LAW08026 2021 Dissertation or Applied Project
Students are required to undertake supervised independent research or an applied project. Students are expected to show critical thinking, understanding of how knowledge is generated and applied and be able to work independently. The aim of this module is to support each student to either complete a dissertation that is an academic piece of research in the field of law and/or business. Or alternatively, a student may undertake an applied project on a selected topic, issue or problem that is directly relevant and drawn from the law and/or business field with clearly defined and demonstratable outcomes or solutions. The output of this module will be a written dissertation or applied project portfolio or similar of approximately 9,000 words. This research dissertation or applied project will be on a topic related to Law and/or Business.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module the learner will/should be able to;
Evaluate and apply theoretical and methodological understanding and skills in law and/or Business to develop researchable ideas and specific research questions or hypotheses.
Analyse and critically engage with the relevant literature in the field of Law and/or Business to create a literature review
Devise a realistic research design process for a dissertation or applied project and undertake critically aware research using appropriate research methods.
Articulate critically developed findings and conclusions in a written document, suitable to either a dissertation or applied project which is informed by precise academic writing standards, and justify conclusions by reference to evaluated evidence gathered and presented in the document
Demonstrate time, information and project management skills.
Teaching and Learning Strategies
Students will be allocated a supervisor for their dissertation or applied project. Learners will undertake guided independent study and expected to complete a detailed research project concluding in a written dissertation or applied project portfolio or similar.
Module Assessment Strategies
Students will work individually with their assigned dissertation or applied project supervisor and are expected to complete detailed research culminating in a written dissertation or applied project portfolio or similar.
Repeat Assessments
This module is reassessed solely on the basis of re-submitted coursework. There is no repeat written examination
Module Dependencies
Indicative Syllabus
The module requires students to undertake a piece of independent closely guided research or an applied project to investigate a problem and develop a solution in the law and/or business field. This module builds on work completed during the Research Methods module. This module allows students to apply the techniques taught in specialist subjects to an academic investigation of a topic of their choosing. The output of this module will be a dissertation or an applied project of at least 9,000 words. Students will also complete a short progress report (week 5) approx 500 words, and brief report on learning during the dissertation process (week 11) approx 500 words. Students will receive feedback throughout the writing process.
Dissertation or Applied Project
Literature Review
- Writing of a literature review & bibliography related to the proposed research objective
Research Instruments
- Examine various appropriate research methods
- Select and employ appropriate data collection techniques for information gathering
- Evaluate scope and scale and feasibility of the project
Results- Discussion and Analysis
- Presentation of findings/results
- Analysis and discussion of results
- Linking findings to the research question
Conclusions and Recommendations
- Development of conclusions and recommendations that could be derived from the research
Style, Content, Presentation and Formatting
- Professional presentation, content and style within an academic writing framework
- Overall appropriate presentation of a written document
Coursework & Assessment Breakdown
Coursework Assessment
Title | Type | Form | Percent | Week | Learning Outcomes Assessed | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Interim Review - short progress report | Project | Assignment | 5 % | Week 5 | 1,2 |
2 | Report on Engagement with Dissertation or Project Process | Project | Assignment | 5 % | Week 11 | 3,5 |
3 | Final Dissertation or applied project portfolio or similar | Project | Written Report/Essay | 90 % | End of Semester | 1,2,3,4,5 |
Full Time Mode Workload
Type | Location | Description | Hours | Frequency | Avg Workload |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tutorial | Not Specified | Supervision | 0.5 | Weekly | 0.50 |
Independent Learning | Not Specified | Independent research | 8 | Weekly | 8.00 |
Required & Recommended Book List
2017-01-18 Research Methods for Law Research Methods for the Arts and Humanities
ISBN 1474403212 ISBN-13 9781474403214
Introduces students to legalistic, theoretical, empirical, comparative and cross-disciplinary research methods, grounded in working examples. Drawing on actual research projects, Research Methods for Lawdiscusses how legal research as process impacts on research as product. The author team has a broad range of teaching and research experience in law, criminal justice and socio-legal studies, and give examples from real-life research products to illustrate the theory. New for this edition: a new chapter on inter- and cross-disciplinary research - essential reading for international students and students with a non-law first degree undertaking research in the areas of law, criminology, psychology and sociology; research ethics has been expanded to a full chapter that includes current plagiarism and imperfect disclosure; existing chapters have been brought up-to-date with the newest thinking in legal research.
2017-01-12 Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing Pearson
ISBN 0134559843 ISBN-13 9780134559841
The basics of legal research, analysis, and writing in a practical, relevant approach Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing gives students the essential knowledge and tools they need to research and analyze a legal problem and communicate the results in diverse forms of legal memoranda. Covering both traditional and free Internet research, the book's practical, relevant approach provides a number of outstanding teaching and learning aids, among them short memos with hypothetical factual situations for students to research, research and writing exercises and assignments, writing examples and exercises, online research exercises, citation exercises, numerous sample pages and screenshots, legal research problems with answers, checklists for research and writing, and an Instructor's Manual. The Sixth Edition updates and expands many of the examples and exercises used throughout the text to give students the latest information available.
2009 Research Methods for Business Students Pearson Education
ISBN 0273716867 ISBN-13 9780273716860
Brings the theory, philosophy and techniques of research to life and enables students to understand the relevance of the research methods. This book helps you learn from worked examples and case studies based on real student research, illustrating what to do and what not to do in your project.
2014-08-01 Doing Your Research Project: A Guide For First-Time Researchers McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
ISBN 9780335264469 ISBN-13 0335264468
Doing your Research Project is the market leading book for students across the social sciences conducting small scale research projects.
Module Resources
Judith Bell 2014 Doing Your Research Project: A Guide For First-Time Researchers Open University Press
John W. Creswell 2013 Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 4th Edition SAGE Publications, Inc
Alan Bryman 2012 Social Research Methods, 4th Edition Oxford University Press
Joseph A. Maxwell 2012 Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (Applied Social Research Methods) SAGE Publications, Inc
www.itsligo.ie - Library
Workshops in library research skills can be made available during the term.
Additional workshops can be provided for more technical knowledge in data analysis and relevant software packages where necessary.