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THE GRADUATE
SCHOOL
STUDENT MANUAL 2014/2015
POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE / DIPLOMA /
MASTER OF RESEARCH (MRes)
IN
RESEARCH METHODS FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
The Graduate School
University of Bradford
[email protected]
01274 – 236552
CONTACTS IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
Welcome from the Staff of The Graduate School
We are happy to welcome you to your programme of postgraduate study at the University of Bradford,
which includes modules in The Graduate School. In this Manual we offer a summary of the year’s teaching;
instructions on submitting assessed work and advice on how it is marked; and regulations for the various
awards that form part of the MRes programme. These regulations are correct as of the date of printing
(Summer 2013) but are subject to revision and updating. We will alert you to changes either in class, by
email or through Blackboard (the University’s web-based learning platform)
This manual covers all students undertaking the PG Certificate, the PG Diploma and the MRes. Please note
that there are some differences in the arrangements for the different programmes generally determined
by whether you are studying on the Distance Learning programme or as an on-site student. The
timetable, submission dates, modes of attendance and teaching delivery will vary accordingly. Please
make sure that you are looking at the correct information for your mode of registration.
You will find it useful to use this Manual as an introduction to your coursework modules. You will also
have another manual or handbook from your ‘home department’ if you are registered for a PhD (or MPhil
leading to PhD) in another School. If this is the case, you also need to communicate regularly with your
Departmental contacts (your supervisors and your postgraduate secretary). As well as our own Graduate
School students, we take students from Peace Studies, the Department of Development and Economic
Studies (DES), Social Sciences and Humanities, the School of Health Studies, the School of Management,
and others, so you will find yourself in a multi-disciplinary class.
We are a multicultural, cross-disciplinary, international community of scholars. Students register with us
as either On-site or Distance Learners, and collectively this means you belong to a large cohort of around
60+ new students this year. We advocate the practical application of knowledge as well as the
development of new knowledge through research. The University has among its aims celebrating
diversity, which we do by respecting the needs of diverse students and the various cultural networks into
which they are linked; and challenging inequality. In The Graduate School attention is paid to links
between the curriculum and the wider issues of diversity and inequality in society at large. This is inherent
in your research training, through which you will be encouraged to develop in ways that allow you to
recognise and address the needs of a wide range of people and groups. Without such skills, you will be a
researcher of limited scope. We welcome your input and suggestions on these matters.
During your attendance at classes you will meet fellow students from all over the world, and probably
make some lifelong friends. In the past we have taught researchers from the rest of Europe, USA, Canada,
South America, Australasia, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Far East, as well as UK
students. We hope you will make the most of this wide range of cultures and research interests. We value
the enrichment that all of our students bring to The Graduate School.
Please remember that students have a variety of registrations with The Graduate School. Around two
thirds of our students are registered for full time study, with the remainder being part-time, in the sense
that it will take at least two academic years to complete the taught modules. There is also a mode of
registration known as ‘credit accumulation’ in which people take longer to finish all the modules. Most of
you will complete The Graduate School modules in around 12 - 15 months (including Modules 5 and 6
which are completed with your PhD supervisors where this is appropriate). Please also appreciate that not
everyone begins completes modules in the same order. When you meet your fellow students, do not
become confused by this! Students take the modules in the order and time frame that is appropriate to
their time of registration, or by arrangement with their department, so there is nothing wrong if your
colleagues are taking a pathway that is not quite the same as yours. In particular, students from the
School of Management’s PhD programme should note that they will undertake SoM versions of Modules 5
and 6, rather than the generic Graduate School versions.
Whilst the majority of our students are studying for the PG Diploma in Research Methods as part of their
PhD studies, it may be possible to add a dissertation to the Diploma at some point in the future, and to
upgrade the Diploma to a Masters degree. This is not automatic, is subject to a number of conditions, and
is normally considered after you have completed your PhD, but only where visa regulations permit if you
are an international student. Details about this are provided later in this Manual. All masters degrees and
doctoral degrees include the writing of a thesis or dissertation, whereas the Certificate and Diploma
awards take students up to a level just preceding the undertaking of such a large project.
You can find out more about us at our webpage:
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/graduate-school/
Name
Dr Judi Sture
Head, Graduate School
Full Time
Ian Fouweather
Course Leader, Module 3 Leader
Part Time
Dr Inna Kochetkova
Module 1 Leader and Module 2
Leader
Part Time
Dr Mansour Pourmehdi
Module 4 Leader
Part Time
Sandra Hall
School Co-ordinator
Full Time
Extension
6567
Email
[email protected]
6566
[email protected]
5982
[email protected]
3195
[email protected]
6552
[email protected]
The majority of The Graduate School’s academic staff work part-time in the School. We keep some
working hours each week in The Graduate School offices, or our own offices elsewhere on campus, for
you to visit for advice and support. Each of us announces our own hours of availability to students at the
beginning of the academic year, so you can make appointments to see us if necessary.
We understand that arranging appointments with us, with your ‘home department’ supervisor (if you are
a PhD student) and with other people, can be awkward, but we appreciate your patience in co-ordinating
this. We always endeavour to do our best for you, but please be patient with us as we have large numbers
of students to deal with, especially during block teaching weeks when all our distance learning students
will be on campus as well as on site students. It is not always possible to see you at short notice, but we
will do our best. If you have any concerns that you wish to speak to us about, please email the tutor
concerned. A copy to Sandra Hall will also allow her to alert you if a colleague is away or otherwise
unavailable.
You will submit your work through Blackboard and the Turn-It-In system. You will be shown how to do
this at the beginning of your studies. We do not accept work submitted through any other means, unless
you have an extension that has been agreed at least 72 hours in advance of the stipulated deadline (i.e.
by the Friday morning preceding the Sunday night submission deadline) and unless you have arranged a
different submission method with one of us in writing. Your work should be submitted as a Microsoft
Word document (although it may contain inserts from other programmes such as databases,
spreadsheets and so on) or a pdf file. (See later section on Plagiarism on pages 20-21).
The Hub (Student Administration and Support) is located in the Richmond Building. You will probably
have had contact with The Hub during your University application or registration process, or through
enquiries about visa or fees issues.
If you have any queries over your fees or registration with the University, you can email The Hub at: [email protected] . You could try phoning them on ext 5141 or 3051, where one of the team will
try to help you, but we recommend email.
PLEASE NOTE that The Hub HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE GRADUATE SCHOOL MODULES. If you need to
speak to anyone about the modules, classes, or assignments, you should contact one of the tutors
mentioned above.
At The University of Bradford
The University has some special provision for international students, which you can find on the University
website at: http://www.brad.ac.uk/international. For all students, whether international or not, the
Students’ Union is also available for advice and help, and you can find them on the student services web
site http://www.ubuonline.co.uk/.
There are also pages about personal safety at: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/student/safety-and-security/
A variety of services for students are provided on the main campus and you can take advantage of many
of these when you are in Bradford. Services available to students are described at
http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/student-engagement/
The refurbished University has recently re-opened Sports Centre and is now known as Unique Fitness and
Lifestyle. Full details of all the facilities available can be found at: be found at
http://www.brad.ac.uk/unique/
TEACHING ARRANGEMENTS
Important Note
From the first day of a teaching Semester, (this may not be the first day of teaching itself), you have a
period of four weeks during which you can withdraw from, or defer your registration from, a module.
After this, if you do not submit work for the module, you will automatically receive a mark of 0 for the
module (for non- or late-submission) and any subsequent submission at a future date will count as a
resubmission. This is a University regulation.
The delivery of modules is different in each of the two semesters. Semester 1 sees the delivery of the
modules Foundations of Social Research (Module 1) and Philosophy of Research (Module 3). Semester 2
sees delivery of Research Design and Data Generation (Module 2) and Data Analysis (Module 4).
We require you to sign a class list during each teaching session so that we can track which sessions (and
therefore which teaching) you have accessed. This is not to keep track of you, but it enables us to check on
how much you engaged with the teaching if you don’t perform as well as you hoped in your assignments.
In addition, when your supervisors are concerned about your progress, we can share the class attendance
records with them. This is also a useful way for us to identify if you are having problems with attendance
that we may be able to help you with.
