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SP30308: International development fieldwork project

Follow this link for further information on academic years Academic Year: 2017/8
Further information on owning departmentsOwning Department/School: Department of Social & Policy Sciences
Further information on credits Credits: 12      [equivalent to 24 CATS credits]
Further information on notional study hours Notional Study Hours: 240
Further information on unit levels Level: Honours (FHEQ level 6)
Further information on teaching periods Period:
Semester 1
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Summary: CW 100%
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Detail:
  • Individual Reflection (CW 50%)
  • Group Report (CW 50%)
Further information on supplementary assessment Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Further information on requisites Requisites:
Further information on descriptions Description: Aims:
The aim of this unit is to provide students with practical experience of fieldwork in a developing country and the ability to conduct a small collaborate piece of field research.

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the unit students should:
* Have a critical awareness of the demands and challenges of planning and conducting fieldwork in a developing country, including analysis and use of findings;
* Have a critical understanding of the strengths and limitations of different social science research methods in international development;
* Enhanced and multi-disciplinary understanding of a specific area of international development practice.

Skills:
1. Critical research skills
2. Groupwork skills
3. Fieldwork skills in a developing country context
4. Cross-cultural awareness and reflexivity.

Content:
The unit will be based around a period of fieldwork in a developing country under the guidance of experienced academic staff. The specific field of research will vary from year to year, depending on the availability of senior academic staff to lead the project. Possible venues include Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, and Nepal. The unit will take the form of preparatory sessions in Bath that will introduce students to the area of research, identify a topic and approach for the research project and make explicit links to relevant cultural, social, economic and political ideas and issues covered in first and second year units. The preparatory sessions will also draw on the methodological and research skills units taken in Y1 and Y2 to identify a research strategy for the fieldwork. The heart of the unit will be two weeks spent in the field collecting data. Follow-up sessions throughout the semester will guide students through data analysis, writing and reflecting upon a collaborative research report. The nature and subject of the field work will vary, but will be selected so as to give students direct experience of the selected area of development activity, encourage shared reflection on the issues this raises, and deepen their cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary understanding of development processes and outcomes in a developing country context. An indicative text is Devereux and Hoddinott (editors), "Fieldwork in developing countries". Lynne Rienner, 1993.
Further information on programme availabilityProgramme availability:

SP30308 is Optional on the following programmes:

Department of Social & Policy Sciences
  • UHSP-AFB21 : BSc(Hons) International Development with Economics (Year 3)

Notes: