Course description
MSc by Research (Nursing) offers research training including taught courses and a dissertation. It may be taken as a stand-alone degree or as an element in progression to PhD studies. Students pursuing this degree are part of the larger community of postgraduate research students in Nursing Studies and in the School of Health in Social Science.
Distinctive features of the degree include:
* integration of discipline-specific and generic social-science research training;
* opportunities for shared learning with students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds;
* participation in the research culture in Nursing Studies and the School of Health in Social Science;
* potential for progression to PhD studies;
* individual supervision;
* possible variation in the proportion of credits for taught courses and dissertation.
Learning Outcomes
Students who follow this programme should:
* have practical competence in a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods;
* understand the epistemological basis and implication of different approaches to research;
* be able to present a reasoned argument linking problem, theory and method in a research proposal.
How You Will Be Taught
Teaching and learning methods include lectures, seminars, practical training in data collection and analysis, and independent study. Some learning may be web-based.
The MSc (Master of Science) by Research (Nursing) can be taken as a stand-alone degree or as the first year of a student's studies leading to a PhD or MPhil. The programme combines hands-on training in social research skills with an individually supervised research project. The MSc by Research can either be a one-year full time degree, or it can be taken on a part-time basis over two years.
Normally the MSc by Research involves successful completion of three 20-credit courses in research methods provided by the Graduate School of Social & Political Studies, and a further 20-credit course in Advanced Issues in Nursing Research taught within Nursing Studies. Two further courses on a broad range of topics from within Nursing Studies and the Graduate School in Social and Political Studies can be selected to reflect the student’s own interests. Examples are:
* Debates and Developments in Mental Health Care
* Issues & Developments in the Management of Pain
* Palliative Care: Psychological, Social and Spiritual Needs
* Health Policy and Politics in Europe
* Refugees, Health and the Effectiveness of Agency Interventions
* Anthropology of Health and Healing
* Sociology of Health and Illness
Students are invited, but not required, to take further appropriate training courses from the programme provided by the Graduate School of Social & Political Studies.
In addition to the assessments for courses taken, MSc by Research students also submit a dissertation normally in the form of a research proposal.
Students work throughout the year with their supervisors in a programme of systematic review of the secondary literature in their proposed area of research. Supervisors will also advise students of the most appropriate further training in their area of research interest. In addition students participate in the School Postgraduate Students Seminar focused on issues in work-in-progress.
Students with prior qualifications in certain research skills can be exempted from parts of this training curriculum by the MSc Programme Director.
Dissertation
The dissertation constitutes the core of the MSc by Research. For those wishing to proceed to a PhD it takes the form of an extended proposal for a PhD research project and contains the following components:
* A critical review of the relevant literature;
* Specific questions to be addressed, critical appraisal of the research design and methods to be employed, and the expected contribution of the study to Nursing;
* A discussion of the practical, political and ethical issues affecting the conduct of the research;
* A presentation of the schedule for the research, and its estimated budget.
MSc by Research to PhD or MPhil
Students may take the MSc by Research and then apply for admission to PhD studies. Depending on performance in assessed course work and completion of an appropriate research proposal for a doctoral project, students taking the MSc by Research who wish to progress to PhD studies may be allowed to re-register for PhD or MPhil studies and count the time from MSc by Research (Nursing) registration towards that degree. In addition, it is possible to register for consecutive MSc by Research (Nursing) / PhD or MPhil registration.