You are expected to arrive at classes on time. The register will be closed after 10 minutes and no further
admissions will be allowed after this unless by prior arrangement.
Details of the teaching schedules for this Academic Year are provided in the Appendices A and B.
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING
All modules are assessed by the submission of a number of written assignments. Typically you will be
asked to complete two pieces of work per module, with a total of around 5,000 words. This may vary but
the Module leaders will elaborate on the requirements for each module.
Submission dates
You will be informed of all the submission deadlines at the start of teaching for each module you are
taking. The dates will also be available on each Blackboard (module that you are registered on. If you are
in any doubt please contact your module tutor or Sandra Hall.
.
All submission days are usually SUNDAY night (23.59hrs) unless otherwise stated. The deadline for
submissions is 23:59 on the date indicated via Blackboard. Normally submissions can be posted at
anytime in the two weeks prior to the deadline.
All work must be submitted into the Blackboard system by or before the submission deadline. This means
that the “deadline” is just that – the last possible time for you to submit work. You can submit completed
work days or weeks in advance of the deadline if you are satisfied with the quality of your work at that
time. Any submissions shown on the system as having been submitted later than the deadline, even
minutes later, without an extension having been agreed prior to the submission deadline, will not be
accepted and will be given a mark of 0. This is because you have a long lead-in time to all Graduate
School assignments with plenty of opportunity to plan your work schedule and to contact us about
extensions for unforeseen problems.
Please note that the deadline is simply that – a deadline. It is not a submission date in the sense that you
must submit at that time. You can submit in advance of this date – and we recommend that you do so in
order to avoid delays and unexpected computer problems.
It is YOUR responsibility to access Blackboard. If for any reason your personal internet connection is
unavailable, you must find an alternative. There are numerous computers on campus that can be used for
this purpose. If for any reason you are unable to access Blackboard to submit an assignment you should
send the Module Leader an email, explaining the problem and attaching a copy of your submission. If
circumstances prevent this, you should ring the Graduate School at the first possible opportunity.
However, given the long lead-in to submissions, we expect you to submit early enough to allow for
computer failures, IT problems and so on.
Important Note:
There is not a single deadline for submission of Modules 5 and 6. You must decide with your
department/supervisor when you will complete these modules but you should aim to do so by the end of
the second semester (or by the end of summer) if you are a full time student. We cannot process the
marks for these two modules (and have them awarded if successful) until we have received both the work
and the completed mark sheets from your department. The guidelines and up to date marking sheets for
these two modules are available on Blackboard and we encourage you to give these to your supervisor at
the earliest opportunity. In this way you will avoid them accidentally using the old forms, which we can no
longer accept. Your work and the completed marksheets can be sent to the Graduate School either by
your supervisors or by your PG secretary in your department/School. We encourage you to check with
your supervisors or PG secretaries that this has been done – it is easy for this to be forgotten and we
don’t want your progress to be held up by it. Once we have received your work and the completed and
signed marksheets, we will then put them before the subsequent Board of Examiners (usually in
November). Your work and the relevant mark sheets must reach us from your department two weeks
before the Board. The mark sheets must be the current version (available on Blackboard) or we will not
accept them.
Grading, feedback and awards
We will grade your work according to the details given below (see Statement on Double Consideration of
Marks [p.15]). We will send you (via email) feedback for each assignment. This will include written
feedback from one, or possibly two tutors, and a provisional mark. We will also include an assessment
grid for Modules 1 to 4, indicating how we graded your work against key assessment criteria. Copies of
the feedback and grade will also go to the postgraduate secretary in your home department if you are
studying for a PhD.
This mark will then be placed before the subsequent Assessment Committee in The Graduate School. The
Assessment Committee considers the marks of the whole cohort, and ratifies them if approved.
Occasionally the Assessment Committee may change a mark, or defer a decision on a provisional mark for
further investigation, but such cases are always governed by university processes to protect you and to be
fair and equitable to all students.
The Board of Examiners meeting follows the Assessment Committee and accepts the ratified marks. It
considers student progression. The Board of Examiners will take into consideration any accepted claims of
Extenuating Circumstances, and will recommend student progression through the course, and make
awards of modules or named awards. Once the decision has been made by the Board of Examiners, we
will write to you formally with the decision. That letter will tell you if your marks have been ratified, if you
are allowed to progress, and which modules or award you have been awarded. If you need to resubmit an
assignment, (having been awarded a fail or carriable fail grade) or failed to submit a piece of work, the
letter will give you the resubmission deadline. You are entitled to one resubmission of each piece of work.
ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
The purpose of the MRes programme (or any part of it) is to train you for a career in research. It is not the
purpose of the training simply to show you how to complete your own PhD. You are taking these
modules because you have chosen to register as a stand-alone student in The Graduate School specifically
to do them, or, your School requires you to complete them as part of your postgraduate studies.
The programme of study for which you are registered with The Graduate School leads, in its entirety, to
the degree of MRes. You are taking all or some of the modules on this programme, as part of your own
overall programme of study. Most of you are registered for the degree of PhD, (or MPhil leading to PhD)
and will not proceed to the MRes but simply take the Diploma, which consists of the first six modules of
the programme. Some of you are taking the PG Certificate only (comprising modules 1,2 and 4). You may
also find that some of your cohort are researchers who simply want to learn new skills in particular
subjects.
Over the years we have found that some students are slightly confused as to the nature and purpose of
the MRes programme. We want you to understand the purpose of doing these modules as part of your
doctoral studies (if this is relevant to you). The University set up The Graduate School, and the MRes
programme within it, to offer a generic research training that covers a range of research methodologies
and methods. We aim to produce well-rounded, informed and capable researchers with a broad
understanding of the research options available to them. We want you to be able to make informed
choices about methodological and method options available to you as a researcher. This means that you
will learn about some aspects of research which are of little interest to you now in terms of your own PhD.
For example, those of you who are carrying out largely qualitative research projects will usually have little
interest in statistics. Conversely, quantitative-oriented students may not have much interest in qualitative
approaches. Some students find this frustrating, as most people simply want to be shown how to do their
own research project. However, it is important to remember that this training will serve you as a
foundation for the rest of your research career. Just because you are not using a certain technique or
approach now does not mean that you will not need it later. Throughout your PhD you will engage with a
wide variety of literature on your subject and will come across studies conducted using different
methodological approaches to your own. In order to critically engage with such studies and position your
research in relation to a wider body of knowledge, you need to have a good understanding of various
methodologies.
Once you have grasped the nature and the wide range of the programme, it is also important to
remember that some modules will seem a little difficult to relate to your own work, even when we may
make reference to your own speciality. For example, many students find Module 4 (Data Analysis) quite
difficult to undertake. This is not because the contents are difficult, but simply because it is relatively hard
to grasp analysis techniques before you have even collected any of your own data. Trying to anticipate
problems when you have not even been ‘out there’ yet, is not easy. However, we do understand this, and
will do our best to help you. Many final year PhD students come to us and say “Now I get it!”, once they
have been out in the world and done it for real. So if some of it seems less than useful at first, don’t
despair.
We hope this helps you to understand the course, and explains clearly why you are doing it. We hope you
enjoy your studies with us, and look forward to working with you.
COMMITTEES OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
The following bodies meet regularly in The Graduate School. In addition, many students also have a
Student Representative in their Departments or home Schools.
The Social Sciences Course Team
The Staff-Student Liaison Committee
The Social Sciences Course Team (SSCT) is the course committee of the MRes programme in The Graduate
School. It is chaired by the Head of The Graduate School. The Director of PG Research from each School or
Department with students on the programme sits on the committee. The Graduate School tutors are also
on the committee.
Prof H Jalilian & Prof C Bluth
Dr C Wang
Prof Maryann Hardy
School of Social and International Studies
School of Management
School of Health Studies
Arrangements will be made for student representatives to sit on the Staff-Student Liaison Committee once
the first semester gets underway. We will speak to you in the first week of the year about electing student
representatives to sit on the committee. A Graduate School tutor will chair the Staff-Student Liaison
Committee and we are always open to comments and suggestions from all students about any concerns,
or questions which you may wish to raise. Any concerns about the course or specific work may be
addressed to the appropriate tutor. You may, of course, contact a tutor or the Head of The Graduate
School at any time with any concern or question that you may have.
