PIR-40105 - Module Specification
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

This module gives you an opportunity to examine and investigate a topic, question, or issue that you are particularly passionate about or that you find especially interesting, and to do so in considerable depth. You may write a dissertation on any topic in Politics or International Relations, provided it is relevant to your pathway, and we will organize supervision from the most appropriate member of academic staff within the programme. You will meet regularly with your supervisor, and they will provide you with guidance and advice at every stage of your project ¿ from initial ideas and thoughts, to refining your project, to helping you identify relevant literature, to discussing design and methods, to advising on how to structure your dissertation. In addition, you will attend a number of workshops in which you will obtain further guidance on how to successfully undertake and complete a Masters-level dissertation.
In the course of researching and writing a dissertation, you will develop your own research skills, including your ability to identify a topic and to formulate an appropriate research question, find literature relevant to your chosen topic, apply or develop theoretical, conceptual or analytical frameworks, identify and collect appropriate evidence, and apply critical-thinking skills to formulate arguments, analyse evidence and reach persuasive conclusions. You will also develop your capacity to conduct independent work, and your ability to plan, structure and complete a substantial piece of written work.
These advanced research skills, along with the written communication skills that you will further hone as you write your dissertation and the time management skills that you will develop in the process, are highly valued by employers in a huge range of fields, and will therefore serve you very well in life after your Masters.

This module aims to:
- offer students the opportunity to pursue research on an approved subject in which they have a particular interest
- develop students¿ knowledge of and ability to critically evaluate advanced scholarship and recent research relevant in their area of interest
- develop students¿ knowledge of how research in the social sciences is planned, conducted and reported
- develop and enhance students¿ own research skills, including their ability to identify a research/dissertation topic and formulate an appropriate research question; identify, access and collate literature relevant to the research topic and question; critically evaluate and apply existing theoretical, conceptual and/or analytical frameworks relevant to their dissertation topic and research question, or to develop their own; demonstrate an awareness of the ethical issues involved in conducting research; identify and collect evidence/data appropriate to their research question; and apply critical skills, self-direction and originality to analyse evidence, formulate arguments, and reach conclusions so as to persuasively and creatively answer their research question
- develop students¿ ability to plan, structure and complete a more substantial piece of written work than is required for traditional curriculum-based modules, and thereby to manage their own learning and take responsibility for their work
- develop students¿ ability to conduct independent research

Intended Learning Outcomes

demonstrate the ability to identify the topic of their dissertation; explain and justify why this research topic is worthy of investigation; identify and present the dissertation¿s research question (and hypotheses, if relevant); and explain key terms and concepts related to the question/hypotheses: 1
demonstrate the ability to identify, access and collate literature relevant to the topic of the dissertation: 1
demonstrate systematic knowledge of advanced scholarship and recent research relevant to the topic of the dissertation, and the ability to critically evaluate this literature: 1
demonstrate systematic knowledge of, critically evaluate, and apply existing theoretical, conceptual and/or analytical frameworks relevant to the dissertation topic and question, or demonstrate the ability to develop their own: 1
demonstrate systematic knowledge of and critically evaluate the methodologies and techniques applicable to the research topic: 1
identify and collect evidence/data appropriate to the dissertation¿s research question and select appropriate techniques to analyse the evidence/data collected: 1
demonstrate an awareness of the importance of personal responsibility and ethical issues in the research process: 1
apply critical skills, self-direction, and originality in analysing evidence, formulating arguments, and reaching persuasive and creative conclusions so as to answer their dissertation¿s research question: 1
demonstrate knowledge of how research in the social sciences is planned, conducted and reported, and the ability to conduct their own advanced independent research: 1
demonstrate the ability to plan, structure and complete a more substantial piece of written work than is required on a traditional curriculum-based module and thereby the ability to manage their own learning effectively and to take responsibility for their work: 1

Study hours

Active learning hours:
8 hours: workshops
10 hours: meetings with dissertation supervisor
Independent study hours:
17 hours: preparation for presentation on proposed dissertation
45 hours: preparing, drafting and writing research proposal
350 hours: reading, note-taking, researching dissertation
170 hours: drafting and writing dissertation

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment