Research Examiner Training Programme Examining the Thesis

FHEQ descriptors - MPhil i.a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of their academic discipline, field of study, or area of professional practice

FHEQ descriptors - MPhil ii.a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to their own research or advanced scholarship iii.originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the discipline

FHEQ descriptors - MPhil iv.conceptual understanding that enables the student:  to evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline  to evaluate methodologies and develop critiques of them and,  where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses.

FHEQ descriptors - PhD i.the creation and interpretation of new knowledge, through original research or other advanced scholarship, of a quality to satisfy peer review, extend the forefront of the discipline, and merit publication

FHEQ descriptors - PhD ii.a systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge which is at the forefront of an academic discipline or area of professional practice

FHEQ descriptors - PhD iii.the general ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the generation of new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the discipline, and to adjust the project design in the light of unforeseen problems iv.a detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry

FHEQ descriptors - PhD iv.a detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry

What is expected of the thesis… The thesis shows evidence of sustained independent effort by the candidate The thesis demonstrates the exercise of critical powers The thesis provides evidence of originality The thesis is satisfactory as regards literary presentation and succinctness

An original contribution to knowledge? Novelty Development & advancement Alternative perspectives Interdisciplinary approaches

Novelty Open up a new field of enquiry Develop and test a new theory Develop and test a new methodology Set down a major new piece of information in writing for the first time Create a novel artefact that provides new perspectives on the creative process

Development and advancement Refine an existing methodology and show how its use in application is superior Refine an existing theory through the interrogation of original data generated from fieldwork or experiment Add progressively to understanding of an issue, a social or natural phenomenon or a professional practice by a series of linked studies or experiments

An alternative perspective Successfully challenge an existing theory or model and show how it can be improved or why it should be discarded in certain circumstances Show that “taken for granted” truths or assumptions are not substantiated by evidence Show limitations and errors of existing dominant methodologies or analytical tools and the consequences for previous studies Interpret existing data/evidence in a new way, through application of previously unexplored theoretical models or alternative methodologies

An interdisciplinary approach Extend models, theories, etc developed in one field to another and show how this model/theory refines, deepens or changes understanding of the target field