Research – independent inquiry into records of the past in order to explore questions, to advance our knowledge and to contribute to discussion and debate – lies at the heart of the historical discipline. This module introduces students to the processes and possibilities of this activity and gives them an opportunity to get hands-on experience of working together in the practice of research, examining and evaluating their chosen sources and exploring what conclusions we can (and cannot) draw from them.
Each year there will be a selection of project topics, each centred on a particular body and set of sources to which students are ensured (usually digital) access. Each group of students will devise, present and write a project relating to this topic making appropriate and critical use of this set of source material or a selection within it.
As part of this process they will identify and describe a research context, refine and devise the questions they want to explore, analyse the sources in order to address these questions, and shape them into coherent historical arguments.
Historians use a variety of methods to investigate the past and to draw information from their sources. Some use one or more quantitative methods; others use a range of qualitative approaches; many use a mixture of both. Students will reflect on what methods are most useful for their inquiries and apply them accordingly.
Occurrence | Teaching cycle |
---|---|
A | Spring Term 2022-23 to Summer Term 2022-23 |
The aims of this module are:
Students who complete this module successfully will:
Teaching Programme:
In Autumn Term, students will be asked to choose from a list of topics devised by staff. They will be assigned to groups of no more than 4 students.
In Spring Term, students will attend 4 x 1 hour lectures on approaches to group project work and methods of presenting, plus 1 x 1hour lecture on their chosen topic. They will attend a 2 hour workshop on using historical resources and collaborative working.
In Summer Term, students will attend 1 x 2 hour project sessions with tutors in Week 1 and group tutorials in Week 2, in advance of a conference at the end of Week 3, at which groups will present on their project. Students will be expected to organise their reading and research in preparation for discussion sessions with tutors and the day conference.
The provisional outline for the module is as follows:
Spring Term:
Week 2 |
Lecture 1: How to do Group Project work |
Week 3 |
Lecture 2: Contextualizing your research |
Week 4 |
No classes |
Week 5 |
Lecture from Project Tutor on the historical and historiographical context |
Weeks 5-6 |
Workshop 1: Introducing the historical context and methods of using the digital source |
Week 7 |
No classes |
Week 8 |
Lecture 3: Death by powerpoint? Effective oral presentations |
Week 9 |
Lecture 4: Presenting findings and writing up |
Weeks 9-10 |
Groups meet to organise research tasks in advance of Summer Term Submission of group work agreements to tutor and agreement on the area/themes on which students will focus their work |
Summer Term:
Week 1 |
Workshop 2: 2 hours for project cohorts to discuss findings to date and plan their research/writing Groups submit their completed project planning documents to the tutor |
Week 2 |
Workshop 3: Group Tutorial with project tutor (30 minutes) to discuss completing research, preparing the presentation, and writing the project. |
Week 3 |
Conference |
Week 4 |
Submission of project: 2,500 words |
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Groupwork 2,500 word group project |
N/A | 100 |
None
Formative work:
Students will give their tutor an overview of their plans in Weeks 9-10 of Spring Term and Week 1 of Summer Term. They will give a short presentation on their project as a group at a conference in Week 3 of Summer Term. All students will be required to contribute towards the presentation and to attend the conference. Submission of the group presentation (as a Powerpoint or similar) is compulsory.
Summative work:
Submission of a jointly-written 2,500 word project. The project is worth 100% of the course mark.
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework 1,500 word essay |
N/A | 100 |
Students will receive verbal feedback during the formative work classes and a short written statement from their tutor within 20 working days of the class. For more information, see the Statement on Feedback.
For the summative assessment task, students will receive their provisional mark and written feedback within 20 working days of the submission deadline. For more information, see the Statement on Assessment.
No preliminary reading is required for the Group Projects. Term-time reading will be determined by the choice of topic and will be made available on the VLEs by the tutor.