Preparation for you, the facilitator
The session must be highly interactive, even conversational. Draw students into the issues, intervening in the discussion with definitions, information or clarification, as necessary.

Your objectives are to:

• establish or reinforce basic concepts in research, different methodologies, quality criteria, methodological norms, and factors that inform decision-making in research
• introduce students to a mental map and appropriate concepts to navigate different methodologies and methods that they will encounter as researchers
• sensitise students to the importance of making and justifying decisions to ensure quality in research
• demystify the philosophy of science and methodological constructs in such a way that students can apply them
• introduce participants to basic research paradigms

For your presentation (Step 2):

• Read James Scotland: Exploring the philosophical underpinnings of research: relating ontology and epistemology to the methodology and methods of the scientific, interpretive, and critical research paradigms.
• Use or adapt the diagram showing The interrelationship between the building blocks of research.
• Use or adapt the table Perspectives of reality and knowledge have implications for research approaches.

By the end of the session, students can:

• discuss epistemology and the links to methodology
• describe the epistemology of their own discipline