Over recent years there has been increasing interest in Political Science and International Relations departments in the use of practice-based learning. Simulations and games have been used extensively to enable students to develop their skills in communication, collaboration and negotiation as well as allowing them to gain important insights into the practice of politics. Many departments have included work experience placements as part of their degree programs in order to help students to connect their academic experiences with the demands of the world of work.
However, one area of both undergraduate and postgraduate education in political science that has been neglected in this regard is the dissertation. Dissertations or research projects are compulsory in many programmes and they are often presented as the highlight of a student’s period of study. However, the experience for students is underwhelming: there are problems in delivering effective supervision, many students do not feel capable of undertaking such an extensive period of self-directed study and the products of their research are often read by a maximum of two academics. This is a very different experience to the one that motivates actual providers of research.
This paper will outline one suggested response to this problem: developing an approach to dissertations that is based around practice. Students experience a similar process to the process of academic research. Dissertation workshops on key research skills are organised throughout the year to encourage the development of a community of researchers. At milestones in the year students have to present their research progress and get feedback from tutors and peers. At the end of the year there is a conference event from which the best papers are published. The paper will present our findings as to student experience and final grades and outline some future modifications.
