Prof Francine Tonkiss STC S114 and Dr Claire Moon STC S109

This course is compulsory on the BSc in Sociology. This course is not available as an outside option nor to General Course students.

The project is to be in the form of an essay on a sociological topic to be approved by the Department of Sociology. The purpose is to allow the student to study in depth an interest of his or her own choosing. Many approaches are possible in the work for the Dissertation, but there are three main variants: original fieldwork, secondary analysis, and literature review.

Selection of topic

The topic must be within the general field of sociology and should fall within the range of competence of a member of the staff, normally a member of the Sociology Department. However, it need not be chosen from those areas of sociology which are at present taught within the Department. Students may follow up a theme suggested to them by their coursework, but the topic must allow the material and arguments to be developed in greater depth than is possible in the lectures and seminars for the course.

Arrangements for supervision

The Dissertation Workshop meets formally during the first and second terms. Students should consult their academic advisors throughout the year in order to self-assess progress and resolve general issues related to their projects. The role of the academic advisor is not to give detailed instruction, but to suggest ways of tackling or limiting a topic, lines of enquiry and preliminary reading; their suggestions are not intended to be seen as exhaustive or definitive. How far the student can use and develop the help that he or she is given is, to a large extent, what the examination of the essay is concerned with. The third year academic advisor should not help with planning or writing the essay in detail, but may read and comment critically on an outline or a draft section if the student submits one.

15 hours of seminars in the MT. 15 hours of seminars in the LT.

Reading weeks: week 6 MT and week 6 LT.

One coursework submission each term is a course requirement.

Research project (90%) in the ST.
Presentation (10%) in the MT.

Assessment Particulars:

Two hard copies of the 10,000 word dissertation must be submitted to the Sociology Administration Office, Room S116, by 4.30pm on the second Thursday of ST, with a third copy posted to Moodle by 18:00 on the same day. Accidental loss of data or text on a computer will not be accepted as a reason for non-submission.