RESEARCH PROJECT - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module allows students to acquire and demonstrate appropriate research skills to engage critically with current debates within and/or generate new insights about the global creative industries. This will prepare them to become progressive leaders in the industry professionally and/or equip them with research skills to pursue further study. It is expected that the genesis for their research projects will result from a desire to deepen and broaden the knowledge, professional experience and reflective practice skills developed throughout the other modules.

Module provider

Guildford School of Acting

Module Leader

DOWNTON Kathryn (GSA)

Number of Credits: 60

ECTS Credits: 30

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

The module will consist of a series of seminars on:

• Research principles


• Research methods


• Designing research projects


• Conducting research projects


• Research ethics


• Academic writing


• Research proposals

Students will be assigned a supervisor and be expected to organise regular supervision tutorials with their supervisor.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate: appropriate research, critical thinking and communication skills at a post-graduate level.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• A 2,000 word research proposal (this addresses learning outcomes 1 and 2)


• A 8,000 word dissertation (or practice-led equivalent) worth (addresses learning outcomes 1 and 2)

Formative assessment

Students will be asked to prepare materials for one or more of the in-class seminars in order to receive formative feedback for their research proposal.

Feedback

Students will be given feedback from both their peers and tutors throughout the seminar series. The individual tutorials will also provide feedback to students from their supervisor.

Module aims

• Become resourceful and independent thinkers
• Build innovative solutions to problems in the global creative industries
• Become highly effective communicators
• Develop lifelong learning skills
• Proactively build a sustainable career.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to: introduce students to generic principles of research and provide them with the appropriate scaffolding to develop their own research project which complies with the generic parameters considered. Throughout the module the emphasis is on developing independent learning and research skills so considerable contact time is expected to be provided through the student¿s own planning and organization of individual tutorial sessions.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: PROM018

Other information

Guildford School of Acting is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Digital capabilities

Students will be expected to use digital platforms to find appropriate materials for their research project. Depending on the nature of their chosen topic students will be encouraged to use other digital tools which may enhance their project, including digital citation management software. Global and cultural capabilities: Students are expected and encouraged to choose a topic at the forefront of the creative industries, drawing on their lived experiences, and surfacing voices that may have been marginalized to date.

Employability

This module develops students' employability skills both within the creative industries and further afield such as finding and evaluating information, data generation and analysis, advanced communication skills, the ability to work independently and ethically.

Resourcefulness and Resilience

As they conduct their independent research project, students are given the autonomy to demonstrate the resourcefulness and resilience required of independent proactive professionals. They will develop their resourcefulness by designing, and executing, their own research project including selecting appropriate methodologies, and finding and evaluating existing relevant literature. Given the nature of research projects, students will demonstrate their resilience by successfully executing and completing the project, overcoming the challenges both foreseen and unforeseen along the way. The students' ability to develop these skills will be facilitated and supported through regular contact with their supervisor.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.