Independent Research Module

• Credit value: 60 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Dr Margarita Aragon
• Assessment: a 10,000-12,000-word dissertation (100%)

The Independent Research Module consists of four elements:

• the taught element Psychosocial Research Methods
• individual or group supervision
• a research proposal workshop
• dissertation support workshops.

Psychosocial Research Methods will be taught over 11 weeks, leading into the proposal stage for the dissertation. All sessions of the taught element will:

• attend to issues of reflexivity, ethics, power and inequality in the research process
• attend to the epistemological and ontological assumptions of the particular method(s)/ approach
• interrogate what validity and reliability mean in relation to the particular method(s)/approaches being discussed
• explore answers to the module's central question, 'What is psychosocial research?'

Following completion of the taught element, you will be allocated a supervisor to support the development of your dissertation proposal and then will pursue research for your dissertation.

Your research and supervision will be complemented by a workshop about the scope of dissertations and the development of research proposals, including attention to ethics.

You will attend four two-hour dissertation support workshops, one of which will focus on ethics. These workshops also offer you the chance to present your work in progress to staff and peers and so gain valuable feedback before completing your dissertation.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• understand (psychosocial) research methods through the completion of a piece of independent research of your choice
• understand a substantive topic in the fields of psychosocial studies, psychoanalysis, history, cultural studies, social anthropology or education, through the appropriate choice and in-depth exploration of your research area.