MSc Engineering and Education

Module Guide 2024-25 for

EDPS0249 Engineering and Education Report

Overview and Aim of the Module

All master’s-level students are required to submit a dissertation or a report at the end of their final year. Typically, dissertations and reports are long and in-depth pieces of work that offer a critical exploration of a subject matter relevant to a specific educational programme. To successfully complete these assignments students are required to conduct extensive and largely independent research involving the collection of primary data and/or comprehensive literature reviews. They should demonstrate abilities in research topic design, execution and presentation and a capacity for in-depth critical thinking in their chosen area of study.

For the  MSc  Engineering  and  Education  students ,  in  particular,  dissertations  and reports represent an opportunity to develop their research skills and investigate a topic of interested in the field of engineering education. These pieces of academic writing are the culmination of the  MSc  Engineering  and  Education  Programme,  the  students'  chance to synthesise and use the knowledge gained during the year and demonstrate their expertise in this field with the view to launching the next stage of their career.

Although  dissertations  and  reports  involve  largely  student-driven  activities,  a  full package of support is offered to the  MSc  Engineering and Education students, including lectures and tutorials. In this regard, the EDPS0224 (Dissertation) and EDPS0249 (Report) modules aim to guide the students through all the steps needed to successfully complete a large-scale  individual  research  project  at  master's  level  and  help  them  develop  all  the necessary  skills  and  capabilities  required  to  prepare  this  substantial  piece  of  work. EDPS0224 and EDPS0249 are coupled together in a single 'module' that runs across Terms 1, 2 and 3 with the view to assisting students during the different stages of the dissertation (EDPS0224) or report (EDPS0249) process. Furthermore, individual tailored support to each student is also provided through an allocated dissertation or report supervisor.

This present guide provides an outline of the EDPS0249 (Report) module in terms of intended learning outcomes, content and structure, nature of assessments and indicative reading.  It  also  offers  guidance  regarding  the  expected  report  timeline  and  details  the support available to students.  Further information can  be found on the  module's  Moodle page.

2 What is a Report?

Dissertations and reports are an opportunity for a critical examination of a topic of direct interest to Engineering and Education students.

The number of credits assigned to the module, the word length of the assignment and the scope of the study are the major differences between dissertations and reports. As illustrated in Table 1, the Report module is worth 30 credits of the 180 credit MSc degree. The main output of this module is a written report with a word limit of 10,000 words, plus 10% (i.e., 11,000 words maximum), excluding references and appendices. Compared with a dissertation,  a  report  represents  a  more  focused  and  narrowly-defined  study  of  a  topic relevant to engineering education. It is anticipated that this investigation can be based either on:

A.  A  comprehensive  analysis  of the existing  literature  on  a specific topic  relevant to engineering education; or

B.  A  comprehensive  literature  review supplemented with  a limited amount of primary data collection.

The  choice  between  type  A  and  type  B  reports  will  be  dictated  by  the  specific students’ inclinations and needs, and the research topic under investigation, and will be taken by the students after discussion with their supervisors.

Table 1 - Main differences between dissertations and reports.

Students need to be aware that type A and type B reports have different features and expectations. In particular, type A reports (i.e., reports based on comprehensive literature reviews) are expected to offer:

●    An identification of a research topic of particular interest (which must be relevant to engineering  education)  based  on  the  student's  reflections  on  the  wide  range  of themes covered in the other taught modules, and discussions with their supervisor and other members of the MSc Engineering and Education team.

●    A thorough examination of what is already known about a problem or issue through a comprehensive  literature  review, which  must make use of teaching materials and literature   sources   provided   as   part   of   the   MSc   Engineering   and   Education Programme.

●    A critical discussion of the literature review findings where strengths and weaknesses of previous studies are exposed, different authors' views are compared and perhaps combined with the view to developing new theoretical frames and generating new ways  for  understanding  a  particular  problem,  and  research  gaps  and  under- researched areas are highlighted so as to pave the way for further primary research studies.

By comparison, key features and expectations of type B reports (i.e., reports based on the analysis of primary data and literature sources) include:

●    An identification of a research topic of particular interest (which must be relevant to engineering  education)  based  on  the  student's  reflections  on  the  wide  range  of themes covered in the other taught modules , and discussions with the supervisor and other members of the MSc Engineering and Education team.

●    An examination of what is already known about a problem or issue through a rather synthetic and focused literature review, which must make use of teaching materials and  literature  sources  provided  as  part  of  the  MSc   Engineering  and  Education Programme.

●    The recognition of a very specific and a narrowly-defined research gap that warrants further investigation through primary research studies.

●    The  collection  of  (a  limited  amount  of)  primary  data  about that  problem  or  issue through fieldwork and data collection methods such as interviews and surveys with the view to generating new knowledge about the chosen topic.

●    Appropriate consideration of research ethics and data protection issues arising from research and primary data collection activities.

●    The analysis and discussion of the  research findings as well as the exploration of some new (or partially new) ideas about a problem or issue that can potentially have some important implications for policy, practice and/or future research.

3   Learning Outcomes

Reports are student-driven exercises that should draw from and allow students to reflect on the range of subject-matters covered in the taught modules. The purpose of undertaking a report is to enable the students to apply the knowledge and skills acquired from their broader programme  to  an  investigation  of  a   narrowly  defined  topic,  thereby   demonstrating  a capability to apply theory to the analysis of a topic and demonstrating the capacity to design and  execute  an  appropriate  programme  of  research.  More  specifically,  with  the  report students should convey the ability to:

1.   Identify a topic for original research.

2.   Establish and address clearly focused and fundamental research questions.

3.   Critically analyse relevant theory and literature.

4.   Supplement  the  literature  review  by  gathering  and  analysing  relevant  primary research data and information, thus making an original contribution to the field (only for type B reports).

5.   Conduct research independently and in a reflective manner, with suitable consideration of ethical issues and data protection requirements (especially for type B reports).

6.  Write clearly and concisely in a manner that logically presents research findings and evidence, and draws clear research conclusions and insight.

4   Teaching and Learning Methods

The overall package of support provided for dissertations and reports  include a series of lectures and practical workshops, as well as some tutorials with the supervisors.

EDPS0224 and EDPS0249 run together across the three terms of the academic year to guide students progressively through the different stages of the dissertation and report process.  EDPS0224  and  EDPS0249  comprise   11  sessions,  which  examine  the  key elements  of a  research  project  (i.e.,  research  topic  and  aim,  literature  review,  research methodology and ethics, data collection  and analysis  methods,  presentation  of research findings). The sessions will be delivered in class and all lecture notes and teaching material will be uploaded to the module's Moodle page.

In addition to these compulsory and optional sessions throughout Terms 1, 2 and 3, students will be also allocated a supervisor in Term 2. Ideally, this allocation will be based on the  preliminary  research topic  chosen  by the  students and the  research  interests  of the supervisors. Supervisors can offer up to four hours of supervision for reports, usually over the second and third term of the year. This may combine group and individual tutorials, which can take place in person or online, and email support.

Individual  reading  and  independent  research  are  an  essential  and  substantial component  of the  Report  module.  The  total  workload  to  complete  the  report  (including lectures, workshops and tutorials, student-driven reading and research; data collection and analysis, and report writing and editing) is about 300 hours (1 Credit = 10 notional learning hours).