GEOG40260: DISSERTATION

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• To provide an opportunity for students to engage in a substantial piece of scholarship into an appropriate area of their choice and under suitable supervisory guidance. The dissertation is the culmination of the Masters in Research Methods degree programme.
• To enable students to develop a sound critical understanding of the choice and application of a research methodology in relation to a substantive topic in the field of human geography.

• Principles of good research design and practice, including issues of rigour, creativity and validity
• Understanding how to formulate researchable problems and an appreciation of alternative approaches to research
• Reflection on the role of the researcher in the context of different approaches to knowledge production
• The ethics and politics of doing Human Geographical research in the context of contemporary debates about research and its uses
• An individual piece of work chosen by the student and approved by the Dissertation supervisor.
• Organisation and logical structure.
• Clear appraisal of the outcomes of the research.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Students will develop an advanced understanding of the theory and current state of knowledge in the area of human geography in which they conduct their research.
• Students will develop an advanced understanding of methodological issues in the area of human geography in which they conduct their research.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Students will be able to critically reflect on the development, application / testing, and evaluation of appropriate methods of research and analysis.
• Students will be able to recognise the epistemological implications of their choice of research methods.
• Students will be able to recognise the ethical and political implications of their choice of research methods.

Key Skills:

• Students will hone skills to write clearly and concisely, explaining why their topic of research is important, critiquing previous research, and providing a coherent discussion of their findings.
• Students will become familiar with the major principles of research design, including time management and costing.
• Students will learn to manage a research project from an initial idea, the development of a research question, collection of data to the presentation of a dissertation.
• Students will be able to conduct advanced quantitative and / or qualitative analysis

• A series of workshops will guide students through the process of developing an advanced methodological framework for their dissertation. This will involve reflection on key elements of research design, including epistemological, political and ethical implications of their choice of research methods,
• The bulk of the module is dedicated to carrying out an advanced research dissertation on a topic of the students own choosing. This is an independent project is undertaken by the student, reflecting their level of training, attitude, motivation, powers of organisation and analysis.
• The dissertation is supported by regular meetings with the supervisor(s) who make an important contribution to the development of the formulation, the data analysis and writing up. This means that the supervisor and student meet to agree a plan of work and regularly thereafter to review progress.

The student will produce and receive written feedback on: a) a research proposal (500 words) and b) on one draft chapter of the dissertation. They will also receive oral feedback on work produced for supervision.

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