Undergraduate Course: Dissertation (MA Politics) (PLIT10030)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
| Course type | Dissertation |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | Dissertations are worth 40 credits and are compulsory for students taking single honours politics. They are also open to those taking politics as part of a Joint Honours degree. The dissertation may be on an empirical or theoretical topic. Research can be wholly or largely library-based or can involve empirical data collection. Dissertations can relate to any Politics teaching or research area, although the topic must be approved by the Dissertation Convener. |
| Course description |
a. Academic Description
Dissertations are compulsory for students taking single Honours Politics or single Honours International Relations and are open to all those taking Politics as part of a Joint Honours degree. A number of Joint Honours degrees have a compulsory dissertation project, which students may opt to write either in Politics or in their other subject area.
The dissertation is 10,000 words long and may be on an empirical or theoretical topic related to Politics. Research can be wholly, or largely, library-based or can involve empirical data collection.
b. Outline Content
Students are expected to attend three full-class meetings convened by the Dissertation Convener. These are intended to convey important information necessary to the smooth development and completion of the dissertation, as well as offering the opportunity for an exchange of ideas between the students as a group, and with the Dissertations Convener.
c. Student experience
Students submit short dissertation proposals at the beginning of the academic year and are allocated supervisors by the Dissertation Convener. They are expected to attend the full class meetings, as well as work with their supervisor towards the completion of the project.
Supervisors give advice on practical issues such as: the subject and title of the dissertation, its organisation and structure, on source material and bibliography. Supervisors will comment upon dissertation outlines, chapter plans and timetables, and provide feedback on the components of the formative assessment.
Supervisors are not expected to comment on the final draft: a dissertation is intended to demonstrate a student's ability to work independently.
|
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: 0 |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Lecture Hours 3,
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 3,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
386 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
a) Formative:
Poster Display:
At the beginning of the writing process, students find it difficult to narrow down their topic, choose a theoretical framework, a method, and their case studies. In order to kick start this difficult process of selection and decision-making, students will prepare a poster that represents their incipient ideas about the topic and the structure of the dissertation. Detailed guidance will be provided in the first two meetings of the Dissertation course. Poster samples will be available on LEARN.
The posters will be submitted via ELMA and will displayed for feedback in front of the PIR members of staff mid November. No late submissions will be allowed. The poster will not be given a numeric mark, it will be assessed as ¿pass/fail¿ and students will be given feedback on it. Failure to submit this poster and inadequate submissions will incur a 10-mark penalty on the overall dissertation grade.
Criteria for poster assessment:
- Does the poster identify the dissertation topic and the main research question(s)?
- Does the poster reflect substantive preliminary engagement with the relevant literature?
- Does the poster signal the student's awareness that the project should be theoretically informed?
- Does the poster convey reflection on the methods for collecting and analyzing data?
- Does the poster identify the historical and geographical focus of the project?
- Does the student effectively use graphic material to convey all of the above?
Draft Chapter Submission
Students are required to submit one draft chapter to their supervisor via Learn mid January. The draft chapter will not be given a numeric mark, it will be assessed as ¿pass/fail¿ and students will be given feedback on it. Failure to submit this draft, as well as inadequate submissions, will incur a 10-mark penalty on the overall dissertation grade.
b) Dissertation
Dissertations are marked by two members of the Politics & IR subject area. Dissertation grades are provisional until the Exam Board has met in June.
The following are the criteria through which the Dissertation will be marked. However, it is important to note that the overall mark is a result of a holistic assessment of the assignment as a whole.
- Does the dissertation have a problematique, research question or hypothesis that it attempts to answer?
- Does the dissertation effectively engage and show knowledge of relevant academic literature?
- Does the dissertation demonstrate a logical and effective pattern of argument?
- Does the dissertation effectively use primary or secondary evidence in support its argument?
- Does the dissertation demonstrate reflexivity and critical thinking in relation to arguments and evidence?
- Is the structure of the dissertation well-chosen and effectively implemented?
- Is the dissertation adequately presented in terms of: correct referencing and quoting; spelling, grammar and style; layout and visual presentation?
|
| Feedback |
Students will be offered advice and feed-forward on all the components of the assessment for this course: in the full class meetings and workshops preceding deadlines, via LEARN, and by appointment with supervisors and/or the Dissertation Convener. Feedback will be provided for both components of the formative assessment and students are expected to incorporate it in their text. The markers of the dissertation will offer comments on the final text. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
We would expect students to:
- deepen knowledge in specific topic
- develop independent research skills
- develop further the ability to think critically
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Plus meetings/workshops |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Benjamin Coulson
Tel:
Email: Ben.Coulson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ethan Alexander
Tel: (0131 6)50 4001
Email: Ethan.Alexander@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage