PGR Handbook Department of Theology and Religious Studies

nottingham.ac.uk/theology

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Contents

1. GETTING STARTED 3 1.1 Postgraduate Research Student Information (Humanities) Moodle Page 3 1.2 Meet the PGR Team 3 1.3 Communication and Contact Details 3 1.4 Building Access 4

1.5 Pigeonholes and Noticeboards 4

1.6 PGR study area provision 4

1.7 Considerate Working 5 1.8 Computing Facilities and Gaining Access 5 1.9 Printing and Photocopying Facilities 6 1.10 Telephones 6 1.11 Library Facilities 7 1.12 The Graduate School 7

1.13 The Social Sciences and Arts Graduate Centre 7 1.14 The Language Centre 7 1.15 The Digital Transformations Hub 7

1.16 Health and Safety 8 1.17 Car Parking and Cycle Store 10 1.18 Social Media Policy 11

2. SUPERVISION AND RESEARCH TRAINING 12 2.1 Your Supervisors and Supervisions 12 2.2 Your Responsibilities 13 2.3 Research Training 13 2.4 Ethics 14 2.5 Travel Off Campus and Risk Assessment 15 2.6 Sources of Funding 15

3. PROGRESSION 17 3.1 Annual Review 17

4. SUBMISSION AND EXAMINATION OF YOUR THESIS 18 4.1 Extension to Thesis Pending 18 4.2 Late Submission 18

5. ATTENDANCE AND MONITORING 19 5.1 Recording Attendance 19

5.2 Holiday Leave 19 5.3 Religious Observance 19 5.4 Illness or Prolonged Absence 19

6. STUDENT REPRESENTATION AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT 21 6.1 Learning Community Forum 21

6.2 Disclosure and Confidentiality 21 6.3 Student Support in the School 21

6.4 Personal Difficulties 22 6.5 Academic Difficulties 22

7. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: PLAGIARISM 24

8 TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES IN YOUR DEPARTMENT 25

9 AFTER YOUR RESEARCH DEGREE 26

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10 THE DEPARTMENT OF Theology and Religious Studies 27

APPENDIX: MYNOTTINGHAM TERMINOLOGY

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1. GETTING STARTED This section provides you with basic information which will enable you to become

acquainted with the School during your first week to help you settle in. It starts with

more local, practical, information and requirements and then provides details of other

departments, sections and services that you should seek out at the earliest opportunity.

1.1. Postgraduate Research Student Information (Humanities)

Moodle Page All information and resources relating to the PhD programme and opportunities for

postgraduate research (PGR) students can be found on the Humanities PGR Student

Information Page on Moodle. Students will be able to access the Moodle page once they

have completed registration and have their University logon details.

1.2 Meet the PGR Team

You will have the opportunity to meet your Departmental Director of Postgraduate

Studies and the Student Services PGR Team during the School and Departmental

welcome week sessions. The name and contact details of your Department’s Director

of Postgraduate Studies is listed in the department specific section of this Handbook;

please refer to Section 10.

The School Director of Postgraduate Research is Penelope Mackie

(penelope.mackie@nottingham.ac.uk, tel: 0115 84 67570), and the Postgraduate

Student Advisor is Matt Hefferan (matthew.hefferan3@nottingham.ac.uk, tel. 0115

74 84107).

The Student Services PGR Team is located in Room C1, Portland Building,

University Park Campus, email: ss-pgr-upc@nottingham.ac.uk (or ss-pgr-

upw@nottingham.ac.uk), tel: 0115 95 15843 (or internal 15843). This team deals

with administration regarding maintenance of your student record, the thesis

submission and examination process and general enquiries. There are several SSCs

open across the campuses, which can also be accessed, offering a wide range of

services to students. For a full list of services and locations, visit the Student

Services website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/studentservices.

The School Management and Research Office teams are based in Room A19,

Humanities Building. The School Operations Team (school-

operations@nottingham.ac.uk) organise the PGR work stations and study area,

provision of storage space, and Health and Safety issues. The Research and

Funding Team (research-funding@nottingham.ac.uk) provide assistance with travel

and conference funding and booking.

1.3 Communication and Contact Details

All students will be issued with a University email address upon registration and you

will be contacted via that address only. It is essential that you check your email

regularly. Personal email addresses will not be added to circulation lists.

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It is very important that Student Services holds the correct details for you in case they

are required in an emergency, or in connection with your funding (if you hold a

studentship, for example). Please ensure that you keep your contact records up to date

with Student Services. If you change your mobile number, personal email address, move

address, change your bank account or do anything else that could have an impact on

administrative matters in relation to your study, please remember to pass on your new

information.

The Arts Faculty has a guideline timeframe within which an academic member of staff

is expected to respond to emails from a student, details of which are set out below:

The Faculty policy is that academic colleagues are expected to reply to an email

from an undergraduate or postgraduate student within two working days of its

receipt.

Weekends, Bank Holidays/University Closure Days and annual leave are excluded

from this timeframe.

In practice this policy means that an email sent at 7 pm on a Friday should receive a

response by 9 am Wednesday morning, an email sent at 4 pm on a Friday should

receive a response by 4 pm the following Tuesday, and so on.

It may not always be possible to answer a student’s enquiry fully, in which case a

holding email would be appropriate (e.g. ‘I cannot provide an answer to your enquiry

now, but I will do so within the next x days’).

When on leave, academic colleagues are expected to create an Outlook Automatic

Reply (Out of Office) stating a return to office date and a contact if the email is

urgent.

Academic colleagues who work part-time are also expected to create an Out of

Office statement confirming when they will next be available to respond to emails.

1.4 Building Access

From Monday to Friday between the hours of 8.30am and 6.00pm, access to the

Humanities Building and the adjacent building, Lenton Grove, is via the automatic

doors. Outside these hours, at weekends and during University days of closure, you

will need your University Card for swipe access. The University website gives details of

Semester and Term dates and University Holidays and Closure of Building dates.

In the Music Building, access is via University Card at all times.

There are kitchen facilities on the B and C Floors of the Humanities Building. Digilocks

are fitted on the doors and the codes are:

B Floor: C1975X

C Floor: C1964X

In Music, kitchen facilities are located in B4. No code is required to access this area.

Please ensure that you take responsibility for anything you bring in, clear any

unwanted food or milk out of the fridge regularly, and wash up, dry and put away

any items you use. These kitchens are for the use of Humanities staff and PGR

students ONLY. Please do not give the door codes to anyone else.

1.5 Pigeonholes and Noticeboards

Student pigeonholes are located opposite the lifts on the B Floor of the Humanities

Building, and PGR noticeboards are located within B01 and C01.

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In Music pigeonholes are located opposite office A7 on the ground floor.

1.6 PGR Study Area Provision

The PGR study areas are managed by the School Operations Team in the School

Management and Research Office (A19, Humanities Building, email: school-

operations@nottingham.ac.uk).

The areas are located in B01 and C01 in the Humanities Building. These areas are

divided into two by partitions, one area being B01a and the other B01c (with the same

set-up in C01). Access to desks and a PC for both full-time and part-time PGRs is

operated as a shared desk system, with the exception of students with special

requirements (e.g., disability support or need for specialist equipment), who may

apply for an allocated desk. See the Humanities PGR Moodle page for the latest

details on workspace policy and how to apply for an allocated desk.

The School monitors the ratio of desks to students and aims to ensure that this does

not exceed a 1:2 ratio. Allocated desks and PCs are clearly marked as such and must

only be used by the research student to whom the desk has been allocated. All other

desks and PCs are available for use under the shared system.

Access to a lockable tambour unit is provided for storage. This facility is shared

with one other person, with each being allocated two of the four tambour unit

shelves. See the PGR Moodle page for details of how to apply for tambour storage.

In Music the PGR study area is located in B9. This room has digilock access and

the code is: C4678Z. Please do not share this code with any non-PGR or non-

Music students.

1.7 Considerate Working

The School wants the PGR areas to be vibrant places where users can exchange ideas

and network with other students and staff. However, the study areas are intended to

be used as quiet, shared, working offices. Total silence is not a reasonable expectation

for a shared working environment, but we do expect students and staff to be

considerate of other users. In particular:

Please be considerate of other users when opening windows and check

whether those who are sitting nearby mind – particularly in the colder

months.

Please take longer and more social conversations to another location to avoid

disturbing those who are trying to concentrate. The open spaces in the

Atrium and at the top of the central stairs on B and C floors are ideal for

these types of conversations.

If you wish to have music, please use a personal headset at a considerate

volume, so that others are not disturbed in their work.

Please do not move equipment or furniture without first consulting the School

Management & Research Office (SMRO) Team. Detailed databases of keys

and equipment location are kept and if items are moved it can be very

complicated to resolve.

The University is not responsible for personal belongings’ being lost or stolen.

Do not leave bags, purses/wallets, mobile phones, etc., unattended for any

length of time. Ensure that you lock them away in the storage provided.

Please keep your desk area clean and tidy. The cleaning staff work early in the

morning and will not move items on desks to clean. If your papers drop on to

the floor these could, however, be cleared away, so be careful!

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In the Humanities Building, unless the desk is specifically allocated to an

individual student no belongings, books or papers should be left on shared

desks at the end of a working day. On no account should individuals take

ownership of a shared desk by leaving their belongings on it.

If you have any queries, please contact the SMRO Team.

1.8 Computing Facilities and Gaining Access

When you registered online for your course via the Portal, the last part of registration

should have created your username and password for you. You should use these details

to access computer facilities. If you have not yet registered, you can go to an

Information Services (IS) computer room/area where there should be a registration

option when you log in. The credentials required will be your login details for registration

that will have been sent to you before your start date. Information Services can provide

details to you if you have not received them (see the IT Service Desk details below). IS

computer rooms/areas are located in the Humanities Building (Room A17), Lenton Grove

(A17), Trent Building (Rooms A93, A94, LG25 and LG27), Hallward Library, Cripps

Computing Centre, and elsewhere in the University.

IS computer rooms/areas are not administered by the School but by Information Services.

Advice and help is available from IS Service Points, in libraries, resource centres and in

many IS computer rooms. The IT Service Desk can help with any difficulties or problems

you are experiencing. Phone 0115 95 16677 (internal 16677), log a support call online or

visit one of the Smart Bars.

1.9 Printing and Photocopying Facilities

There are several Xerox devices in the Humanities Building, two devices in Music, and

four devices in Lenton Grove.

Access to the devices is via your University Card. When you send a document to be

printed, it is sent to a ‘print queue’, not a specific device. This means that you can print

your documents out on any Xerox device anywhere in the University. Scanning, copying

and faxing are also available to you on these machines.

Once you are fully registered and have your username and password details and your

University Card you should be ready to use the printers/ copiers. When you try to print

you should see the four print queues:

Mono – Default black and white and duplex

Colour – Default colour and duplex

Draft – Default black and white, duplex and two pages per side

Booklet – this enables all the hole punching, stapling, and folding options

in the driver

At the earliest opportunity, try to log into one of the Xerox machines using your

University Card. Hold your card over the login device, on the left hand side of the

machine. The red light will turn green and the machine will log you in; you can also log

in manually using the same username and password which you use on the computers.

If you are not able to print for any reason, or you cannot see the print queues listed

above, or your card doesn’t allow you to log into the device, please contact the IT

Service Desk (see 1.8 above for contact details).

Printing and photocopying for your own academic-related purposes is free of charge for

PGRs. Please use ‘Mono’ as your default printing option wherever possible, so that the

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School will avoid incurring costs associated with colour printing when this is not

essential. The devices should only be used to print documents relating to your course

of study. Please be aware that both staff and student print usage is closely monitored

on a monthly basis, and this includes colour copying and printing.

There are Print Champions around your building who work on a rota system. Details

of the champions are displayed above each device. If you experience any problems

with a device, please try to resolve the issue by following the instructions on the

screen. If you cannot resolve the issue, please call the person who is on duty at the

time in the first instance.

1.10 Telephones

There is a telephone in B01 (desk 36) and C01 (C17 Photocopier Room) specifically for

the use of postgraduate research students. If your call is of a more private nature,

then you may use one of the telephones in the consultation rooms (which are situated

inside the PGR study areas) if they are vacant. These telephones are for internal calls

only and any national or overseas calls must be made on your own mobile or home

telephone. 1.11 Library Facilities

There are several libraries located across the campuses, the main one being the

Hallward Library on University Park Campus (building 9 on the Campus Map).

Information Services delivers an introduction to their services (including the Hallward

Library) and run a number of useful teaching sessions on literature searches, etc.

Details will be circulated by the Hallward Library when available. Full details of the

services offered can be found on the Student Services Website.

You can visit the libraries of many other UK universities by joining the SCONUL

Access scheme. You may also be eligible to borrow items. Take a look at the

SCONUL Access website for more information and guidance on how to join.

1.12 The Graduate School

The Graduate School is located in Highfield House (No 10 on the Campus Map). It is the

University’s main centre for providing services and guidance specifically for postgraduate

students. It runs a wide range of training courses for postgraduate students in research

skills, communication skills, and other skills that may help you in your research and

career development. For further information about the Graduate School and the training

initiatives offered see its website.

1.13 The Social Sciences and Arts Graduate Centre

The Social Sciences and Arts Graduate Centre is located on the first floor of Highfield

House, University Park. It is a dedicated working space for postgraduate students and

research staff, and offers a wide range of support, including Arts-specific training and

career sessions. Accessible 24/7, this new space provides comprehensive facilities;

further details can be found on the website.

1.14 The Language Centre

During your course of study, it may be necessary to acquire new languages (ancient or

modern) or to improve existing language knowledge. You should discuss language

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development skills with your supervisor or your department’s Director of Postgraduate

Studies. The University’s Language Centre, in the Trent Building, provides excellent

facilities for this, with resources such as a multimedia suite for computer-assisted

language learning. Further details can be found on the Language Centre website.

Students who are funded by the M3C/M4C scheme may apply to the Student

Development Fund (SDF) to subsidise the cost of language courses required for

research purposes. Non-M3C/M4C students may apply to the Faculty of Arts languages

fund; further details of this process are available on the Faculty of Arts website

1.15 The Digital Transformations Hub

The Digital Transformations Hub (DTH), formerly known as the Digital Humanities

Centre, is located in Room A24 of the Humanities Building and is open weekdays

between 10.00am and 5.00pm to all Faculty of Arts staff and students who wish to use

digital media in their teaching and research.

The DTH is open to all Faculty of Arts staff and students 10-5 weekdays during term

time and includes PCs all of which have Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite including

Photoshop, InDesign, Lightroom, Acrobat and PremierPro. We have scanners (A0, A3,

A4, transparency, slide and book scanners), graphics tablets, a copy-stand with lighting

units with digital camera with macro lenses; a networked plasma screen for

presentations and workshops, and VR headsets (Oculus and Vive). Equipment is also

available to borrow by arrangement including cameras – includes 3D and 360 degree -

audio recording devices and tablets (iPad and android)

The DTH also houses the 35mm slide collection, which includes sections devoted to fine

art, photography, sculpture, manuscripts, installation art, architecture and Classical

sites. Light boxes are available to view slides, and slide and digital projectors are

available by arrangement. Staff and student helpers are available weekdays to facilitate and advise on the use of

DTH equipment and software,

You may even want to join the Student Volunteer Team and learn digital and

transferable skills for yourself!

For further details visit the DTH website where you can also sign up and keep up to date

with our social networking pages and blog, pop in and see us or email the team

at artsdigitalhub@nottingham.ac.uk

1.16 Health and Safety

Tracy Sisson (tracy.sisson@nottingham.ac.uk, Room B48, Ext 66636) is the Health and

Safety Co-ordinator for the School of Humanities. She is assisted by Matthew Roe

(matthew.roe1@nottingham.ac.uk, Room A19, Ext 66015) as Health and Safety

Assistant.

A copy of the School Safety Policy is available on the Humanities PGR Moodle page in

the ‘Health and Safety and Risk Assessments’ section. All users of the building have a

responsibility to ensure their own safety and that of others, so please ensure that you

familiarise yourself with the policy document as soon as possible. The Health and

Safety Co-ordinator/Health and Safety Assistant are happy to answer any questions or

queries you may have.

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The School of Humanities operates a fire token system across all its buildings. Fire tokens

make it everyone’s responsibility to ensure the quick and efficient evacuation of the

building in an emergency situation. Full details of how the fire token system works can be

found in the Safety Policy, together with precise locations of the tokens. There will be a

system of drills in place for testing measures. This system is only as effective as the users

of the building make it, so please ensure that you understand how the system works and

be ready to help assist in operationalising it in the event of an evacuation.

Some other, and particularly important, aspects of health and safety are:

Travel Off Campus and Risk Assessments

As part of the University’s duty of care it is essential that any travel off campus that is

related to your course of study, whether funded or self-funded, and no matter what the

activity consists of, must be appropriately booked and risk assessed. For full details on

what to do in relation to any travel off-campus, please see Section 2.5.

Accidents, First Aid and Emergencies

It is a requirement that ALL accidents in respect of any injuries sustained by any

person, in any part of the University, are reported online via the Incident Reporting

System. You log into the system using your usual University username and password

and incidents can be reported either by the person who has sustained an injury, or

someone on their behalf. The incident will then be routed to the appropriate Health

and Safety Co-ordinator for investigation.

There are a number of trained First Aiders in the School and signs are located around the

buildings indicating who these are. In case of emergency, contact one of the named

members of staff or, alternatively, telephone Ext 18888 on an internal telephone or 0115

95 18888 on a mobile, for Security, who will coordinate a response. Please do not

telephone 999 in an emergency as this could cause delays if the emergency services don’t

have sufficient information on the exact location of where the emergency is. If the call

goes through Security, they will call the emergency services, meet them on arrival and

escort them to the correct location.

Out of Hours Working

It is important that if you are working outside the ‘core hours’ in the Humanities and Music

Buildings that you ensure you sign the ‘out of hours’ book. In the event of an emergency

this enables the emergency services to know who is in the building and where.

Humanities Building

The main entrance automatic doors are open to public access between 8.30am and

6.00pm on weekdays and these are the core hours. Outside these times, at weekends

and on days of University closure, access is by University Card only.

The Humanities Building has an ‘out of hours’ book which you must sign if you are

working outside of the above core hours. This is situated to the right of the main

entrance.

Music Building

Access to the building is by University Card at all times.

The Department has an ‘out of hours’ book which you must sign if you are working

outside of the above core hours. This is situated outside the Administration Office (A4).

Electrical Testing

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All items of an electrical nature must be tested on an annual basis and this is co-

ordinated by the School Management and Research Office (SMRO). Please ensure that

you notify the SMRO of any electrical items that you bring into the School so that they

can be included on the next round of testing. No untested items should be used on

University premises.

Hazards

It is the duty of all staff and students to be vigilant in the School. Regular inspections are

carried out by the safety team, and we are audited regularly, but should you observe

any potential hazards or come across anything of concern, please draw this to the

attention of the Health and Safety Co-ordinator or Health and Safety Assistant, who will

deal with the issue accordingly.

Use of Display Screen Equipment (DSE)

It is important that you ensure that your workstation is set up correctly. The University

Policy on the Safe Use of DSE is available on the Safety Office website, which covers the

key areas to consider. All staff and students are encouraged to undertake the online

training module which offers useful tips and information on what constitutes a good

workstation set up, how often to take breaks, and also provides advice on useful

exercises you can do to minimise the health effects of using DSE equipment. To

complete the module, which only takes between 10 – 20 minutes (you work through at

your own pace), click on the link above and sign in using your usual University username

and password. You may get directed to a pre-screen first – if you do, you need to click

on ‘Participate in this module’ and you will then be directed to the start page. If you

have any problems accessing the module, please contact the Health and Safety Co-

ordinator (Tracy Sisson, tracy.sisson@nottingham.ac.uk Ext 66636).

Securing Your Valuables

It only requires a few seconds for a thief to walk into an office, study area or laboratory

and steal a wallet, laptop, phone or other valuables. Please ensure that you always

keep bags and valuables locked away in your storage areas and do not leave them

unattended for any length of time. Please also ensure that you close windows if you are

the last to leave or lock doors where necessary.

If you see anyone acting suspiciously, please report this to any member of staff in the

SMRO (A19, Humanities Building) or, out of hours, contact Security on Extension 13013

(0115 95 13013 from a mobile). If you need to report an emergency that requires

ambulance, fire brigade or police presence please call Ext 18888 (0115 95 18888 from

a mobile). If the emergency services are required, please do not call 999 – always call

Ext 18888.

1.17 Car Parking and Cycle Store

Students are not normally given car parking permits to park on the campus. There are

exceptions mainly for students with disabilities or mature students with dependent

children. All enquiries regarding parking must be directed to the Security Office (internal

ext. 13557, or 0115 951 3557).

For those who cycle, there is a run of cycle stands to the rear of the Humanities

Building. Alternatively there is a secure Cycle Store located on the left hand side of the

Cavendish Hall Car Park entrance, which is only accessible by University Card. Please

note that the University does not accept responsibility for any damage to or loss of

cycles parked either in the cycle stands or store.

There are cycle stands to the front of the Music Building. There are further stands with

limited cover at the Lakeside Arts Centre and outside the Psychology Building. The

nearest secure Cycle Store is near the Biology Building.

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For full interactive map on cycle facilities please see here.

1.18 Social Media Policy

The Social Media Policy for Students aims to offer guidance and direction on student use

of social media while studying at the University of Nottingham. While social media can

offer many social, academic and professional benefits, there is an inherent risk attached

to its use, and this policy can make individual students aware of the impact that misuse

of social media can have on themselves, their fellow students, members of staff and the

University’s reputation. It advocates the use of social media, but encourages a cautious

and considered approach, while outlining the standards of conduct expected from

students.

