Module POLM886 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
POLM886: Dissertation
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
At least four supervision meetings: one to initiate the dissertation followed by three meetings to give academic guidance including specific feedback on draft work.
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 |
---|---|---|
23 | 577 | 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 | 20 | 10 x 2 hr lectures |
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 3 | Supervision meetings & feedback on formative assessments. |
Guided independent study | 577 | This time includes reading, reflecting on the material, structuring, planning and writing your research proposal, draft chapter, and dissertation. |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
G King, R Keohane and S Verba, Designing Social Inquiry (Princeton UP, 1994);
D Burton (ed), Research Training for Social Scientists: A Handbook for Postgraduate Researchers (Sage, 2000).
I. Furseth and E.L. Everett, Doing Your Master′s Dissertation: From Start to Finish (Sage, 2013).
D. Ridley, The literature review: a step-by-step guide for students (Sage, 2008).
B. Lucinda, Writing successful reports and dissertations (Sage, 2015).
P.C. Shon, How to read journal articles in the social sciences: a very practical guide for students (Sage, 2015).
M.S. Felix and I. Smith, A Practical Guide to Dissertation and Thesis Writing (Cambridge Scholars Publisher, 2019).
Subject-specific reading will varying according to research topic.