Mres in Health and Wellbeing Mres Programme

MRes in Health and Wellbeing

MRes Programme Handbook

Academic Year 2020-2021

School for Policy Studies

This handbook tells you about your programme of study and the School for Policy Studies. However, much information you need as a student within the School is explained in the Faculty Postgraduate Handbook. Please read this handbook in conjunction with the Faculty of Social Sciences & Law Postgraduate Student Handbook for Taught & Research Students and the University Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Postgraduate Degree Programmes.

Faculty Handbook available online at: https://www.bris.ac.uk/fssl/current-students/ Code of Practice available online at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/academic- quality/assessment/codeonline.html

CONTENTS

1. OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAMME ...... 1 The University ...... 1 The Faculty of Social Sciences and Law (FSSL)...... 2 The School for Policy Studies (SPS) ...... ……..2 Sustainability ...... 3 Student representation ...... …… …3

2. CALENDAR/TIMETABLE ...... 4 Key university dates for 2019/20 and 2020/21………………………………………………..4 Key programme dates ...... 5

3. PROGRAMME INFORMATION ...... 6 Aims of the programmes……………………………………………………………………….. 6 Knowledge and understanding ...... 7 Intellectual skills and attributes ...... 7 Timings and organisation ...... 8 Programme administration and contacts ...... 8 Student wellbeing ...... 9 Programme registration ...... 11 Unit enrolment ...... 11 Induction days (2019-20) ...... 11

MANDATORY UNITS (2019-20) ...... 12 SPOLM0018 Contemporary Debates in Health and Wellbeing……………………………12 GEOGM0015 Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Design ………………………………13 SPOLM0015 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods in The Social Sciences (3 Days)………………………………………………………………………………………….15 SPOLM0014 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in The Social Sciences (3 Days) …………………………………………………………………………………………16 SPOLM0052 Critical Appraisal for Health & Wellbeing ……………………………………17 SPOLM0013 Philosophy and Research Design In The Social Sciences (3 Days)……..19 SPOLM0053 Health and Wellbeing Dissertation……………………………………………20 Dissertations for Good…………………………………………………………………………20

SCHOOL FOR POLICY STUDIES OPTIONAL UNITS (2019-20) ...... 21 Units Relating to MSc in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health ... ……………….21 PHEDM4012 Nutrition, Disease & Public Health……………………………………………21 PHEDM4013 Physical Activity, Disease and Public Health………………………………..22 PHEDM4014 Determinants ff Physical Activity & Eating Behaviour………………………23 PHEDM4015 Physical Activity & Nutrition Interventions: Conceptualisation & Design…24

Optional Units Relating to MSc Policy Research, MSc Social Work Research, MSc Disability Studies ……………………………………………………………………………….25 SPOLM0016 Further Quantitative Methods (3 Days) ………………………………………25 SPOLM0017 Further Qualitative Methods (3 Days) ………………………………………..26 ACHSM0001 Inclusive Research with Disabled People (3 Days) ………………………..28 SPOLM0050 Disabled Childhoods (3 Days)…………………………………………………29 SPOLM0049 Global Contexts of Rights And Disability (3 Days) ………………………….30 SPOLM5010 Domestic Violence: Research, Policy and Activism (3 Days) ……………..31 i

Optional Units Relating to MSc Public Policy………………………………………………33 SPOLM1062 The Economics of Public Policy…………………………………………… 33 SPOLM1066 Health and Health Care in a Global Context ………………………………34 SPOLM1068 International Analysis of Poverty, Inequality and Social Exclusion………34 SPOLM0056 Public and Social Policy in East Asia. ………………………………………34 SPOLM0043 Public Policy for a Complex and Uncertain World ……………………… ..34 SPOLM0042 Migration, Asylum and Human Rights: EU And Global Policy Perspectives……………………………………………………………………………………35

SPOLM4300 Special Optional Unit of Supervised Independent Study ...... 35

4. ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATION………………………………………………36 University Card………………………………………………………………………………….36 Blackboard……………………………………………………………………………………….36

5. ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK……………………………………………………………37 Assessment and Feedback Statement for Post-graduate Students………………………37 Assessment……………………………………………………………………………………...37 Submission Using Blackboard…………………………………………………………………38 Dissertation Submission……………………………………………………………………… .38 Unit Assignment Extensions…………………………………………………………………...38 Penalties…………………………………………………………………………………………39 Feedback………………………………………………………………………………………...39 Marking Criteria and Scales……………………………………………………………………39 Marking Procedures…………………………………………………………………………….42 Confirmation of Marks and Student Notification……………………………………………..42 Resubmission and Progression……………………………………………………………….42 Progression and Completion in Taught Post-Graduate Modular Programmes………….43 Referencing…………………………………………………………………………………...…43 Plagiarism……………………………………………………………………………………..…44 Awards – Taught Post-Graduate Modular Programmes……………………………………47 Title of Awards…………………………………………………………………………………..48

6. EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES…………………………………………………………49

7. ABSENCES, ATTENDANCE EXTENSIONS AND SUSPENSIONS………………… ….49 Student absence due to illness or other causes…………………………………………….49 Attendance and progress monitoring…………………………………………………………50 Unit/study extensions/extension of study…………………………………………………….50 Suspension of study…………………………………………………………………………….51

8. THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY SERVICE…………………………………………….51 How to register for the library………………………………………………………………….51 The Arts and Social Sciences library…………………………………………………………51 Libraries and the University Study Centre……………………………………………………52 Subject librarian for School for Policy Studies……………………………………………….52 Finding material using ‘library search’………………………………………………………..52 Borrowing material……………………………………………………………………………...52 Finding electronic material……………………………………………………………………..53 ii

Inter-library loans………………………………………………………………………………..53 Printing and photocopying……………………………………………………………………..53 Finding and using resources for research……………………………………………………54 Finding journal articles, literature searching and other databases available……………..55 Library accessibility and support service……………………………………………………..55 Using other UK Higher Education libraries; the SCONUL Access scheme……………....55

9. IT AND COMPUTING SERVICES……………………………………………………………55

10. OTHER INFORMATION……………………………………………………………………….56 Study time for each unit………………………………………………………………………..56 University’s lecture recording system…………………………………………………………56 Study support……………………………………………………………………………………56 International students…………………………………………………………………………..57 Additional programme costs…………………………………………………………………...57 Student complaints procedure…………………………………………………………………58 Student appeals procedure…………………………………………………………………….58 Disability support………………………………………………………………………………..58 Fees and funding………………………………………………………………………………..58 Safety and health services……………………………………………………………………..59 Student services………………………………………………………………………………...59 Beyond your degree…………………………………………………………………………….59 Careers service………………………………………………………………………………….59 Doctoral study…………………………………………………………………………………...59 South West Doctoral Training Partnership…………………………………………………...60

APPENDICES A – Information for disabled students…………………………………………………………61 B - Precinct map and travel information……………………………………………………..64 C – Harvard system of referencing……………………………………………………………65 D – Essential IT skills…………………………………………………………………………..67 E – Ethical review at School for Policy Studies……………………………………………...68 F – Dignity at work and study………………………………………………………………….69 G – Important links……………………………………………………………………………...70 H – Optional units listed in pre-arrival information…………………………………………..71

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the MRes in Health and Wellbeing (HWB) at the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol. This is a unique, academically rigorous, multi-disciplinary programme. The programme is located within the School for Policy Studies and draws on units and staff from the Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences and the Centre for Research in Health and Social Care, two research-intensive groups with an outstanding international reputation. This brings together research groups critically engaged in the latest thinking on disease risk determinants and correlates across the lifespan. This interdisciplinary pathway provides a research training for those interested in the interaction between health behaviours (such as nutrition, physical activity and substance use), health status, policy and social context. You will consider the personal, socio-cultural, environmental, and psychobiological contexts for behaviour change; health inequalities; and the social, political and economic contexts for research on health and wellbeing, applied in national and international policy making processes. The programme allows students to draw on a very wide range of optional courses, including specialist units in physical activity, public health nutrition, gendered violence, disabilities, and migration among others.

The University The University of Bristol is a world-class university offering a stimulating academic environment with centres of excellence in all faculties. It was founded in 1876 as University College, Bristol and was the first higher education institution in England to admit women on a basis of equality with men. Its mission statement is “to pursue and share knowledge and understanding, both for their own sake and to help individuals and society fulfil their potential”. Organised in six faculties (Arts, Engineering, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Medicine and Dentistry, Science, Social Sciences and Law), the University comprises approximately 5,500 staff, 12,500 undergraduate and 5,500 taught and research postgraduate students. Further information about the University of Bristol is available at www.bristol.ac.uk/university. The University is internationally renowned, ranked in the world's top 60 in the QS World University Rankings 2021, due to its outstanding teaching and research, its superb facilities and highly talented students and staff. The University is an integral part of the City of Bristol, a thriving and beautiful city with a history going back 1000 years. Bristol is a multicultural city of balloons and kites, clubs and DJs, festivals and carnivals, architecture and park land, business and new technology, theatres and museums, artists and animators, music and film. It has been officially designated a 'Centre of Culture' and a 'Science City' by the Government. In 2008, Bristol was given the European City of the Year Award by the Academy of Urbanism. Bristol has its own international airport and offers easy rail and motorway links to London, Birmingham and the North, Oxford, Wales and the West Country. Find out lots more about Bristol at www.bristol.ac.uk/citybristol/.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Law (FSSL) The School for Policy Studies is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences & Law which also includes the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, the School of Law, the School of Economics, Finance and Management and the Graduate School of Education. The School of Geographical Sciences has joint membership with the Faculty of Social Sciences & Law and the Faculty of Science. The Faculty is one of the UK's top social sciences and law faculties. Each department and centre within the Faculty has high ratings in research and teaching quality. The Faculty was ranked 2nd in the UK REF 2014 for research intensity. More details are on the Faculty website www.bristol.ac.uk/fssl/

The School for Policy Studies (SPS) Head of School: Professor Esther Dermott The School for Policy Studies is a world-leading centre for research and teaching in interdisciplinary social science. The results of the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) confirmed the excellence of research in social policy and social work in the School for Policy Studies. 80 per cent of our research was rated as 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' and the school was rated tenth overall in the country rising to joint eighth when the number of staff submitted was taken into account. We specialise in policy-relevant national and international research on children and families, housing and cities, governance, disability, gender-based violence, poverty and social justice, health and wellbeing, social work and social care, and nutrition, physical activity and public health. Our multidisciplinary team of policy experts come from a wide variety of backgrounds in social policy research, economics, education, history, human geography, nutrition and health sciences, social work, and sociology based within seven specialist research centres: Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences Centre Head: Dr Charlie Foster Children and Families Research Centre Centre Head: Dr Heather Ottaway Centre for Gender and Violence Research Centre Head: Professor Marianne Hester Centre for Research in Health and Social Care Centre Head: Dr Paul Willis Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice Centre Head: Professor Susan Harkness Centre for Urban and Public Policy Research Centre Head: Dr David Sweeting Norah Fry Centre for Disability Studies Centre Head: Professor David Abbott

A full list of all academic staff within the School, with their research and teaching interest, and their contact details, is available on the School website at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sps/people. The School is committed to multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary working, integrating theory with practice, and to working at an international, national and local level. A commitment to equal opportunities practice also informs all the School's activities. The 2

School has a large and thriving postgraduate student body of around 280 students with around 90 postgraduate research students studying full-time or part-time for PhD, MPhil and Doctorate degrees. The full range of postgraduate and undergraduate programmes offered at the School is listed at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sps/ The School is located in several houses on Priory Road and Woodland Road. You can find other useful maps on the University website at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/maps/.

Contact details are: School for Policy Studies University of Bristol 8 Priory Road Bristol BS8 1TZ Tel: +44 (0)117 954 6755 Fax: +44 (0)117 954 6756 Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.bris.ac.uk/sps

Sustainability The University’s Education Strategy (2017-23) commits the institution to incorporating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into its teaching and learning. See http://www.bristol.ac.uk/green// The School and Faculty are all committed to enhancing and promoting Education for Sustainable Development. UNESCO defines Education for Sustainable Development in a broad manner covering four main areas: social and economic justice, cultural diversity, human rights of future generations and the protection and restoration of the Earth's ecosystems. It also stresses the importance of critical thinking, inter-disciplinary, multi- method approaches to assessment, and challenging approaches to, and ideas about, teaching and learning. You will encounter many of these issues and approaches both directly and indirectly during the course of your studies, although the School acknowledges that not all will be encompassed within your particular subject-area. We encourage you to think creatively and critically about how your own subject addresses some or all of the following: ● A strong, stable and viable economy ● A healthy and just society ● Diversity ● Effective and participative governance ● Environmental limits and ecological wellbeing ● Quality of life ● Cultural heritage ● The rural and the urban (conflict and balance) ● Preparing for the imagined future ● Ethical questions

Student Representation Student representation is very important at Bristol. Staff and students work together at all levels to improve the student experience. You can have your say and bring about change by 3

voting in elections, attending meetings or standing for election in academic societies, Staff- Student Liaison Committees (SSLCs) or Union Committees and roles. The Staff-Student Liaison Committee (SSLC) exists as a forum by which staff and student representatives can discuss all aspects of teaching and student welfare in our school. It provides a means by which you, as students, can pass your views to staff. Every course and year group has its own course rep whose main responsibility is to collate and communicate the views of their peers at regular SSLC meetings held with the Programme Director. Course reps will also have the opportunity to meet termly with other course reps, the Head of School, the Education Director, PGT Director, Director of Doctoral Studies and Graduate Administration Manager to discuss common issues arising across programmes in the School. The Faculty Student-Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) meets three times a year and has two student representatives from each School on its membership to discuss academic and pastoral matters that affect students. Student representation is operated in partnership with UBU (the Students' Union), who will elect, train, and provide continuing support to our student representatives. The aim is to ensure that reps are equipped to help us to jointly solve any problems together with our students, able to feed back any concerns you may have to the academic team, and are well known to you and feedback the results of conversations they have on your behalf. The UBU representative structure means that you have the opportunity to pass on feedback through a representative, or the opportunity to work closely with the academic staff yourself on behalf of those studying on your programme. An on-going, constructive dialogue about how we can improve your time studying at Bristol is enormously important to us. If this interests you, we would urge you to think about standing as a student representative at the beginning of the year. Elections will be run by UBU online. For more information please visit https://www.bristolsu.org.uk/student-voice/representation

2.0 CALENDAR / TIMETABLE

Key University dates for 2020/21 and 2021/22

2020/21 2021/22 Welcome Week 28 September – 2 October . 2020 Teaching Block 1 5 October 2020 - . 15 January 2021 Christmas vacation 21 December 2020- . (students) 8 January 2021 Teaching Block 2 1 February - 14 May 2021 . Easter vacation (students) 29 March - 16 April 2021 . May bank holidays 3 and 31 May 2021 2 and 30 May 2022

Key programme dates

Registration 28 September 2020 Welcome week 28 September – 2 October 2020 Teaching starts 5 October 2020 Dissertation submission 13th September 2021

Marks Dates Units Assign. Due returned1 28 Sept – 2 Digital citizenship induction n/a October 2020 . Introduction to the MRes Health and n/a Wellbeing . Faculty registration n/a . SPS Induction n/a . Welcome ceremony n/a . Students’ Union fair n/a Wednesday 1-2pm 14/10/2020; Critical Appraisal Skills for Health and 5 May 2020 4/11/2020; 31 March Wellbeing TBC 25/11/2020; 2020 TBC (Mandatory, UoB MRes HWB only) 16/12/2020; [SPOLM0052] 17/2/2021;

10/3/2021.

Thursday 1-2pm

28/1/2021

All 9-5pm Monday 30 November 2020; Contemporary Debates in Lifestyle Wednesday 2 Behaviours and Public Health December 2020; (Mandatory, SWDTP MRes HWB 14 January TBC Thursday 3 pathway): 2021 TBC December 2020. [SPOLM0018]

(University of

Bristol, Exeter and UWE)

Thurs 22 Oct 2020 Introduction to Quantitative Research 9.30 – 5.30pm; Methods in the Social Sciences Essay 23 Nov Thurs 29 Oct 2020 (Mandatory, HWB and other SPS MSc outline 2020 9.30 – 5.30pm; programmes)

Thurs 5 Nov 2020 [SPOLM0015] (optional): 9.30 – 5.30pm. 16 Nov 2020

Full essay: 8th Jan 7th Dec 2020 2021

Essay Fri 20 Nov 2020 Introduction to Qualitative Research outline 9.30 – 5.30; Methods in the Social Sciences (optional): 21 Dec Fri 27 Nov 2020 14 Dec 2020 9.30 – 5.30; (Mandatory, HWB and other SPS MSc 2020. Fri 4 Dec 2020 programmes). 9.30 – 5.30pm. [SPOLM0014] Full essay: 05 Feb

15 Jan 2021 2021 Thurs 10 Dec Advances in Interdisciplinary Research 2020 9-5pm; Design (AIRD) Thurs 4 Feb 2021 TBC TBC 9-5pm; (Mandatory, HWB + other Thurs 4 March interdisciplinary pathway programmes). 2021 9-5pm. [GEOGM0015]

Dissertation Proposal: 23 30 April March-Sept 2021 Dissertation workshop 16th February April 2021 2021 2021, 2-5.30pm)

Please refer to unit handbooks and the Unit Catalogue for information about optional units.

It is highly recommended that you audit the following unit. To audit a unit, you attend the classes but do not submit an assignment. You are not awarded any credit points for the unit. Wednes 7th Oct 2020; Essay Fri 9th Oct 2020; outline Tues 13th Oct (optional): 27th Oct Philosophy and Research Design in the 2020. 20th Oct 2020 Social Sciences 2020. (Mandatory for the other SPS MSc Some self-directed programmes). study expected on Full essay: 1st Dec [SPOLM0013] Thurs 8th Oct 10th Nov 2020 2020; 2020 Mon 12th Oct 2020.

3.0 PROGRAMME INFORMATION

Aims of the Programme The aims and structure of the MRes in Health and Wellbeing (HWB) programme are presented below. More detailed information about the core units is available on the individual unit Blackboard courses at: https://www.ole.bris.ac.uk/ The Programme aims to provide high level professional and academic development and understanding of interdisciplinary research and research methods in the key fields of health and wellbeing including nutrition, physical activity and substance use. Students will be trained to understand the key public health issues relevant for the population as a whole and sub-population groups based on factors such as age, ethnicity and socio-economic position. The aims of the programme are: 1. Understand the basic principles of research design and appreciate alternative approaches to research; 2. Understand the significance of alternative epistemological positions that provide the context for theory construction, research design and the selection of appropriate analytical techniques. 3. Acquire advanced knowledge of interdisciplinary research skills.

Learning outcomes The programme learning outcomes are to achieve:

Knowledge and Understanding ➢ The social science underpinning the development of effective interventions, strategies, and policies aimed at (i) sustainable improvements in health and wellbeing and (ii) reducing physical and psychological health inequalities. ➢ Interdisciplinary links between social, biological and environmental factors and individual health behaviours, choices, and outcomes. ➢ Contemporary issues related to modifiable disease risk behaviours, and the determinants and correlates of these lifestyle behaviours across the lifespan. ➢ The interdisciplinary skills and processes required to translate scientific research into practical health and wellbeing applications.

Intellectual Skills and Attributes ➢ Apply an interdisciplinary understanding and methodology to real-world health and wellbeing issues. ➢ Examine and evaluate the broader social, political, and economic context in which research on health and wellbeing is conducted and applied in national and international policy making processes.

➢ Engage with a range of information, evidence, and debate so as to inform a critical awareness of health and wellbeing research issues and application. ➢ Examine key competencies and processes in planning, designing, implementing and evaluating interventions and strategies targeted at improving lifestyle-related health behaviours ➢ Analyse and apply contemporary approaches used in health and wellbeing research as they relate to research design, statistical analysis, and outcome variables/behaviours. ➢ Apply a range of methods for measuring lifestyle behaviours and appraise their respective strengths and limitations. ➢ Compare and contrast some of the established theories and concepts of behaviour change models. ➢ Assess the outcomes of interventions reported by governments and other organisations.

Other skills and attributes ➢ Examine the format and mechanisms for the dissemination of health and wellbeing research through involvement with professional bodies, including presenting conference papers, posters and journal articles, and the process of peer review. ➢ Evaluate the role of research in the health and wellbeing policy-making process. ➢ Where appropriate develop practical competencies in the planning, designing, implementing and evaluating of interventions aimed at improving health and wellbeing. ➢ Appraise connections between theory and practice, and between research and professional knowledge in health and wellbeing contexts. ➢ Compare the relevance, benefits and challenges associated with engaging with a range of public health stakeholders. ➢ Develop skills in applying and using research to inform professional knowledge and practice in health and wellbeing contexts.

Timings and Organisation

The MRes in HWB is a 180-credit programme. The programme consists of a combination of Mandatory and Optional (elective) units and a research-based dissertation (equivalent to three units), all of which is undertaken over a period of up to 12 months (full-time) and 2 years (part-time). The programme is scheduled on an academic year cycle. Most of the mandatory elements of the MRes programme are delivered through a series of intensive whole day sessions. The taught mandatory credit units are: • Contemporary Debates in Health and wellbeing (15 credits) • Advanced Interdisciplinary Research and Design (15 credits) • Critical Appraisal for Health and Wellbeing (10 credits) • Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences (20 credits) • Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences (20 credits). 8

The dissertation, which is also mandatory, provides 60 credits.

It is highly recommended that you audit the unit • Philosophy and Research Design in the Social Sciences. To audit a unit, you attend the classes but do not submit an assignment. You are not awarded any credit points for the unit.

Optional units must provide a minimum of 40 credits and can be taken from across the School, Faculty or any of the partner universities (University of Bath, University of Exeter, University of West of England).

We advise you to complete the Unit Registration Form as soon as possible in conjunction with the MRes Programme Director and/or supervisor to ensure you are enrolled on the units you require.

Note: All units – mandatory and optional – run only if sufficient students express an interest in registering at any particular time. If fewer than six students plan to register it is unlikely that the unit will run at that time.

Programme Administration and Contacts

Programme Administrator All programme administration is carried out through the Postgraduate Student Administrator’s office. The Postgraduate Student Administrator is the first point of contact for enquiries, submission of work, assessment, feedback and all the administrative business connected with the course. As there is little face-to-face contact with the Postgraduate Student Administrator, it is important that your personal details are kept up to date. You can inform the Postgraduate Student Administrator, Andrea Osborne, of any changes in writing: [email protected] You will also need to keep the University informed of your personal and course details. There is a very simple way of doing this online – go to www.bristol.ac.uk/studentinfo, log in using your UoB username and password, and any amendments you make will automatically be updated on the University central records system.

Programme Director The MRes Programme Director is the contact for any strategic aspect of your studies (e.g. assignment extensions, extension/ suspension of studies etc). You MUST inform the Programme Director of any circumstances that might be affecting your studies or of any changes to your planned programme of study in writing and at the earliest possible notice.

Prof Russ Jago Programme Director MRes Health and Wellbeing School for Policy Studies 8 Priory Road Bristol , BS8 1TZ Email: [email protected]

Student wellbeing You will be assigned a Personal Tutor, an academic member of staff who is your personal first point of contact. The role of a Personal Tutor is to provide you with a stable academic point of contact while you study at the University. Personal Tutors can support you to manage the transition to postgraduate study, help you to understand what is expected of you academically and, signpost you to other support services elsewhere in the University. Students are expected to meet formally with their personal tutor once in Teaching Blocks 1 and 2. The School for Policy Studies is also supported by a Senior Tutor: Agnes Bezzina [email protected] General information for students on personal tutoring is available online at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/study/faculty-study-support/personal-tutoring/ The flowchart on the following page summarises process for support.

The Network of Support for PGT Students: A flowchart template

Student Reps can raise issues for Student wider discussion at the school level.

Academic Queries Pastoral Issues

Hall of Residence (if applicable) • Residential Life Unit Convenor Personal Tutor Student wellbeing Advisor service Dissertation Supervisor • Warden (Personal Tutor may http://www.bristol.ac.u • Student Support liaise with k/students/wellbeing/s Administrator Senior Tutor, Agnes ervices/ • Senior Resident Faculty -level Bezzina) guidance for staff:

Graduate Education Director Faculty Education Manager Specialist Professional Services Students can refer themselves to these central services themselves, or they can be referred by staff in Schools and Residences. • Accommodation Office (www.bristol.ac.uk/accommodation)

• Careers Service (www.bristol.ac.uk/careers) • Disability Services (www.bristol.ac.uk/disability-services) • International Advice & Support (www.bristol.ac.uk/international-office) • Just Ask, Students’ Union (www.ubu.org.uk/justask) • Multifaith Chaplaincy (www.bristol.ac.uk/chaplaincy) • Student Counselling Service (www.bristol.ac.uk/student-counselling) • Student Funding Office (www.bristol.ac.uk/fees-funding) • Students’ Health Service (www.bristol.ac.uk/students) • Widening Participation Student Support Team (www.bristol.ac.uk/wp) 10

Programme Registration New Students Information about registration for 2020-2021 can be found here, including Location of Study, Start Your Studies: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/new/

Returning Students You will need to re-register every subsequent year of study. You can do this very simply online – you will receive a reminder email from the University to prompt you.

Unit Enrolment You will receive a timetable of Mandatory units for the forthcoming year and space for indicating your optional units. Whether you are studying on a part- or full-time basis, you are required to indicate which units you will be taking. This information must be returned to the Postgraduate Student Administrator in order that registers can be drawn up and students registered on Blackboard. For newcomers to the programme it is advisable to discuss your unit choices with the Programme Director first. If there are any changes to your planned programme of study, you MUST inform the Postgraduate Student Administrator at the earliest possible notice.

Philosophy and Research Design in the Social Sciences (Optional; highly recommended to audit) Students new to social science research, or returning to studies after some time might benefit from attending this optional unit. You are encouraged to audit this unit which means you will attend all taught sessions but will not complete the assignment and will not receive credit points for this unit. (You can, of course, use this as one of your options). Further information about the unit is provided on page 24 of this booklet.

Mandatory Units (2019-20) These are the units that all HWB students must take. Part-time students may wish to divide these units between their first and second years, but please consider the overall balance of your timetable, your progression through the course, and your dissertation in your second year of study.

Contemporary Debates in Health and Wellbeing SPOLM0018 Unit Coordinators: Sean Cumming (Bath); Kirsty Brock (Exeter); Bai Li (Bristol); Stuart McLean (UWE). 15 credit points Facilitating a change in health behaviours across the life span is a priority, particularly among those for whom clusters of poor lifestyle are common. It is becoming apparent that, in some cases, multidisciplinary research is not sufficient to address—in a comprehensive and effective way—challenging and complex issues within health and well-being research and/or application. Rather, interdisciplinary research is required to tackle these more complex and challenging issues. Interdisciplinary research does not merely result in new technical 11

approaches, but rather new intellectual approaches (viz., new ways to conceptualize and think about a ‘real world’ challenges to health and well-being). Students will explore how the complexity of contemporary health and well-being research problems require researchers to move beyond the confines of their individual disciplines and work as part of interdisciplinary teams in which skills and disciplines are combined in a coordinated manner to stimulate new ways of addressing and tacking problems. Students will be exposed to the different stages of the interdisciplinary research process, ranging from an open-ended preliminary research phase through to how the research is carried out in practice. Examples of good and poor practice will be discussed and a wide range of topics discussed (e.g., why an interdisciplinary approach is needed, which disciplines should be involved, the personality and attributes required by researchers, involvement of end users/stakeholders, and challenges with contingency plans). Students will be presented with contemporary ‘real world’ problems and will be challenged to take an interdisciplinary approach. Via various teaching approaches (e.g., critical discussion and group debates, problem-based learning, case studies), students will work through problems adopting an interdisciplinary approach to develop constructive solutions. The unit will be team taught by colleagues from the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter and UWE. Unit aims To explore how theory, knowledge, concepts, methodology, and skills from distinct disciplines can be integrated in a co-ordinated manner to coherently address important issues, problems and challenges to health and well-being. Intended learning outcomes At the end of the unit students should have: • A critical understanding of both the challenges to, and the constructive and innovative contributions of, interdisciplinary research to knowledge and practice. • A deepened interdisciplinary understanding of the links between social, biological and environmental factors and health behaviours, choices, and outcomes of individuals, groups, and societies. • An awareness of key competencies and processes needed by interdisciplinary researchers in planning, designing, implementing and evaluating interventions and strategies targeted at improving lifestyle-related health behaviours. • A critical understanding of the skills and processes required to translate interdisciplinary scientific research into practical strategies targeted at enhancing health and well-being. • A better understanding of the relevance and benefits to research and practice of engaging with a range of public health stakeholders. Teaching details Lectures, group work, seminars, presentations. Assessment Details One coursework of 4,000 words on a topic agreed with the Unit Convenor Reading and References Books on Interdisciplinary Research: Repko, A.F. (2011). Interdisciplinary Research. Process and Theory. 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Kessel, F., Rosenfield P., Anderson, N. (2008). Interdisciplinary Research – Case Studies from Health and Social Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Peer-reviewed articles Focusing on Interdisciplinary Research: 12

Aboelela, S.W., Larson, E., Bakken, S. et al (2007). Defining interdisciplinary research: Conclusions from a critical review of the literature. Health Services Research 42:1, Part 1 (February), 329-346. Gebbie, K.M., Meier, B.M., Bakken, S. et al (2008). Training for interdisciplinary health research. Journal of Allied Health 37:65-70. Hall, J.G., Bainbridge, L., Buchan, A. et al (2006). A meeting of the minds: interdisciplinary research in the health sciences in Canada. CMAJ 175(7):763-771. Heberlein, T.A. (1988). Improving interdisciplinary research: integrating the social and natural sciences. Society and Natural Resources 1:5-16. O’Cathain, A., Murphy, E., and Nicholl J. (2008). Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, or dysfunctional? Team working in mixed-methods research. Qualitative Health Research 18(11):1574-1585.

Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Design GEOGM0015 Unit coordinators: Maria Fannin (Bristol), Joe Devine (Bath), Jane Elliot (Exeter), Juliet Jain (UWE) 15 credit points The module will fulfil the ESRC requirement for training in core research design, collection and analysis skills by addressing the on the ground characteristics and challenges of doing interdisciplinary research. On completion of the module students will be able to critically assess concepts such as interdisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity. They will have an acquired knowledge and practical skills of how a range of research methods can be integrated in an ethically sound manner to examine interdisciplinary problems and will have developed an appreciation of the importance of pertinent inter-disciplinary thinking. Intended learning outcomes On completion of the unit, students will be able to: • Understand and communicate the complexities of defining and describing interdisciplinary research. • Appreciate the inherent and necessary interdisciplinarity of studying contemporary social science issues. • Demonstrate analytical and conceptual skills in their research design and written work. • Utilise relevant critical skills for the evaluation of evidence. • Address interdisciplinary problems from a range of social science perspectives. • Understand the ethical aspects of interdisciplinary research. • Demonstrate good communications skills when presenting to an interdisciplinary audience. • Demonstrate lateral, critical and analytical reasoning • Plan and implement applied research projects. Teaching details This module will be delivered in three one day sessions in conjunction with the partner institutions. Assessment Details Formative: development of a group presentation 13

Summative: Assignment of 3,000 words. (100%) Reading and References A course reader will be made available via Blackboard (or equivalent VLE) as the literature in this area is expansive. Indicative resources include: Barry, A., Born, G. and Weszkalnys, G. (2008) Logics of interdisciplinarity. Economy and Society, 37(1): 20-49. Collins, H. and R. Evans (2002) The Third Wave of Science Studies: Studies of Expertise and Experience. Sage, London. Delanty, G. (2001) Challenging knowledge. The university in the knowledge society. Society for Research into Higher Education and Oxford University Press, Buckingham. Etzkowitz, H. and L. Leydesdorff (2000) The dynamics of innovation: from national systems and Mode 2 to a triple helix of university-industry-government relations. Research Policy 29, 109 23. Nowotny, P. Scott and M. Gibbons (2001) Re-Thinking Science: Knowledge and the Public in an Age of Uncertainty. Polity Press, Cambridge. Repko, A. (2008) Interdisciplinary Research: Process and theory. Sage, London. Report of the Gulbenkian Commission on the Restructuring of the Social Sciences (1996) Open the Social Sciences. Stanford University Press, Stanford. Taylor, P. J. (1996) Embedded statism and the social sciences: opening up to new spaces. Environment and Planning A 28, 1917, 28. Weingert, P. and N. Stehr (2000) Practising Interdisciplinarity. University of Toronto Press, Toronto.

Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences SPOLM0015 (3 days) Convenor: Laura Johnson 20 credit points This unit is an introductory graduate course in the theory and practice of social science quantitative research applied to social policy and social work. The course focuses on the design, development, and implementation of social research projects. Students will be introduced to the basic principles of study design, types of data, methods of data collection and synthesis in quantitative research: surveys, experimental and quasi-experimental studies, secondary data analysis, and systematic reviews. The unit also introduces the key ideas underlying statistical and quantitative reasoning. Topics may include elements of sample surveys, experimental design, secondary data analysis, and systematic reviews, descriptive and summary statistics for both measured and counted variables, and the concept of statistical inference including testing of hypotheses. The unit is a prerequisite for the unit Further Quantitative Methods. Unit aims: • To provide a philosophical appreciation of the underpinnings of quantitative research methods. • To develop a critical understanding of the potential of various quantitative methodologies and key epistemological and methodological ‘problems’ raised in quantitative methodologies. • To introduce ethical, political and value concerns arising from the interpretation and analysis of quantitative data. • To develop students’ understanding of the application, strengths and weaknesses of a 14

range of quantitative methods and develop basic skills in the use of quantitative research techniques. It is expected that students will apply these methods and techniques in the particular context of their own discipline. Intended learning outcomes Module specific details • Develop a philosophical appreciation of the underpinnings or quantitative research methods. • A critical understanding of and the ability to apply to their own work, the appropriate uses, strengths and weaknesses of quantitative methods. • Ability to evaluate the research practice, data and interpretations of others. • Sensitivity to ethical, political and value concerns in quantitative research. • Appreciation of a reflexive approach to social science research. • Demonstrate basic skills in the use of quantitative research techniques. • Discipline specific skills. • Develop an appreciation of the philosophical underpinning of quantitative approaches in relation to the discipline. • Understand how quantitative research can address specific challenges within a disciplinary context. • Demonstrate and apply a critical understanding of quantitative methods used in the discipline. • Understand how quantitative methods are used in the discipline and gain an overview of some current quantitative research examples within the discipline. • Develop an understanding of discipline specific ethical, political and value issues, related to quantitative research. Personal and key skills. • Critical analysis. • Ability to reflect on personal/ethical issues raised in quantitative research. • Team work. • Presentation skills. Teaching details Lectures/presentations, seminars, group work, lab based sessions and virtual learning environment. Assessment Details • Formative Group presentation 15 mins Personal and key skills Principles of Quantitative research design Verbal • Formative (alternative)Essay 1500 words Principles of Quantitative research design Written • Summative 100% Essay 4,000 words Module and discipline specific skills Written • Summative (alternative)100% Essay + Research design 2,500 words + 1,500 words Module and discipline specific skills Written • Summative (alternative)100% Analysis of (primary or secondary) data set 4,000 words Module and discipline specific skills Written The choice between summative assessment options will be negotiated with the Unit Tutor The summative assessment tests all of the ILOs and accounts for 100% of the unit mark.

Reading and References

• Babbie, E (2007) The Practice of Social Research (11th ed). Belmont: Wadsworth Pub. Co. [Arts & Social Sciences H62 BAB] (Chapters 7 & 9). • Bryman, A. (2012) Social Research Methods [4th edition] Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Arts & Social Sciences H62 BRY] (Chapters 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, & 15). • Field, A (2009) Discovering Statistics using SPSS [3rd edition], London: Sage. [Arts & Social Sciences BF39 FIE] (Chapters 1& 2). • Gilbert, N. (ed.) (2008) Researching Social Life [third edition], London: Sage. [Arts & Social Sciences HM48 RES](Chapters 2, 3, 5, 6 &16).

Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences SPOLM0014 (3 days) Convenor: Ellie Johnson Credit points: 20 This unit provides an introduction to the use of qualitative methods in the social sciences. The unit includes an appreciation of qualitative methods of research including its underlying philosophies before moving onto more detailed aspects: choosing methods and research design; qualitative sampling and topic guide design; face-to-face interviewing and focus groups; analysing and making sense of qualitative data and finally drawing wider inferences from research findings. This unit will consider key debates in qualitative research for example the importance of reflexivity, the role of research ethics, as well as the concepts of validity and reliability. The unit will allow students the opportunity to develop their practical research skills using qualitative methods and better understand the role that qualitative data can play in informing policy and practice. Students will apply these methods and techniques in the particular context of their own discipline. Intended learning outcomes: • To develop a philosophical appreciation of the underpinnings of qualitative research methods. • To develop a critical understanding of and the ability to apply to their own work, the appropriate uses, strengths and weaknesses of qualitative methods. • The ability to evaluate the research practice, data and interpretations of others. • Sensitivity to ethical, political and value concerns in qualitative research. • Appreciation of a reflexive approach to social science research. • Demonstrate basic skills in the use of qualitative research techniques. • Understand how qualitative research can address specific challenges within a disciplinary context • Demonstrate and apply a critical understanding of qualitative methods used in the discipline. • Understand how qualitative methods are used in the discipline and gain an overview of some current qualitative research examples within the discipline Teaching details: Lectures/presentations, seminars, group work, use of software and virtual learning environment. Assessment Details: A summative assessment testing all of the intended learning outcomes which accounts for 100% of the unit mark. • Formative OR Group presentation 15 mins Personal and key skills Principles of Qualitative Research design Verbal

• Formative (alternative) Essay 1500 words Principles of Qualitative Research design Written • Summative 100% Essay 4,000 words Module and discipline specific skills Written • Summative (alternative)100% Essay & Research Design 2,500 words + 1,500 words Module and discipline specific skills Written The choice between summative assessment options will be negotiated with the Unit Tutor. Key readings: Bryman, A. (2016) Social Research Methods [fifth edition] Oxford University Press. Mason, J. (2002). Qualitative Researching. London & Thousand Oaks, California, Sage. Ritchie, J. et al (2014) . Qualitative Research Practice. London, Sage. Silverman, D. (2014) Interpreting Qualitative Data [fifth edition] London: Sage Publications. Flick, U. (2014) An Introduction to Qualitative Research. [fifth edition]London: Sage. Silverman, D. (2016) Qualitative Research [fourth edition] Sage Publications.Mason, J. (2018). Qualitative Researching. London & Thousand Oaks, California, Sage. Mason, J, (2018). Qualitative Researching. London & Thousand Oaks, California, Sage.

Critical appraisal for Health & Wellbeing SPOLM0052 Convenor: Bai Li 10 Credit Points This course aims to introduce students to the breadth of research in health and wellbeing, and to enable them to critically appraise a range of study methodologies. Couse objectives: • To introduce students to the range of research undertaken in the field • To introduce students to the principles and practice of critical appraisal • To discuss research papers, their methods and findings Intended learning outcomes: On the successful completion of the unit, students will be able to: • Recognise a range of research designs. • Identify and apply appropriate critical appraisal tools (CAT). • Identify appropriate reporting guidelines for healthcare studies. • Locate relevant research studies. • Describe a range of study methods and findings. • Appraise study quality, and lead and contribute to debates about research methods. • Present summaries of research. • Reflect on the process of critical appraisal, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of CAT. Teaching details: This unit will be taught in monthly reading groups across Teaching Blocks 1 and 2. Staff will attend 10 of these sessions, the remainder will be student led and facilitated. Assessment Details: Formative assessment (Pass/fail): Select and lead student discussion of an appropriate research paper. This assessment is associated with Intended Learning Outcomes 2, 3, 4, and 6.

Summative assessment: A portfolio of structured summaries of research papers, to include use of published Critical Appraisal Tools (CATs). Any research papers published in peer- reviewed journals which address human health and wellbeing, using any research method are eligible for inclusion. In total the portfolio should be to a maximum of 4,000 words (excluding the critical appraisal tools themselves). The assessment for the unit is not a traditional essay, responding to the focus on application of skills above subject knowledge. This assessment is associated with Intended Learning Outcomes. Key readings: Liz Trinder; Shirley Reynolds (Eds) (2000) Evidence-based practice a critical appraisal. Oxford : Blackwell Science , 2000 Narinder Kaur Gosal (2015) The Doctor's Guide To Critical Appraisal. Knutsford, Pastest. Fourth Edition. Kuper, Lingard, Levinson (2008) Critically appraising qualitative research. BMJ 2008;337:a1035 Thorne (2017) Metasynthetic Madness: What Kind of Monster Have We Created? Qualitative Health Research 2017, Vol. 27(1) 3–12 Mays & Pope Qualitative research in health care Assessing quality in qualitative research BMJ 2000;320:50–2 Carroll & Booth Quality assessment of qualitative 'evidence for systematic review and synthesis: Is it meaningful, and if so, how should it be performed? 'Res. Syn. Meth. 2015, 6 149–154 Creswell & Miller. Determining Validity in Qualitative Inquiry. THEORY INTO PRACTICE, Volume 39, Number 3, Summer 2000 Jeanfreau & Jack . Appraising Qualitative Research in Health Education: Guidelines for Public Health Educators Health Promot Pract. 2010 September ; 11(5): 612–617. doi:10.1177/1524839910363537 Petticrew, Roberts (2006) Systematic reviews in the social sciences a practical guide. Oxford: Blackwell Cochrane Handbooks http://training.cochrane.org/handbooks http://joannabriggs.org/research/critical-appraisal-tools.html BMJ How to read a paper series http://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/resources- readers/publications/how-read-paper Critical Appraisal Skills Programme http://www.casp-uk.net/

Health and Wellbeing MRes Dissertation SPOLM0053 Unit convenor: Demi Patsios 60 Credit points The dissertation is an opportunity to carry out original independent study in a field of inquiry selected by the student and relevant to health and wellbeing. It is an opportunity to apply some of the research skills, using their understanding of a topic in their field to develop a coherent argument and cogent research question. The unit aims to: 18

• Provide the student with the opportunity to investigate a topic of their own choice within health and wellbeing. • Enable the student to apply some (but not necessarily all) of the research skills developed in the taught units in carrying out a short piece of research. • Enhance the practical and transferable skills of locating and using knowledge and information, conveying ideas in written format, planning and managing their time. Intended learning outcomes: On successful completion of the unit, the student will demonstrate, through the production of a 10,000-15,000 word dissertation: • An ability to frame suitable research questions. • An understanding of, and ability to apply an appropriate research methodology to investigate their chosen topic. • An ability to analyse data, draw apposite conclusions which are integrated with wider academic debates. • An aptitude to plan and carry out a sustained piece of independent research. Teaching details: Independent study Assessment Details: A dissertation of 10,000 to 15,000 words. The dissertation should demonstrate that the student understands how to: frame research questions, develop and apply an appropriate research strategy (plan and complete primary data collection and/or identify appropriate secondary data sources), analyse data and draw conclusions that are integrated with wider academic debates. The dissertation is associated with all Intended Learning Outcomes. Full-time students are expected to submit their dissertations by 13th September 2021. Dissertations must also be submitted via Blackboard. Please note that two bound paper copies of the dissertation may also be required. Further instructions about format and binding are provided in a separate Dissertation Handbook. Key readings: Babbie, E. (2013) The Practice of Social Research, 13th ed., Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Bowling, Ann (2014) Research methods in health: investigating health and health services. 4th edition, Maidenhead, GB. McGraw Hill; Open University Press, 536pp. Bryman, A. (2016) Social Research Methods, 5th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press. Creswell, J.W. (2014) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 4th ed., Los Angeles: Sage.

Dissertations for Good Dissertations for Good is a new concept from the National Union of Students, which connects students with external organisations to complete dissertation projects in sustainability that are practical, exciting and publishable. This opportunity gives students the chance to lead on a research project with an organisation that will use the results to inform how they operate. For more information see: https://forgood.nus.org.uk/dissertations-forgood/ Some project titles that have already been suggested by organisations include: ➢ What are the impacts of fuel poverty on mental health and wellbeing? ➢ Sustainability leadership models for the sector ➢ How do we empower private tenants to request energy efficiency improvements to their homes?

➢ Mapping sector sustainability initiatives/projects/tools, such as ISO 14001 or EcoCampus If you’re interested, please contact Hannah Tweddell ([email protected]) for more information. She is co-ordinating and supporting UOB students and supervisors who want to participate.

School for Policy Studies Optional units (2020-2021) Only those units offered by the School for Policy Studies are listed in detail in this document. Other units are available through negotiation with programme director and unit coordinators and see Appendix H.

Optional Units relating to MSc Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health

Nutrition, Disease & Public Health PHEDM4012 Unit coordinator: Dr Angeliki Papadaki 20 Credit Points This unit will identify and critically review key public health nutrition issues and explore the role of nutrition in the aetiology, prevention and management of disease. The unit will also enable students to analyse and interpret the links between diet and health across the lifespan. It will describe the requirements for optimal nutrition across the lifespan and identify how these needs can be met in practice to prevent and manage major public health problems in society. Aims: • To critically review the key public health issues related to nutrition in Western societies, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer and mental health problems. • To examine the role of nutrition in health promotion across the lifespan to prevent and manage chronic disease. • To critically review the methods of assessing dietary intake. Intended learning outcomes: On completion of this unit, students will be able to: • Critically appraise and evaluate the evidence for the role of nutrition in the aetiology of aetiology, prevention and treatment of chronic diseases (including obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer, osteoporosis and mental disorders.) • Interpret and critically analyse the evidence for the role of nutrition across the lifespan (including pregnancy and infancy, childhood and adolescence, older age) • Be aware of and critically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of dietary assessment methods Assessment Details: Summative assessment is via the completion of a critical review of public health nutrition theory, and evidence. This will be submitted as a written assignment essay equivalent to 4000 words. The assignment is directly related to the learning outcomes and students are required to show an in depth understanding of the unit at a level consistent with a Master’s degree. Formative assessment throughout the unit will be performed via group work and/or PowerPoint presentations

Key readings: Barasi, ME (2003) Human Nutrition: A Health Perspective, 2nd Edition .London: Hodder Arnold. Gibney MJ, Margetts BM, Kearney JM and Arab L (2004) Public Health Nutrition. Blackwell Publishing. Mann J and Truswell SA (2007) Essentials of Human Nutrition, 3rd Edition. Oxford University Press. Thomas B. (ed.) (2007) Manual of Dietetic Practice, 4th Edition. Blackwell Science. Thompson J, Manore M and Vaughan L (2007) The Science of Nutrition Pearson Benjamin Cummings Thompson J and Manore M (2006) Nutrition for Life. Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Physical Activity, Disease and Public Health PHEDM4013 Unit coordinator: Dr Armstrong 20 Credit Points This unit will critically review the role of inactivity in the aetiology of disease and the role of physical activity in the prevention and management of disease, highlighting the different roles of exercise at different life stages. The unit will review key issues in identifying the optimal physical activity recommendation for public health, enabling students to understand the links between physical activity and health for people of all ages and across a range of lifestyles and backgrounds. Aims: To develop understanding of: • The role of physical activity and inactivity in the aetiology of chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer and mental health problems. • The biological mechanisms through which physical activity may operate to prevent chronic disease. • Physical activity in the maintenance of health and physical function through the lifespan and the strategies which may be employed to help optimise physical activity for health. • The role of physical activity in the management of chronic disease. • How to communicate scientific content critically to a lay audience. Intended learning outcomes: • Be familiar with and able to critically appraise the theory and evidence base for physical activity in the aetiology of chronic disease, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer, osteoporosis and mental disorders. • Understand the key issues involved in optimising health at different life stages and transitions including childhood and adolescence, middle age and older age and in groups such as ethnic populations. • To develop the skills necessary to design and evaluate strategies which are effective in optimising physical activity for health within populations. • To develop science communication skills required for communicating scientific content critically to a lay audience. Teaching details: Teaching will be in lectures and small group work in which students will work together to discuss research evidence for the public health guidelines for physical activity. Students will be required to prepare brief presentations for feedback to peers. Assessment Details: Assignment or presentation 21

Part 1: 1500-word critical review for a lay audience (50%; covers ILO 1,3,4). Part 2: A one-page infographic to present the evidence for the role of physical activity in the prevention and/or management of a chronic disease and a 1000-word summary (50%; covers ILO 1,2,4). Key reading: UK Chief Medical Officer’s Physical Activity Guidelines (2019). (Can be downloaded from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_da ta/file/832868/uk-chief-medical-officers-physical-activity-guidelines.pdf) 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. 2018. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2018. (Can be downloaded from https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019- 09/PAG_Advisory_Committee_Report.pdf) Cardiovascular Disease: Diet, Nutrition and Emerging Risk Factors. Stanner S (ed). Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford. ISBN 1-4051-0166-0. Pate, R.R., Pratt, M., Blair, S.N., Haskell, W.M., Macera, C.A., Bouchard, C., et al. (1995). Physical activity and public health: recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine. J.A.M.A. 273: 402-7. 'At least five a week: Evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health'. A report from the Chief Medical Officer. April 2004. (Can be downloaded from www.dh.gov.uk/publications ). Dose-Response Issues Concerning Physical Activity and Health: an Evidence-Based Symposium. (2001). Med. Sci. Sports. Exerc. 33 (6); Supplement. Powers, S.K. & Howley, E.T. (2014). Exercise Physiology: Theory and Application to Fitness and Performance (9th ed). New York; McGraw-Hill.

Determinants of Physical Activity & Eating Behaviour PHEDM4014 Unit coordinator: Dr Zoi Toumpakari 20 Credit Points This unit focuses on the factors or determinants which influence physical activity and eating behaviours. Students are presented different frameworks and associated evidence to represent the personal, social, environmental and policy influences on behaviour. Lectures and related workshops will encourage students to consider theoretical relationships between determinants as well as practical implications for manipulating them to achieve behaviour change in different populations. Aims: The aim of this unit are: • To explore determinants of physical activity and nutrition behaviours within existing models and frameworks. • To examine the interactions of determinants across different populations and how this affects behavioural outcomes. Intended learning outcomes: • To outline determinants which are evidenced to relate to physical activity and nutrition. • To identify existing models that provide a framework for understanding personal, social, environmental and policy level determinants of physical activity and nutrition (cognitive vs behavioural approaches?).

• To be aware of the strength of evidence for personal vs social vs environmental vs policy determinants of physical activity and nutrition. • To highlight how determinants can be used to target individuals for intervention. • To understand the complexities of measuring determinants in physical activity and eating behaviour. Teaching details: The main teaching method is lectures plus small group exercises. Teaching takes place across four 1-day visits across 4 weeks equivalent to 5 hours of taught time per day (total of 20 hours). Assessment Details: Assessment is through the completion of a written essay equivalent to 4000 words and is directly related to one of the learning outcomes. Students are required to show an in-depth understanding of the unit at a level consistent with a Master’s degree. This assessment is associated with all Intended Learning Outcomes. Key readings: Kremers SP, Visscher TL, Seidell JC, van Mechelen W, Brug J. Cognitive determinants of energy balance-related behaviours: measurement issues. Sports Med. 2005;35(11):923-33. Review. Ball K, Timperio A, Salmon J, Giles-Corti B, Roberts R, Crawford D. Personal, social and environmental determinants of educational inequalities in walking: a multilevel study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007 Feb;61(2):108-14. Bauman AE, Sallis JF, Dzewaltowski DA, Owen N. Toward a better understanding of the influences on physical activity and eating behaviour: the role of determinants, correlates, causal variables, mediators, moderators, and confounders. Am J Prev Med. 2002 Aug;23(2 Suppl):5-14. Salmon J, Timperio A. Prevalence, trends and environmental influences on child and youth physical activity. Med Sport Sci. 2007;50:183-99. Review. Patrick Gregory J. Norman, Béatrice A. Schmid, James F. Sallis, Karen J. Calfas and Kevin. Psychosocial and Environmental Correlates of Adolescent Sedentary Behaviors. Pediatrics Vol. 116 No. 4 October 2005, pp. 908-916. van der Horst K, Oenema A, Ferreira I, Wendel-Vos W, Giskes K, van Lenthe F, Brug J 2006 Jul 21. A systematic review of environmental correlates of obesity-related dietary behaviors. Health Educ Res. 2007 Apr;22(2):203-26. Are Current Health Behavioral Change Models Helpful in Guiding Prevention of Weight Gain Efforts? Baranowski, Cullen, Nicklas, Thompson, and Baranowski, Obes Res. 2003;11:23S- 43S.

