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2019/2020

Master's Dissertation

Code: 44069 ECTS Credits: 15
Degree Type Year Semester
4313137 Prehistory, Antiquity and the Middle Ages OB 0 A

Contact

Name:
Rafael Micó Pérez
Email:
Rafael.Mico@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)

Teachers

Miguel Molist Montaña

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are need.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The main objective of the final master's project (TFM) is to carry out an original research essay referred to any of the topics discussed throughout the master's modules.

Competences

  • Analyse a particular historical and/or archaeological problem area in prehistory, antiquity or the Middle Ages.
  • Analyse and summarise information from a critical perspective.
  • Choose and apply the most efficient methods and techniques at each stage of the historical or archaeological research being conducted.
  • Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  • Correctly present historical research results orally or in writing.
  • Define, design, plan and draw up an original unpublished research project on history or archaeology, following the established academic and scientific parameters.
  • Discuss and compare scientific opinions and issues in open academic debate.
  • Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  • Organise, plan and manage research work.
  • Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
  • Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.
  • Use the typical categories and vocabulary used in research and dissemination of prehistory, antiquity, and the Middle Ages.
  • Work independently: solving problems and taking decisions.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse and summarise information from a critical perspective.
  2. Apply both knowledge and analytic skills to problem-solving within the field of study.
  3. Carry out a research project on a particular topic, addressing the state of historical and/or archaeological theory in that area.
  4. Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  5. Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  6. Critically evaluate the quality of the data obtained to carry out the work.
  7. Design or plan research actions and manage and summarise the appropriate information.
  8. Formulate an investigation of problems of a historical-archaeological nature and or philological.
  9. Formulate an investigation of problems of a historical-archaeological nature.
  10. Formulate and solve problems and interpret the causes of historical processes.
  11. Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  12. Organise, plan and manage research work.
  13. Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
  14. Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.
  15. Use correctly the categories and concepts that belong to the field of study.
  16. Use the appropriate methodology and techniques at each stage in the preparation of a research paper.
  17. Use the main analytic methods, techniques and instruments in prehistoric archaeology.
  18. Use the main analytic methods, techniques and instruments in prehistory, antiquity, Middle Ages and Philology.
  19. Work independently: solving problems and taking decisions.
  20. Write and defend before a examining board the Final Master's Project.

Content

Structure, extension and formal characteristics of the TFM
- The body of the essay, that is, the text, must have an approximate length of 25,000 words, although this limit can be exceeded if the characteristics of the work need an additional detail. The bibliography, appendices, illustrations and captions or any other material that accompanies the essay do not count in the limit of 25,000 words.
- The languages of writing will be Catalan or Spanish, although other languages may be accepted after assessment by the Master's Commission.
- Spelling mistakes and grammatical mistakes that make it difficult to understand the work will lower the overall mark.

The structure of the essay will be prepared under the supervision of the tutor. It may vary depending on the topic and focus of the work. In general, the following elements should be included:
- A cover that includes the title, the name of the author, the name of the tutor, the academic year and the name of the master.
- A summary where the chapters and epigraphs are detailed, as well as the page number where each one begins.
- The body of the work with the indicated extension, preferably in double line spacing, Times New Roman or similar, 12 points in size.

- Chapter and epigraph titles should be written in bold style and numbered:

Chapters: 1, 2, 3...

Epigraphs: 1.1; 1.2; 1.3....; 2.1, 2.2, 2.3... etc.

- Footnotes can be used for marginal clarifications or for bibliographic citations, if this system is chosen (see below).
- The essay must have a final conclusive chapter, in which the results of the study, the learning that the realization of the work has supposed and, if pertinent, the future lines of research should be included.
- A chapter including bibliography, webgraphy or other sources used must be included after the main text. References that have not been cited in the text should not be included.
- The essay may contain documentation annexes, graphics,illustrations, photographs, plans, files, etc. that have not been included in the body of the text.
- The pages must be numbered, except the cover page.

Figures:
- All figures must be numbered and with a caption, a descriptive title of their content and, in parentheses, the origin (bibliographic citation or institution from which the figure originates, or indicating if it is made by the author).
 
Quotes in the text.
Two procedures can be followed:
1. Quote in footnote: the complete reference is cited the first time and, if it is cited later, an abbreviated form is placed. If necessary, the specific pages where the referred content is indicated are indicated.
2. Quote in the text through parentheses, which contains the last name of the author or authors, the year of publication of the work and the specific pages of interest, if necessary.

The way in which publications are cited can be very varied, although it is important to always follow the same procedure.
Examples:
1. Citations in footnote:

Monographs: Peregrine Horden, Nicholas Purcell, The corrupting sea. A study of Mediterranean History (Oxford,  2000), p.175. Following citations: Horden and Purcell, The corrupting sea, p. 70

Book chapters: Carlos Laliena, “Agua y progreso social en Aragón”, in Agua pasada. Regadíos en el Archivo Histórico Provincial de Zaragoza, ed. Julián Ortega (Zaragoza, 2008),  pp. 53-84. Following citations: Laliena, “Agua y progreso”, p. 60.

Papers in academic journals: Andrew Wilson, “Deliveries extra urbem: aqueducts and the countryside”, Journal of Roman Archaeology 12 (1999): 314-31. Following citations: Wilson, “Deliveries extra urbem”, p. 315.

