SHN6164 - Dissertation

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Define and justify a proposal suitable for a study of 8,000 words.
Plan and carry out a piece of research in a logical, ethically acceptable and systematic manner using the appropriate data collection methods.
Analyse and interpret results.
Present findings and conclusions clearly and concisely and evaluate the research process in response to questioning where relevant.
Write an appropriately sectioned dissertation of 8,000 words.

Content:

The individual student will negotiate with a tutor a topic for research reflecting personal interest and areas, or approaches, previously introduced in the programme. This will include original research and data collection and will involve the use of techniques such as case studies, dietary surveys, laboratory work, interviews and surveys. Students may undertake a discipline-based, or professionally focused, study, e.g. developing and testing a marketing initiative, a nutritional behaviour change programme, or an educational intervention. Students will be required to comment on the significance of their results in relation to the work of other researchers and communicate their findings coherently. There will also be opportunities for students to undertake research for external organisations under careful supervision with both the tutor and outside mentor. All proposals will require ethics approval, which will be submitted to the department Ethics Committee process.

Learning and Teaching Information:

An initial lecture series for the whole cohort, subsequently students will work independently under the supervision of an appropriate tutor to research and produce a dissertation.

Lectures/workshops
Hours: 10
Intended Group size: 35

Tutorials
Hours: 3
Intended Group size: 1

Guided self-study
Hours: 387

Assessment:

001 Ethics submission 1000 words P/F mid semester 1 0%
002 Written Dissertation 8000 words end of semester 2 100%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Dr Ian Kenvyn
Level - 6
Credit Value - 40
Pre-Requisites - PERMISSION FROM MODULE LEADER TO BE OBTAINED BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE
Semester(s) Offered - 6YL