Research Training - HIS00148M
Module summary
The course is designed to help students acquire the skills to design
a research project in history, locate relevant primary and secondary
sources, handle those sources and prepare a research proposal.
The module introduces the sequencing of research design—that is,
how to turn an interest into a research topic and finally into a
viable research project for which there are adequate and accessible
sources; it also debates how to present arguments, such as how to make
a claim backed by evidence and reject a counter claim for which the
evidence is scant or erroneous.
The module divides into
three blocks, which align with three learning cycles. The first
requires students to debate Research Practicalities; the second builds
on this ethical and empirical foundation by posing common Research
Challenges; the third focuses on narrowing down and proving the
viability of an initial idea for dissertation, and tackles matters of
Research Design.
The reading to be undertaken in advance of
seminars will debate generic and discipline-specific issues regarding
research design dnd provide illustrative examples of historical and
interdisciplinary scholarship that will appeal to all MA cohorts.
Seminars will be organised on a cross-cohort basis to facilitate
discussions, with teaching and learning immersive and discursive.
Plenary hours will introduce aspects of research design,
include interactive tasks and set up discretionary follow-up readings.
Students will expend the majority of the hours on the module designing
their own research dissertation/project proposal–that is conducting a
preliminary literature survey.
Related modules
Students must complete this module to progress to the Research Dissertation.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2023-24 |
Module aims
The aims of this module are to:
- Introduce students to the processes of independent research
- Make them aware of the range of archival and other resources available to historians
- Develop students’ powers of historical argument
- Develop skills of primary research, including project and information management, independent working and the ability to research primary and secondary materials independently
- Develop skills in designing and communicating a research project, leading to a dissertation proposal.
Module learning outcomes
Students who complete this module successfully will:
- Have knowledge of conventional and non-conventional sources available to historians
- Have knowledge of how to scope and describe an independent research project
- Have developed an understanding of the potential and limitation of historical methods
- Understand the ethical issues that arising from collecting and presenting research that arising primary sources
- Have developed an understanding of the resources available for their own specialist area
Module content
There is a one-hour briefing, eight one-hour plenary sessions, plus four one-hours seminars for which students read texts in advance and discuss aspects of research design.
Seminar topics are subject to variation, but are likely to include the following:
- Plenary - What is Research?
- Plenary and Seminar - Archives and Power (classes will be hosted at the Borthwick Institute)
- Plenary - Source Ethics
- Plenary and Seminar - Ways to Present
- Plenary - Surveying Scholarship in Print and Beyond
- Plenary and Seminar - Narrowing the Scope of the Proposal
- Plenary - Crafting a Proposal
- Plenary and Seminar - Proposal Troubleshooting
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100.0 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Students gain written feedback on their draft 750-word proposal in Week 11 before revising it for submission as a summative assignment.
Summative assignment—a 1,500-word dissertation proposal— will be due on Thursday, Week 15, and assessed on a pass/fail basis.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100.0 |
Module feedback
At the final workshop, students will receive oral feedback from the
seminar leader on their proposals.
For the summative
assessment task, students will receive an outcome—pass/fail— within 25
working days of the submission deadline. The tutor will then be
available during student hours for follow-up guidance if required. For
more information, see the Statement of Assessment.
Indicative reading
For term time reading, please refer to the module VLE site. Before the course starts, we encourage you to look at the following items of preliminary reading:
- Booth, W., Colomb, G. William, S. J., The Craft of Research (Third edition, University of Chicago Press, 2008).
- Hare, J, Wells, J., Baker, B., Essential Skills for Historians: A Practical Guide to Researching the Past (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019).
- Barber, S., Peniston-Bird, C., History Beyond the Text: A student’s Guide to approaching alternative sources (Routledge, 2009)