Teaching, learning and assessment methods
The study materials are presented through a nine-month foundation module and a final 12-month dissertation module. The teaching materials supporting the MA in Music are delivered entirely online, with access provided to a large number of digital resources through the module website and via the OU library. Learning outcomes are assessed primarily by means of tutor-marked assignments (TMAs). Part 1 (A873) is assessed by three TMAs and one end-of-module assessment (EMA), providing you with the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the broad methodological themes of this module. Part 2 (A874) includes six assignments, the latter two are not assessed which prepare you for the independent work of the 11,000 word dissertation which forms the final assessed component of this module.
Knowledge and understanding: you will study the nature, purpose and diversity of postgraduate research in music; investigate methods that are generic to music research, and gain an ability to use those methods; consider evidence, methodology and interpretation relating to musical discourses; learn how to analyse a range of different types of sources relevant to music, and develop an ability to express ideas in extended pieces of writing; learn about critical and creative approaches to the study of music within the digital humanities, including analysis of different digital sources; study the cultural and thematic breadth of postgraduate music study: in the context of western and non-western music.
Cognitive skills: you will compare different methodological approaches, ideas and debates within music research; analyse and compare sources in different media, written and aural; analyse and describe musical practices; use digital resources relevant to the study of music discriminatingly and systematically; understand relationships between different research and interpretative methods.
Key skills: the formation of arguments and the employment of critical and evaluative skills are taught across A873 and A874, and assessed in both modules. You will write extended pieces of prose based on your own research; structure arguments and analyse data; use scholarly conventions accurately; find and evaluate musical sources, especially with relation to the digital humanities.
Practical and professional skills: The use of research libraries and online digital sources is taught in A873 and developed at each stage of the programme. Similarly, you will develop computer literacy through engagement with bibliographic tools and digital resources relevant to the study of music. These skills are assessed throughout the programme. In addition, you will develop skills of independent thinking and research relevant to the study of music; and you will learn how to plan, organise and manage your own learning, and develop team working and interpersonal skills through interaction with fellow students and tutors in an online environment.