Module Outlines: MSc in Human Communication

School of Community and Health Sciences Programme Handbook MSc Human Communication September 2010 – July 2011 Please note: The information in this Handbook is correct at the time of going to press in September 2010 - the University reserves the right to make changes in regulations, syllabuses etc without prior notice. Table of Contents City University London and you ................................................................................ 5 Purpose of the Handbook ......................................................................................... 5 Who’s who ................................................................................................................. 6 LCS FAX Numbers.................................................................................................... 8 Academic Year .......................................................................................................... 9 Departmental Information ............................................................................................. 9 Communications and how to find out what you need to know ................................ 9 Pigeonholes ............................................................................................................... 9 E-mail....................................................................................................................... 10 University website ................................................................................................... 10 Finding a member of staff to help you .................................................................... 10 Programme Director's office hours ......................................................................... 10 Contingency plans for staff illness .......................................................................... 10 Organisation and Administration ................................................................................ 11 Committee structure for School/Department governance ..................................... 11 MSc Human Communication Programme Management Team ............................ 11 Student Representation in School of Community & Health Sciences ................... 12 Expressing your views ............................................................................................ 12 Student evaluation of teaching ............................................................................... 13 University Complaints Procedure ........................................................................... 13 Student Support .......................................................................................................... 13 Library Information Services ................................................................................... 13 IT Public Services ................................................................................................... 15 Educational Advice and Guidance Service ............................................................ 23 University’s Policy on Student Support .................................................................. 23 Personal Tutors ....................................................................................................... 23 Other sources of support ........................................................................................ 23 Student Centre ........................................................................................................ 24 Students’ Union ....................................................................................................... 24 Centre for Careers & Skills Development .............................................................. 25 Programme ................................................................................................................. 25 Background ............................................................................................................. 25 Aims and Objectives of the Programme ................................................................. 27 Programme Organisation ........................................................................................ 27 Induction .................................................................................................................. 29 Additional activities .................................................................................................. 29 MSc Human Communication Timetable: 2010-11 ................................................. 30 MSc Human Communication Provisional Timetable: 2011-12 .............................. 31 Module Outlines: MSc in Human Communication ..................................................... 32 HCM001 Acquired Language Impairment Module................................................. 33 HCM021 Case-Based Clinical Application Module ................................................ 36 HCM002 Clinical Management Module .................................................................. 39 HCM003 Cognitive Communication Impairments Module ..................................... 41 HCM005 Developmental Language Impairment Module ...................................... 43 HCM007 Dysphagia and Disorders of Eating and Drinking Module ..................... 46 2 HCM008 Evidence-based Practice Module ........................................................... 49 HCM009 Habilitative Audiology Module ................................................................. 51 HCM010 Identity, Inclusion and Living with Disability Module .............................. 54 HCM019 Language Learning and Development Module ...................................... 57 HCM012 Research Design and Statistics Module A ............................................. 60 HCM020 Research Design and Statistics Module B ............................................. 62 HCM016 Speech Acoustics and Speech Perception ............................................ 63 Teaching and Learning Issues ................................................................................... 66 Lectures ................................................................................................................... 66 Conduct in lectures ................................................................................................. 66 Tape recording lectures .......................................................................................... 66 Attendance Policy ................................................................................................... 67 Assessment................................................................................................................. 67 Coursework ............................................................................................................. 67 Guidelines for oral and written presentations ......................................................... 67 Submission of coursework ...................................................................................... 67 Presentation of coursework .................................................................................... 68 Word limit guidelines and penalties for exceeding word limit ................................ 68 Resubmission of coursework .................................................................................. 68 Coursework extensions........................................................................................... 68 Note on the use of IT in preparing coursework ...................................................... 69 Penalties on late or non-submission ...................................................................... 70 Plagiarism ................................................................................................................ 70 Student copyright .................................................................................................... 72 Examinations ........................................................................................................... 72 Guidelines for written examinations ....................................................................... 72 Discipline ................................................................................................................. 73 Cheating .................................................................................................................. 74 University policy on sickness certification .............................................................. 74 Extenuating circumstances ..................................................................................... 74 Assessment Board .................................................................................................. 75 External Examiners ................................................................................................. 75 Return of coursework and release of results ......................................................... 75 Publication and disclosure of examination results ................................................. 76 Failure decisions ..................................................................................................... 76 Appeal procedures .................................................................................................. 77 Application for checking of marks ........................................................................... 77 University Statement on Data Protection ............................................................... 78 Assessment criteria .................................................................................................... 79 Pass marks .............................................................................................................. 80 Overall aggregate .................................................................................................... 80 Distinction ................................................................................................................ 80 Resits ....................................................................................................................... 80 Dissertation (for MSc students only) .......................................................................... 81 General introduction ................................................................................................ 81 Ethical considerations in MSc Research ................................................................ 82 3 Procedures for the submission and examination of MSc dissertations ................ 83 Supervisor’s role ..................................................................................................... 83 Timetable for MSc dissertations ............................................................................. 84 Guidelines for preparation of dissertation .............................................................. 84 Presentation of dissertation .................................................................................... 86 Further reading ........................................................................................................ 86 Notes to students about publishing research ......................................................... 87 Appendix 1: Guidelines for preparation of assignments............................................ 88 Guidelines for directed discussions of research articles........................................ 88 Guidelines for critical review ................................................................................... 88 Guidelines for essays .............................................................................................. 88 Guidelines for poster presentations ........................................................................ 97 Guidelines for referencing work ............................................................................ 100 Appendix 2: Further guidelines for dissertation ....................................................... 104 Broad guidelines for journal articles reporting empirical studies ......................... 104 These typically include the following sections:..................................................... 104 Additional guidelines for dissertations based on qualitative methodology .......... 106 Appendix 3: Forms .................................................................................................... 112 Coursework Coversheet ....................................................................................... 113 MSc Human Communication - Project Proposal Form ........................................ 114 Application for coursework extension ................................................................... 115 Dissertation Extension Request Form .................................................................. 117 Extenuating Circumstances Request Form ......................................................... 119 Appendix 4: Governance structure diagram 2009-10.............................................. 120 4 City University London and you City University London is committed to providing you with an excellent educational experience to help you realise your ambitions. Staff and students can work together to achieve this aim and this document defines what you can expect from City, but also what City expects from you. You can find the full version of City University London and You at https://uss.city.ac.uk/inau-vb/nc/sc/2008_09/238/sc238_item11part2.doc City will treat you in a professional, courteous and helpful way. It is our responsibility to: - deliver high quality, relevant courses provide an environment which will help you to be successful communicate effectively with you and listen to your views respect the different needs of all our students and be fair, open and reasonable You are an ambassador for the University and should behave with honesty and integrity. It is your responsibility to: - behave in a professional and respectful way in your interactions with other students, staff, visitors to the University and our neighbours take your course seriously and seek advice and help if you have any problems give us feedback on your experience at City tell us if you have any specific learning needs or disabilities so that we can support you Purpose of the Handbook The Programme Handbook contains general information about the University, the School and Department, and more specific information about your MSc programme. We also offer guidance on a number of teaching and learning issues. We hope that you find this useful. The Handbook is revised on an annual basis so, if you have any comments about its layout or content, please contact Shula Chiat, Programme Director, MSc in Human Communication. 5 Who’s who Lecturing Staff Nicola Botting Bernard Camilleri Shula Chiat Naomi Cocks Madeline Cruice Lucy Dipper Barbara Dodd Celia Harding Natalie Hasson Kirsty Harrison Ros Herman Julie Hickin Katerina Hilari Allen Hirson Victoria Joffe Position Reader Senior Lecturer Professor Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer Professor Senior Lecturer Lecturer Lecturer Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer Reader Rachael Knight Lia Litosseliti Mary Lee Abigail Levin Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer Jane Marshall Gary Morgan Lucy Myers Tim Pring Penny Roy Katya Samoylova Paul Turner Johan Verhoeven Roberta Williams Professor Professor Senior Lecturer Professor Reader Lecturer Senior Lecturer Reader Senior Lecturer Area of academic specialisation Child Language Impairment (f-t) Child Language Impairment (f-t) Child Language Impairment and Linguistics (f-t) Acquired Neurological Impairment (f-t) Aphasia / Clinical Enterprise Project Lead Linguistics (0.5) Child Speech Impairment (f-t) Learning Disability (f-t) Child Language Impairment (0.2) Motor speech, dysphagia and neurology (f-t) Deafness & Hearing Impairment (0.5) Aphasia (f-t) Aphasia (f-t) Acoustic Phonetics (f-t) Developmental Language Disabilities (f-t, with .5 teaching buy out) Phonetics (f-t) Linguistics (f-t) Voice Disorders, Laryngectomy & Dysphagia (f-t) Child Language Impairment (f-t) Maternity leave till Jan 2011 Aphasia (f-t) Developmental Psychology (f-t) Developmental Communication Disabilities (0.6) Research Methods/Psychology (f-t) Psychology (f-t) Phonetics (0.6) Audiology (f-t) Acoustic Phonetics (f-t) Dysfluency (f-t) Programme Support Unit Staff Sarah Harvey Bethan Lewis Rakhee Rana Programme Officer (ft) Clinic/placement administration (0.6) Senior Programme Officer (ft) Academic Support Staff Ali Quinn Departmental Administrator 0.5 Technical Staff Robert Davey (f-t) 6 Research Staff Anna Caute Research Clinician (Aphasia) Maternity leave till Jan 2011 Speech Acoustics Lab assistant Research Clinician (Aphasia) Covering Anna Caute till January 2011 Research Assistant (Sign Language Studies) Research Fellow (Sign Language Studies) Research Fellow/Lecturer (Language Development) Research Assistant (Child Language and Autism) Research Assistant (Child Language) Research Assistant (Sign Language Studies) Research Associate (Child Language) Research Assistant (Reading and Deafness) Lead clinician for Aphasia Research Clinic Bernie Coulthrust Mickey Dean Katie Mason Wolfgang Mann Chloe Marshall Heather Payne Jo Piper Kate Rowley Belinda Seeff-Gabriel Zoe Shergold Celia Woolf Department PhD students Valentina Arena (Ushers Syndrome) Anna Caute (Aphasia) Staff Candidate Liz Clark (Early feeding in premature infants) Ruth Deutsch (Dynamic Assessment) (from Jan 2010) Andrea Dohmen (Child Language) Celia Harding (Non nutritive sucking in infants) Staff Candidate Natalie Hasson (Dynamic Assessment) Staff Candidate Hannah Hockey (Child Language) Mariam Khater (Language Impairment) Abigail Levin (Child Language) Staff Candidate Anne Mayne (Child Language) Ghada Najmaldeen (Child Language) Sarah Northcott (Aphasia) Husen Owaida (Child Language) Kamila Polišenská (Child Language) Ashwag Wallan (Child Language) Anne Zimmer-Stahl (Phonetics/Aphasia) Staff Contact Details Staff and PhD Students Telephone Audiology Lab 3101 Room D204 BOTTING Nicola 8314 D 222 Nicola.Botting.1@city.ac.uk CAMILLERI, Bernard 8505 D227 Bernard.Camilleri.1@city.ac.uk CAUTE, Anna 8202 DG21 Anna.Caute.1@city.ac.uk CHIAT, Shula 8238 D 221 Shula.Chiat.1@city.ac.uk COCKS, Naomi 8287 D227 Naomi.Cocks.1@city.ac.uk 7 E-mail Address COULHURST, Bernie 0149 D212 B.Coulthrust@city.ac.uk CRUICE, Madeline 8290 D225 M.Cruice@city.ac.uk DAVEY, Robert 8216 D204 R.Davey@city.ac.uk DEAN, Mickey 8202 D220 Michael.Dean.1@city.ac.uk DIPPER, Lucy 4658 D207 L.T.Dipper@city.ac.uk DODD, Barbara 3327 D218 Barbara.Dodd.1@city.ac.uk HARDING, Celia 8946 D218 C.Harding@city.ac.uk HARRISON, Kirsty 8292 DG21 Kirsty.Harrison.1@city.ac.uk HASSON, Natalie 8280 D218 N.K.Hasson@city.ac.uk HERMAN, Ros 8285 D227 R.C.Herman@city.ac.uk HICKIN, Julie 8354 D222 Julie.Hickin.1@city.ac.uk HILARI, Katerina 4660 D215 K.Hilari@city.ac.uk HIRSON, Allen 8289 D209 A.Hirson@city.ac.uk JOFFE, Victoria 4629 D224 V.Joffe@city.ac.uk KNIGHT, Rachael Ann 8081 D204 R.Knight-1@city.ac.uk LEE, Mary 8286 D215 M.T.Lee@city.ac.uk LEVIN, Abigail 4662 D206 A.Levin-1@city.ac.uk LEWIS, Bethan 8288 D217 B.Lewis@city.ac.uk LITOSSELITI, Lia 8297 D207 L.Litosseliti@city.ac.uk MANN, Wolfgang 8348 D220 Wolfgang.Mann.1@city.ac.uk MARSHALL, Chloe 3633 D213 Chloe.Marshall.1@city.ac.uk MARSHALL, Jane 4668 D223 J.Marshall@city.ac.uk MORGAN, Gary 8291 D213 G.Morgan@city.ac.uk MYERS, Lucy 8206 D206 L.Myers@city.ac.uk D220 Jo.Piper.1@city.ac.uk PIPER, Jo PRING, Tim 8293 D210 T.R.Pring@city.ac.uk QUINN; Ali 3922 DG21 Ali.Quinn.1@city.ac.uk RANA, Rakhee 8281 D217 Rakhee.Rana.1@city.ac.uk ROY, Penny 4656 D211 P.J.Roy@city.ac.uk SAMOYLOVA, Katya D204 Sign Lab 8979 D216 TURNER, Paul 3101 D204 Paul.Turner.1@city.ac.uk VERHOEVEN, Jo 0148 D203 Johan.Verhoeven.1@city.ac.uk WILLIAMS, Roberta 8295 D226 R.Williams@city.ac.uk WOOLF, Celia 8296 D218 Celia.Woolf.1@city.ac.uk Please note all Staff telephone numbers are can be searched on line at: http://www.city.ac.uk/phone/ LCS FAX Numbers FAX LCS Admin Fax LCS Forensic Fax 8 FAX Number 8577 8298 Room D220 D212 Academic Year Quick Reference Calendar 2010-2011 2010 September October November December 2011 January March 29th Week of 4th 12th Induction Day Teaching starts Programme Management Team (1pm) 10th End of Autumn Term Week of 17th Teaching starts 4th Programme Management meeting (1pm) April June 11th 2nd 10th Assessment Board End of Spring Term Programme Management Team (1pm) July September 30th 1st 16th Submission of dissertation proposal Assessment Board Assessment Board Departmental Information Communications and how to find out what you need to know There are numerous sources of information about what is going on in your Department, in the School and in the University. It is your duty to keep yourself informed about changes in teaching arrangements, study requirements, assessment and so on. This Handbook explains quite a lot of what you need to know and there is a great deal of information on the University, Departmental and MSc webpages. Other sources of information which it is vital to use on a regular basis include e-mail, notice boards, your student pigeonhole, and of course if need be you can go to a member of staff, such as your Programme Director, Shula Chiat, or ask at the Student Help Desk in D217, on the second floor of the Social Science Building. Pigeonholes Student pigeonholes for your programme are currently located in D217, on the second floor of the Social Science Building. If a tutor or another member of staff needs to contact you, they may do so via your pigeonhole. It is therefore vital that you look in your pigeonhole at least once per day when you are in the University. 9 E-mail E-mail (electronic mail) is routinely used for communications with students and should be checked regularly. All City students are encouraged to use the extensive personal computing facilities that the University provides. Your student ID number allows you to register as a computer user as soon as you complete your student registration. Registration as a user will provide you with a guide to the e-mail system and you can begin using it straightaway. If you normally check e-mail on an address other than your university address, please ensure that your university e-mail is forwarded automatically to that address. The Department and University cannot accept requests for emails to be sent to addresses other than university addresses. University website Please check the website for central University, Departmental and course information <www.city.ac.uk> Finding a member of staff to help you Sometimes you will have a question that cannot be answered by any of the published sources of information. Members of the academic, administrative and secretarial staff will do their best to provide the answer. Make sure you know the location of your Departmental Office (D217). In most cases, you should first try asking for help from your Departmental Office, your module tutor or the Programme Director, though on occasions they will direct you elsewhere (e.g. to the School or the Registry). If you need to speak to a lecturer and can’t find them in their office, send an e-mail and you should receive a response within two days (unless they are ‘out of office’). Programme Director's office hours The MSc Programme Director, Shula Chiat, will be available on Thursday afternoons, 1.00-3.00, in her office (D221). Contingency plans for staff illness If a member of staff is unable to run an MSc module session, we will do our best to give advance notice to all students attending the module, by setting up a 'telephone' tree at the beginning of term to facilitate rapid communication. Depending on staff and student availability, we will then either re-schedule the session, or make it available on Moodle. 10 Organisation and Administration Committee structure for School/Department governance The governance of the university is the system by which key decisions about the university are made. It is not vital to understand the role of every committee, but it useful to know how key decisions which will affect your time at university are made, and how you can influence them. A diagram showing the governance structure of the University is provided in Appendix 4. University The University Council is the governing body of City University London; this means that it is ultimately responsible for the affairs of the university. Council delegates all academic matters to the Senate. This means that the Senate is the most important committee for all academic issues. Students are represented on Council and Senate by the Students’ Union. Senate is also supported by a number of University-wide committees. The APPSC, or Academic Practice Programmes & Standards Committee, advises Senate on all issues relating to teaching, learning and the quality of programmes. The Student Affairs Committee is the key committee at University level for all issues that directly affect students. School At a school level the highest committee is the Board of Studies. This oversees the establishment and effective operation of local policies concerning academic practice, programmes of study, assessment and admission requirements for programmes. The Board of Studies is supported by a number of committees. The school-level APPSC, or Academic Practice Programmes & Standards Committee, advises the Board of Studies on all matters relating to programmes. The Student Affairs Committee is the key committee for all issues that affect students. Senior student representatives sit on the APPSC, and make up half of the SAC. Department and Programme At this level the key committee is the Programme Management Team. This committee will consider all issues that affect the programme and give vital information to other committees in the university. PMTs are often supported by Student Affairs Committees, Programme Boards and Student-Staff Liaison Committees. Student Representatives sit on all of these committees. MSc Human Communication Programme Management Team The MSc Human Communication Programme Management Team normally meets once in each term. The PMT consists of the Programme Director, all academic staff 11 involved in the programme, and student representatives. The Chair of the PMT for your course is Programme Director Shula Chiat. Student representatives, who are elected by students on the course, are responsible for raising matters of concern to the student body at meetings and for reporting back on the discussion and any decisions taken. Student Representation in School of Community & Health Sciences The School of Community and Health Sciences is committed to student representation. The system of student representation works on two levels, with programme level student representatives and senior student representatives at school level. Programme Level For each programme, at least one student should be elected for each cohort. This student will represent the views of all students in their cohort to staff and academics, and will sit on the Programme Management Team, which allows students to raise issues directly related to programmes and modules. School Level Each department then selects two senior student reps. These students are the key representative for their department and form the basis of the School’s Student Affairs Committee. The Student Affairs Committee, which reports to the Academic Practice, Programmes and Standards Committee, is the key committee for the student experience throughout the School, and monitors the responsiveness of departments and student services to all forms of student feedback. The Student Affairs Committee maintains an issue tracker to ensure that the School responds effectively to feedback in a timely fashion. The committee is student-driven and will be co-chaired by a student. The Student Affairs Committee works with and complements student representation on a programme level. This system fits neatly with the student representation system of the main university, and will give School students a clear voice throughout the school and university. Expressing your views The main mechanism for airing and dealing with student issues and problems is through your student representative on the MSc Human Communication Programme Management Team, but you can also:  ask your representatives on the Student Affairs Committee (see previous section) to raise any issue relating to students;  make your own views known to, or seek information from, your student representatives on the Student Affairs Committee when there is any matter under consideration which may involve student interests. At an individual level, you are free to bring any matter to the attention of your module leader or Programme Director in the first instance. If you are still unhappy, 12 you can approach the Head of Department or Dean and they will take appropriate follow-up action, such as reference to the relevant Departmental, School or University committee. Student evaluation of teaching Student feedback is collected near or at the end of each module, through an anonymous questionnaire which will either be distributed at the end of a lecture or posted on Moodle under that module. This is available to all students registered for the module. A statistical summary of responses to the closed items on each questionnaire is prepared and is available to the Dean, Head of Department, and Programme Management Team. Analysis of the feedback and report on follow-up actions are part of the Annual Programme Review which is presented to the Programme Management Team before submission to the Academic Practice Programmes & Standards Committee (APPSC – see above). In addition, an opportunity for informal feedback is given by module leaders in the course of each module. Programme Management Teams also give student representatives the opportunity to give feedback on all aspects of the course on behalf of their fellow students. University Complaints Procedure Students who wish to make a complaint against the University concerning the quality of an academic programme or any related service should do so at the local level, with the individual, department or service provider concerned. Students may individually or collectively raise matters of proper concern without prejudicial effect. If you decide to make a complaint, your privacy and confidentiality will be respected, although complaint resolution may not be possible without revealing your identity to the subject of the complaint. Anonymous complaints will not be investigated. You will receive fair treatment provided that complaints are not made maliciously. Decisions made by the University will have regard to any applicable law. You are entitled to be accompanied at all stages of the complaints procedure by a person of your choosing. If a legal representative is chosen, you must give the University prior notice in order that it may consider similar support. Details of how to make a complaint can be found on the web http://www.city.ac.uk/ace/complaints.html Student Support Library Information Services The main University Library is in Northampton Square occupying the top five floors in the University Building. As well as the main library, there are more specialist site libraries at Frobisher Crescent (business and arts policy) and at West Smithfield and Whitechapel (nursing and midwifery). All students are welcome to use any library. There are 905 study places of which most are in the main library. 13 Postgraduates may borrow up to 15 books. Books are available for seven day loan and three day loan. A few may be available for up to three weeks. Books that are in high demand are available on a 24 hour short loan basis and there is also a reference section. Although copies of standard texts and required reading are available in the Library, you will need to buy those books that you use regularly. Details of both the Library book stock and periodicals holdings are held on the University network, which can be accessed from any point in the University and via the web, as well as in each of the libraries. There is also easy access via the local and national academic networks to catalogues in many other academic libraries. The Periodicals Collection, in conjunction with electronic journals and databases, supports all types of postgraduate work from course assignments to doctoral dissertations. The Library also provides access to a growing number of electronic information services and items not held in the Library may be obtained from elsewhere via the Inter-Library Loans service. Further information about the University’s Library Information Services can be obtained via their web site: <www.city.ac.uk/library> 14 IT Public Services Who looks after your IT Services? Whenever you use a lab PC, borrow a book, use the Moodle, send an email or use the Halls of Residents network you will be dealing with the services provided by Information Services who underpin and support your IT experience at City University. How do I use the computers in the public computer labs? You need to log in using your computing account username e.g. abcd123 and password. You will receive these during registration as part of the IT account activation process. If you are unsure as to whether you have activated your IT account please visit the IS Service Centre (E101) at Northampton Square (or your local support centre at the other sites) where staff will be able to advise you. Is there any service downtime I should know about? In addition to the Scheduled Maintenance Period (normally undertaken on Tuesday mornings between 8am and 10am GMT/BST). Please check the Message of the Day by calling 0207 040 8181 and selecting Option 4 for announcements and information about any scheduled server downtime or technical issues. Who can I contact for more help? IT RESPONSE CENTRE For technical problems, account queries or other IT related issues, contact the IT Response Centre by e-mail: response-centre@city.ac.uk, or call 0207 040 8181. IS SERVICE CENTRE For face-to-face support with any IT related query, software/hardware requests or IT advisory services, please visit the IS Support Centre in E101 (Drysdale Building – Northampton Square). 15 Frequently Asked Questions Q. I know my username and password, but the computer reports that my computing account is locked and I need to see an administrator. A1. When logging into your account, you have three attempts to do so successfully after which your account will be locked out. When this occurs, wait for 10 minutes before trying again. A2. Please ensure that no fees are outstanding and that you have not been barred by the Finance Department (www.city.ac.uk/finance or 0207 040 3026) Q. How do I change my computing account password? A1. If you have forgotten your password visit the IS Service Centre (E101) at Northampton Square (or your local support centre at other sites) with your valid ID card and we will change it for you. A2. If you know your password but would like to change it: Please visit http://www.city.ac.uk/changepassword or from any Information Services public computer room which has MS Windows go to Start - Programs Useful Utilities and click on Change Password and again follow the instructions. Q. Where can I top up my print credit? A. You can top up your print credit at the IS Service Centre at Northampton Square (E101) or at the library with your debit card. For other sites, you can pay at your local support centre. Please contact Cass Student IT Helpdesk at Bunhill Row for information on printing there: cass-helpdesk@city.ac.uk Q. How much storage space do I have on the network? A. Each user is allocated a disk quota – a limit on the amount of space that you can use. The quota for Windows XP system is 200MB and LINUX system is 50MB. Users must begin housekeeping – i.e. deleting or compressing your work or copying it to another location – from the start of account usage. It is not possible to increase your storage allocation except in special circumstances where more space might be required, for a project for example. In these instances space requirements are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Q. What is Extended Hours Service? A. Extended Hours Services are three rooms at the Northampton Square site which can be accessed out of normal opening hours. To gain access to any of these rooms during extended hours you will need to register your University card with a PIN. You can do this at the machine by the Student Centre at Northampton Square. You just have to follow the on screen instructions. Q. When does my account expire / why can’t I keep it indefinitely? A. Your account will usually become inactive one month from the end of your course and is automatically deleted 30 days after this. Due to storage limitations and administration overheads it is not usually possible to keep your account and email active for any longer than the stated two months. Q. Can I put my own paper in the printers? 16 A. Unfortunately it is not possible to put anything other than the University-supplied paper in the printers. This is due to the potential risk of invalidating warranty and service agreements. Q. I’ve sent a job to print, it says ‘Sent to printer’ but nothing has come out? A1. Check your print credit to make sure the credit is enough to print all the pages you require otherwise the print server will discard the entire job. A2. Check the document itself is set to the correct paper size. Q. I’m in a lab at Northampton Square - where is the colour printer located and what is it called? A1. For A4 sized prints send your print job to service-centre-colour-A4, print cost is 20p per sheet. A2. For A3 sized prints send your print job to service-centre-b&w-a3, print cost is 20p per sheet for Black & White and £1 for Colour. The printer is located in the IS Service Centre (E101) at Northampton Square. Q. Can I install some software? A. Strictly no software is to be installed without permission from Information Services; you will be barred from using your account if found doing so. Q. I printed something and don’t know where it has been printed out? A. Go to File, then Print and see what the default printer is set to. You should normally find your print-out at the local printer in the room where you are working. Q. When I log in it takes a long time – can I get help? A. If you are at Northampton Square, pay a visit to the IS Service Centre in E101 (or your local support centre at other sites). The advisor will be able to investigate and perhaps reset your profile. This guidance note is produced by Information Services and Libraries and is available on the ISL website: www.city.ac.uk/isl. Also see related guidance notes on Moodle and Library services. The Public Access IT Facilities Our aim is to deliver a centrally managed, reliable and excellent quality IT service to both staff and students, which complements the facilities provided by individual departments. The services we provide include the University email system, web servers, backup and media storage, as well as a University wide local area network (LAN). An Internet connection is supplied via JANET (Joint Academic Network). There are over 1500 Windows and 46 Linux public access workstations available for use across the University. A user account is required to gain access to these. During term time these are heavily used during the day, especially at assignment time, so you should plan your work accordingly. 17 Some workstation rooms can be booked for classes and as such may be unavailable for long periods during the day and evening. These rooms should have timetables posted on the door indicating booked/available periods. ‘At-Risk’ period All centrally managed systems are designated as “at-risk” between 8am and 10am every Tuesday, when essential maintenance work is carried out. This may result in systems not being operational during this time. Information on service disruptions can be obtained by calling 0207 040 8181 and choosing option 4. The IT User Account  Consists of a username and password.  Is obtained via the Self-Registration process, which can be completed on a Public Access workstation. Instructions can be picked up from your local Support Centre; alternatively this can be done from home by visiting http://www.city.ac.uk/itactivate and following the on screen instructions.  Provides access to the systems, applications, the Internet, your University email account, your personal web space and also to your personal networked file storage. Choosing your password  Passwords must be 6, 7 or 8 characters long and must contain 1 digit and 1 UPPERCASE letter. Changing your password  You can change your password yourself by visiting http://www.city.ac.uk/changepassword or o On the Windows system by going to Start, Programs, 3.Useful Utilities, Change Password. o On the Linux system by Telnetting to unix.city.ac.uk and using the change password option. If you forget your password you can visit your local support centre for assistance – make sure you have your valid City ID card with you. Saving files on networked file servers You can save files on your allocated network space from both the Windows and Linux workstations. On the Linux system:  Save your files in your home directory area. This space is limited to 50Mb and also includes your personal web space. On the Windows system: 18  Save your files to your U:\ (MyDocs) drive. This space is currently limited to 200Mb. NOTE: All systems give problems occasionally so it is advisable to keep copies of important files on other media, such as USB pens or CD/DVD. Extended hours service – *24 hours a day, 7 days a week Located on the Northampton Square site on Spencer Street, there are three rooms (EG05, EG03, EG04) which are open constantly (except during the Christmas vacation). At times these rooms will be closed for maintenance; these times will be clearly advertised. To access these rooms outside of normal opening hours you will need to register your ID card with a PIN number for the out-of-hours access door. To do this please visit the 24 hr PIN kiosk by the Student Centre and follow the on screen instructions. Scanners These are available on the Northampton Square (NSQ) site. Located in the IS Service Centre (room E101), due to demand it is advisable to call ahead and check before making a special trip in to use them. They are allocated on a first come first served basis. Note: There may be legal restrictions on the amount of copyrighted information that you can scan. For more information visit: http://www.city.ac.uk/library/using/copyright.html Printing  Credit can be purchased from all campus library service desks, or IT Support Centres. Costs per sheet may vary between sites; refer to local support for information.  All printouts are sent to a shared laser printer in the room you are working in, unless you choose to send it to another printer.  A3 and A4 colour printing is available through the Service Centre  A4 Acetates can also be printed through the Service Centre 19 Note:  Printers are named based on their location, for example “ps-eg14” is a printer located in room EG14  You cannot use your own paper/acetates in any centrally managed printer. Using your own laptop on the wireless network You can use your own laptop to gain access to the CityWifi wireless service. Instructions on connecting can be obtained from the IS Service Centre at Northampton Square, the Library or your local support office at other sites. Once the computer is configured it should be able to connect to the Internet from most locations throughout the University. Please check with your local support office for full coverage details. Support/Service Centre  Face to face/walk-in support is available via the IS Service Centre o Located in room E101, Drysdale Building in Northampton Square o Opening hours 8am-8pm (term-time), 8am-5pm (vacation time) o Contact by phone on 0207 040 8181 or email via responsecentre@city.ac.uk       20 Support is primarily for students with issues relating to PCs in the public workstation rooms. You can also obtain support with configuring and troubleshooting problems connecting to the University’s wireless service. University Staff members will be able to receive assistance with setting up role accounts, staff accounts and any other support queries relating to University IT systems and services. Students will be able to credit their printing account and get support with printing problems. Buy basic consumables such as CD’s, USB memory sticks or Digital Video tapes for the loan Camcorders. Support for the network in Halls of Residence, including troubleshooting connection issues and advice on virus infections. Public Access Workstation Rooms - Locations (* denotes site location) Room *Northampton Square College Building (A) A217 A218 A220 A308 A307 Drysdale Building (E) EG14 (unbookable) EG13 EG12 EG07 EG05 EG03 EG04 IS Service Centre Tait Building (C) C218 C301 University Building B309(Room A) Library Level 2 Library Level 3 *Bunhill Row (CASS) Cass IT Support 1001, 1002, 2000 2001 *West Smithfield 5th Floor *Whitechapel 1st Floor 21 Term time opening Windows 8am – 8pm Linux 25 25 30 32 16 8.30am – 8.30pm 78 34 41 40 24 hour access area 8am – 8pm (during term time) 21 10 20 *available for all support queries 8am-8pm 6 30 9:00-20:30 Mon-Fri 9.30am -8pm (7pm Fridays) (Sat 12:00-17:00) 29 40 64 9am-6pm (Mon-Fri) 8 am – 9.30pm Teaching only 8.30am – 8.30pm 55 8.30am – 7.30pm 28 Audio Visual Services Audio Visual provide equipment and technical support for all University members. Their technicians offer assistance and advice in setting up and using all classroom teaching equipment. Classroom Facilities The classroom podium, or Pod for short, is a purpose-built unit that houses various lecture room technology at City University. The Pod offers you convenience and flexibility: everything you need to start your meeting or lecture is at your fingertips and all the technology is supported and maintained by the Audio Visual (AV) team. Each classroom Pod comprises: * * * * * * * A networked Windows PC (based on the current student build) A DVD/VHS player An audio cassette deck A Visualiser (document image camera) A Sympodium (a touch screen / interactive pen display) Video/audio/network cables for a laptop connection A Crestron touch-control panel which allows you to switch between the components of the Pod (Resident PC, Laptop, Visualiser, DVD, VHS and Audio tape). The visual output from each Pod is normally displayed via data projector onto a screen, or in some rooms it is output onto a large plasma TV. All pods are also connected to wall mounted speakers. Equipment Loans AV loans equipment to City University students and staff. Equipment can be borrowed free of charge. Available equipment: o Camcorders: 10 x Digital Video Cameras with tripods o MP3 Recorders: 5 x Zoom MP3 recorders with memory cards. o Microphones: 8 x Microphones, 3 Lapel microphones      22 To borrow equipment, students must complete an equipment loan form, which must be signed by a member of staff from their department and returned to the Response Centre office, room EG02. Booking forms are available from the Service Centre. Portable loan equipment should be collected from EG02 and returned immediately after use (note, late returns are subject to fines). Users are responsible for security of equipment on loan. We will require five days’ notice to book equipment. Educational Advice and Guidance Service The Educational Advice and Guidance Service provides support for all students and can help with study skills, including how to learn more effectively, charting progress, making the most of feedback from tutors and making decisions about future learning needs. The service is based on equal opportunity principles and delivered by suitably trained and experienced staff who will refer students appropriately if they cannot meet their needs. Contact Number: ext 8771 University’s Policy on Student Support The University has an agreed Student Support Strategy, which aims to provide a clear plan for the overall organisation, management, development and resourcing of the various services which support the University’s students in achieving their goals. The Strategy is overseen by the University’s Student and Staff Services Development Group (SSSDG), which includes student members. We hope that you find it useful. Personal Tutors It is important from the point of view of your welfare as a student and individual that, during your time at University, there is a member of staff who gets to know you, whom you get to know, and who will give you guidance and support in academic matters and on a personal level. In your case, the Programme Director (Shula Chiat) will be your first point of contact and will play this personal tutoring role. However, if issues arise which you would prefer to discuss with an independent person, the Programme Director will identify a separate personal tutor for you. Remember, it is your responsibility to get in touch with your Programme Director (or personal tutor) whenever you have any problems and to keep them informed of any changes in your circumstances. One of their functions is to inform Boards of Examiners, Appeal panels and so forth, of any circumstances that may have affected your performance. Furthermore, they will serve as a link with other resources within and without the University, directing or referring you to appropriate services if the need arises. They may also provide references for you at the end of the programme. To sum up: If you are in any difficulty whatsoever, academic or personal, please discuss it with your Programme Director, or tell them that you would like to be allocated an independent personal tutor to discuss such matters. Other sources of support In addition to support from your personal tutor, department and/or school, the following services are provided by the University to support you during your studies. 23 Student Centre Level 2, Refectory Building (Main University Building at Northampton Square) Tel.: 020 7040 7040 Fax: 020 7040 6030 The Student Centre is able to advise you on any query you have whilst you are a student at the City University. The new Centre brings together a comprehensive range of support activities which are easily accessible to all City University students. The Centre will be a point of contact for information about the following areas:  Academic issues  Dyslexia  Disability  Employment  E-learning  Faith  Financial support  Health  Housing  International student support  Learning support and study skills  Library and computing  Payment of fees  Purchase of student cards and photocopy cards  Student appeals and complaints Please see the website www.city.ac.uk for further information. Students’ Union The Students’ Union Welfare and Education Advisory Service employs professional advice workers who can be consulted on a wide range of topics including finances, grants and benefits, accommodation, health and safety matters, and issues relevant to overseas students and other minority groups. Further information on how to contact these services can be found on: www.cusuonline.org 24 Centre for Careers & Skills Development The University Centre for Career & Skills Development (CCSD) provides a service to current full-time and part-time undergraduates and postgraduates and to recent graduates of the University. Our aim is to give you the advice, information and skills you need to make a smooth transition into the world of work. Students can use the wide selection of careers resources at any time during opening hours, call in for a brief chat with a Careers Adviser over the lunch-time period, or book a longer appointment if needed. Careers Advisers also run regular workshops on a range of job search related topics and may run specific sessions within the School. For full details, please visit our website – http://www.city.ac.uk/careers The CCSD also runs the Vacancy Board service which can help you find casual work while you are studying and it also advertises a wide range of graduate vacancies. Opportunities for volunteering and mentoring can also be arranged through the service. The Careers Centre is located in Northampton Square, Tel: 020 7040 8093. Programme Please note that you can view the full Specification for your programme on the University’s Programme Information and Specification Management (PRISM) system, accessible at: http://was.city.ac.uk/External_Reports/ExternRepFront.jsp Background The Department has been providing education to speech and language therapists for over fifty years, initially in the School for the Study of Disorders in Human Communication and from 1982-1999 as the Department of Clinical Communication Studies within City University. In 1999, the Department changed its name to Language and Communication Science, in order to better represent the current range of activities including Deaf Studies. Over 100 therapists graduate from the Department every year, making it one of the largest centres of education for the profession in the country. The Department’s extensive and expanding research and applied activities provide valuable resources, supporting teaching that combines academic excellence and innovative theoretical work with a practical focus. As part of the School of Community and Health Sciences, the Department is also able to draw on the strengths of a range of other departments involved in health-related education and there are links with departments such as Psychology and Sociology. The Department has a long-standing commitment to postgraduate education for qualified speech and language therapists, instituting the UK’s first MSc degree in the discipline. To keep pace with current developments we have developed the present MSc programme, which is designed to be both academically rigorous and clinically relevant. The modular nature of the MSc course enables students to tailor their studies to meet their interests and professional development needs. 25 26 Aims and Objectives of the Programme Aims       To provide a flexible, professionally-orientated MSc programme for Speech and Language Therapists and others with a specific interest in the field of communication and communication disorders. To foster applied and theoretical expertise in the areas of speech, language, and communication. To develop students' research skills. To provide students with opportunities to design their own course by selecting from available modules. To provide input from a wide range of experts in the fields of both theory and practice. To provide students with a recognised qualification indicating the level of specialised expertise. Overall learning objectives and outcomes At the end of the course students will be able to:  synthesise and critically evaluate relevant research literature.  critically appraise and integrate different perspectives and theories within each module and across modules.  demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of current perspectives, theoretical concepts, research methodologies and research findings in their areas of study.  demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles of research design and statistics.  consider and evaluate the implications of current research for clinical/educational/social policy and practice.  engage in independent study using a range of research resources.  demonstrate written and verbal communication skills appropriate to Master’s level.  show insight into and respect for the experience of service users and participants in research. Programme Organisation The MSc programme comprises 8 taught modules of 15 credits plus a dissertation module of 60 credits. Successful completion of all 9 modules (180 credits) leads to the award of the MSc in Human Communication. The taught modules can be taken on a part-time (one day a week) basis over two years, or can be completed on a full-time basis over one year. It is anticipated that clinically employed students will attend on a part-time basis, completing the taught MSc programme in two years. Students can take the programme on an occasional basis, i.e. by taking separate modules as convenient. 27 The dissertation is normally completed within one academic year after the completion of the 8 taught modules. Structure of the MSc The compulsory modules of the MSc are:   Research Design and Statistics A Research Design and Statistics B UK Therapists on the MSc programme are encouraged to take: Evidence-Based Practice Clinical Management Identity, Inclusion and Living with Disability. All MSc students must additionally complete the research dissertation. Diploma Completion of 8 taught modules (120 credits) without the dissertation leads to the award of the Diploma. Individual Modules Students can take modules on an individual basis, by agreement with the Module Leaders. Successful completion of each module leads to the award of a Certificate of Credit. Module outlines are provided at the end of this section. 28 Induction Before the start of the Autumn Term, all new students are required to attend the induction day on 29th September 2010: 10.00 – 12.00 Welcome and Registration AG01 (for students who have not registered by post) 12.00 – 13.00 Introduction (Shula Chiat and Vicky Joffe) 13.00 – 14.00 Lunch and Meeting with LCS Staff Members (with information about Student Representation and Student Experience) 14.00 – 15.00 Library and E-learning Induction (Steve O’Driscoll) Library Teaching Room (far end of Level 3 of Library) Additional activities As well as the induction day, there will be supplementary activities for all Human Communication students. Students attending on Thursdays will be expected to attend departmental research seminars held on those days. All students are expected to be conversant with or attend training courses offered by the university in such areas as internet database searching, e-mail, web design. Three optional sessions on Information and IT are included in your programme: Monday 25th October, 2.00-4.00: Introduction to Databases – Library IT Suite Monday 1st November, 2.00-4.00: Evidence Based Practice – Library IT Suite Monday 22nd November, 2.00-4.00: RefWorks – Library IT Suite Full details of other courses may be found on the university website. . 29 MSc Human Communication Timetable: 2010-11 Note:  If fewer than 3 students select a particular module, that module may not run, in which case the student(s) who selected it may have to choose an alternative module.  Please check the final timetable, with exact timing of sessions and confirmation of rooms, which will be distributed at induction. Autumn Term: Weeks beginning 4 October - 6 December 2010 Morning Thursday Friday Afternoon 10.00-1.00 1.30-4.00 HCM002 HCM009 Clinical Management Habilitative Audiology D106 D107 10.00-12.30 1.30-3.30 HCM012 HCM007 Research Design and Statistics A Dysphagia and Disorders of Eating and Drinking Level 3A D112 Except: 8th October and 5th November C135 HCM010 Identity, Inclusion and Living with Disability This will run on four full days: Tues 2nd November Weds 3rd November Tues 9th November Weds 10th November 10.00-1.00 2.00-5.00 10.00-1.00 2.00-5.00 10.00-1.00 2.00-5.00 10.00-1.00 2.00-5.00 D107 D107 D106 C164 C357 C357 C357 C357 Optional Workshops on Information and IT Monday 25th October, 2.00-4.00: Introduction to Databases – Library IT Suite Monday 1st November, 2.00-4.00: Evidence Based Practice – Library IT Suite Monday 22nd November, 2.00-4.00: RefWorks – Library IT Suite 30 Spring Term: Weeks beginning 24 January – 28 March 2011 Morning Monday Afternoon 10.00-1.00 HCM021 Case-Based Clinical Management D108 Thursday Friday 10.00-1.00 10.00-1.00 2.00-4.00 HCM003 HCM016 HCM008 Cognitive Communication Impairments Speech Acoustics & Speech Perception Evidence-Based Practice D106 D107 C220 10.00-1.00 2.00-5.00 2.00-5.00 HCM020 HCM001 HCM005 Research Design and Statistics B Acquired Language Impairment Developmental Language Impairment D112 D113 Level 3A Project session: 10.00-13.00, Wednesday 2nd March 2011 HCM019 Language Learning and Development This will run on three full days: Weds 19th January Thurs 20th January Weds 30th March 9.30-1.00 2.00-5.00 10.00-1.00 2.00-5.00 10.00-1.00 2.00-5.00 CG56 D113 D106 C313 D112 D106 MSc Human Communication Provisional Timetable: 2011-12 We expect the timetable to be the same as for 2010-11, but this may be subject to change due to staff and/or student availability and student module choices. We will give you as much notice as possible if any changes are required. 31 Module Outlines: MSc in Human Communication 32 HCM001 Acquired Language Impairment Module Module Leader: Julie Hickin Module rationale This module will provide you with updated knowledge of new developments in language processing theory and to encourage you to consider how to integrate language work with social model approaches to aphasia therapy innovatively and creatively. Module aims This module aims to update your theoretical understanding of aphasia and help you apply that knowledge to clinical practice. It aims to encourage the integration of language processing theory with social approaches to aphasia. It will explore specific issues in aphasia, such as conversation and non verbal modalities, and specific manifestations such as jargon aphasia. It will promote clinical and reflective thinking, both with respect to the literature and clinical practice. Indicative content You will cover the following topics: Levels of processing - single word models Connectionist models Semantic impairments Sentence processing and 'thinking for speaking' Conversation Analysis, conversational therapy approaches and outcome measurement Integrating the Social Model with language processing work Quality of Life issues Jargon aphasia - theoretical models and clinical applications Bilingual aphasia - theoretical models and clinical applications Implementing and analysing therapy Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Demonstrate an understanding of lexical and sentence processing models and their application to the assessment and treatment of aphasia.  Demonstrate an understanding of how to assess and remediate conversational skills in aphasia. 33     Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the process of therapy and its evaluation. Demonstrate understanding of nonverbal modalities in aphasia and their remediation. Demonstrate an understanding of issues related to quality of life in aphasia. Demonstrate understanding of specific manifestations of aphasia, such as bilingual aphasia and jargon aphasia. Skills  Engage confidently in academic and professional communication, reporting on the intended remediation plans clearly and competently.  Demonstrate self-direction and originality in planning a remediation programme, drawing on the ideas presented in this module.  Demonstrate an ability to think critically about research literature, synthesise relevant research from a range of sources and apply this to clinical practice.  Integrate language processing and social model ideas in a clinically useful way. Module learning and teaching methods Methods will include seminars, workshops, and critical reading groups. Assessment methods You will be assessed through an oral presentation (50%) and literature review (50%) to assess your understanding of relevant language processing methodologies and your ability to integrate these with social model ideas, using recent research publications. In addition, the oral presentation will assess your self-direction and originality in planning a remediation programme and your ability to engage in verbal communication, and the literature Review will assess your written communication. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve an aggregate Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark shall be calculated from the Literature review weighted at 50.0% with a minimum mark of 50% and Oral presentation weighted at 50.0% with a minimum mark of 50%. Indicative reading list Basso, A. (2003) Aphasia and its Therapy. New York. OUP 34 Basso, A., Cappa, S. and Gainotti, G. (2000) Cognitive Neuropsychology and Language Rehabilitation: A Special Issue of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. Hove. Psychology Press. Byng, S., Swinburn,K. and Pound, C. (1999) The Aphasia Therapy File. Hove Psychology Press. (Paperback published 2001). Byng, S., Duchan, J. and Pound, C. (2006) The Aphasia Therapy File: Volume 2. Psychology Press. Chapey, R. (2008) Language Intervention Strategies in Aphasia and Related Neurogenic Communication Disorders. Philadelphia. Lipincott, Williams and Wilkins. Chiat, S., Dipper, L.T. & McKiernan, A. (2001) Re-dressing the balance: A commentary on Duchan's Clinical Practices Re-examined. Advances in Speech Language Pathology. Clinical Forum. Duchan, J.F. (2001) Impairment and Social Views of Speech Language Pathology: Clinical Practices re-examined. Advances in Speech Language Pathology. Clinical Forum. Hillis, A. (2002) The Handbook of Adult Language Disorders: Integrating Cognitive Neuropsychology, Neurology and Rehabilitation. Psychology press. Howard, D. & Hatfield, F.M. (1987) Aphasia Therapy: Historical and Contemporary Issues. Lawrence Erlbaum. Jordan, L. and Kaiser, W. (1996) Aphasia: A Social Approach. London. Chapman Hall. Law, J., Chiat, S. & Marshall, J. (1997) Language Processing in Children and Adults. Whurr Publishers. Lesser, R. and Perkins, L. (1999) Cognitive neuropsychology and conversation analysis in aphasia : an introductory casebook. London: Whurr. Martin,N., Thompson,C. and Worrall, L. (2008) Aphasia rehabilitation : the impairment and its consequences. San Diego. Plural Publishers. Nadeau, S. and Ganzalez-Rothi, L. (2000) Aphasia and Language Theory to Practice. New York. Guilford. Parr, S., Byng, S. and Gilpin, S. (1997) Talking about Aphasia.OUP. Parr, S., Duchan, J. and Pound, C. (2003) Aphasia Inside Out: Reflections on Communication Disability. OUP. Pound, C., Parr, S., Lindsay, J. and Woolf, C. (2000)Beyond Aphasia: Therapies for living with communication disabilities. Bicester. Speechmark. Rapp, B. (2001) The Handbook of Cognitive Neuropsychology: What deficits reveal about the human mind. Psychology Press. Whitworth, A., Webster, J. and Howard, D. (2005) A Cognitive Neuropsychological Approach to Assessment and Intervention in Aphasia. Psychology Press. 35 HCM021 Case-Based Clinical Application Module Module Leader: Mary T. Lee Module Tutors: Mary T. Lee, guest lecturers TBA Module rationale This module aims to provide you with advanced clinical experience through case based learning focusing on clinical areas not addressed in other modules. You, through your choice of client, will become familiar with the body of literature driving clinical practice in a specific area. Module aims     You will apply evidence from the literature in clinical decision making using a range of client groups and presenting conditions. You will apply advanced clinical decision-making in diagnosis and design of intervention. You will apply clinical knowledge and understanding to establish appropriate intervention using conceptual frameworks and the cycle of intervention. You will identify and develop use of advanced technical skills associated with different approaches and patterns of SLT delivery. Indicative content You will concentrate on one of the following clinical areas throughout the course as an exemplar case:  Voice / ENT  Hearing Impairment  Autism  Cerebral Palsy Working with the chosen case you will assess, diagnose, design a treatment programme, and provide rationale for intervention. The final case choice will be based on majority preference as there must be a critical mass of 4-5 of you working on any one case. Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the clinical area in which you are working. 36   Understand the factors that influence effective clinical case management with analysis of factors both within the immediate client team as well as the wider client environment. Understand the principles and information of clinical case management. Skills  Critically evaluate and synthesise relevent research from a range of sources.  Demonstrate a level of conceptual awareness that allows for selection and use of appropriate techniques of evaluation and analysis of data with minimum guidance using the recommended frameworks and methods with critical awareness.  Interact effectively within a team/learning group as member contributing ideas, receiving information, modifying responses and collaborating with others in pursuit of a common goal.  Demonstrate independent learning ability in order to identify key areas to address and to choose appropriate tools/methods for resolution.  Present information in a variety of formats appropriate to the stated goal and target audience in a confident and professional way.  Demonstrate self-direction and autonomy in identifying key elements of problems and choose appropriate methods for their resolution in a considered manner. Module learning and teaching methods This module comprises three lecturer-led sessions for information and discussion. The remaining sessions will be you working in your group to address the management of your client. You will be expected to work independently within the group, to chair the sessions, establish goals and assign roles to other group members for the purposes of information gathering and decision making regarding management of the client. Assessment methods You will be required to submit a case report that demonstrates the concepts of the course and their application to your own work setting (3000 words). Case presentation for discussion will occur with the tutorial group throughout. This is an opportunity to learn from and provide support to each other. The case report addresses the rationale for intervention, specifying the detail of assessment results with implications for therapy with rationale and is designed to assess your approach to clinical case management and your ability to analyse holistically the information you have gathered in order to maximise service delivery to the client. The case report includes assessment results and recommendations, therapeutic approaches with rationale, options for carry-over and follow-up as well as discharge criteria. This will be a group submission. You will also be required to submit an individual selfassessment report to outline your areas of strengths and areas to target for development 37 Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark will comprise the group mark for the 3000 word case report weighted at 80%, and an individual mark for a self assessment report weighted at 20%. Indicative reading list Voice / ENT: Colton, R.H. & Casper, J.K. (1996). 2nd ed. Understanding voice problems. A physiological perspective for diagnosis and treatment. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins. Gardner, M. (1992) Basic Anatomy of the Head and Neck. Malvern, Pennsylvania: Lea & Febiger. Green, M.C.L. & Mathieson, L. (2001). The Voice and Its Disorders (6th Edition). Whurr Publishers. London. Salmon, S. (Ed.) (1999). Alaryngeal Speech Rehabilitation 2nd Edition. Pro-Ed, Inc., Austin Texas. Cerebral Palsy: Bozic, N. and Murdoch, H. (1996). Learning through interaction: technology and children with multiple disabilities. London: David Fulton. Autism: Frith, U. (2003). Autism: Explaining the Enigma .Blackwell. Jordan, R. (1999). Autistic Spectrum Disorders. David Fulton. Happe, F. (2004). Autism: An introduction to Psychological Theory. Psychology Press. Quill, K. (1995). Teaching children with autism – strategies to enhance communication and socialisation. Delmar. Hearing Impairment: Alpiner, J.G. & McCarthy, P.A. (2002). (eds) 3rd ed. Rehabilitative Audiology: Children and Adults. Williams & Wilkins 362.4283 ALP Short Loan. Cowie, R. & Douglas-Cowie, E. (1992). Postlingually acquired deafness: deterioration and the wider consequences. Trends in Linguistics: Studies and Monographs 62. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 38 HCM002 Clinical Management Module Module Leader: Mary T. Lee Module Facilitator: Sarah Hawes Module rationale This module is designed for those of you who are currently working or have recently worked in a health/public sector environment, to enable you to analyse and develop your working environment. Module aims This module will provide you with an introduction to health management issues and approaches. Indicative content You will cover the following topics:  how to manage individuals and groups  using strategic analysis  making change happen  managing yourself  understanding marketing and managing money Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the management environment in which you work. Skills  Critically evaluate and synthesise relevent research from a range of sources.  Analyse the relationship between your clinical experience/skills and management tasks.  Work effectively within the group, sharing ideas and concerns and supporting other group members.  Engage confidently and professionally in academic communication/discussion. Values and attitudes  Analyse the relationship between your own personal development and your ability to manage others. 39 Module learning and teaching methods The module will comprise interactive tutorials and discussion within the group. Sessions will comprise workshops where the group works together on a particular problem, facilitated by the lecturer. You will have an opportunity to present your ideas on an aspect of strategic planning for critical analysis. Assessment methods Coursework comprises the creation of a Service Development Plan which is designed to assess your understanding of your management environment. The Service Development Plan assesses your ability to analyse the relationship between clinical skills and management tasks. The coursework requires you to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts of the course and their application to your own work setting (6000 words). You will present your initial ideas for the plan to the rest of the group during the seventh session. This is an opportunity to learn from and provide support to each other. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, you must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The module mark is calculated from the Service Development Plan weighted at 100%. Indicative reading list Iles, V. Really Managing Healthcare University Press. Iles, V. & Sutherland, K. Organisational Change? A review for Health Care managers, Professionals and Researchers, National Co-ordinating Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organisation R & D. Hunt, J. Managing People at Work, Mc Graw Hill. Blanchard, K. Leadership and the One Minute Manager, Fontana. 40 HCM003 Cognitive Communication Impairments Module Module Tutor: Naomi Cocks Module rationale In this module you will learn about cognitive communication impairments, such as dementia, right hemisphere damage and head injury. In particular, you will learn about the current theories underlying the behaviours associated with these cognitive communication impairments. Module aims In this module you will develop a deeper understanding of cognitive communication impairments and you will explore new approaches to assessment and intervention. Indicative content In this module you will deepen your understanding of the following cognitive communication impairments:  dementia  right hemisphere damage  head injury You will also learn about new assessment and therapy approaches that can be used with this population. Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the impact on communication skills of a variety of neurological conditions.  Evaluate a range of relevant recent research findings.  Determine the implications of different cognitive communication impairments for assessment, differential diagnosis and intervention. Skills  Synthesise relevant research publication with their clinical experience.  Demonstrate critical appraisal skills.  Critically evaluate and synthesise relevent research from a range of sources.  Engage confidently in academic and professional communication. 41 Module learning and teaching methods Methods will include lectures, in-depth reading, and interactive discussion. Assessment methods You will be assessed via a 3000 word essay. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark will comprise the mark for the essay, weighted at 100%. Indicative reading list DeSouza, L. 1990. Multiple Sclerosis: Approaches to Management. London: Chapman and Hall. Duvoisin, R.C., & Sage, J. 2001. Parkinson's disease: A guide for patient and family. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Glosser, G. 1993. Discourse production patterns in neurologically impaired and aged populations, In: Brownell, H.H., & Joanette, Y. (eds) Narrative Discourse in Neurologically Impaired and Normal Aging Adults. pp. 191-212. Joanette, Y., Goulet, P., & Hannequin, D. 1990. Right Hemisphere and Verbal Communication. New York: Springer-Verlag. Maxim, J. & Bryan, K. 1993. Language of the Elderly. London: Whurr. McDonald, S., Togher, L. & Code, C. (eds)1999. Communication Disorders Following Traumatic Brain Injury. Hove: Psychology Press. Murdoch, B.E. 1990. Acquired Speech and Language Disorders. London: Chapman and Hall. Obler, L.K., & Gjerlow, K. 1999. Language and the Brain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ponsford, J., Sloan, S., & Snow, P. 1995. Traumatic Brain Injury: Rehabilitation for Everyday Adaptive Living. Hove: Psychology Press. Richardson, J.T.E. 2000. Clinical and Neuropsychological Aspects of Closed Head Injury. Second Edition. Hove: Psychology Press. Chapter Five: Cognition and Language. Tompkins, C.A. 1995. Right Hemisphere Communication Disorders: Theory and Management. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group. 42 HCM005 Developmental Language Impairment Module Module Tutor: Shula Chiat Module rationale This module will give you access to current issues in research on Developmental Language Impairment (DLI), and provide you with opportunities to reflect on research methods and findings and to explore the implications for individual clinical cases. Module aims This module will:  Extend your knowledge of current research in the field of Developmental Language Impairment  Develop your insights into relations between current research and clinical/educational practice in the field of DLI  Enhance your ability to apply your knowledge and understanding to work with children with DLI. Indicative content Topics will include: The identification, nature and origins of DLI Single-word processing focusing on lexical phonology Pragmatic/social communication skills and the role of social cognition Speech processing and intervention Preschool language intervention Sentence processing Intervention at the sentence level Language and literacy Language difficulties in older children Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of current theoretical explanations and research methods.  Demonstrate familiarity with research findings relevant to your area of work and/or interests. 43 Skills  Describe and justify your selection of methods and stimuli for targeting relevant aspects of speech, language and communication in a child or client group.  Present issues, evidence and conclusions clearly, concisely and coherently in verbal and written form.  Critically evaluate and synthesise relevant research from a range of sources. Values and attitudes  Demonstrate sensitivity to issues of human diversity including culture, ethnicity and disability and act accordingly. Module learning and teaching methods This module will combine lectures with student-led discussions based on prior reading and experience. Assessment methods You will be assessed through an oral presentation of an assessment and/or intervention for an individual child or a client group motivated by relevant research covered in or related to the module, and a written review of the relevant literature. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark shall be calculated from the combined mark of the two subassessments (oral presentation and literature review), each weighted at 50%. Indicative reading list Bishop, D. (1997). Uncommon understanding: Development and disorders of language comprehension in children. Hove: Psychology Press. Chiat, S. (2000). Understanding children with language problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Clegg , J. & Ginsborg, J. (Eds). (2006). Language and social disadvantage: Theory into practice. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Limited. Hoff, E. & Shatz, M. (Eds). (2007). Blackwell handbook of language development. Oxford: Blackwell. Leonard, L. (1998). Children with specific language impairment. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Owens, R.E. (2001). Language development: An introduction. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. 44 Schwartz, R. (Ed). (2008). The handbook of child language disorders. London: Psychology Press. Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a language: A usage-based theory of language acquisition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 45 HCM007 Dysphagia and Disorders of Eating and Drinking Module Module Leader: Kirsty Harrison Module Tutors: Naomi Cocks, Celia Harding, Kirsty Harrison and Mary Lee Module rationale This module is designed for Speech and Language Therapists with experience of working in the field of dysphagia and disorders of eating and drinking. All speech and language therapists are required to update their knowledge and practice continually. This module will help to deepen your understanding of the assessment and management of these disorders. Additionally, the teaching and learning methods adopted will help equip you with the skills to continually review and evaluate new dysphagia evidence in the future. Module aims This module will:  Deepen understanding in and widen perspective about dysphagia practice.  Develop critical appraisal skills to help evaluate the value of current and future dysphagia research.  Consider when and how to relate research findings to your own area of practice. Indicative content This module encourages you to appraise the current evidence base in the study of dysphagia. You will discuss key papers about assessment, treatment and management options in dysphagia resulting from different pathologies across the lifespan (from neonates to older people). Issues around service provision and ethics will also be explored. You will be supported to develop critical appraisal skills to help equip yourself to analyse current and future research. There is a strong emphasis on application of learning and you will be encouraged to relate literature to your own area of work. Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Analyse the current research findings with regard to the neurophysiological basis of swallowing and determine the impact these have on therapeutic management.  Differentiate the presentation and management of swallowing disorders in different pathologies over the lifespan. 46   Integrate different perspectives on the management of feeding and swallowing disorders, contrasting the medical and social models of disability. Evaluate new approaches to the management of non-progressive neurological disorders.     Skills Engage confidently in academic and professional communication. Critically appraise models of service provision for people with dysphagia. Critically evaluate and synthesise relevant research from a range of sources. Module learning and teaching methods You will participate in, and take turns to lead, seminars about dysphagia practice. A topic schedule and recommended reading for each seminar will be provided. You will be encouraged to think critically about the suggested readings, to evaluate research and to consider how to apply what you have learnt to practice during the seminars. You will also be encouraged to discuss papers additional to the core reading that may particularly interest you or apply to your specific area of practice. This approach to teaching and learning is aligned with Masters level learning and will help equip you with the necessary skills to evaluate dysphagia literature both for the purposes of the course and for your future professional practice. Assessment methods You will be expected to submit a portfolio of coursework tasks which will demonstrate:  analysis and synthesis of current research findings  differentiation of the presentation and management of swallowing disorders  ability to integrate different perspectives and to evaluate new approaches  evidence of critical appraisal skills. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark shall be calculated from the combined mark of the portfolio's two assessments, each weighted at 50%. Indicative reading list Arvedson, J.C. and Brodsky, L. (Eds), 2002, Pediatric swallowing and feeding : assessment and management (2nd edition). Albany, NY: Singular Publishing Group. Daniels, S.K. and Huckabee, M.L., 2008, Dysphagia following stroke. San Diego, Oxford: Plural Publishing. 47 Daniels, S.K., McAdam, C.P., Brailey, K., and Foundas, A.L., 1997, ‘Clinical assessment of swallowing and prediction of dysphagia severity’, American Journal of Speech Lang Pathology; 6:17–24. Evans Morris S & Dunn Klein N, 2000, Pre-Feeding Skills: Second Edition. Therapy Skill Builders. Groher, M. E. and Crary, M.A., 2010, Dysphagia: clinical management in adults and children. Maryland Heights, Mo.: Mosby Elsevier. Langmore SE., 2003, ‘Evaluation of oropharyngeal dysphagia: which diagnostic tool is superior?’ Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg., 11 (6):485-9. Logemann JA, Pauloski BR, Rademaker AW, Lazarus CL, Gaziano J, Stachowiak L, Newman L, MacCracken E, Santa D, Mittal B., 2008, ‘Swallowing disorders in the first year after radiation and chemoradiation’, Head & Neck, 30(2): 148-58. McCullough, 2005, Utility of Clinical Swallowing Measures for Detecting Aspiration Post-Stroke. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research;48:1280-1293. Martin-Harris B, Logemann JA, McMahon S, Schleicher M, Sandidge J., 2000, ‘Clinical Utility of the Modified Barium Swallow’, Dysphagia, 15: 136-141. Pauloski BR, Rademaker AW, Logemann JA, McConnel FM, Heiser MA, Cardinale S. Lazarus CL, Pelzer H, Stein D, Beery Q., 2004, ‘Surgical variables affecting swallowing in patients treated for oral / ora-pharyngeal cancer’ Head & Neck; 26 (7): 625-36. Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, 2006, Communicating Quality 3: RCSLTs guidance on best practice in service organisation and provision . Published: RCSLT. RCSLT: Clinical Guidelines, 2005. Published: Speechmark. Sullivan PA, Guilford AM., 1999, Swallowing Intervention in Oncology. Singular Publishing Group Inc San Diego London. Winstock A., 2005, Eating and Drinking Difficulties in Children: A Guide for Practitioners. Bicester: Speechmark. Yorkston, K.M., Miller, R.M. and Strand, E.A., 2004, Management of speech and swallowing in degenerative diseases (2nd edition). Austin, Texas: PRO-ED. 48 HCM008 Evidence-based Practice Module Module Tutor: Barbara Dodd Module rationale Speech and Language Therapists will be familiar with the practice of intervention but less so with the measurement of change and policy development issues. This module is designed to broaden your knowledge to include a deeper understanding of evidence based practice. Module aims This module will develop a sound understanding of evidence based practice (EBP) and consider its application to speech and language therapy. Indicative content This module will describe the key features of evidence based practice as it is currently understood in the UK setting. This will include a discussion of primary questions, the use of available sources of literature, the developing research questions, the key criteria for analysing papers (threats to validity). Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Outline and analyse the key concepts in EBP.  Synthesise the information from relevant literature, eliciting it from various sources. Skills  Critically appraise a range of intervention studies.  Critically evaluate and synthesise relevant research.  Engage confidently in academic and professional communication. Module learning and teaching methods Methods will include seminars, lectures, discussion, paper presentation. 49 Assessment methods You will be assessed through a written coursework in which you will examine intervention studies in your own area of interest. This is designed to assess your analytical and appraisal skills, as well as your written communication skills. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark shall be calculated from the written coursework weighted at 100%. Indicative reading list Bury T, Mead J (1998) Evidence based healthcare: A practical guide for therapists Oxford: Butterworth Heineman. Clinical Effectiveness Support Unit for Wales. Clinical effectiveness and the therapy professions? Resource File. Greenhalgh, T (1997) How to read a paper. London: BMJ. NHSE (1996) Promoting clinical effectiveness: A framework for action in and through the NHS Leed: NHSE Plus assorted websites:-eg: http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/rctsh/ebp/main.htm http://cebm.jr2.ox.ac.uk http://www.hta.nhsweb.nhs.uk 50 HCM009 Habilitative Audiology Module Module Tutor: Paul Turner Module rationale Habilitative Audiology is a rapidly developing field. The module is designed for Speech and Language Therapists with experience of working with clients with hearing disorders. This module will help to deepen your understanding of the assessment and management of hearing loss. Module aims This module will provide you with an opportunity to achieve a critical understanding of the field of Habilitative Audiology. Indicative content You will cover the following topics:          Introduction to habilitative audiology Anatomy and physiology of the ear Fundamentals of the assessment of hearing Adult audiology Paediatric audiology Cochlear Implants Central Auditory Processing Speech processing and digital hearing aids Standards and practices in paediatric audiology Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Demonstrate critical understanding of amplification as a significant factor in the reduction of disability to individuals with a hearing impairment.  Appraise the principles and practices of hearing aid audiology.  Outline and synthesise the work carried out in the field of central auditory processing.  Develop and critically evaluate an area of their own choice within the field of Habilitative Audiology. Skills 51   Engage confidently in academic and professional communication. Critically evaluate and synthesise relevant research from a range of sources. Module learning and teaching methods Methods will include lectures, student-led discussion, lab workshops, directed reading, self-directed study. Assessment methods You will be assessed through a poster presentation designed to assess your critical understanding of amplification; your ability to appraise the key principles and practices; your ability to synthesise the work carried out in the field of auditory processing; and the quality of your examination of the NDCS paediatric work. The poster will demonstrate your ability to develop and evaluate your chosen area and the poster presentation will assess your verbal communication skills. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark shall be calculated from the poster presentation weighted at 100%. Indicative reading list Alpiner, J. G. and McCarthy, P. A. 1993/2000, Rehabilitative audiology: children and adults. Ballantyne, J. et al, 7th Edition, 2001, 2009, Deafness. Bamford, J. and Saunders, E. 1991, Hearing Impairment, Auditory Perception and Language Disability. Cooper, H. and Craddock, L.C. 2006, Cochlear Implants: A Practical Guide. Dillon, H. 2001, Hearing Aids. Durrant, J.D. and Lovrinic, J.H. 1995, Bases of Hearing Science. Katz, J. (Ed), 5th Ed 2002/6th Ed 2009, Handbook of Clinical Audiology. Madell, J.R. and Flexer, C. 2008, Pediatric Audiology Diagnosis, Technology and Management. Mendel, L. L. and Danhauer, J.L. 1997, Audiological Evaluation and Management and Speech Perception Assessment. Moore, B.C.J. 2007, Cochlear Hearing Loss: Physiological, Psychological and Technical Issues. Stephens, D. 2010, Living With Hearing Difficulties. 52 Valente, M., Hosford-Dunn, H. and Roeser, R.J. 2008, Audiology Treatment, 2nd Revised edition. 53 HCM010 Identity, Inclusion and Living with Disability Module Module Tutor: Melanie Adams Module rationale This module is concerned with the lived experience of disability and/or deafness. Consideration is given to the broad spectrum of disability and deafness across the life course. Reference is made to the human ecology of development and participation at the level of the individual, community and society. As students from speech and language therapy, education and other relevant educational backgrounds, you are encouraged to critically review your own professional work and to generate new ways of promoting inclusive practice and research. Module aims The module aims to provide you with the opportunity to:  Review critical legislation and developments in social policy.  Explore models of disability and cultural representations.  Consider the relationship between identity and disability across the life course.  Review the meanings of inclusion and participation in practice and research.  Consider issues and methods of user involvement and advocacy. Indicative content The module will cover the following topics:  The legal and socio-political context  Definitions of disability and media representation  Stigma and discrimination  Identity and living with communication disability and deafness  Access and participation  Inclusion and education  User involvement and advocacy  Application to clinical practice and disability research Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the current legal and sociopolitical context for exploring practice and research.  Demonstrate understanding of the roles of identity, life course and public narrative. 54  Identify the role you can have professionally in promoting an inclusive approach to practice as well as inclusion within the social contexts of your clients. Skills  Critically evaluate the many ways that disability and deafness are dealt with in public services and the media.  Integrate and promote a social model of disability in your current practice and research.  Participate in critical debate of the issues related to living with disability. Values and attitudes  Demonstrate an enhanced awareness, critical understanding and empathy in relation to the key issues surrounding identity, inclusion and living with disability or deafness. Module learning and teaching methods The sessions will follow a seminar type format in order to create a participative learning environment. Some topics will be covered in formal lecture presentations, while others will be set up as group discussions or workshops. Students will be given specific reading to support the topic in each session. Assessment methods You will be asked to prepare an academic poster designed to assess your understanding of the key issues related to the chosen poster topic, application of the social model and your critical analysis skills. The assessment includes a 1000 word explanation of the poster, designed to assess your ability to participate in critical debate. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark shall be calculated from the combined mark of the two subassessments, poster and supporting document, weighted at 60% and 40% respectively. Indicative reading list Barnes, C., Mercer, G. (Eds) (1996) Exploring the Divide. Illness and Disability (Chapter 3). www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies/books/book1.htm Roulstone, A. (2003) The Legal Road to Rights, Obiter Dicta and the Limits of the 55 Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Disability and Society 18, 2. Hevey, D. (1992) The creatures time forgot. Routledge. Ingstad, B., & Reynolds Whyte, S. 1995. Disability and Culture. Univ of California Press. Johnstone, D. (1998) An introduction to disability studies. London:David Fulton. Oliver, M. (1996) Understanding disability: from theory to practice. Basingstoke: Macmillan. Oliver, M., Barnes, C. (1998) Disabled people and social policy: from exclusion to inclusion. Longman: London & New York. Parr, S., Byng, S., Gilpin, S. with Ireland, C. 1997. Talking about aphasia. Buckingham: Open University Press. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml Human Rights Act: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/comrace/humanrights/index.html 56 HCM019 Language Learning and Development Module Module Tutor: Lucy Dipper Module rationale This module is aimed at speech and language therapy practitioners and teachers working with children with special educational needs, to develop understanding of the link between theory and practice in the area of language, learning and development. It synthesises a range of current debates in linguistics and psychology and explores the interactions between language and cognitive development, the underlying skills of language literacy and numeracy and provides a critical discussion of the methodological approaches used in this domain. Module aims This module will:  Introduce you to the patterns evident in the development of children's language and learning with an emphasis on the cognitive basis of developing linguistic, literacy and numeracy skills.  Provide knowledge about: o How children develop language, literacy and numeracy. o How this influences cognition and learning. o The impact that speech and language difficulties have on the acquisition of literacy and numeracy. o Methodological approaches to the study of children's cognitive and linguistic skills.  Relate theories of learning and language to the pedagogical needs of children and young adults and explore the role of professionals working in partnership in the education context. Indicative content This module is delivered through three days teaching (20 hours in total) and you will be given a distance learning pack. You will cover the following topics: Introduction to the study of child development  Early language development  Later language development  Cognitive development  Reading and numeracy  Studying child development  Essay writing skills 57 Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of current theoretical explanations and research methods in this area.  Demonstrate familiarity with research findings relevant to your area of work and/or interests. Skills  Critically evaluate and synthesise relevant and conflicting research from a range of sources.  Present issues, evidence and conclusions clearly, concisely, and coherently in writing.  Apply current theory and research to individual cases and/or groups of children. Values and attitudes  Demonstrate sensitivity to issues of human diversity including culture, ethnicity and disability and act appropriately. Module learning and teaching methods In this module you will be taught in two main ways - seminars and distance learning. The seminars will include a lecture component, interactive discussion (some of it in small groups)and workshop activities. Assessment methods You will present a 3000 word critical review of a specified area of the literature, capturing the relevant essential debates covered in the course. At the beginning of the course you will have been given a choice of literature areas from which to select. As well as reviewing the main tenets of the literature you should use a case study to support your conclusions. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark will comprise the mark for the critical review of literature, weighted at 100%. 58 Indicative reading list Child Development. Fifth Edition. Berk, L. Needham Heights Mass: Allyn and Bacon. 2000. Understanding Children with Language Problems. Chiat, S. Cambridge: CUP. 2000. First Language Acquisition. Clark, E.V. Cambridge: CUP. 2002. Children's Language: Consensus and Controversy. Cattell, R. Cassell: London. 2000. Children's Language and Communication Difficulties: Understanding, Identification and Intervention. Dockrell, J. and Messer, D. London: Cassell Education. 1999 . The Handbook of Child Language. Fletcher, P. & MacWhinney, B. Blackwell. 1995 Children's Cognitive and Language Development. Lee, V. & Das Gupta, P. Open University. 1995. Cognitive Development. McShane, J. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 1991. Later Language Development. The school-age and adolescent years. Nippold, M. Texas: Pro-Ed. 1998. The Child as Thinker: The development and acquisition of Cognition in Childhood Meadows, S. London: Routledge. 1993. Language Development: An Introduction. Owens, R.E. Allyn & Bacon. 2001. 59 HCM012 Research Design and Statistics Module A Module Tutor: Nicola Botting Module rationale This course is designed for Speech and Language Therapists and other health professionals who wish to deepen and extend their knowledge of research methodology. Qualifying courses will have provided you with a basic introduction to the subject for many, but not all, students taking this course. This module will introduce you to basic research design principles and the stats software package SPSS. It will update your basic statistics knowledge and allow you to develop a critical understanding of the research methodologies used in clinical research. Module aims This module will:  Introduce you to research design and methodology and applied statistics  Provide you with knowledge in: o Descriptive statistics o Comparative non-parametric statistics o Comparative parametric statistics o Correlational statistics  Provide you with an understanding of how to choose, interpret and report statistics. Indicative content Topics covered will include:       Principles underlying applied statistics Research methods and design Descriptive statistics Comparative non-parametric statistics Comparative non-parametric statistics Correlational statistics Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Understand the underlying principles of statistical research such as distributions, validity, reliability, probability. 60  Demonstrate knowledge of basic statistical tests. Skills  Recognise and use a wide range of research designs.  Select the correct descriptive statistics and test for a given dataset.  Demonstrate the ability to enter data into SPSS and use the analysis tools appropriately. Module learning and teaching methods Methods will include lectures and workshop activities, worksheets and mini-labs. Assessment methods Your will be assessed through one coursework and one class test. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark shall be calculated from the combined mark of the coursework and class test, each weighted at 50%. Indicative reading list Field, A. Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. Sage. Pring, T. Research Methods in Communication Disorders. Wiley-Blackwell. Pagano, R. Understanding statistics in the behavioural sciences. Wadsworth. 61 HCM020 Research Design and Statistics Module B Module Tutor: Nicola Botting Details of this module will be provided during Module A. 62 HCM016 Speech Acoustics and Speech Perception Module Tutor: Jo Verhoeven Module rationale This module will give you (particularly those of you working with hearing impaired people) a deeper understanding of speech acoustics and speech perception. Module aims This module will provide you with:  groundwork in the acoustics of speech and hearing and its application to clinical work with hearing impaired people.  techniques to do acoustic analyses of speech.  the physiological and psychological bases of speech perception.  methods of measuring and training speech perception. Indicative content You will cover the following topics:  Introduction to speech and language.  Speech Acoustics I: Vowel Formants, Prosody, Voice  Speech Acoustics II: Consonants, Spectography.  Anatomy and Physiology of the Ear.  Central Auditory Processing Disorders  Speech Perception and Deafness  Development of Speech Perception: Hearing and Deaf Children  Speechreading  Auditory Training Module learning outcomes On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to: Knowledge and understanding  Demonstrate a critical understanding of speech acoustics and the normal and pathological processes of speech perception in children and adults.  Evaluate measures of speech perception.  Rationalise and deliver improved speech perception training with deaf children and adults. 63     Skills Use equipment to measure the acoustic aspects of speech and consider the clinical and research applications of such equipment. Engage confidently in academic and professional communication. Critically evaluate and synthesise relevent research from a range of sources. Module learning and teaching methods Methods will include lectures, tutorials, and laboratory workshops. Assessment methods You will be assessed by a 3000 word essay. Pass requirements In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, a student must complete the assessment component and achieve a Module Mark of 50%. The Module Mark will comprise the mark for the essay, weighted at 100%. Indicative reading list Bamford, J. & Saunders, E. (1992) 2nd ed. Hearing impairment, auditory perception and language disability. Whurr. Borden, G.J., Harris, K.S. & Raphael, L. (1994) Speech science primer: physiology, acoustics and perception of speech. London: Williams & Wilkins.Denes, P.B. & Pinson, E.N. (1993) The speech chain: the physics and biology of spoken language. NY: W.H.Freeman & Co. Dodd, B. & Campbell, R. (eds) (1998) 2nd ed. Hearing by eye: the psychology of lipreading. LEA. Fry, D.B. (1979) The physics of speech. CUP. Goodman, J.C. & Nussbaum. H.C. (1994) The development of speech perception: the transition from speech sounds to spoken words. MIT Press, Cambs, Mass. Kent, R.D. & Read, C. (1992) The acoustic analysis of speech. Whurr. Ladefoged, P. (1993) A course in phonetics. Harcourt Brace. (ch. 8) Ladefoged, P. (1962) Elements of acoustic phonetics. Chicago UP. Laver, J. (1994) Principles of phonetics. CUP. Liberman, P. & Blumstein, S. (1988) Speech physiology, speech perception and acoustic phonetics. CUP.Luchs Mendel, L. & Danhauer, J.L. (1997) Audiologic evaluation and management and 64 speech perception assessment. Singular Publishing Inc. Moore, B.C.J. (1982) An introduction to the psychology of hearing. London: Academic Press. Pickett, J.M. (1999) 2nd ed. The sounds of speech communication. Texas: ProEd. Plant, G. & Spens, K. (eds) (1995) Profound deafness and speech. 65 Teaching and Learning Issues Lectures Although for the majority of modules three hours learning time is allocated for each lecture, it is not necessarily the case that students will have 3-hour lectures - 2 hours is a more common teaching time. The additional time is for students to use the library to read around the subject or for tutorials or other related work. The lecture course is not intended to give students all the information they need to cope with the course. In order to understand the topics covered, and to write essays on them, extensive reading is required. As a rough rule of thumb, a student should expect to spend about 4 hours reading (and thinking!) for every hour of formal study. Conduct in lectures  If you arrive late, please make every effort to ensure that your entrance does not interrupt the lecturer or distract the class.  If you have two- or three-hour lectures these may include a break of between 10 and 20 minutes. Please ensure you return to the lecture room by the time stated. The lecturer has the right to refuse admission to those who return late.  Remember to turn mobile phones off during lectures. To allow your phone to ring during a lecture is not only intrusive but is also extremely offensive. Tape recording lectures Students sometimes ask if they are allowed to tape record lectures. While the taping of teaching sessions is not actually forbidden, the following points should be borne in mind: 1. Taping is not considered to be a good method of absorbing material from teaching sessions and note-taking is preferred. Sometimes of course, as with visually impaired or deaf students, taping may be an essential aid to study. But for most students verbatim records of teaching sessions are not a good aid to learning and may actually inhibit the development of note-taking skills. 2. Students who wish to record lectures should always ask permission of the lecturer and the lecturer has the right to refuse if he or she considers that it will disrupt the teaching process. For students with disabilities who would benefit from recording of teaching sessions, the Programme Director will make appropriate arrangements, in advance of the lecture or lecture series, with the lecturer concerned. 66 Attendance Policy Attendance at lectures, seminars, tutorials and practical classes is an integral part of a student’s programme of study and students are expected to be regular and punctual in their attendance. Attendance will be monitored selectively, and any student found to be absent without permission will be required to meet his or her tutor to explain the absence. Persistent absence without good cause will lead to an interview with the Head of Department and may lead to a decision that the student has dropped out of the programme and should be withdrawn by the Registry. Assessment Coursework Coursework is an important part of your study at City, providing the opportunity to draw together and apply what you have learned, reflect on your learning, and obtain feedback from teaching staff. Coursework requirements will be handed out by the lecturer teaching each module during the running of the module, together with a submission date. Guidelines for oral and written presentations Different modules set different types of assignment. These include poster presentations, oral presentations, and essays. Assessment methods are specified in the module outlines. Guidelines for different types of assignment are provided in Appendix 1 of this Handbook. Submission of coursework When handing in coursework, please ensure that each piece has a completed cover sheet attached (see Appendix 3 for this sheet, which is also available at http://www.city.ac.uk/lcs/student/forms.html). Work should be submitted to the coursework box, in the Departmental Office. Students must keep a copy of all submitted work. Markers will endeavour to provide feedback in the form of written comments. Although these are often critical, you should not construe this as meaning that there were no good points. Markers’ comments are intended as suggestions for improvement or questions to provoke further thought or reading. 