Postgraduate Course: MSc by Research in Clinical Psychology Dissertation (CLPS11047)
Course Outline
| School | School of Health in Social Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Dissertation |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 180 |
ECTS Credits | 90 |
| Summary | Students will produce a 20,000 word dissertation related to applied, clinical, forensic or health psychology. The dissertation should take the format of either A or B below. The dissertation is expected to be written up in a form similar to published psychology research and should conform to standard publishing guidelines, such as APA7. Each student will be allocated one (occasionally two, depending on the nature of the project) research supervisors at the start of registration.
Students will produce a 20,000 word dissertation on a topic agreed with the supervisor(s), to be submitted within one-year of registration full-time or two years part-time. It will take the format of:
A) An innovative empirical piece of work related to applied, clinical or health psychology, including meta-analyses or analysis of large existing datasets. Hypotheses/research aims should be informed by a critical literature review. Using appropriate qualitative or quantitative analytic techniques, the results should be reported in a style appropriate to published research.
OR
B) A systematic review of an area of research in applied, clinical or health psychology AND a research proposal (maximum 10,000 words for each component).
The systematic review should include
i. Very clearly worded and focused research questions which match the chosen design
a. Thorough inclusion/exclusion criteria which full operationalise all key concepts
b. Detailed search strategy, capturing all key constructs, fully operationalising them into search terms and identifying appropriate databases/sources
c. Data extraction ¿ thorough description of both items and methods for data extraction
d. Risk of Bias ¿ an appropriate description of assessment of risk of bias within studies
e. Synthesis ¿ a detailed account of synthesis that is appropriate to the study design
The research proposal should include:
f. A relevant and contemporary literature review, which is critically appraise and provides a clear rationale for the originality of the proposed study
g. Clearly worded research questions/hypotheses which match the chosen design
h. Description of sample and sampling approach
i. Clear description of appropriateness and psychometric properties of any measures
j. Procedure in sufficient detail to replicate the study
k. Justification of analyses, demonstrating appropriateness for the design and research questions
l. Identification of key ethical considerations with appropriate solutions
m. An accurate timeline, demonstrating feasibility of study within a year long period
|
| Course description |
The aim of the course is to develop research skills through independent work, while under supervision. There are no taught components to the programme, but students can choose to take research methods courses that are relevant to their projects. Students are expected to meet regularly with supervisors, at least three times over the period of study, and we ask that students complete a supervision agreement form and keep a record of all supervision meetings. The expected number of hours of study is 1800 across the year. This is allocated as follows: Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 20, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 36, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 1744.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Flexible |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
1800
(
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 36,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
1744 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
20,000 word dissertation |
| Feedback |
Formative feedback will be given by student's dissertation supervisor throughout the dissertation process.
Summative feedback will be given on the dissertation after dissertation marks have been ratified at the exam board.
|
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate the capacity to critically synthesise the findings of contemporary psychology research
- Demonstrate the capacity to generate novel, and theoretically-informed research questions/ hypotheses (where relevant)
- Design a methodology that is appropriate to the research question(s)
- Demonstrate writing skills appropriate to psychological research standards in the presentation of a 20,000 word thesis
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
On completion of the programme of study, the student will demonstrate the following skills:
¿ Exercising substantial autonomy and initiative in undertaking psychological research
¿ Consoldiation of knowledge on a discrete area of psychological research using critical evaluation
¿ Ability to plan and execute research to address novel research questions
¿ Make an identifiable change to extant theory
¿ Capacity to reflect critically on own work and responsibilities
|
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ingrid Obsuth
Tel: (0131 6)51 3976
Email: Ingrid.Obsuth@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Fae McNamara
Tel: (0131 6)51 3969
Email: fmcnama2@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage