SMLC7002 Research Colloquium I
This course is compulsory for M.Phil. and four-year Ph.D. students in the School. Students must take the course during their first year of study. This is a one-year course. Students may substitute a similar course in a discipline in another School, subject to the approval of their supervisor, the DRPC and the HADC.
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Objectives
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To assist students in clarifying their research aims, research problem, and research methodology..
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To teach students basic skills for presenting the above at a research seminar.
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To have students acquire basic abilities in research seminar participation.
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To foster a research community of postgraduate students, in which learning from peers is encouraged, and to combat research students’ isolation.
Course Syllabus
The course will consist of classes, in each of which one M.Phil. or Ph.D candidate will make a presentation of part of their work in progress. This will be followed by discussion. Students will be required to make a presentation in their second semester. The presentation must include the following:
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A clear statement of the problems and the aim of the research.
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A presentation of the scholarly background relevant to the research, including a literature review.
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The theoretical issues to be explored and how they are relevant to the proposed research.
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Research methodology to be used.
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The contribution of the research to learning.
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The timetable of the research.
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Teachers will give students detailed and extensive comments.
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Mode of Assessment
Assessment will be by coursework. Attendance equivalent to 80% of the classes is required. Exemption is possible when students have to be absent for reasons related to the pursuit of their M.Phil. or Ph.D. research, e.g. fieldwork. Students must participate actively in discussions. The course will be assessed on a Pass/Fail basis.
SMLC7003 Research Methods (The Humanities and the Area Studies)
This course is designed to prepare students with the methodological skills to conduct research in the humanities and area studies fields. It builds from an appreciation of the growing importance of interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches to academic research and is designed to introduce students to the variety of different methods they may encounter in their graduate studies and future career.
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Objectives
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Provide students with knowledge of the core components of research methods commonly used in the humanities and areas studies for writing doctoral and masters level theses.
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Provide students with the capacity to use several of these methods at a sophisticated level.
Course Syllabus
The following topics will be covered in the course:
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Critical reading practices.
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Analyzing and appraising theories and models.
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Effective use of archives.
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Effective techniques for oral history, interviews and focus groups.
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Strategies for managing questionnaires and forms.
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Merits and deficits of different methodological approaches (i.e. case studies, thematic methodology, conceptual methodology, chronology and genealogy, etc).
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Developing methods for efficient, retrievable organization of data.
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Researching in multi-lingual contexts.
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Challenges of adopting multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary methods.
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Mode of Assessment
Assessment will be by coursework on a Pass/Fail basis.
SMLC7021 Research Colloquium II
This course is compulsory for M.Phil. and four-year Ph.D. students in the School. Students must take the course during their second year of study. This is a one-year course. Students may substitute a similar course in a discipline in another School, subject to the approval of their supervisor, the DRPC and the HADC.
Objectives
This course aims to
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To acquaint students with a variety of topics in the field of area studies.
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To have students develop and refine more advanced skills in seminar preparation, presentation, and participation.
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To foster a research community of postgraduate students, in which learning from peers is encouraged, and to combat students’ isolation.
Course Syllabus
The course will consist of classes, in each of which one M.Phil. or Ph.D. candidate will make a presentation of part of their work in progress. This will be followed by discussion. Students will be required to make a presentation of their research during their fourth semester. The presentation should cover the same areas as that delivered by the student in their second semester as part of Research Colloquium I, but a higher level of content and of presentational skill is expected. Students are expected lucidly to explain the results of their research to date. It is intended that participation in the colloquium stimulate cross-fertilization between different aspects of work in area studies.
Mode of Assessment
Assessment will be by coursework. Attendance equivalent to 80% of the classes is required. Exemption is possible when students has to be absent for reasons related to the pursuit of their M.Phil. or Ph.D. research, e.g. fieldwork. Students must participate actively in discussions. The course will be assessed on a Pass/Fail basis.