67 Presentation of coursework It is important that any work submitted for marking, either coursework or examinations, is legible. The examiner may require illegible examination scripts to be typed up at the student’s expense. All coursework must be word-processed. Please ensure that all work is proof-read carefully before submission - work which contains a large number of grammatical and typing errors will be penalised (see ‘Marking criteria’ below); it may be returned to the student with a request for amendment and resubmission and may be subject to late submission penalties. If you have difficulties with this, you should contact your tutor. Word limit guidelines and penalties for exceeding word limit Work submitted that exceeds the word limit by more than 10% will receive a mark penalty. Exceeding the word limit will incur the following penalties: 0-10% over word limit – no penalty 11-20% - minus 5 marks 21-40% - minus 10 marks 41-60% - minus 15 marks 61-80% - minus 20 marks 81-100% - minus 25 marks Over 100% - will not be marked Penalties will not reduce the mark below 50%. Resubmission of coursework Where a piece of coursework fails to reach the pass mark and the student is given the opportunity to resubmit, the original submission (with the marker’s comments) must be given in with the resubmitted work. Coursework extensions Coursework extensions may only be granted in exceptional circumstances, for example on medical or compassionate grounds, and are at the discretion of the module tutor. Except in emergencies, extensions must be applied for in advance of the coursework deadline. Extensions are not indefinite: all extensions will be given for a fixed period, and failure to comply with the extension deadline will result in the standard penalties being applied (see below). You should contact your module tutor in person to apply for an extension and medical or other certificates will usually be required - these should be obtained 68 beforehand. If you think you are entitled to an extension, you should complete an extension form (available in Appendix 3 of this handbook and on the Departmental website at http://www.city.ac.uk/lcs/student/forms.html) before seeing your tutor. You will be asked to provide documentary evidence of circumstances surrounding your request, for example a certificate or letter from your doctor, a letter from the University Counsellor or an equivalent document from a similar professional. The form must then be signed by the tutor and passed, with the supporting evidence, to the Administrator who will record the granting of the extension. The grounds for granting an extension will vary, and your individual circumstances will always be taken into account. Nevertheless, the following guidelines will apply in reaching a decision on whether or not to grant the extension: Grounds for extension Medical Bereavement Family problems Personal other than the above New or increased work Study resources, including library Computer problems Support for Extension Normally automatic if supported by medical evidence Normally automatic if supported by evidence An extension may be granted if these were unavoidable and of a serious nature; supporting evidence may be required Only in exceptional circumstances An extension may be granted if commitments supported by written confirmation from employer/manager Only in exceptional circumstances An extension will not normally be granted (see note below) Note on the use of IT in preparing coursework A variety of equipment will be involved in the production of assignments, for instance word-processing and DTP hardware and software equipment. In general, equipment failures or problems of access to this equipment due to demand will not be sufficient grounds on which extensions will be granted. It is your responsibility to take reasonable precautions against equipment failure, for instance by taking and keeping back-up copies of all computer-based material, and keeping at least one of these back-up copies in a physically separate location from the current, worked-on copy. Similarly, problems of excessive demand on facilities and equipment in the university as deadlines approach should be anticipated and work planned so as to avoid these problems. An extension on the grounds of equipment failure or problems of access will normally only be granted if appropriate evidence of the circumstances is provided. 69 Penalties on late or non-submission Students are penalised 5 marks per day (for up to 4 days) for late submission of coursework. However the penalty will not reduce the mark below 50%. For work which is not submitted at all (i.e. 5 days late or over), students will receive a 0 mark for their non-submission, and this will be recorded as their first sit of the coursework. Hand-in time is 2pm; work submitted after this time will be considered as being a day late and incur a 5 point penalty. The weekend will count as two days i.e. if a coursework is due in on Friday and is handed in on Monday before 2pm it will count as two days late and incur a 10 point penalty. Plagiarism Plagiarism is passing off the ideas or words of someone else as though they were your own. It applies equally to the work of other students as to published sources. A dictionary definition (Webster’s) gives the following: - “to steal and pass off the ideas and words of another as one’s own” - “to use a created production without crediting the source” - “to commit literary theft” - “to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source”. Some additional general information on academic misconduct can be found at http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/ (Indiana University, 'How to Recognize Plagiarism'). How to avoid plagiarism Your coursework is marked on the assumption that this is your work: the words, diagrams, computer programs, ideas and arguments are supposed to be your own. However, much of your coursework will obviously be based on what you have read and heard. It is important that you show where and how your work is indebted to these sources. We therefore advise: (i) Copying Never copy anything without explicit acknowledgement as described below under “quoting”. This includes copying the work of other students. (ii) Quoting Students should normally only resort to quotations when the original wording is essential to support the argument. Quotes should be fairly short - normally no longer than 3 lines. If you want to quote directly from a book or paper you must reference it properly. Put the quotation in inverted commas and give the source so that someone could look it up easily. You must give the author, title, date and page number. Either you can do this by numbered footnotes, or by a quick reference e.g. (Smith, 1986, p. 89) and then a more detailed source in a bibliography at the end. We do not mind which system you use. Whatever system you follow you should in any case list at the 70 end the sources you have used in a bibliography or references section. (iii) Paraphrasing This means putting someone else’s ideas into your own words. It too is fine, but you must make it clear that you are doing it. A rule of thumb would be that when you are paraphrasing you should acknowledge this somewhere in every paragraph. There are many ways in which you can slide these acknowledgements in without making too much of it (e.g. “Smith goes on to argue that ...” or “Smith provides further proof that ...”). As with quotations, you must at some point give the full details of the source you are using. (iv) General Indebtedness This can be the trickiest area - when in doubt err on the side of caution. Obviously it is more problematic with an essay-type piece of coursework than with worked examples. If the whole way in which you think about the question is basically drawn from one source, then the source should be mentioned. If the way in which you have ordered the evidence and argument, or organised the material, reflects one particular source, then say so. Equally your lectures are not tablets of stone with the truth on them - if you are following one lecturer’s views on a topic where debate exists, you could show that you are aware of this. Marking plagiarised work Plagiarism is a very serious offence against scholarship and in some institutions students are automatically expelled for it. The guidelines to be followed in this School are as follows: (i) Coursework Substantially plagiarised coursework will be given a mark of zero, with the resubmission carrying a maximum mark of 50%. Cases of repeated plagiarism will be dealt with more severely. The suspicion of plagiarism will result in a discussion with the lecturer (either an oral examination or a less formal interview) and an appropriate mark being awarded. (ii) Dissertations Substantial plagiarism in a dissertation will result in a mark of zero. The Examination Board may permit submission of a new dissertation, which may, at its discretion, be based on material previously submitted. This may, at the Board’s discretion, be with or without credit. Students are required to maintain regular contact with their supervisors, as evidenced by the record that supervisors are required to keep of all formal supervision meetings and are required to retain all paperwork connected with their dissertation until the marking is completed. The suspicion of plagiarism in a dissertation will be dealt with in an oral examination in which the student will appear before both internal examiners. On the basis of this 71 viva appropriate action will be taken. (iii) Implementation of these guidelines The Board of Studies has asked all staff to be vigilant in the detection of plagiarism. Please note that plagiarism of the work of another student is no different from taking material directly from published sources. If you allow someone to plagiarise your work you run the risk of these penalties being applied to you too. Students are strongly urged to become fully acquainted with the nature of plagiarism and the ways in which it can be avoided. Student copyright Copyright of a student’s work normally lies with the student and the student can refuse to allow others access to this work. Any student’s work produced for the purpose of a programme of study or of supervised research may be retained by the School or Department, and students may also be required to deposit a copy in the University Library. Students are asked to insert a Declaration into the front of their dissertation granting the Department powers of discretion to allow the dissertation to be copied for study purposes, subject to the normal conditions of acknowledgement. Where a dissertation contains material of a sensitive nature, the author may omit this Declaration. In the case of examination scripts, these are the property of the University and will be retained for one year beyond the date of completion of a student’s course and will then be destroyed. Examinations It is your responsibility to find out the time and venue of each of your examinations. Guidelines for written examinations Before the examination      72 Consult the examination timetable to check the date, time and location of your examination Arrive in good time for your examination. Students will not normally be granted extra time at the end of an examination. Check seating plans displayed outside the appropriate examination venue to establish where you should be sitting. Entrance to the examination room will be 10 minutes prior to the official start time. Please note that on entry to the examination venue you are under   examination conditions. No talking to other candidates is permitted. Listen to all announcements carefully. Read all instructions carefully. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are sitting the correct paper. Check the title of the paper, the course details and the duration. During the examination       All examination answer booklets will be provided by the University. Students are not allowed to bring their own paper into the venue. Students must supply their own pens and pencils. If you require assistance for any reason, stay in your seat and raise your hand. An invigilator will endeavour to assist you. The University will not provide dictionaries or calculators. If their use is permitted, students must bring their own. Some departments do not allow the use of programmable calculators. Students are advised to check the regulations concerning their use with the individual department. Where their use is permitted, an invigilator will clear the memory at the start of each examination. If you do not want the memory cleared, you will not be allowed to use the calculator. Personal organisers are not permitted. Do not bring any unauthorised notes or other materials into the examination venue. This includes revision notes. Any unauthorised notes found on desks, in pencil cases, or calculators cases, etc, will be confiscated and reported. Mobile phones are not allowed in any examination venue. They are very disruptive during examinations, and should be left at home. The owner of a mobile phone that rings during an examination will be reported. After the examination    You must stop writing immediately when instructed to do so by an invigilator. Remain seated until an invigilator has collected your script and directed that you may leave. Leave the examination venue quickly and quietly. Remember that other examinations may continue after your examination has finished. Please show consideration to other students at all times. Discipline Students are reminded that they must comply with the University Ordinances and Regulations on the conduct of examinations. Any failure to do so may result in disciplinary procedures or exclusion from the examination. A candidate will be liable to Disciplinary Proceedings for irregular conduct relating to an examination including:     73 possessing unauthorised material aiding or attempting to aid another candidate obtaining or attempting to obtain aid from another candidate talking or other disruptive behaviour. Cheating The University takes very seriously any form of cheating in examinations or other forms of assessment. The Head of Department will investigate any allegation of cheating in the first instance. Where an investigation takes place, the student will be informed in writing, including details of the procedure that will follow, in accordance with University regulations. University policy on sickness certification Students who are prevented by ill-health from attending one or more examinations, or whose performance on the course and/or in examinations has been adversely affected by ill-health, are required to submit medical evidence of their illness. The evidence should normally take the form of a City University Medical Certificate, available from the Health Centre and academic departments. This form must be completed by a doctor, stamped with the practice stamp, and returned to the relevant departmental office. Where GPs prefer to use their own practice's certificate, it is helpful if information set out on the form detailing the consequences of the period of ill-health can be provided. Other than in exceptional circumstances, medical certificates will only be accepted by the University if certification occurs at the time of the illness. Medical certificates will be scrutinised by the appropriate officers and will not automatically be accepted. Students may have several episodes of minor illness during their course. This is normal and should not affect their ability to submit coursework or to complete their course. Students should not seek medical certification for minor illnesses, particularly after they have recovered. Personal Tutors are asked not to encourage their tutees to seek such certification. Students who are absent from their course, for whatever reason, are asked to notify their department, using the form available from departmental offices. Extenuating circumstances Students who wish to put forward extenuating circumstances for consideration at the Assessment Board must fill in the Extenuating Circumstances Request Form which is available in Appendix 3 of this handbook and on the Departmental website at http://www.city.ac.uk/lcs/student/forms.html. Requests for extenuating circumstances will be considered by the Extenuating Circumstances panel. The recommendations of this panel will be put to the meeting of the Assessment Board. 74 Assessment Board The Assessment Board is responsible for considering and agreeing all assessment results and making decisions about whether students have met all the requirements of the programme. The Board will take into account any recommendations made by the Extenuating Circumstances panel. Any results given to students during the year are provisional prior to ratification by the Assessment Board. The Assessment Board normally meets three times per year: Assessment Board March July September Actions to consider students’ progress in modules taken in Term 1 to consider students’ progress in modules taken in Term 2, and students who have been referred in one or more module assessments To consider students who have been referred in one or more module assessments, students’ dissertations, and award of MSc and Diploma External Examiners Each programme has at least one External Examiner who is appointed by Senate on the recommendation of the Board of Studies responsible for the programme. External Examiners are drawn from such institutions, industry and professions as befit the particular course content. The job of the External Examiner is to ensure that assessments have been carried out fairly and consistently and that standards are in line with other UK higher education institutions. The External Examiner will review, evaluate and moderate the assessment process carried out by internal examiners. The External Examiner will also provide a written report on the assessment process and on the standards of student attainment. The Board of Studies considers External Examiners’ reports and is required to respond to issues accordingly. Return of coursework and release of results Marks for coursework will normally be released to students in advance of a sample of work being seen by the External Examiner and before the marks are considered by a meeting of the Assessment Board. You should be aware that the mark given will be a provisional one and that the final agreed mark is determined and approved by the Assessment Board and by the Academic Registrar on behalf of Senate. 75 Coursework will be returned to students with provisional marks and feedback within 6 weeks of the submission date. The Department has the right to ask at any time for students to produce a folder containing all of their work for submission to the External Examiner - students must therefore ensure that they keep each piece of coursework when it has been returned to them by the marker. Students will receive formal notification of their results, and any requirement to resit a module assessment, by letter after the meeting of the Assessment Board. Publication and disclosure of examination results      No results of examinations or recommendations to Senate shall be published or disclosed until they have been approved by the Academic Registrar on behalf of Senate. Here "marks" shall mean the marks as agreed by the Assessment Board. Candidates shall be informed individually of their marks in all examinations, except where grounds for exemption from this policy are deemed sufficient by the Academic Registrar acting on behalf of Senate, and where the Data Protection Act is not violated. These marks shall comprise those obtained in separate examinations in the invigilated examinations, in the coursework assessment aggregate and, if appropriate, in individual sections of coursework and project. All examination scripts are the property of the University and shall not be released to candidates. Candidates wishing to verify any mark or marks shall do so in accordance with the procedures laid down by Senate (see below). If you feel that you had a problem that affected your performance, you must inform your tutor (providing documentary evidence such as medical certificates, where appropriate) and your tutor will draw this to the attention of the Board, which may modify its decision accordingly. The decisions of the Board are released to students shortly after the Board has met (usually 7 to 10 days). A letter will be sent to students giving them the Board’s decision regarding their progress on the course. Resit examinations for Term 1 modules normally take place in the first two weeks of the summer term and those for Term 2 modules during the first two weeks in September and students should ensure that they are available during these periods. In the case of resit coursework, timing will be determined by the Assessment Board. Failure decisions If a student is not able to satisfy the requirements for passing any stage of the programme, he or she may be required to withdraw from the University (in most cases this will only happen after the student has been allowed a second chance through resitting the examinations, resubmitting coursework or the dissertation and/or completing outstanding coursework). 76 Appeal procedures These notes are for guidance only. For full details of the appeals process, please refer to the Appeals Regulations. Wherever possible, the Extenuating Circumstances procedure (see above) should be used to raise an issue before the Assessment Board meets. Where there are demonstrable, valid and overriding reasons why this was not possible, students may request a review of an Assessment Board decision. Such a request is known as an “appeal”. Students may also appeal if they believe they can demonstrate an error in how the assessment was conducted, or in the proceedings of the Assessment Board. There is no other basis on which students may appeal. An appeal must be submitted within 30 days of the relevant Assessment Board, using the appropriate form. This is considered by designated staff in the School, who will assess whether it meets the required grounds, and will take action according to the appeals procedure. Different procedures will then apply, depending on whether the appeal is concerned with assessment process, or unforeseen circumstances affecting the student which were not made known to the Assessment Board at the time of Assessment. A student may under certain circumstances request a review of the conduct of a School appeal panel at University level. A University level appeal is permitted only on the grounds that there was a material error in the School appeal panel’s procedure which substantially affected its decision or in cases where there is new information which could not have been presented to the School panel for demonstrable, valid and overriding reasons. There is no other basis upon which a student can request a University appeal. Application for checking of marks A student may wish to verify their mark or marks to ensure that they have been calculated correctly. In all cases, a request for Checking of Marks is only made after marks have been agreed by an Assessment Board. Verification of marks does not replace the process for requesting a review of a decision of an Assessment Board (an appeal). It does not entail the consideration of extenuating or any other circumstances that might have affected a student’s performance. Students who wish to apply for the verification of marks must use the relevant form which can be obtained from the School website. The completed form should be returned with the required fee to the School Exams Office within four weeks of the publication of the results following their agreement by the relevant Assessment Board. The School Exams Office will write to the student concerned notifying them of the outcome of the verification. 77 University Statement on Data Protection The University is registered under current UK Data Protection law. It holds data in electronic and paper form on your personal details, academic and administrative history, on any relevant financial transactions and use of University facilities. Most of this information is necessary for us to properly administer your studies with the University, for example the recording and processing of assessment results, the determination of final award outcomes, and the production of management information statistics. Your assessment data will be processed to determine your overall award outcome, and the precise way in which this is done is published in relevant handbooks and documentation. In due course, your records will form part of the student archive and your computer record will be available to the University’s Alumni Relations staff for approved purposes. In addition, the University is required by law to collect and provide information on every student to certain external agencies. These bodies include the Higher Education Statistics Agency, local education authorities and other grant-awarding bodies, the Student Loans Company taxation authorities. We are also obliged to release information to the Police and similar law officers as part of criminal investigations, and in some instances, to officers of the Court in relation to civil proceedings. In certain circumstances relating to the recovery of outstanding debt, data may be passed to debt collection agencies acting as agents for the University. The details of your academic award from the University are regarded as public information. Names of successful candidates will be published on open pass lists. This information will also be routinely released to a third party (for example, prospective employers). Other information which will be routinely released to a third party is whether or not you are a student here. Once you have signed up with Computing Services, your e-mail address will be published in a University directory (users may make themselves ex-directory for external access). Any queries concerning Data Protection should be addressed to the University’s Data Protection Officer. 78 Assessment criteria Grade Related Criteria for Postgraduate Programmes Class % Literary Description Distinction 85-100 Outstanding 80-84 Excellent Work that demonstrates a comprehensive knowledge of the subject area and addresses the learning outcomes/assessment criteria in full. Where relevant, it will show evidence of independent reading, thinking and analysis and strong critical ability. It will be wellconstructed and demonstrate a professional approach to academic practice. It will be of a professional standard. 70-79 Very good Work that demonstrates strong knowledge of the subject area and addresses the learning outcomes/assessment criteria well. Where relevant, it will show evidence of wide and comprehensive reading and critical ability. It will be clearly written and adhere to the principles of good academic practice. Merit 60-69 Good Work that demonstrates a sound level of knowledge of the subject area and makes a good attempt to address the learning outcomes/assessment criteria, realising all to some extent and some well. There will be evidence of thorough research of the topic(s) but some answers may not be complete or arguments sufficiently explored. It will be well-structured and logically written and will demonstrate good academic practice. Some critical ability will be evident. Pass 50-59 Satisfactory Work that demonstrates knowledge of the subject area and provides some level of response to the learning outcomes/assessment criteria but only realises these outcomes and criteria to some extent and may not include important elements or information that is fully accurate. Where relevant, development of ideas is limited but attempts will be made to analyse materials critically. Expression and structure may lack clarity and evidence of academic practice will be limited. Fail 46-49 Poor Unsatisfactory work that demonstrates very limited knowledge of the subject area and which does not succeed in grasping the key issues. Learning outcomes/assessment criteria will not be realised. There will be no real development of ideas and critical analysis will be very limited. Presentation is confused or lacks coherence. <45 Very poor Work that demonstrates no real knowledge of the subject area and which demonstrates a totally inadequate attempt to address the learning outcomes/assessment criteria. No critical ability will be displayed. 79 Pass marks To obtain the award of MSc, students must satisfy the following requirements:  Minimum pass mark of 50% in all of the examinations, presentations and coursework.  Minimum pass mark of 50% in the dissertation.  Satisfactory viva voce examination on the dissertation (where deemed necessary). To obtain the Postgraduate Diploma in Human Communication, students need satisfy only the examination and coursework pass requirements for the MSc, as listed above. Students who have not passed at least 4 modules at the first sitting will not normally be permitted to proceed to the MSc dissertation, but will be offered a Diploma (on completion of 8 modules) and credit for all individual modules passed. Overall aggregate Each taught module gains 15 credits and the dissertation gains 60 credits. The overall aggregate is therefore calculated by summing the 8 taught module marks plus four times the dissertation mark. This total is divided by twelve to give the aggregate percentage. Distinction A Distinction in the MSc is normally awarded to students obtaining an overall aggregate of 70%, subject to the following proviso:  A distinction would not normally be awarded to students who had been required to resit an examination or resubmit a piece of coursework. Where a student does not achieve an overall Distinction in the MSc but achieves a mark of 70% or above in the dissertation, this will be noted on the student’s transcript but not on their degree certificate as a Distinction in the dissertation. Resits In the event of not passing a module examination, a piece of coursework, or the dissertation, you will be given one option to resit. In such cases, and on the assumption that the required standard is then attained, a pass mark will be awarded, but the original mark is used in calculating the student’s overall aggregate. 