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2. SUPERVISION AND RESEARCH TRAINING

2.1 Your Supervisors and Supervisions

Your supervisors are the most important source of support for your research while you

are at Nottingham, so it is vital that you arrange an initial meeting within the first week of

your arrival. The supervisors’ basic responsibility is to guide and assist you in your

research. This includes, among other things: checking that you have received the

appropriate initial information and are settling in; helping you to plan your research;

providing regular supervision; requesting written work as appropriate and commenting on

it; discussing and planning your skills training and participation in seminars and

conferences; and advising you on the timing, construction and presentation of your

thesis. More details can be found in the University’s Quality Manual.

A supervision team should consist of at least two members of staff. This may be a joint

supervision arrangement (Supervisor 1: 50%; Supervisor 2: 50%) or an arrangement

with a lead supervisor and a second supervisor (and a third, if appropriate). The lead

supervisor should not normally take more than 80% of the supervision in a single year,

and the second supervisor no less than 20%: accordingly a second supervisor should

meet with the student for at least two supervisions per year (one for part-time students).

Under no circumstances should a student have no formal supervision with the second

supervisor during the course of a single academic year.

One member of the supervision team should have experience of supervising research

students through to successful completion. If neither supervisor in a team has experience

of supervising students through to successful completion, then a third supervisor

(‘mentor’) should be appointed who has this experience: this should normally be the

departmental Director of Postgraduate Studies, but may if appropriate be another

member of staff. That person should take a minimum of 20% of the supervision in any

one year. One of the supervisors can be a retired member of staff, but in this case a

member of staff who is currently in full-time employment at the University of Nottingham

should be identified as a principal supervisor. Individuals employed by another university

should not normally be appointed as supervisors (unless this is separately arranged by a

funding consortium, e.g. AHRC Midlands4Cities or ESRC Midlands Graduate School).

Individual departments or supervision teams may choose to practise full joint supervision

(i.e., with both supervisors present in every supervision); this is normal practice in some

Schools and an expectation for ESRC and Midlands4Cities joint doctoral supervision teams.

However, this is not a School of Humanities requirement. Supervision teams should

therefore agree on the most appropriate and useful form of supervision for the student and

project in question: however, it is strongly recommended that the supervision team meets

jointly at least twice a year, i.e,. for the initial meeting of the year (to agree on the year’s

activities and timetable) and prior to the submission of annual review materials (See

Section 3).

In addition to this, departments should adhere rigidly to the following supervision

arrangements:

1. Full-time students are entitled to a minimum of 10 supervisions per year in

their registered period of study (typically 3 years). Part-time students are

entitled to a minimum of 6 supervisions per year in their registered period of

study (typically 6 years).

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2. Students in the thesis pending period are entitled to a minimum of 6

supervisions (this is spread across the two years of thesis pending for part-time

students).

3. Records must be completed for all supervisions (even if the supervision is

carried out by Skype, email, or phone). A supervision record form should be

completed, and copies returned to Student Services within 14 days of the

supervision. It is important that no fewer than the minimum number of

supervision records forms outlined in (1) and (2) are returned by the end of

each 12-month period.

The first year for full-time PhD students, and first two years for part-time students, will

normally be devoted to laying the foundations for your research project, identifying and

refining the topic, planning the structure of the thesis, and carrying out basic research.

The registered period of study for a full-time student is three years, and for part-time

students it is six years. You should aim to complete the thesis by the end of your

registered period of study. Those students who have not completed within the period of

registered study will enter a thesis pending period (one year for full-time students, two

years for part-time). Students in thesis pending continue to be entitled to use the

University’s library and IT facilities, and your supervisors will continue to give you

guidance, although you will not be entitled to full supervision. You must complete and

submit your thesis by the end of the thesis-pending period. Extensions are allowed only

in exceptional circumstances.

Full time students have the opportunity to be ‘registered’ in the Thesis Pending period,

which involves the payment of a nominal fee, and entitles the continuation of council tax

exemption.

2.2 Your Responsibilities

It is essential that you should take responsibility for your own progress by planning

and carrying out your work methodically and co-operating fully with your supervisors.

Principal among your responsibilities are: to attend supervisions and annual reviews at

agreed times; to submit written work punctually; to comply with the University’s

policies on research ethics and research conduct; and to adhere to the research and

training plans that you will have developed in consultation with your supervisors, to

ensure timely completion of your thesis. For a full statement of your responsibilities

see the University’s Quality Manual.

2.3 Research Training

The University provides a wide range of training opportunities, designed to support

your research, your career development, and your individual capacities and skills.

These are delivered by the Graduate School, the cross-Faculty Arts & Social Sciences

Graduate Centre, the Faculty of Arts, the Language Centre, and the University’s

Professional Development Unit. At the start of each year of your period of registered

study, you must complete a Training Needs Analysis in consultation with your

supervisor. This gives you the opportunity to discuss your training requirements and

how best these can be met (e.g., by attending courses at the University or elsewhere;

via online training; via supervisions).

The Graduate School

The Graduate School is located in Highfield House (No 10 on the Campus Map). It is the

University’s main centre for providing services and guidance specifically for postgraduate

students and runs a wide range of training courses in research skills, communication

skills, and other skills that may help you in your research and career development.

Further information about the Graduate School and what it offers can be found on its

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website. Details of forthcoming training courses will be found in the ‘Training and

Development’ section of the website.

Social Sciences and Arts Graduate Centre

The Social Sciences and Arts Graduate Centre (SSAGC) is one of five Graduate Centres

located across the University and can be found on the first floor of Highfield House. It is a

dedicated space for postgraduate students and research staff, providing a study space

with 24/7 access, as well as offering a wide range of support, including training and

careers sessions.

First year students should normally attend the core components of the Faculty of Arts

Researcher Skills Programme as well as taking advantage of the Graduate School’s

training courses. You should discuss and plan with your supervisors which courses are

most appropriate at each stage of your course. In particular, PGRs who wish to act as

Teaching Affiliates are required to attend the appropriate Graduate School teaching

training courses (see Humanities PGR Moodle page for details).

Professional Development offers short courses for postgraduates to develop the skills and

attributes identified in the Researcher Development Framework, especially in the domains

of personal effectiveness and engagement, influence and impact.

Language Training

See details on the Language Centre in Section 1.14.

Your Place in the Research Community

An essential part of your development as a researcher will be acquiring research skills and

making contact with others carrying out research in your discipline and cognate areas

through seminars and other research events.

Many of these activities will be focused within the department, but you should also look

to network further afield by attending workshops and conferences. Postgraduate

workshops are increasingly popular and many of our research students have

distinguished records of presenting at them. Some limited funding for attending

workshops and conferences is available; see Section 2.6.

Further details on the main conferences and workshops within your discipline are outlined

in the department specific section of this handbook.

2.4 Ethics

The University of Nottingham requires all of its staff and students who are engaged in

research to maintain the highest standards of integrity in the conduct of that research.

Where research involves the participation of human subjects, their data and/or their

tissue, then the research must undergo ethical review and receive approval before

work can begin. This also applies to the use of digital data including (but not limited

to) social media data, online comments, email correspondence and instant messaging

transcripts. This applies to all research involving human subjects, regardless of which

country it is conducted in. Methodologies that require ethical approval include (but are

not limited to):

Interviews (in person and via email, Skype or other virtual means)

Focus groups (in person and via email, Skype or other virtual means)

Questionnaires (online and hard copy)

Ethnography/participant observation

Digital data

Psycho-physiological measure (e.g. response times, eye tracking, ERP,

EMG, GSR, etc.)

