Module overview
The dissertation is a key component of your degree; in it you have a chance to show the skills of analysis and research you have learned during the three years of your course.
Linked modules
HIST3242
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Research and analyse large amounts of material
- Organize your time effectively
- Present your work clearly and convincingly
- Produce a long and complex written text
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- The range and usefulness of primary source material for your topic
- The broader historical significance of your chosen research question
- The wider historiographical material relevant to your research
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Evaluate the existing historiography on the topic
- Analyse primary source material
- Structure and explain your own arguments carefully and clearly
Syllabus
A dissertation is a piece of original, independent research written on a topic of your choice and using primary source materials, whether printed or in an archive and an extended engagement with existing historiography. Topics might relate to a specific collection of sources or a local archive. You might choose to research an area that interests you but is not represented in our final-year courses or you might decide to follow up on an aspect of your second year options or the group project. A dissertation is the length of an average academic article and will have, like an article, a clear research question and central argument. You will be allocated a supervisor, based on your choice of research question, who will give you advice on specialist content and will read and comment on one sample chapter.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include
Information session (2 hours)
Individual tutorials (4 hours max)
Learning activities include
Individual research
Accessing primary sources including visiting archives
Managing the project and organising your time.
Innovative or special features of this module
Independent research
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Independent Study | 294 |
Teaching | 6 |
Total study time | 300 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
L Hampson (1994). How’s your dissertation going?. Lancaster.
(1996). MHRA Style Book: Notes for Authors, Editors and writers of Theses. London.
J Young and J Garrard (1993). How to write a dissertation. Salford.
R Higgins (1996). Approaches to research: a handbook for those writing a dissertation. London.
B Allison (1997). The student's guide to preparing dissertations and theses. London.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
Assessments designed to provide informal, on-module feedback
Individual tutorials with supervisor
Discussion of draft chapter and contents list
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Dissertation | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Dissertation | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External