PY5103 Research Methods

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Module description

The Research Methods module is a core module for all students taking the Graduate Diploma or MLitt programme. The module aims to foster the range of skills required for independent research in philosophy. These skills run from the most concretely practical, such as knowledge of the main research resources and how to access them, to the most abstract, such as the ability to uncover the background and context of a specific issue (how it originated, what framework is presumed in a particular author's treatment of it, what other ways of thinking of the issue might be available, what literature is relevant to it, and so forth) in a way that allows one to develop an independent conception of how the issue is best addressed. While these are general skills that will be important in your work in any branch of philosophy, they can be developed only in application to some substantive philosophical position or issues. For that reason, the module is run as a book seminar; weekly meetings will involve discussion introduced by student presentations on issues drawn from or connected with the chosen book.