Intervention studies (e.g. pre-test, language learning stimuli, posttest)

15

Personal documents (e.g. letters, memos, diaries, oral history recordings) of

living human subjects that have not been placed in an archive or repository.

Use of data produced by students (e.g. their essays)

Not obtaining ethical approval for research is considered an academic offence under

the University’s Quality Manual.

The Faculty of Arts has a dedicated ethics policy. All researchers in the Faculty should

familiarise themselves with this policy. Full details of the process, and necessary forms

for completion, can be accessed via the Humanities PGR Moodle page.

Within the School of Humanities, there is a School Ethics Officer (postholder TBC for

2019-20).

2.5 Travel Off Campus and Risk Assessments

If you are undertaking research or fieldwork away from the University of Nottingham

campus (no matter how near or far), or attending UK or overseas conferences/events,

then you must ensure that the travel is appropriately booked in accordance with the

University of Nottingham Travel and Expenses processes. You must also complete a risk

assessment for all trips. This applies whether the trip is fully funded, self-funded or a

combination of both. The risk assessment forms part of the University’s duty of care in

relation to our students and also ensures that you are appropriately covered by travel

insurance, where appropriate, for your trip.

The Research and Funding Team in the School Management and Research Office (A19,

email: research-funding@nottingham.ac.uk) are responsible for supporting the

booking of student travel. You must ensure that you contact the team before

you make any bookings for rail, flights or accommodation – they can then advise you

on the correct process to follow depending on where ou are going and how your trip is

funded.

The following documents are available on the PGR Moodle page in the ‘Health and

Safety and Risk Assessments’ section:

School Process-PGR Off Campus Trips

Risk Assessment Forms

Guidance on Preparing a Risk Assessment

Health and Next of Kin Form

Conduct Form

2.6 Sources of Funding

There are a number of schemes to which you can apply to support conference attendance

and to build your experience and skills, including modern language training.

If you are successful in applying for any of these awards, please speak to the Research

Team in the SMRO BEFORE you start making travel arrangements. There are insurance

implications if you are travelling on University business (even as a student) and if you do

not follow the University procedures, it could mean that you are not covered by

University insurance whilst on your trip. This could jeopardise your trip and personal

security.

School Small Research Grant

16

Please note that this grant is not available to M4C/M3C funded postgraduate research

students, who are able to access funds from the M4C/M3C Student Development Fund.

Full details of the Student Development Fund scheme are available by contacting the

M4C team at pg-funding@nottingham.ac.uk.

This grant allows Humanities research students who do not have other sources of

funding available to them to apply for funds towards research visits or conferences at

which the student will be presenting a paper. Each full-time research student is entitled

to apply for up to £120 per year; part-time students may apply for £120 biennially. In

order to apply for this fund, students must in the first instance consult their supervisor,

then complete the School Small Research Grant application form and submit this to the

Research Team in the SMRO at research-funding@nottingham.ac.uk, copying in their

principal supervisor for approval. Full information and an application form are available

from Moodle. Some departments may offer additional funding support to research

students. See Section 8 of the handbook for details.

Faculty Modern Languages Fund

Non-M4C/M3C students may apply to the Faculty of Arts Languages fund, details of

which can be found on the Humanities PGR Moodle page. M4C/M3C students are able to

access funding via the Student Development Fund, full details of which are available by

contacting the M4C Team at pg-funding@nottingham.ac.uk.

Full details of languages offered by the Language Centre are provided on the Language

Centre’s web-pages.

Graduate School

Travel Prize

The Graduate School Travel Prize Fund for Research Students offers grants of up to £300

for attendance at a UK conference and up to £600 for attendance at an international

conference to present their research, or to make a short visit to another institute to use

or consult essential resources. Students are only eligible for these grants during the

three years of registered study and cannot receive more than one grant during this

period. An application must be made by one of four closing dates and students should be

aware that competition is fierce. Successful applicants must attend one of the Graduate

School’s Communication and Presentation Skills training courses. For further information,

dates, and an application form see the Graduate School website.

Building Experience and Skills Travel Scholarship (BESTS)

A BESTS offers the opportunity to broaden your experience and network of contacts by

giving you the opportunity for a fully funded visit (up to £3,000), of up to two months’

duration, at a host organisation anywhere in the world. The host organisation can be a

university, a business, a government department, a charity, a non-governmental

organisation - just about any type of organisation that will give you the chance to

broaden and deepen your understanding of what being a researcher means and the

skills and attitudes that you need to make a success of your career in whatever sector

you choose to move into. Full details on how to apply can be found on the Graduate

School website.

The above schemes are the most popular offered by the Graduate School; details of

other schemes available to current research students can be found on their website.

Study Abroad Opportunities

The University offers a wide range of study abroad opportunities to students through the

competitive university-wide exchange scheme to more than 15 countries and via School

schemes such as the Erasmus+ student exchange programme. Students are encouraged

to attend the annual study abroad fair held each November to see which opportunities

might be available to them and to speak to other students who have participated in

17

these schemes. Financial support is also offered for specified destinations and Erasmus+

students can apply for an Erasmus+ grant to help with living costs whilst overseas. For

more details of these programmes please visit the Study Abroad website or Facebook

page.

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3. PROGRESSION 3.1 Annual Review

M4C/M3C Funded Research Students: M4C/M3C Annual Review Procedure

The annual review process for M4C/M3C funded students is a separate process and is

coordinated by the Graduate School and M4C Site Directors. Students are required to

complete a Mid-Year Review in February and an End of Year Report in June. Full

information in respect of the process will be provided by the M4C Team.

Research Students: School Annual Review Procedure

To help you to reflect on your progress and to enable us to support you to the full, the

School operates an Annual Review procedure in accordance with the requirements set

out in the University’s Quality Manual. Full-time PGRs need to pass a Confirmation

Review at the end of their first year in order to continue to their second year of doctoral

studies. At the end of the second year, they will undertake a Progression Review,

successful fulfilment of which is a condition of continuing into their third and final year

of registered study. For part-time PhD students, the annual reviews are biennial rather

than annual; however, in the years in which there is no formal annual review (i.e.,

years 1, 3 and 5) part-time students complete an Interim Progress Report Form. For full

details of the Annual Review Process and requirements within your department, as well

as the potential outcomes of reviews, please refer to the department specific section of

this handbook.

AHRC (pre-2014 entry) and ESRC Funded Students Progress Report Forms

AHRC (pre-2014 entry) and ESRC-funded students are also required to submit an End of

Year Progress report by mid-June of years one and two and a Final Report Form at the

end of year three. The process is coordinated by the Graduate School and supported by

the UPC PGR Team. A copy of the School Annual Review must be submitted with the End

of Year Progress Report.

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4. SUBMISSION AND EXAMINATION OF YOUR THESIS

The quality of your thesis is the main factor determining a pass or a fail. You should

show your entire draft thesis to your lead supervisor in good time to allow him/her to

read and discuss it with you and for you to make consequent changes before submitting

the thesis.

You will find full information on the University procedures relating to the submission

and examination of your thesis in the Quality Manual.

