understand why and how things work first! We look at multiple research strategies that support your ability to explore, dissect, and uncover unique aspects of the world around us. Far from any traditional more boring approaches like clipboard-based surveys, this course will help you develop exceptional and rigorous approaches for designing, enacting, and interpreting research approaches to support your change making.

WHAT YOU WILL UNCOVER IN THIS COURSE

  • Develop a robust and dynamic research mindset by exploring terminology and capabilities in research approaches.

  • Determine how to interpret research findings and develop your own ethical research approaches.

  • Learn how to frame a good research question and design a research process along with personalized approaches to researching and experimentation.

  • Discover how to apply specific research methods such as observational, experiential and participatory action research and then develop your research design

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Available for this course

Certificates are issued by the UnSchool (using third party certifier Accredible.com) upon successful and demonstrable completion of all course elements. Accredible uses bank-level encryption and blockchain logging to ensure legitimacy and verification, and offers easy to share credentials that you can receive as a downloadable PDF, share on LinkedIn and other digital platforms. Accredible also allows you to control your own data via their credential portal, accessible for free when you receive any certificates or badges.

Dr. Leyla Acaroglu

Instructor Bio:

Sustainability provocateur, award-winning designer, 2016 UNEP Champion of the Earth, and creative changemaker pioneer, Dr. Leyla Acaroglu challenges people to think differently about how the world works. As the founder of the UnSchool and creator of the Disruptive Design Method, Leyla weaves together her skills as a designer, sociologist, and social entrepreneur to create highly immersive educative experiences. She is a renowned international expert on systems thinking and sustainability, running workshops around the world and designing activating experiences, gamified toolkits, and unique educational experiences that help equip people with the tools to intervene and change systems to make the status quo obsolete. Sought after for her unique approach to activating positive social change by design, Leyla's main-stage TED talk on sustainability has been viewed over a million times, and she is the author of several handbooks, as well as an op ed contributor for major publications like the New York Times.

Dr. Leyla Acaroglu

UnSchool Founder + Global Change Maker

COURSE CONTENT

  • 01

    Welcome

  • 02

    Part 1: What is Research?

    • Read: Why Research Is So Important

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Watch: What is Research?

    • Read: Participatory Action Research

    • Activity: Action Research Plan Worksheet

    • Watch: Doing Good Research

    • Read: Loving Problems

    • Activity: Write a Research Question

    • Knowledge Check: What is Research?

  • 03

    Part 2: Types of Research Approaches

    • Read: Overview of Research Approaches

    • Watch: Types of Research Approaches

    • Read: Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods

    • Read: Observational Research

    • Watch: Observation

    • Activity: Observational Research

    • Activity: Systems Observation Worksheet

    • Read: Desktop Research

    • Read: Surveys and Data Collection

    • Read: In-Depth Interviews

    • Activity: Developing Interview Questions

    • Read: The Co-Design Process

    • Activity: Co-Design

    • Knowledge Check: Approaches to Research

  • 04

    Part 3: Ethics in a Research Practice

    • Read: Ethical Research and Participant Engagement

    • Watch: Ethics in a Research Practice

    • Watch: Integrity

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Read: Integrity & Personal Ethics

    • Activity: Personal Code of Conduct Worksheet

    • Read: Reflexivity and Reflection

    • Watch: Reflexive Thinking

    • Activity: Developing Reflexive Thinking

    • Read: Bias in Research

    • Do: Busting Bias Worksheet

    • Read: Recognizing & Sharing Power

    • Activity: Powermap Worksheet

    • Read: Empathy in Research

    • Activity: Empathic Listening

    • Knowledge Check: Ethics in Research

  • 05

    Part 4: Planning and Implementing Research Strategies

    • Read: Research Planning

    • Watch: Planning and Implementing Research Strategies

    • Activity: Research Plan Worksheet

    • Read: Procrastination

    • Watch: How to Deal with Procrastination

    • Activity: Design a Research Strategy

    • Knowledge Check: Planning & Implementing
  • 06

    Part 5: Change Based Research Practices

    • Read: Change Based Research

    • Watch: Change Based Research Practices

    • Read: Service Design

    • Read: Human-Centered Design

    • Read: Developing Flexibility in Research Approaches

    • Read: Research to Action for Change Making

    • Links: Awesome Podcasts to Activate your Mind

    • Knowledge Check: Change Based Research Practices
  • 07

    Conclusion

    • Tying It All Together

    • Research Strategies Course Final Reflections

    • Additional Resources & Links

    • A message From Leyla
  • 08

    Completion Certificate

    • Research Strategies Final Knowledge Check Quiz

    • Get your certificate of completion!

  • 09

    Next Steps

    • Continue Your Learning Journey!

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THE UNSCHOOL PROGRAMS

“I'm super inspired by the @unschools online classes so far - this is everything I wish my $24k design education had been (but surely wasn't)”

On Twitter

@evilemissary

“The UnSchool provided an opportunity to strengthen a network of likeminded social entrepreneurs, inspire disruptive design, celebrate epic innovation and reaffirm my previous knowledge”

Charlotte Rose

“The UnSchool has had a profound effect on me, not only by redefining the way in which I view the world but also by altering my reflection upon past experiences. Throughout the fellowship I felt continuously stretched and challenged, but then ultimately transformed both personally and professionally. It has been the catalyst to inspire change in ourselves before we set out to change our worlds”

Mohammed Bashkeel

ETHICAL AND EFFECTIVE RESEARCH

LEARN THE TRICKS OF THE CHANGE MAKING TRADE IN

In this course, we will examine how to apply actionable research and responsive feedback loops to develop creative solutions to complex problems (which become way less complex once you get your head around good research approaches!). 

When you finish, you'll be able to define, understand, and design research methods and techniques, gather observational and ethnographic data, critically investigate responses, and collect information that sheds greater insight into your problem arena. 

Most importantly, you will discover that research is curiosity and experimentation in action, and through this course you will be equipped to develop your own approach to an investigative lifestyle. 

When you begin to take on the role of a positive creative change-maker, you discover the need for thorough understanding of the problem arenas you want to change. You will then appreciate even more the power of dynamic, experiential and ethical research, the foundation for any good practice.

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