Physical Activity & Nutrition Interventions: Conceptualisation & Design PHEDM4015 Unit Coordinator: Prof Russ Jago 20 Credit Points This unit will focus specifically on the issues associated with designing diet and physical activity interventions for different target groups. The course will demonstrate how the MRC guidelines for complex behavioural interventions can be used to design and evaluate diet and physical activity interventions for children, adults, and seniors. The module will include discussion and analysis of formative research, process evaluations, media campaigns, environmental interventions, randomised controlled interventions and will address issues related to cost-effectiveness of interventions. Case studies of key interventions related to

specific lifestyle conditions as well as their successes and failures will be presented and used to facilitate the students development of their own interventions. Aims: • To evaluate the key issues associated with designing effective diet and physical activity interventions. • To assess the strengths and weakness of different intervention approaches for key participant groups (i.e. children, adults seniors etc). • To develop the necessary skills to design and/or evaluate a new diet and physical activity intervention. Intended learning outcomes: • To obtain an understanding of intervention design, including the concepts of mediation and moderation. • To develop the skills necessary to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different intervention designs. • To develop the skills necessary to design and evaluate an effective diet or physical activity intervention for different target groups or disease. Teaching details: Teaching will be via lectures and small group work in which students will work together to design and evaluate interventions using published studies and their resources (training manuals etc) as learning aids. Assessment Details: Assessment will be in two parts. Part 1: Peer assessment of group designed diet or physical activity intervention (25%). Part 2: Written report (3000 words – 75%.) Key readings: Craig P, Dieppe P, Macintyre S, et al. Developing and Evaluating Complex Interventions: the New Medical Research Council Guidance. BMJ 2008; 337: a1655 Moore GF, Audrey S, Barker M, et al. Process Evaluation of Complex Interventions: Medical Research Council Guidance. BMJ 2015: 350: h1258 Baranowski, T, Cerin E, Baronowski J. Steps in the Design, Development and Formative Evaluation of Obesity Prevention-Related Behaviour Change Trials. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2009;6:6

Optional Units relating to MSc Policy Research, MSc Social Work Research, MSc Disability Studies

Philosophy and Research Design in the Social Sciences SPOLM0013 (3 days) Convenor: Demi Patsios 20 credit points The unit aims to provide foundation knowledge and skills for the design of research in the social sciences, including an appreciation of philosophical, practical and ethical issues. Students will apply these in the particular context of their own discipline. Intended learning outcomes: Module specific skills: • Have an understanding of the differing philosophical bases of social science research. • Appreciate the relevance of social science theories to the design of research. 24

• Understand the principles and processes of research design • Appreciate a range of ethical issues in the design and conduct of social research. Discipline specific skills: • Demonstrate and apply a critical understanding of philosophical debates surrounding the methodologies used in the discipline. • Develop research questions and employ research methods appropriate to the discipline. • Develop research proposals which take account of relevant ethical issues. • Develop a critical understanding of the use and abuse of evidence for policy and practice as relevant to the discipline.

Teaching details: Lectures/presentations, seminars, group work, virtual learning environment

Assessment Details: Formative Group presentation Formative Individual presentation (alternative to Group presentation) Note: To be used when student is unable to participate in group presentation. Formative (alternative) Essay Note: To be used when student is unable to attend all unit sessions. Summative essay 3.500 – 4,000 words (100%) Key readings: Babbie, E. (2013) The Practice of Social Research [13th edition] Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Benton, T. and Craib, I., (2011) Philosophy of Social Science: the philosophical foundations of social thought, [2nd edition]., Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Bryman, (2016) Social Research Methods [5th edition], Oxford: Oxford University Press. Clough, P and Nutbrown, C (2007) A Students Guide to Methodology [2nd edition]. London: Sage. Creswell, J.W. (2014) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, [4th edition]., Los Angeles: Sage. Gilbert, G.N. and Stoneman, P. (eds.) (2015) Researching Social Life [4th edition], London: Sage. May, T. (2011) Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process [4th edition] Maidenhead: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill. Williams, M. (2006) Philosophical foundations of social research methods, London: Sage.

Further Quantitative Methods SPOLM0016 (3 days) Convenor: Sebnem Eroglu-Hawksworth Credit points: 20 This unit builds upon the new DTC module, Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences (SPOLM0015), by focusing upon techniques for the analysis of quantitative data. The unit covers three main topics: • The practice of secondary data analysis using survey sources based upon a range of statistical methods and ‘hands-on’ exercises using SPSS. • The circumstances in which particular techniques can be applied and the strengths and weaknesses of different methods in informing policy and practice. 25

• The interpretation of quantitative data and the dissemination of results in accessible ways which can inform policy and practice. Intended learning outcomes: Upon completion of this unit student should be able to: • Use descriptive methods in order to explore the properties of quantitative data and select an appropriate strategy of analysis for data of different types. • Analyse the relationship between variables using a range of parametric and non- parametric approaches. • Compare groups of cases using both parametric and non-parametric tests. • Demonstrate awareness of the strengths and limitations of statistical evidence in informing policy and practice. • Apply principles for the effective dissemination of quantitative evidence to policy and practitioner audiences using appropriate data visualisation methods. Teaching details: Lecture and demonstration. Many of the classes in this module involve an emphasis upon developing computer-based statistical analysis skills. These sessions will involve on-line exercises designed to develop competency in using SPSS for the analysis of quantitative data. The course comprises 3 days of teaching (1 day per week) made up of many sessions of 1- 1.5 hours. Assessment Details: The summative assessment tests all of the ILOs and accounts for 100% of the unit mark. Formative assessment will be primarily by means of student presentations delivered as part of the teaching program. Students will be asked to work in small groups to develop a research design in order to investigate a key social policy problem (e.g. ill health, crime, poverty) based upon exploration of a selected UK Data Archive teaching data set. Students will be asked to present their proposed research and will have an opportunity to receive feedback on this during the session. Formative self-assessment by means of multiple choice questionnaires is also available to participants via the package “Statistics for the Terrified”. This will enable participants to better evaluate their progress, and to identify areas for revision or further development. Many of the unit sessions are based upon lab-based activities involving analysis of large- scale datasets using the SPSS package. Students are asked to complete these tasks and write up their results in the associated workbooks which we review with students at the end of each session. Summative assessment will be by means of a written assignment of not more than 4,000 words. Participants will be asked to apply the knowledge and skills they have developed during the course of the unit to the investigation of a key social policy problem based upon the secondary analysis of a large scale teaching data set. Key readings: Bryman, A. and Cramer, D. 2011. Quantitative Data Analysis with SPSS 17, 18 and 19: A Guide for Social Scientists. London: Routledge. Dorling, D. and Simpson, S. eds. 1999. Statistics in Society: The Arithmetic of Politics. London: Arnold. Field, A. 2018. Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics. 5th Edition. London: Sage. Levitas, R. and Guy, W. eds. 1996. Interpreting Official Statistics. Routledge: London. Marsh, C. and Elliott, J. 2008. Exploring Data: An Introduction to Data Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Tufte, E. (1990). Envisioning Information. Connecticut: Graphics Press.

Further Qualitative Methods SPOLM0017 (3 days) Credit points: 20 This unit is not running in 2020/2021, but the equivalent in Sociology, Politics and International Studies will be running. Advanced Qualitative Research SOCIM3132 Convenor: Dr. Jo Haynes Credit points: 20 This unit builds on the conceptual and practical techniques of the introductory qualitative research unit and focuses on data analysis. It also provides instruction on specialist techniques of qualitative data collection commonly employed by sociologists including working with archived and social forms of data. The unit addresses the analysis and interpretation of interviews, life histories, documents and visual data. Students will be encouraged to take a hands-on approach to the analysis of qualitative data in order to develop a reflexive and critical understanding of research design. Students will be introduced to established strategies for analysing data – including, thematic, narrative and discursive approaches. The unit will also dedicate some time to the computer software package NVivo, which has been designed specifically to support researchers in the analysis of qualitative data. Aims: 1. Explore challenges to the principles and techniques of qualitative research that are presented by archived, visual, internet and social data 2. Introduce students to the principles and problems of interpretation and analysis of qualitative data 3. Prepare students to manage and interpret their own and other’s qualitative data 4. Provide instruction for the writing up and presentation of qualitative data Intended learning outcomes By the end of the unit, students will be able to: 1. Identify a suitable approach for incorporating and managing a range of qualitative data sources in research 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the main approaches and principles of qualitative research 3. Critically engage with and evaluate different approaches to qualitative analysis 4. Make detailed and appropriate use of these insights in developing and structuring their own analysis of primary or secondary data 5. Write and present a coherent and critical narrative of qualitative analysis Teaching details A combination of lecture, seminar discussion, practical instruction and tasks and student presentations where appropriate. Assessment Details A number of formative tasks will be completed in seminars.

The formative assessment will address how well students can demonstrate learning outcomes 2 and 3. Summative: 4,000 word essay. Students will conduct their own analysis of a qualitative data set – made available from the ESDS Qualidata archive – using the appropriate techniques, in conjunction with a literature review, which supports their focus. The summative assessment will address how well students can demonstrate learning outcomes 1, 3, 4 and 5. Reading and References Coffey, A. and Atkinson, P. (1996) Making Sense of Qualitative Data Sage Publications. Mason, J. (2002) Qualitative Researching (second edition) Sage Publication. Ritchie, J. and Lewis, J. (2003) Qualitative Research Practice. Sage Publications. Silverman, D. (2011) Interpreting Qualitative Data. (4th edition) Sage Publications. Silverman, D. (2007) A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Qualitative Research London: Sage Publications

Inclusive Research with Disabled People ACHSM0001 (3 days) Convenor: Beth Tarleton Credit points: 20 Tutors: Co-tutors will include people with learning disabilities who have carried out research. This unit springs from the burgeoning movement for emancipatory and participatory research carried out by and with disabled people. In order for social research to have an impact, it is necessary for it to be grounded in the lived experience of disabled 'end users' of social care services. Developments in this field have been led by disabled people themselves, who have criticised conventional social care research for a tendency to reinforce a care system which they see as oppressive (Oliver, 1990). The unit will explore these developments, and specifically focus on research which includes people with learning disabilities, where there are issues of the ownership of the research, the development of the skills necessary to carry out research, power relationships and support. Intended learning outcomes: On completion of this unit, students will be able to: • Describe and synthesize developments in the field of emancipatory, participatory and inclusive research by and with disabled people since 1990. • Understand how to design research, using participatory and action research models. • Identify and critically reflect on the main benefits and tensions in practising inclusive research with those who might find it hard to engage in research methodologies • Construct a practicable, robust and valid research project which includes disabled people or other community participants as key players. Teaching details: Guided reading, lectures, seminars, and presentations across 21 contact hours in the University. Aspects of the unit will be taught by disabled people who have experience of carrying out their own research. Teaching will take place over 3 days (1 day per week). Assessment Details: Formative assessment - Group feedback showing evidence of learning from inclusive research methods workshop. Summative assessment: 4,000 word essay (100%: there will be an option to carry out the assignment in one of two ways):

a) reporting on discussions with disabled people, in relation to designing, initiating or using some research. The assignment will both report on that discussion and reflect on it in relation to the issues raised in the literature b) identifying the key issues and tensions in inclusive research methodologies in the literature and showing how they can be addressed in practice. Key reading: Barnes, C. and Mercer, G. (1997) Doing Disability Research. Leeds: The Disability Press. Bigby, C., Frawley, P. & Ramcharan, P. (2014) Conceptualizing Inclusive Research with People with Intellectual Disability. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 27: 3-12. Goodley, D. (2017) Disability Studies: An Interdisciplinary Introduction. 2nd edn. London: Sage. Goodwin, J., Mason, V., Williams, V. & Townsley, R. (2015) Easy Information about Research: getting the message out to people with learning disabilities. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 43 (3): 93-99. Nind, M. (2014) What is Inclusive Research? London: Bloomsbury Academic. Smyth, M. and Williamson, E. (eds.) (2004) Researchers and their subjects: ethics, power, knowledge and consent. Bristol: Policy Press. Walmsley, J. and Johnson, K. (2003) Inclusive Research with People with Learning Disabilities: Past, Present and Futures. London: Jessica Kingsley. Williams, V. (2011) Disability and Discourse: analysing inclusive conversation with people with intellectual disabilities. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Disabled Childhoods SPOLM0050 (3 days) Convenor: Sandra Dowling Credit points: 20 Disabled Childhoods is a growing area of interest within Disability Studies. It takes as a point of departure that disabled children are children first and their emotional, social and educational development is predicated on the experience of childhood, as with any child, but is also filtered through a prism of disabling contexts over which they have limited control. The purpose of this optional unit is to introduce, explore and reflect on notions of ‘disability’ as they apply to childhoods. The varying contexts explored will include the social world of disabled children, disabled children in the family context and within school, being a looked after disabled child, living with a life-limiting condition; asylum, disability and childhood; access to play for disabled children and the transition to adult life. There will be an emphasis on the inclusion of the views and perspectives of disabled children both in relation to their own lives and in the development of social and public policy. The example of disabled children and young people’s input into the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) will be explored. Methodological approaches in a research context, which are focused on the inclusion of disabled children will be considered from a practice perspective. The aims are: • To introduce and critically reflect on theories of Disabled Childhoods within the wider context of Disability Studies, with reference to Childhood Studies and Social Policy.

• To critically examine the policy and practice which is focused on enabling the inclusion of disabled children. • To consider the lived experiences of disabled children drawn from empirical work and the way in which they negotiate the gap between rhetoric and experience. Intended learning outcomes: By the end of the unit, students will be able to: • Identify and demonstrate an understanding of how key theories in disability studies can be applied to disabled childhoods. • Critically reflect on contemporary research in disabled childhood studies. • Identify and critically examine UK policy relating to disabled children. • Understand and reflect critically on the lived experience of disabled children through a range of contexts drawing on empirical research in the field. Teaching details: A mix of lectures, interactive sessions and small group exercises will form the core of the teaching, with a varied input. Teaching will take place over 3 days (1 day per week). Disabled young people with direct lived experience of the issues discussed in the Unit will be included in some sessions as tutors or guest speakers, in line with practices developed successfully in other MDS units. Assessment Details: Formative assessment: preparatory reading, to be critiqued and presented to fellow students during the unit, with tutor feedback on how to approach and critically present literature. Summative assessment will consist of a 4,000 word essay which will assess whether the intended learning outcomes have been met. The summative assessment tests all of the ILOs and accounts for 100% of the unit mark. Key readings: Greig, A., Taylor, J. and Mackay, T. (2012) Doing Research with Children (3rd edition). London:Sage Curran, T. & Runswick-Cole, K., (2013) Disabled Children’s childhood studies. Critical approaches in the global context. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Beasley, S. and Williams, V. (eds) (2013) Childhood and Disability: key papers from Disability & Society. Routledge (Taylor & Francis) Children and Society (26) (2012) Special Issue: Research the lives of Disabled Children and young People. Child Care in Practice (21:3) (2015) Special Issue: Valuing Disabled Children: Participation and Inclusion Child Care in Practice (21:1) (2015) Special Issue: Valuing Disabled Children and Young People.

Optional units relating to MSc Public Policy (MPP)

In order to offer a wider range of policy and practice research courses, students are able to select from units offered on the MSc Public Policy (MPP). The range of additional MPP optional units varies from year to year based on student interest.

Note: A schedule of MPP optional units offered in Teaching Block 2 will be made available by the MPP programme administration team in late October. Unit descriptions are provided below. If you are interested in any of these units, please contact Andrea Osborn (MRes HWB Programme Administrator) to establish which MPP optional units are running in TB2. Registration on MPP optional units is subject to availability and timetabling constraints. Please note that students are not permitted to register on equivalent (or similar) optional units available on different programmes. For example, if a student registers on Researching Poverty, Inequality and Social Exclusion they will not be permitted to take the MPP unit - International Analysis of Poverty and Social Exclusion for credit. No exceptions will be considered.

The Economics of Public Policy SPOLM1062 This unit examines key ideas from mainstream economics, their relevance to public policy, and their application to public policy analysis. The unit also introduces alternative perspectives, such as behavioural economics, to complement the mainstream approach. The specific topics covered in the unit include, but are not limited to, the welfare economics of market intervention, the economic critique of government, the marketisation of public services, the ethics and economics of public policy, and the application of economic thinking to practical public policy issues, such as labour market transition and minimum wage, transport infrastructure development and land value capture, and the financialisation of urban economy in general and the housing market in particular. The unit seeks to set the economic approach to policy alongside other criteria that could be used to inform thinking about public policy.

Health and Health Care in a Global Context SPOLM1066 This unit will examine current patterns of health and illness in different parts of the world. It will highlight continuing inequalities in morbidity and mortality and explore their links with wider economic and social processes. We will then look at global health governance. This will be followed by an overview of Infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases globally. Next, global policies important in tobacco, mental health, climate change, nutrition and physical activity will be explored in depth. We will then consider various inequalities in health and health care around the world.

International analysis of poverty, inequality and social exclusion SPOLM1068 Tackling poverty, inequality and social exclusion is currently a core aim of both international and domestic policy. This unit explores the range of issues relevant to researching in this policy field. Many of the theoretical and methodological themes are approached through discussion of illustrative international policy areas, such as health, human rights and development policy.

Migration, Asylum and Human Rights: EU and Global Policy Perspectives SPOLM0042 The Unit covers the main elements of the development of asylum and migration policies in the UK and the EU in a global context of human mobility. The focus is on the consequences of policy implementation both within and beyond the borders of the EU, addressing the

impacts on human rights and civil liberties of asylum seekers, recent migrants, EU citizens and non-EU citizens. The Unit will include an overview of the historical importance of migration in the development nation-states, international and regional political blocks and of the global economy. The emergence of immigration and asylum as key policy concerns for the EU will be examined in an international context. The Unit will include an examination of the consequences of Brexit for free movement and mobility. Analysis of policy development will include the securitisation of migration policy, policy transfer and the role of the EU in the world. This Unit is designed to provide: ➢ An up-to-date understanding of population movements in a global context and an overview of the historical development of asylum and migration policy and legislation in the European Union. It will include a thorough grounding in the role of EU institutions and the Member States in producing and implementing Justice and Home Affairs policies. ➢ A comparative analysis of EU policies in the context of the global and regional activities of the UNHCR and current debates around proposed changes to the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention and the Dublin III Regulation. ➢ An understanding of the processes of asylum and migration policy development in the United Kingdom and Ireland, in the context of the EU and of Brexit. ➢ A comparative examination of the impact of asylum and migration policies on human rights and citizenship legislation at national, EU and global levels.

4. ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATION

University Card Your UCard (University Card) is also your Library card. Keep this card safe as it allows you access to important areas around the University and shows you are a University of Bristol student. The first time you use your UCard you will need to initialise it by holding it against a card reader for 10-15 seconds, while the system checks your card details. You should carry your UCard at all times when you are on the University precincts at Bristol and do not give your UCard to anyone else or allow anyone else access to buildings or facilities using your card. You can find out more about your UCard at www.bristol.ac.uk/cardservices/.

Blackboard The School uses the Blackboard virtual learning environment as the principal medium for delivering supporting materials for its teaching programmes. There is an overall Blackboard site for your programme, which is used for general administration and communication. You will be expected to submit your assignments through this site (see the section below on ‘Assignment submission using Blackboard’). As well as the programme site, each unit on a teaching programme has its own Blackboard site and you should expect materials associated with each unit (including reading lists) you are studying to be available on the site. You should not expect lecturers to provide printed handouts or photocopies of reading materials in class. Rather, you should expect the materials related to an upcoming lecture or class to be accessible through Blackboard in advance of the session so that you can download them and, if necessary, print them out.

There may be occasions on which it is not, for a variety of reasons, possible for your lecturer to make materials available in advance of a particular session. Your lecturer should post a notice on Blackboard telling you that this is the case. When a lecturer distributes paper handouts in class, the materials should subsequently be available on Blackboard, unless there are technical or copyright reasons why this is not possible. The Blackboard site associated with each unit should contain: ● Unit outline, including lecture timetable, class topics and reading list ● Online reading list ● Requirements and tasks set for all types of assignment ● Copies of PowerPoint slides associated with lectures ● Any written materials associated with classes (eg. briefings for class exercises, where relevant) ● Any messages from the unit convenor regarding changes to arrangements

It may also have other resources like external links or additional reading. Some units may have discussion boards and fora, but these depend on how the unit convenor wants to use their Blackboard site. Access Blackboard through your MyBristol page, which you reach from the University home page. It is on the ‘Course’ tab at the top of your home page. Accessing via MyBristol means you are logged in to the system. If you experience problems accessing or using Blackboard, please contact [email protected]. Questions about the content of a Blackboard unit site should be addressed to the contact point for that unit (usually the Unit Coordinator or the Programme Administrator).

5. ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK

Assessment and feedback statement for PGT students The University has established a number of institutional principles for assessment and feedback in taught programmes. The principles are a statement of the University’s approach to assessment and the provision of feedback such that both staff and students share common expectations and are aware of their responsibilities. The assessment methods that might be expected in taught programmes are provided at www.bristol.ac.uk/academic- quality/assessment/annex/annex-formsofassessment.html

Assessment The amount and type of assessment and feedback within the units that you study will vary and the details given here are guidelines on what you should normally expect in units run on the programmes. Units on the programmes are designed to enable you to meet the intended learning outcomes of the unit and your programme. We use the following types of assessment to help you attain these outcomes and to assess how well you have attained them: • Summative assessment which is designed to test whether and how well you have met the intended learning outcomes for a unit.

• Formative assessment designed primarily to provide feedback on how well your learning is developing in the unit. It should give you an indication of where you are performing well in relation to the intended learning outcomes and where you need to focus to improve your learning. The programme norm for summative assessment for a 20-credit point unit is 4000 words in essay format. You will be informed of the assessments required in a unit at the beginning of the unit. This information is also usually provided in a unit handbook or course outline and/or Blackboard.

Submission using Blackboard You must submit all essays through the relevant essay submission area in Blackboard by the deadline. Note: You do not need to provide us with printed copies of assignments. You will be enrolled onto the relevant submission area in Blackboard. There will be instructions in this area as well as a test area for you to practice with before you submit your first essay. Please contact the Programme Student Administrator if you cannot see the essay submission area in your Blackboard course list. Please be aware that all essays are processed through the Turnitin Plagiarism Software Detection Service. You can find out more about this at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/esu/e-learning/support/tools/turnitin/ You are required to submit an essay through Blackboard in one of the following formats: • Word file (.doc) • Rich text format (.rtf) • Portable Document Format (.pdf) Before you are able to submit, you are required to complete an electronic checklist which includes a plagiarism declaration and also asks you to confirm that the essay is the final version and in the correct format, that you have used only your candidate number and included a word count. Please note that the word length will be checked.

Dissertation submission Full-time students are expected to submit their dissertations by 13th September 2021. Dissertations must also be submitted via Blackboard. Please note that two bound paper copies of the dissertation may also be required (TBC). Further instructions about format and binding are provided in a separate Dissertation Handbook.

Unit assignment extensions Students are expected to plan their workload appropriately, in advance, in order to take into account the amount of work they are expected to do, the deadlines, and any other commitments they may have. There is a system in place where students may request an extension for their work past the normal deadline, if there are unforeseeable circumstances that might impact on their ability to complete work on time, such as in cases of illness or bereavement. It is your responsibility to organise your time and resources to enable you to meet the demands of the course. You should anticipate and build in time for minor illnesses and other small difficulties. We tend not to agree to extensions for the following sorts of reason:

● Minor illnesses, such as colds ● Problems with access to computers, printers, or photocopiers ● Normal employment commitments ● Poor time management ● Difficulty with access to sources ● Difficulty with the work

If you are unable to complete an essay on time due to illness or other circumstance, you should complete an extension request form (available on Blackboard). This should be submitted to the Postgraduate Student Administrator at the latest 48 hours before the hand- in for the unit assignment. Unless there are particular extenuating circumstances, we are not normally able to retrospectively agree extensions. You should submit work unless you have an extension, or have applied for one. If you do not have an extension and do not submit a piece of work, your work will be subject to late submission penalties. Unit assignment extensions are standardised to reflect a one week extension, a three week extension, and extensions of more than three weeks (the PGT unit assignment extension form is available on Blackboard). Students are encouraged to discuss the request for an extension with their personal tutor, but the final decision regarding approval and the length of the extension rests with the programme director.

Penalties Penalties for late submissions In line with University regulations (see 17.4 on the link below), summative work submitted after a deadline should be subject to some penalty, unless an extension has been agreed by the School, prior to the deadline, or late submission is justified by reason of illness or other validated extenuating circumstances (see Section 17). For work submitted up to 24 hours after the agreed submission deadline, a penalty of 10 marks out of 100 (or 2 marks out of 20) from the actual mark the student would have received applies (e.g. coursework that is marked at 60/100 would become 50/100 or a mark of 10/20 would become 8/20) once the penalty is applied). For work submitted seven calendar days after the submission deadline the student will receive a mark of 0, although schools may still require work of a satisfactory standard to be submitted in order for credit to be awarded. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/academic-quality/assessment/regulations-and-code-of-practice-for- taught-programmes/penalties/ Note: Weekends are included in the counting up of the number of days late, e.g. if the essay was due Friday and you submit it on Monday, it will be counted as three days late and therefore subject to a 30 mark penalty. Penalties for over-length assignments Assignments that are over-length are also subject to penalties. You must enter the word count on the coversheet. Candidates must not exceed the word limit. If the word limit is exceeded, 1 mark will be deducted for every 300 (or part of 300) words by which the limit is exceeded. Failing to state the number of words, or misstating them, is an examinations offence. A fixed penalty of 5 marks will be applied to those who mislead on the word limit by systematically omitting spaces in references and footnotes. Note: If the penalty takes you below the pass mark, you will be permitted to re-submit, once, for a capped mark of 50%. 35

Feedback Feedback is designed to enable you to reflect on what you have done well and where improvement is needed. You should seek clarification if the feedback is not clear to you. You should also try to act on the feedback and use it constructively in future assessments. Feedback is provided in a variety of ways, for example: • Individual feedback consisting of written comments on submitted work. • Group feedback is sometimes provided on submitted work. Such feedback will help you to see how your understanding compares with your fellow students and, by providing insight into how others answered a question, may give you ideas on what could have been included in your work. • You may receive feedback from your personal tutor or from unit convenors. • Where you make presentations to a tutorial or seminar group, or do group work with other students, you may receive written or oral feedback from the tutor and other students in the class. The amount of time required to give you feedback on a piece of formative assessment will depend on the nature of the assessment task and other programme-specific factors. Feedback on summative assessments will normally be provided within three weeks of the submission deadline, unless there is a special reason why this deadline cannot be met. Further information on assessments within the University may be found in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

Marking criteria and scales The programme uses marking criteria to judge whether and how well you have succeeded in attaining the intended learning outcomes for each unit. These criteria are used to assign a mark to your work. The marking criteria provided below describe in broad terms the considerations that inform the decisions of markers. The details of each unit will identify for you any more detailed and specific marking criteria for that unit. For full information including the University’s marking criteria, see the section 12 of the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes. 80-100% ● Work is worthy of publication or dissemination as appropriate to the field. ● Clear evidence of originality and independent thinking, as appropriate to Distinction the task. ● Exceptional in-depth knowledge across specialised and applied areas of relevant literature, policy and conceptual issues as appropriate to the task. ● The work is very well written and presents an excellent synthesis of appropriate available information, coherently structured and draws valid conclusions. ● Outstanding evidence of acquisition of relevant skills and their application. ● Excellent presentation including the consistent use of an appropriate referencing system. 70-79% ● Commanding knowledge of relevant literature, policy and conceptual issues appropriate to the field. Distinction ● Evidence of originality and independent thinking, as appropriate to the task. 36

● Demonstrates the ability to make good judgements and draw valid conclusions, as appropriate to the assessment task. ● The work is very well written and presents an excellent synthesis of appropriate available information, coherently structured. ● Excellent evidence of acquisition of relevant skills and their application. ● Excellent presentation including the consistent use of an appropriate referencing system. 60-69% ● Good knowledge of relevant literature, policy and conceptual issues appropriate to the field. Merit ● Material from relevant sources is carefully and critically selected, interpreted, compared and evaluated. ● The work is well written and presents a good synthesis of appropriate available information, coherently structured. ● Draws valid conclusions. ● Good evidence of acquisition of relevant skills. ● Very good presentation including the consistent use of an appropriate referencing system. 50-59% ● Adequate understanding of relevant literature, policy, available information, and conceptual issues appropriate to the field. Pass ● Some interpretation, evaluation and comparison of sources is attempted but not pursued in depth. ● Adequate synthesis of available information but analysis of underlying principles and themes not developed, valid but limited conclusions. ● Work is coherent and adequately structured. ● Evidence of acquisition of relevant skills. ● Good presentation including the consistent use of an appropriate referencing system 40-49% ● Demonstrates a limited understanding of relevant literature, policy, available information, and conceptual issues appropriate to the field. Fail ● Demonstrates clear but limited attempt to become acquainted with relevant source material and draw relevant conclusions, but draws conclusions that do not all follow logically from the work undertaken. ● Work is not fully coherent, poorly structured, and indicates that key concepts are generally not understood. ● Little evidence of acquisition of relevant skills. ● Poor presentation including inconsistent referencing. ● Changes required to content and/or structure and presentation in order to achieve a pass on resubmission. <40% ● Makes little attempt to become acquainted with relevant source material. ● Does not draw conclusions or if it does then they consist of unsupported assertions. ● Work is not coherent, very poorly structured, and indicates that key concepts are not understood. ● Little or no evidence of the acquisition of key skills. ● Very weak presentation. ● Major changes required to content, structure and presentation in order to achieve a pass on resubmission.

Marking procedures The taught programmes in the School use a system of moderation for summative assessments. Moderation is a quality assurance process whereby marks are reviewed to 37

ensure that individual marks awarded are appropriate in terms of consistency in relation to marking criteria, fairness and rigour in the assessment. The internal marker (usually the unit convenor) assesses the student’s work and feedback is recorded on a proforma together with a suggested mark. Then, a moderator reads a sample of assignments – usually at least one from each band as well as all the fails and from each marker (if there is more than one marker) - and confirms that the mark is within the appropriate band. The moderation system is not the same as second marking. However, the confirmation of bands means that there is an agreement between the marker and the moderator about the quality of the work and the allocated category of marks. When moderation is completed, the internal marker passes the unit assessment proforma to the Postgraduate Student Administrator for return to the student. All marks are provisional until they are confirmed at the Examination Board.

Confirmation of marks and student notification All summative unit assessments are confirmed by the Programme Examination Board, which is normally held twice a year in November and in June. Following confirmation of the marks (and the assessment of any penalties) students are notified via email that their unit assignment marks have been ratified. Students can then check these through the MyBristol portal. Students will only receive a letter from the Postgraduate Student Administrator if there have been any penalties assessed for lateness or over-length or in instances of suspected plagiarism. Final awards are first recommended by the Programme Examination Board and then confirmed by the Faculty Board of Examiners, who are also informed about any potential issues regarding student progression. Note: All marks are provisional until they have been confirmed by the Faculty Board of Examiners.

Resubmission and Progression A student who is not awarded the credit for a unit may be permitted a second attempt to achieve a satisfactory standard to progress (i.e. a ‘re-sit’) or to achieve any specified additional criteria. A “re-sit” need not be in the same form as the original assessment, as long as it tests the same learning outcomes; it does not compromise any competence standards; and it applies to the entire cohort of students who are undertaking the re- assessment.

In order to be permitted a second attempt in any failed unit(s), taught postgraduate students must gain at least half of the credit points in the taught component (60 credit points) by achieving the pass mark at the first attempt AND must have satisfied any additional criteria at the time they are considered by the progression board, or equivalent (see sec. 38 of http://www.bristol.ac.uk/academic-quality/assessment/regulations-and-code-of-practice- for-taught-programmes/student-progression-pgt/. The timing of the resubmission is normally following the Programme Summer Examination Board, which usually takes place in June each year. The programme exam board ratifies marks for all submitted unit assignments and the Faculty confirms resubmission information in writing following the Faculty Summer Exam Board.

Note: For resubmissions, penalties for lateness or over length are applied to the ‘capped’ mark not the ‘notional’ mark. In short, if the resubmission is late or is even one word over the limit it will automatically receive a fail. To be safe, do not hand in your work late without an approved extension and please stay under the maximum word count of 4,000 words (if it applies to your assignment). 38

Progression and completion in taught postgraduate modular programme A student must satisfy certain minimum criteria to be allowed to progress from the taught component of the programme to the dissertation. In other words, they must acquire the necessary credit before progressing to the next component of study (the dissertation). Suitable arrangements will be made to implement the regulations for the award of credit for students who are studying a programme on a part-time basis such that the students are aware of the arrangements (e.g. the timing and status of any re-sits) and are not disadvantaged by the point in their studies in which their progression is formally considered. By reaching a satisfactory standard, students thereby acquire the necessary credit points to progress, except as specified below. Students must achieve the pass mark for the unit (normally a mark of 50 out of 100 per cent at postgraduate level) and meet any additional criteria, if applicable, to be awarded the associated credit. The criteria for the award of credit points, and an explanation of how the award of credit may be affected by criteria additional to marks in an examination or other formal assessment, are described in the relevant unit and programme specification and are communicated to the students in advance of the commencement of their study of the unit. If a student does not achieve the necessary requirements set out in 38.8 of Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes, s/he will be required to withdraw from the programme, with an exit award if appropriate, unless there are validated extenuating circumstances (see Section 19). Faculties have discretionary authority to permit postgraduate students who have failed part, or all, of the taught component to re-sit for the purposes of achieving an exit award.

Referencing It is essential that you acknowledge the sources of your information and it is very important to get their referencing right. This is one of the criteria on which your work is assessed. The School expects a high standard of technical detail and accuracy, especially for the dissertation which is a public document. The purposes of referencing are to: • Show that you can locate your work in the context of existing thought and writing (commonly referred to as “the literature”). It is never acceptable to say ‘research has shown ...’ and then fail to cite any books, articles or reports. • Acknowledge that you have drawn on the arguments and evidence of other writers. • Allow the reader (or marker) to check the original source of evidence or argument, for example if you cite something that the reader finds particularly contentious or surprising. It is for this reason that you must be as precise as possible. • A complete list of all references contained in essays, dissertation or project reports must appear at the end of the assignment. You should be sure to go through the text painstakingly and check them off. Please note that you are asked for a reference list not a bibliography. You should not include publications which you have looked at but not actually referred to in the text. For the School for Policy Studies, the standard system used is the Harvard system of referencing, which uses (name, date) in the text, and an alphabetical list of citations at the end. This is the one most commonly found in social science texts and journals and is the most flexible to use, though it may be slightly different from the ‘house style’ of some publications. Unless you are told otherwise by your programme staff, assume that you must

use the Harvard system of referencing in your assessments. Appendix C gives you a basic guide to using the Harvard system, and you can find further help at the following websites: • http://infolib.vnua.edu.vn/VNUA/UpLoadFiles/Cite%20them%20right.PDF Online referencing guide (Cite them Right) • https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/50/leeds_harvard_introduction • https://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/studysupport/studyskills/referencing.aspx provides a list of resources for help with referencing using different standard styles. • The reference source for Harvard and other styles is recorded in British Standards Institution (1990) BS5605:1990 Recommendations for citing and referencing published material. Milton Keynes, BSI. The library holds this reference book. There are reference management software packages (e.g. Endnote Online) available that do the job for you and can save time once you have learnt how to use them. Such software can also be useful for organising the journal articles and other sources you download. You can find out more about Endnote at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/library/support/findinginfo/literature-references/endnote/

Note: If you use software this you will still need to be able to recognise and correct errors and inconsistencies in your referencing.

