Module Identifier IP19120  
Module Title RESEARCH PAPER IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Dr Colin Wight  
Semester Semester 2  
Pre-Requisite IP10320 , IP10420  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   10 Hours  
  Other   10 Hours workshop  
Assessment Semester Assessment   1 x presentation   30%  
  Semester Assessment   1 x Essay Plan & Bibliography   20%  
  Semester Assessment   1 x 3,500-4,000 word Research Paper   50%  

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
i) be fully conversant with their research topic
ii) explain the main argument of their research topic in a seminar presentation and to respond to any subsequent questions
iii) actively participate in seminars, contributing ideas and constructive comments to discussions of other students’ work   
iv) submit this work in written form, adequately presented and referenced
v) sustain and defend an argument

Aims

To allow students to develop and discuss in greater detail issues raised in the module’s pre-requisites, IP10320 and IP10420.
ii) To develop students’ research skills
ii) To develop students' skills in writing a longer piece of work
iii) To develop students’ debating and oral presentation skills
iv) To develop students’ skills in planning and time management   
v) To develop students’ ability to structure and develop an argument
vi) To allow student to explore issues of interest to them through a structured format which encourages intellectual freedom.

Brief description

At present, this module will run in term three at Coleg Harlech as part of UWA’s continuing education initiative. As a Research Paper the aim of the module is to enable students to develop a specific area of interest derived from the pre-requisite modules and for them to produce a piece of independent work on the basis of this interest.

Content

Students gain guidance on this topic through seminars and workshops. The workshop sessions will address generic skills related to research and the study of international politics and all students registered for the research paper module will attend the same workshop programme. The seminars will focus on the research topics being undertaken by each student registered for that module.   

Workshop 1 Introduction to the module - What can we learn from a research project?
Seminar 1 Choosing a research topic -What makes a topic viable / interesting?

Workshop 2 Research Methods   
Seminar 2 How do we tackle research?

Workshop 3 Structure and constructing an argument
Seminar 3 Writing a seminar paper

Workshop 4 What is important in a seminar presentation?
Seminar 4 First presentations I – ‘my research proposal’

Workshop 5 Sources of information
Seminar 5 First presentations II – ‘my research proposal’

Workshop 6 General review of seminar presentations
Seminar 6 Individual tutorials on first presentation

Workshop 7 Writing up: Issues of structure and editing
Seminar 7 Discussion: How does a seminar presentation differ from a research paper?

Workshop 8 Writing up: pitfalls and handy hints
Seminar 8 Assessed presentations

Workshop 9   Writing up: referencing and plagiarism
Seminar 9 Assessed presentations

Workshop 10 What skills have we learned?
Seminar 10 Assessed presentations

Transferable skills

Independent learning will be the central goal of the module; the submission of an extended piece of work which reflects the independent research of the student. Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format and the presentation of work should reflect effective expression of ideas and good use of language skills in order to ensure clarity, coherence and effective communication.   Students will be encouraged to search for sources of information and present their ideas in student led seminars.   

All written work will be expected to reflect high standards of academic presentation. Students will learn about the process of planning a project, framing the parameters of the project, honing and developing the project and seeing it through to the completed research paper. This will contribute towards the student’s portfolio of transferable skills. Moreover, they will equip the student for their continued studies at part two.