80 Dissertation (for MSc students only) General introduction Prior to submitting the MSc dissertation, students must have successfully completed all of the 8 taught module assessments. The MSc dissertation will present either an empirical research project or an original and critical exposition of existing knowledge within the student’s specialist field. In either case, the dissertation will take the form of an article for an academic journal. The journal will be selected in consultation with the supervisor, and the dissertation will follow the format specified by the journal. All students who are intending to complete a dissertation are allocated a research supervisor. Supervisors are responsible for maintaining a record of formal supervision meetings for each supervisee which should include the following information:  date of meeting  duration of meeting  summary of discussion, including any specific advice given. It is desirable for the student to provide the summary of the discussion. The record should be agreed by both supervisor and student and any dissent recorded. The aim of the study is to give some practical ‘hands-on’ experience of addressing a particular research question. Such experience, by confronting students with the conceptual, methodological, logistical and logical problems faced by all researchers, should help to give a deeper understanding of the existing research literature as well as some useful experience for carrying out research in the future. A secondary aim of the study is to familiarise students with the task of structuring their ideas around the standard framework of research reporting used by scientists. This framework is not some arbitrary formula but a logical ordering of the progression of ideas from initial research questions, through methods used to obtain answers, to presentation of results and discussion and interpretation of findings. The following points apply to students who are registered for the MSc: 1. Students should be in a position to carry out their research by 30th June following completion of all taught modules. Students will have an opportunity to discuss their research ideas with a lecturer before formulating their research proposal. 2. Students are not permitted to start their research until they have written a proposal for their dissertation, and had this accepted by a member of staff willing to supervise them. They also need to obtain ethical clearance for their project from the School Ethics Committee and from the NHS Research Ethics Committee where appropriate (see following section). 3. It is expected that students will meet with their supervisor four times during the year in which the dissertation is researched and written. Excessive dependence on the supervisor will be taken into consideration in the assessment of the dissertation. 4. Submission: Students should start thinking about their research project as early as 81 possible, and will be required to submit their outline research proposal at the latest by the end of the term following the satisfactory completion of their 8th module (normally this will be by 30th June). They will be required to submit the completed dissertation within 12 months from that date. Dissertations submitted after that date will normally incur a dissertation fee of not less than £400 per term which may be waived in exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of the Assessment Board. 5. Both quantitative and qualitative research investigations are permissible provided the proposal can be justified according to the research paradigm being used. 6. Students should aim to produce work of a publishable standard. Students will be encouraged to submit a version of their dissertation for publication. Depending on the extent of supervision and consultation, this will normally be a joint submission with a supervisor. 7. Students who, for whatever reason, do not undertake or complete the dissertation may still be eligible to obtain the Diploma. Ethical considerations in MSc Research It is important that you consider the ethical implications of your research both when you are deciding on a topic as well as during the research. All students undertaking a project which involves human participants will need to apply to the appropriate committee(s) for ethical approval. You are responsible for learning about ethical committee requirements in your area of research and advising your supervisor in regard to these. You must complete the required forms with the help of guidance notes provided and your supervisor, and check your application with your supervisor before submitting it. Your supervisor will want confirmation that relevant approvals have been gained prior to you starting to gather any research data. Studies that involve the NHS in any way (most obviously, in the recruitment of participants) will require approval from the NHS Ethics Committee. Go to http://www.nres.npsa.nhs.uk for advice and guidance on NHS ethics applications, and go to https://www.myresearchproject.org.uk/Signin.aspx to make an application, and for an e-learning module (see menu on right-hand side). While you do not need to apply for ethical approval from the School if you are gaining NRES approval, you must  Register your project with the School Ethics Committee by completing and submitting to the Secretary of the Committee form EC3 (see http://www.city.ac.uk/communityandhealth/research/researchgovernance.html)  Obtain a letter from the Secretary of the School Ethics Committee confirming that you have indemnity cover subject to ethical approval, and send this to NRES. Studies involving human participants but not involving the NHS require ethical approval from the School Ethics Committee. Currently, this means completing and submitting the School Ethics Committee forms EC1 and EC3 (see http://www.city.ac.uk/communityandhealth/research/researchgovernance.html). 82 Be prepared for extensive delays in starting your research if submissions are to be made to an ethics committee. The NRES application is long, and both applications require extensive details about the background, motivation, participants, and methods of your research, plus information sheet and consent form for participants. The ethics committees meet infrequently and it may take several months for the process to be completed. It is also possible that the committee will refer the application back to you for further consideration and amendment. Procedures for the submission and examination of MSc dissertations The deadline for submission of dissertations is 30th June or the first working day thereafter, unless an extension has been granted. Once formally submitted, the dissertation will be read by two members of staff, one of whom will be the person who supervised the dissertation. When the examiners have read the dissertation, they may meet to examine the candidate orally. The examiners’ assessments of the work will be forwarded to the External Examiner. A final mark for the dissertation will be agreed when the Assessment Board meets. Candidates will not be informed of any part of the examiners’ assessments of their dissertation until the University has approved the decision of the Assessment Board. Candidates should note that although the supervisor’s opinions on the quality of the dissertation are an important factor in deciding whether or not to submit, the final decision on submission is the candidate’s own and once formal submission has been made, no further feedback can be given nor amendments made. Formal submission involves the deposition of the two typewritten copies of the dissertation with a member of staff in the Departmental Office and the signing of a record book to indicate that the present document has been read and understood. NB Students who do not submit their dissertation by 30 June may not be included in the graduation ceremony the following November. Supervisor’s role The research project should represent the student’s own work. The role of the supervisor is to offer guidance, and in his/her report to the examiners the supervisor is required to indicate the amount of assistance given. Tutors in the Department may also be asked to report on additional assistance given. When a supervisor contributed to the research it is customary to acknowledge this and the City University in any publication that may follow. 83 Timetable for MSc dissertations Year when taught courses are completed Summer Develop area of interest and project ideas, and discuss with Programme Term Director. Meet informally with potential project supervisor(s) to discuss possible topics. Begin literature review. Find out about Ethical Committee requirements. Fill in Project Proposal Form by 30th June (see copy of this form in Appendix 3, and go to http://www.city.ac.uk/lcs/student/forms.html for an electronic version). Confirm supervisor. Carry out literature search. 1st supervisory meeting with Supervisor/Senior Tutor for Research to discuss methodology Prepare documentation for Ethics Committee(s). Project year Autumn Submit draft of Literature Review. Term Collect data. 2nd supervisory meeting Spring Submit draft of Methodology and Data analysis. 3rd supervisory meeting Summer Submit draft of Results and Discussion. Term Complete write-up. 4th supervisory meeting Submit dissertation by 30th June. Guidelines for preparation of dissertation Selection of target journal When you have drawn up the preliminary proposal for your project, including your topic, aims, research question/hypothesis, and methodology, you should start thinking about an appropriate journal to target. Together with your supervisor:  Identify 1-3 journals for which your topic would be relevant and appropriate.  Find a few articles in each of these journals that relate to your topic, and consider which are most 'in tune' with your interest and approach, and most in keeping with your aims and methodology. It’s a good idea to make a decision before you start preparing your application for ethical approval (since choice of journal might affect details on such issues as recruitment and methodology that are included in the ethics application). 84 Initial drafts of each section Before you start working on a particular section of your article (for example introduction, methodology, results, discussion), check the ‘instructions for authors’ for your target journal, which you will find on the journal’s website and in hard copies of the journal. In particular:  Check the maximum length of articles, and their typical lay-out, e.g. section headings used. These will to some extent determine the length of each section and direct the selection, breadth and depth of material to be included.  Check the specifications for particular components, e.g. title, abstract, number of tables allowed. Then:  Have a look at relevant sections in a few articles on similar topics. Consider which are written up most effectively, and why, and use your observations to help you shape your own write-up.  Think about how individual sections fit into the article, and which articles link the sections most coherently, and again, use your observations to help you 'tell your story' most clearly and coherently. Preparing your article for presentation Before you start working on the final presentation, check the detailed requirements for formatting e.g. for headings, tables, figures, references. These instructions may refer you to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (see http://books.apa.org/books.cfm?id=4200066). Examples of target journals International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology Child Language Teaching and Therapy Journal of Child Language Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology British Journal of Learning Disabilities Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities British Journal of Developmental Disabilities Archives of Disease in Childhood Aphasiology Brain Injury Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation AAC Dysphagia Journal of Voice Laryngology International Journal of Logopedia & Phoniatrica Language and Cognitive Processes Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics 85 Presentation of dissertation Your dissertation must include a cover sheet (before the title page of your journal article) with the following: “Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the MSc in Human Communication Department of Language and Communication Science, City University, London". Month and year of submission Declaration “I grant powers of discretion to the Department of Language and Communication Science to allow this dissertation to be copied in whole or in part without any further reference to me. This permission covers only single copies made for study purposes, subject to the normal conditions of acknowledgement.” Careful attention should be paid to spelling and clarity of the English employed in the dissertation. Assessors are understandably critical of dissertations which do not appear to have been proof-read. Attention is drawn to the ruling that pronouns which do not refer specifically to a female or male person should be written as he/she, his/her, him/her, or they. The dissertation should be presented on A4 bond paper in one and a half line or double spacing with a minimum of one and a half inch left-hand margin. An original and one copy should be prepared and submitted to the Departmental Office together with a copy on disc. The disc copy will be retained for the Departmental Library and the other copies may be collected by the student after the release of the results. Both copies must be in City University binders, obtainable from the University Bookshop. The original should be in a thesis binder, available in 2 sizes: up to 99 pages and 100+ pages. The copy may be in a University ring binder. Further reading The following books may help you to prepare your dissertation proposal and guide you in conducting your research and writing up your dissertation: Herbert M (1990) Planning a Research Project. London: Cassell. Bell J (1987) Doing your Research Project. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. American Psychological Association (1993) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (3rd ed). Washington DC: APA. Van Wagenen RK (1991) Writing a Thesis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Robson C (1993) Real World Research. Oxford: Blackwell. Pring T (2005) Research Methods in Communication Disorders. London: Whurr 86 Notes to students about publishing research Some students may wish to submit their research to journals for consideration for publication or present their findings at a conference. In recognition of the supervisor’s contribution, it is expected that students will first discuss with their supervisor their plans to write up research for publication and agree on authorship of the paper. The student is normally the first author, and the supervisor the second author. Students sometimes choose not to submit their research for publication even though the supervisor may consider the work worthy of publication. In such cases, the supervisor may decide to write up the research for publication. The supervisor would then normally be the first author and the student the second author. Authorship and the order thereof is usually determined by who was directly involved in the research (planning, contributing theoretical ideas, support with methodology and data analysis) and who was most active in preparing the manuscript. 87 Appendix 1: Guidelines for preparation of assignments Guidelines for directed discussions of research articles Critical reading: Distill the article Think critically about the methodology Think critically about the conclusions drawn Reflect on your own experience of the client group Broader relevance of issues: Try to make links (both similarities and differences) with other topics How might the insights given by the article help you with differential diagnosis? Clinical implications: Does the article make any suggestions you would find useful in clinical practice? Does the article contradict anything in your current practice? How can we modify the suggestions made for assessment techniques? What are the implications for therapy? Guidelines for critical review Because many students have not had recent experience of study, students are offered the opportunity during their first term to prepare an unassessed critical review of one or more research papers. The tutor will read and comment on the review. The following is a sample critical review assignment. Read the following two papers, answering the following questions:      What is the theoretical framework for the paper given in the introduction and is this adequate? What questions are the authors setting out to test? Is there an identifiable hypothesis or aim? What methodology was used and, within the limits of the student’s knowledge, what were the limitations? (Note: first year students will not have had their research methodology course yet so a critical review of the stats is not feasible) What conclusions were drawn and were they warranted? What areas for further study are not addressed by this paper? Length limit: 1,000 words Guidelines for essays Many modules are assessed through coursework in the form of an essay. The following guidelines give an indication of the steps you need to take in order to plan and write good quality essays at MSc level. 88 In addition to assessed coursework you may submit a non-contributory piece of coursework to the module leader. You will be given feedback about this work so that you can use it to monitor your progress, but no mark will be recorded. If you wish to take up this option you should discuss it with your module leader. A PLANNING YOUR ESSAY The first stage in the production of a good essay is thinking about and planning what you are going to do, and there are a number of steps you can take in order to make your planning effective:1. GET STARTED EARLY It sounds obvious, but many people leave the writing of their essays to the last minute and then have to go through the process in far too much of a rush to produce work which is reflective of their true abilities. While most of us need a certain amount of adrenaline in order to write an essay, planning requires a systematic and measured approach that is generally more responsive to discipline than panic! Many students underestimate the time it may take them to find relevant material (you may have to order articles through the inter-library loan scheme, and at busy periods this can take several weeks). It is also common to underestimate the amount of time it takes to read some papers or book chapters, and note-taking in a coherent way adds to the time required. In general, students find that essays written towards the beginning of the course take longer to plan and write than those towards the end, when they have got used to what is required of them and have established their own systems of working. It is therefore a good idea to start planning your first essay around the middle of the autumn term. 2. SELECT YOUR ESSAY CAREFULLY YOU WILL USUALLY BE GIVEN A SELECTION OF ESSAY TITLES TO CHOOSE FROM, AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO READ THESE CAREFULLY. IT IS A COMMON MISTAKE FOR STUDENTS TO SEE A TITLE RELATING TO A BROAD TOPIC THEY ARE INTERESTED IN, SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME READING AND NOTE-TAKING ON THAT TOPIC, AND THEN, ON STARTING TO WRITE THE ESSAY, FIND THAT THEY HAVE EITHER RESEARCHED ASPECTS OF THE TOPIC NOT RELEVANT TO THE QUESTION, OR THAT THEY DON'T LIKE THE TITLE SET AND WOULD RATHER WRITE ABOUT A DIFFERENT TOPIC ALTOGETHER! FOR THIS REASON, YOU SHOULD CONSIDER EACH TITLE IN DETAIL BEFORE DECIDING WHICH ESSAY YOU WILL WRITE: WHAT EXACTLY IS THE QUESTION ASKING YOU TO DO; DO YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE CONSIDERING THE TOPIC IN THIS PARTICULAR WAY, ETC.? SOME LECTURERS WILL ALLOW YOU TO MODIFY TITLES THEY HAVE SET, BUT YOU MUST ASK THEIR PERMISSION FIRST IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THIS3. DECIDE WHICH ANGLE TO TAKE Because students attending any module are likely to come from diverse backgrounds and have varied occupational interests, and may even be taking different degrees, many lecturers make their essay questions quite broad in their scope. This allows 89 students to tackle them from a variety of angles without doing 'the wrong thing'. Such questions do, however, make it difficult for some students to decide what to include in an essay and what to leave out. In general terms, it is better to choose one or two aspects of the topic concerned rather than trying to deal with the subject in all its breadth. This is a perfectly acceptable way of proceeding provided that you use part of the introduction to your essay to indicate that you are aware of the existence of other aspects relevant to the topic and to state which aspect(s) you are including or excluding and why. If you are unsure what themes to select or worried about the choice you have made, the lecturer will be happy to advise you about this. NB: It is possible to write a good essay without restricting yourself to just one or two aspects of the topic, but you will need to be very careful as it is easy to end up saying very little about any single aspect of the topic when doing this, or to lose coherence as you move in quick succession from one theme to another. 3. GATHER RELEVANT INFORMATION Once you have decided on the broad areas you are going to cover, the next stage involves identifying and outlining the relevant literature. When deciding on which sources of information to use, it is not advisable to confine your literature search to books alone, even though you may find research articles difficult to read to begin with, especially if you are more used to text books. It is necessary to persevere, though, as you will be expected to make some kind of critical evaluation of some of the work that you describe, which includes comments on methodology, measures, etc., and this will be impossible if you have not read some research in its original form. It is usually better to concentrate most of your attention on the more recent textbooks and articles, as older work may well be out of date. There are, however, some classical pieces of research that you may want to refer to as the basis for later work in the area, and some earlier work can give enlightening insights into the development of theoretical perspectives and may also highlight areas that have become neglected of late. One way to impress markers is to go to the shelves in the library which stock the most editions of relevant journals and try to find some current research to put into your essay - even if you only mention the article briefly the marker will be impressed by your industry, and will have been made aware of a new and interesting study, which s/he might not otherwise have found! There is no set number of references that you need to cite in a piece of coursework, but using less than half a dozen looks unimpressive unless you present work of exceptional quality surrounding those half dozen. However, it is also possible to read too much, so that you begin to feel the topic is too broad to fit into your word limit. As a very rough guide, most essays cite somewhere between 10 and 20 references. 4. WRITE A PLAN OF YOUR ESSAY Once you have finished gathering information towards the essay, you will need to consider how it all fits together in relation to the topic and, more specifically, in relation to the question being asked. There are various ways of doing this: you might, for example, like to 'brainstorm' the question, putting down everything you 90 have covered in your literature review that you think might be relevant; another way is to write a skeleton outline, with subheadings for each section to be included; or you could combine these two methods, making a skeleton outline on the basis of your brainstorming. Whichever method you choose, you should have the broad outline of your essay in mind before you begin to write your first draft. This will help you to give your work structure and order - two essential components of a good essay. B WRITING YOUR ESSAY Once you have followed the steps involved in planning a piece of work, you are ready to begin to write. Below are some general tips:Don't  expect to hand in the first draft of your essay - you may need to do several rewrites before your work is ready to be submitted;  litter your work with sweeping statements, strident personal opinions or anecdotal evidence;  waffle; lecturers can always tell when you are simply padding out an essay which is lacking in basic material, so it's simply not worth the effort! Do      structure your work well, making sure you include an introduction, critique, summary and conclusion (see below); structure the material in such a way as to explicitly answer the question set; review and evaluate the relevant literature; make evaluative comments in the third person (e.g.: "The author considers the majority of the studies in this area to have failed to take into account....") or in an impersonal way (e.g.: "The studies in this area have failed to take account of...."), not in the first person (e.g.: "I think that the studies in this area...."). Some specific guidelines for how to approach the different sections of your essay:1. THE INTRODUCTION The introduction is where you 'set the scene' for the rest of your essay. As already mentioned, it is likely that you will have narrowed down your essay to consider one or two aspects of any number which could equally have answered the question set. You need to justify your choice. The best way of doing this is by an 'inverse pyramid' approach to moving from general to specific information, i.e.: you need to give an indication that you are aware of the breadth of the topic and the many theories, concepts, etc. that have relevance to it; you then need to state which specific angle you have chosen as an appropriate example to use to answer the question, and why it is important. The introduction is also the place to include any definitions of terms or brief general background to theories that you will include later in the essay. As a rough guide, the introduction usually makes up about 10-15% of an essay. 91 2. THE CRITIQUE The critique is the body of your essay. This is where you review and evaluate the relevant literature. Below are a few general points, which might help you do this well:Break your work up into paragraphs covering one theme each. Some people write with very long paragraphs, each covering several themes. This practice tends to make an essay hard work to read, and decreases the quality of organization of material. Other people go to the opposite extreme, treating each sentence as a new paragraph. This practice breaks the flow of the essay, and makes it easy for the reader to lose the thread of what you are saying. Refer back to the topic of the essay when ending subsections. This adds coherence to your work, helps ensure you don't drift off the point, and lets the reader see how you are relating different aspects of the topic to the question you are dealing with. Link subsections together. This will help make the essay to flow, increasing its readability. Use subheadings if appropriate, and if the lecturer finds them acceptable. There are different views on the use of subheadings in essays - some people find them a helpful indicator of the different sections of the essay, others believe that an essay should not be broken up in this way, and that subsections should be distinguished from each other by the way they are written, not by subheadings. If you would like to include subheadings, you should check first with the lecturer. Bearing all these points in mind throughout, there are two key tasks you need to complete when writing the critique of your essay - a review and an evaluation of the concepts, theories and research in the field. Some pointers for how to do this:Reviewing the Literature This involves giving a clear account of the relevant concepts and theories, together with research investigating these. A common mistake to avoid is only presenting one side of the story: we all have our preconceptions and biases, and some people choose to write a particular essay simply because it fits in with these. Even if this is true, there will always be another side to the story, and your essay will not be well received if you don't include this. When reviewing the literature it is useful to try to 'synthesize' material together rather than presenting material in a more 'list-like' form. For example, to say something like the following: "Research in this area has generally been in favour of Bloggs' theory (e.g.: Smith, 1990; Jones, 1993; Uncle Tom Cobbley and all, 1995)..." reads better than saying: "Smith's 1990 study supported Bloggs' theory, Jones (1993) also found himself in agreement with Bloggs, and so did Uncle Tom Cobbley and all (1995)". 