- UCAS course code
- LM39
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course unit details:
Short Dissertation
| Unit code | CRIM30620 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 20 |
| Unit level | Level 3 |
| Teaching period(s) | Full year |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
This course unit is designed to provide students with an opportunity to explore and investigate their own research topic. It is an excellent chance to develop your own independent research project, where you can identify, refine, explore in depth, and evaluate what you produce using the knowledge and skills that you have gained over the previous years of study.
Indicative content: There are generic teaching sessions that you have to attend and there will be drop in session at specific points of the process. Due to the individualised nature of your work, you will have one-to-one sessions with your supervisor throughout the academic year. This will ensure that you have dedicated discussions and guidance that is tailored to your research project. You may wish to access the My Learning Essentials workshops run by the library.
Pre/co-requisites
Only available to students on either the BA Social Science (BASS) Criminology pathways or LLB Law with Criminology
Aims
This course unit aims to: (1) engage students with the theory and practice of criminological research; (2) encourage exploration of the dilemmas and synergies associated with particular research designs and methods appropriate to their area of study; (3) enable students to explore a research question in depth, by means of writing a research proposal.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will be able to: (1) demonstrate a critical understanding of how to 'do research'; (2) plan effective use of literature search tools; (3) understand the debates concerning the ethics of research; (4) research proposal pathway - understand the process of criminological research from the identification of researchable questions through to determining appropriate research strategy, design and method;
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching and learning across course units consists of: (1) preparatory work to be completed prior to teaching sessions, including readings, pre-recorded subject material and online activities; (2) a weekly whole-class lecture or workshop; (3) subject specific dissertation labs and drop in sessions; and (4) one on one supervision with a designated supervisor;
Employability skills
- Other
- (i) analyse, critique and (re-)formulate a problem or issue; (ii) rapidly and thoroughly review/rate argument and evidence from targeted bibliographic searches; (iii) plan, structure and present arguments in a variety of written formats and to a strict word limit, (iv) express ideas verbally and organise work effectively in small teams for a variety of written and oral tasks; (v) obtain, manipulate and (re-)present different forms of data; (vi) manage time effectively; (vii) reflect on and improve performance through feedback.
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Report | 10% |
| Dissertation | 90% |
Feedback methods
Formative feedback (both individual and collective) will be given on (1) on tasks and contribution in class, (2) developing dissertation plans. Detailed summative feedback will be given on the submitted dissertation via Blackboard/Turnitin.
This unit is assessed by a 1000 words dissertation proposal (10%) and a 5000 words dissertation (90%).
Recommended reading
University of Manchester Library My Learning Essentials ''Start to Finish: Dissertations" available at: https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/learning-objects/mle/packages/dissertations/
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 20 |
| Project supervision | 6 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 70 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Claire Fox | Unit coordinator |
Additional notes
Across their course units, full-time students are expected to devote a ‘working week’ of around 30-35 hours of studying time.