This document provides information and guidance for students completing a dissertation or practice as research project. It outlines the assessment requirements, including an 8,000 word dissertation or a 20 minute presentation plus 8 minute performative output. Key deadlines are provided, as well as a schedule of lectures to support students. Guidance is given on developing research topics, including identifying an area of interest, refining the topic, selecting a specific subtopic, developing research questions, and stating the aims and objectives. Steps for locating relevant research are outlined, including searching the library catalogue and evaluating sources.

1. Defining and opening
your research
DISSERTATION AND PRACTICE AS RESEARCH
Week
1
Dissertation
and
Practice
as
Research

2. Unit Summaries
 PER028-3 Dissertation
 Dissertation
 You will submit a written research project of
8,000 words.
 PER029-3 Practice as Research
 Part 1: Presentation of a 20 minute academic
paper.
 Part 2: Materialised/ Physicalised/
Performative output
 8 minute performative/ materialised/
physicalized output to accompany your
presentation paper.
 This is to be negotiated with your tutor, it may be
a film, live performance, excerpt of workshops,
documentary, interactive activity etc.
 You should provide an explanation and
introduction for this part of the assessment within
your presentation.
 The two components should clearly link as ways
of disseminating findings from your research
project.
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research

3. Key
Deadlines
Dissertation and Practice as Research Week 1
Wk Date WHAT KEY POINTS
8 Thu 25
Feb
2021
Submission of ethics approval
form.
Submitted through BREO
only.
Ideally to be signed by both
student and supervisor, but
these can be added later.
8 Thu 25
Feb
2021
Submission of Draft
Chapter/Work
Submitted through BREO or
arranged with tutor if showing
practical.
13-15 29 Mar
– 16
Apr
2021
Over Easter you will not be able to contact your tutor, so
this time should be spent finalising, revising and structuring
your final submission.
21 Thu 27
May
2021
Final submission date
Presentation date, to be
confirmed nearer the time.
Must be submitted through
BREO.
24 Thu 17
Jun
2021
You will receive feedback on your final submission on
Thursday 17th June 2021 5pm.

4. Lecture
Schedule
Dissertation and Practice as Research Week 1
Wk Date LECTURE SCHEDULE
4 25 Jan
2021
Defining and opening your research with
Louise Douse
5 01 Feb 2021
Shaping your research with Louise Douse
6 08 Feb 2021
Managing your research with Louise Douse
8 22 Feb 2021
Conducting your research: preparation
with Louise Douse
10 08 Mar 2021
Conducting your research: data collection
with Louise Douse
12 22 Mar 2021
Conducting your research: analysis with
Louise Douse
16 19 Apr 2021
Disseminating your research with Louise
Douse
19 10 May 2021
Drop-in with Louise Douse
20 17 May 2021
Drop-in with Louise Douse
21 24 May 2021
Drop-in with Louise Douse

5. The Draft
What: 1500-2000 word draft
chapter
: 3 minute video of
your practice with 500
word supporting
document
When: Thursday 25th February
What: Ethics form(s)
When: Thursday 25th February
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research
Your draft chapter/practice should show
evidence of in-depth research and an
awareness of the current key questions and
debates concerning the chosen area of
study. In a sense, you ought to have
completed key reading and testing out
ideas in practice at this stage, and be in a
position – after receiving feedback from your
supervisor – to start refining your idea.

6. Aims and objectives
An aim is the proposed outcome of what you are
doing and an objective is a task you will fulfil to
accomplish your aim.
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research

7. Step One: Identify a topic
 Community Practice
 Education
 Professional Performance
Sector/ Arts Management
 Performance Practices
(Techniques, Styles)
 Performance Process
(Devising/Choreography)
 Digital Technology
 Dance Science/
Performing Arts Medicine
 Performance History
 Performance Analysis
 Cultural Analysis (gender,
race, disability, class)
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research

8. Step Two: Refine
 Topic: Education
 Subtopics:
 Learning strategies
 Teaching methods
 Assessing performance practice
 Evaluating, feedback
 Supplementary benefits of arts
education
 Topic: Postmodern
Performance
 Subtopics:
 Performance reception
 Process
 Stylization
 History
 Political/cultural influences
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research
 What are the smaller areas or subtopics within this interest?

