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The MA Dissertation (SEES0123) is a compulsory module for all students on a one-year (or two-year part-time) MA programme at SEEES. The dissertation is an extended piece of work (10,000–12,000 words) that offers students the opportunity to develop their own research interests. It enables you to focus in detail on your chosen topic, to ask your own questions, and to pursue independent research in that area. It offers you greater space and time to examine your area of interest than is possible in coursework essays and affords you the opportunity to engage with a wide range of academic literature relevant to your topic.

Module Delivery

You prepare for writing your MA Dissertation by taking the compulsory MA Dissertation Preparation module (SEES0092), which runs across Terms 1 and 2. The preparation programme is team-taught, with input from a senior SSEES librarian and experienced academic staff, and it includes a range of library workshops and discipline-specific workshops run by academics with appropriate disciplinary expertise. This module is designed to help you to fulfil the aims and objectives of the Dissertation to the highest standard, as well as to support you in selecting a dissertation topic and identifying a relevant, clearly focussed and appropriate research question within that topic.

Once you have decided on your research topic, you are allocated a supervisor (early in Term 2), whose area of academic expertise is related to your dissertation topic. Your supervisor will provide guidance on how to refine, conceptualise and plan your project and will also offer advice and feedback at various stages of the dissertation’s development.

Module Aims, Objectives and Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, you should be able to

• select a research topic and identify a relevant, clearly focussed and appropriate research question within that topic;
• develop a thesis around a research question;
• select a methodology and/or theoretical approach appropriate to your topic;
• undertake independent research and organise your work effectively;
• locate existing academic work and/or data relevant to your topic from a wide range of sources
• demonstrate knowledge of relevant secondary sources and your ability to assess critically other authors’ views and arguments;

• identify ethical considerations involved in undertaking research;
• understand academic integrity in the context of an independent research project;
• employ, as appropriate, relevant historical background and theoretical frameworks;
• produce a substantial piece of written work in English, that demonstrates wide-ranging knowledge and understanding of your chosen topic, high-level skills of analysis and interpretation, and the ability to construct and evidence an argument.

Additional Information

±«°ä³¢â€™sÌýAcademic Communication Centre runs academic writing workshops, essay writing courses, exam writing workshops, MA dissertation workshops, one-to-one tutorials, and daily drop-in sessions etc. The service is open to all students. Further resources are available on the module’s Moodle site.