Module LAWM687 for 2022/3
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
LAWM687: Socio-Legal Research Skills
This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
• .Research design: theory and methodology in socio-legal case studies.
• Research ethics and empirical research in law: issues, codes and implications.
• Quantitative methods in socio-legal research: techniques (e.g. structured interviews, questionnaires), validity (including sampling), presentation and case studies.
• Qualitative methods in socio-legal research: ethnographic techniques (e.g. semi-structured interviews, focus groups, participant observation, action research), validity, presentation, case studies, new developments.
• Modes of analysis, e.g. content analysis, thematic analysis, and grounded theory.
• Further methodological issues: cross-cultural and cross-jurisdictional data.
• Practical research design exercises, including qualitative analysis, and quantitative analysis using SPSS.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
---|---|---|
30 | 270 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
---|---|---|
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 30 | 12 x 2.5 hour seminars |
Guided independent study | 200 | Seminar preparation and independent reading |
Guided independent study | 70 | Assessment preparation |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Draft reflective log | 400 words | 1-10 | Individual written feedback (with oral feedback upon request) |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 reflective logs | 40 | 2,100 words in total (each approximately 700 words) | 1-10 | Individual written feedback (with oral feedback upon request) |
Essay | 60 | 3,000 words | 1-10 | Individual written feedback (with oral feedback upon request) |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
3 reflective logs | 3 reflective logs (2,100 words in total; same as above) | 1-10 | August/September re-assessment period |
Essay | Essay (3,000 words) | 1-10 | August/September re-assessment period |