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for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
| Unit name |
Group Research Project |
| Unit code |
GEOG20009 |
| Credit points |
10 |
| Level of study |
I/5
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
|
| Unit director |
Professor. Rachel Flecker |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
All Year 1 mandatory Geography units.
|
| Co-requisites |
GEOG25010 Spatial Modelling 2 and either Research Methods in Physical Geography or Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography.
|
| School/department |
School of Geographical Sciences |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Science |
Description including Unit Aims
The unit is designed to provide all second year Geography students with an opportunity to undertake and write-up a group-based, independent research project as preparation principally for their third-year dissertation. Its aims are:
- To apply the methodological expertise gained from GEOG25010 Spatial Modelling 2 and either Research Methods in Physical Geography or Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography as part of a guided research project.
- To design and write-up a dissertation-style project.
- To teach, monitor and assess group work through embedded peer evaluation and self-reflection of individual contributions to the team and the dynamics of team working
Intended Learning Outcomes
On completion of this Unit students should be able to:
- Design and write-up an effective piece of research
- Employ a variety of methods for collecting and analysing geographical information
- Identify, download, quality control, manipulate and interpret common geographical datasets and critically assess their limitations.
The following transferable skills are developed in this Unit:
- Written and verbal communication
- Team working and collaboration
- Numeracy and computation
- Planning and implementing research projects
- Problem solving
Teaching Information
Teaching is delivered through workshops and tutorials.
Assessment Information
The project assessment comprises 100% of the assessment. It is divided into three elements.
- 15-minute Group Presentation (30% of the unit)
- 8000-word Group Report (50% of the unit)
- Peer review of group contribution (20% of the unit)
Feedback provided on the presentation feeds forward into improving the written report.
All of the assessments test all of the ILOs.
Reading and References
Essential:
- Clifford, N., and Valentine, G. (2004) Key Methods in Geography. Sage Publication.
- Parsons, T., and Knight. P.G. (2001) How To Do Your Dissertation in Geography and Related Disciplines. Nelson Thornes.
