Assessed Presentation 30% LO 1 & 3
Postgraduate Proposal 70% LO 1, 2, 3 & 4; 2,500 words

In this module students learn to apply the skills, ideas and methods of analysis to topics and areas in Politics that they are interested in exploring further in postgraduate education or in relevant employment. Students are encouraged to think in an interdisciplinary fashion, using their skills as historical as well as political thinkers in order to develop their own new and original research ideas. Students choose their own areas to develop in consultation with the module leader. Students are encouraged in the workshops to apply what they have learned elsewhere in terms of research skills, the use of physical and online research facilities/tools and apply these experiences to the development of their own original research ideas. This module is aimed at those students who wish to develop their research and presentation skills further and who are considering postgraduate study in Politics, History or International Relations, it is also suitable for students interested in moving into journalism, PR or marketing, including as it does an assessed presentation. Initial lectures on the application of research methods and reiteration of aspects ideological, quantitative, qualitative and archive research methodologies will be supplemented by case studies in contemporary political issues, including the historical development of terrorism and counter-terrorism, a quantitative examination of the recent global decrease in the use of violence, and a look at the phenomenon of periodic global revolt (1916, 1968, 1991, 2011, etc) in the modern world.

Weekly x2 hour workshops.

Although the module begins with workshops and presentations from a lecturer outlining the expectations of postgraduate research – e.g. methodology, hypothesis and literature review, the module there after will consist largely of students preparing, researching and presenting their proposed research project discussing their ideas in formative presentations and developing their ideas with peer review and informal feedback which finally culminates in a formal assessed presentation to the class and the written research proposal.

Library – Students will require access to significant research resources in the library including books, journals and primary sources.
Internet – Students are likely to make significant use of the university’s subscriptions to electronic journals and database repositories of peer reviewed materials including JSTOR and tandfonline.

There are no set texts for this module as it is dependent on the students developing their own ideas. However, support and guidance on some of the skills students will be working on as a result of their research can be found in the following texts.

Ball, Steve (2012) ‘The Complete Guide to writing your dissertation: advice, techniques and insights to help enhance your grades. (Oxford).
Chivers, Barbara (2007) A Students’ Guide to Presentations: making your presentation count (Sage)
Wentz, Elizabeth (2014) How to design, write and present a successful dissertation proposal (Sage)

1.CREATE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOP AN IDEA FOR ORIGINAL POLITICAL RESEARCH
[Problem Solving; Enquiry; Knowledge and Understanding]

2.DESCRIBE AND COMMENT UPON CURRENT RESEARCH IN THEIR CHOSEN FIELD OF ENQUIRY, CRITICALLY EVALUATING JUDGEMENTS AND IDENTIFYING NEW AREAS OF POTENTIAL ENQUIRY.
[Analysis; Knowledge and Understanding]

3. PRESENT IN A SUITABLE MANNER THE RESEARCH IDEA TO AN AUDIENCE OF BOTH PEERS AND ASSESSORS.
[Communication]

4. PRODUCE A RESEARCH PROPOSAL FOR A TOPIC SUITABLE FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDY.
[Reflection; Knowledge and Understanding]