| CODE | MDT5003 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Research Methods | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Mediterranean Institute | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit prepares students following a Master's course by research in the main tasks of researching and writing a research dissertation at postgraduate level. The unit will discuss how to work with different kinds of sources in different disciplinary traditions. This unit is designed specifically to help students navigate the intricacies of interdisciplinary work in Area Studies as well as the general requirements for the organization of the dissertation as Text. Study-unit Aims: - To offer students knowledge and insights into the different skills required to write a postgraduate dissertation. - To offer students the opportunity to form a critical understanding of the research process leading to the writing of the postgraduate dissertation. - To make students aware of different methodological techniques in the study of the Mediterranean. - To train students in the structure of a dissertation as a text. - To further develop the methodological skills required in the particular dissertation project. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - demonstrate a deep understanding of the methodological challenges in interdisciplinary research; - describe in considered detail the methodological approach to be adopted for the dissertation project; - report on the ethical challenges involved in the proposed research project. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - develop a detailed project proposal; - demonstrate a critical awareness of ethical issues in research; - demonstrate a capacity to incorporate multiple research techniques in the study of a problem. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: The appropriate reading list is developed by the student in conjunction with the supervision during the progress of the course. For that reason no specific course content is being indicated here, as this would necessarily vary depending on the nature of the research conducted. The following is an indicative list. - Madden, R. (2010). Being Ethnographic. Sage. - Ellen, P. & Curran S. (eds.) A handbook for social science field research : essays & bibliographic sources on research design and methods. Sage. - Martha Howell and Walter Prevenier, (2001) From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methodology, Cornell University Press . - Booth, A., Papaioannou, D., & Sutton, A. (2012) Systematic Approaches to a successful Literature Review. Sage. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Seminar | ||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Norbert Bugeja John Chircop |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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