Academic Misconduct Each year, a number of students commit Academic Misconduct such as plagiarism, contract cheating or cheating in examinations. The University takes these cases very seriously, and the consequences can be very grave. Some students found by a serious plagiarism panel to have plagiarised other people’s work or to have cheated in an exam, have been awarded a mark of zero for their unit so they are not permitted to progress in their studies and have to exit with a lower qualification than the one they registered for. Others are unable to enter their chosen professions on account of their record of dishonesty. It is therefore essential that you are familiar with the main types of examination offence and avoid them at all costs. The three most common types of offence are: plagiarism, having unauthorised materials in an examination, and collusion.

Plagiarism Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else's work as though it were your own. This can take several forms, including: Obtaining an essay, e.g. from the Internet or another provider, and submitting it as your own work either in part or in full. Where this is obtained from a commercial website (such as an ‘essay mill’) it is known as ‘contract cheating’. Obtaining an essay through ‘contract cheating’ is considered a serious transgression of the academic integrity values practised across the University. According to University guidance on ‘contract cheating’ (Section 2.3), it will be “considered to be a deliberate attempt to deceive and will therefore likely be judged a serious case of academic misconduct.” Using another student’s work and submitting it as your own work either in part or in full. Self-Plagiarism, i.e. reusing your own material which you have already submitted elsewhere without referencing it.

Copying, or electronically cutting and pasting, sections (i.e. a whole sentence or more) of someone's work, without using quotation marks to clearly mark what text is not yours. This includes material from the Internet. This is still plagiarism, even if you change a few words or leave out some of the sentences in a passage. Putting quotation marks round odd sentences and giving the full citation for those will not prevent any material outside the quotation marks from being assessed as plagiarism. When students are identified as doing this, they often say that they had made notes, or cut and pasted bits of sources into a notes file, and then forgot that these were verbatim rather than their own paraphrase or re-wording of the original. This is not an acceptable excuse. It is your responsibility to make sure that you keep track of your notes and material. You should always keep a record of where notes come from, including page numbers where relevant. This is part of the study skills we expect you to develop as a postgraduate at Bristol, and so you can expect us to treat such plagiarism more severely as you progress through your studies. Ultimately, if you do this extensively in work submitted as part of your final assessment, it’s possible your mark will be reduced mark of zero for that unit, something that could affect your final degree award. If you are in any doubt about this, please talk to your personal tutor and/or individual unit tutors and get advice on good practice in note taking and the use of quotations. ‘Borrowing’ the structure of an argument from another writer and following this too closely, presenting it as your own, without acknowledgement. You may not actually copy verbatim sections from the original, but you are still presenting someone else’s ideas and work as your own. Depending on the extent to which you do this, it may make it difficult to assess the work as your own and could result in your mark being reduced to zero for the unit. Again, please ask for help and support if you are in any doubt about this. Passages quoted from other authors, or from your own previous work, must be identified in quotations and the sources of the quoted material must be acknowledged by the student. Use of unacknowledged sources may be construed as plagiarism. More information about plagiarism and the use of paraphrasing can be found at: www.bristol.ac.uk/esu/studentlearning/plagiarism/

The University of Bristol, like most UK universities, uses JISC Turnitin UK Plagiarism Detection Software. This system detects similarities with internet sources, other students’ work, books and journal articles. Assignments are routinely run through Turnitin software and any with any instances of extensive or suspected deliberate similarity with other sources being considered further either at School or Faculty level: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/tel/support/tools/turnitin/ All Schools in the Faculty run sessions on good academic practice and avoidance of plagiarism at various points during the academic year. You should attend these sessions to ensure you follow correct referencing procedures and have a full understanding of what is required in submitting assignments.

The Faculty of Arts has developed A Guide to Referencing Academic Work, which consists of an interactive tutorial designed to teach students where and how to reference academic work such as essays and dissertations. Guidance is provided on the correct use of two different methods of academic citation: the Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA) system, in which references are contained in footnotes and a bibliography, and the Harvard, or 'author-date' system, where brief citations are placed in brackets within the text and full references are included in a reference list. It also provides a Revision quiz, which includes of a series of exercises to test your understanding of referencing and plagiarism. You are strongly encouraged to use this quiz to identify any gaps in your knowledge and highlight areas of the tutorial you may need to revisit. 41

In addition to the guidance provided by your School, the Library and the student union also provide information on avoiding plagiarism: www.bristol.ac.uk/library/support/findinginfo/plagiarism/ https://www.bristolsu.org.uk/resources/just-ask-booklet-plagiarism

Collusion Collusion is unauthorised collaboration with another student to produce work together. While we expect you to work co-operatively in some of your seminars and classes, and we are always pleased when students enjoy discussing their work with each other, what you submit for assessment must be your own. As a rule of thumb, you should never share any electronic or other written material relating to an assessment task with another student. The risk is too great. In very particular circumstances, which will be clearly identified, you may be asked to submit group work, but even then you will be asked to identify your contribution. If we cannot distinguish your work from that of someone else, we cannot assess it and it is very likely to receive a mark of zero. Because of the gravity with which we regard plagiarism, we have developed ways of detecting it, including the electronic scrutiny of work through Turnitin. You are required to submit all of your summative assessments in electronic form.

Procedures The University has a set of procedures for dealing with allegations or suspicions that plagiarism or an examination offence has occurred. Small irregularities which amount to poor academic practice can be dealt with as a matter of marking and the student later notified. Cases involving the suspicion of plagiarism or other offence will be considered by either a School Panel or a Faculty Panel, depending on the seriousness. Small volumes of plagiarised material may be treated as minor, substantial amounts of plagiarised material; unauthorised materials in examinations and collusion are serious. Minor cases are dealt with by a School Panel; serious cases by a Faculty Panel chaired by the Faculty Plagiarism Officer. In such cases, the student will be interviewed. A summary of what students can expect in a panel is on page 4 of the Just Ask Bristol SU guide. If the panel is satisfied that there is no evidence of dishonesty, i.e. no deliberate attempt to gain an unfair advantage, or no need to treat the matter as requiring disciplinary action by the University, a recommendation as to the appropriate penalty will be made to the Board of Examiners. If, however, the committee thinks there is evidence of dishonesty, the matter may be dealt with further under University Disciplinary Regulations. The University Examination Regulations outline the procedures to be followed in cases of student plagiarism and cheating, and can be found at: www.bris.ac.uk/secretary/studentrulesregs/examregs.html. Please also look at the Faculty Postgraduate Handbook where there is a more detailed explanation section of what we consider to be plagiarism, and at the University Regulations and Procedures Relating to Plagiarism which can be found at: www.bristol.ac.uk/esu/studentlearning/plagiarism/. It is your responsibility to read these! You will see from these that there can be very serious consequences, including the possibility that you would not be awarded a degree at all, or that your degree classification would be lowered. Some of the very serious forms of plagiarism may be treated as 42

disciplinary offences. Because of the seriousness with which we regard plagiarism, we scrutinise work submitted for assessment using the Turnitin Plagiarism Detection software. For this reason, you are required to submit all work electronically, through Blackboard.

NB: The extensive use of material which you have written as part of an assignment for one unit in another unit assignment (whether at this university or another university) is ‘self- plagiarism’. It is easily detected by Turnitin. In Master’s programmes, there is sometimes an overlap in assignments, for example, because they may ask you to develop a research proposal. Clearly, you must not submit essentially the same proposal for more than one unit. However, you may draw on this material for your dissertation, so long as your unit assignment is clearly referenced at the beginning and end of the included material. For example, you might write: “The policy context/theoretical framework/methodology [as appropriate] discussed in the following section was previously presented as part of my/the author’s assignment for Further Qualitative Research. …[at the end of the section] (Author, FQual assignment, 2013). Subsequent reflection on this proposal suggested that… [new material]. If you are uncertain about self-plagiarism, you are strongly advised to speak to your personal tutor, dissertation supervisor or the programme director.

Plagiarism procedures The University's Examination Regulations state that 'Any thesis, dissertation, essay, or other course work must be the student’s own work and must not contain plagiarised material. Any instance of plagiarism in such coursework will be treated as an offence under these regulations.' (Section 3.1) The Examination Regulations give information on the University's procedures for dealing with cases of plagiarism in undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes of study (Section 4). The specific options available to a school (section 4.4.8) or faculty (section 4.5.8) plagiarism panel range from dismissing the case, awarding lower marks to referring the case to the student disciplinary procedure (Sections 4.4.10 or 4.5.12 or 4.8) https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/academic-quality/documents/taught- code/annexes/university-examination-regulations.pdf Note: Unit assignments are checked through Turnitin for suspected plagiarism.

Awards: Taught Postgraduate Modular Programmes The taught component mark is calculated by averaging the relevant weighted individual unit marks. The result of the calculation should then be rounded to the nearest integer. The weighting of each unit mark, in calculating the ‘taught component mark’, will correspond to the credit point value of the unit. See Annex 11 of the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes for an example of how to do this calculation. An award with Merit or Distinction is permitted for postgraduate taught masters, diplomas and certificates, where these are specifically named entry-level qualifications. An award with Merit or Distinction is not permitted for exit awards where students are required to exit the programme on academic grounds. An exit award with Merit or Distinction (classified exit award) may be permitted where students leave their intended programme because of an exceptional circumstance. 43

The classification of the award in relation to the overall taught component mark and the dissertation mark is as follows (Faculties retain discretion to increase these thresholds): Award with Distinction at least 65 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for Master’s awards, at least 70 out of 100 for the dissertation. Award with Merit at least 60 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for Master’s awards, at least 60 out of 100 for the dissertation. Pass at least 50 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for Master’s awards, at least 50 out of 100 for the dissertation. Fail 49 or below out of 100 for the taught component overall or, where relevant, 49 or below out of 100 for the dissertation. For full information, see section 39 of Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

Note: Where a student has achieved a near-pass mark (45 or over but less than 50 out of 100) for the dissertation and, in addition, the examiners recommend that it is suitable for re-assessment, the relevant Board of Examiners may decide to permit the student to re-submit the dissertation, or equivalent. Re-submission of the dissertation where the student has achieved a mark less than 45 out of 100 will be permitted where failure is due to validated extenuating circumstances (see sec. 17 of the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).

Title of Awards The MSc (180 credits) is awarded for the successful completion of six 20-credit units plus a dissertation (equivalent of three units). The Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits) is awarded for the successful completion of six 20- credit units but does not require a dissertation. The Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits) is awarded for the successful completion of three 20-credit units equivalent to 60 credits. The award of the MSc, PG Diploma and PG Certificate requires all assessed work to achieve a mark of at least 50.

6. EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES

If you feel your work has been affected by illness or other causes, you may notify the Programme Exam Board and ask for extenuating circumstances to be taken into account. Please read section 19 of Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes. This will explain what we mean by extenuating circumstances and the procedures followed. A student guide to extenuating circumstances is also available at: https://www.bristolsu.org.uk/justask/extenuating-circumstances Extenuating circumstances are circumstances external to study within the university that a student believes has affected their performance in assessment.

The effects that properly reported extenuating circumstances have on a student’s performance must be considered by boards of examiners when making progression, completion or classification decisions. If students want to present a case to the Programme Examination Board for extenuating circumstances to be taken into account in the treatment of your marks, you must complete the University’s form for extenuating circumstances (available at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/services/forms/ or on the Programme Blackboard) and submit the form to the Programme Office. The absolute deadline for receipt of this form will be the day before the Exam Board Meeting. Relevant evidence must be provided. Such cases are considered by a small subgroup of the Examination Board (Extenuating Circumstances Committee), which then makes a recommendation to the Examination Board. All such cases are dealt with anonymously at the Programme Examination Board. Note: If you do not raise such matters before the meeting of the Examination Board without “good reason”, they will not be considered if you later appeal against the decision of the Board of Examiners.

7. ABSENCES, ATTENDANCE, EXTENSIONS AND SUSPENSIONS

Student Absence due to illness or other causes

During the teaching period If a student is absent due to illness or other cause for up to and including seven consecutive days in the teaching period, they should inform the School as soon as possible and complete an absence form (available from: www.bristol.ac.uk/students/services/forms/). If a student is absent due to illness or other cause for more than seven consecutive days in the teaching period, they should inform the School as soon as possible and complete an extenuating circumstances form. Additional evidence for the absence may be required, e.g. if the absence is due to illness the student should also attend an appointment with a Medical Practitioner (e.g. a GP) (with the completed form) to obtain a medical certificate (‘sick-note’). Both the form and any documented evidence must then be submitted to the relevant school office.

If an absence from the teaching period means a student is unable to submit a summative coursework assignment by the agreed deadline, the student should contact the School and request an extension before the assignment deadline and may need to complete an extenuating circumstances form. The School may ask for evidence of the reason for the absence in agreeing an extension to a deadline.

Students who are ill for a period of time during the teaching period, whether close to the deadline or not, must submit work on time unless an extension has been agreed by the School. The School will not accept late submission without penalty where no extension has been granted.

For further information, please refer to the University policy on “Student Absence Due to Illness or Other Cause” available at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/academic-quality/assessment/regulations-and-code-of-practice-for- taught-programmes/student-absence/

Note: If you are an international student and hold a Tier 4 visa, please be aware that it is important to keep us informed of any absence and the reasons for it, as we are required to report on points of contact with you.

Attendance and progress monitoring All taught postgraduate students are monitored in terms of attendance and performance on the programme. Students are required to maintain a very good level of attendance and remain engaged with their programme of study. Students who fail to maintain good attendance may be referred by the School to the Faculty. On the basis of the information received, the Faculty will contact the student to check on their status and/or make changes to their student status as appropriate to the circumstances (e.g. deem them withdrawn or suspended). In order to fulfil its statutory obligations, Schools are required to monitor the attendance of Tier 4 students via expected contact points between students and their programme of study, and report on these monthly through an online monitoring system. Expected contacts may include, but are not limited to, the following: • Attendance at lectures, tutorials or seminars • Attendance at test, examinations or assessment board • Attendance at practicals, laboratory session or, clinical sessions • Submission of assessed or un-assessed coursework • Submission of dissertation/coursework/reports • Attendance at any meeting with a supervisor or personal tutor • Attendance at an appointment with a welfare advisor or an international student advisor and • Attendance on field trips.

Unit study extensions / extension of study If you require an extension to a deadline for an assessment, you must request this in advance. Please look on the Programme’s Blackboard site for information about how you do this for your programme. If you require an extension for your dissertation, which will mean you do not complete your programme of study at the normal time, an extension of study will need to be agreed by the Faculty Graduate Dean. It will only be granted where there are good grounds, supporting documentation (e.g. a medical note from a GP). There will need to be clear evidence of satisfactory progress for an extension request to be granted. Please see the Faculty Handbook, and section 36 of the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes for information. Please contact the Postgraduate Student Administrator for a copy of the extension of study form. Note: Please remember that deadlines for submission are set within the examination board timetable. Any extension for submission may have an impact on when your work can be received by an exam board and ultimately may affect whether you can complete your programme and so graduate within the normal timeframe.

Suspension of study Students do not have the automatic right to suspend their studies. The University expects students to complete their study in a single continuous period. As a suspension of study will interrupt a student’s progress on their programme, it will only be granted where there are good grounds and supporting documentation (e.g. a report from a registered medical 46

practitioner) and will need to be agreed by the Faculty Graduate Dean. If you think you may need to suspend studies, please discuss this with your Personal Tutor and Programme Director as early as possible. Please see the Faculty Handbook, and section 8 of the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes for further information. Please contact the Postgraduate Student Administrator for a personalised suspension of studies form.

8. UNIVERSITY LIBRARY SERVICE

The University library provides access to and support for millions of research and learning resources in print and online. The University Library is committed to providing high-quality facilities and services to enrich scholarship at the University. The Arts and Social Sciences Library is one of 9 libraries that make up the University Library system. Most of the material for the programmes in The School for Policy Studies is housed in this library, but you will find that other libraries, such as Education and Medical may contain material relevant to your studies. All University students are entitled to use and borrow from any of the libraries. For further details, see http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/

How to register for the Library A UCard (which also acts as a library card) will be given to students as part of the University registration procedures and will be valid for the whole of the programme and for all of our libraries.

The Arts and Social Sciences Library The Arts and Social Sciences Library University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue Bristol BS8 1TJ General Enquiries Telephone: (0117) 928 8000 Email: [email protected] Internet: http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/ Twitter: Follow the University Library on @BristolUniLib

Libraries and University Study Centres Library location and opening hours http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/locations-opening/

Find a study space http://www.bris.ac.uk/students/study-spaces/

Subject librarian for the School for Policy Studies Emma Allison is the Policy Studies Subject Librarian. She will be glad to help you with any enquiries you may have about the library’s collections, literature searches, and online resources.

