Gender and Sexuality Studies Dissertation

• Credit value: 60 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Professor Sarah Lamble
• Assessment: a 1000-1250-word research proposal (10%) and 14,000-15,000-word dissertation (90%)

In this module you will have the opportunity to study in depth a topic that may not have been covered directly by the course. You will be encouraged to develop and use appropriate research skills, including formulating a problem and working on it over a period of time. You will also learn how academic knowledge is produced and have the opportunity to carry out your own independent research in a relevant area, under the supervision of an academic team member.

Indicative syllabus

• Introduction to gender and sexuality dissertation research
• Identifying a research topic
• From ideas to questions
• Writing the research proposal
• Ethics: principles and practice
• Finding sources and developing your literature review
• Feminist and queer research methods
• Building your argument/Developing a structure
• Reorganising, revising and editing drafts
• Student presentations/Dissertation workshops

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• identify a suitable topic for master’s-level research in gender and sexuality studies
• complete a literature review on the chosen topic and develop appropriate research question(s), aim(s) and objective(s)
• develop a research proposal, considering the appropriate scope, methods, ethics, resources and analytical approaches necessary to carry out the research
• independently develop and acquire new skills and knowledge to conduct research
• assess/evaluate the research findings using critical and reflexive approaches
• develop a clear and coherent answer to the research question(s)
• structure and write a master’s-level dissertation in gender and sexuality studies.