Our academic staff
Dr Judi Sture is an anthropologist, trained in archaeology and biological anthropology. She has worked in
The Graduate School for several years and sits on the University’s Research Degrees Committee. She is a
Senior Lecturer in Research Methods. Her PhD (Durham) focussed on biological anthropology and
archaeology. Her research interests continue to be diverse. She is heavily involved in Ethics in Research,
sitting on the University’s Committee for Ethics in Research, the former Sub-Committee for Ethics
Involving Human Subjects, and a recent Working Group on Ethics. She is a member of the Bradford
Disarmament Research Centre (BDRC) and is a joint award holder in a Wellcome Trust-funded bioethics
project aiming to develop a framework to guide bioethical deliberations related to the dual-use problem
in biotechnology. She was recently awarded an ESRC grant to hold an international seminar in Bradford on
this topic and regularly attends the UN in Geneva with colleagues from the BDRC and contributes to
Meetings of Experts and Meetings of States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.
Currently she is funded by the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory to
work on international biosecurity education in the Middle East, North Africa and other regions of the
world. Other work involves the development of research training programmes across the region with
UKGrad, and publishing in this area. She is also currently on the Advisory Board of a major US-funded
healthcare project in Yemen, and has recently delivered biosecurity training for the Public Health Agency
of Canada. She works full time in The Graduate School.
Ian Fouweather is the MRes Course Leader. He also works as a Management Consultant, Business
Researcher and Lecturer in various aspects of Management. Research in both the commercial and
academic sectors is focussed on Knowledge Creation, Change Management and Process Management. He
has published research on Change, Supply Chain Management, the use of Internet Technologies, Virtual
Networks and the application of Statistical Process Control within industry. He has also published work on
teaching, eLearning and epistemology. Ian has particular interest in how knowledge is created and the
role of the “expert”. He has also read widely on epistemology, with a special interest in the philosophy of
science, the work of Karl Popper, early 20th Century Philosophers, and the philosophy of management
research. Current research interests include the Healthcare Sector, the effectiveness of post graduate
management education and the role of Whiteheadian Process Philosophy within management research.
He has lectured in various institutions including the University of Bradford, The University of New York
(Prague), and the Groupe Ecole Superieure de Commerce et de Management (Poitiers). Ian works part
time for The Graduate School.
Dr. Inna Kochetkova is a sociologist with a long standing interest in qualitative research methodology. Her
PhD research (University of York) ‘The intelligentsia myth in Post-Soviet Russia: the Sixtiers and others in
biographical discourse’ explored the narrative construction of identity by prominent Russian intellectuals.
While at York, she also worked at the Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) and contributed to two projects:
‘Carers aspirations and decisions around work and retirement’ (commissioned by DWP) and ‘Knowledge
review on outcomes focused services for older people and their carers’ (commissioned by SCIE). After
completing PhD she joined QUALITI – a Cardiff based node of the ESRC National Centre for Research
Methods. Working in the National Centre for Research Methods gave her a unique opportunity to be at
the forefront of new developments in qualitative research methodology. She undertook research on
various innovative projects (science, technology and medicine; education and social care). The projects
explored the relations between novel methodological approaches and innovation, integration and impact
of qualitative research. One project: Talking Treatments: Involving Citizens in Deliberations About
Innovative Medical Treatments explored the differences that exist between the views of various lay and
expert groups about innovative health technologies and investigated the extent to which these
differences can be reconciled through dialogue and interaction. Prior to coming to the UK she worked as a
senior marketing research consultant with GfK Rus, Moscow.
Dr Mansour Pourmehdi has taught both qualitative and quantitative research methods and data analysis
since 1999, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Other teaching has covered sociological
theory, and globalisation. He gained a Masters degree in Social Research Methods at the Centre for
Applied Social Research University of Manchester, and worked with many leading scholars notably
Professor Peter Halfpenny and Professor Wes Sharrock. His PhD thesis was about migration and refugees,
utilising a case study design. The thesis contended that existing theories of migration and refugees were
inadequate, as they were too externalistic and sacrifice the point of view of actors (migrant & refugees).
An attempt was made to lay the basic foundations for a new beginning in theorising migration and
refugees by going back to the roots of sociological theory. His current research interests include social
movements, globalisation, transnationalism and diaspora.
POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE / DIPLOMA / MRes
In Research Methods For The Social Sciences
Pathway Regulations
These regulations should be read in conjunction with the pathway diagram (See overleaf).They are based
on general University regulations for taught Masters degrees and any particulars not explicitly defined
below default to the University regulations.
Admission and Registration
Admission to the Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma/MRes may be on the basis either of a single
registration with The Graduate School or a dual registration in conjunction with an academic School (for
example, the School of Management, the School of Social and International Studies, the School of Health
Studies and so on). Single registration students (also known as stand alone students) study for the
Certificate, the Diploma or the MRes, depending on previous learning and achievement. Double
registration students are usually registered for the degree of PhD (or MPhil leading to PhD) in their
“home” school, and come to The Graduate School for their research training (the Diploma). Applicants for
single registration should normally possess a first degree (in the upper second or first class) or equivalent
qualification in a relevant area of the social sciences, management or humanities. Applications will be
judged in terms of the candidate’s previous knowledge and experience, and ability to benefit from the
training programmes offered.
For single registration in The Graduate School, admission will be either to the PG Certificate or Diploma in
the first instance, subject to the availability of supervision in the case of the Diploma. Registration may be
full-time, part-time or by credit accumulation, either on-site or in Distance Learning mode. The Graduate
School will only offer admission to the Diploma and MRes when it is satisfied that appropriate
arrangements have been made for supervision, if necessary by co-supervision with a member of another
academic School. Progression from the PG Diploma to MRes registration is conditional on a level of
attainment above the minimum required for the award of the PG Diploma, as specified below.
Dual registration is offered automatically to candidates admitted to the degree PhD (or, MPhil leading to
PhD) in an associated academic School or Department. Such research students are normally required to
complete the PG Diploma as a precondition of re-registration for the PhD. Dual registration may be fulltime or part-time, either on-site or in Distance Learning mode.
Prior Certificated or Experiential Learning (APL)
Candidates who have successfully completed certified research training courses at an appropriate level
elsewhere, or who have relevant work experience, may apply to import specific academic credit,
according to the University regulations in force at the date of admission. Usually we will not import more
than 20 credits-worth of prior awards. Application should be made, before registration or at the earliest
opportunity thereafter, to Ian Fouweather (Course Leader). Applications for the import of credit must
usually be agreed before registration becomes effective. Any student who believes that she/he has
appropriate prior learning should first raise the matter with her/his own department and prepare a case in
full for APL before approaching the Graduate School.
Applications for APL immediately prior to submission deadlines will not be considered. Unless there are
exceptional circumstances any request should be made at the time of registration (and no more than four
weeks after registration). University regulations do not permit that prior learning be used partially; i.e. to
replace part of a module or a single assessment activity. Unless your previous studies can be shown to
have covered all aspects of one of the Graduate School modules it is unlikely that it will be possible to gain
an exemption from completing that module (or any part of it).
PATHWAYS THROUGH THE PG CERT TO THE PG DIPLOMA AND MRES
Pathway A
Pathway B
Pathway C
Module 1
G
Module 2
G
Module 3
G
Module 4
G
Pathway D
Pathway E
Module 5
C
C
E
SS
C
Module 6
C
E
SS
SS
SS
Module 7
G
SS
KEY
G generic (Graduate School Modules & Gradate School marking/supervision)
C collaborative (Graduate School module with Graduate School and/or home supervision)
SS subject specific module & supervision
E elective modules (for example, from another course; may be two single modules or
one double).
C
Postgraduate Certificate
The course of study for the Postgraduate Certificate requires study of 60 credits at Level M consisting of
three core double modules of generic training in research methods. The diet for the PG Certificate consists
of Module 1, Module 2 and Module 4.
