Postgraduate Module Descriptor

POLM876: Dissertation Skills

This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.

Overview

NQF Level	7
Credits	15	ECTS Value	7.5
Term(s) and duration	This module ran during term 1 (11 weeks) and term 2 (11 weeks)
Academic staff	Dr Klejda Mulaj (Convenor)
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
Available via distance learning	No

The dissertation is a core part of a Masters degree and this module ensures that you are ready to take on the challenges involved. A dissertation is not a long essay. It has a certain number of core components that must be evident to varying degrees. Like a good essay, it must demonstrate research skills, independent learning, good organization of complex material and clarity and erudite expression. But a Masters dissertation will be driven primarily by your own interests, the questions you devise and the material you want to research. This module will help you structure that process and it will equip you well for further research, at PhD level or in professional employment. So, the skills you learn on this module will be integral to your future careers. You will learn how to devise a manageable research question, locate your ideas in existing debates, how to conduct a literature review and plan the research, and how to develop proposals and write extended pieces of work.

Module created	01/10/2008	Last revised	30/11/2013