100% coursework consisting of the following:

A portfolio weighted at 30% (Learning Outcomes 1)

An assignment report of 6000 words in length (Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3)

Study of a range of technical areas in computing. These will be determined by the work-based context of students, specific student and employer needs, and a focus of study that may be scoped by external/industry professional training (for example, training provided by Learning Tree International or university modules. The specific areas of study will be determined through negotiation between students and academic supervisors during the formation of a learning contract document.
This module is studied after successful completion of the Professional Computing Research Methods module and together they form the Postgraduate Certificate level of the award.

The module will consist of regular supervisory meetings conducted via teleconference to discuss the progress of students' progress and to provide feedback on written work submitted in draft form. Primarily, however, the module will be based on independent learning based on the following tasks: (a) establishing a preliminary bibliography and confirming/refining the scope of a chosen topic, (b) pursuing a programme of systematic research & investigation, including the selection and evaluation of critical, conceptual and contextual materials and maintaining this work in an online portfolio (c) providing chapter-length drafts for supervisors' comment at mutually-agreed points in the academic year, and refining and editing these drafts prior to final submission of the assignment.

Recommended texts:

How to Research - 3rd Edition, Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes, Malcome Tight. Open University Press, 2006. ISBN 9780335229536. Available on Staffordshire University's Digital Library (ebrary).

Sharp, J. A. et al (2002) The Management of a Student Research Project (2nd Ed.), Gower, Aldershot. ISBN: 0566084902.

Other texts will be recommended by the course tutor or supervisor dependent on the topic of study that is agreed upon.

You will need access to these resources:

- The Student Handbook including schedule and module descriptor on the Blackboard virtual learning environment;
- Guided reading material Text books, journals and recommended online sources in the research domain;
- Word processing, statistical analysis and presentation graphics software.
- Specific software and hardware (to be determined as part of the scoping of the topic).

Completion of Professional Research Methods module

This module will provide you a platform to develop knowledge and skills in scoped areas of computing. These will be determined by the work-based context of students, specific student and employer needs, and a focus of study that may be scoped by external/industry professional training (for example, training provided by Learning Tree International) or university modules and which can be included in the online portfolio as part of an individual learning contract drawn up at the start of the module.
The specific areas of study will be determined through negotiation between you and your academic supervisor. You will be allocated an Academic Supervisor to guide and supervise the development of the work, and there is an emphasis on independent learning throughout.