This course introduces students to core research methods and skills for academic and professional contexts, provides a foundation for the dissertation. It introduces key topics such as project management and experimental design, the critical reading and reviewing of literature, qualitative and quantitative research methods and presentation of research data.

2 hours per week (lecture/ seminar) for 10 weeks, plus one 1 hour tutorial, one external visit (4 hours)

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Research Project Plan (1500 words) - 30%

Literature Review (3500 words) - 70%

This course aims to:

■ Introduce research tools and management strategies for self-directed research 

■ Develop critical evaluation skills to formulate strong and focussed research questions and to select appropriate research methods

■ Foster an appreciation of the professional publication landscape 

■ Develop critical research skills from reading to reviewing, to contextualise and evidence research 

■ Promote the value of critical engagement with specialist literature as a means of gaining specialist knowledge.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Plan a research project within a set of realistic constraints.

■ Justify the selection of research methodologies for different types of study.

■ Critically evaluate a body of literature relating to a specialist skill, conservation technique or material 

■ Discriminate between conservation publications in terms of content, focus and stylistic requirement.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.