MCH8599 : Research Dissertation
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Professor Susannah Eckersley
- Lecturer: Mr Iain Wheeldon, Professor Christopher Whitehead, Dr Bruce Davenport, Dr Dora Merai, Dr Antonio Gonzalez, Professor Rhiannon Mason, Dr Emma Coffield, Dr Katie Markham
- Owning School: Arts & Cultures
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 5 |
| Semester 3 Credit Value: | 55 |
| ECTS Credits: | 30.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The aim of the module is to provide an opportunity for a sustained piece of research that relates to issues raised during the taught modules of the programme.
Outline Of Syllabus
The students are required to attend briefings, module talks, lectures and workshops. In addition, students will have regular meetings with their allocated supervisor.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 200:00 | 200:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 7 | 1:00 | 7:00 | On-campus lectures |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 5 | 2:00 | 10:00 | On-campus group workshops |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | Drop-in sessions to support research preparation and ethics submission. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Dissertation/project related supervision | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | On-campus meetings as and when required, by arrangement with supervisor. |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 372:00 | 372:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Module talk | 3 | 1:00 | 3:00 | Module introduction, module review and assessment briefing |
| Total | 600:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lecture: On-campus structured guided learning to help students on the module to plan the various stages of the dissertation, from formulating a research question to developing a research strategy and writing up research findings.
Module talk: on-campus structured guided learning to help students to understand the module, and the assessments.
Drop-in/surgery: Drop-in sessions (may be in person or online) to clarify any questions about the project proposal and the ethics form.
Workshop: to support students to develop all aspects of their research project through a mix of interactive group activities and individual in-class work.
Dissertation-related supervision: 1:1 individual supervision meeting to support dissertation development.
Assessment preparation and completion: This category enables students to complete their dissertations.
Guided independent study: This broad category refers to independent student activity and covers the range from reading and preparation through to situations where students are required to work without staff supervision or where students are required to undertake very specific pieces of work.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dissertation | 3 | A | 100 | 8,000 words |
Zero Weighted Pass/Fail Assessments
| Description | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | M | Ethics approval form |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research proposal | 2 | M | outline proposal |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
A Masters-level academic dissertation must be an original piece of work and not simply a synthesis of existing knowledge.
It requires the gathering and analysis of new material, the development of original arguments and the presentation of conclusions and recommendations.
The dissertation should be presented and written in the style and format of an academic journal article.
To be successful the dissertation will need careful planning and preparation.
Written exercise 1 consists of a completed ethics approval form, submitted to the university, which reflects the ethical considerations of the individual research to be undertaken for the dissertation.
Research proposal 1 is a required formative assessment, consisting of an outline dissertation proposal, on which formative feedback will be given, usually during a one-to-one meeting with the dissertation supervisor or module leader.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- MCH8599's Timetable