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• Offered for Year: 2026/27

• Module Leader(s): Dr Alex Tarr
• Technician: Ms Laura Stutter Garcia

• Owning School: Arts & Cultures
• Teaching Location: Â鶹´«Ã½ City Campus

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Aims

Digital Media Professional Research Project advances academic and professional skills to facilitate the production of either a scholarly self-generated journal article or a professional sector-set project report or portfolio. Students undertake a substantial, independent textual, theoretical or empirical enquiry into an approved topic relating to Digital Media, Technologies and Culture. Students engage in independent research and analysis, supported through structured small group and one-to-one supervision by an academic supervisor. The module will also advance their library research and academic/professional writing skills. In short, the module aims to enable students to engage in an extended research project for either an academic or professional digital media and technologies audience.

Outline Of Syllabus

Students conduct independent study and research activity through the retrieval of information, location of evidence, analysis, interpretation and synthesis of materials, critical thought and evaluation, questioning of assumptions and relating theory and practice. They explore issues of common concern relating to research design, methods and the conduct of their planned enquiries including ethics.

The negotiation of an appropriate research problem and a proposal for an 8,000-word journal article or portfolio/repot is supported in the pre-requisite module MCH8032. Students then revise this from feedback, working with the module leader and supervisor in the second semester. Substantive research work in conducted in the third semester. The syllabus during the supervisory process is tailored and reactive to the students' areas of interest through supervisions.

Students submit their research proposal and ethical checklist at the end of Semester 1 and are then assigned a supervisor in Semester 2 with whom they will have five hours of supervision and meetings, with meetings beginning during Semester 2 and continuing into semester 3. These hours will usually be a combination of small group sessions and one-to-one meetings. A series of lectures and briefings covering various aspects of the research and writing provide additional support, alongside five 2-hour drop-in sessions offered by the module leader.

The approval of topics is subject to the agreement of the module leader and ethical approval and the expansion and refinement of project is supported by learning that focuses on:

1. Revising and planning a research project and organising a research calendar;

2. Engagement with learning opportunities around study skills, library skills and research;

3. Regular meetings to support to research and development.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The module uses a combination of scheduled learning and independent study to build key competencies and skills in the ability to produce self-directed research, apply critical analysis and the written articulation of key concepts and ideas.

Lectures and interactive lecture materials support student knowledge learning outcomes, assessment and teaching methods, how to complete and present research, how to collect and gather data and related, relevant literature, how to present findings effectively and how to edit and refine scholarly writing. These can happen in Semester 2 to scaffold learning ahead of Semester 3 (K1, K3, K4, K5, S1).

Group and the one-to-one tutorials with a designated supervisor help students to critically identify, design and develop their self-directed research project into a sustained piece of professional writing. They support students to define their aims, define their subject area, show their grasp of the material involved and receive bespoke scholarly support. They provide students guidance on the research, content, structure and presentation, and offer critical feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the project. Students working in related fields will benefit from group discussion, especially in the early stages of the research process. Group tutorials may be held in Semester 2 to scaffold learning ahead of Semester 3 (K1, K2, K4, K5, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6)

Group Drop-in Tutorials support students to refine their ideas using feedback from the proposal stage of their studies, further develop their proposal and meet with members of the tech team for technical guidance (K1, K4, K5)

Guided Independent Study enables students to deepen core skills in planning and implementing self-directed research developing an appropriate research methodology, time-management and critical thinking, and producing an extended piece of writing which reflect best academic practice in Media, Journalism, Culture and Communication studies. (K1, K3, K4, K5, S2, S4, S5)

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Zero Weighted Pass/Fail Assessments

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The quality of the research paper tests all the learning outcomes and provides students with the opportunity to develop an extended piece of research in the field of digital media, technologies and society. Students who undertake a sector-set project, set by an external sector organisation, develop professional skills and the opportunity to work with real-life research topics relevant to their field. Students who undertake the journal article develop professional scholarly skills. All students develop research, critical, analytical, methodological, writing, presentation and citation skills in devising and producing an extended piece of research.

Assessment option 1: 8,000-word journal article
The journal article is an independent, critical and academically stringent research project. Students produce a cohesive piece of work that includes: an introduction, setting out the research context, questions, approach, and ethical considerations where relevant; the main body of research is structured in a way that is relevant to the topic and approach; a conclusion; and full bibliography.

Task-specific assessment criteria are as follows:
1) Critical quality and clear articulation of the research including how it aligns to the scholarly and/or sectoral contexts in which it sits, the underpinning questions it explores, the methodology applied and research findings. (K1, K4, K5, S2, S3, S4, S5)
2) Identification and application of relevant methodological and/or theoretical frameworks and demonstration of a rigorous ethical approach. (K2, K3)
3) Evidence that the article is informed by advanced primary and secondary source research, underpinned by professional citation practices and bibliography. (S1, S3)
4) Coherence and written structure of the journal article including appropriate academic tone for postgraduate research and effective display of data and analysis as relevant to research topic. (S3)

Assessment option 2: 8,000-word professional sector-set project research report/portfolio
The sector-set project report responds to a research brief set by a professional client in the digital media and culture sectors. Students produce a cohesive professional report/portfolio, underpinned by relevant research methods, including primary and secondary source research as well as relevant support materials, addressing the professional brief. All reports will include: an introduction setting out the brief being addressed, the approach and methodological framework, and ethical considerations and mitigations; a report and recommendations summary; the main body of the report, structured in a way that is relevant to the brief and approach; report recommendations; a conclusion; a full bibliography; and appropriate appendices (in textual or multimedia format according to the topic).

Task-specific assessment criteria are as follows:
1) Critical quality and clear articulation of the research including how it aligns to sectoral context in which it sits, the brief it addresses, the methodology applied, research findings and report recommendations. (K1, K4, K5, S2, S3, S4, S5)
2) Identification and application of relevant methodological and/or theoretical frameworks and demonstration of a rigorous ethical approach. (K2, K3)
3) Evidence that the report is informed by advanced primary and secondary source research, underpinned by professional citation practices and bibliography. (S1, S3)
4) Coherence and written structure of the report including appropriate style for professional audiences and effective display of data and analysis as relevant to research brief and client. (S3, S6)

Reading Lists

Timetable

• Timetable Website: