Unit information: Dissertation in 2013/14

Unit name	Dissertation
Unit code	PSYCM1000
Credit points	60
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Professor. Leonards
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	Students must have completed and passed the taught component (120 credit points) of the respective MSc in order to be eligible to take this unit.
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Psychological Science
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

The aim of this mandatory 60 credit point unit is to apply research techniques to a particular psychological, neuropsychological or neuroscience issue, under the supervision of a member of academic staff or under the supervision of an external clinician or researcher deemed appropriate to supervise a research project. When an external clinician/supervisor is recruited, the student must also be assigned a second supervisor from within UoB academic staff. The project is typically conducted during the Summer term but preparation for this important part of your degree should start much earlier, particularly when NHS Ethics or other more complex ethical approval is required. A central aim is to develop competency in research which involves the following logical steps:

1. To review an area of empirical interest
2. To frame hypotheses based upon existing empirical findings and extant hypotheses described within peer-reviewed literature (in exceptional circumstances a dissertation might test an entirely novel hypothesis). Where appropriate (and preferably) to indicate different predictions made by distinct hypotheses.
3. To design an experiment or series of experiments which provide a well controlled test of selected hypotheses showing appropriate control of sources of error and a clear isolation of hypotheses under test. To indicate awareness of issues surrounding appropriate sample size based upon estimates of power and other considerations of signal to noise ratio.
4. To provide a rigorous analysis of data using selection of appropriate statistical procedures/tests.
5. To write a clear report of the findings in APA format which contains an Introduction section which shows clear empirical/theoretical convergence upon critical hypotheses and shows their connection to the existing literature. To write a Methods section that provides sufficient detail to enable an informed reader to exactly replicate the study. To write a Results section which delivers a clear account of the findings in both descriptive and more formal statistical terms. To provide a Discussion section that assesses the various hypotheses that have been tested and places results within a clear theoretical context. To consider potential sources of error and to suggest novel new theoretical accounts and/or further empirical test which might be performed in future research. To provide a Reference section in APA format. The entire report should be prefaced by an Abstract which meets APA guidelines and which summarises context, hypotheses tested and outcomes of the study. Overall students should be mindful of the danger of repetition within their submitted reports and should also ensure that the order of disclosure of content be logical so that comprehension by a naive but informed reader is effortless.

Intended Learning Outcomes

The central learning outcome is that students should understand the principles underlying design, implementation, analysis and written dissemination of a research project. This is a key skill with clear transferable outcomes for those being trained in Research Methods, Neuropsychology or Clinical Neuropsychology.

Teaching Information

The project process begins with a series of presentations delivered by members of academic staff which provide students with information about the kinds of projects UoB academics are willing/prepared to supervise. During this phase, students will also be made aware of external clinical projects by members of academic staff with connections with local NHS and allied institutes. Once a student is allocated a supervisor there will be regular meetings with the supervisor during which there will be discussion of hypotheses and appropriate design/analysis to test those hypotheses. The role of supervisor is to act as an advisor who will caution students about possible issues of concern. Students should note that it is their responsibility to listen to this advice and act upon it (and where appropriate consider design improvements and/or further reading). During the course of the dissertation process, there will be timetabled meetings with the overall project coordinator(s) who will ascertain whether projects are on track and making progress which is consistent with the final report submission date. Because supervisors do not read drafts of dissertations, students should note that discussions with their supervisors play a critical role.

Assessment Information

Assessment is based upon a mark applied to a submitted research dissertation with a word limit maximum of 6000 words (excluding the Reference section). Criteria for a good project are described in Section C5 above and examples of good previous projects can be located by students on Blackboard. Members of academic staff do not provide comments upon draft versions of projects. For this reason, students are strongly encouraged to use project meetings with supervisors to resolve any issues of uncertainty.

Reading and References

http://www.bris.ac.uk/esu/pg/annex6dissertationguidelines.pdf

Students are encouraged to appreciate that the best key reading and references are peer-reviewed papers which have focused upon similar hypotheses and issues (particularly when they are provided within APA format journals).