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 programme.
Linked modules
HIST3242
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
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 wider historiographical material relevant to your research
- The broader historical significance of your chosen research question
Cognitive 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
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Research and analyse large amounts of material
- Present your work clearly and convincingly
- Produce a long and complex written text
- Organize your time effectively
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 modules 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
The information session will assist you in devising a research topic and to organise your time. Discussion with your supervisor will help you to identify and understand the primary sources that you will be using and to develop your interpretation of the material. Through your visits to archives, museums, or archaeological sites and your careful examination of the sources you will further learn to develop and substantiate your own arguments and to critically assess the ideas in existing historiography. Your independent study and research will enable you to develop knowledge and understanding of a field of enquiry of particular interest to you. The writing of the dissertation will improve your written communication and will encourage you to be self-motivated and organised. The completion of a piece of independent research will enable you to fully understand the work of professional historians who specialise in the study of the ancient world.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Completion of assessment task | 100 |
| Lecture | 2 |
| Tutorial | 4 |
| Wider reading or practice | 194 |
| Total study time | 300 |
Resources & Reading list
General Resources
MHRA Style Book: Notes for Authors, Editors and writers of Theses 5th ed. (London, 1996).
Textbooks
B. Allison (1997). The student's guide to preparing dissertations and theses. London.
R. Higgins (1996). Approaches to research: a handbook for those writing a dissertation. London.
J. Young and J. Garrard (1993). How to write a dissertation. Salford.
L. Hampson (1994). How’s your dissertation going?. Lancaster.
Assessment
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 |
|---|---|
| Resubmit assessments | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External