Opetussuunnitelmat

Objective

Part A: Developing the Profession (8 ECTS; 240 h)
The aim of this module is to provide students with a critically engaged outlook towards
research and policy texts which have the professional structure and the performance of
sign language interpreting and translation as their topic.
Students will develop an understanding of relevant social and linguistic research
methodology and be given tools with which to make informed assessments concerning
the validity of research findings through analyses of published texts from relevant fields
of practice and scholarship.
This module will guide students towards developing small-scale, pilot research projects
in areas relating to (a) the profession of sign language interpreting and translation and
(b) the performance of practitioners in the field, including the analysis of language output.
One of these projects will be undertaken (at an appropriate – i.e. small-scale, pilot –
level) and evaluated.
The module prepares students for module 5. In particular, projects developed here may
serve as the starting point for the MA theses to be written in semester 5.

Part B: Developing Reflective Practice III (2 ECTS; 60 h)
The aim of this strand, Developing Reflective Practice, is for students to improve and
deepen their self-reflection skills. By increasing self-reflection, students will also
improve their self-awareness and the ability to regulate their behaviour in interpreting
practice. This strand is centred on the need for practitioners to maintain professional
integrity in their work decisions that are in line with broader theories from the field of
professional ethics. The aim for this particular course is to improve the teaching and
application of the skills developed in this course with practitioners in students’ home
countries. Students will be expected to engage their colleagues in one of more of the
theories or approaches used throughout this strand.

Content

Part A:
(1) Preliminaries
– Description & Prescription
– Quantitative & Qualitative
– Empiricism, Validity & Reliability: Relations Between Methods and Outcomes
– Ethics & Empowerment: ‘On, For and With’
(2) Sources
– Identifying, accessing and reviewing appropriate literature (including ‘grey’ literature)
– Identifying, eliciting and accessing appropriate data
(3) Approaches
– Surveys and Questionnaires
– Case Studies
– Interviews & Focus Groups
– Ethnographic Approaches
– Linguistic and Cultural Approaches
(4) Handling Data
– Transcribing Data
– Data Analysis
(5) Models and ‘anti-models’
– Reviewing Major Trends in Translation & Interpreting Studies Research
– Profession questions
– Performance questions

Part B:
This final course in the reflection practice strand broadens the topic to investigate what
can be done at a policy or profession-level that might elicit advancement in the area
of work effectiveness ethics and reflective practice in students’ home countries.
Topics include:
- Ethical codes, standards of practice, and advancing ethical thought and
processes
- Intermediate ethical concepts
- Improving interpreter training and professional development
- Advancing post-conventional reasoning in ethical content material

Materials

Part A:
Angelelli, C. V., and B. J. Baer (eds.). 2016. Researching Translation and Interpreting.
London and New York: Routledge.
Cameron, D. et al. 1992. Researching Language: Issues of Power and Method. London:
Routledge.
Gillham, B. 2000. The Research Interview. London: Continuum.
Hale, S., and J. Napier. 2013. Research Methods in Interpreting: A Practical Resource.
London and New York: Bloomsbury.
McHoul, A. and Rapley, M. (eds). 2001. How to Analyse Talk in Institutional Settings.
London: Continuum.
May, T. 2001. Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process. Buckingham: Open
University Press.
Orfanidou, E., B. Woll and G. Morgan (eds.). 2015. Research Methods in Sign Language
Linguistics: A Practical Guide. Chichester: Wiley.
Paltridge, B., and A. Phakiti (eds.). 2015. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics: A
Practical Resource. 2nd ed. London and New York: Bloomsbury.
Pöchhacker, F. 2004. Introducing Interpreting Studies. London: Routledge.
Robson, C. 2002. Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and
Practitioner-Researchers. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell.
Saldanha, G., and S. O’Brien. 2014. Research Methodologies in Translation Studies. London and New York: Routledge.
Schäffner, C. (ed.). 2004. Translation Research and Interpreting Research: Traditions,
Gaps and Synergies. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Williams, J. and Chesterman, A. 2002. The Map: A Beginner’s Guide to Doing Research
in Translation Studies. Manchester: St Jerome.

Part B:
Beauchamp, T. L. and Childress, J. F. 2012. Principles of biomedical ethics, 2nd ed.,
New York: Oxford University Press.
Bebeau, M. J. and Thoma, S. J. 1999. ‘“Intermediate” concepts and the connection to
moral education’, Educational Psychology Review, 11, 343-360.
Cokely, D. 2000. ‘Exploring ethics: A case for revising the Code of Ethics’, Journal of
Interpretation, 25-60
Dean, R. K. and Pollard, R. Q. 2012. ‘Beyond “interesting”: Using demand control
schema to structure experiential learning’, in MALCOLM, K. and SWABEY, L. (eds.)
In our Hands: Educating Healthcare Interpreters, Washington, DC: Gallaudet
University Press.
Dean, R. K. and Pollard, R. Q. 2013. The demand control schema: Interpreting as a
practice profession, North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Platform.
Rest, J. R., Narvaez, D., Bebeau, M. J. and Thoma, S. J. .1999. Postconventional moral
thinking: A neo-Kohlbergian approach, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Schön, D. 1983. The Reflective Practitioner New York: Harper and Collins.

Evaluation scale

0-5

Further information

Part A:
Assessment methods
(1) Coursework submission and presentation of pilot study (80%; reassessment:
resubmission of coursework with changed topic)
(2) Coursework submission of outline (20%; reassessment: resubmission of coursework
with changed topic)
Each student will, with tutor guidance, choose (a) a profession type of research question
and (b) a performance type of research question to pursue for assessment. For each
question, the detailed design of a proposed study must be prepared; one of the
proposed studies is to be carried out as a small-scale pilot study. The presentation of the
above work will occur in two ways. Each student will (a) publish the outline of his or her
proposed study online and (b) present the report on the pilot study carried out (in English
or IS) at a concluding two-day workshop.

Part B:
Assessment methods
The Developing Reflective Practice is not assessed.