92 Evaluating the Literature At Master's level you cannot get away with just reviewing and synthesizing the relevant literature, you are also expected to take your consideration of it a stage further. You should be able to give an opinion regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the different concepts and theories outlined and of the research carried out in the area. In order to do this you need to be able to critically evaluate individual pieces of research. This may be difficult for you at the beginning, but the extent to which you will be expected to be able to do this will increase with your experience on the course - you're not expected to be an expert in the first term! At the beginning, you may only be able to comment at a quite basic level (e.g.: was there a control group, was the sample size large or small?), while later on you may be able to comment at a deeper level (e.g.: are the findings of this study reliable and valid, were the measures used adequate, do the conclusions drawn follow logically from the results?). The important thing is to demonstrate that you are thinking along these lines despite any lack of experience, and not to think you have no right to criticise the work of supposedly eminent people - you will soon realise that there is an awful lot of work published which is of mediocre quality. 3. THE SUMMARY The next stage of writing an essay is to summarise what you have found in order to give a clear picture of the current state of affairs in terms of knowledge, contradictory findings and viewpoints, etc. It's a kind of 'where are we now and what are we left with?' exercise. A summary is, by definition, repetitive of what has gone before, so it does not need to be very long. What it does need to do is to highlight the key points you believe have come out of your review and evaluation of the literature. 4. THE CONCLUSION Once you have summarised the current state of knowledge, you are in a position to move forward. There are two things to think about here:Firstly, is the current theoretical approach to the topic adequate? Following your evaluation of the literature, the theoretical constructs or the way that these have been operationalised may no longer seem to be of value, for practical and/or purely theoretical reasons, and, if this is the case, you should make some suggestions for new ways of thinking about or approaching the subject that you believe would be useful. It is equally possible that you will consider that a theoretical approach has been confirmed in value by what you have found, and in this case you should say so. The second thing to think about is where further research is needed. Very little in psychology is ever 'cut-and-dried', and there is always room for further investigation and clarification. In your summary, you should have highlighted areas where there are gaps in knowledge or difficulties of understanding in relation to the topic, and this is the place to make some suggestions for how research could attempt to address the problems and gaps you have identified. You will, however, not get a great deal of credit unless you do this in a highly specific way (i.e.: rather than in purely general terms). For example, saying: "Research should now focus attention on the different 93 components of x to see how they interact with y" is much better than simply proposing that: "More research is needed in this area". You will also get extra credit if you put in some suggestions as to how that research might be carried out, e.g.: "A pilot study could be set up which compares two groups in terms of x over a period of time and investigates whether the relationship with y changes", or "a case study approach would be of benefit here because.....". Another aspect of concluding might be to highlight the importance of sorting out the gaps and problems you have identified with respect to some element of clinical practice. Finally, a conclusion is not a conclusion if you don't use it to give a final answer to the question set. Even if the level of knowledge and understanding in the area is so poor, or the quality of research so inadequate that no definitive claims can be made, this can form your 'answer' to the question - that we are not yet in a position to make an answer! Either way, you need to round off your work with this final reference to the topic you have addressed. C COMMON TERMS USED IN ESSAY QUESTIONS AND WHAT THEY ARE ASKING YOU TO DO Critically discuss... / Discuss... - these are general terms which mean you should follow the basic guidelines for writing an essay, taking particular care to emphasise the different viewpoints in the area. Critically evaluate... / Evaluate... - you should make some kind of value judgement regarding the topic. For example, if you were asked to evaluate the importance of personality in the development of illness, you would need to give an opinion regarding the strength of the relationship and/or its clinical relevance, based on the material you have covered. How far... / To what extent... - this is very similar to 'critically evaluate' and are really just other ways of asking the same question. Critically evaluate research... - this is a form of questioning often dealt with badly by students. It is tempting to treat it as if you are being asked to critically evaluate the topic being researched: you aren't! You need to make evaluations of the research looking into the topic, in terms of consistent methodological or design problems, etc., and come up with ways in which these can be addressed and improved. Outline... - you should give a brief description of whatever you are being asked about. You will never be asked just to give an outline, so this is usually a short, first part to an essay. It is a term that is probably more common in exams than in coursework. Illustrate your answer with... - this is a specific request for a particular type of example to explain whatever you have just been asked. Discuss this statement... - this is another form of question, which often causes problems for students. The trap is to decide which topic is being referred to in the 94 statement and discuss this, either without mentioning the statement at all, or with giving just it cursory attention in the introduction and conclusion. This is not an adequate way of answering such a question. What you need to do is refer to the statement at regular intervals throughout your essay, preferably at the beginning and/or end of the subsections to explain the relevance of each of these to the statement and what they add to the discussion of it. D TAKING A CRITICAL APPROACH TO READING RESEARCH ARTICLES Below are a series of questions that you may find useful when trying to assess the value of a piece of research. They have been presented in relation to the layout of many research publications, although you may find some that deviate from this format. This doesn't matter, what is important is to start thinking critically about what you read. NB: Thinking critically does not necessarily mean criticising. It does mean thinking carefully about the overall value of what you read. You need to be able to distinguish between pieces of work that have been excellently conducted, those which are basically sound but which have some limitations, and those which are so flawed as to be of minimal worth. You should also, by considering these questions in relation to individual pieces of research, be able to distinguish common failings of research in any particular topic and, therefore, get an idea of where improvements need to be made (e.g.: if all the research regarding a particular psychological intervention has neglected to use control groups, then this needs rectifying in future studies). Introduction and Literature Review Is the area to be covered made clear? Is the literature reviewed in an objective manner (e.g.: indicating areas of controversy/debate) or is it one-sided and biased? Is there sufficient coverage of relevant literature? (Note: if the study uses grounded theory, the literature may be reviewed at the end of the report rather than the beginning, in order to assess the similarities and differences of the author's findings with those of previous pieces of work). Are the aims of the study made plain, and are the hypotheses (if made) stated clearly? If no hypotheses are given, why is this? (e.g.: is the study purely exploratory/ investigative, or is the author avoiding the issue?). Methodology Is the design of the study made plain? Are the key variables outlined? In an experimental study, has the author controlled for extraneous/confounding variables? In a correlational or qualitative study, does the author explain which variables may influence the findings? Is the sample size appropriate to the design of the study and the kind of analysis to be performed? Are the reasons given for the choice of participants? If so, are they sound? Where measuring tools have been used (e.g.: questionnaires), has the author 95 established their reliability and validity? Does the research follow good ethical standards? Have these been discussed? Analysis Are the methods of analysis used appropriate to the design of the study and the size of the sample? (e.g.: in phenomenological studies, analysis involves the description of useful insights. In experimental studies, complex statistical tests may be required). Are the results of analysis presented clearly? (e.g.: including levels of significance, not simply test coefficients). Conclusions and Discussion        Does the discussion refer back to the issues raised in the introduction/literature review? Are the aims and/or hypotheses re-addressed at this point, with findings clearly described? Do the conclusions made follow logically from the findings, or is the author engaging in 'intuitive leaps' in order to reach them? Has the study been conducted in such a way that meaningful conclusions can be drawn? (e.g.: if the design is inappropriate, or the measures unreliable, this is not the case). Does the author discuss the limitations of the study? If the author is attempting to generalise from the findings, is it appropriate to do so? (e.g.: was the sample used representative of the population being generalised to?) Are recommendations made for future research, theory and/or practice? If so, are these appropriate, feasible and sufficient? Obviously, you couldn't possibly describe every article you read with respect to all of these points when writing an essay! However, what you can do is to think about these things when doing your reading, so that: you don't cite from articles which are grossly unsound; you can give your own opinions about limitations of work which is otherwise worth mentioning; and that you can give credit where studies of good quality have been carried out. Evidence of this kind of thinking is what helps to lift essays from the average to the excellent. 96 Guidelines for poster presentations © Copyright 1997 M.T. Tham Dept. of Chemical and Process Engineering University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK Contents Preamble Contents Space Format Planning Gathering the information Deciding on content Design Preamble We are concerned with the use of posters to present technical information, not images. A poster is simply a static, visual medium (usually of the paper and board variety) that you use to communicate ideas and messages. The difference between poster and oral presentations is that you should let your poster do most of the 'talking'; that is, the material presented should convey the essence of your message. Contents How much poster space are you allowed? The purpose of poster presentations is not to have boards upon boards of information. Better to hand out a report in that case. If you are presenting your poster at a conference or convention, you would have limited space. The space you are allowed will determine the content of the poster. Find out how much space you are allowed! As with an oral presentation, there is normally:  a Title page, telling others the title of the project, the people involved in the work and their affiliation;  a Summary of the project stating what you have set out to do, how you have done it, the key findings and the main results  an Introduction that should include clear statements about the problem that you are trying to solve, the characteristics that you are trying to discover or the proofs that you are trying to establish. These should then lead to declarations of project aims and objectives  a Theory or Methodology section that explains the basis of the technique that you are using or the procedure that you have adopted in your study. You should also state and justify any assumptions, so that your results could be viewed in the proper context  a Results section that you use to show illustrative examples of the main results of the work  a Conclusion section, listing the main findings of your investigation, and  a Further Work section that should contain recommendations and thoughts about how the work could be progressed; other tests that could be applied, etc. 97 You therefore have to present certain pieces of information but have limited space. So, before you rush away to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, spend a few moments or even hours to plan your presentation. This is very important. Unlike oral presentations, where some ultra-smooth talkers may be able to divert attention from a poorly planned presentation, with posters, poor planning is there for all to see. Planning Planning is crucial. There are several stages in planning a presentation. Gathering the information First, ask yourself the following questions. What is the objective of the investigation? Has someone done the work before? How have I gone about with the study? Why did I follow this particular route of investigation? What are the principles governing the technique that I am using? What assumptions did I make and what were my justifications? What problems did I encounter? What results did I obtain? Have I solved the problem? What have I found out? Are the analyses sound? Although the above list is by no means exhaustive, you should get the gist. You have to stand back and think again about the What's, the How's and the Why's of the work that you have done. You have to examine critically, the approach that you have taken and the results that you have got. Such brainstorming often yields loads of responses. Jot your answers on a BIG piece of paper, not necessarily in an ordered fashion. The intention is to note as many points as possible, so that you do not miss any important aspects. The ordering and pruning of the information come later. From your list, note the common areas, topics or pieces of information, and group them together. Use colour or number coding, or circles and lines to help you identify and categorise the information. This activity should help you focus further on the content you can use with confidence. Deciding on the Content If you follow the above presentation format guidelines, then the content is more or less determined for you. However, given that you have limited space, you now have to decide between what is important and what is not necessary. Your decision should be based on at least 2 factors, namely: What are you trying to achieve by presenting the posters? Is it to tell people what you have done? Is it to tell people of a new discovery? Is it to convince people that one product or technique is better than another? Who will be attending the presentation? Are they technical people? What is the level of their knowledge of your subject area? The answers to these questions define the type of content to include and set the tone of the presentation. 98 Design An advertising billboard is a poster. If well designed, it will be attractive and engender a lasting impression; earnest but not boring. In using posters to convey technical information, they should be designed such that readers think "Yes!" or "I see!" and leave with the impression that they have learnt something new. Ultimately, poster design is a personal matter and different individuals will have different views on how best to present certain information. Nevertheless, here are some 'rules-of-thumb’ to guide you: Plan, plan and plan! Keep the material simple Make full use of the space, but do not cramp a page full of information, as the result can often appear messy. Be concise and do not waffle. Use only pertinent information to convey your message. Be selective when showing results. Present only those that illustrate the main findings of the project. However, do keep other results handy so that you may refer to them when asked. Use colours sparingly and with taste. Colours should be used only to emphasise, differentiate and to add interest. Do not use colours just to impress! Try to avoid using large swathes of bright garish colours. Choose background and foreground colour combinations that have high contrast and complement each other - black or dark blue on white or very light grey is good. It is better to keep the background light as people are used to it (for example newspapers and books). Do not use more than 2 font types. Too many font types distract, especially when they appear in the same sentence Fonts that are easy on the eyes are Times-Roman and Arial. Titles and headings should appear larger than other text, but not too large. All text should also be legible from a distance, say from 1.5m to 2m. Do not use all UPPER CASE type in your posters. It can make the material difficult to read. Do not use a different font type to highlight important points as the fluency and flow of your sentence can appear disrupted. Use underlined text, bold face, italics or combinations to emphasise words and phrases. If you use bold italicised print for emphasis, then underlining is not necessary - overkill! A picture is worth a thousand words … (but only if it is drawn properly and used appropriately) Choose graph types that are appropriate to the information that you want to display Annotations should be large enough, and the lines of line-graphs should be thick enough so that they may be viewed from a distance (see the point above about text size) Do not attempt to have more than six line-graphs on a single plot Instead of using lines of different thickness, use contrasting coloured lines or different line styles to distinguish between different lines in multi-line graphs. 99 Multi-line plots or plots with more than one variable should have a legend relating the plotted variable to the colour or style of the line. Diagrams and drawings should be labelled Drawings and labels should be large and clear enough so that they are still legible from a distance Do not try to cramp labelling to fit into components of a drawing or diagram. Use 'arrows' and 'callouts' Clipart should only be used if it adds interest to the display and complements the subject matter. Otherwise, all it does is distract attention from the focus of the presentation. Clipart can also be 'dangerous' as you may spend more time fiddling about with images and choosing appropriate cartoons than concentrating on the content. Check your spelling. There is nothing more amusing or annoying than spelling mistakes on public display, especially if they are in the title. Spelling mistakes give the impression that you have not put in the effort; and that you are careless; not bothered; not worthy of high assessment scores. Maintain a consistent style. Inconsistent styles give the impression of disharmony and can interrupt the fluency and flow of your messages. Headings on the different pages of the poster should appear in the same position on all pages. Graphs should be of the same size and scale especially if they are to be compared. If bold lettering is used for emphasis on one page, then do not use italics on others. Captions for graphs, drawings and tables should either be positioned at the top or at the bottom of the figure. Arrangement of poster components should appear smooth. You would probably be preparing sections of the poster on A4 sized paper before sticking them onto mounting boards or display stands. Remember that you are using posters to tell a story about what you have done and achieved. As in report writing, the way you arrange the sections should follow the 'storyline'. Sometimes it is helpful if you provide cutouts of arrows to direct attention to the sequence of the presentation Use a new page to start off a new section (see format) Review, review and review Make draft versions of your poster sections and check them for mistakes, legibility and inconsistency in style Try different layout arrangements Ask your partner, friends, colleagues or supervisor for their 'honest' opinions Be critical Guidelines for referencing work There is a section in this Handbook that deals with the problem of plagiarism. Very few people plagiarise deliberately, but many are unsure of how to reference their 100 work correctly. The following guidelines deal with those points most commonly raised. Citing references in the text of an essay During the text of an essay, you will need to describe and give details of the literature you have read. There are two ways of doing this: by direct quotation and by paraphrasing:1. Direct quotations These should always be contained within inverted commas and accompanied by the name and date of the source, together with the number of the page where it can be found. Walter Mischel (1986) defines 'personality' as a term which usually refers to: "....the distinctive patterns of behaviour (including thoughts and emotions) that characterise each individual's adaptation to the situations of his or her life." (page 4). (Note that missing sections of sentences are indicated by a short row of dots) 2. Paraphrasing Quotes are not always the best way of outlining what you have read. Some sections will be too long to reproduce in their entirety, for example, or you may want to simplify the wording. Also, too many quotes make an essay clumsy and disjointed to read. It is probable, therefore, that most of your references to the work of others will be in the form of paraphrasing - where you give the gist of what the writer was saying but in your own words. In this case you need to distinguish clearly between what the writer is saying and what are your own comments. E.g.: Kobasa (1979) claims that this study demonstrates strong support for the protective nature of hardiness against both the level of stress experienced by an individual and the effects of any stress which is experienced on that individual's health. However, as her sample consisted only of male executives, care should be taken when applying her findings to other populations, such as women or unskilled workers. You will notice that for both quoting and paraphrasing you should only reference in the text by using names and dates (and page nos. for quotes). This is because giving fuller details in the body of the texts again disturbs the flow of your essay. Giving references at the end of an essay Because giving full details of references in the text of an essay is distracting, you should include a 'Reference' section at the end of the essay, with or without a bibliography (see below). The 'References' section is where you give full details of a source you have cited in the text. For books, you should include the surname(s) and initial(s) of the writer(s), the date of publication, the full title of the work, the publisher and where the book was first 101 published (this last point is usually indicated by the order of place names after that of the publisher on the title page - the one which comes first is the one you want). The department expects all students to use APA conventions for references (NB book and journal titles may either be underlined or in italics). Written work not presenting references in the agreed format may be marked down. e.g.: Sheridan, C.L. & Radmacher, S.A. (1992) Health Psychology: Challenging the biomedical mode. New York: Wiley. OR Sheridan CL & Radmacher SA. (1992) Health Psychology: Challenging the biomedical mode. New York: Wiley. When referencing an article, you need to give the title of the journal, the year, the volume number and page numbers. e.g.: Kobasa SC (1979) Stressful Life Events, Personality and Health: An inquiry into hardiness. Personality and Social Psychology, 37(1), 1-11. When referencing a book chapter, you need to give the names of the editor(s), the title of the book, the date of publication, the city of publication and the page numbers of the chapter cited. Woll, B. (1998) The development of signed and spoken language. In Gregory, S., Knight, P., McCracken, W., Powers, S. & Watson, L. (eds.) Issues in Deaf Education. London: Fulton, 58-68. It doesn't matter which order you give your references in, although you need some system that ensures that you don't miss any out. Most people tend to use alphabetical order, although some prefer to give references in the order in which they appear in the text. The bibliography is a section where you can give details of any book that you have used (for background information, for instance) but to which you have not needed to refer directly in the body of your essay. Some people keep the bibliography and references sections separate, others combine them into a joint list, while some people refer directly to everything that they read and so have no need for a bibliography at all. One aspect of referencing which confuses a lot of people is how to reference a piece of work which you have not seen in the original, but which was detailed in something else you read. Say, for example, you read about Rotter's Locus of Control article in Wendy Rogers' book, you would reference it as follows:Rotter J (1966) - Generalised Expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. In Rogers WS (1991) Explaining Health and Illness: An exploration of diversity. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf. If you have referenced Rogers' book already (e.g. in the bibliography), you do not 102 need to give the full reference again, but can simply say: In Rogers, W.S. (1991) op. cit. ('op. cit.' means cited elsewhere) You may find that you are quoting a number of works that you have read about without having seen the original. Even though it can be tedious you should indicate where you found each of these. Apart from the need to reference properly, you will find this a great help if you ever want to use the works again - if you haven't noted your source, you could waste hours looking for them, or worse, get caught out having made them up!!! 103 Appendix 2: Further guidelines for dissertation Broad guidelines for journal articles reporting empirical studies These typically include the following sections: Title page Acknowledgements Abstract 200-300 words. A brief summary of the study including its aims, design, method, results and main conclusion. Introduction and Review of the Literature This section offers the opportunity to describe factors which influenced your choice of topic based on previous research recorded in the literature. Where possible, expectations concerning the outcome of the study should be stated and the reasons upon which they are based made clear. Relevant published work should be described and discussed. The quality of the discussion is of particular importance. Criticism should be coherent and balanced. Excessive length of this section may be taken as a sign that the candidate is unable to select appropriate references. The literature review should be structured in a way that moves from general considerations in the area of interest to a more specific focus on research that is immediately relevant to the research question under consideration. The introduction should conclude with a section outlining how this question arises from the existing literature and a statement of the hypothesis to be tested, if there is one. Alternatively, the research question to be explored should be clearly stated in this section. Method Design: The description of the experimental design should include a brief statement of the method of statistical analysis employed. It should also include an account of the sampling and control conditions. Participants: Description of participants. Examples: an unselected group of 10 female postgraduate student volunteers: age, sex and where appropriate other characteristics (e.g. educational status) of individual students; a randomly selected group of 15 adults with expressive aphasia mean age 57.5 years, SD 8.2 years, mean post onset period 1.5 years, SD 0.4, educational background – e.g. the number of years in full time education. Materials: Description, photographs, sketches and diagrams of any materials and equipment used. This section should also include details of assessment techniques, tests and clinical treatment procedures where relevant. Tests, questionnaires etc.: Where standard tests are used a complete reference 104 should be given. Where less easily available tests or questionnaires are used, or where you have developed your own, copies should be included in the Appendix. Procedure: The guiding principle here is that the account of the research procedure should be sufficiently detailed to enable someone else to repeat the study in the same way as it was originally performed. For example, a verbatim copy of the instructions given to the subjects is required, together with a record of the conditions under which the investigation was carried out. There should be reference to all provisions taken to isolate, control or identify variables such as fatigue or practice which are present but not of principal concern. Results The results of the study are best presented in two places in the dissertation. Raw data should be given in an APPENDIX at the end. This enables the Results section, in the body of the dissertation, to contain clear summaries of the data. The reader is thus able to gain a clear picture of the results but can refer to the Appendix if he or she wishes to make a detailed examination. The Results section should contain: a) Summaries of the raw data in the form of tables and/or figures showing the means and other statistics associated with the various conditions together with standard deviations or other appropriate measures of dispersion. Tables and figures must be allocated numbers by which they may be identified in the text. They must also be given a self-explanatory legend, e.g. Table 1: Mean Scores of Control and Experimental Groups in Free Recall Task. b) Clear statements of the analysis applied to the data (including computer-based statistical packages) and summaries of the results of these analyses. c) Reports of any comments made by the participants. Data and results form the foundation of your conclusions. Every care must be taken to avoid errors in collecting, transcribing and reading data. They must be presented clearly and labelled unambiguously. Discussion and Conclusions An interpretation of the results of the study would be offered here. The findings must be considered in relation to previous work and in terms of the general problem specified in the introduction. This section may also include suggestions for the improvement of the methods/design used. The researcher should outline any further studies suggested by the outcome of the present one, particularly if the results are very different from those expected. Reference should be made to the review of the literature, to place the findings in context. There should be a short concluding paragraph summarising the main achievements of the study. References References in the text should be presented in the following manner: The human mind is a wonderful thing (Luria, 1972; Herriot, 1970). 105 and in the list of references as follows: Luria AB (1972) Aphasia Reconsidered. Cortex, 8, 1, 34-40. Herriot B (1970) An Introduction to the Psychology of Language. London: Methuen. Additional guidelines for dissertations based on qualitative methodology The preceding guidelines will provide a workable framework for writing up most dissertations. This conventional format is widely understood and for good reason. It has evolved over many years to be an efficient means of structuring and communicating the complexities of research work, particularly where quantitative data is used. In recent years, however, qualitative methodology has been evolving and is becoming increasingly popular with practitioners who are looking to research to explain the depth and feel of their work. Qualitative differences Qualitative research differs in approach as well as form of data. Mainstream quantitative research has tended to focus on testing theories against formally selected large scale samples. Qualitative research, however, is more concerned with showing how theories develop. This means giving a central place to the researcher’s subjectivity as well as to the quality of the research participant’s experience. Samples are inevitably very small and use intensive rather than extensive data. The conventional format for writing up research reports is often found by qualitative researchers not to fit their data or their style. Unfortunately there are at least 26 different qualitative research frameworks each using their own language, concepts and philosophical assumptions (Tesch 1990). If you decide to work in this way you will need to be very clear about which framework you are using and why. There is in consequence no agreed format for writing up qualitative research, and you may find it difficult to find good exemplars in your field of study. These guidelines are intended, therefore, to be of general assistance to you and to make clear the minimum expectations for a qualitative dissertation. Some words of caution Qualitative research is not an easy option. If you don’t like Philosophy or ambiguity you may be better advised to stay within the mainstream research approach. Even if you don’t like statistics, you will still need to understand them in order to criticise the research of others from a position of strength. Having said that, there is a great need for good quality qualitative research. Small scale intensive data may also better represent your opportunities to conduct empirical research as well as your interests. The MSc course is keen to encourage creativity in research and to support you in taking this opportunity to develop personally meaningful and practically useful research. Please ensure that you discuss fully the implications of your project work with your research supervisor should you choose to embark on a qualitative research strategy. 106 Word length Qualitative research tends to use more words. Statistical tables are after all a very efficient means of presenting a lot of data in a small space. You will need to be efficient and critically selective in your data examples and perhaps consign transcript material to the Appendix. See Miles & Huberman (1994) for examples of using graphs, tables, flow charts, etc. with qualitative data. Chapter headings Generally it might be best to organise your dissertation around emergent themes. Within each chapter you might have sub-sections on literature review, methodology, data analysis and discussion. Many qualitative researchers now talk about ‘flip-flop’ between the data and literature or methodology, so that these features become strands woven together throughout the fabric of the dissertation. You should ensure, though, that you have an adequate balance of each and the whole story of the research enterprise unfolds in a logically coherent way. METHODOLOGICAL JUSTIFICATION AND CRITIQUE Although there are many differences, most qualitative frameworks share an ideal of being critical - that is, opposed to or at least challenging mainstream science (often labelled as ‘Positivist’). You will need to engage in a full critical discussion of why your particular choice of methodology confers advantages in this case. This means Philosophy of Science and Epistemology! Reflexivity Unlike conventional research, you will be expected to feature personally. You might therefore write (at least in some sections) in the first person singular. Many qualitative researchers begin with their own account, describing critically (rather than indulgently) why their own experience of the topic is relevant and how it affects their standpoint. Reflexivity also means showing how your study is subject to the criticisms it makes of other studies. That is, it should attempt to show how it embodies the philosophical principles of qualitative research. See, for example, the ‘isms’ and ‘sensitivities’ described by Silverman (1993). Standpoint Problems of neutrality, objectivity and subjectivity are common to all forms of scientific research. How do you know what your standpoint is and why is it appropriate in this particular context? Induction or deduction (the origin and ownership of ideas) is an especially contentious issue. Claiming to have no standpoint will not be sufficient. You will be expected to peel back the subjective layers and show how your ideas are arrived at. Evolution of method Again qualitative research differs from the mainstream in not only allowing, but often demanding that your method evolves throughout the project. You might see this as liberating or as approaching chaos. Most of the qualitative methodologies assume the study design will progress or adapt to new findings as the project unfolds. Perhaps one way to contain this, or at least to present it, is to think of a series of 107 phases to your study, e.g.: Phase one: Preliminary investigations Phase two: Individual interviews Phase three: Focus group study Phase four: etc etc. Transparency Just as with conventional research reports, your description should show the reader exactly how the study was carried out so that in principle it could be repeated. The qualitative study goes further, however, in revealing the decision processes. This is especially important in accounting for the emergent themes from your data analysis. Researchers who are new to qualitative working seem to find the greatest difficulty in this. You will need to take the reader through exactly how ideas were grouped together and the labels arrived at. It will not be sufficient to claim you were immersed in the data and the ideas just came to you. As well as purely technical methodological decisions, you should also capture the context issues. This might include your relationship with participants, research coworkers, gatekeepers and the politics of the research context. You might find keeping a detailed research diary a useful means to this end. Validity and reliability Some qualitative methodologists object to these terms and propose others such as ‘meaningfulness’ and ‘transferability’. Whichever terms you choose, you will need to embrace the fundamental concepts they stand for and demonstrate that your research is credible. There are various techniques to help you cross check your data analysis, e.g.: Respondent validation Sorting by independent judges Negative case search Textural analysis and cross referencing Computer assistance A good quality word processor (and by extension word processing skills) seems to be essential for the analysis of qualitative data. You might also choose to work with a specialist programme for qualitative data analysis such as NUDIST or ETHNOGRAPH. Note, however, that these impose a steep learning curve. They cannot ‘microwave’ your data into instant analysis. Even with computer assistance, you should anticipate spending a relatively large proportion of your research effort in searching for and cross validating emergent themes from your data. Other formats Most qualitative methodologies are predicated on the analysis of language, particularly as spoken, but also as written. It is possible, however, to see visual material or indeed other media as qualitative data. If you do explore less conventional forms of data, the value of extensive pilot work to test feasibility cannot 108 be emphasised enough. Although several writers claim qualitative work is incompatible with mainstream quantitative approaches, it is becoming increasingly clear that the two are potentially complementary approaches. If you work with both you will need to adapt the two sets of guidelines for writing up your dissertation accordingly. Critical reflection Finally, you will be expected to critically evaluate your study. You may be familiar with some facets of qualitative working through writing up case studies and process reports. Qualitative research differs, however, in the elaboration - perhaps struggle to make the methodology explicit. Were your philosophical assumptions justified? How far can your findings go? How could the study be improved? What has the qualitative aspect told us that quantitative research could not? Is there scope for additional quantitative work? What insights have you gained about qualitative research? Does it really fit your practice context? Report writing There are different ways in which qualitative research can be written up. Some of these are really very unlike conventional psychological research reports. However, you may wish to maintain the conventional structure of a research report in your write-up. This may be easier if you have little experience with qualitative research. The following guidelines provide you with the basic structure of such a report (see also Banister et. al. 1994, chapter 10, for a more detailed discussion of report writing). 1.TITLE Keep it short but make it specific enough to be meaningful. Your research question can provide a basis from which to formulate the title. 2. ABSTRACT This should be about 100 words long and it should provide the basic facts about your research, i.e. what was your research question, which method did you use, who were the participants and what was your major finding. 3. INTRODUCTION This should include a rationale for your choice of research question (why have you chosen it, why is it interesting/important) and methodology. This will involve references to existing literature (either qualitative or quantitative or both, depending on what has been done). Your research question can emerge from a critique of existing research, especially if this has been wholly quantitative; alternatively, it can constitute an extension of existing research, especially if it builds upon existing qualitative work. The introduction needs to show to what extent/in what ways the study constitutes a critique and/or extension of existing research. 4. METHOD Here you need to provide a brief outline of how the method works. What does it aim to identify, and how does it do it. This is best followed by a step-by-step account of what you actually did. This includes the most obvious-sounding detail, such as 'reading the transcript'. Also, you need to provide information about how you selected and gained access to your respondents and/or research setting, how you gathered the data (e.g. 109 tape-recording) and how you transformed them (e.g. transcription style). Ethical considerations should be included. 5. ANALYSIS This is likely to be the longest section of the report. Here, you present your 'findings'. This may be in the form of categories (in grounded theory), discursive constructions (in DA) or whatever major analytic construct your method prescribes. You need to include 'raw data' (e.g. quotations, excerpts from transcripts etc) in order to illustrate your analysis. However, keep this to the necessary minimum. One excerpt per construct /category is a good rule of thumb. You may also wish to include visual representations here, such as models, flow-charts, diagrams etc. (particularly for grounded theory). 6. DISCUSSION Here, you discuss the implications of your analysis. This includes a discussion of the theoretical, practical as well as methodological issues thrown up by your analysis. A critical evaluation of your own study as well as recommendations for future research should be included. The analysis and discussion sections can be merged and followed by a brief conclusion section. 7. APPENDIX You can include transcripts, your field notes etc in the appendix if you want to. However, the appendix should never include any material that is essential to the report (in other words, you can't assume that the reader will actually read the appendix!). 8. REFERENCES These should be complete (i.e. all authors referred to in the report must be listed in the reference section) and follow standard guidelines for referencing (see Handbook). Reflexivity Finally, remember to include some comments on the research process itself and how it affected you and how you affected it (reflexivity). This can be done either i) throughout the report, as and when reflexivity issues emerge as relevant; or ii) towards the end of the report in a separate section. Whichever way you choose to discuss reflexivity, remember to address both personal and epistemological dimensions of reflexivity: Personal dimension The ways in which the researcher's values, experiences, interests, beliefs, aims and social identity may have shaped the research, as well as how the process of carrying out the research affected, or even changed, the researcher him/herself. Epistemological dimension How the design and method 'construct' data and findings, how research questions define and limit 'findings', and which alternative interpretations and approaches (to the question and the data) would be possible. Further Reading Carr W & Kemmis S (1986) Becoming Critical: Education, Knowledge and Action Research. Brighton: Falmer Press. 110 Miles MB & Huberman AM (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis. London: Sage. Silverman D (1993) Interpreting Qualitative Data. London: Sage. Tesch R (1990) Qualitative Research. Brighton: Falmer Press. 111 Appendix 3: Forms Electronic versions of the following forms are available at http://www.city.ac.uk/lcs/student/forms.html 112 MSc Human Communication & MSc Joint Professional Practice Coursework Coversheet Please complete both parts of this sheet and attach to all coursework Student ID …………………………………………………………………………………........ Module code and title ………………………………………………………………………….. Coursework title ………………………………………………………………………………… Word count ……………………………………………………………………………………… Submission date ………………………………………………………………………….......... ______________________________________________________________________ Coursework Declaration This declaration and a copy of your work will be retained in the office in case of queries. It confirms that you have read and complied with the guidelines on plagiarism as described in your programme handbook. Administrative staff will remove this declaration before passing coursework to the lecturer concerned. Print name ……………………………………………………………………………………....... Student ID number ……………………………………………………………………………….. Module code and title …………………………………………………………………………… Coursework title ……………………………………………………………………..…………… Submission date ……………………………………………………………………………… Plagiarism declaration I certify that the coursework that I have submitted is my own unaided work, and that I have read and complied with the guidelines on plagiarism as set out in the student programme handbook. I understand that the University may make use of plagiarism detection software and that my work may therefore be stored on a database which is accessible to other users of the same software. I certify that the word count declared is correct. Students should be aware that, where plagiarism is suspected, a formal investigation will be carried out, and action may be taken under the University’s rules on Academic Misconduct. This might result in penalties ranging from mark deduction to withdrawal from the University. Student’s signature ………………………………………… Date ………………………… ______________________________________________________________________ For office use 113 Date stamp: MSc Human Communication - Project Proposal Form Topic – what issue, with who Provisional title Question/questions to be investigated or Hypothesis/hypotheses to be tested Justification for the project (with brief reference to literature) Provisional design, including method of data collection and data analysis Ethical issues – which ethics committee Timetable Potential supervisor(s) 114 Application for coursework extension The procedure for applying for an extension is as follows: (a) Complete the form below, explaining why you require extra time to complete the assignment, providing any documentary evidence (e.g. medical certificate) to support your application; (b) Give the completed form together with any other documentary evidence to your Module Tutor; (c) The Module Tutor will then forward the form to the Programme Director who will inform you in writing as soon as practicable as to whether the extension is to be approved; (d) A separate form must be completed for each assignment, at least 3 days prior to submission date. Please remember that extensions are only granted in exceptional circumstances. 115 EXTENSION REQUEST FORM TO BE COMPLETED BY THE STUDENT APPLYING FOR THE EXTENSION Your name: ............................................. Year: ..................................... Signed: ....................................................... Today’s date: ........................ Subject: ....................................................... Submission date: .................. Assignment title........................................................................................……. Extension requested until: …………………………………............................... Reason for request: ........…………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………….………………… ……………………………………………………………………….… ___________________________________________________________________ TO BE COMPLETED BY THE MODULE TUTOR Coursework extension approved YES • NO • Documentary evidence provided/attached YES • NO • Extension granted until: …………………………………………………………… Module: ………………………………………………….....................................… Tutor’s name: .................................................. ………………………………….. Signed: .....................................……………………………………………………. Date: ........................................................................…………………………….. Please forward this to the Programme Director together with any supporting documents. THE PROGRAMME DIRECTOR WILL KEEP EXTENSION APPLICATIONS ON THE STUDENT’S FILE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------TO BE RETURNED TO THE STUDENT Student applying for extension: .................................................................... Subject: ………….............................................................................................. Coursework extension approved YES • NO • Extension granted until:.................................................................................... Signed: ..........................……... Date: ............................................................. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENT: PLEASE KEEP IT SAFELY 116 Dissertation Extension Request Form The procedure for applying for an extension is as follows: (a) Complete the form below, explaining why you require extra time to complete the dissertation, providing any documentary evidence (e.g. medical certificate) to support your application; (b) Give the completed form together with any other documentary evidence to the Programme Director who will inform you in writing as soon as practicable as to whether the extension is to be approved; (c) A dissertation fee of not less than £400 per term will normally be charged for all late submissions. Please remember that extensions are only granted in exceptional circumstances. 117 DISSERTATION EXTENSION REQUEST FORM TO BE COMPLETED BY THE STUDENT APPLYING FOR THE EXTENSION Your name: ................................................. Year: ...........................….. Signed: .......................................................... Today’s date:................... Dissertation title: …………........................................................................... Due date: ………………………….………………………………………….… Extension requested until ....................................................................….. Reason: …....................................................................................................................…. ............................................................................................................................. ___________________________________________________________________ Please forward this to the Programme Director together with any supporting documents TO BE COMPLETED BY THE PROGRAMME DIRECTOR Dissertation extension approved Documentary evidence provided/attached YES • YES • NO • NO • Extension granted until: ....................................... Supervisor’s name ........................................…………………………………..... Signed: ........................................ Date: ......................................................... THE PROGRAMME DIRECTOR WILL KEEP EXTENSION APPLICATIONS ON THE STUDENT’S FILE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------TO BE RETURNED TO THE STUDENT Student applying for extension: ................................................................….. Subject: …......................................................................................................... Extension approved YES • NO • Extension granted until: ……........................................................................... Signed: …............................……... Date: ......................................................... THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENT: PLEASE KEEP IT SAFELY 118 Extenuating Circumstances Request Form Extenuating Circumstances Request Form for Examinations or Coursework Student Name Student number Department Personal Academic Tutor Have you discussed your problem with anyone else in the University? (eg Academic member of your department, Health Centre staff, Hall tutor, UNU Student Advice Centre Staff, International Student Advisor) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Nature of circumstances: please attach a letter if it will help to explain your case. Please note that extenuating circumstances will not be accepted without relevant evidence or if this form is incomplete. Illness Hospitalisation Death of close relative Family illness Accident Other If you would like advice on the type of evidence required, please contact the departmental administration office on 8281 or 8482. Dates/period of time work has been affected ………………………………………………………………….………………………………………… For each assessment affected: Module code Name of assessment Due date Have you been granted an extension for this assessment? Effect on work ……………….……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… When completed this form must be signed by a member of the departmental administration team to confirm that you have seen them (NB this signature only confirms receipt of your request and does not guarantee that these will be accepted by the Panel). This form, together with evidence submitted will be taken to the department Extenuating Circumstances Panel for consideration. Signed (student) ……………………………………… Signed (Staff)………………………………….. Name in block capitals ……………………………… Name in block capitals ……………………….. Date …………………………………………… Date …………………………………………….. 119 Appendix 4: Governance structure diagram 2010-11 Board of Studies Research/ Research Degrees Committee Senate Academic Practice, Programmes and Standards Committee (APPSC) Learning and Teaching Committee Assessment Boards Approvals and Amendments Group Student Affairs Committee Ext Circs Panel PROGRAMME LEVEL Programme Management Team 120 (as appropriate to assessment board) Appeals Panel Academic Misconduct Panel

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