• Year of Study: Year One
• FHEQ Level: Level 8
• Credit Weighting: 30 credits
• Module Status: Core
• Module Leaders: Dr Philip Archard & Dr Nick Waggett

Module Aims

• Provide students with a sophisticated introduction to a range of research methodologies and research paradigms relevant to the conduct of applied professional research programmes.
• Introduce students to key debates about ontology and epistemology and the philosophical principles underpinning knowledge generation in the social and psychological sciences, with particular attention to psycho-social, systemic, and organisational applications of these principles.
• Through regular facilitated multi-disciplinary group sessions with other Professional Doctorate students, to enable individual students to reflect on their practitioner identities, research aspirations, and methodological interests and thereby begin to reflexively position themselves as applied researchers.
• Consider how applied research can be utilised to develop professional practice and contribute to extending the forefront of knowledge and/or professional practice within students’ own area.

Module Assessment

Students are required to submit a 5000-word critical and analytical literature review on a selected research topic, which may or may not be what the student eventually opts to research for their dissertation.

• Year of Study: Year One
• FHEQ Level: Level 8
• Credit Weighting: 30 credits
• Module Status: Core
• Module Leader: Dr Louisa Diana Brunner

Module Aims

• To develop students’ in-depth knowledge and understanding of psychoanalytic and systems theory and appreciation of its application to organisations and organisational behaviour.
• To introduce students to a range of highly specialist areas of consultancy practice to broaden students’ awareness of the range of methodologies, to develop consultancy skills and extend their experience.
• To develop and apply innovative practice in order to be able to plan, undertake and evaluate at least three professional consultancy work interventions during the course of the year.
• To critically appraise contemporary writing in the field and consider its credibility, authority, practical relevance and application.
• To develop students’ written and oral communication skills to a high level, to convey complex information clearly and effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Module Assessment

Students are required to carry out a minimum of six consultancy assignments throughout the two years of the taught programme, in which they will either work alone or, where appropriate, as part of a team. Two of these assignments are to be written up as detailed consultancy reports in Year 1, and these form the assessment for Advanced Practice Module 1.

• Year of Study: Year Two
• FHEQ Level: Level 8
• Credit Weighting: 30 credits
• Module Status: Core
• Module Leader: Dr Philip Archard & Dr Simon Tucker

Module Aims

• To consolidate students’ learning from Research Methods 1 with their prior knowledge and experience in clinical and applied professional practice.
• To promote students to be able to think critically and reflexively about problems in order to create new solutions and new knowledge.
• To enable students to choose an appropriate research design and research methodology for their research questions.

Module Assessment

Students are required to submit a written assignment of 5,000 words, describing the research that will form the basis of their thesis and including a systematic literature review.

• Year of Study: Year Two
• FHEQ Level: Level 8
• Credit Weighting: 30 credits
• Module Status: Core
• Module Leader: Dr Louisa Diana Brunner

Module Aims

• To introduce students to a range of highly specialist areas of consultancy practice to broaden students’ awareness of the range of applicable methodologies, to develop consultancy skills and to further extend their experience.
• To develop and apply originality and innovative practice in order to be able to plan, undertake and evaluate at least three professional consultancy work interventions during the course of the year, in contexts unfamiliar.
• To critically appraise contemporary writing in the field and consider its credibility, authority, practical relevance and application.
• To develop students’ written and oral communication skills to a high level, to convey complex information clearly and effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences. To support students in preparing written assignments for peer review and publication.

Module Assessment

Students are required to carry out a minimum of six consultancy assignments throughout the two years of the taught programme, in which they will either work alone or, where appropriate, as part of a team. To assess the Advanced Practice Module 2, one of these assignments is to be written up as detailed, 3,000-word case study in Year 2, accompanied by a 3,000-word Professional Developmental Report and Work Log.

• Year of Study: Year 3+
• FHEQ Level: Level 8
• Credit Weighting: 240 credits
• Module Status: Core
• Module Leader: Dr Simon Tucker

Module Aims

• To apply research skills in a real-world environment in order to complete a research project which is of some value to the students’ field of professional practice in consultation.
• To implement original, relevant and purposeful research, with a sound basis achieved through integrating a review of existing literature, ontological and epistemological considerations, strategy, design and methodology appropriate to the research question.
• To articulate and defend the positions that the student has adopted with regard to their research and successfully negotiate a viva examination based on determining the originality, reliability and validity of the research and the value to the profession.

Module Assessment

Assessment is through the submission and a viva examination of a thesis up to 40,000 words detailing your original research.