Research Design and Ethics

Design rigorous, ethical studies and get them approved.

What the course covers

8 modules, 32 topics. Open any one to see what sits inside it.

1. 1.1 The chain from question to design to inference
2. 1.2 Causal thinking and causal diagrams
3. 1.3 Quantitative, qualitative and mixed designs
4. 1.4 Matching the design to the claim you want to make
1. 2.1 Randomised designs beyond the simple trial
2. 2.2 Quasi-experimental designs
3. 2.3 Longitudinal and cohort designs
4. 2.4 Natural experiments and secondary data
1. 3.1 The qualitative traditions
2. 3.2 Sampling and saturation
3. 3.3 Approaches to analysis
4. 3.4 Trustworthiness in place of validity
1. 4.1 Why research ethics exists: the historical record
2. 4.2 The core principles
3. 4.3 Risk, benefit and proportionality
4. 4.4 Ethics as design, not paperwork
1. 5.1 Informed consent in practice
2. 5.2 Vulnerable groups and power imbalance
3. 5.3 Incentives, coercion and the right to withdraw
4. 5.4 Deception and debriefing
1. 6.1 Confidentiality and anonymisation
2. 6.2 Data protection and secure storage
3. 6.3 Secondary use and data sharing
4. 6.4 Research using online and social media data
1. 7.1 Ethics committee review
2. 7.2 Institutional approvals and sponsorship
3. 7.3 Research carried out in another country
4. 7.4 Amendments, incidents and adverse events
1. 8.1 Fabrication, falsification and plagiarism
2. 8.2 Authorship and contribution
3. 8.3 Conflicts of interest and funder influence
4. 8.4 Misconduct procedures, and raising a concern

By the end of this course you will be able to explain and apply:

Two hours, not two months Eight short modules. Finish in a day, or do one module a night for a week.

Depth beyond your coursework Pitched above taught content, for research, leadership and the work that follows the degree.

Built for a phone Watch on the bus, pause mid-module, pick up where you stopped. No download, no lab.

A certificate that can be checked Every certificate carries an ID your college or an employer can verify on our site.

About two hours in total — eight modules of roughly fifteen minutes. You can do it in one sitting or spread it across a week. Your place is saved either way.
No. There is no prerequisite course and no software to install. A phone, tablet or computer with an internet connection is enough.
Yes. This course is placed at Master's Degree for India, and the content is written for that level. If you are at a different stage, change your level at the top of the page and the courses will change with it.
A certificate for the course, carrying an ID that your college or an employer can check on our verification page. You keep access to the material afterwards.
Yes — ₹450 for this course on its own, or ₹1,450 for all five in this set, which works out cheaper if you want more than one.
There is a short quiz at the end of each module so you can check what stuck. It is not timed and you can retake it.
Change your country using the picker at the top. Level names, degree names and prices all switch to that country, and the courses adjust to its education system.

Wording shown for India. Pick a different country at the top and the terms, currency and programme names change with it.