LLM Dissertation Level 7 Module Handbook | UWL

Table of Contents

• Team contact details    
• Module overview    
• Preparing for your Assessment    
• Summative Assessments    
• Summative Assessment 1    
• Learning materials    
• Maintaining Academic Honesty and Integrity    
• Meeting Deadlines    
• Getting Support    
• Glossary and Acronyms    
• Appendix – Research ethics and integrity    

Module Overview

This module aims to provide students with an opportunity to undertake an autonomous piece of research on a topic of their choice. The student will decide on the methodology and approach, building on the Advanced Legal Research Module. This will enable students to learn independently, tackle research tasks with minimal supervision and contribute to the transfer of knowledge.

This module requires students to undertake research at postgraduate Master's Level in writing a research-based dissertation. Students must select a topic for specialised and focused study. Whilst the LL.M. team may suggest ideas for you to research or know of potential gaps to work on, you must choose the final topic, reflecting your concerns and interests.

There are limitations on the subject matter that you may choose; this must fall into the expertise of one of the staff members on the programme team. Practical factors, such as resources, will influence what is possible. A specialist supervisor will be assigned to each student at the commencement of the module. It is undertaken over one semester as a single module.

On completion of this Module, students will be able to demonstrate their ability to:

• Source relevant data that assists in answering the research question(s) posed;
• Critically develop research tasks through the construction of a well-thought-out methodology;
• Select a research method approach appropriate to help synthesise answers to the research questions posed and collect, critique and evaluate appropriate data and source.
• Demonstrate originality in a well-structured, creative and critically reasoned piece of work;
• Demonstrate self-reflection with substantive criticality and a correct referencing system.

Preparing for your Assessment

A key part of your learning will be preparation for your summative assessment. You will be provided feedback on your formative assessments, and this will help you to better understand what is required of you when you submit your summative assessment. Please see below guidance on your formative assessment and how to access your feedback.

Summative Assessments

Both formative and summative assignments will be submitted electronically via Turnitin on Blackboard

You will need to ensure that your assessment is uploaded as a single document, and in the correct format (e.g. a Word document or PDF – the acceptable file formats are displayed on screen when you come to submit via Turnitin).

When submitting, please enter your student ID number in the “submission title” box. The document itself should contain your student ID number in a header or footer; your name should not be visible on the work.

This module has the following assignments

All written work must be word-processed.

1. Assessment 1: (Summative)

Summative means an assessment designed to measure your success or failure of performance against the ‘Learning Outcomes’. All summative work contributes to your overall assessment mark.

The dissertation is submitted to Turnitin. You will find a link to the Turnitin Assignment from the Assessments area of the Blackboard course menu.

You will need to ensure that your dissertation is uploaded as a single document, and in the correct format (e.g. a Word document or PDF – the acceptable file formats are displayed on screen when you come to submit via Turnitin).
When submitting, please enter your student ID number in the “submission title” box. The document itself should contain your student ID number in a header or footer; your name should not be visible on the work.

Turnitin generates an Originality Report, and you are encouraged to make use of this facility as a support tool to help you ensure the source material in your assignment is correctly referenced before final submission using the Laundromat function on the Ealing Law School site.

At the due date and time, no further submissions or changes are possible. Whatever is in the Turnitin inbox at this time will be regarded as your final submission. Re-sits of failed elements:

Students who attempt but fail this module and who are eligible for a re-sit under the University’s regulations will be required to re-sit and pass the failed assessment to pass this module.

Pass Requirements

Students must achieve an overall mark of at least 50%.

All assessments must be attempted.

You must achieve a minimum module mark of 50% overall.

The marking criteria above are intended to assist you in the preparation for module assignments.

A failure is defined as an aggregate mark of below 50%. You will not be entitled to a resit if your mark for a module is not 25% or above. You will then be required to retake the whole module.

Assessment feedback & timing for formative and summative work:

Individual written comments and a provisional mark will normally be given for an assignment within 2 weeks of submission.

A completed copy of the assessment criteria will be given to each student for the formative assignment and both summative assignments.

There will be oral feedback on the presentation before students complete the report. Students will have the opportunity to discuss any issues concerning assessment with the lecturer/tutor on an individual basis.

Anonymous Marking

All written coursework must be submitted with the student’s number through the assignment handling procedure.

Marking Standards

The standard of grade, which will be given to completed assessments, will be based on the extent to which the specific criteria for each assessment component are achieved. The extent to which criteria are achieved will be gauged by reference to the marking criteria. This ensures consistency in grading assessed work across modules.

Learning Materials

The reading list for this module is available on Blackboard in the module area and online by searching for reading lists. This shows real-time availability of books in the library and provides direct links to digital items, recommended by your lecturer.

Remember to log into Blackboard daily to receive all the latest news and support available at your module information sites!

Subject guides are also available to help you find relevant information for assignments, with contact details of the Subject Librarian for your School.

