Postgraduate Course: EdD Thesis Preparation Programme (REDU12006)

Course Outline
School	Moray House School of Education	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 12 (Postgraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	In the final stage of the EdD programme, candidates will undertake an individual, supervised study leading to the presentation of a thesis of between 45,000 to 75,000 words. This is a major study demanding a high level of individual application and commitment to research and enquiry. It provides the opportunity to identify, reflect on and explore a topic that meets the requirements, in every respect, for doctoral level work. The Thesis Preparation course runs over one year normally taken in the second and third years of the taught programme. It is important to stress that students will have already undertaken extensive study on topics related to research in education and that this is not a self-contained research methods course. Building on the preceding taught elements concerned with methodology, methods and research design, it will prepare students to undertake independent research and writing of a doctoral thesis. The course has a strong emphasis on practical aspects of doctoral research but also includes theoretical elements intended to help students develop their research proposals and prepare to undertake the thesis stage.
Course description	Not entered

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2017/18, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Full Year
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Learning and Teaching Activities
Assessment (Further Info)	Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Assessment Methods
Additional Information (Assessment)	Students will prepare and present a progression board paper of 4-6,000 words excluding appendices. This will be assessed against the following criteria: Clarity of question/focus of proposed research. Promise of significant contribution to knowledge/understanding of the research topic such as is likely to comprise a successful doctorate. Adequacy of student's grasp of scholarly context of the project (e.g., previous key publications, figures, positions, etc.). Suitability and adequacy of method or approach to be taken in the proposed research. Evidence of having adequately identified necessary research skills needed for this project? Where the research involves human subjects, is there a clear awareness of the ethical and legal issues involved and of relevant professional guidelines on ethical practice? Are there any issues of safety involved in the conduct of the project, and if so, are there reasonable measures in place to minimize any dangers to the student, participants and others? The progression board will normally include the student's supervisor(s), two external assessors and a non-examining chairperson. A report assessing the proposal and the student's presentation against the assessment criteria will be made to the postgraduate studies committee. This report may also include advice, recommendations or conditions to be met by the student.
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: Justify a proposed research design, recognising and taking account of practical and methodological problems. Demonstrate understanding of data-gaterhing issues using quantitative or qualitative methods. Demonstrate that the proposed research is ethically defensible, and that appropriate ethical approval procedures are undertaken. Explain how the data to be collected will be analysed. Demonstrate the contribution should make to knowledge in terms of theory, empirical understanding, professional practice or in other ways.