Dissertation - Practice
| Module title | Dissertation - Practice |
|---|---|
| Module code | CDFM002 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 60 |
| Module staff |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 | 11 | 7 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 50 |
|---|
Module description
The dissertation project is the culmination of your postgraduate course and represents an opportunity to explore an idea, theme or issue in detail over an extended period through your chosen form of practice. In negotiation with a dissertation supervisor, you will devise a research-led practical output relevant to your field and then conceive, plan and deliver this work. It will be equivalent to 7,500 words of written work (your supervisor will advise you on equivalency in your chosen form of practice) and you will also submit a 7,500-word piece of writing to provide critical context to your practice. Your supervisor will support you during the preparation of your practical output, which will normally be delivered towards the end of term 3, and through the initial phase of planning your written work, though beyond the end of term 3 you will be expected to work independently.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The module aims to:
• provide an opportunity for you to pursue a single research topic in depth, partly through a form of practice appropriate to your discipline
• demonstrate evidence of research achievement at master's level
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Critically evaluate at an advanced level current research in the discipline and in your chosen area of enquiry
- 2. Deploy at an advanced level a range of research techniques and practice-based methodologies appropriate to the discipline and to your chosen area of enquiry
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. understand and analyse relevant theoretical ideas and concepts, and explore them through the conceptualisation and delivery of practice-based work
- 4. work in a detailed and rigorous manner with sources and methods appropriate to your discipline area
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Demonstrate an advanced proficiency in your chosen field of practice
- 6. Demonstrate an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to explore complex ideas through practice-based enquiry
Syllabus plan
Indicative activities:
Term 1 – Project preparation:
4 preparatory workshops covering essential issues in the early stages of practical dissertation preparation
Term 2 and 3 – Supervision and delivery of practice-based output:
4 workshop sessions covering the delivery of a successful practical project
Early in term 2 you will be required submit a dissertation project proposal form. Please note that you will be asked in this form to provide sufficient evidence that you have the technical competency in your chosen field of practice to successfully deliver a dissertation project in this area. This is to protect you from embarking on a project for which you do not have sufficiently developed skills to complete. Please play particular attention to this section. Should the module convenor be unconvinced that you have the necessary expertise to deliver the project you propose using the mode of practice you outline, you will be moved onto the written dissertation project module instead, which will not disadvantage you but will ensure you have the best possible chance of success.
You will normally be allocated to a supervisor a few weeks after your proposal submission deadline. You are entitled to three hours of supervision across terms 2 and 3. We strongly recommend meeting as soon as possible in term 2 for an initial discussion to agree the nature of your practice-based output, then using limited supervision hours in the remainder of term 2 as you complete the preparatory work for your project before engaging more robustly with your supervisor in term 3. Supervision can take place either face-to-face or online, but supervision by email is not possible. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange these meetings with their supervisor. During term 3, supervisors can offer formative feedback on up to 1,000 words of your critical commentary and approximately one third of your practical output. This will mean different things in different projects, so please negotiate with your supervisor to establish what this would mean for you. In the interests of fairness, supervisors cannot look at more than this and will not review your final outputs before they are assessed. One final workshops will take place at the end of term 3 to support you as you move into the written phase of your work.
The formal supervision process will be concluded at the end of term 3 and you will then work independently to complete any outstanding practical work and to deliver the written component of your dissertation, which will constitute a 7,500-word critical commentary on your practice. Please note that most practice-based outputs should be delivered at the end of term 3 to enable markers to consider the work before the summer break and for you to complete the critical/reflective writing after you have delivered your output/s. However, for some output types where the practical work is assessed through documentation (workshops, for example) it may be that delivery of the submittable outputs is not possible until the end of the summer and so these will be assessed at that stage instead. Please agree a delivery date for your outputs with your supervisor during your initial meeting.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 588 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 9 | Training workshops |
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 3 | Supervision meetings arranged by the student |
| Guided independent study | 588 | Research, reading and preparation of the practice-based and written components of the dissertation project |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dissertation project proposal | 500 words | 1-6 | Verbal feedback during first supervision meeting |
| Dissertation project extract | One third of the practical output, equivalent to 2,500 words, and a 1,000 word extract from the critical commentary. | 1-6 | Written feedback on the extract and verbal feedback during supervision meeting |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice-based output | 50 | Equivalent to 7,500 words (to be negotiated with supervisor depending on the form of practice) | 1-6 | Written feedback |
| Critical commentary | 50 | 7,500 words | 1-6 | Written feedback |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice-based output | Practice-based output (50%) | 1-6 | Referral/deferral period |
| Critical commentary | Critical commentary (50%) | 1-6 | Referral/deferral period |
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 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Basic reading:
- Judith Ackroyd, Research Methods for Drama Education Stoke on Trent: Trentham, 2006.
- Peter Barry, Beginning Theory Manchester: Manchester University Press 2002.
- Martin Bauer and George Gaskell, Qualitative Researching with Text, Image and Sound – A Practical Handbook. London: Sage, 2000.
- Dawson, Kathryn and Daniel A. Kelin (eds) The Reflexive Teaching Artist: Collected Wisdom from the Drama/Theatre Field (Theatre in Education), Bristol: Intellect, 2014.
- Peter Elbow, Writing with Power, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
- Nigel Fielding, Raymond M. Lee, Grant Blank, G. (eds), The Sage Handbook of Online Research Methods. London: Sage, 2008.
- Mark Fortier, Theory/Theatre: An Introduction London: Routledge, 2016.
- Baz Kershaw and Helen Nicholson (eds) Research Methods in Theatre and Performance, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011.
- Patricia Leavy, Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research Practice. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford Press, 2015.
- Jane Mills and Melanie Birks (eds), Qualitative Methodology: A Practical Guide, Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications, 2014.
- Robin Nelson, Practice as Research in the Arts: Principles, Protocols, Pedagogies, Resistance, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
- Geoffrey Patriarche, et al.(eds), Audience Research Methodologies. Between Innovation and Consolidations. Abingdon: Routledge, 2014.
- Patrice Pavis, Analyzing Performance: Theater, Dance, and Film, translated by David Williams, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2006.
- Gillian Rose, Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials. 4th ed. London: Sage, 2016.
- Soyini Madison, D., Critical Ethnography: Method, Ethics, and Performance, 3rd edition, Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2019.
- Robert Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 5th ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2014.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
• ELE –
| 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 | 17/03/2025 |
