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You should not carry out a project and a literature survey (if you do the literature survey module) in the same specific area of research, but taking both components in the same general area is acceptable. Our criterion for whether the areas are sufficiently different is that it should not be possible to use a shortened version of your literature survey as the Introduction to your project.
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Each project must have a supervisor, who must be a member of the teaching or postdoctoral research staff. Not all members of staff are available to act as project supervisors; a list of those who are and a summary of their research interests can be found in appendix A. Supervision undertaken by postdoctoral research staff will be overseen by a faculty member, who will sign the project proposal form. In such cases the postdoctoral researcher will typically be first marker of the project report. You You should identify potential project supervisors via the appropriate link found under 'Projects' on the Year 3 Key Information page, make a note of relevant timeslots for discussion listed by potential supervisors via the same link, and refine your project plans.
You should have finalised your project choices and submitted your preferences via a Google Form during weeks 2 to 4 of the Summer Term1 to 5 in Semester 1, see the appropriate Projects Timetable via the Year 3 Key Information page for more information on the specific deadline. You will later be notified of your project supervisor. If you would like further advice on whom to approach, talk to Paul Bishop (paul.bishop@york.ac.uk) who is the overall Project Organiser. The role of the project supervisor is to provide you with guidance and advice, and to help you with particular problems you encounter. It is up to you to make the most effective use of your supervisor. The optimal frequency and length of meetings will vary, depending on the details of the project, the individual student's needs and their supervisor’s requirements, but might typically be held at least once every two weeks once the project is fully underway. You may arrange further additional meetings with your supervisor as required. Remember that members of staff may not be available for meetings at very short notice so if possible you should email first to make an appointment.
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Your remaining task is to fill in an Ethics/Project Proposal Form with the help of your project supervisor and submit it for approval. This procedure will unfold predominantly in the first three five weeks of the autumn term Semester 1 of Year 3, though some preliminary planning may be carried out later in the summer term Semester 2 of Year 2, depending on the the project. An electronic version of your ETHICS/PROJECT PROPOSAL form is available via the the Projects - Obtaining Ethical Approval page page. Please follow the instructions and try to keep the form to two sides. . It must be handed in ON TIME (see the appropriate Timetable, via the Year 3 - Key Information page). You must not start testing participants until you have received appropriate ethical approval, and any project undertaken without ethical approval may receive a mark of zero. You should also ensure your project supervisor has signed the project proposal form before it is submitted electronically to natalie.birchall@york.ac.ukand then submit it electronically online: https://forms.gle/81G9EezNgmze9AcZ9
The Google Form will ask you to enter the names of the students on the project, your supervisor's email for confirmation, and will ask you to upload the ethics form and any other attachments (materials, questionnaires) you need to share.
4. Points to Note in Planning your Project
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Before reaching a final decision about your project design, discuss with your supervisor the facilities and equipment you will require. ALL use of departmental resources, whether psychometric, secretarial administrative or technical, must be approved by your supervisor; please do not ask secretaries the administrators or technicians for help without your supervisor's prior approval. The department is prepared to fund photocopying associated with your project on the Departmental Office copier. Administrators will provide access for approved use of the photocopier, though at least one week's notice may be required for large numbers of copies. Several weeks' notice will be necessary if you require access to special equipment.
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If you choose to do so, you may conduct a group project with other students. Where possible the group should consist of no more than three or four individuals. The maximum group size is six. You may find that working with others will help maintain your enthusiasm and allow you to conduct a more substantial investigation than you could on your own. However, you should bear in mind that you will be dependent on the work of others and that full co-operation within the group will be essential for a successful project. All participants in group projects are expected to co-operate in initial planning, designing the study and collecting data. Data analysis, interpretation and writing up the project report must be carried out independently by each student. Group projects will be marked in the same way as individual projects, but taking account of the role and contribution of each individual as assessed by the project supervisor. Irrespective of whether you are working on a group or an individual project, 10% of your final project mark will reflect your contribution to the project.When your group project plan is complete you should register the project with Reception by submitting one ETHICS/PROJECT PROPOSAL form with everyone’s name and signature on it.
6. Ethical and legal constraints
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Project proposals are considered by the departmental ethics committee at its annual meeting late in the Summer Termfirst few weeks of Semester 1, and the committee’s decision will be communicated to you by letter towards the end of the termemail shortly afterwards. If the ethics committee writes to you to indicate that it is not satisfied your project plans are consistent with ethical guidelines, or if further details are required, you must discuss the committee’s concerns with your supervisor, and submit a revised proposal as soon as possible.
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Summaries of previous projects are available for inspection in the Departmental Office, and these should give you an indication of the scope and range of topics others have considered. It may be helpful also to look at some of the projects done in previous years that have ultimately been published. References to a selection of these can be found in appendix B. Scanning recent issues of journals concerned with topics of interest to you can be a useful source of ideas.
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Once you have received ethical clearance, you may begin testing. All data collection should be completed well before ideally by the end of the Spring term start of Semester 2 to allow you time to analyse your data and write up your report. When recruiting participants you cannot use SONA or the cohort e-mail lists. Students should also refrain from paying participants, offering incentives and cannot provide course credit in return for participation.
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As part of our attempt to standardise the help given by supervisors it has been agreed that supervisors should read and comment on only one draft of your project report. Before submitting a draft to your supervisor, aim to take advantage of improvements in clarity and accuracy that can derive from redrafting your report in the light of your own careful re-reading, and of comments made by other readers. The deadline for handing a draft to your supervisor for comments is Week 1 of Term 9between Weeks 5 and 7 in Semester 2. Please check with your supervisor to see if they have a specified deadline within those weeks. You need to meet this deadline because your supervisor may recommend further data analysis and other modifications to the report which may be time-consuming to complete. Please note that supervisors are NOT allowed to comment on the Discussion section of your draft.
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- The word count should be clearly indicated at the end of the project report, and should be a maximum of 6000 5000 words. For further details on what is included or excluded in word counts, please consult the Word Limits section of the UG Handbook - Penalties page.
- No cover sheet is necessary.
- Appendices should contain information of a supplementary nature only and not be required reading for a good understanding of the main body of the project.
- Projects should be submitted electronically via the VLE in PDF format. For further details on submitting work electronically, please consult the Guide to Online Submission of Work section of the UG Handbook - Guide to Online Submission of Work page.
- Retain an archived copy of all the raw data and other relevant materials, which the Department may ask to see.
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