1.  
| Analyse and critique key assumptions in realist ontology and epistemology, including realist understanding of causation in open systems. |
2.  
| Apply philosophical assumptions to explain, in general terms, how policies and programs contribute to different outcomes in different contexts. |
3.  
| Critically analyse and explain the implications of a realist approach for each of the tasks necessary to design a realist evaluation/literature review or realist research. |
4.  
| Develop an initial tentative theory explaining how a selected policy or programme is expected to operate. |
5.  
| Formulate a set of overarching and subsidiary questions that will guide a realist evaluation/literature review or realist research. |
6.  
| Create and justify a plan to collect data for a realist evaluation/review/research. |
7.  
| Evaluate and justify, in realist terms, a plan to analyse the data that would result from implementation of the data collection plan. |