Dissertation / Research project Professor Cathia Jenainati

Plan—session 1 What are dissertations / research projects? What learning outcomes am I expected to demonstrate? What will I be taught? How much independent work am I expected to do? What format / structure am I allowed to use? Plan—session 1

What are dissertations? Research project, not a long essay Opportunity to delve into a topic that you are passionate about Opportunity to bring together various seemingly disparate intellectual concerns Your own, individual, original response to a problem A well-researched, academically conceived, impactful project

Learning outcomes By the end of the module you will have: Learned to design a feasible research project Planned, implemented and managed a research project Produced a piece of original research that is based on a topic from your chosen discipline or Specialist Interest Presented an argument that engages with the topical issue from a variety of perspectives Presented the findings of your research project in a public forum

Teaching pattern Five weeks of scheduled lectures in Year 3-Term 1 Identifying a topical issue and focusing it on a feasible research project Designing a research project Implementing and managing a research project Constructing an interdisciplinary argument Managing the relationship with your supervisor(s)

Supervisions can be conducted in group or individually Supervision pattern Fortnightly supervision sessions of 30 minutes each for a total of 12 supervisions Supervisions can be conducted in group or individually

Assessment Viva = 20% Quality of the proposal (10%) Response to and engagement with feedback (10%) Evidence of sound deployment of research methods (10%) Originality in design and level of critical thinking, etc… (50%) Dissertation / Project = 80%

Independent Research 12 supervision sessions = 6 hours 5 lectures = 5 hours 289 hours of independent work; how will you manage your time? 30 CATS = 300 hours of effort 72 days of working 4 hours / day My recommendation

Format 8,000-10,000 words or equivalent Written submission Creative submission + Written critical reflection Performance Visual production Online production

Typical components Introduction Literature Review Methodology Analysis Conclusion Bibliography

Timeline End of term 2 – Start of term 3 : find your project weeks 1-2 : meet your personal tutor and identify a supervisor week 3 : prepare your proposal (use the template) week 4 : submit your proposal (online form) week 7 : supervisor allocations published; you receive feedback on the proposal weeks 8- 9 : Revise your proposal and re-submit by Monday week 9 Before you leave campus: agree a plan of work for the summer

Session 2

Research Proposal Title Context Issue-Problem-Questions Objectives Methodology Scope and Limitations Ethical Considerations

Proposal : Title Descriptive No Abbreviations, no acronyms Avoid being flippant, sarcastic, and using colourful language Use subtitles to clarify

Proposal : Introduce the context what is your research area? What is your motivation for undertaking this research? Why is this research important? How will your research contribute to the extant knowledge in this field? Approx. 200 – 300 words

Proposal: Issue – Problem - Questions provide a clear and concise explication of how you see your research in relation to overall issues that you are researching; identify 2-3 research questions that will guide you towards addressing the problem Approx. words

Proposal: Objectives provide a list of goals that will be achieved through the proposed research; what benefits will be achieved if the research problem is addressed? Approx. 200 – 300 words

Proposal : Methodology explain what method(s) you will use to undertake this research; how will you collect information? How will you go about analysing this information? Approx. 200 – 250 words

Proposal : Scope and Limitations Scope : breadth; what will be covered Limitations : what will be left out, and why? Approx. 150- 200 words

Proposal : Ethical Considerations Discuss any ethical considerations that may affect your research Outline how you plan to deal with these considerations Familiarise yourself with the ethical approval procedures in the department and confirm that you will abide by them 150 – 200 words

Proposal : Additional information List of references Mention any modules that you have already taken and which will inform your research Mention modules that you may wish to audit or enrol on next year

Reminder : Timeline End of term 2 – Start of term 3 : find your project weeks 1-2 : meet your personal tutor and identify a supervisor week 3 : prepare your proposal (use the template) week 4 : submit your proposal (online form) week 7 : supervisor allocations published; you receive feedback on the proposal weeks 8- 9 : Revise your proposal and re-submit by Monday week 9 Before you leave campus: agree a plan of work for the summer