To qualify for the award of the Postgraduate Certificate, the graduate must comply with the above
requirements for study and achieve a pass grade (40 or above) in all three modules.
The Graduate School has a waiver from University assessment regulations in respect of the modules of the
PG Certificate. This means that students must pass all assessment activities of the PG Certificate with a
mark of 40 or above. Where a student has an overall module mark of over 40% but has failed an individual
activity, the student will not be deemed to have passed the module.
Postgraduate Diploma
The course of study for the Postgraduate Diploma requires study of 120 credits either all at Level M, or
with a maximum of 20 credits made up from elective modules at Level 3. There are several pathways to
the PG Diploma, as indicated on the diagram.
Pathway A requires study of 120 credits in The Graduate School consisting of six double modules in
research methods, the core generic modules (1-4) and the co-supervised modules (5-6).
Pathway B requires study of 100 credits in The Graduate School consisting of the core generic modules (14), the co-supervised Module 5, and 20 elective credits (one double module or two single modules)
selected
• either from subject-specific modules currently approved at Level M in a discipline
relevant to the social sciences, management or the humanities,
• or from currently approved Level 3 modules with a demonstrable skill component
(such as a language module).
Pathway C requires study of 80 credits in The Graduate School consisting of the core generic modules (14) and a further 40 credits, of which 20 elective credits (one double module or two single modules) may be
selected
• either from subject-specific or generic modules currently approved at Level M in a
discipline relevant to the social sciences, management or the humanities,
• or from currently approved Level 3 modules with a demonstrable skill component
(such as a language module);
and 20 credits must be selected from among subject-specific modules at Level M in a discipline relevant to
the social sciences, management or the humanities.
Pathway D requires study of 80 credits in The Graduate School consisting of the core generic modules (14) and a further 40 credits which must be selected from among 20-credit subject-specific modules at Level
M in a discipline relevant to the social sciences, management or the humanities.
Pathway E requires study of 80 credits in The Graduate School
consisting of the core generic modules (1-4) and a further 40 credits made up of the home-supervised GS
Module 5, and a subject-specific 20 credit module of M level standard. The GS Module 5 comprises the
preparation of a postgraduate-standard Research Proposal, a training exercise which some students
require.
To qualify for the award of the Postgraduate Diploma, the candidate must comply with the requirements
for one of the above pathways, passing all modules and elements within each module with a pass grade
(40 or above) for the modules, one, two and four. Under university regulations, students may carry one
module of 20 credits with a mark in the range of 35 – 39.9. In this case, that module could be Module
Three, Module Five or Module Six.
Degree of Master In Research Methods
Admission or progression to the degree of Master of Research Methods (MRes) is conditional on
attainment which would qualify the candidate for the award of the PG Diploma with at least 40 in
individual units amounting to 100 credits and a qualified fail (35-39.9) in the other 20 credits (including
imported credit where appropriate). In addition, the MRes requires the submission of a dissertation
equivalent to 60 credits which attains a mark of at least a pass (40).
Graduates following pathways A or B usually register for The Graduate School dissertation module
(GS0007Z) specializing in the methodology of research, although they may choose an alternative
appropriate dissertation by agreement with The Graduate School. Those following pathways C, D, or E
usually select a 60-credit dissertation module from those currently approved in the social sciences,
management or other suitable source; such a dissertation must be also agreed with The Graduate School.
All dissertation candidates may choose to request collaborative supervision if they wish, in which
supervision is shared between a member of Graduate School staff and a supervisor from the subject
specific area, subject to availability of Graduate School Staff.
A specialist MRes degree may be granted based on the specialist content of the Modules 5 and 6 as well as
on the dissertation. A specialist dissertation alone will not be sufficient to grant a specialist named MRes
degree. In such cases, the specialist title must be agreed before study for the dissertation commences.
Specialist titles are those in which the final award has a bracketed title after the MRes letters, for example,
MRes (Conflict Resolution) or MRes (Business and Management). Such specialist award titles depend on
the student having taken relevant specialist versions of Modules 5 and 6 as well as the specialist
dissertation. Such a dissertation would require supervision from within the relevant school, which may or
may not be shared with the Graduate School.
Marking and Awards
The Marking of Work
All work that is submitted for assessment before the stated deadline for submission will be given a mark
between 0 and 100%. In broad terms you can interpret the quality of the work from the mark you receive
as follows:
Mark
0 - 34%
35-39%
40-59%
60-69%
70-100%
Quality of Work
The work is not of the appropriate standard for a piece of Masters Level work and
represents a fail
The work is not quite of the appropriate standard for a piece of Masters Level
work and represents a marginal fail. You may be able to ‘carry’ the work, and earn
an award if your other work is stronger.
The work is satisfactory.
The work is good.
The work is very good.
For some international students, this marking scheme is worrying because it is lower than that employed
by many international academic traditions. If students are worried about their marks because they look to
be too low when compared with their marks in their home country, we can provide a letter to sponsors
explaining the Bradford system.
The majority of modules require the submission of more than one piece of assessed work. In these cases,
each piece of work will be marked separately and an overall module mark will be calculated based on the
relative weighting of each component.
Eligibility for Awards
PG Certificate
To be eligible for a Postgraduate Certificate, students must achieve at least 40.0% in two modules and at
least 35.0% in a third module.
Students who in completing the PG Certificate achieve an overall average of at least 68.0% shall be eligible
for the award of a Postgraduate Certificate with Distinction.
Students who in completing the PG Certificate achieve an overall average of at least 58.0% shall be eligible
for the award of a Postgraduate Certificate with Merit.
PG Diploma
To be eligible for a Postgraduate Diploma, students must achieve at least 40.0% in five modules and at
least 35.0% in a sixth module.
Students who in completing the PG Diploma achieve an overall average of at least 68.0% shall be eligible
for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction.
Students who in completing the PG Diploma achieve an overall average of at least 58.0% shall be eligible
for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma with Merit.
Master In Research Methods
To be eligible for the award of the Degree of Masters In Research students must achieve at least 40.0% in
six modules (including Module 7, the Dissertation) and at least 35.0% in a seventh module.
Students who in completing the MRes achieve an overall average of at least 68.0% and a dissertation mark
of at least 70% shall be eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction.
Students who in completing the MRes achieve an overall average of at least 58.0% and a dissertation mark
of at least 60% shall be eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma with Merit.
Average marks for the relevant award are calculated by adding the marks for each module (weighted
where necessary) and dividing by the number of modules in the award. For example, for the PG
Certificate, the mean mark is calculated by adding the assignment marks for Modules 1, 2 and 4, applying
the weighting to the assignment marks (50-50 for Modules 1 and 4 and 70-30 for Module 2) and dividing
the result by three, as there are three modules in the award.
What happens if my work does not receive a pass mark?
If you submit work that is not deemed to be of an appropriate quality to achieve a pass, you will be
awarded a marginal fail (35-39) or a fail (0 – 34). In all such cases you will be invited to resubmit the work
in due course.
Initially you will be advised that your provisional mark indicates that you have failed to reach the required
standard. However, not until your work has been considered by the Assessment Committee will the mark
be ratified. This means that you may have to wait sometime between being formally advised of a
provisional fail and being asked to resubmit the work. Usually the Board of Examiners (from which we
write to you with submission deadlines for resubmissions) meets in October and we typically allow
students around two months to resubmit. Generally this means the deadline for resubmissions is in
January. However please appreciate that this is for guidance and you will be advised formally of any work
you are required to resubmit, in a letter from the Board of Examiners.
When resubmitting work, we require students to undertake exactly the same assessment activity that
they initially submitted. The maximum mark awarded to students following resubmission is capped at 35,
or the original if higher.
Multiple Assessment Activities
If there is more than one assessment activity related to a module, things become a little more
complicated. For any activity that you fail for modules 1, 2 and 4, you must resubmit in order to pass the
module. However you are not required to resubmit those activities that you do pass. The maximum
module mark awarded to students following resubmission in such cases is also capped at 35, or the
original if higher. For all other modules a weighted average for the assessment activities is used to
calculate the module mark. Therefore it may be possible to pass these modules whilst receiving a mark of
below 39 for one part of the module if the overall average mark is above 39.