The Student Services Website provides some useful guidance for Research Students,

particularly in relation to the submission of their thesis. There is also a very useful

Submission Pack, which can be accessed via the Quality Manual or the Student

Services website. The Submission Pack contains comprehensive information on all

aspects of submission, including the required documents and information on thesis

layout, examination, and graduation. You should consult your supervisors if you

have any questions about the formatting and submission of your thesis that are not

covered in the Submission Pack.

4.1 Extension to Thesis Pending

Students who have completed their research and the period of registered study as

required by regulations may enter the thesis pending period. In this period of 12 months

(for students who were registered full-time) or 24 months (for students who were

registered part-time) or less, the student will be entitled to the use of library facilities

and University computing facilities but not to facilities for research. The student will also

be entitled to a minimum of six meetings (either face-to-face or electronically) with their

supervisor, and for the supervisor to read and comment on one draft of their thesis prior

to submission.

Where extenuating circumstances are likely to prevent a student from submitting the

thesis by the end of the thesis pending period, students may put in a request for

extension to thesis pending. Further details and the extension to thesis pending form can

be found in the Quality Manual.

Students resubmitting a PhD thesis should also use the thesis pending application to

request an extension.

4.2 Late Submission

PhD students will be charged a late submission fee for every month or part of a month

that they are late in submitting their thesis unless they have been granted an extension

to thesis pending.

Students resubmitting their thesis cannot submit later than the deadline by paying a late

submission fee as there is no recourse for them to do so. Instead, students must obtain

an extension by completing a request for extension to thesis pending (see Section 4.1

above).

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5. ATTENDANCE AND MONITORING 5.1 Recording Attendance

The University monitors the attendance of all students on set dates throughout the

year, and staff are required to confirm to Student Services that a minimum number of

interactions between student and supervisor have occurred.

It is extremely important that Supervision Record Forms are completed (they need to be

counter-signed by both student and supervisor) and that copies are sent to the PGR

Team, email: ss-pgr-upw@nottingham.ac.uk (promptly after each meeting), so that

accurate reporting can take place. Thesis-pending students who have an active

Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) certificate are included in the monitoring

census. For students resident elsewhere during their thesis-pending period, notes of

correspondence between supervisor and student (by email, Skype or over the phone)

should be entered into a Supervision Record Form, and that form returned to the PGR

Team.

Unauthorised absences are reported to Student Services and recorded, as appropriate.

Where there is continued absence without authorisation, Student Services will write to

the student in order to resolve the situation. Persistent absence and failure to respond

satisfactorily to communications could result in the student’s being deemed to have

withdrawn from their course. Where appropriate for Overseas students, the University

will also report non-attendance to appropriate authorities, such as the Home Office.

5.2 Holiday Leave

The School Policy concerning holiday leave is as specified in Research Council regulations

regardless of a student’s source of funding. A general rule is that up to eight weeks per

year may be taken as holiday, inclusive of normal public holidays, but this must be

agreed with and approved by your supervisor prior to any arrangements’ being made.

Leave during term-time, as well as extended periods of absence (generally, 3 weeks or

more), will not normally be allowed unless approved in advance.

5.3 Religious Observance

The University of Nottingham and the School of Humanities respect the rights and

religious views of students, and recognise that students may wish not to attend

University on certain days or at certain times of the year for religious reasons. A

student who is unable, on religious grounds, to attend or partake in specific activities

should discuss the matter with their supervisor at the earliest opportunity, who will

make a note of the request, and liaise with administrative staff to make alternative

arrangements where appropriate.

5.4 Illness or Prolonged Absence

Regardless of the reason, it is important to keep your supervisor (and, if necessary, the

Student Services PGR Team) informed if you expect to be unable to attend to your studies

for any significant amount of time (more than a few days in a normal working week).

Illness should be reported as soon as possible to your supervisor or the PGR Team. Should

unexpected circumstances, such as prolonged illness, occur during your period of study, it

is important that a voluntary interruption of study be applied for, for an agreed period.

Your supervisor will be able to advise you in such a case. Students who are in the Thesis

Pending period are not eligible to apply for an interruption of study; instead they may

consider submitting an application for the extension to thesis pending.

21

Students who hold funding awards should be aware that interrupting your registration

may affect payment of your funding award and you should seek advice, before taking

any action, either from the Awarding Body direct from the Award Administrators located

at the University or from the PGR Team.

International students should be aware that interrupting your registration may affect

your visa status; you should seek advice from the Visa and Immigration Team.

22

6. STUDENT REPRESENTATION AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT

6.1 Learning Community Forum

Within the School the Postgraduate Learning Community Forum (LCF) is the official

forum through which the collective views of postgraduate students can be made known

to staff, including the advancement and discussion of proposals to promote the

academic and general well-being of postgraduate students in the School and your

particular Department. Departmental LCFs are held once a term, with a combined

School PG Forum occurring once in each semester. Meetings are attended by elected

postgraduate representatives from all departments and by key staff, which includes the

Departmental Directors of Postgraduate Studies. Details of the student representatives,

academic staff members, and dates of forthcoming meetings can be found on your

department’s Moodle Community page. Each year, PGRs from each Department elect

their new Departmental student representative, and the School postgraduate

community as a whole selects a new School student representative. Invitations to

nominate candidates or to submit a self-nomination for Departmental and School roles

will be circulated by Student Services soon after the start of each academic session. The

student representatives fulfil a vital function in promoting the views and interests of

their peers, and you are strongly encouraged to consider taking on one of these roles in

the course of your period of registered study.

6.2 Disclosure and Confidentiality

The School of Humanities and University of Nottingham welcome disabled students and

aim to ensure, as far as possible, that appropriate support is offered to meet your needs

and that you are not unduly disadvantaged as a result of your disability.

If you have a disability or specific learning difficulty/dyslexia and have not disclosed

this to us, we would encourage you to do so. The sooner that we know of your

requirements, the better we are able to put the appropriate support in place. You can

do this by:

Contacting the relevant University Department, e.g. Student Services

Indicating your disability on the annual registration forms

Contacting an appropriate member of staff, e.g., the Student Support and

Wellbeing Officer for the School (see details below), your supervisor, or the

Director of Postgraduate Studies for your Department

The information that you provide will be used to enable us to liaise with those

colleagues who need to know about the support that you require, in order for this to be

arranged to best serve your interests. Your information will not be disclosed for other

purposes without your consent, except where there is a legal obligation to do so or

where exceptional issues of personal safety arise. The information will be processed

and held in the University administration systems and used for the administration of

your academic related support and any other legitimate University purpose. In doing

so, the University will observe at all times the data protection principles embodied in

GDPR.

6.3 Student Support in the School

Student Support and Wellbeing Officers are available at any of the Student Service

Centres on campus, although in the School we also have a dedicated Student Support

and Wellbeing Officer– Laura Miller - whose role it is to offer pastoral support to any

students in difficulty, and to be a central point of contact to help to ensure that

23

students make contact with the right support services. The key things the Student

Support and Wellbeing Officer can advise on include:

Any welfare concerns you may be having;

Any matters which may affect your studies;

How to access support at the University.

You can arrange to see Laura by emailing ss-welfare-upw@nottingham.ac.uk or

through any of the Student Service Centres.

6.4 Personal Difficulties

There are occasions when postgraduate students might experience problems of a

personal nature. If this applies to you at any stage of your studies, you have a range of

options of whom best to approach.