Maintaining Academic Honesty and Integrity

Academic Integrity means avoiding plagiarism and cheating and owning your own work; the use of essay mills and AI content is also considered academic misconduct. This is when you submit a piece of work that is not completely your own, but which you are presenting as your own without acknowledging the author or properly referencing the source. All your work must demonstrate Academic Integrity; it must be an honest and fair submission, complying with all the requirements of the assessment. Failure to meet these standards of behaviour and practice is academic misconduct, which can result in penalties being applied under the Academic Offences Regulations. You can get support with your academic writing by speaking to our Study support team.

Meeting Deadlines

You should always try your best to submit your work on time. If your circumstances mean that you are not able to submit on time or are unable to attend an in-person assessment, like an exam or in-class test, then you can request Exceptional circumstances for the assessment. An extension allows you to submit coursework up to 10 calendar days late without penalty (calendar days include all weekends and bank holidays where the University is open). Without an extension, the maximum mark you will be able to get for that work will be the pass mark. Mitigation allows you a further attempt without penalty if you fail an assessment or do not submit.

You can apply for an extension or mitigation by self-certifying that you have exceptional circumstances that affected your ability to undertake the assessment. Self-certifying means that evidence does not have to be provided, although the University reserves the right to request evidence. All self-certified requests must be made before the deadline and detail the exceptional circumstances that have prevented you from submitting by the original submission deadline. You can only self-certify three assessments per academic year. If you have used all your self-certification opportunities or requested mitigation after the deadline, you will need to provide evidence of your exceptional circumstances for your request to be granted.

Getting Support

There may be times when you experience circumstances outside of your control, and talking to your Module Leader/Tutor and seeking help from other support services in the university will keep you on track with your studies. You can access information on support services and further guidance at our Support for current students page.

Your Students’ Union Advice Team can help you obtain the right support.

Appendix – Research ethics and integrity

Research ethics guidance for students

What are ethics in research? Why does it matter?

All researchers, across all disciplines, should be mindful of ethical issues when planning, conducting, and reporting on their work. Doing so will ensure that the researcher respects the interests of all parties, mitigates risks to both participants and themself, and delivers robust research outcomes. 

‘Ethical approval’ is required for all research, whether that is a short questionnaire devised by an undergraduate student or a multi-million-pound project carried out by a group of professional researchers – read on…

Which types of research might raise ethical issues?

Typically, ethical issues would be raised by research that involves the following:

• human participants
• vulnerable individuals or groups
• any personal data
• any type of clinical/physical intervention
• work conducted in a sensitive or potentially dangerous location
• security-sensitive information

Accordingly, associated ethical issues require appropriate planning. Even interviewing people (including your peers or friends) or collecting their data can incur ethical issues, and you must ensure that you have appropriate safeguards in place to protect both their welfare and data. You must also ensure that you will be protected if your research (even potentially) places you in a dangerous or stressful place or situation. ‘Desk-based’ research centred on journal articles and books is unlikely to pose acute ethical issues, but even then, the way that the researcher might select the articles and report outcomes requires care and consideration.

How will UWL help me to understand and apply research ethics?

First and foremost, the topic of research ethics will be addressed by your tutor or supervisor as part of your module. It may also be part of your recommended reading. Different disciplines conduct a range of research using a variety of approaches, so your teaching will cover the ethical issues that are most likely to apply to your subject. If you have any questions about the design or conduct of research that you are planning, then you should seek guidance from the tutor or supervisor.

Secondly, UWL operates a risk-assessment system, employing the easy-to-complete ‘Research ethics and integrity risk assessment’ form. You are required to complete a copy of the form before commencing your project. This helps the University to identify and improve research projects that
 
might raise ethical issues. Just as importantly, it will help you work through the potential ethical dimensions of your research in a structured and step-by-step manner and to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.

My research does NOT involve any of the above areas

You will still need to complete the form before commencing your project.

Easy steps to ethical approval

Top tips

Develop your project proposal to an advanced stage before attempting to fill in the form. It will require you to provide details.

Discuss the ethical issues around your research plans with your supervisor at the earliest possible stage, and certainly in advance of filling in the form. Try to find an approach that will not incur any issues in the first place. If you form a proposal and only discover that there are issues close to the submission deadline, you will be required to reframe your work, and this will take extra time, or possibly even compromise your grades.

Submit the form

To apply for ethics approval, you need to complete and submit the ‘Research ethics and integrity risk assessment form’ which can be found at tinyurl.com/u8zteb2f. This form is read-only, so click ‘Edit Document>Open in Desktop App’, then save a copy that you can edit for submission.

You should send the completed form along with relevant complementary documents to your Supervisor/Module Leader/Tutor, who then needs to approve and sign it off.

Remember, the ethics application form must be submitted and approved before any research project starts and before any potential participants are approached. Failure to gain prior ethical approval is considered an academic offence.

At various points, you will be asked to provide complementary documents. Your application cannot be processed without these. You are advised to first complete the project outline. Make sure you include the following where your project utilises these research methods and instruments:

A. The completed ‘Research ethics and risk assessment’ form
B. A completed Project Proposal
C. A participant information sheet
D. An informed-consent form
E. A copy of interview questions and/or the questionnaires/data-collection-instruments you intend to use or, if you are not using such approaches, a statement of what will be used (as a Microsoft Word document, with your Application ID at the top)