Social Research (Economic and Social History) – (M.A.)

Contents

Students follow three strands in the taught elements of the course. Strand A introduces students to the generic social science and historical skills needed to undertake a significant research project. Strand B introduces students to specific quantitative and qualitative skills required to conduct a successful piece of research. And strand C enables students to debate the major theoretical and methodological issues facing a historian of their period.

Programme and Module Details

Strand A. Research methods and sources trainingFoundations of Social Research (20 credits)

Introduces all social science student to some of the key issues in conducting research: epistemological and ontological issues; literature reviews; research questions and hypotheses; research design; the research process; role of theory; quantitative and qualitative research; communication and relevance; ethical and political issues. The module is assessed by a 3,000 word assignment that outlines the student's proposed research topic in the form of a research proposal, which requires the student to reflect on all the issues raised in the course.

Research Skills in History (20 credits)

Students are introduced to information retrieval skills through archival source guides (e.g., the PRO) and internet and other IT-based search facilities. Students are then guided through the primary and secondary sources, and the methods required to study these, by various specialists within the department (e.g., oral history, visual culture, census data, ecclesiastical records, etc). This course is assessed by the production of a research bibliography, while a literature review will be required discussing the most relevant methodology. This will, of course, feed directly into and prepare students for the dissertation.

Strand B. Social research skills training

Quantitative Methods (10 + 10 credits)

A basic course in the first term ensures that students have a conceptual understanding of the role of data analysis in social research, are confident in the application of methods to relevant data and can appreciate that quantitative methods are an important tool alongside others in the development of a social research project. Students will be introduced to SPSS and this will be used to complement the statistical teaching. An advanced skills course in the second term will develop out of the data sets of the students, as they will be taught to discuss the relevant statistical methods and computer packages to be used in their research.

Qualitative Skills (10 + 10 credits)

As with quantitative skills, a basic level course in the first semester introduces students to such topics as key theories and concepts, sampling, ethical issues, interviewing, focus groups, qualitative documentary data and the presentation (written and oral) of qualitative research. An advanced course will demonstrate the ways in which qualitative research methodologies are (re)negotiated in practice, particularly in relation to the student's own research project. Short assignments, group work and an essay will be used to assess the student's ability to design a research project, understand and select appropriate methodologies, conduct exploratory research and present the findings. In the second term, an assessed research plan will test the suitability of the choice of research data and the methods used to analyse it.

Strand C. Historical Methods and Training

Historical Methods (20 credits)

This introduces students to the major intellectual debates in the development of the subject: e.g., history `from below´; the Annales school, Marxist approaches; gender; the new cultural history, etc. It is a core course taken by all students on the graduate training programmes in the Departments of Medieval and Modern History.

Optional unit (20 credits)

In the second term, students choose from one of (subject to availability):

Medieval Studies Research: Theories and Practices

The aims to enable students to understand and discuss current theoretical positions adopted by medievalists from a variety of disciplines and also to understand and discuss how these theories and methodologies offer different approaches to reading and interpreting materials from the past. In about half of the seminars, students discuss selected theorised writing on medieval studies, and in the remaining weeks they discuss ways of interpreting medieval primary sources (a variety of examples are chosen). Early Modern Research: Theories and Practices

The aim of to enable graduate students and staff from different departments to explore the frameworks for historical research, c. 1400-1650, focussing on interpretations and sources peculiar to the early modern period, in particular early modern printed texts. The inter-disciplinary nature of this course makes it particularly suitable as an introduction to the skills needed to read texts written in the particular religious climate of the period while it broad base ensures exposure to many aspect of early modern culture, for example material culture.

Nation State and Nationalism in Modern Europe

Focuses on how and why the nation-state has come to be viewed as the normal form of political organization in Europe. Consideration will be given to such themes as the formation of the nation-state; changing ideas of citizenship; the development of national economies, institutions and cultures; the impact of total war, the welfare state and European integration on the nation-state.

Approaches to Twentieth Century British History

This focuses on the different approaches to 20th Century British History and includes such topics as states and nations, class and social structure, economy and finance, the market and society and gender. Broad introductory classes on each of these subjects are then followed by specific analyses of either a conceptual problem or an issue concerning a primary source.

Dissertation

You will research and write a 12,000 word dissertation on a subject of your choosing. This is an ongoing process during the entire period of the academic session under the specialist supervision of a member of staff. The process of subject choice begins right at the beginning of the course in consultation with the course director who also acts as personal tutor. You´ll be made aware of the early issues involved in research design in the general Social Research course. By November, the topic will be focussed to a degree sufficient to appoint a supervisor.

Topics are further refined through formal regular meetings with the supervisor in the first two terms, which will follow a timetable set out on a progress log written at the end of the first term. You´re also encouraged to engage in informal discussion with the separate unit teachers. In May the Year Review Panel attends the student's research proposal presentation to provide feedback on his or her progress and to digest the comments made by other staff and research students.