Social Development Research Planning And Implementation Training

Learning Outcomes

• Design a social development research plan that aligns with organizational and community needs.
• Apply appropriate data collection methods and tools in a social development context.
• Analyze and interpret research data to inform social development interventions.
• Evaluate the ethical and cultural implications of research activities.
• Implement a research project from planning through to reporting.
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate research findings effectively to diverse stakeholders.

Target Audience

This course is designed for social development practitioners, community workers, project coordinators, and researchers who need to conduct or oversee social research as part of their professional duties.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment

Course Outline

Practicals

Overview

The practicals enable learners to apply research planning and implementation skills in a simulated or real community context. Learners will practice designing instruments, collecting data, analysing results, and reporting findings under supervision.

Practical Activities

• Practical 1: Developing a Research Proposal — Learners work in groups to draft a mini-research proposal including problem statement, objectives, literature review, and methodology for a social development issue. (5h)
• Practical 2: Designing and Piloting a Data Collection Instrument — Learners design a questionnaire or interview guide, pilot it with peers, and refine the instrument based on feedback. (5h)
• Practical 3: Fieldwork Simulation and Data Collection — Learners conduct simulated fieldwork, collecting data from volunteers using their instruments, and manage data recording. (5h)
• Practical 4: Data Analysis and Interpretation — Learners enter collected data into software, perform basic analysis (descriptive statistics or thematic coding), and interpret results. (4h)
• Practical 5: Presenting Research Findings — Learners prepare a brief presentation or poster summarising their research process and findings, and present to the class for feedback. (2h)

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.

Practical Assignments — 30%

Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.

Daily Exercises — 20%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.

Final Test — 50%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.

Final Total

Component	Out of	Weight
Practical Assignments (rubric-scored)	100%	30%
Daily Average (multiple choice)	100%	20%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice)	100%	50%
Final Total	—	100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

How it works

• Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
• Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
• You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
• If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.

Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates	Discount
5	3% off
10	6% off
15	9% off
20	12% off
25	15% off
30	18% off
50	30% off
75	35% off
100	40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.