Module manager: James Mooney
Email: j.r.mooney@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
Music is a multi-disciplinary subject, and musical research employs a diverse range of methods. On this module you will be introduced to a range of research approaches including musicological (critical, archival, historiographic), applied (creative practice, technological) and empirical (qualitative and quantitative) approaches. You will experiment with the different methods, which will prepare you for undertaking your own research project.
Students will choose an area of interest which they will pursue through different methods explored in groups of related lectures and seminars. Musicological, applied and empirical methodologies will be explored through lectures. Students will learn to apply the methodologies in related seminars through case studies and practical experiments. Skills lectures will support literature review and research project management.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Situate music with respect to a range of analytical contexts and critical perspectives.
2. Analyse connections between theory and practice, and between music and/or other disciplines.
3. Identify appropriate methodologies to the study of music.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Analyse sources to appraise, debate and defend scholarly methods.
5. Apply appropriate methodologies to the study of music.
6. Reflect analytically on your own learning, achievement, and personal/professional development.
7. Create content in a variety of appropriate formats
Methodological approaches will be grouped into three general areas: Musicological; Empirical; and Applied. Groups of lectures in each area will be followed up by practical seminar/workshops in which students gain practical experience in using research methods. The module will have an introductory lecture, a lecture in semester 2 to introduce the ‘research project proposal’ assignment, and several skills sessions delivered with the Skills@library team, probably in the areas of project management and literature reviewing.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Lecture | 13 | 1.5 | 19.5 |
| Seminar | 7 | 1.5 | 10.5 |
| Private study hours | 169 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 31 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Students receive feedback in seminar sessions relating to their work applying methods. They receive summative feedback on the methods report, which informs the project proposal.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Methods Portfolio | 50 |
| Coursework | Research Project Proposal | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Methods portfolio: exploration of the student’s area of interest in relation to one or more methods from each of the general areas covered, citing relevant methods literature, with examples of suitable research questions and examples of how methods will be applied; a research project proposal. Both items must be passed to pass the module.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 29/04/2025
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