Postgraduate Course: Dissertation MSc by Research Public Health Policy (80 credits) (SCPL11008)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Dissertation |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 80 |
ECTS Credits | 40 |
| Summary | For those taking the research degree as a stand-alone degree the dissertation should include: An introduction to the project, highlighting the context and the research question; a review of the relevant literature; a discussion of the research design, methods, data collection techniques and analysis; evaluation of the practical and ethical issues that affect the conduct of the research; a report of the findings and discussion and conclusion.
For those students proceeding to the MPhil or PhD the proposal will take the form of a full research proposal. This will include:
* a review of the literature, both theoretical and empirical;
* an outline and justification of the specific questions to be addressed, plus a statement of the expected contribution of the study to the field;
* an elaboration and justification of the research design and methods to be employed, including a discussion of analysis;
* a discussion of any practical, political and ethical issues affecting the conduct of the research;
* a presentation of the schedule for the research. |
| Course description |
The dissertation is an extended piece of scholarship in which a student is expected to formulate and sustain a focused piece of independent research in the field of Public Health Policy. The dissertation is expected to engage critically and analytically with relevant literature, building upon salient concepts and theory covered in the taught element of the degree and deploying appropriate analytic and bibliographic skills.
The nature of a dissertation for the MSc by Research may vary. It can be: a research proposal, in preparation for a PhD Project; a pilot project in preparation for a PhD project; a stand-alone project, that could involve analysis of documents, secondary data or it could be fieldwork based. Other types of dissertations are possible, as agreed with the Programme Director of the MSc by Research (Public Health Policy).
Outline content
The dissertation process involves: (i) participation in the course, Advanced Issues in Social Policy, which provides a range of research, analytic, presentation and research skills intended to help you develop your dissertation project; (ii) participation in group supervision sessions during the early stages of developing your dissertation project; (iii) following this, a (non-assessed) presentation of your outline dissertation project to staff and peers for feedback; (iv) the development and submission of an assessed dissertation plan, on which your supervisor will provide written feedback; and (iv) individual (one-to-one) supervision meetings with an assigned supervisor in the later stages of your dissertation.
This dissertation process enables students to demonstrate that they can:
- carry out a sustained piece of independent scholarship, involving project and time management
- employ relevant concepts and theories in the articulation of research questions and research design
- identify and use relevant literature critically and analytically
- demonstrate an understanding of research methods and analysis, appropriate to the research topic, taking due account of ethical concerns
- present the dissertation in a written form, in line with research and bibliographic conventions.
- gain skills in communicating one's research
- understand relationships between research and policy formulation
- understand key concepts used in health policy-related research
- demonstrate skills in negotiating access for health policy research
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
tudents should be able to:
- carry out a sustained piece of independent literature-based scholarship, involving project and time management
- employ relevant concepts and theories in the articulation of research questions and research design
- identify and use relevant literature critically and analytically
- demonstrate an understanding of research methods and analysis, appropriate to the research topic, taking due account of ethical concerns
- present the dissertation in a written form, in line with research and bibliographic conventions.
- gain skills in communicating one's research
- understand relationships between research and policy formulation
- understand key concepts used in policy-related research
- demonstrate skills in negotiating access for policy research
Delivery period: Year long
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sarah Hill
Tel: (0131 6)50 3884
Email: |
Course secretary | |
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