All DESTIN staff

Compulsory for MSc Development Studies, MSc Development Studies (Research) and MSc Development Management.

Students will design a detailed research proposal towards the dissertation on a topic within Development Studies/Management. This will be conducted under the supervision of a member of the DESTIN staff, through individual tutorials. The student research proposals will form the basis for discussion in dissertation workshops and tutorials held during the ST.

The research proposal will identify a key question for investigation, the theoretical and methodological framework to be employed in the work and a justification for why the topic is theoretically and empirically important, with reference to the literature. A tentative outline and preliminary bibliography will be included. Students will present their proposals for debate and discussion in dissertation workshops.

Students will attend individual tutorial sessions with supervisors during MT and LT to identify a research topic and to design research proposals, which must be approved by the supervisor. There will be one two-hour lecture on dissertation preparation at the end of the LT prior to the submission of proposals at the beginning of the ST. Proposals will be evaluated, commented upon and approved by staff. Students will present their research proposals during dissertation workshops  to be held in the ST.

Students will submit a research proposal of not more than 2,000 words at the start of ST. This will be evaluated, commented upon and must be approved before proceeding to write the dissertation. Students will submit a dissertation of not more than 10,000 words by 4pm on Thursday 27 August.