AMST40480 Research Skills Seminar

Academic Year 2023/2024

This course is designed to provide Masters and new Ph.D. students with skills essential to the preparation and production of a postgraduate thesis. It will present the necessary tools for postgraduate research and develop associated skills such as the presentation of written and oral work to peers and scholars. It will also introduce students to methodology and the nature of interdisciplinary study.

The course will run as a workshop and, as such, it is imperative that students prepare beforehand and arrive at the class ready to engage and discuss. Some weeks will require the preparation of short pieces of writing related to a particular aspect of a student’s research, which will be circulated prior to the class to allow for feedback and discussion. This will include short summaries of how a project engages with current scholarship, methodology and treatment of sources, research strategies, and outlining the relevance of a project.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students will have developed skills that will enable them to identify and apply a suitable method for their thesis study, to locate suitable source materials for research and to organise and present this material in a coherent fashion.

Indicative Module Content:

This module will introduce students to key components of research skills and methods germane to American Studies including:
- interdisciplinary study methods;
- topics, frames and fields of study;
- locating and using primary and secondary sources;
- citation and bibliographical skills;
- oral and audio-visual presentation skills;
- library use.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Seminar (or Webinar)

50

Autonomous Student Learning

150

Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Key teaching and learning approaches used in the module include:
active/task-based learning;
peer and group work;
debates;
student presentations.
 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Continuous Assessment: Participation in in-class activities including individual and group presentations; debates; written assignments, and other activities. Attendance is also critical. Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

100


Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students will receive individual and group feedback on their in-class activities throughout the duration of the module.

The complete reading list will be presented at the beginning of the module. The vast majority of the readings will be made available through Brightspace.
Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 
Spring
     
Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 15:00 - 16:50