Lecture Notes 1: Organising your Research Project + CoP3 Aims

• 400 hours = 40 credit module
• 6000-9000 words (9900 words is the limit)
• Get the most of each 30 minute support
• Deadline: Thursday 14th January, 2-4pm (In 15 weeks)
• Submit draft for Christmas
• 3 Lectures (Including this one)
• Students will develop a research project, with practice and textual outcomes, in response to the proposal developed during the later stages of Level 5 programme.
• To organise and undertake a personal programme of in-depth critical research, to collage and present a coherent written argument and related practical investigation based on analysis and evaluation.
• Planning the Project:
• Write down all questions that you want to investigate
• Consider the merits of each and focus on two
• Write an A4 'first thoughts' sheet for each
• Purpose of the study?
• Working title
• Choosing a title
• May opt for a title and subtitle
• Make notes of key questions that your research has raised
• No more than 15-20 words
• Appropriate tone
• Discuss this with tutor at first tutorial
• Can be revised before submission, but shouldn't be radically different to your ideas at this stage
• Think about your working title and the different component parts that need researching
• Draw up a project outline based on the above
• Include targets/milestones for the written and practical components of the project
• Turnitin Draft Submission - Last Date is December 11 2015
• Literature Search
• How much can you actually read in 100 hours?
• Try to find out all key texts on chosen topic.
• Find key texts and plan time to read them
• Find secondary sources/Criticism of key texts (Triangulation)
• Use journals (www.jstor.org)
• Referencing
•  Compile that bibliography at the very beginning of the project
• Structure Dissertation into chapters
• Separated into chapters
• Each chapter should ideally evidence a different theoretical/methodological approach
• Hopefully the introduction will explain why you have chosen a certain structure, and the conclusion will draw these disparate characters together.
• How do these different chapters relate to your practical research
• Approaches to Research
• Quantitative
• Surveys
• Data Collection
• Qualitative
• Interviews
• Participant Observation
• Reflective Journal
• Action Research