Project Guidelines
Guidelines for Year 4 Project
The Year 4 project provides an opportunity to research a topic of interest at more depth than has been possible in other parts of the College course. It is meant to be the single most substantial piece of writing produced during a student’s time in College, demonstrating the skills learned. While the precise format may differ from project to project, depending on the subject matter, it is expected that the standard of work submitted will be appropriate for a student in their final year of study in an honours degree. The final product should not exceed 15,000 words in length (excluding bibliography or citations in footnotes). Note that NO APPENDICES are to be submitted with the project and markers will be instructed not to read or include in their deliberations such extra material when marking the project.
The project is not intended to be an original contribution to knowledge. However, it should be a focused piece of academic writing at an advanced level. It should do more than simply provide a survey of an issue or a catalogue of various scholarly opinions. It should develop an argument based upon evidence carefully analysed and evaluated. Where the project is in the area of biblical studies, evidence of rigorous exegesis of relevant biblical texts in the original language will be expected, with conclusions drawn from these texts being methodically sound, critically aware and theologically sensitive.
Academic writing seeks to avoid bare assertion and generalisation but instead anchors argument in evidence gained by a first-hand engagement with primary sources. It also involves accurate acknowledgement of the sources of data, ideas and lines of argument whether published or unpublished. It is clear, ordered and conclusions should be judicious and aware of their own limitations.
An important part of this exercise is the opportunity it provides for wide reading in a particular area. Markers will look for evidence that the most important scholarly work bearing upon the project topic has been identified, read and understood and that the student has interacted fairly with a range of scholarly viewpoints, if these are available. The opinions of others should be treated with respect rather than ridiculed or caricatured but this does not do away with the need for rigorous questioning and evaluation through a process of careful argument. The bibliography and footnotes should provide evidence of reading that goes beyond introductory texts to engage with intermediate and advanced treatments of the topic and associated areas.
Some research may require review by the College’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). This may be the case where the project involves:
- The collection of data from or about identifiable individuals or groups; or
- The observation of identifiable individuals or groups.
Information concerning the requirements of the HREC is set out in Section 3.7 of this Handbook and Guidelines for Ethical Conduct of Research are set out in Section 4.7 of the Handbook.
Research for the project is done under the supervision of a member of the Faculty, allocated by the Academic Dean early in Term 1. Students may expect the following from their supervisor:
- Approximately one hour of face to face time per term (4 hours in total);
- Assistance in narrowing the focus of the topic so that it can be handled at an appropriate depth in the time and space available;
- Assistance in the construction of a basic bibliography and method of approach;
- An agreed timetable for the submission of work and its return with critical comments progressively throughout the year;
- Continuous challenge to rigour in the evaluation of evidence and in the presentation of argument, including redirection where the project is being derailed by faulty methodology, a misreading of the evidence, a lack of available evidence, loose argument, or other problems;
- Advice at the midpoint of the year as to whether the student should proceed with the project in the second semester, based upon progress to that point;
- Reading and detailed comment upon a draft of the project within this agreed timetable, including an assessment of the standard of writing and presentation; and
- An assessment of the standard of writing and presentation.
The relationship between student and supervisor is an integral element of the research experience. Supervisors may expect the following from their student:
- Initiative in contacting the supervisor for meetings and fulfilling the tasks requested by the supervisor;
- Motivation to pursue their work independently;
- Care over their writing so that what they hand in is at meetings is not just a first draft;
- Honesty in reporting their progress; and
- Willingness to follow the advice given by their supervisor, when the student has asked for it.