Research Skills: From the Archive to Digital Humanities
| Module title | Research Skills: From the Archive to Digital Humanities |
|---|---|
| Module code | HUC1004 |
| Academic year | 2019/0 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Jim Kelly (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 90 |
|---|
Module description
The module is designed to introduce you to the skills necessary for research in the Humanities. You will be asked to consider what Humanities research looks like and what skills are necessary. Lectures on skills and concepts will run alongside practical workshops with a research-active member of staff who will speak about their own approaches to formulating and working on research projects. Library and online resources will be looked at, with sessions on both physical archives housed on the Penryn Campus and the wide range of databases available via the Electronic Library. Workshops will involve practical tasks as well as discussions based on topics relevant to research in the Humanities. By the end of the module you will be able to produce a research project proposal, which you can choose to pursue or amend in subsequent years of your degree.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module will aim to introduce you to a wide range of research skills in Humanities academic research. The module will introduce you to the full range of archival, material, and electronic resources available to undergraduates. It will involve practical skills acquisition as well as theoretical thinking behind archival work and new emerging forms of study in the digital humanities.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Discuss how to research topics using a variety of material and online resources
- 2. Describe how research skills are central to Humanities scholarship
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Demonstrate excellent communication skills both in written and oral work
- 4. Demonstrate evidence of independent research skills relating to the Humanities
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Through workshop work, demonstrate communication skills, and work both individually and in groups
- 6. Through written work, demonstrate appropriate research and bibliographic skills, a capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument, and a capacity to write clear and correct prose
Syllabus plan
Topics covered might include but not be limited to:
- Understanding research at third level
- Academic honesty and quoting, paraphrasing secondary sources
- Developing undergraduate research proposals
- Introduction to the library and physical archives
- Primary and secondary sources: Developing a source portfolio and literature review
- Navigating the Electronic Library and internet resources
Workshops will branch out from the lecture and involve both practical and abstract discussions about research skills with a research active member of staff. Workshops will also help you towards the forms of assessment required by the module. One workshop will take place in the library and involve co-teaching with library and archive staff.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | 127 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 5 | Lectures large group teaching introducing a topic (5 x 1 hour) |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 18 | Workshops small group teaching focusing on specific critical and/or practical skills (9 x 2 hours) |
| Guided Independent Study | 127 | Preparation for workshops and assessment |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group source presentation | 15 minutes | 1, 3-5 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 90 | 0 | 10 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annotated bibliography or Source portfolio | 30 | 500 words | 1-6 | Written and oral |
| Research project proposal | 60 | 1000 words | 1-6 | Written and oral |
| Participation | 10 | Continuous | 1,3-5 | Oral feedback with opportunity for office hours follow-up |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annotated bibliography or Source portfolio | Annotated bibliography or Source portfolio | 1-6 | Referral/deferral period |
| Research project proposal | Research project proposal | 1-6 | Referral/deferral period |
| Participation | Repeat study or mitigation | 1,3-5 | N/a |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- The following texts are available as e-texts from the Library and should be consulted during the module:
- Armstrong, Catherine. Using non-textual sources: a historian's guide. Bloomsbury, 2016.
- Booth, Wayne, Gregory C. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research, U of Chicago, 2008.
- McMillan, Kathleen & Jonathan Weyers. How to research & write a successful PhD. Pearson, 2013.
- Ó Dochartaigh, Niall. Internet Research Skills. Sage, 2007
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
- ELE page: URL ?? (supplementary reading material and links, including examples of research by staff, will be provided via the module’s ELE page)
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 4 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 28/03/2017 |
| Last revision date | 04/06/2019 |
