EDUC59030: THESIS PROPOSAL

• EDUC 41930 Engaging with Interpretive Research Design EDUC 42030 Analysis & Evaluation of Educational Research

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• To facilitate the satisfactory development of a workable proposal for a thesis.

• The focus of the module is on development of a thesis proposal in the form of an assignment prior to writing the Ed.D. thesis. The elements of a thesis are introduced. These include key themes such as understanding how to use theory to inform research, different ways of conducting research, theoretical and practical issues related to research design, theoretical and practical issues related to analysing data/information. Students will be asked to consider a line of research they are interested in, examine the research groups in the School of Education (SoE) and consider matching their interests to the strengths in the SoE. Ideas are taken to the Thesis Co-ordinator who will link the student to a supervisor. The student will work with the supervisor to produce a viable line of research. This proposal will be the basis of the 5,000-word assignment.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of the module, students will be able to:
• Identify a feasible research project.
• Have a theoretical basis for their thesis topic.
• Have a theoretical understanding of research methods.
• Be aware of practical issues underpinning their and research in general e.g. ethics, sample sizes, administration.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Devise/propose a research design incorporating appropriate research methodology.

Key Skills:

• The critical ability to work on ideas and issues independently.
• The critical ability to present complex ideas succinctly and coherently in writing.

• In terms of teaching, students will be introduced to issues relating to conducting a thesis in a one-day formal taught session. In terms of contact support, students will liaise with their supervisor and Thesis Co-ordinator throughout the taught and thesis phase of the Ed.D. In terms of documentation, students can access a thesis proposal and dissertation site on DUO. Students will produce a summary of their proposal during the taught phase of their programme and will produce a final 5,000-word summative assignment incorporating features of the module objectives. The assignment is assessed on a pass/fail basis
• Typical supervision will be approximately 6 hours of contact time with a variety of staff, e.g. potential supervisors, Thesis co-ordinator.

This assessment is ongoing via feedback from supervisors on potential proposals for the thesis. Each version of a research proposal will be discussed with the supervisor who will give written and/or verbal feedback.

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