Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module provides new postgraduate researchers with the opportunity to gain an understanding of the nature of the British PhD and an appreciation of the role of research training within it. Students are helped to establish the most productive type of relationships with their supervisors, to address the ethical dilemmas inherent in the research process and to develop their academic writing skills and self-editing techniques. During the course of this module, postgraduate researchers from a wide range of disciplines and from all over the world learn how to start, manage, progress and submit and complete promptly their research thesis in a rich, multi-disciplinary environment.

Outline Of Syllabus

Session 1: Why Research Training?
Session 2: Managing your Professional Development
Session 3: Health and Safety
Session 4: Blackboard and the E Portfolio
Session 5: Good academic conduct and research (and how to avoid plagiarism)
Session 6: Becoming a PhD, Cultural Acclimatisation and accessing English Language Support
Session 7: Studying for a PhD in a Collaborative Relationship with a Non-Academic Body
Session 8: The Nature and Examination of a British PhD
Session 9: Planning, Organising and Managing Your PhD
Session 10: Managing Your Supervisor
Session 11: ‘Ethical’ Questions in Research
Session 12: Creative Practice PhD
Session 13: Writing a Literature Review and Methodology Chapters
Session 14: Early Stages of Research : from crawling to walking
Session 15: Coping with the "Research Context" - Reviewing the Literature in the Arts and
Humanities
Session 16: Your Personal Development Plan (PDP) – Preparing for the Progress Review Panel
Session 17: Academic Writing and Self-Editing Your Thesis

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the module, postgraduate researchers will have a better understanding of:
• The nature of the British PhD
• Variations in expectations of PhDs
• The role of research training and professional development
• Good academic conduct and research practices
• How to acclimate in British culture
• Project management
• Risk management
• How to manage their supervisors
• Ethical questions in research
• Academic writing and Self-editing
• Their place in the Faculty Postgraduate Research Community

Intended Skill Outcomes

At the end of the module students will be able to:
• Start their PhD theses in the most appropriate manner
• Prepare a draft of their Project Approval form
• Effectively manage complex research projects
• Set goals, plan and manage resources
• Apply appropriate project management tools and techniques

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Most lectures include small group work, which helps to build a Faculty postgraduate community and establish the beginnings of an interdisciplinary awareness among the doctoral students. The module is team taught, with experts delivering sessions on a wide range of topics related to the postgraduate and research experience.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The assessment brings together all the learning outcomes and skills gained via the module, and provides a draft of the research student’s formal Project Approval Form, a key element of the Code of Practice for Research degrees, which they have to submit for School approval early in the first year of registration.

General Notes

N/A