This module prepares you for, and includes, the dissertation. The dissertation builds upon the learning outcomes attained in the other modules of your MA course and is the principal assessed element of the course. It must be on a topic that falls within the subject matter of your MA course. The module helps you move through the various stages of researching and writing your dissertation, including presenting an outline of your project in a conference-style format.
Seminar 10, Supervision 5, Individual Presentation 5
The module is compulsory for the following courses
MA International Relations
MA International Relations and International Law
MA International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
MA Security and Terrorism;
This module is not available as an optional module
Presentation. Assessment Details: Individual Presentation 15 minutes worth 10%.
Extended Writing. Assessment Details: Dissertation 12,000 words worth 90%. This Assessment is Pass Compulsory.
Reassessment Method: Single instrument. 100% written assessment (Revise and resubmit dissertation)
• Stella Cottrell, Dissertation and Project Reports: a Step by Step Guide, Palgrave 2014 • Jonathan Biggam, Succeeding with your Master's Dissertation: a Step by Step Handbook, Open University Press, 2011 (2nd edition) • Mark. J. Smith, Social Science in Question, London: Sage, 2003 • Alan Bryman, Social Research Methods, Oxford University Press, 2012 (4th edition) • David Marsh and Gerry Stoker, Theory and Methods in Political Science, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010 (3rd edition) • Peter Burnham, Karin Gilland, Wyn Grant, and Zig Layton-Henry, Research Methods in Politics, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008 (2nd edition) • Gary King, Robert O. Keohane, and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994 • Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2008 (3rd edition) • Kjell Erik Rudestam and Rae R. Newton, Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process, London: Sage, 2007 (3rd edition) • Gina Wisker, The Postgraduate Research Handbook: Succeed with your MA, MPhil, EdD and PhD, Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2007 (2nd edition)
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1) Formulate a meaningful and feasible research question and design and conduct an independent research project
2) Situate their research question in relation to the relevant academic literature
3) Utilise appropriate methods to collect, analyse and interpret primary and secondary data
4) Competently apply concepts and theories to examine, evaluate, and discuss the significance of their findings in relation to pre-existing knowledge
5) Present their findings by a variety of methods in accordance with advanced academic standards
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