9. Step Three: Select
 Topic: Education
 Subtopic: Communicating
feedback in performer
training
 Topic: Postmodern
Performance
 Subtopic: Devising processes
of Forced Entertainment
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research
 Choose the most interesting subtopic:

10. Step Four: Question
 What kinds of feedback are there?
 How is feedback commonly
communicated in performer training?
 What is the most effective way to
communicate feedback?
 How can you measure how effective
it is?
 What are the devising processes
Forced Ents employ?
 In what ways can these processes be
considered postmodern?
 How can you devise a postmodern
performance through the use of such
methods?
 How can I understand the benefits of
such a process?
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Dissertation and Practice as Research
 What do you want to know about the area or subtopic?

11. Step Five: Direct
 Restate Step 3: Select as a main aim and then create specific
objectives from questions in Step Four: Question.
 Aim: To explore the role of communication in delivering feedback in
performer training
 Objectives:
 Identify various forms of feedback and communication methods
 Identify various modes of feedback commonly used
 Develop a method to evaluate feedback communication based on
purpose and aims of feedback
 Test out method using specific forms of feedback communication
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research

12. Step Five: Direct
 Restate Step 3: Select as a main aim and then create specific
objectives from questions in Step Four: Question.
 Aim: To explore the ways in which Forced Entertainment’s creative
process can be considered postmodern
 Objectives:
 Conduct a contextual review of Forced Entertainments Bloody Mess to identify the
devising processes used
 Define postmodernism in the context of FEnts performance processes
 Articulate through practice effective ways to devise postmodern performance
 Document insights from the creative process surrounding postmodern performance
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research

13. Wording
 Aim: explore, investigate, identify, test, interrogate, establish, discuss,
examine, address, critique
 Objective: conduct (a review/ a performance analysis) articulate
(through participant research/ through practice), define, document,
describe, collate, compile, perform, interpret, explain, appraise, assess,
combine, compose, propose, outline, compare, apply, develop, create
 Means: performance analysis, contextual review, interview, questionnaire,
observation, reflection, focus group, documentary, journaling, practice,
performance, workshop, classes, improvisation, dramaturgy, testing, archival
research, theories, philosophies, concepts, perspectives
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research

14. Key Research
Connecting your research interest to an area of
scholarship allows you as a researcher to make
connections to a wealth of sources that will help to
contextualise your interest and locate it in relation to other
work that exists in the area.
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Dissertation and Practice as Research

15. Step One: Identify
To explore the role of communication in delivering feedback in performer
training
Keywords communication feedback Performer training
Related
words
Dissemination
Exchange
Reporting
Discussion
Written
Verbal
Nonverbal
Evaluation
Assessment
Explanation
Acknowledgement
Response
Critical
Constructive
Dance technique
Acting technique
Creative practice
Devising
Choreography
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research

16. Step Two: Locate
 Discover Library Catalogue
 Basic search using combinations of key words (keep a note)
 “quotation marks” – if you want to search a phrase (“performer training”)
 Truncation* - if you want to include multiple word endings (theor* = theory, theories,
theoretical)
 Refine: Advanced search filters
 Source type (academic journals, peer reviewed)
 Linked Full text (shows only those items with full article available online)
 Publication date (more recent, up to date)
 Routledge Performance Archive
 Bibliographies/ Reference Lists from your reading
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research

17. Step Three: Evaluate
Evaluate your reading from two perspectives:
 The field: Gain an understanding of why a text is regarded as
significant in the field.
 Who is the author?
 Who is the intended audience?
 What is the publication?
 Have other people written about it/ referenced it?
 Your topic: Why, specifically, is the text relevant to your own
topic
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research

18. Wording
 According to X…
 Previous work (X) has found…
 It has been suggested by X…
 Research (X) has found…
 Based on X…
 X demonstrated…
 X stated…
 X argued…
 X claimed…
Week 1
Dissertation and Practice as Research