Last modified: 23 Jul 2024 11:07
This course acquaints students with the practical, methodological and theoretical issues involved in anthropological research. It is particularly useful for students planning a fieldwork-based dissertation. The course focuses on methodological approaches and the relation between fieldwork experience and ethnographic production. It is taught through lectures, tutorials, class discussions and practical workshops, and covers research planning, fieldwork techniques and ethnographic interpretation.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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This is a core course for Anthropology single honours students and an option for joint honours students. It provides essential training and preparation for conducting ethnographic fieldwork as part of dissertation research. It offers a broad, integrated and up-to-date introduction to the area of ethnographic methods, including ethics, and focuses on how to design a self-directed research project. By the end of the course, you will be assigned a supervisor for your dissertation, and you will have written a full proposal for your research which lays out your topic, your methods, your research questions, and your review of the literature. You will also fill out obligatory ethics and risk assessments.
The School of Social Science understands that the labour market is intensely competitive and is committed to helping you improve your employability through its taught curriculum during your time with the School. All employers, no matter the sector, are looking for graduates who are flexible, able to take the initiative, adaptable to different environments and with the ability to work alongside others to solve problems. To this end, you will find in this course description, a list of the generic employability skills this course develops through its teaching methodologies and the assessments you undertake, which are transferable to employment settings.
The course will run as a combination of lectures, tutorials, practical workshops and informal discussions. Each week will address a different element of ethnographic practice and focus on the changing dynamics of ethnographic research. Among the topics covered will be research design, research ethics, participant observation, online ethnography and interviewing. Workshops will cover issues such as taking fieldnotes, embodied skills and conducting interviews. From an early stage in the course, students will be encouraged to identify a topic for their fieldwork-based dissertation and will be assigned a supervisor on the basis of that topic. As the course progresses, they will gain practical experience of research methods, and will be guided through the different stages of research design, which will culminate in the production of a dissertation research proposal, with linked risk and ethics assessments.
This course will develop generic employment skills in the following areas:
Ethics, diversity and sustainability
Critical Thinking
Interpersonal skills
Adaptability
Planning and design
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 43 | Feedback Weeks | 46 | |
| Feedback |
Word Count: 4,000 Detailed research proposal for dissertation project. Written feedback will be provided by one of the course coordinators and oral feedback will be available from the student’s supervisor. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Evaluate | Students will learn how to conduct a literature search and write a literature review. |
| Procedural | Understand | Students will gain an understanding of the ethical issues raised by anthropological research. |
| Reflection | Create | Students will learn how to formulate viable anthropological research questions. |
| Reflection | Create | Students will learn how to design an anthropological research project. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 31 | Feedback Weeks | 34 | |
| Feedback |
Essay on issues in anthropological research methods Titles will be given in the course guide. Written feedback will be provided on MyAberdeen. Oral feedback will be available from the course coordinators on request. |
Word Count | 1500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students will become familiar with the main developments and key debates that have emerged in the practice of anthropological research. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Students will gain a broad, integrated and up-to-date introduction to ethnographic research methods. |
| Procedural | Understand | Students will gain an understanding of the ethical issues raised by anthropological research. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 34 | Feedback Weeks | 37 | |
| Feedback |
Word Count: 600-1,000 Early-stage outline of the dissertation research. Feedback will be given on MyAberdeen and oral feedback will be available from one of the course coordinators. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Reflection | Create | Students will learn how to design an anthropological research project. |
| Reflection | Create | Students will learn how to formulate viable anthropological research questions. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 29 | Feedback Weeks | 31 | |
| Feedback |
Word Count: 300 Initial statement of proposed dissertation project Feedback will be given on MyAberdeen and oral feedback will be available from one of the course coordinators. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Reflection | Create | Students will learn how to formulate viable anthropological research questions. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 15 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 39 | Feedback Weeks | 41 | |
| Feedback |
Duration: 10 minutes Instructions will be given in the course guide. Feedback will be provided through MyAberdeen and oral feedback will be available from the course coordinators, if requested. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Apply | Students will gain practical experience in the skills involved in anthropological research. |
| Procedural | Understand | Students will gain an understanding of the ethical issues raised by anthropological research. |
| Assessment Type | Formative | Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 35 | Feedback Weeks | 39 | |
| Feedback |
Ethical approval form for dissertation project and statement of safety considerations. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Understand | Students will gain an understanding of the ethical issues raised by anthropological research. |
| Reflection | Create | Students will learn how to design an anthropological research project. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 49 | Feedback Weeks | 51 | |
| Feedback |
Detailed research proposal for dissertation project
(If the proposal is already passed, but other elements of the assessment are missing/failed) |
Word Count | 1500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 49 | Feedback Weeks | 51 | |
| Feedback |
Detailed research proposal for dissertation project. Written feedback will be provided by one of the course coordinators and oral feedback will be available from the student’s supervisor. |
|||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
|
|
||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Students will gain a broad, integrated and up-to-date introduction to ethnographic research methods. |
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students will become familiar with the main developments and key debates that have emerged in the practice of anthropological research. |
| Procedural | Understand | Students will gain an understanding of the ethical issues raised by anthropological research. |
| Procedural | Apply | Students will gain practical experience in the skills involved in anthropological research. |
| Reflection | Create | Students will learn how to formulate viable anthropological research questions. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Students will learn how to conduct a literature search and write a literature review. |
| Reflection | Create | Students will learn how to design an anthropological research project. |
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