Dissertation

Module title	Dissertation
Module code	POLM243
Academic year	2025/6
Credits	60
Module staff	Dr Martin Robson (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks			11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	25

Module description

Your dissertation module is the culmination of the MA Applied Security and Strategy programme. It involves a 10,000 word dissertation on a topic chosen by you. You will be supervised by members of the university’s Strategy and Security Institute (SSI) staff or, in special cases, by other colleagues in Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology who will help you formulate a topic and guide your studies and writing. However, the dissertation is an independent study module. You will select a topic of study, identify a literature, and then conduct independent research on this topic in order to write your dissertation.

SSI define the dissertation in broad terms and we identify three types of dissertation you may research and compose:

1. Some of you will write conventional academic dissertations.

2. Others will choose to write more policy- and practically-based dissertations, which reflect their professional experiences.

3. In some cases, sponsoring organisations may want you to write specific policy papers which speak to immediate organisational issues.

The SSI will have discretion to allow all of these dissertation options. In each case, the work must be academically rigorous; it will draw on some of the literature which you have read in the course of your study. But the parameters of the dissertation itself are broad.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will cement your learning from the taught part of the programme. You will be able to apply the theoretical and practical skills which you have learnt in the course of the MA Applied Security and Strategy to a specific topic. The module will teach a series of crucial studies skills. In the module, you will learn to identify a relevant literature for yourself, to construct a bibliography and an archive, and then to analyse that literature in depth. If you choose to do a dissertation related to your professional experience, the module will also teach how to apply scholarly work to practical problems. The dissertation module will train you in how to organise and communicate your independent research to a high level of detail.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

1. Demonstrate knowledge in depth of a specialised subject area.
2. Design an individual research programme, incorporating appropriate social science research methods. Collate and analyse subject-specific information from a range of appropriate sources.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

3. Locate your own research in key disciplinary debates, controversies and developments.
4. Assimilate and critically analyse data from an appropriate range of sources to develop a cogent argument

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

5. Communicate complex information and ideas effectively in writing.
6. Master a specific topic and the literature thereon

Syllabus plan

You will have the option to attend two research skills sessions delivered by POLM886.

At least four supervision meetings; one to initiate the dissertation followed by three meeting to give academic guidance and feedback

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

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
7	593	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	4	2 x 2 hr lecture
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	3	Supervision meetings
Guided Independent Study	593	Reading, analysis, writing, reviewing

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Research Proposal	500 words	1-6	Written
Draft Chapter	2500 words	1-6	Written

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
Dissertation	100	10,000	1-6	Written

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 (100%) 10,000 words	1-6	Next reassessment 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. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 50%"

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

G King, R Keohane and S Verba, Designing Social Inquiry (Princeton UP, 1994);

D Burton (ed), Research Training for Social Scientists: A Handbook for Postgraduate Researchers (Sage, 2000).

I. Furseth and E.L. Everett, Doing Your Master′s Dissertation: From Start to Finish (Sage, 2013).

D. Ridley, The literature review: a step-by-step guide for students (Sage, 2008).

B. Lucinda, Writing successful reports and dissertations (Sage, 2015).

P.C. Shon, How to read journal articles in the social sciences: a very practical guide for students (Sage, 2015).

M.S. Felix and I. Smith, A Practical Guide to Dissertation and Thesis Writing (Cambridge Scholars Publisher, 2019).

Subject-specific reading will varying according to research topic.

Key words search

Dissertation; work-based portfolio; independent study

Credit value	60
Module ECTS	30
Module pre-requisites	POLM233, POLM242
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	7
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	03/07/2025