Undergraduate Course: Sociology Project (SCIL10045)

Course Outline
School	School of Social and Political Science	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	40	ECTS Credits	20
Summary	A piece of supervised research
Course description	In the Sociology Project students conduct their own piece of sociological research, with support from a supervisor and from the Project Preparation sessions. Students pursue sociological research into a topic of their own interest. They review existing literature in the area to formulate a topic. Students also draw on methodological ideas from their studies to formulate an appropriate research design and method of investigation, and identify ethical issues. All types of projects require students to analyse data, but the source of the data might vary: it may be gathered by the students themselves, it may be in existing data sets, or it may be existing primary sources of theoretical writing. The final project report that is submitted explains the background to the research project, explains and justifies how the research was undertaken, and reports and analyses the findings. Students also submit a research diary which tracks the progress of their research over its course, reflecting analytically on the highs and lows of the research process.

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	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 400 ( Lecture Hours 7, Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 8, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 377 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	One 10,000 word dissertation accompanied by a research diary
Feedback	Formative feedback is provided to students at various points in the research process. Students submit a Research Proposal with a plan of their research, and supervisors provide feedback on this. Students also submit drafts of their project report and feedback is provided by supervisors on these drafts.
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: Students will be able to critically review existing literature and relate this to a proposed research project Students will be able to make informed decisions about the appropriate methodology to investigate a particular phenomenon and defend these decisions, as well as assessing their ethical consequences Students will be able to analyse empirical data/theory in order to give an insightful account of this material Students will be able to reflect on the strengths and limitations of the research design and execution of the research Students will be able to manage the development of a project from initial ideas to final project report