Department of Social & Policy Sciences, Unit Catalogue 2008/09 |
SP50157 Dissertation: death and society |
| Credits: 30 |
| Level: Masters |
| Dissertation period |
| Assessment: DS 100% |
| Requisites: |
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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. |