Postgraduate Course: Researching Drugs and Alcohol in Society (PGSP11262)
Course Outline
| School |
School of Social and Political Science |
College |
College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits |
20 |
| Home subject area |
Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area |
None |
| Course website |
None |
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| Course description |
There is a vast amount of research on drugs and alcohol. However much of the knowledge base uses competing and incompatible perspectives. There is now an opportunity to critically reflect on the terms in which research is conducted and the strengths and weaknesses of different methods. The proposed course will allow students to explore key issues in researching all forms of psychoactive drug use, including illicit drugs, alcohol, smoking and psychopharmaceuticals. They will have an opportunity to develop their own research ideas and reflect on their own research practice. The course will hopefully appeal to students outside the school, especially in Public Health, Nursing and other medical disciplines.
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Entry Requirements
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites |
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| Prohibited Combinations |
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Other requirements |
None
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| Additional Costs |
None |
Course Delivery Information
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
In the course students will:
? Examine the patterns and practices of drug, alcohol and tobacco use in the UK and internationally.
? Examine the terms in which some substance use becomes a ?public problem?
? Examine the strengths and weaknesses of various sociological, psychological, and anthropological approaches to and theories of substance use, including: medicalisation, risk, stigma, and social constructionism.
? Identify key problems in research on drugs, alcohol and smoking
? Critically assess the research and knowledge base in this field, evaluating design and methods
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Assessment Information
| The course will be assessed by an online research journal (?blog?). Students will make four entries of 700 words each reporting on small research tasks set in the course. The blog for this course will be research focused and use a set of tasks not employed in the undergraduate course. Blogs may be shared with PG students to allow peer comment and discussion. Blog topics may include: reflecting on a seminar discussion; reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of peer research; reporting on ethnographic fieldwork; issues in process evaluation; interviewing practitioners. At the end of the course students will submit a 2,500 word essay reflecting on key issues in the light of their own research. |
| Please see Visiting Student Prospectus website for Visiting Student Assessment information |
Special Arrangements
| Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser |
Dr Angus Bancroft
Tel: (0131 6)50 6642
Email: Angus.Bancroft@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary |
Miss Caroline Foord
Tel: (0131 6)51 3009
Email: caroline.foord@ed.ac.uk |
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copyright 2010 The University of Edinburgh -
1 September 2010 6:31 am
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