Department of Social & Policy Sciences, Unit Catalogue 2006/07

SP50157 Dissertation: death and society

Credits: 30

Level: Masters

Dissertation period

Assessment: DS100

Requisites:

Aims:
* To provide an opportunity to apply skills and knowledge that students have learned from units in the Death and Society programme to a specific problem involving social dimensions of mortality.
* To exercise initiative in choosing and completing a piece of original research that selects and uses appropriate methods, analyses critically relevant data and produces a written dissertation related to dying, death and/or bereavement.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:
* Define a researchable question/focus
* Demonstrate a critical understanding of literature relevant to the chosen research question and ground the research in this literature
* Demonstrate a critical understanding of appropriate research methods and reflect on their utilisation in relation to the chosen research question
* Demonstrate a systemetic understanding of, and be able to reflect upon, ethical, policy and practice issues in relation to the chosen research question
* Present independent analysis, argument and/or application of theory in a coherent fashion.
Skills:

* Integrate evidence to support arguments
* Appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of existing literature
* Develop and present a detailed critical argument in an original or stimulating way
* Identify and access relevant information sources
* Understand and apply in a correct fashion key research presentation skills such as referencing, bibliographical information, comprehensible tables and diagrams
* Apply research management skills such as time and resource planning and monitoring, archiving of data
* Develop good writing, presentation and dissemination skills,
* Competency in the presentation of research findings.
Content:
Any area of research related to the study of death and society for which an adequate level of supervision is available and to which the student contributes an original analysis.

University | Catalogues for 2006/07