Central Research Modules

These requirements are determined according to the individual student’s research area. Research postgraduates are initially required to discuss their research area with their supervisor / department, and decide which remit their research falls under. Students must then discuss which modules would be most suitable with their supervisors before registering for them.

The Graduate School currently manages a set of central research modules (click on links below for details.)  (The credit value of each module is indicated by the last two digits of the module code.)

• Sgiliau Ymchwil a Datblygiad Personol

  MOR0320
  Nod y modiwl hwn yw darparu myfyrwyr ymchwil ag ystod eang o sgiliau trosglwyddadwy a fydd o ddefnydd iddynt mewn amryw o gyd-destunau ymchwil.  Bydd yn ymdrin â datblygiad personol, gan gynnwys sgiliau negodi a rhwydweithio, rheoli ymchwil, gweithio mewn tîm ac ysgrifennu a chyflwyno papur cynhadledd.  Bydd hefyd yn ymdrin â sgiliau TG, yn bennaf mewn cyd-destun ymchwil, a materion penodol sy'n codi wrth ymgymryd ag ymchwil yn y Gymraeg, yn ddwyieithog neu'n amlieithog.

• Principles of Research Design

  PGM0210
  This module aims to give research students an understanding of the basic principles of research design and strategy.  It will enable them to demonstrate their capacity to:

  • identify and  formulate their research questions clearly and succinctly
  • analyse them or break them down into relevant sets of sub-questions

  and, where appropriate,

  • formulate testable hypotheses
  • explain: why their research questions are significant in the context of their discipline/research subfields
  •   what kinds of questions theirs are epistemologically
  •   what kinds of data/materials or grounds of argumentation are necessary to address their questions
  • produce a realistic plan of action, p[aying attention to any legal and ethical issues that they may encounter in their research processes
• Ways of Reading

  PGM0410
  This module, consisting of a two day programme, provides an introduction to different approaches to the interpretation and analysis of texts and types of discourse, including historical and contemporary documents, print and broadcast media, literary material, legal and educational texts.

  Since contemporary forms of communication are becoming increasingly multi-modal, the module covers both the verbal and visual dimensions of texts and examines some of the ways in which verbal and visual signs are inter-linked in different kinds of texts and in different channels of communication.

  The aim of the module is to enable students to engage with different methods of text and discourse analysis and to develop an understanding of the ways in which these methods are embedded in particular traditions of theory-building.

• Statistics in Context: collecting, handling and presenting data

  PGM0910
  This module aims to provide students with a broad knowledge of a range of methodological and analytical skills, which they can apply in a variety of research contexts. The module is aimed at students who have previously studied basic quantitative techniques. This module covers advanced statistical methodologies which can be applied in the context of PhD study in the sciences. This can include advanced time series analysis, event study methodology and performance measurement. Practical sessions will provide insights to the application of the techniques, including the use of relevant software.

• Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis (for social scientists)

  PGM1010
  This module aims to give students a broad knowledge of a range of methodological and analytical skills, which they can apply in a variety of research contexts. As well as giving students a grounding in the basic principles of quantitative research methodology, the module will
  
  (i) look at how data can be described,
  (ii) introduce a range of statistical tests commonly used, and
  (iii) explore what the results mean in terms of the research question posed.

  The module comprises lectures, and the delivery will involve hands-on lab work using an appropriate statistical package.

• Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis

  PGM0720
  This module aims to give students a broad knowledge of a range of qualitative methodological and analytical skills, which they can apply in a variety of research contexts. The course is designed to give students a grounding in the basic principles of qualitative research methodology. It will:

  (i) provide students with an introduction to the major methods of qualitative data collection and analysis,
  (ii) show how qualitative data are actively constructed and interpreted by the researcher, and
  (iii) foster an appreciation of the practical and epistemological concerns raised by qualitative data collection. 

  Topics include questionnaire design, interviewing techniques, survey design, qualitative data analysis methods and mixed methods.

  There is also a 10 credit version of this module available. PGM0810

• Manuscript Skills: Post Medieval Palaeography and Diplomatic

  PGM1210
  This module considers the historical development of handwriting (palaeography) in Britain between c1450 and  c1800, the characteristics of specific types of script, the principles of transcription and other editorial methods, and the development of common form in formal documents (diplomatic). Practical and technical skills in reading and transcription are developed through applying theory to practice in a wide range of manuscript material under careful guidance.

• Public Engagement and Impact

  PGM1610
  In recent years RCUK has placed additional emphasis on the importance of public engagement and impact, and this module will allow PhD students to explore key aspects.

  The module will be held in two parts:

  • The first part will be an intensive single day workshop. This will start with a number of "taught" sessions to introduce public engagement and impact aspects. These "taught" sessions are followed with a hands-on session with the aim to generate public engagement material (both text and visual aspects). In the final session of the first day workshop the results of the previous session are presented and discussed.
  • The second part of the module will be a contribution to a public engagement event. The default for this will be an exhibition for the general public (e.g. in the Arts Centre or in Old College), with the expectation that each PhD student will contribute a visual/text display and that they will present at the opening reception.
• Leadership for Researchers

  PGM1910
  The module aims to introduce postgraduate researchers to the subject of leadership and to apply ideas about leadership traits, styles and behaviours in the context of the research process. This module is designed to provide elective content within the programme offered as RT for PGR students. The purpose of this module is to introduce postgraduate researchers to the range and models of leadership, to apply these models in the context of managing and leading research teams, and to provide students with the opportunity to explore through experiential learning leadership styles and behaviours.

