SGIA40J60: Dissertation in Public Policy

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• To enable students to do an independent piece of research in public policy.

• With guidance from their dissertation supervisor, students will produce a dissertation in the field of Public Policy. The content of the dissertation is dependent upon the topic chosen by the student in consultation with their supervisor.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Advanced knowledge of a specialized area of literature in Public Policy;
• Advanced knowledge of research methods, including how to appropriately use these methods to answer empirical questions in public policy, and the strengths and limitations of these methods.

Subject-specific Skills:

• The ability to independently apply insights from a specialized area of literature in Public Policy, and research methods, to answer a question in Public Policy.
• The ability to communicate research results to an academic audience in Public Policy.

Key Skills:

• Research skills: the ability to do independent research, including the ability to design research, execute research, and critically evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.
• Communication skills: the ability to effectively communicate the results of research and its strengths and weaknesses.

• In accordance with the learning outcomes, the dissertation stands as an opportunity for students to undertake a largely independent piece of research, and as such 'teaching', in the sense of imparting knowledge, is minimal. This services the learning outcomes, as it encourages students to independently develop their understanding of a specialized area of public policy, research methods, and how to apply these.
• Teaching and learning are through an introductory lecture, and four 1-hour dissertation supervision sessions. Dissertation supervision sessions must be initiated by the student and can only take place in term time during Epiphany and Easter term.
• The lecture will familiarize students with the logistics of the course, and what constitutes a good dissertation.
• Dissertation supervision sessions provide students with formative feedback and tailored advice to help them complete their dissertation.
• Summative assessment is a 10,000-word dissertation (accounting for 70% of the final grade), a 1,500-word dissertation proposal (accounting for 20% of the final grade) and a reflective log (minimum 200 words per supervision session, accounting for 10% of the final grade).
• The dissertation constitutes the independent piece of research that is core to the learning outcomes of this course.
• The dissertation proposal outlines the students provisional plan for the dissertation, including the research question, what literature the dissertation draws from, what methods the dissertation will employ to answer the research question, and a reflection on the strengths and limitations of these methods. As such, it covers all the courses learning outcomes.
• The reflective log, marked on a pass-fail basis per supervision session. A pass-fail mark is given for the students presence at the supervision session and for the content of the log, which should summarize the discussion that took place during the supervision session. As such, this assignment contributes directly to the successful completion of the dissertation.
• Formative feedback will be provided at all dissertation supervision sessions.

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