LWMRRM: Research Methods (Advanced)

Module code: LWMRRM

Module provider: School of Law

Credits: 40

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Professor Aleardo Zanghellini, email: a.zanghellini@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded: IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE LWMTLM (Compulsory)

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to support specifically PhD and MRes students in designing, refining and executing their research projects. 

It aims to assist students in the formulation and/or refining of a research question appropriate to their chosen area of study and to develop the methodological and other skills and knowledge necessary to plan and execute an academic research programme within the time and resources available. The module covers both methods of data collection and different theoretical frameworks to orient data analysis. Students will learn what is distinctive about law as an academic discipline, and about its methods of research, as well as how legal research relates to, and may be combined with, other disciplinary perspectives and their methods. This includes, but is not limited to, empirical social science. Emphasis is placed on the connection between choice of research questions and choice of research methods. The relationship between ideological and methodological commitments in academic research will be examined. Students will also acquire criteria for critically assessing legal scholarship. The module includes important practical components: it is designed to foster the practical, generic and personal transferable skills necessary to conduct independent research and it provides practical assistance for students in developing skills in using the internet, electronic library resources, and other documentary sources for undertaking research. 

For MRes students (or LLM students choosing the module in lieu of LWMTLM): In addition to supporting students in designing and executing their Masters dissertation, the module also aims to assist them in producing a high-quality doctoral research proposal that they will be able to use when seeking admission into a PhD programme, and when applying for funding for future doctoral studies. Additionally, it aims to facilitate the integration of Masters students into Reading Law School’s PG Research student community, in the event that they choose to pursue doctoral studies at Reading. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Formulate appropriate research questions and aims, and; select the research methods appropriate to the collection and analysis of data or evidence relating to their research question
2. Embark upon the work necessary for their dissertations, including by addressing any ethical issue, presenting and defending their research projects in a lucid and informative way both in writing and orally, and demonstrating knowledge in their area of proposed research, as well as ability to critically engage with the existing literature
3. Understand a range of relevant research methods, theoretical frameworks, and genres of academic legal writing
4. Design a quality PhD proposal for further study (Masters students)

Module content

The module content includes: 

• Research questions and research goals. 
• Planning and executing a PGT and PGR academic research project. 
• Expectations and management of supervisor-supervisee relationship. 
• Legal research (database and library training).  
• Distinctiveness of law as a discipline and of legal research methods. 
• Criteria for critically assessing legal scholarship.  
• Methods of data collection, methods of data analysis, and theoretical frameworks guiding them (this is the core of the module). 
• A number of sessions will be devoted to student presentations of their research, including peer feedback on the project presented. 
• Some sessions will be devoted to workshopping student questions. 
• For Masters students, the module will also involve one-to-one guidance in developing a PhD proposal for further PG study. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be delivered primarily through a series of weekly seminars. The seminars explore a variety of issues related to the process of research design and execution, the nature of law and legal writing, and a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to legal research.  

Sessions will be held in which students’ research questions for their Masters or PhD dissertation will be workshopped. This is to assist students in formulating focused and feasible questions for their dissertations.  

Sessions will be held in which students will be required to present their research projects to their peers.  

In addition to other coursework relating to their Master-level dissertation, Masters students on the module are required to produce a PhD proposal: to this end, they will receive one-to-one guidance by an academic who has expertise in the area into which the student’s proposed PhD topic falls. These may be a member of staff or a PhD student acting as a mentor. 

Study hours

At least 44 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve all of the following to pass this module:

1. A pass in the PhD proposal, it is assessed on a pass/fail basis. 
2. An overall module mark of 50%

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students will be given an opportunity to discuss their dissertation topics/questions during dedicated sessions. Instructor and peer feedback will be provided, with concrete suggestions on ways in which the questions may be sharpened or otherwise improved. This will directly benefit students in preparing their first written coursework assessment, where they are expected to submit a research plan stating, among other things, their dissertation research question.  

For Masters students, their PhD proposal will go through different incarnations before it is submitted in its final form. Students will receive feedback on at least two drafts, as well as on the final submitted version. The proposal does not contribute to the final overall mark, but is assessed on a pass/fail basis and is a prerequisite for successfully completing the course. 

All assessment items are formative for PhD students, who do not take the module for credits.

Reassessment

Additional costs