• Research Skills and Personal Development

  PGM2210

  This module aims to give research students in the Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences, a broad knowledge of a range of transferable skills that they can apply in a variety of research contexts. The module will cover personal development, including:

  • skills in negotiating and networking
  • academic writing
  • research management
  • teamworking
  • writing and presenting a conference paper

  amongst other topics.

  The module also covers IT skills, both general and in an applied research context.

   

• Research Skills and Personal Development for Scientists

  PGM2310

  This module aims to give research students in the Sciences a broad knowledge of a range of transferable skills that they can apply in a variety of research contexts. The module will cover personal development, including:

  • skills in negotiating and networking
  • academic writing
  • research management
  • teamworking
  • writing and presenting a conference paper

  amongst other topics.

    The module also covers IT skills, both general and in an applied research context.

• Research Seminar Skills in the Life Sciences

  PGM2410
  This module aims to give PhD students a broad knowledge of a range of subject specific skills that they can apply in a variety of research interests. In particular, it will develop the ability of students to appreciate the relevance of research beyond their immediate area of study. IBERS runs a series of weekly research seminars, involving speakers from AU (mostly IBERS but also DGES etc.) and external visiting speakers. Students participating in this module would be expected to attend a minimum of 12 of these seminars during semesters 1 and 2, and to submit 300 word abstracts for six of these.

• Grants Development Workshops

  PGM2510
  This module is aimed at the development of a research grant and will provide the students with an awareness of the full process involved, which will cover the writing process, an understanding of funding bodies, the documentation and financial requirements, and the panel assessment process.

• Reading and Writing Development Group

  PGM2610
  This module provides students with experience in reading, discussing and critically assessing publications and research. It could also cover the writing of a critical literature review. The expectation is that students will be actively involved in the development process and contribute to the module and evaluation process.

• Theoretical Foundations of Research in Law and Criminology

  PGM2710
  This module provides an overview and discussion of the theoretical underpinning of Law and Criminology as disciplines for study and research. It explains how the subject areas of law and ‘criminal science’ have been theorised and developed in Western discourse and indicates the main trends in contemporary critical debate and argument. By providing an insight and understanding of the underlying theoretical basis and structure of these subject areas, it enables researchers to gain an appreciation of the distinctive role and methods of Law and Criminology as disciplines in the broader fields of humanities and social science.

• Skills in Bioinformatics for Biologists

  PGM2810
  Bioinformatics skills become increasingly important for postgraduate students and have been highlighted by IBERS PG students as an area for which more training should be provided. This module addresses this by providing PG students with a Bioinformatics module that allows the students to select the topic most relevant to their work from a range of existing modules.

• The Research Writing Programme

  PGM2910

  The Research Writing Programme is aimed at second year PhD students. It  focuses on a range of structural and stylistic issues in the research writing process. It considers the range of audiences that candidates may be writing for and the different types of research outputs and public engagement events that they may be writing for. It is particularly well placed for students who are mid-way through their research work, but are still considering options and approaches for the finalization of the thesis and related documents.

  Candidates are encouraged to reflect on their own strategies and writing styles in relation to a series of seminars and workshops and talks from writing experts around the university. Through the programme candidates reinforce what is already working in their writing and consider new or adapted strategies for further writing development.

• Entrepreneurship

  PGM3310

  This module will equip research students with knowledge about entrepreneurship, most likely related to their own research project. The module will develop a set of generic skills (eg. proposal writing) and apply these to entrepreneurship developments. It  covers theory and practical aspects. The module is a mix between background knowledge, sharing experience and practical work which will cumulate in a draft business proposal and Dragon’s Den type of event.

• Using Manuscript Sources for Medieval Studies: palaeography and diplomatic

  PGM3410

  In order to read and interpret medieval manuscript sources, students must understand the historical development of the handwriting in which they are written (palaeography) and the development of 'common form' in formal documents (diplomatic). Practical skills (including language) are developed through exercises in reading, transcription and calendaring.

• Sources for Postgraduate Research in the Modern Humanities and Social Sciences

  PGM3510

  This module introduces postgraduate students to key primary sources in the modern humanities and social sciences. It provides them with essential research training in the methodologies and approaches required to utilise these sources in their own research, through a series of three-hour workshops tailored to the student's individual research needs.

• Texts that made the Middle Ages: Latin for Postgraduates

  PGM3610

  This module is an advanced Latin reading class. It will allow students to develop further their Latin reading skills, and to deal with the particular requirements of their research. It will bring them to a level where they can master texts of intermediate difficulty, and where, with the help of a dictionary, they will be able to engage successfully with some of the more advanced materials.

• Philosophy and Contemporary Culture

  PGM6210
  The module will focus on the identification and exploration of a series of philosophical approaches that characterize the cultural, ethical and intellectual trends of modern society. The course will adopt a problem-based approach to this overview, focusing primarily on controversies and problems.

• Writing your first Journal Article

  PGM6410
  This module will look at the development of journal articles within a PhD context and would cover the full pipeline up to paper submission (and possible beyond that). It is seen that this is supporting the development of an essential skill for an academic/research career.
  This is aimed at second/third year PhD (or potentially first year MPhil) students. It could be based around transferring a thesis chapter into a journal paper or starting that process from scratch.

• How to Organise a Conference

  PGM8110

  This module will look at the development of an academic conference and would cover all relevant aspects. It is seen that this is supporting the development of an essential skill for an academic/research career.