Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Dissertation of 10,000 words Resit Information | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- To engage in a sustained piece of individual, academic research on a chosen topic within the field of media and communication studies
- To read widely and critically reflect on a number of pieces of written research in an appropriate and thorough manner.
- To think through varying methodological approaches and to adopt the necessary approaches suitable to the topic being researched
- To produce a dissertation that evaluates and synthesises written materials, and displays evidence of independent research skills
Brief description
The dissertation will be a substantial piece of written work, enabling students to develop an independent research project. A supervisor for the dissertation will be assigned after the completion of TF32410, and in the first session the supervisor will discuss some of the issues arising from the written essay for this module. Subsequently, there will be frequent contact with the supervisor, who will give appropriate advice and comments on the students' ongoing progress.
Content
Students will be able to choose a topic in the field of Media and Communication Studies, and assigned a supervisor who has research interests most closely connected to that topic. The supervisor will liaise with the student about the scope, methodology and content of the dissertation, and will give advice upon whether the dissertation will have to undergo any modification of any kind.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | Some dissertations will use statistical methods and will therefore have to deal with numerical application, though this need not necessarily be so. |
| Communication | Students will need to keep in regular touch with their dissertation supervisors, where they will be expected to critically discuss their work and think through conceptual issues. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will be encouraged to reflect upon their own research through supervision in order to improve their own learning and performance |
| Information Technology | Many students will be using the web as a resource for their research: either as a subject to research, or as a resource to access available material relevant to the subject they are studying (or, in many cases, both). |
| Personal Development and Career planning | This module will contribute to personal development by enabling students to develop independent research skills |
| Problem solving | Students will have to think about appropriate research methods before they write their dissertation. Other `problem solving¿ activities may fluctuate dependent on the nature of their research. |
| Research skills | Students will develop their research skills through undertaking a substantial piece of individual research on a chosen topic. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students will be expected to develop appropriate skills in relation to the specific subject that they study. These subjects, however, cannot be known in advance. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6