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Researching Public International Law

Module description

This module is aimed at students who would like to embark upon a collaborative research project in public international law, which leads to publication in a recognized journal. It is aimed at students who would like to pursue further study at postgraduate level, or who might otherwise want to sharpen their research and writing skills. Under the supervision of Professor Mike Schmitt, students will work in small groups with each group focused on publication of a co-authored article of approximately 12,000 words. You will be both individually and collectively responsible for the final draft of the article, so you should anticipate working with other students and towards agreed deadlines. This module is open to students on Law programmes, but does not require any particular modules as pre-requisites. We intend to use a selection process when recruiting students to this module, to ensure that students are both academically very strong and able to participate in the collaborative nature of the endeavor. Students taking this module should not take either the Dissertation module or Research Paper module as well.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This is a research-led module where you will collectively decide, in agreement with the convener, on the substantive area for research which will broadly fall within public international law. This is likely to be in response to contemporary issues or debates in public international law. The primary aim of this module is to enable you to publish in a peer-reviewed journal, developing advanced level skills in research, writing and collaboration. It is hoped that you will consider further research and study within public international law at postgraduate level. It is anticipated that the development of research skills will be transferable to other areas of further study, or to employment where research and writing skills are required.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Identify, research and write an article in public international law, suitable for publication.
• 2. Demonstrate critical analysis of issues in public international law through writing and discussion.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Demonstrate capacity understand, analyse and synthesise a range of legal and non-legal sources.
• 4. Critically evaluate a discrete area of law, and demonstrate the ability to contribute to a field of debate.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Develop effective and critical research and writing skills.
• 6. work collaboratively with others, and under supervision, towards agreed goals.

Syllabus plan

You will attend class each week to plan and discuss your research project. In Week 1, you will meet your research collaborators, and will discuss with the convener different avenues for the research project. In subsequent weeks, you will be assigned individual and collaborative tasks by agreement, and will be accountable for that work at each subsequent meeting of the group. For example, you might be asked to research a discrete area and report back to the group the following week. Or you might be asked to write 1,000 words on an area or set of sources. Everyone in the group will, during the module, undertake both research and writing. Towards the end of the module, students will turn their focus to editing and completion of the (approx.) 12,000 word article. Discussions will then turn towards publication, and submission to a peer-reviewed journal. The summative assessment will comprise of a group element (the finished article), and an assessment of your individual contribution through your individual writing contributions and your class-based contributions.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Re-assessment notes

Reassessment will take the form of an individual research paper, on a research question to be agreed with the convenor. In the event that 100% is reassessed, this research paper will take the form of a 6,000 word paper. In the event that students complete the class contribution element of summative assessment (20%), reassessment of the remainder will take the form of a 5,000 word assessment (80%).

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

It is expected that the reading materials for this module will depend upon the defined research questions agreed with Professor Schmitt. For general guidance on researching and writing in law:

R Huxley-Binns et al, Unlocking legal learning, (Hodder Arnold 2005), ch.5 

M Salter and J Mason, Writing Law Dissertations: an Introduction and Guide to the Conduct of Legal Research (Longman, 2007) 

M McConville, Research Methods for Law (Edinburgh University Press, 2007)

R Banaker and M Travers, Theory and Method in Socio-Legal Research (Hart, 2005)

Key words search

Public International Law, Research, Publishing, Legal Research