Imagining Anthropological Research (SA0101)

? Credit Points : 0 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : SPS-3-SAIAR

This course is only intended for Honours students in Social Anthropology who are planning to work on a dissertation in the department in the summer of 2008.
The main purpose of the course is to prepare you to write your dissertation proposal. Our chief task, therefore, is to help you imagine what will be involved in your field or library project. To do so we shall be looking at the process of research, from the design stage through to the methodologies to the writing strategies, within the context of what is possible. We shall also have presentations and discussions on particular people's experience of doing research, using examples from the work of Senior Honours students, previous undergraduates and current postgraduates in the department, as well as members of staff. In the second half of the semester you will be allocated to a group which will work together on students' Research Proposals.
IMPORTANT: The proposal will form 10% of their final dissertation mark.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Social Anthropology, (School of Social and Political Studies, Schedule J)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 1 hour(s) 50 minutes per week for 5 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 1 hour(s) per week for 5 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
24/09/2007	11:10	13:00	Room G10, Adam Ferguson Building	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	11:10	13:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the autumn semester, students will have an idea of the kind of topic which might make a feasible subject for their dissertation, will have begun to consider the ethical and methodological issues involved in conducting anthropological research, and will be prepared to write their dissertation proposal. They will have become familiar with using different library resources, including databases on the Web. They will also have gained experience in working independently, especially in conducting interviews and writing up interview based data. This will involve a consideration of possible methodological pitfalls, and linking interview material to a relevant anthropological literature.

By the middle of the Spring Term, students will have developed their ideas into a detailed Research Proposal, setting out a timetable, budget, and a consideration of the practical arrangements and methods. The proposal will include a discussion of relevant theoretical and ethnographic literature.

Assessment Information

The Research Proposal that is handed in as a result of this course in the second semester of the Junior Honours year, will contribute 10% to the Dissertation mark when it is finally assessed in the first semester of the Senior Honours year.