Please appreciate that tutors cannot re-evaluate work that has been through the assessment process,
prior to the Assessment Committee Meeting. However we appreciate that receiving a low mark is
disappointing. Your module tutors will provide feedback that helps you to improve the work in time for
resubmission. Additionally, if you are awarded a mark which means that you need to resubmit, you should
contact your Module Leader to request additional guidance and support so that you can improve the
quality of your work. They will be happy to start this process before your initial marks have been ratified,
so that you have plenty of time to work on your resubmission.
Taking the MRes Dissertation
The majority of our students are with us to take the PG Diploma as part of their PhD studies. Some
students wish to upgrade their PG Diploma to the full MRes award by adding a dissertation to the Diploma
at some point. You should not consider applying for a place to undertake the dissertation until you have
finished your PhD. In the case of stand alone students, we can discuss your options with you during your
passage through the other Graduate School modules.
All students who are offered a place to take the dissertation must abide by the MRes schedule. This
ensures adequate time to arrange and deliver supervision, and to produce drafts and a final version in
time for submission. The annual submission deadline is allocated due to the requirements of marking,
access of the External Examiner to the dissertations, and to allow time for students to organise degree
ceremony attendance if appropriate. Graduate School staff do not arrange attendance at Graduation
ceremonies.
In addition to having to apply to the Graduate School to take the dissertation, you will be required to pay
for the dissertation as well.
International students in the UK on Tier 4 visas may not be able to undertake the MRes dissertation after
their PhD is submitted, if insufficient time is available before the visa expires. The dissertation requires
600 hours of work.
Please note:
If you are registered for PhD (or MPhil leading to PhD), and you take the Certificate or Diploma with us,
or any of the individual modules within the programme, then you are receiving the Diploma “free” in
with your PhD fees.
HOWEVER, if you then leave the university before completing your PhD, you will be charged IN FULL for
the Diploma, MRes or the modules that you have taken.
If you are planning or considering to complete the MRes, please look at the flowchart at the rear of the
manual (Appendix F).
Timetable for MRes dissertation completion 2014-15
The following timetable has been devised to serve the needs of students, supervisors and examiners. You
can only register for the dissertation if you agree to abide by this schedule. If you miss the Christmas
deadline in one year, you can apply to do the dissertation in the following academic session. The Graduate
School retains the right to refuse access for any students who decline to abide by this schedule.
December
January
FebruaryApril
Students signal their intention to complete MRes dissertation to supervisor(s)
and the Head of The Graduate School. List closes on MONDAY 1st December
2014.
Students agree arrangements for fees and suspensions with The Hub by the end
of this month at the latest. Initial meeting of academic staff (supervisors,
Directors of Research and Head of The Graduate School) and students, to
distribute schedule of work and announce expectations, and to confirm final
submission date. Attendance at this meeting is required of all students who are
on campus. DL students must discuss this with the Graduate School. We
recommend that students who cannot attend one of these meetings, or in the
case of DL students, discuss the arrangements with the Head of The Graduate
School at this time, should seriously consider their continued intention to
complete the MRes in this academic session.
Students complete PG Diploma work at The Graduate School. Some initial work
towards the dissertation may be undertaken (literature review, early plans for
title perhaps).
START OF DISSERTATION WORK
May
June
July
August
September
October
December
Students meet with supervisor(s) and Graduate School tutors to confirm the
topic of their dissertation and to agree which dissertation unit they will take. The
Graduate School tutors to ensure topic is suitably methodological in nature if
taking the generic dissertation. Outline of chapters suggested by supervisors and
Graduate School tutors to guide student. Student to show literature review so
far and any other work completed or in progress towards the dissertation.
Students to suspend their PhD registration with The Hub.
Work continues on the dissertation. Meetings of student with departmental
supervisor as arranged.
Work continues on the dissertation. Meetings between the student and dept.
supervisor as arranged. A Graduate School tutor will review each individual
student at one meeting to ensure methodological application and focus are
appropriate, and advise if necessary. Other meetings with Graduate School
tutors will be arranged if necessary.
REVISE FINAL DRAFT
By the end of July students should be revising their final drafts.
Submit by Monday August 17th 2015 to The Graduate School, no later than
15:30. No extensions will be granted except in the case of serious unforeseen
circumstances.
The dissertation will be marked twice: once by the PhD supervisor in the home
department, secondly by a Graduate School tutor. The dissertation will be made
available to the External Examiner. Students to reactivate their PhD registration
with The Hub.
The Board of Examiners meets to make awards. If the award is made, students
may attend the December degree ceremony.
It is the student’s responsibility to indicate their intention to graduate, if
successful, in response to communications from The Hub.
Successful students graduate at the degree ceremony if suitable arrangements
have been made by them.
NB. The Graduate School staff do not arrange your attendance at graduation ceremonies. This is your own
responsibility.
How your work will be Assessed
STATEMENT ON DOUBLE CONSIDERATION OF MARKS
Marking is anonymous. We only see your UB number when marking your work.
All assignments submitted to The Graduate School will be first-marked by a single tutor or other
appropriately qualified individual. As marking is done to a set of learning outcomes, not specifically to
class content, work may be marked by someone other than the tutor who delivered the teaching. The
marker’s initials will be noted on the comment sheet. Markers are prepared to discuss their comments
with you after you have received them, but we must emphasise that a mark cannot be changed once it
has been made for a given piece of work. Each mark is provisional and subject to confirmation by The
Graduate School Assessment Committee, which may also choose to amend it in agreement with the
External Examiner, and subject to University guidelines.
Each cohort of assignments is subject to second consideration in accordance with the policy of the
University: (http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/acsec/QA_Hbk/QAH5_11.html):
2.5 A minimum 10% sample of scripts for individual assessments for units at Level 2, 3 and M should be
subject to double consideration as defined in 2.6 below, with all units being subject to this process within
a two year cycle, and at least 50% of units being subject to double consideration in any one academic
year.
2.6 Double Consideration has been defined by Senate as 'a process to confirm the quality of marking,
which involves a second member of academic staff using their professional judgement to confirm the
validity and equity of the marks, taking into account the marks and comments of the first marker'.
This means that at least 10% of every cohort of assignments will be reviewed by a second marker as a
quality assurance exercise to confirm the validity of the first markers’ marks and comments. In practice,
we second-consider all fail-grade assignments, all distinction assignments, plus around 10% of the
remainder of the cohort.
We will not re-mark work simply because you disagree with the comments of the marker, or with the
mark. All work is made available to the External Examiner prior to the Assessment Committee and Board
of Examiners’ meetings. We automatically send all failed work to the External Examiner in advance of the
meetings to ensure ratification.
Assessment Criteria
When we assess work we do so against several objective criteria which reflect the learning outcomes of
the module. When you receive your grades you will be advised how well you have performed against each
assessment criteria. You will also receive qualitative written feedback. By using both these forms of
feedback we hope that you will understand why you have received the grade awarded and, as
importantly, how you could have improved the work.
When you are planning, writing and reviewing your work prior to submission we urge you strongly to refer
to the assessment criteria for the exercise (which will be available on Blackboard). This should provide you
with insight into what qualities we are looking for in the exercise and in particular, what you will need to
evidence in order to be awarded a high grade. The assessment criteria do not necessarily all have equal
weighting when the overall grade is determined, but if you speak with the module leaders they should be
able to indicate which criteria will be more significantly in determining the grade that the work will
receive.
Please be aware that different assessment criteria will be used for each assessment activity. So ensure
that you refer to the one that is appropriate for the activity you are working on. If you are unsure that you
have the correct one, please download or view the correct one via Blackboard, or contact the module
leader.
Submission of work
On the following page you will find a SAMPLE COVER PAGE that should be included at the front of all your
assignments. There are copies available on Blackboard under “Assignments” in each module section,
where you will find exemplar cover sheets for you to download.
You will see that the cover sheet requires the following details:
•
University of Bradford
•
The Graduate School
•
Module Number
•
Module Name
•
Title of Essay i.e. QUESTION BEING ANSWERED (you must write out the
whole question)
•
Your UB number
•
Mode of Study (On Site OR Distance Learner)
•
Department
•
Your Supervisor
•
I confirm that the work in this essay is all my own, and that I have not
plagiarised the work of others in any form whatsoever.