Tel: +44 (0)117 4282189 / (0)117 3940465 Email: [email protected]

Finding material using ‘Library Search’ To find out what print and electronic resources the Library provides access to, a good place to start your search is by using ‘Library Search’ which provides a single search interface for searching the Library’s printed and online collections, together with millions of scholarly eresources all at the same time. ‘Library Search’ is available on the Library home page. There are 2 search options on ‘Library Search’ Search everything – is the default search option and allows you to search for both print and electronic resources available from our own University Collections in all 9 of our libraries and in addition, will search a huge collection of journal articles from various publishers and database producers. UOB Collections – will search for details of both print and electronic books, electronic journals, print journals, pamphlets, reports, newspapers, theses, and audio-visual materials available in all 9 libraries. You can access ‘Library Search’ from any public access computers in both the libraries and University Study Centres. There are fast access PCs in each library which are solely for users wishing to use ‘Library Search’ as you do not need to login to these computers. ‘Library Search’ will give you the shelf location/classmark for printed materials that we have in our collections, please ask if you cannot find any items in our collections. For online resources such as ebooks, journal articles, ejournals and online theses, a link will be available to view that publication online.

Borrowing material In the Arts and Social Sciences Library there are self-issue terminals, so you can borrow books whenever the Library is open. To self-issue you will need your Ucard and your library PIN number. You can find your PIN number from ‘MyBristol’ - your space on the University portal, or you can ask in the Library. For more information on borrowing see: http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/use/borrowing/

Reserving books - important information From ‘Library Search’ you can also make your own online reservations for any items you wish to borrow that are currently out on loan. You will be contacted by email once the material has been returned to the Library and reserved books are kept for users on the reservations shelf for a limited period of time. It is important that you reserve any items that are out on loan that you want to see. If you do not reserve them, they will be renewed automatically for the current borrower and the loan extended indefinitely on their library account. Making a reservation has the effect of generating a notice to the borrower asking them to return the item to the library as it is needed by someone else.

‘Your Library Account’ You can access your personal Library Account from ‘MyBristol’ your space on the University portal. Once you are logged in, you may view your account details, including each item you have borrowed and when it is due back. Your loans will automatically be renewed for you and the 48

loan period extended, unless another user reserves an item you have borrowed. If this happens you will be notified and asked to return the item to the Library.

Finding Electronic full text journals - access on and off-campus In addition to the library’s print collection of journals, access to the contents of over 40,000 full text electronic journals is available online via the Library’s eJournals web page at: http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/find/ejournals/ Type in the full title of the journal you are looking for, in the box entitled ‘Find eJournal by title’ - use the title of the journal not the title of any article you are looking for. If we have full text access to the journal, you can then navigate to the volume, issue and pages you want.

Off-campus access - You have access to these journals and their contents from any public access PC on the University campus and you can also access these resources off-campus too. For more information on Remote/Off-campus access go to: http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/find/access-eresources/ Scroll down the page to see detailed instructions on how to access electronic resources off- campus, (these include both ejournals and databases) either by using the ‘Student Remote Desktop’, or by setting up the University’s ‘Off-site Proxy’ service on your computer.

Inter-Library loans Material that is not available anywhere in the University Library may be obtained using the Inter-Library loans service. At present you may request up to 3 items during the year, if you need any more ILL items you should discuss this with your Subject Librarian before submitting any further requests. Further information about Inter-Library loans and making an ILL request is available at: http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/find/inter-loans/

Printing and photocopying All students will have a university printing account and print credits may be purchased online. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/it-services/applications/printing/printcredit.html/ Credits allow you to print from the PCs or photocopy from the networked photocopiers in the Library. Printing credits currently cost 5p for an A4 black and white copy. Colour photocopying/printing are also available but are more expensive than black and white. You can logon to a photocopier by using the touch screen on the copier and then entering your UOB username and password or by scanning your Ucard on the Ucard reader attached to the photocopier. Remember to ‘Logout’ when you have finished, by pressing the ID button to prevent other people making copies at your expense. Alternatively you can use ‘Print release’ - an easy way for our users to send documents to print and then collect them from any networked Canon printer/photocopier on the student printing system. Further details about how this system works are available at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/it-services/applications/printing/printrelease.html

Finding and using resources for research - Subject support pages http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/subject-support/ The subject support pages will give you access to more subject resources – the most relevant pages will be those for Policy Studies or Exercise, Nutrition and Health. Choose the subject support page for your programme. The support pages also give you help on evaluating academic resources, information on how to research for your topic, avoid plagiarism and how to reference correctly including the use of bibliographic referencing software such as EndNote.

Library Research Support pages The Library supports the research activities of the University and the support team offers help in the following areas, Open access publishing, Research data management and Access to our special archival and rare book collections. Further information and advice is available at: http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/research-support/

Finding journal articles, literature searching and online databases available One of the most effective ways to find relevant, good quality information for your work is to access and search the online databases that the University Library subscribes to. The most useful databases for are Medline on OVID SP, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science Core Collection, SCOPUS, Embase, PsycINFO and Biosis Citation Index. All of these databases are available online and you can access them both on and off-campus. Other useful databases are: International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Sociological Abstracts, Social Care Online, and Social Services Abstracts. All of these databases are available online and you can access them both on and off-campus. To find a more detailed listing of relevant databases for your subject go to the Library home page at: http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/ • Click on 'Find books, articles and more' then click on 'Recommended databases'. • You will see here a complete alphabetical A-Z listing of databases available which you can scroll down and browse, or if you are looking for a specific database you can search to see if we have access to it, by typing the title of the database into the search box provided at the top of the screen. • Another option is to Filter by subject • The most relevant subjects on the drop down list will be Policy Studies, Exercise Nutrition and Health and Medicine • Each listing will show you an alphabetical list of databases relevant to the subject. • Each database will be accompanied by a short description of its content and coverage. To access and search any of the databases, click on the link for the database. This connects you to the database and you can then do a subject search on a topic of interest to you.

Library Accessibility and Support Service The University Library recognises the difficulties part-time students, mature students, carers, distance learners, those on placement, and those with disabilities (including dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties) and short-term health care needs, encounter in being able 50

to study and use library facilities. Therefore the ‘Accessibility and Support Service’ provides additional services for users, such as photocopying and the posting out of books, journal articles and book chapters. The service is based in the Arts and Social Sciences Library and further details of services they provide can be found at: http://www.bris.ac.uk/library/accessibility-support/

Using other UK Higher Education Libraries, the SCONUL Access Scheme The University Library is a member of the SCONUL Access Scheme. SCONUL Access is a co-operative venture between a large number of higher education libraries, making it easier for students to use libraries conveniently near to home or work, throughout the year. Taught postgraduates at the University of Bristol can apply to use other UK higher education libraries. Some libraries now allow taught postgraduates to borrow books, although many will only offer reading and reference rights. Further information about the scheme and how to join is available at: https://www.sconul.ac.uk/sconul-access

9. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTING SERVICES

IT Services provides IT information for students. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/it-services/info/students.html The Guide to IT services for new students provides a full list of computing and IT services available to you as a University of Bristol student. The University has provision for students in university residences to access the university network and the internet from their rooms. Please refer to the resnet site, www.resnet.bristol.ac.uk/ You will require a certain minimum level of IT skills to meet the requirements of your course. These are detailed in Appendix 3, and you should check that you can perform the tasks mentioned. There are a number of computer suites available around the University precinct, some of which are open on a 24-hour basis. Further information on locations and access can be found at https://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/study-spaces/. The majority of the Faculty is wireless enabled. Signs show where there are wireless hotspots in the Social Sciences and Faculty Building at 8 Woodland Road. Nothing should be saved on (nor deleted from) the hard drives on University PCs (this includes “Desktop”, “C” drive, “My Documents”). If you do save something in these locations, the University reserves the right to wipe it clean without letting you know. Bring your own, virus-free, memory sticks or writable CDs, (available from Students’ Union on Queens Rd – see Precinct Plan in Appendix 1) or use your allocated Microsoft OneDrive space (2TB of storage). More information on Microsoft OneDrive available at: https://support.office.com/en- gb/onedrive (sign-in using your username in the format [email protected])

All students are eligible for an email account and most have an account set up automatically before they start their programme. You can access your email using MyBristol or Outlook. Students are encouraged to use MyBristol, the University of Bristol portal, for accessing university services (including Blackboard VLE, email, course and exam information) by logging into the portal at: https://mybristol.bris.ac.uk/mybristol/ from any internet connected system, no matter where they are in the world. You are also encouraged to use the Student Remote Desktop. This service allows you to access the University from any computer with an Internet connection. You will have a full remote desktop, which works in exactly the same way as if you were sat at a PC on Campus. You will have access to your central filespace (OneDrive), most departmental file stores and all of the common University applications www.bristol.ac.uk/it- services/advice/homeusers/remote/studentdesktop

Student laptop and mobile clinic The laptop and mobile clinic is a free service to help students who are having problems with laptops, tablets or smartphones.

10. OTHER INFORMATION

Study time for each unit It is important that you understand how much work we are expecting from you as a student. The University guidelines state that one credit point is broadly equivalent to 10 hours of total student input. This includes teaching, private study, revision and assessments. Therefore a 20 credit point unit will normally require 200 hours of student time. The University wishes to ensure that paid work does not adversely affect the academic progress of its students, while understanding the need to work in order to earn money. We therefore advise that, for full time students, up to, but not more than 15 hours a week paid work is reasonable, over the course of the academic year.

University’s lecture recording system Re/Play is the University's centrally supported lecture capture platform. It allows the creation, editing, publishing (via Blackboard) and management of Rich Media content. For more information about Re/Play visit: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/digital-education/support/tools/replay/

Study support Beyond the School, there are a range of resources available to you to support your study. This webpage will give you access to a range of courses, workshops and online resources: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/study/. The resources and training sessions are designed to complement and support the teaching, advice and assignment criteria you receive as part of your programme, helping you achieve

your highest potential. For further information, please visit Skills development and training website for current students: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/study/skills-development/ If English is not your first language, you may be encouraged to get additional language tuition if you have only achieved the entry level language score (e.g. IELTS score 6.5). If you feel your language skills need improving then contact the Centre for Academic Language and Development, Richmond Building, 105 Queen's Road, Bristol BS8 1LN. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/english-language/. Their programmes will help you to improve your command of English in connection with (1) your subject area, (2) the study skills necessary for study in a British University, and (3) the ‘social’ English you will need to settle down and concentrate on your studies. This is especially important given our preference for less formal teaching methods.

International students The University provides the help and support to new international students when you arrive at Bristol and how to get involved with University life. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/new/new-international/ Also the International Students’ Handbook is a useful resource to new international students. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/students/new- students/BU_P11198_International%20Handbook_2019_A5_12_Digital_FINAL.pdf Between 9th and 27th September 2019, the International Welcome Lounge will be open on the 4th floor of the Richmond Building. This space is for all incoming international students at all levels. A number of Welcome Events for International Students are delivered: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/students/new-students/Welcome-Lounge-events- schedule-2019_WEB_links.pdf Our Student Visa Advisers support students on matters related to immigration status. Advisers can offer guidance to prospective and current students. Advisers help students ensure they meet UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requirements and rules. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/directory/visas/ The Students’ Health Service website also provides useful information for international students: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/students-health/international-students/

Additional Programme Costs All students on taught programmes will need to purchase some materials associated with their programme during their time at the University. This will include basic stationery, photocopying and printing cards, course text books (if any), computers and software, dissertation project costs, and possibly offsite visits. If you have any further questions about additional expenses for your programme, please contact the Programme Director.

Student Complaints Procedure If a student has a complaint about any aspect of University life, it should be raised with an appropriate person at the earliest opportunity. Complaints that are dealt with informally at an early stage have the best chance of being resolved effectively. Students may raise complaints jointly if they wish. In the first instance you should raise a grievance, problem or complaint with the individual concerned. If this does not feel appropriate, or does not resolve the matter, please talk to your Personal Tutor or to the Programme Director. You may also approach either the Director of Post Graduate Taught Programme or the Head of Schoo. The student complaints procedure can be found at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media- library/sites/secretary/documents/student-rules-and- regs/studentcomplaintsprocedure1920.pdf

Student Appeals Procedure If you wish to appeal about a decision of a Faculty exam board, you need to consult the University exam regulations, which explain the grounds for an appeal and the procedure to follow. Please talk to your Programme Director if you think you want to appeal an exam board decision. Also, please contact Bristol SU Just Ask for advice on academic related matters. If the matter cannot be resolved by talking to people within the School, you may also contact the Graduate Dean of the Faculty. Beyond the Faculty, you can contact the University Student Complaints Officer. Please read the information about student appeals and complaints in the Faculty Handbook and on the University Secretary’s Office website (Rules and regulations for students) before taking any action: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/student-rules-regs/.

Disability Support The University of Bristol and the School for Policy Studies have a commitment to encourage disabled students to study at the University and to respond to their needs, both academic and social. We aim to ensure that participation in all aspects of University life is full and successful for all students. The School for Policy Studies’ Disability Statement is Appendix A of this handbook. Your Personal Tutor is your first point of contact if you are experiencing difficulties, but you can also contact the School Disability Co-ordinator who is our Student Administration Manager, Fiona Tonagh and our Deputy Student Administration Manager, Jim Evans. Outside the School, the University‘s Disability Services provides information, advice and support: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/disability-services

Fees and Funding Your University education is a significant investment and it is important that you consider how you will meet the expenses involved. The University's Student Funding Office will provide all the support you need to explore options for funding and take control of your finances. For further information, see http://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/fees-and-funding/

Safety and Health Services You can find information relating to health and safety, specific safety themes and the Occupational Health Services at: www.bristol.ac.uk/safety/

Student Services You can find regularly updated information relating to all aspects of your life at the university, including accommodation, finance, and equal opportunities on the University’s student help pages http://www.bristol.ac.uk/studentservices/.

Beyond Your Degree

Careers Service The careers service, located at 5 Tyndall Avenue, can provide careers information and advice, and provide practical help in obtaining employment. The careers service provides career-orientated workshops, practice interviews and individual guidance as well as a variety of courses to help develop student employability. It also offers support and resources to help students applying and considering placements, including a range of placement opportunities. Many employers visit the university both to advise the careers service on the skills they are looking for in graduates and to meet and interview potential recruits. For further info, please visit www.bristol.ac.uk/careers

Doctoral Study The School offers opportunities for undertaking doctoral studies through the PhD programmes. The School for Policy Studies is an exciting environment for postgraduate research. It particularly welcomes students wishing to pursue topics with direct relevance to national and international policy concerns and can offer supervision across a number of disciplines and subject areas. Examples of thesis topics of recent/current students include: ➢ Combating labour market disadvantage among black and other ethnic minority groups. ➢ Justice in public policy: Hong Kong housing policy as a case study. ➢ The organisation of work and production: effects of workplace changes on personal, family and community life. ➢ The impact of human rights organisations in shaping UN policy. ➢ An ethnographic study of life in a male prison and the impact of prison culture on mental health. ➢ The production and control of social harm. ➢ Men and masculinity within a reproductive discourse. ➢ The new business of aid: the policies and politics of British Development Agencies and NGOs in Southern Africa. ➢ Domestic Violence in China.

For further details about postgraduate study in the School for Policy Studies, please visit: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sps/study/postgraduate/

South West Doctoral Training Partnership The South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP) builds on the success of the South West Doctoral Training Centre (SWDTC) which was established in 2011 by the Universities of Bath, Bristol and Exeter. We have extended our strategic partnership to include the University of Plymouth and the University of the West of England (UWE), bringing together social science academic leaders across our 17 disciplinary and interdisciplinary pathways. The SWDTP has been accredited by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC) and has been allocated 45 ESRC studentships annually. As one of only 14 partnerships in the UK, it is part of a national network that is training a new generation of social scientists. For further information you may like to look at the following web sites: http://www.swdtp.ac.uk/

DISCLAIMER The information in this handbook relates to the current academic year. Although it is correct at the time of going to press, amendments may be made from time to time without notice both in relation to the course and the facilities or services available from or provided by the School for Policy Studies and/or the University. The University reserves the right to withdraw or change courses. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, e.g. electronically, mechanical photocopying, recording, fibre-optic or otherwise without the permission of the University of Bristol. Such permission will normally be freely given to educational institutions, careers advisors and individuals who are intending to make applications or admissions.

APPENDIX A: Information for disabled1 students

The University of Bristol has a commitment to encourage disabled students to study at the University and to respond to their needs, both academic and social. It also aims to ensure that all students are able to participate in all aspects of University life fully and successfully. The Equality Act 2010 requires that people have equal opportunities to benefit from, and contribute to, the learning and services available in higher education institutions. 1Since some people may not self-define as disabled (for example if they have dyslexia or mental health difficulties), we want to make it clear that this section provides information intended to be relevant to people with a range of impairments whether or not they consider themselves disabled.

Accessibility and Practical Issues The School for Policy Studies complex consists of 5 buildings (6,7,8 Priory Road, 10 and 12 Woodland Road). All buildings except No 12 Woodland Road are partially accessible. The Reception area in 8 Priory Rd, the programme offices in 6 Priory Rd and some teaching rooms in the complex are fully accessible. The main School entrance in 8 Priory Rd has automatic doors and is generally staffed by the School’s Receptionist who will be able to assist you with access to other parts of the complex. Accessible toilets are available in all of the School’s buildings, however those in 10 Woodland Rd and 6 Priory Rd are accessible via basement entrances only. The toilets on the ground floors of 7 and 8 Priory Rd are more easily accessible. Some teaching is likely to be outside of the SPS complex in nearby modern blocks with level access/lifts, and accessible toilets. It is recommended that students with mobility or other impairments visit the School at an early stage. Please contact the Administrator for your programme to make the necessary arrangements. The University's buildings are extremely diverse and include both purpose-built properties and buildings converted from other uses. This means that wheelchair access into and within buildings is variable and access for students with mobility impairments can be restricted. The University will make every effort, where practicable, to improve access to its buildings, but cannot guarantee that all of them will be completely accessible. There are car parks in several locations in the precinct, as well as at Halls of Residence, and some of these have designated spaces for disabled drivers. It is generally possible to make arrangements for individual students, enabling them to have a reserved space reasonably close to their academic department. The Arts and Social Sciences Library has level access at ground floor level with access to a staff lift for disabled users within the Library. For further information see http://www.bristol.ac.uk/is/info/disabledusers/

Course material and assessment It is possible to provide alternative formats of course materials, e.g. large print, electronic format, coloured paper, Braille.