Papers in congress proceedings: Mathieu Arnoux, “Les moulins à eau en Europe occidentale (IXe-XIIe siècle). Aux origines d’une économie institutionnelle de l’énergie hydraulique”, Atti delle settimane LV, L’acqua nei secoli altomedievali. (Spoleto, 2009). Vol I, pp. 693-747. Following citations: Arnoux, “Les moulins à eau”, p. 695.

Citations in parenthesis: (Arnoux 2009: 695).

In the bibliography chapter, the same guidelines as in footnotes should be followed. The final bibliography must have the list of references sorted alphabetically by the last name of the first author. If there is more than one title by the same author, they must be placed in chronological order.

Methodology

Supervised activities: individualized tutoring to monitor the performance of the work with deliveries of scheduled documents and results discussion with the tutor.
Autonomous activities: carrying out tasks related to specific research, as study of materials, historical documentation, consultation and bibliographic criticism. Writing the essay and the preparation of the oral presentation will be carried out autonomously.

Completion calendar:
November 30: you should have met with the possible tutor and thought about the TFM issue and notify the person in charge of the TFM module of the corresponding department and the master coordination.
1st tutoring: Preparation of the work script. The tutor will help you define the topic, answer questions, to set methodologies and, also, will comment on the script.
2nd tutoring: end of December, before the Christmas holidays: presentation to the tutor of the work project that must contain:
1. Presentation of objectives, reasons for choosing a given topic and the questions that are asked at the outset.
2. A first script of the work, with the bibliography provided, a short description of the archaeological material or documentary sources to be used and a provisional summary.
3. Results expected.
4. Finally, the project must also have a time schedule related to the performance of the planned tasks.
The following tutorials will be agreed to review the previous tasks already done according the schedule.

Successive tutorials:
Work tracking. Once the script and the study strategy have been defined, the process of work monitoring tutorials begins. The tutor should be aware at all times of the progress of the work through interviews that will take place on a regular basis throughout the course. At a minimum, they must occur once a month. You can request the tutoring staying with the teacher in his office schedule or by email. In each case, the tutor will indicate what you must deliver (parts of the work, drafts, etc.)to make remarks and corrections. If a student stops meeting with his tutor during the second semester and addresses him only the last weeks of the course by submitting a draft of the text made without the teacher's advice, he may consider that he does not assume the direction of work that he has not regularly followed. and failed to monitor correctly. In these cases the work cannot be submitted.


Delivery. The essay will only be submitted and defended with the approval of the tutor. Before the delivery of the three copies to the members of the commission, the tutor will have received the final text of the TFM with sufficient time to review it. The tutor has the power to recommend the non-presentation of the work if she/he considers it incomplete or insufficient, or to disallow it in case of plagiarism or other serious irregularities.


Aproximate deadlines for TFM delivery:
June 30 (for July term)
September 3 (for September term).


Assessment commission. The commission will consist of three professors, specialists in the field of study of the TFM. One of them must be adscribed to the department corresponding to the itinerary chosen by the student. Another must necessarily be adscribed to a different department. The constitution of each commission is the responsibility of the tutor. The oral presentation is a public event. The period enable for presentation runs from July 1 to July 10 and from September 1 to September 12. These deadlines may vary slightly each academic year.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Supervised      
Tutoring 25 1 7, 15, 12, 8, 9, 11, 13
Type: Autonomous      
Oral presentation 100 4 1, 15, 12, 11, 13, 4, 20, 19
Specific tasks related to the research topic objectives: analysis of archaeological objects and written records, bibliographical searching and critical assessment. 150 6 1, 6, 7, 12, 11, 13, 3, 14, 19, 18, 16
Writing TFM 100 4 1, 2, 6, 7, 15, 12, 10, 8, 9, 11, 13, 4, 5, 3, 20, 19, 18, 16

Assessment

The evaluation has two parts:


-Evaluation of written essay and tutoring by the tutor.
-Evaluation of the oral and public presentation by a commission of three professors.


Evaluation criteria:

Written essay:

1) Structure and order of the essay.

2) The search for bibliographical sources: selection and critical analysis of the specific bibliographical sources related to the chosen topic.

3) The theoretical framework set for approaching the topic and the state of the art related to this topic.

4) The description, analysis and presentation of written records or archaeological data.

5) The ability for scientific reasoning through hypothesis building, experimental/analytical planning, and testing procedures.

6) Formal presentation requirements, both in terms of spelling and syntax, as well as bibliographic citations, notes and summary.



Public presentation:

1) Oral expression and presentation structure.

2) Presentation adjusted to 20 minutes.

3) Proper use of audiovisual media.

4) Answers to commission's questions and remarks.

 

In case of plagiarism. Plagiarism means copying other people's work - either contents, written paragraphs, findings, ideas - presenting it as a result of oneself effort, that is, without the indication of the original source. If the tutor detects plagiarism, TFM presentation must be avoided. If the commission detects plagiarism, the mark given to it must be 0.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Public presentation 30% 0 0 1, 15, 11, 13, 4, 20, 19
Written essay Written essay and tutorials will amount 70% 0 0 1, 2, 6, 7, 15, 17, 12, 10, 8, 9, 11, 13, 4, 5, 3, 20, 14, 19, 18, 16

Bibliography

Bibliography according particular TFM research topics and objectives.