Dissertation
| Module title | Dissertation |
|---|---|
| Module code | LAWM640 |
| Academic year | 2019/0 |
| Credits | 60 |
| Module staff | Professor Hitoshi Nasu (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 12 | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 80 |
|---|
Module description
This module is compulsory for students on both the LLM programme and the MRes in Socio-Legal Research programme. It provides a valuable opportunity for you to gain experience in legal or socio-legal research, writing a dissertation of up to 15,000 words on a particular legal or socio-legal topic of interest chosen by you and approved by your programme director. For LLM students, the module permits you to apply, further investigate and critique the detailed knowledge of law that you have acquired in your elective modules in Terms 1 and 2. For students on the M Res programme, the module permits you to apply, further investigate and critique any socio-legal topic approved by the programme director, applying appropriate research methodologies and drawing on appropriate materials.
You will be assigned an academic supervisor from the expertise available in the Law School, to match the proposed dissertation topic and your areas of interest. You will be given 3 research meetings with your supervisor during which he/she will guide your research and writing according to an individually agreed framework, but you are largely expected to determine your own deadlines and define your own work programme in order to meet the final submission deadline set by the Law School.
The module calls for excellent legal/socio-legal writing and research skills, personal discipline, and professional communication with the academic supervisor. For those of you who have not undertaken any large-scale legal research before, an introduction to the tools and methodologies of legal research will be provided in the form of one lecture during Term 1 and another one in Term 2. For those of you on the MRes programme, you are expected to draw on the grounding given in your core modules LAWM686 and LAWM687 and any optional module relevant to your dissertation topic.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aim of this module is to pursue, under the guidance of an academic supervisor, an individual programme of research on a topic within the scope of a named degree programme, approved by the programme director, applying appropriate research methodologies and drawing on appropriate materials. The module seeks to encourage and inspire deep and critical engagement with legal/socio-legal research and scholarship and the production of an original, substantial and significant contribution to legal/socio-legal knowledge as appropriate to your degree programme.
By taking this module, you will have the opportunity to develop an extensive knowledge of the law (and/or socio-legal research where appropriate) in your chosen research area, together with the skills and methodological tools to analyse, categorise and criticise the law in an extended formal piece of legal or socio-legal writing. You will also have the opportunity to gain a clear understanding of the role of research in legal education, as well as in developing the law in the UK and other countries.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate deep and systematic knowledge and understanding of the law/ socio-legal research and methods applicable to the project that you will have selected and constructed, building on prior legal/socio-legal knowledge, and using research skills and theoretical perspectives acquired in the taught part of the programme;
- 2. Undertake complex critical evaluation of the main legal rules, institutions and procedure/methods relevant to the specific area of law/socio-legal study chosen for study in the dissertation, using specialist literature and current research going beyond the knowledge acquired in the taught part of the programme;
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Demonstrate detailed and comprehensive knowledge and understanding of a range of legal/socio-legal concepts, values, principles, institutions and procedures, and the ability to evaluate systematically the relationships among them, as well as their limits;
- 4. Show clear evidence of virtually autonomous research underpinning self-directed learning by selecting, integrating, evaluating and presenting relevant law and complex legal/socio-legal/theoretical arguments, clearly, autonomously and competently, in writing;
- 5. Demonstrate flexible and innovative capacity to analyse complex legal/socio-legal problems, identify the relative significance of applicable rules and principles, and select appropriate methods for investigating and critically evaluating them;
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. Manage relevant learning resources/ information/ learning strategies confidently and independently, and develop own arguments and opinions at a very high/ professional level;
- 7. Communicate and engage in written debate effectively, confidently and autonomously, in a manner appropriate to the discipline;
- 8. Clarify, plan and undertake tasks confidently and independently, reflect critically on the learning process and make use of feedback effectively.
Syllabus plan
Although the precise content and delivery of the module may vary, it is anticipated that the syllabus will include the following elements in the order indicated:
- 2x 2 hour lecture covering the following topics:
- Design and structure of a dissertation
- Methodology and skills
- 1x 2 hour lecture on good academic practice
In addition, all students will have three individual research meetings with their appointed supervisor. Although the precise content of such meetings will vary according to the particular needs of each individual student, it is expected that the meetings will cover three important steps towards a successful dissertation (see below for details). In addition, the students can of course liaise with their supervisors for ad hoc advice as and when required.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 591 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 6 | One lecture of two hours on methodology, design and structure of a dissertation. One lecture of two hours on good academic practice. 1 x 2 hour lecture on good academic practice |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 3 | 3 x 1 hour research meetings. It is expected that the meetings should each last about one hour. Each meeting is designed to guide the students on 3 important steps to a successful dissertation namely, 1. Devising adequate research question(s), 2. Refining a structure and 3. Feedback on a sample chapter for advice on academic writing skills |
| Guided independent study | 591 | Independent study, with supervisors help as and when needed. Such hours will be spent in order to carry out the necessary research as well as the writing up of the dissertation, a symbiotic process, with the guidance of the supervisor. Although the precise organisation of the work will differ for each student, it is expected that a student should spend 50 hours on devising the research question, 50 hours on refining the structure and undertaking any fieldwork, and the rest divided equally among reading/analysing the material/data and writing up the dissertation. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comments and discussion of progress with supervisor | N/A | 1-8 | Students will have 3 meetings with supervisors, during which, they will receive oral and written comments on the task submitted for the meeting. During each meeting, the student and the supervisor will agree on the next task to be undertaken. Written comments on a sample chapter of the dissertation will be given. |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment will be by way of a Masters level dissertation | 100 | 15,000 words | 1-8 | Written feedback, with oral comments available on request |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dissertation | Dissertation (15,000 words) | 1-8 | Resubmission by early January |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Booth, Colomb and Williams, The Craft of Research (University of Chicago Press 2008)
Knowles, J & Thomas, P, Effective Legal Research (3rd ed, Sweet & Maxwell 2012)
Salter, M & Mason, J, Writing Law Dissertations: An Introduction and Guide to the Conduct of Legal Research. (Pearson 2007)
Subject-specific reading will vary according to research topic.
| Credit value | 60 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 30 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 01/10/2003 |
| Last revision date | 23/08/2018 |
