Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE PSY5016

 
TITLE Dissertation

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 30

 
DEPARTMENT Psychology

 
DESCRIPTION The dissertation will involve an empirical study in an area of inquiry related to addictive behaviour that will be supervised by a member of faculty. It will involve a written submission of 15,000 to 20, 000 words detailing an introduction, a detailed methodology following a literature review with adequate emphasis on the operationalisation of concepts for empirical inquiry, findings and discussion of these in light of literature, as well as an overarching conclusion, an abstract and full references. Furthermore, a summary of the dissertation in a publishable format is to be included in the appendix. The summary, which is not included in the word count, is to be between 3000 and 3500 words in length.

Study-Unit Aims:

This study-unit aims at assisting students in applying their knowledge and skills of research methods and their theoretical understanding of addiction to undertake an empirical project according to prevalent disciplinary standards in the addiction field. The study-unit aims at teaching students to apply their skills and competencies to formulate a research question based in the addiction literature and to design an empirical study that addresses the research question. The study-unit further aims to teach students to evaluate their research in light of the university’s ethical standards and to guide students to obtain ethical clearance for their research. Finally, the study-unit aims to supervise the procedure of data gathering and data analysis to satisfy disciplinary standards in a way that addresses the research question articulated at the start and to develop practical recommendations for the future.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Critically evaluate the addiction literature by developing an articulated research question that is amenable to empirical inquiry;
- Conceptualize phenomena and operationalise these concerns by translating theoretical questions into research questions;
- Identify research strategies that answer the research questions;
- Critically evaluate findings to address the identified gaps in the literature and to recommend policy and practice interventions.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Design an empirical study that addresses research questions in their individual and cultural complexity;
- Formulate research questions in quantitative and qualitative terms;
- Operationalise phenomena as variables for empirical inquiry;
- Undertake research to gather data;
- Analyse the data gathering in line with disciplinary requirements and according to disciplinary standards and procedures;
- Draw correct and relevant conclusions from research findings;
- Report research findings in such a way to provide an answer to research questions;
- Articulate recommendations for research and advance relevant suggestions for practice;
- Prepare a paper for publication.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Selected readings on topic of research proposal

- Publication Manual of the American Psychology Association.
- Swetnam, D., & Swetnam, R. (2000). Writing your dissertation: how to plan, prepare and present successful work. Oxford: How to books.

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES **September Assessment Session: Students who fail to obtain an overall pass mark will be re-examined in the Dissertation. However, the resit availability for the Oral Examination is at the discretion of the Board of Examiners.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Dissertation

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Dissertation and Oral Examination [See Add. Notes] See note below ** 100%
Note: Assessment due will vary according to the study-unit availability.

 
LECTURER/S

 

 
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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