SEC8101 : Researching Security: Interdisciplinary Methods
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Professor Ruth McAreavey
- Lecturer: Dr Katharine A. M. Wright, Professor Ben Farrand
- Owning School: Geography, Politics & Sociology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The module aims to give students an understanding of interdisciplinary methods and how they can be used to study international security. This will give students the basis for critically engaging with the disciplines within the programme – Law, Sociology, Politics and Geography. It will be especially useful for their dissertations.
Outline Of Syllabus
Indicative course content will cover:
The concept of interdisciplinarity and how to conceptualise security from an interdisciplinary perspective (including understanding the philosophical, methodological and disciplinary intersections across the programme disciplines);
How to study the social complexity and reality of security across the disciplines;
How to design research questions;
Ethics and reflexivity in research;
How to source materials;
How to apply the methods within and outside of academia, including within the public and private domains;
How to take ideas about research and security, and translate this into a viable postgraduate dissertation
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 2 | 2:00 | 4:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 74:00 | 74:00 | Writing up assignment |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 4 | 2:00 | 8:00 | lecture + interactive Q&A, delivered by POL8041 |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | lecture + seminar (library and study skills) |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 100:00 | 100:00 | Independent reading |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | Seminar, bespoke for SEC8101 |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Computer clusters |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 4 | 1:00 | 4:00 | Seminar, delivered by POL8041 |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | lecture + interactive Q&A (SEC8101 – intro, theory, law) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Tutorials- Support for assessment |
| Total | 200:00 |
Jointly Taught With
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| POL8041 | Thinking About Politics |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Teaching methods are designed to both give students theoretical input and support their independent learning. The module will draw from a range of specialists across the four disciplines who work within security studies and will combine teaching, discussion and small group work. Some of the content will be shared with POL8041 where each week students will learn from research active staff about how to approach a research puzzle and how to operationalise a research plan. At the outset of the module students will have a separate introduction and theory session. Content will be supplemented by a number of additional sessions on themes relating to international security. Each week the lecture and seminar will be focused on a key method, supported by a subsequent recommended readings and other forms of input (pre-recorded materials, podcasts for example) to be inclusive of a variety of different modes of learning. This will allow for a rich interdisciplinary discussion as issues are examined from different disciplinary perspectives. Students enrolled will in the module will have bespoke workshops to help them prepare for their assessment and this will allow them to receive plenty of formative feedback.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research paper | 1 | M | 100 | Summative assessment. Research proposal to include research question, brief lit review, overview of methodological approach, relevance to international security from an interdisciplinary perspective, ethical statement and action plan/timeline (3500 words) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 1 | M | Formative assessment. Submission of short overview of research proposal, highlighting key risks (500 words) and presentation of personal research proposals in online workshops. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The submitted research proposal will enable students to demonstrate their understanding of how international security can be studied from an interdisciplinary perspective. It will also enable them to showcase their critical thinking and academic writing skills. The formative assessment of the concept note will enable students to develop their thinking in preparation for the detailed research proposal, which is then used as the basis for discussion in the online reflective sessions.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- SEC8101's Timetable