As a general rule, it is often best to speak in the first instance to your supervisor, who

may be able to direct you to the most appropriate person or Department, but

depending on circumstances you may prefer to approach another member of your

Department (such as the Departmental Director of Postgraduate Studies or the Head of

Department) or the School (such as the School Postgraduate Student Advisor, School

Director of Postgraduate Research, or the Student Services PGR Team).

If problems or difficulties cannot be dealt with internally within the School or your

Department, or referral is needed, there are a number of sources of support elsewhere

in the University, including the Counselling Service and the Mental Health Advisory

Service.

The Accessibility team - Academic Support (AS) (Support for students with Dyslexia and

other Specific learning Difficulties) and Disability Support (DS) - are located in Cherry

Tree Lodge on University Park Campus, and by appointment on our Jubilee and Sutton

Bonington campuses, as well as other teaching sites.

You can contact the Academic Support Team by phone (+44 (0)115 8466115) or by

emailing dyslexia-support@nottingham.ac.uk. The Disability Support Team can be

contacted by phone (+44 (0)115 9515992) or email: disability-

support@nottingham.ac.uk. Alternatively both teams can be contacted via a Student

Service Centre.

The University of Nottingham ACCESS Centre (UNAC) provides assessments for students

who have applied for Disabled Students’ Allowances.

The Postgraduate Students’ Network is the representative body for all postgraduate

students at The University of Nottingham. Students can sign up for free membership to

receive news and information on events to your University email. Throughout the year,

the Postgraduate Students’ Network plans events, activities, sports, conferences and

Balls to help make your time at Nottingham as rewarding as possible.

6.5 Academic Difficulties

Academic problems, though fortunately very rare, do also arise from time to time. In

general, as soon as you are aware of a problem or a potential problem you should

discuss it with your supervisor who, if necessary, will keep the Departmental Director of

Postgraduate Studies informed. If you are unable to discuss the matter with your

supervisor then you have the option to either approach the Departmental Director of

Postgraduate Studies directly or arrange a meeting with the School Postgraduate

24

Student Advisor, Matt Hefferan (matthew.hefferan3@nottingham.ac.uk). Alternatively,

you may contact the School Director of Postgraduate Research

(penelope.mackie@nottingham.ac.uk). Academic problems are treated with the strictest

confidence.

The Quality Manual includes detailed procedures for student grievances, complaints,

and appeals.

25

7. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

The University states that ‘any inappropriate activity or behaviour by a student which

may give that student, or another student, an unpermitted academic advantage in a

summative assessment is considered to be an act of academic misconduct and

unacceptable in a scholarly community’. For most research students, the most important

summative assessment they will undertake is their thesis. Examples of academic

misconduct include plagiarism, false authorship, collusion, fabrication or

misrepresentation (including providing false evidence of extenuating circumstances),

failure to disclose previous experience or qualifications, and failure to obtain ethical

approval.

It is essential that all students are aware of and have an understanding of the

University’s policy and procedures in respect of academic misconduct. The Quality

Manual contains details of the University of Nottingham’s Academic Misconduct Policy.

One of the most common examples of academic misconduct is plagiarism. The

University describes plagiarism as representing another person’s work or ideas as one’s

own, for example by failing to follow convention in acknowledging sources, use of

quotation marks, etc. This includes the unauthorised use of one student’s work by

another student and the commissioning, purchase and submission of a piece of work, in

part or whole, as one’s own. It is incompatible with your personal academic

development, constitutes a violation of the intellectual property of others, and is

subject to disciplinary procedure and may lead to a penalty being imposed.

Consequently, you must take all measures to avoid plagiarism. Passages paraphrased

from books, articles or other sources, including web sources (whether published or

unpublished) MUST be acknowledged by a footnote (at the foot of the page), endnote (at

the end of the chapter or essay), or by a reference incorporated in a sentence. If you

transcribe word for word into an essay or dissertation a passage from a book, article or

other source, electronic or printed, it is ESSENTIAL that you indicate this by the use of

quotation marks around the extract, and that you cite the source. Be especially careful

when taking notes that you later use again in your written work.

Plagiarism often occurs when students are experiencing difficulties in their work. It is not

a solution to those difficulties, however, and will always make them worse. Instead,

discuss your problems with your supervisor or department’s Director of Postgraduate

Studies.

The penalties for academic misconduct are severe:

If academic misconduct is suspected, the student will be called to a meeting with the

Head of Department or authorised deputy. If they are satisfied that an academic offence

has been committed, he or she may refer the matter to the University’s Academic

Misconduct Committee, which may impose more severe penalties. A list of the potential

outcomes of an Academic Misconduct Case can be found in the Academic Misconduct

Procedure in the Quality Manual.

Students should note that because full guidance on what plagiarism is and how to

avoid it is provided to them, students who state that they have not understood that

their act constituted plagiarism can still be deemed by the School to have committed

plagiarism intentionally.

Students will be required to read an ‘Academic Misconduct Statement’ on the

Humanities PGR Moodle page during their first week and confirm that they have read

and understood the statement.

26

8. TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES IN YOUR DEPARTMENT

Departments regularly invite some postgraduate researchers to assist with undergraduate

teaching (particularly as seminar tutors) and with assessment. Teaching is both a

worthwhile experience in itself and valuable preparation for a prospective academic

career, should you wish to follow that path. However, teaching commitments must not be

allowed to disrupt the progress of your research, and it is generally recommended that

full-time research students should not normally teach more than 6 hours per week

(inclusive of preparation and delivery and averaged over the teaching weeks of a

semester). If you would be interested in teaching, you should discuss the possibility with

your lead supervisor in the first instance. In the Spring the School Management and

Research Office will issue ‘Expression of Interest’ forms for return to the Head of

Department, who will invite candidates for interview. If successful you will be placed in

the Teaching Pool.

If you agree to undertake teaching and/or assessment for a module, the module

convenor will brief you fully on what is required and will give you necessary support

throughout the module. S/he will also attend one of your teaching sessions during the

module and will give you oral feedback. Your supervisor will also act as a mentor to give

you guidance and advice on teaching.

Research students who wish to undertake teaching and assessment are expected to

attend an Induction Day in September and should, in advance of applying for inclusion

in the Teaching Pool, have passed appropriate courses offered by the Graduate School and Professional Development. For details of Learning and Teaching courses, please see

the Central Short Course webpages.

Rates of pay, teaching norms, and guidance on the procedure for applying for teaching

opportunities can be accessed via the Humanities PGR Moodle page. This also includes

the Faculty of Arts’ Casual Staff Engagement Policy which is applicable to PGRs who

teach. For the University’s policy on the use of research students for teaching see the

appropriate section of the Quality Manual.

The University also regularly invites research postgraduate students to assist with exam

invigilation. A fee is paid on an hourly basis and will be subject to a basis similar to that

above.

27

9. AFTER YOUR RESEARCH DEGREE

There is a range of career options that you might pursue after the completion of your

degree. You should make a point of speaking to your supervisors about your hopes and

intentions at an early stage, so that they can advise and support you appropriately.

Many students hope to pursue an academic career after completing the PhD. The School

aims to prepare its research postgraduates for an academic career by offering

opportunities to gain teaching experience, to gain confidence in presenting their work to

an academic audience at departmental research events, to develop their academic

networks and skills by encouraging them to attend and speak at relevant academic

conferences, and to begin to develop a scholarly profile through publications.

