Prof Chetan Bhatt STC S107 and Dr Sara Salem STC S218

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Human Rights and Politics. This course is not available as an outside option.

Dissertation workshops aim to help you to begin the process of writing your dissertation, develop your ideas further, and learn about a range of research methods and techniques. During MT, an extended seminar aims to get students thinking about research on Human Rights and Politics and how to identify a strong research problem. In Lent Term, dissertation workshops will cover a range of areas, including the structure of a dissertation, ethical and practical issues in research, refining your research problem, deciding on research methods, analysing data, and writing the dissertation.  The workshops will aim to give tailored guidance on proposed research questions in small groups with fellow students who are working on similar topics. The MSc in Human Rights and Politics takes a pluralist approach towards research methods and does not seek to prescribe any particular theories or methods.

2 hours of lectures in the MT. 3 hours of seminars in the LT. 2 hours of seminars in the ST.

These seminars are for students on the MSc Human Rights and Politics only.

In addition to the above teaching, there will be two sessions during MT for ALL MSc students based in the Sociology department. These will be offered in conjunction with LSE Life and LSE Library and provide basic guidance about planning your dissertation, such as selecting a suitable topic, designing the research and reviewing the existing literature.

Teaching arrangements may be adjusted if online teaching is required at any point.

Students will be required to submit a provisional dissertation title in MT, plus an extended dissertation statement in LT.

Seale, C. (2018), Researching Society and Culture (Fourth Edition), Sage.

Dissertation (100%, 10000 words) in August.

Two hard copies of the dissertation, with submission sheets attached to each, to be handed in to the Sociology Hub, STC.S116, no later than 4.00pm on Thursday 17th August 2023. An additional copy to be uploaded to Moodle no later than 4.00pm on the same day.

Both hard copies and electronic copies must be submitted on time to avoid any late submission penalties.

Dissertations may be up to and no more than 10,000 words, must be word-processed and be fully referenced using a recognised citation system.

Attendance at all workshops and submission of all set coursework is required.