Reasonable adjustments may be considered and agreed by the School. For example, extensions for assessed work can be negotiated and alternative arrangements for examinations can also be made.

Support services

University The University’s Disability Services offers support for disabled students. It provides: • Confidential information, advice and guidance. • A personal Disability Support Summary (DSS) detailing agreed support needs, including alternative exam arrangements. • Help arranging funded study support such as notetaking, specialist mentoring and 1:1 study skills tuition. • Advice and guidance on applying for Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) funding. • Liaison with academic schools and other services to advise on reasonable adjustments. UK home students can normally apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSAs) to fund specialist study support. DSAs come from the UK government and are used to fund both undergraduate and postgraduate students. DSA are grants, not loans, so there is never anything to pay back. Specialist support may include assistive software and equipment, academic mentoring to help manage being at university with an ongoing health condition or mental health difficulty, or study skills tuition. We advise all disabled UK home students to apply for DSA. Apply early to make sure that your funding is in place when you start at University. Please contact Disability Services for further information and advice Please note that disabled international/EU students are not entitled to the Disabled Student’s Allowance to cover any support costs. They are expected to make every effort to secure funding prior to entry from their own country. International and EU students are encouraged to contact the Disability Services as soon as possible before arrival (see contact details below) to discuss their options. The Student Union also supports disabled students. Contact www.ubu.org.uk (Tel: 0117 331 8600). The University library has specific services and support for disabled students and a nominated member of staff. See Library information for disabled users at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/is/info/disabledusers/

School for Policy Studies The Admissions Tutor/Programme Director for your course should be your first point of contact. S/he • Will provide information on specific programme requirements e.g. study time (and placements where relevant), programme contact hours per week, number of hours spent in reading and writing, and implications for the individual. • Will discuss any support or access requirements you may require when attending/studying at the School for Policy Studies. For example, do you have particular requirements for support that need to be planned in advance or do you need course materials in alternative formats? • Can discuss with you what information (if any) you are willing to divulge to relevant staff.

For some students, a pre-programme visit to the site may be advisable to allow a more detailed discussion about their programme, this site and any strategies that may need to be developed to assist them. Where funds allow, reasonable expenses for a pre-programme visit may be paid by the School. This must be agreed via the Programme Administrator for your programme in advance of the visit.

School Disability Coordinator It is a University requirement that each School appoints a disability coordinator whose role is to act as a channel for information about disability, and to provide a point of contact for staff and students in the School in relation to disability issues. Fiona Tonagh (SAM) and Jim Evans (DSAM) are the School Disability Coordinators. In addition to your contact with Programme staff or personal tutors about your disability, they are also available to offer advice and assistance. Email: [email protected]

“Early contact is essential” Students are strongly advised to make early contact with: 1. The Programme Director/Admissions Tutor/Personal Tutor (whichever is relevant). 2. Disability Services to discuss your requirements and any application for the Disabled Students Allowance or other relevant funding. 3. Your Local Education Authority or funding body to discuss your needs and requirements. 4. You are also welcome to contact Fiona Tonagh or Jim Evans, School for Policy Studies Disability Coordinators

Useful contacts Within the University Disability Services LGF Hampton House, St Michaels Hill, Bristol, BS6 6JS. Web: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/disability-services/ Tel: 0117 331 0444 Email: [email protected] University of Bristol Student Union Web: http://www.ubu.org.uk Tel: 0117 331 8600 Student Funding Office Ground Floor, Senate House, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TH Web: http://www.bris.ac.uk/studentfunding/ Tel: 0117 331 7972 Email: [email protected]

APPENDIX B: Precinct Map and Travel Information

Main reception, 8 Priory Road (building 46 on the map) The School for Policy Studies occupies buildings 45 thru 48 (see map).

Travel information There are detailed maps and travel information available on the University's web pages.

APPENDIX C: Harvard system of referencing

There are conventions to be followed when citing the work of others. We use the Harvard convention and the examples that follow are based on it. For example, you may want to let the reader know that you are aware of the work of particular authors, eg. Lewis and Meredith’s work about carers. You could indicate as follows: ‘Recent research on caring (Lewis and Meredith,2011) suggests that ...... ’ You may also wish to include a short quotation from a book or article. In that case, you would write it, including the page number, as: ‘Recent calls to develop a “more caring, relationship-centred perspective” (Lewis and Meredith, 2011: 159) have attracted some interest ...... ’ Where you decide to use a longer quotation you should indent the quotation (without quotation marks) and put the reference at the end of the indent, eg: Recent research suggests that professionals must appreciate the period of institutionalisation as part of the caring sequence and recognise the residual power of the primary caring relationship (Lewis and Meredith, 2011: 159). Please note above how author, date of publication and page numbers are depicted. Please also note punctuation in the last example given. It is important that you always cite references when referring to the work of authors. It is never acceptable to say ‘research has shown ....’ and then fail to cite any books, articles or reports. You should list your references at the end of assignments in alphabetical order of authors. If an author has more than one publication they should be listed in date order (earliest first). If the same author has more than one publication in the same year they should be in alphabetic order by title. The rules to remember when referencing are shown below: For a book: Newburn, T. (1995) Crime and Criminal Justice Policy. London: Longman. For an edited book: Brook, E., and Davis, A. (1985) (Eds) Women, the Family and Social Work. London: Tavistock. For a book chapter: Ferris, J. (1985) Citizenship and the crisis of the welfare state, in P. Bean, J. Ferris, D. Whynes (Eds) In Defence of Welfare. London: Tavistock. For a journal: Adams, J.W., Snowling, M.J., Hennessy, S.M., Kind, P. (1999), ‘The Problems of behaviour, reading and arithmetic: assessments of comorbidity using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.’ British Journal of Educational Psychology, 69, 4, 571-585. Please note how the volume number and issue number when there is one (in this case volume 69, issue 1) and page numbers (571-585) for a journal are shown. In the above examples, you will see that either the book title or the journal is italicised. These can also be underlined or in bold if preferred, but you must choose a preferred option and be consistent in its use. If there is an author with more than one publication in a year, list them as 1988a or 1988b, etc.

For a website: An accepted standard for electronic sources has not yet been published by the body responsible for setting these standards. However, there is a consensus that references should include author, date of writing, date viewed and organisation name and that urls are underlined. An acceptable example follows: Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Education (April 2011) A New Approach to Child Poverty: Tackling the Causes of Disadvantage and Transforming Families’ Lives, Cm 8061. HM Government [Online]. Accessed 08.08.12. Other references: Unpublished sources, parliamentary acts, newspapers, images etc.

There are different guidelines available for each of these sources and you should take some time to find the correct usage, a resource list is available at the end of this section. Unpublished sources should be stated as unpublished (eg unpublished Ph.D dissertation, University of Bristol). Date of publication and name of publisher is essential (eg Title (date) leaflet produced by XYZ pressure Group, Exeter, UK). You may have to refer to work you have come across only through reading about it in another book or paper. Secondary referencing is discouraged and should only be used when you are unable to obtain a copy of the original source to read. You should cite it as “(Bowlby, 1979, cited in Trevithick, 2012)” and in the reference list you should give the original work and the secondary source in full, again linked with the words “cited in”. Sometimes you will have read more material than you have finally mentioned in your essay. Although this may be an essential part of your understanding of the subject, these do not need to be included in your reference list.

APPENDIX D: Essential IT skills

The University states that you will need a certain minimum level of IT skills to meet the requirements of your course. These are detailed below. You should able to: Windows ● Use a mouse and keyboard ● Start a word processor from the Start button ● Type a few lines of text ● Use a scroll bar to move up and down a page ● Choose a command from a menu and an icon (button) ● Make a window bigger, smaller or close it ● Open, save and close a file ● Store files, find them again, create folders, and organise your files (very important!) Email ● Sign in to an email package; Send, read and respond to email; Delete unwanted email Using the web ● Use a web browser (eg, Internet Explorer) to view a website and follow links ● Use a search engine (eg, Google or Altavista) to find information on the World Wide Web ● Type URLs (addresses of websites) Word (basic) ● Type text; Format text – eg, bold, italics, underline, and size ● Apply landscape page orientation ● Align text – left, centre, right ● Use Print Preview; Print ● Copy or move text ● Automatically check your spelling Word for assignments ● Format paragraphs: indents, space between lines and paragraphs ● Create tables ● Add headers and footers; Add page numbers; Add footnotes and endnotes In addition to these skills there may be others that will be required of you to prepare assignments for your programme. If this is the case, your programme will provide resources to support you with these.

APPENDIX E: Ethical Review at the School for Policy Studies

All research projects proposed by staff and students at the School for Policy Studies are reviewed to ensure that they conform to the standards for ethical social research. The School’s Ethics Committee, which reports to the School Research Committee, has overall responsibility for ensuring that this occurs. The Chair of the Ethics Committee is currently Beth Tarleton. The committee comprises members of SPS staff with a particular interest and expertise in research ethics, the School’s research data protection officer and postgraduate research student representatives. When preparing to carry out a research project, including a dissertation, a researcher completes a standard form explaining how they are going to conduct their research and the steps they are going to take to ensure that research subjects are treated appropriately. They also describe the methods used to ensure that research data are stored, analysed and reported ethically. Students should discuss with their dissertation supervisor the most appropriate point in the research process to complete their ethics form, but it should always have been completed and reviewed before any fieldwork is undertaken. The form is available in Blackboard on the programme administration unit. The programme administrator can help you find this. Taught postgraduate students undertaking a dissertation complete a form and submit it to be reviewed by their dissertation supervisor in the first instance (or by the Norah Fry Ethics Committee, in the case of the MSc Disability Studies). If the dissertation supervisor is satisfied that the proposed research is in accord with School policy then they can approve the proposal and then it is sent to the dissertation unit convenor for review and final approval. If the dissertation supervisor and/or dissertation unit convenor would like a second opinion then the proposal can be referred to the School Ethics Committee for review. The Ethics Committee will then inform the student of its decision. The Ethics Committee may ask for any further clarification or further information about the proposed research that it deems necessary before the proposal is approved. If the School Ethics Committee feels that it is not able to arrive at a decision or wishes to have a further opinion on the proposed research method then it can refer the matter to the Faculty Ethics Committee for consideration. Certain types of research may also require review and approval by an external Ethics Committee. This is particularly the case for research in the field of health and social care that falls within the research governance framework. It is recommended that clarification regarding the requirement for external review of a project is sought as early as possible.

SPS Research ethics resources A number of research ethics resources (including relevant forms and policies) are found on the School’s website: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sps/research/ethics/ and on the programme dissertation unit sites on Blackboard.

APPENDIX F: Dignity at work and study

The University of Bristol acts to ensure dignity at work and study. The School will take steps to protect its staff and students from harassment. Harassment can involve bullying, victimisation or making unreasonable demands on others. The reasons for harassment may include sex, race, religion, sexual preference, gender, political views, trade union membership, disability or age. Harassment may take the form of unfair allocation of work, unreasonable pressure to complete work, ridicule or exclusion from conversation or social events. It may take different forms (for example, verbal, written, photograph) and includes all forms of electronic communication such as email, blackboard, and social networking sites. Harassment may be deliberate but it may also be unintended. In some circumstances comments or actions that are intended to be positive may be experienced negatively by the person who receives them or is their subject. It is the impact upon the recipient that is the most important consideration. Therefore, the University and the School requests that all staff and students seek to promote a positive learning environment, and at all times bear in mind the impact that their communication or actions can have upon others. Please refer to the University’s policy statement on ‘Dignity at Work and Study’ including contact details of Dignity at Work and Study Advisers. Copies available from Personnel Office, Senate House, or on their website at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/student-rules-regs

APPENDIX G: Important links

a. Student Policy on Intellectual Property Please read the student policy on Intellectual Property at www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/studentrulesregs/intelprop.html b. Data Protection and Data Security: Guidelines for Staff and Students Please read the guidance on data protection at www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/dataprotection

APPENDIX H Optional Units listed in Pre-arrival Information

Useful information for unit choices

Code Title Credit Status PROVISIONAL Timetable1 - please note that Room Points this may change Mandatory Units: 100 credit points GEOGM0015 Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Design 15 Mandatory for all Thursday 10 December 2020 9-5pm Location interdisciplinary Thursday 4 February 2021 9-5pm (Bristol, programmes Thursday 4 March 2021 9-5pm UWE, Bath or Exeter) to be confirmed ( SPOLM0018 Contemporary Debates in Lifestyle 15 Pathway Monday 30 November 2020 9-5pm Location Behaviours and Public Health mandatory unit Wednesday 2 December 2020 9-5pm (Bristol, Thursday 3 December 2020 9-5pm UWE, Bath or Exeter) to be confirmed SPOLM0052 Critical appraisal for Health and Wellbeing 10 Pathway Wednesday 1-2pm 14/10/2020; 4/11/2020; University mandatory unit 25/11/2020; 16/12/2020; 17/2/2021; of Bristol. 10/3/2021. Room to Thursday 1-2pm 28/1/2021 be confirmed. SPOLM0053 Dissertation 60 Pathway Tuesday 16 February 2021 2-5.30pm University mandatory unit of Bristol. Room to

be confirmed. Research Training Units: 40 credit points The research training units "Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences" & "Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences" run a number of times across the Faculty. Students may request to take whichever unit best fits their timetable, but requests are subject to space constraints. If you have previous research training and would like to apply for an exemption, contact us for details. SPOLM0015 Introduction to Quantitative Research 20 Mandatory Thursday 22 October 2020 9.30 – 5.30 University Methods in the Social Sciences research training Thursday 29 October 2020 9.30 – 5.30 of Bristol. unit. Students may Thursday 5 November 2020 9.30 – 5.30 Room to apply for be exemptions. confirmed. SPOLM0014 Introduction to Qualitative Research 20 Mandatory Friday 20 November 2020 9.30 – 5.30 University Methods in the Social Sciences research training Friday 27 November 2020 9.30 – 5.30 of Bristol. unit. Students may Friday 4 December 2020 9.30 – 5.30pm Room to apply for be exemptions. confirmed. Optional Units: 40 credit points Can be taken from across the Faculty, Bath, Exeter or UWE. Recommended Bristol units are listed below. To apply to take units at Bath, Exeter or UWE, please check unit and timetable information as per the table below and then complete and return the “Module at Partner Inst” Form at https://www.swdtp.ac.uk/information-for-current-students/resources/ SPOLM0016 Further Quantitative Methods 20 Optional Tuesday 19 January 19 2021 (primer – University optional) 2 hours of Bristol. Tuesday 26 January 2021 9.30 – 5.30pm Room to Tuesday 2 February 2021 9.30 – 5.30pm be Tuesday 9 February 2021 9.30 – 5.30pm confirmed. Wednesday 3 March 2020 2 hours SPOLM0017 Further Qualitative Methods 20 Optional To be confirmed. University of Bristol. Room to be confirmed.

ACHSM0001 Inclusive Research with Disabled People 20 Optional Monday 25 January 2021 9-5pm University Monday 1 February 2021 9-5pm of Bristol. Monday 8 February 2021 9-5pm Room to Friday 26 February 2021 2 hours be confirmed. PHEDM4013 Physical activity, disease and public health 20 Optional To be confirmed. University of Bristol. Room to be confirmed. PHEDM4012 Nutrition, disease and public health 20 Optional To be confirmed. University of Bristol. Room to be confirmed. PHEDM4014 Determinants of physical activity and eating 20 Optional To be confirmed. University behaviour of Bristol. Room to be confirmed. PHEDM4015 Physical Activity and Nutrition 20 Optional To be confirmed. University Interventions: Conceptualisation and of Bristol. Design Room to be confirmed. LAWDM0130 Health Inequalities, Law and Society 30 Optional Varied pattern of lectures and seminars. Dates University to be confirmed. of Bristol. Room to be confirmed.

LAWDM0134 Law, Governance and Health WMB L113 30 Optional Varied pattern of lectures and seminars. Dates University to be confirmed. of Bristol. Room to be confirmed. LAWDM0132 Law and Governance for Mental and Social 30 Optional To be confirmed. University Well-Being of Bristol. Room to be confirmed.

Instituti Course Information Unit catalogues Term Dates on Bristol See in particular modules offered on Health, Law, and Society https://www.bris.ac.uk/unit- http://www.bristol.ac.uk/university/date (LLM); Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health (MSc) for programme-catalogue/Welcome.jsa s/ cognate courses; and Policy Research (MSc) Bath See in particular https://www.bath.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate- http://www.bath.ac.uk/catalogues/20 http://www.bath.ac.uk/about/organisati 2019/taught-postgraduate-courses/mres-health-and-wellbeing- 20-2021/ on/semester-dates/ part-time/#course-structure Exeter See in particular http://www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduat http://www.exeter.ac.uk/about/facts/ter http://www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/sport/healthwell e/courses/ mdates/ being/#Programme-structure

UWE See in particular https://info.uwe.ac.uk/Modules/listEnhttps://www.uwe.ac.uk/news/coronaviru https://courses.uwe.ac.uk/L90B1/social-research-health-and- try.asp s/students wellbeing