•
By submitting through Blackboard, you are confirming that this work is all your own.
•
Date
•
Word Count (not including bibliography or appendices)
Marking is anonymous, so please do not include your name. However it is essential that you provide your
UB number correctly.
You must state the word count on each cover page. Include your UB number on each page.
Please note that we do not accept formal submissions by fax or e-mail.
Sample Cover Page
UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD
The Graduate School
Module Number
Module Name
TITLE OF ESSAY
ie. QUESTION BEING ANSWERED
you must write out the whole question
Your UB number
Your mode of study (On-Site/Distance Learner)
DEPARTMENT
YOUR SUPERVISOR
Date of submission
By submitting this assignment through Blackboard,
I confirm that the work is all my own, and that I have not plagiarised
the work of others in any form whatsoever.
I also confirm that I am aware of the University’s Plagiarism
I also confirm that the work has not been previously submitted to
the University of Bradford for assessment in any other module.
Date of Submission
Word count (not including bibliography and appendices):
No matter how well you have written an assignment, or what degree of understanding or intellect it
shows, if you have not answered the question as it is set, you cannot pass
an assignment. You must copy out the question at the front of each assignment. Make sure you answer it
fully. Your own version of the question will not be acceptable.
You should try to develop, from the start, good habits in the presentation of your
assignments. The general model for an essay is that of the academic journal paper. An essay should
address the question clearly and concisely, should have an evident logical progression, and should keep to
the specified length and follow the specification below. Grades may be reduced for essays that are hard
to understand or do not conform to the standards specified (in terms of content and presentation). You
will be penalised for poor English.
All assignments should be word processed or typed in double spacing, and using characters no smaller
than 12 point. Use 25mm margins all round and add page numbers. You must also include your UB
number on every page. If you do not do this, we will not accept your submission.
You are required to use ONLY the Harvard Bradford system for your bibliographic references in all your
assignments, except for the dissertation (in which case you may use the method of your choice as long as
the supervisory team approve it). Details of the Harvard Bradford system will be available on Blackboard.
There are also student workshops run by Learner Support Services which provide an excellent opportunity
for you to ask specific questions about your own citations and references. Check the LSS website for
details at http://www.brad.ac.uk/lss/lssworkshops/
Students completing the MRes dissertation may use a referencing system of their choice and agreed with
supervisors, but you must indicate clearly what standard you have adopted. If it is not specified we will
assume it is Harvard Bradford.
If quoting, do so exactly, giving the reference and precise page number(s). Quotes of less than two lines
should be put in quotation marks within the main text. Longer quotes should be put into a separate block,
in smaller type, and indented. Any tables and figures may be embedded in your essay at the appropriate
place and clearly labelled correctly as “Table x” or “Figure x” as appropriate. The alternative (which would
probably be required if you were submitting an article to a journal) is to print each table and figure on a
separate sheet at the end, with a clear indication in the text as to where it should be located.
Footnotes are allowed in your assignments, but are to be included in the word count.
Each module is assessed by means of an essay, or an essay and a second assessment. A new list of
questions is approved each year. The list will be given to you in the first teaching week. Please check that
you are working from the correct list.
PLAGIARISM
As a post graduate student we would generally expect that you understand what plagiarism is and how to
avoid it, However we appreciate that not all students will know precisely what is required when work is
submitted for assessment at Bradford University and it is important you know what constitutes
plagiarism:
Briefly plagiarism 1 is the copying or acquiring of the work of others and, directly or indirectly, claiming it
to be your own independent and original work. This is what the University of Bradford policy on academic
integrity says about plagiarism:
1
Taken from Avoiding Plagiarism Leaflet produced by The Effective Learning Service, Bradford University
School of Management.
(http://www.brad.ac.uk/lss/learnerdevelopment/resources/study/Reference/Resources/QuickRead%20Avoid
ing%20Plagiarism.pdf)
“A dissertation, thesis, essay, project or any other work which is not undertaken in an examination
room under supervision but which is submitted by a student for formal assessment must be written by
the student and in the student’s own words, except for quotations from published and unpublished
source, which shall be clearly indicated and acknowledged as such…”
(http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/acsec/assu/statement_on_academic_integrity.htm)
If you copy work for assessment, it defeats the whole purpose of the exercise. If we mark work you have
copied, it is not your progress that we are evaluating, but that of somebody else. And if it is someone
else’s work, our comments will not help you improve your own potential.
Plagiarism is an issue that the University of Bradford takes very seriously and is treated as a form of
Academic Misconduct (or cheating) 2.
There are four main forms of plagiarism:
1. Copying or using another person’s work, including the work of another student (with or without
their consent), and claiming or pretending it to be your own;
2. Presenting arguments that use a blend of your own and the directly copied words of the original
author, with or without acknowledging the source;
3. Paraphrasing another person’s work, but not giving due acknowledgement to the original writer
or organisation publishing the writing, including work on Internet sites;
4. Colluding with other students and submitting identical or near identical work.
How to avoid plagiarism:
Applying, analysing, criticising or quoting other people’s work is expected of you and is perfectly
acceptable providing you always:
1. Attempt to summarize or restate in your own words another person’s work, and give
acknowledgement to that person. This is usually done by citing your sources in the text of the
assignment and presenting a list of references at the back ; or
2. By always using quotation marks (or indenting lengthy quotations in your text) to distinguish
between the actual words of the writer and your own words. Once again, you would cite all these
sources in the text straight after the quote and present full details of these in your list of
references.
As a postgraduate student you will be expected to be very thorough in ensuring that your assessed work
is free from Plagiarism. When you submit work via Turnitin, which is a piece of software that is able to
identify “non-original” content within a submission, your work will be matched to previously submitted
work. This will produce an Originality Report, highlight non-original content in your work.
It is essential that you understand what is expected and how plagiarism can be avoided.
The university provides a great deal of resources to help students understand their responsibilities. If you
are uncertain please access
these services. (http://www.brad.ac.uk/lss/lssworkshops/library/index.php?course=PLA)
It is very important that you are aware of Self-Plagiarism. This is described on the LSS website (via the link
above). Please be aware that you cannot submit the same work for two modules, nor should you “cut
and paste” large sections of work from one submission into another. You can refer to your own work
(whether submitted for another module or published elsewhere) but you must acknowledge this by citing
the original work, just like any other source that shapes your own work.
2
See University of Bradford policy document What is Academic Misconduct available at:
(http://www.bradford.ac.uk/legal-andgovernance/media/legalandgovernance/allfiles/documents/breaches/What_is_Academic_Misconduct.doc.p
df)
For all submissions, you are able to submit a draft version of your work to Turnitin before the deadline.
This will allow you to see an Originality Report for the draft and to address any issues that the report
identifies. The report can take a few hours to generate, so give yourself time to see the report and to be
able to work on your submission as necessary before the deadline passes.
If there are any specific issues relating to plagiarism and or Turnitin please contact the relevant module
leader or Ian Fouweather.
Submission dates for Graduate School taught modules
Deadlines for the submission of assignments for the core modules 1 – 4 are set each year to take account
of the needs of each cohort of graduates and will be given to you at the earliest opportunity (usually on
the first day of teaching if not before).
It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that essays are submitted through Blackboard and Turn-It-In by the due
date and in the required format.
All work submitted after the due date, without an agreed extension, will receive a grade of zero
(http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/acsec/QA_Hbk/Postgrad_Taught_Regs.html#submission_of_assessed_wo
rk).
All assignments that exceed the maximum length set will be penalised by the appropriate percentage. For
example, if you write 20% too many words, you will lose 20% of the marks allocated.
(http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/acsec/assu/regs_changes.html#standard_penalties).
Marks are normally expected to be available to students around five weeks after the submission deadline
date. A degree of flexibility is needed over this due to public holidays and demands on staff time due to
their responsibilities in their home departments (all of our staff except the Head are seconded or have
other non-University work). A copy of the comment/marks sheets for the taught modules will be sent to
you and to your supervisor (via the PG secretary in your department), with whom you should discuss your
work. Please note that the marks are not definitive until they have been ratified by the Assessment
Committee. All failed assignments are automatically second-considered and reviewed by the External
Examiner.
