Bachelor in Science in Midwifery Honours Degree programme

MW4204 -Dissertation (10 ECTS)

Learning Outcomes

Following completion of this module the student should be able to:

• Identify an appropriate midwifery topic;
  
• Undertake a systematic and comprehensive literature search;
  
• Critically analysing the literature on the chosen topic;
  
• Demonstrate critical understanding of the topic;
  
• Critically discuss the body of knowledge around the topic chosen;
  
• Discuss and explore the paradigms and theories that led to that way of thinking about the topic;
  
• Position this knowledge base in midwifery, psychological, sociological, feminist, and historical/cultural contexts as appropriate;
  
• Position the topic in a local, national and international policy context as appropriate;
  
• Present a dissertation that is original, wide-ranging and intellectually cogent.
  

Module Learning Aims

This module is designed to build on the knowledge and skills gains in previous modules: Sources of
Midwifery Knowledge, Midwifery Research – Awareness and Midwifery Research – Evidence for
Midwifery Practice. The aim of this module is to provide midwifery students with the opportunity to
examine and explore in detail the knowledge and evidence of a particular aspect of midwifery practice of
their choosing and write a dissertation. This piece of work needs to be original, wide-ranging, and
intellectually cogent. It should enable students to draw on the full breadth of all their learning throughout
the course.

Recommended Reading List

• Bell J. (2010) Doing your Research Project: A Guide for First-time Researchers in Education, Health
  and Social Science, 5th edn. Open University Press, Buckingham.
  
• Hart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination. Sage Publications, London.

* Additional readings will be given for each unit of learning.