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.
Dissertation
|
Report
|
An in-depth investigation of a research topic
(relevant to engineering education) aimed at
addressing a specific research question through
the gathering and analysis of both primary data
and literature sources
|
An exploration of a narrowly defined research topic based on:
a) A review of the literature; or
b) A review of the literature supplemented with a limited amount of primary data collection.
|
60 credits
|
30 credits
|
20,000 words, plus 10% (i.e., 22,000 words
maximum).
|
10,000 words, plus 10% (i.e., 11,000 words
maximum).
|
Starting Point: Identification of a research gap
(i.e., an area of study that has not been fully
addressed or answered by previous studies),
and/or an area of conflict or controversy.
|
Starting point:
a) A clear rationale for conducting a literature review on a specific topic; or
b) Identification of a research gap, and/or an area of conflict or controversy.
|
Aim: to generate new knowledge on a topic
(relevant to engineering education).
|
Aim:
a) To examine and present the state of the art of the literature on a topic (relevant to engineering education); or
b) To generate some new knowledge on a topic (relevant to engineering education).
|
Data needed: primary data and literature sources.
|
Data needed:
a) Literature review only; or
b) Literature review and a small amount of primary data.
|
Ethics application: an ethics application, which
includes participant information sheets and/or
consent forms, is required.
|
Ethics application:
a) A short ethics application is required; or
b) An ethics application supplemented with participant information sheets and/or consent forms is required.
|
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).