You may of course submit an assignment earlier than the due date but you cannot resubmit an
assignment before you have received a letter from the Board of Examiners telling you of the resubmission
deadline.
Extensions to the due date for submission
Extensions will only be granted for the occurrence of unforeseen circumstances. This is a University
regulation. If an extension to the due date for submission is required, an Extension Form should be
completed. This should detail the grounds for your request and must be submitted to Ian Fouweather
([email protected]) at least 72 hours prior to the deadline for submission. For example, if
the submission deadline is at 23:59 on a Sunday, you would ideally need to request and extension before
23:59 on the preceding Thursday; however, we will consider requests on the Friday morning prior to the
deadline.
The Graduate School may grant an extension of up to a maximum of 2 weeks. Longer extensions can be
requested via the Extenuating Circumstances Request process and must have very strong grounds in
order to be approved. This is in the interests of equality for all students in the cohort. The Extension Form
is available on Blackboard under “Assignments” and is also included in the appendices at the back of this
Manual. You may be advised to suspend, intercalate or otherwise delay your submission.
Any extension must be agreed in writing prior to the due date for submission. You cannot ask for an
extension on or after the submission date. As our submission deadlines are usually at 23:59 on Sunday,
you will need to submit a request for an extension no later than the morning of the preceding Friday. This
allows for your request can be considered and a response made prior to the Graduate School offices
closing on the Friday afternoon.
If you have not received written (email) confirmation that your request has been accepted you should
always attempt to submit the work you have been able to complete prior to the deadline.
If unforeseen circumstances immediately prior to the submission deadline mean that you are unable to
complete work as you had envisaged, you should always submit the work you have done so that it can be
assessed. Subsequently you can request that your personal circumstances be considered by initiating the
Extenuating Circumstances Procedure.
Extenuating Circumstances
If there are personal circumstances that you feel have adversely affected your performance and/or
assessment outcomes, an explanation should be submitted in confidence to Ian Fouweather (Course
Leader of The Graduate School), via email, no later than seven days after the deadline for your
assignment(s). There is a Extenuating Circumstances form for this purpose. You can find it on Blackboard
and at the back of this Manual. Wherever possible, any request for Extenuating circumstances should be
accompanied by appropriate supporting documentary evidence, (such as a “sick note”, a letter from your
doctor or employer, a report from the Police or a national consulate/embassy). A sub-group of the Board
of Examiners (the Extenuating Circumstances Committee) will then consider your claim for Extenuating
Circumstances. The claim may or may not be approved. If it is approved, then the committee will
recommend an appropriate response to the Board of Examiners. Your work will be marked normally
meanwhile and a mark allocated as normal (this may be a 0 for late or non-submission). Any Extenuating
circumstances submitted after the seven day limit will not be considered. Acceptance of a claim for
Extenuating Circumstances will not alter the mark awarded to your work, but it may allow the Board of
Examiners to act with discretion when considering your progress through the programme. Guidelines are
provided in the appendices section at the rear of the manual.
Resubmission of Work
If you have to resubmit an assignment, please follow these procedures again. BUT, you must also write
the word “Resubmission” in bold type or block capitals, clearly, on the front pages of your resubmission.
You should also contact the relevant tutor once you know you have to resubmit any work, as some
supervision will usually be offered to help you.
Transcripts
When you complete all of your Graduate School modules, we will send you, with your final letter from the
Board of Examiners, a transcript of your marks for future use. If you need further copies of a transcript,
we will charge £25 per transcript.
Computer Applications
The University’s ICT strategy and policy can be accessed at: http://www.brad.ac.uk/lss/regulations/policy/
Most computers and applications on campus run in a Windows environment. The current campus
standard is Microsoft Windows XP. However the university does support students and staff that chose to
use other platforms including Macs, Linux and later versions of windows.
Blackboard
The Graduate School uses a Virtual Learning Environment called Blackboard. You can access it from the
front page of the University internal website. The link is in the column of links at the right hand side of the
page under “Quick links”.
When you click on the link you will be taken to the log-in page. Your log-in is your University email
username and your own password. You will not be able to log in until your registration with the University
has been completed on the University student system called SAINT. Please note that SAINT registration is
completed by The Hub, not The Graduate School, and sometimes delays are out of our hands at the
beginning of the year.
Once logged on, you will be able to view all the modules for which you are registered. We will give an
introduction session to the use of Blackboard, including submission of assessments, in class. If you have
any problems accessing Blackboard, please contact Sandra Hall and she will advise you.
We know that the vast majority of students now have access to the internet when off campus and so are
able to access Blackboard. If you do not have this facility at home, please remember that the University
has computers that are available to students. On the main campus the JB Priestley Library has numerous
computer clusters which are available around the clock during term time.
At the Graduate School we use two pieces of data analysis software; SPSS and Nvivo which are widely
used within the Social Science research community. In Module 4 (Data Analysis) we provide teaching time
when students are able to familiarise themselves with the software using the University’s computer
facilities. The university has a licence agreement for both pieces of software (only for UK use, however)
which means for a small charge (around £10), students can purchase a copy of the software and a student
licence which lasts one year. We encourage students to do this, as it means they can install the software
on their own computers and work on the software “off campus”. Many students find it very useful to use
the software when completing the Module 4 assessment activities. However please be aware that we do
not provide technical support for either application. If you operate a Mac (and indeed Windows Vista) you
will find that there are limitations with both applications.
SPSS
The University does not provide software for SPSS to run on Macs. Mac compatible software can be
purchased from the software owner over the web (www.spss.com/), but the licence is significantly more
expensive than the windows version provided by the university. There is a trial version of the Mac
software which can be downloaded from the web and works for around thirty days.
The current version of SPSS (Version 19) is compatible with Windows Vista, but students do seem to have
far more problems running it (compared to those using versions of windows). If you are still running Vista
you might find it frustrating!
Nvivo
QSR International, the company which owns the Nvivo software does not produce a version for Macs.
Students have managed to run the windows software on Intel based Apple Macs with a piece of software
called "Boot Camp". Boot Camp allows users to install Windows XP on a Mac, but QSR International does
not support this solution. Also please be aware that we do not recommend this solution, nor is Boot Camp
supported by the University, we simply acknowledge that some students have reported doing so in the
past.
Please note that the University licence for Nvivo is limited to computers operating within the UK. In the
past overseas students (and UK based students researching overseas) have been able to make individual
arrangements with QSR to use the software on their return home. However it is the responsibility of
individual students to make appropriate arrangements to operate the software outside the UK.
Email
Please use your University email account. Many students have private email accounts and do not wish to
use their University email address. However, in the past we have had many problems in communicating
with students who change their private email addresses and do not tell us. When directly emailing you,
we will use your University contact email address. It is your responsibility to check this account regularly
and make sure you are up to date with the inbox.
Appendices
Appendix A
On Site Teaching Dates
Appendix B
Distance Learning Teaching Dates
Appendix C
Extension Request Form
Appendix D
Notification of Extenuating Circumstances
Appendix E
Extenuating Circumstances – Guidelines
Appendix F
MRES Flowchart
Appendix A
On Site Teaching Dates
Semester 1
Foundations of Social Research (GS-0001D); Philosophy of Research (GS-0003D)
9 Weeks from Monday 6th October 2014
Our teaching will take place on Mondays and Tuesdays with Module 3 (GS-0003D ) generally in the
mornings and Module 1 (GS-0001)D in the afternoons. Teaching sessions are typically three hours long,
and normally start at 10:00am and 14:00pm. However some sessions will be shorter and other times you
will be free to arrange tutorials with us or study independently. Please show respect for your fellow
students and ensure you arrive on time for all scheduled teaching sessions.
Semester 2
Research Strategies and Data Generation (GS-0002D); Data Analysis (GS-0004D)
Monday 12th – Friday 16th January 2015
Monday 26th – Friday 30th January 2015
Teaching will be delivered in two blocks, each of one week, with a week in between for reading, reflection
and student-led learning. The first will be from the 12th January until the 16th January 2015. The second
begins on the 26th January, ending on the 30th January 2015.
