Module SGIA2341: RESEARCH PROJECT

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA2341: RESEARCH PROJECT

Prerequisites

• Any Level 1 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• The module introduces students to a range of methodological strategies and problems associated with the conduct of research within the discipline.
• The module provides students with the opportunity to gain a more detailed and systematic understanding of a specific research area within the discipline.
• The module offers students the opportunity to produce an extended piece of work within a structured and supported framework that will help prepare them for the demands of writing a dissertation at level three.

Content

• The module includes an lecture component that introduces students to research projects and provides information on the ethical and risk dimensions of research. Furthermore, the module encompasses methods workshops that provide training to students in qualitative, quantitative and/or normative research methods.
• The module also includes a specific research area, to be determined by the research interests of the staff teaching the module and will require the students to engage with the research of that member of staff.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will acquire knowledge and understanding of:
• Methodological strategies and tools deployed within the discipline of Politics and International Relations.
• A specific body of literature at or near the boundaries of current research.
• The theoretical and/or methodological context of that body of literature.
• The main areas of scholarly debate and dispute surrounding that body of literature.

• Students will acquire the ability to:
• Effectively select, describe and use advanced academic literature in the field.
• Identify and evaluate key areas of dispute, demonstrating reasoned judgement.
• Show appreciation of relevant contextual issues.
• Demonstrate a self-critical and self-aware approach to the chosen research area.

• Students will develop the ability to:
• Effectively plan their own work over an extended period.
• Deploy appropriate research techniques and methods with guidance.
• Identify and use appropriate materials.
• Communicate effectively.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• A lecture programme that consists of four general lectures for all students and three sets of four lectures that introduce students to quantitative, qualitative or normative methods, depending on the students’ needs for their specific research project.
• A general lecture programme covers common issues across research areas, such as: introduction and structure of the module, ethics and risks and the explanation of the links between a research project and a dissertation.
• A methods workshop programme covers three four hour lecture series that introduces students to qualitative, quantitative or normative methodology.
• A seminar programme, including both staff led sessions and student led sessions devoted to the discussion of research proposals. It will cover various topics such as finding a research question, conducting a literature review, case selection, data collection, and method selection, focusing on the specific research area of the seminar. Also, it will introduce students to the conceptual and/or empirical debates surrounding the project, and provide student led discussion of the practical and theoretical problems relating to the formulation of research problems and the conduct of research.
• Formative assessment will take the form of a 1,500 word project plan and an in-seminar presentation which will provide practice in the deployment of relevant theoretical and/or explanatory frameworks to specific bodies of literature.
• Summative assessment will take the form of a 5,000 word project which will promote the ability engage with material at or near the current boundaries of research

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One 1500 word project plan. One presentation, held in seminar in term 2.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University