An educational game to teach research skills.
Postgraduate students who are doing independent research projects.
Research skills are hard to teach in a motivating and memorable way. This game is fun and it works!
"How to Fail Your Research Degree" encourages a light-hearted engagement with the various academic skills and activities necessary to undertake post-graduate research and the risks and pitfalls that can affect a research degree.
It is particularly suitable for taught master's and MRes students but can be equally useful for students in the first year of a PhD, or even final year undergraduates who are undertaking indpendent research projects. The game can also be used to (re)familiarise early career researchers (ECRs) to the process of managing a research project, and has been shown to be useful in introducing the terminology of research to novice researchers or those with English as an additional language.
To use this game, look at all the game resources (below), then check out the Downloads page for instructions on how to buy the game, get a free Print-and-Play version, or a free demo to try it out yourself before running it with your students.
Not convinced? Check out the Info for Researcher Developers page to see the learning outcomes, rigorous research, and evaluation behind this game, as well as more ideas about how it can enhance your teaching.
This game is licensed as CC-BY-SA so you can adapt it if you choose. It would be suitable for learning within any context which is 'project-like', i.e. a broadly linear process with a measurable outcome, for example, writing an essay or managing a fashion show or other event. The game can also be used to explore subtleties within the research process, for example, exploring Equality and Diversity in Higher Education (and its potential impact on academic achievement).
To adapt this game, your next steps are to very thoroughly familiarise yourself with the game rules to decide if the rules need to change, or just the text on the cards. Then get in touch to request an editable version of the game cards. Thoroughly play test your new version before using it with students.
