Unit information: Dissertation in 2016/17

Unit name	Dissertation
Unit code	MEDIM0300
Credit points	60
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Dr. Greenwood
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Teaching and Learning for Health Professionals
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

The dissertation is intended to allow students to conduct more in-depth studies of a particular educational issue of interest and importance to them. The project will be supervised by a tutor at the University who will provide academic guidance and quality assurance.

Intended Learning Outcomes

The Unit will develop students’ ability to:

• Conduct literature searches and retrieve relevant sources.

• Appraise this literature critically.

• Plan and enact data collection and analyze this data appropriately.

• Plan, structure and write a thesis making appropriate use of the literature and their data.

• Construct meaningful arguments / discussion / recommendations for inclusion in their thesis.

Teaching Information

This is a 60 Credit Unit and therefore requires 600 hours work to be associated with it. This will mainly consist of individual study, data collection, analysis and writing up of the dissertation but will also include 1:1 tutorial time with supervisors.

The principle teaching and learning methods will be self-directed learning through the writing of the dissertation. The student will also be guided and taught on a one-to-one basis as appropriate by their supervisors.

Assessment Information

The dissertation shall comprise 15,000 words.

Students will need to have completed at least the Certificate phase and Unit MEDIM0211 before registering for their dissertation.

The topic will be negotiated between the student and their supervisor(s). It must be relevant to education in the health professions and could be of the following types:

• Empirical. An empirical investigation into some aspect of education in the health professions.

• Work-based project (with critical analysis). The participant sets out to establish a new teaching / learning / assessment practice at their place of work (hospital, general practice unit, university department), providing at the same time a written account of the project from start to finish. The account must contain evaluation and critical analysis of the project objectives, outcomes and supporting literature.

• Literature review. An analytical review of the evidence regarding some aspect of education in the health professions.

Reading and References

• Bell, J. (1993). Doing Your Research Project: A guide for first time researchers in education and social science. Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press.

• Punch, K. (1998). Introduction to social research. London: Sage.

• Sapsford, R. & Jupp, V. (1996). Data collection and analysis. London: Sage.