Typically there will be two teaching sessions per day of three hours duration, starting at 10:00am and
14:00pm.
Please appreciate that you will be expected to work independently in groups between the two teaching
weeks, so you should not assume you will not have to be on campus.
The schedules will be given to you before Christmas 2014.
Appendix B
Distance Learning Teaching Dates
Semester 1
Foundations of Social Research (GS-0001D); Philosophy of Research (GS-0003D)
One Week from Monday 17th November 2014
Our teaching will take place over five days incorporating both Module 1 (GS-1001D) and Module 3 (GS1003D ). Teaching sessions are typically three hours long, and normally start 10:00am and 14:00pm.
However some sessions will be shorter and other time may be free to arrange tutorials with us or your
supervisor(s). Please show respect for your fellow students and ensure you arrive on time for all scheduled
teaching sessions.
Teaching will begin on Monday the 17th November, finishing on the afternoon of Friday the 21st
November 2014.
The schedule will be emailed to you in October 2014.
Semester 2
Research Strategies and Data Generation (GS-1002D); Data Analysis (GS-1004D)
PROVISIONAL: Monday 23th February 2015 - Friday 27th February 2015
Our teaching will take place over five days incorporating both Module 2 (GS-1002D) and Module 4 (GS1004D). Teaching sessions are typically three hours long, and normally start at 10:00am and 14:00pm.
However some sessions will be shorter and other time may be free to arrange tutorials with us or your
supervisor(s). Please show respect for your fellow students and ensure you arrive on time for all scheduled
teaching sessions.
The schedules will be given to you before Christmas 2014.
*** Please note, whilst we appreciate that distance learners have to make arrangements to visit us on
campus, at the time of preparation (February 2014), we have been unable to confirm the teaching date.
We plan to teach during the week indicated, but it could still be amended (to Week Commencing the 2nd
March 2015.
Appendix C
The Graduate School
_____________________________________________________________
MRes / PG Dip/ PG Cert Research Methods/DBA
EXTENSION FORM for ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION*
SECTION 1: (to be completed by the Student)
___________________________________________________________________
wish to apply for an extension to the due date for submission of my assignment(s) on the following
unforeseen grounds (please continue on another sheet if necessary):
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Module Title
Module Leader
Due date for submission
Signed: __________________________________ (Student) Date: __________
SECTION 2: (to be completed by Module Leader/ Head of The Graduate School )
The application for an extension has been agreed / has not been agreed** for the following
Module(s):
Module Title
Due date for submission
New submission date
Signed: ___________________________________(Module Leader/Head of
The Graduate School)**
Date: ___________________________________
Copies to:
Head / Module Leader / Student file
* To be given to the Module Leader / Head of The Graduate School prior to the due date for submission
** Please delete as appropriate
Appendix D
The Graduate School
____________________________________________________________________
NOTIFICATION OF EXTENTUATING CIRCUMSTANCES
NAME:
UB No
Course/Stage:
Personal Tutor:
NOTIFICATION OF EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES
If there are circumstances which have affected your performance in any of your assessments, please
give details below. Please provide as much detail as you can, as decisions will be based on this
information - you may attach a separate letter if you wish. Submission of this form does not mean
your claim has been accepted.
PLEASE NOTE: You must submit this form no later than 7 days after the hand-in or exam date.
Module Affected:Module code
Module Title
Semester
Details of the extenuating circumstances
EVIDENCE
Please note: Independent evidence must be attached if requested by the Graduate School (eg. a
medical certificate or other approved proof in support of the claim) before this can be considered. If
you do not provide required evidence the claim may not be accepted.
Evidence attached? (please circle):
Yes
No
To follow
Signed:
Date:
PLEASE RETURN FORM TO: The Graduate School, Richmond Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7
1DP, or to Sandra Hall on [email protected] .
OFFICE USE
Accepted
Notes
Yes
No
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES - GUIDELINES
In order to ensure fairness and equality of treatment for all students, our practice on the
acceptance of extenuating circumstances follows University policy. Claims for extenuating
circumstances relate to your performance in the course as a whole, although they may be
specific to a certain module or part of the course.
Section 9 of the University’s Regulations Governing Postgraduate Taught Courses refers to
“unforeseen circumstances” which could prevent a student from submitting assessed
coursework on time. These are the only grounds for agreeing extensions to coursework
deadlines. The extenuating circumstances process is not the same as the extension request
process, but it works along similar lines. Therefore, extenuating circumstances must be
unforeseen and must be of a nature that prevented you from performing to your usual
standard. If you have chosen not to use the extension facility, have not told us in advance of
any ongoing problem, or have not reasonably considered temporary suspension or
intercalation on the programme under the circumstances, this may have an adverse effect on
your claim.
Your request for extenuating circumstances to be taken into account will be put before a
Extenuating Circumstances Committee before a Board of Examiners meeting. Your work will go
through the usual Assessment Committee meeting as normal, and will receive the mark
allocated to it by the markers. Following this, the case will be brought up at the subsequent
Board of Examiners.
The request for Extenuating Circumstances to be taken into account will be considered by the
Board of Examiners on the basis of students’ performance in their other assessments. Should
the Board decide that their performance in the affected modules has been significantly
impaired due to extenuating circumstances, they will take this into account when making
decisions about progression or the award of degrees.
All requests for extenuating circumstances to be taken into account must be submitted no
later than 7 days after the normal hand-in date for coursework or the scheduled date of an
examination. There will be no exceptions to this rule, as students are made aware of these
regulations at the beginning of every year.
SUBMISSION OF THIS FORM DOES NOT MEAN YOUR APPLICATION IS ACCEPTED
IMF 20111
Appendix E
Undertaking the MRes dissertation in addition to the PG Diploma
Thinking of taking the MRes dissertation?
Talk to a Graduate School tutor AND your PhD
supervisor as your PhD nears completion (but before
submission) to see if this is the best route for you.
YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE
DISSERTATION. There may be visa issues here.
Wanting to come out with a named-pathway MRes award? (e.g.
MRes (Business and Management/Conflict
Resolution/International Relations/Applied Social Science/Social
Policy) . If you have a very clear career plan as a researcher
within a specific field where specialization may be
advantageous, you might want to choose a named pathway.
You must have completed specialist versions of Module 5 and 6
to be eligible for a named pathway award, as well as a specialist
dissertation
Wanting to come out with a standard, generic MRes
award? (Arguably more useful than a named pathway
for a wider range of opportunities in the future);
Want to do the generic ,or the alternative dissertation? You MUST get the approval of the Graduate
School if you want to import a Masters dissertation from another relevant programme into the MRes
degree. You cannot simply choose your own Masters dissertation and start work on it. It must be
agreed with the GS formally.
You MUST agree the named award with the
Graduate School BEFORE you start work on the
dissertation. This is because it needs to be
compatible with you, your School, your research, and
with SAINT. Make sure your School PG secretary
knows about this as well.
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overleaf
IMF 20111
You and your PhD supervisor must discuss and agree to
the required supervision arrangements with your
nominated Graduate School supervisor
You must follow the supervision and draft-preparation
outline given in the current “MRes Schedule” (in the
Manual and on Blackboard).
After you have completed your PhD, you should register for the degree of MRes (and
named pathway if relevant). If you have agreed with the Graduate School to take a
named pathway, it is VITAL that you get it incorporated in your MRes registration NOW
as it cannot be changed later.
If you are doing the generic dissertation GS-0007Z,
you must submit it to THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
OFFICE, not to your own School or supervisor. This
must be submitted by the required date or you will
receive a mark of 0. If you are doing the alternative
dissertation, you should submit it to the correct
School Office by the required date. (Extensions are
possible but will delay your award).
NB. You will receive a provisional mark for your
dissertation before the Assessment Committee, and a
final letter from the Board of Examiners
recommending your award (if you succeeded in
passing). You cannot attend a Graduation Ceremony
until you have received notification from the BoE that
you have been made eligible for the award.
You must arrange your own attendance at a
Graduate Ceremony if you wish to. This is not
arranged by the GS or by your PhD supervisors.
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