Next Milestone
Your next milestone is the project presentation (PP). Now you have finished your BPP, the next stage is to initiate some preliminary proof-of-concept work. This may include desk research, or may include, initial short surveys, pilot project work, interviews, brief independent analysis, etc.
For the next milestone, you will develop a short presentation of the project proposal (maximum ten slides). You will present this in class for further feedback from class-mates. The focus will be on:
a) the precision of terminologies, b) the relevance of the project, c) the quality of the initial findings, d) the clarity of the presentation, e) the thoroughness of the project references, f) your engagement with the process of feedback
The PP will then gather further feedback from class-mates, which can be immediately addressed during the presentation or can be addressed in the next milestone. The instructor (me) will provide final final feedback on your presentation.
Dates for Your Diary
- You must submit your slides as PDFs on Canvas by the end of the day on the 10th November. Once they are submitted, they cannot be change. This is for the sake of fairness, meaning that everyone’s slides are submitted at the same time.
- The 15th, 17th and 22nd November will be the dates for presenting in class. There will be six presentations per session. (Presentations of 8-10 minutes, with a couple of minutes for questions). Presentation slots will be allocated randomly. You are required to attend all student presentations and to actively engage in giving feedback.
Faculty Advisors and the IRB
We are in discussion with the Dean and the head of Division to confirm workload allocations for faculty advisors. So this is only for reference. Once you have your faculty advisor approved, you will need to do the following:
- Set up a meeting to talk through your research
- After meeting your advisor (or having a substantive communication on email), submit your research to the Institutional Review Board.
I’ll share the form for the IRB on Canvas. But remember do not do this prematurely. You need to talk to your faculty advisor first. I’ll talk you through this in the next session.
Mini Research Groups
The other task today is to put you into working groups. These will be smaller groups where you can collaborate together on your projects.
This is a slightly different process from that in the syllabus, as this year our systems have changed a bit. I’ve put you in three working groups where your topics feel they are most closely aligned. You may be using different methods, but should have some opportunities for rich discussion in these smaller groups. I’ll post the groups on canvas. These will be your ongoing working groups. The aim here is to build a more robust research community. I have divided up the projects according to three broad categories.
- Group 1: Politics, culture and power (broadly conceived) - 6 students
- Group 2: Education - 6 students
- Group 3: Social and economic issues, projects, products and interventions - 5 students.
This is roughly how I’ve divided things up! These groups will be your go-to place for ongoing work on your project. This doesn’t preclude you collaborating and sharing ideas with others outside of your group.