Most academic job vacancies in the UK, and many abroad, are now advertised online at

www.jobs.ac.uk. There are also often subject-specific mailing lists, via which relevant

vacancies are circulated to all members of the list. It can be useful to subscribe to such

lists at an early stage, in order to gain a sense of the job market within your field.

Other students begin the PhD already knowing that they intend to pursue a career

outside academia, or decide this during the course of their studies. A PhD course in a

Humanities subject can lead to a wide range of career options; many employers value

very highly applicants who have demonstrated the ability to engage independently in a

long-term, in-depth project of this nature. Naturally your supervisors may be less sure

of themselves when it comes to advising in this area (although in fact many of them

have worked outside academia as well) and for this reason there are a number of

resources offered by the University to support students considering non-academic

paths, including the Graduate School and the Careers and Employability service.

The University Careers and Employability Service will support your career development

whether you intend to continue toward an academic career or are considering career

options outside academia. There are a number of Careers staff who work specifically

with the Faculty of Arts and with PhD students.

28

10. THE DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY & RELIGIOUS STUDIES

10.1 Welcome to the Department Welcome (or welcome back) to the Department of Theology and Religious Studies! This handbook is intended to provide you with some of the basic information you will need while you are here.

I, Thomas O’Loughlin, act as Director of Postgraduate Research. Most of the advice you will require during your period of registration will come from your supervisor, but sometimes it can be useful to speak to someone independent, and that is where the DPS comes in. I am located in C32, tel: 0115 95 15672, email thomas.oloughlin@nottingham.ac.uk

I hope that your time at Nottingham will prove to be an enjoyable and a fruitful one. Life as a postgraduate research student can sometimes be lonely and it can be tempting just to work on your own. Solitude can of course aid creative thinking but we can all learn from one another and I hope you will all make an effort to get to know other postgraduate students. Departmental seminars together with other events form the focus of collective life in the Department, so do come along to enrich your education.

I wish you all a happy and creative period of study.

10.2 The Department and its Staff The department forms part of the School of Humanities, whose current Head is Professor Mark Pierce. For most purposes, however, you will deal mainly with the department and its staff. For a current list of academic staff, please refer to the Theology and Religious Studies website

10.3 Key Roles Head of Department

The Head of Department of Theology and Religious Studies is Dr Alison Milbank alison.milbank@nottingham.ac.uk who has overall responsibility for all aspects of the Department, including the overseeing of research students’ progress. If you have any concerns or complaints about any aspect of the department, do raise them with the Director of Postgraduate Studies or the Head of Department.

Department Director of Postgraduate Research The Department Director of Postgraduate Research is Professor Thomas O’Loughlin, C32 Humanities building, tel: 0115 95 15672, thomas.oloughlin@nottingham.ac.uk

10.4 Progression M3C Funded Research Students: M3C Annual Review Procedure

As previously mentioned in Section 3.1 Annual Review the annual review process for M3C funded students is a separate process and is coordinated by the Graduate School and M3C Site Directors. Students are required to complete a ‘Mid-Year Review’ in February and an ‘End of Year Report’ in June. Full information in respect of the process will be provided by the M3C Team.

Research Students: School Annual Review Procedure

To help you reflect on your progress and to enable us to support you to the full, the Department operates an Annual Review procedure for research students, in accordance with the requirements of the University Quality Manual: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/academicservices/qualitymanual/researchdegreeprogrammes/annual-review-of-research-students.aspx

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Full-time students normally complete the annual review process in years one, two and three of their research. Part-time students normally complete the annual review process in years two, four and six of their research.

Confirmation Review In your first year of research, the Annual Review takes the form of a ‘Confirmation Review’ to confirm your registration as a PhD student, and includes consideration of your progress by a member of staff, not one of your supervisors and who has been nominated as Internal Assessor. Normally by the end of March, the Director of Postgraduate Research, in consultation with the Head of Department, will nominate your Internal Assessor. You will be emailed and informed of this, with a reminder of the procedure and time frame and a copy of the ‘School Research Student Annual Review Form’, so that you are in a position to submit the completed Annual Review Form and specified additional materials, having taken advice from your Principal Supervisor. This is normally done by the end of May and the assessment process is normally completed by the end of June/early July.

Progression Review

In your second year of research the Annual Review is known as ‘Progression Review’ and is simpler in character. After taking advice from your Principal Supervisor, you will submit the completed Research Student Annual Review Form and additional material to a member of staff outside your supervision team (this could be the first year reviewer, the Director of Postgraduate Research, or a delegated member of staff) with a copy to your Principal Supervisor. This is normally done by the end of May and the assessment process is normally completed by the end of June/early July. (The Department may require that a viva be held as part of this process, and may request that additional work be submitted for review).

Final Annual Review In your third year of research the Annual Review is known as ‘Final Annual Review’ and should be carried out for all students who are not likely to submit their dissertation before entering a further year of study (thesis-pending period). For this review you should clearly outline your plans for completion of the thesis within the maximum four-year period with an appropriate timetable. Normally by the end of May, and after taking advice from your Principal Supervisor, you will submit the completed Research Student Annual Review Form and the additional material to a member of staff outside your supervision team (this could be the first or second year Internal Assessor, the Director of Postgraduate Research, or a delegated member of staff) with a copy to your Principal Supervisor. The assessment process is normally completed by the end of June/early July.

Interim Progress Report Forms (for Part-time students only) Part-time students complete the annual review process in years two, four and six of their research. In the years in which you are not being reviewed (i.e. years one, three and five), part–time students should complete the ‘Interim Progress Report Form’ and submit alongside it a research plan to the Departmental Director of Postgraduate Research, with a copy to your Principal Supervisor. This is done normally by the end of May after taking advice from your Principal Supervisor. The assessment process is normally completed by the end of June/early July.

Full details of each of the Review processes are available in a separate document located on Workspace.

AHRC (pre-2014 entry) and ESRC Funded Students Progress

Report Forms

As previously mentioned in Section 3.1 Annual Review, please note that AHRC funded

students (pre-2014 entry) and ESRC-funded students are also required to submit an End

of Year Progress Report by mid-June of years one and two and a Final Report Form at

the end of year three. The process is coordinated by the Graduate School and supported

by the PGR Team in the UPW Service Centre. A copy of the departmental Annual Review

must be submitted with the End of Year Progress Report on Progress). You then forward

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the form to your Principal Supervisor, who will complete Section Four (Supervisor’s

Comments) and Section Five (Additional Information) of the Review Form, commenting

on the submitted materials and on your progress, and will forward the form to the

Departmental Director of Postgraduate Research.

The Departmental Director of Postgraduate Research and Principal Supervisor will then

agree a recommendation. The completed forms and the recommendation will then be

seen by the Head of Department. The Director of Postgraduate Research will notify you

of the outcome, and provide you with a copy of the completed form, normally by mid-

June. Copies of all completed documentation and notification of the outcome of the

review will be kept on your School file.

The above information and relevant forms can be accessed and downloaded from

workspace.

AHRC (pre-2014 entry) and ESRC Funded Student Progress Report Forms

As previously mentioned in Section 3.1 Annual Review, please note that AHRC funded

students (pre-2014 entry) and ESRC-funded students are also required to submit an End

of Year Progress Report by mid-June of years one and two and a Final Report Form at

the end of year three. The process is coordinated by the Graduate School and supported

by the PGR Team in the UPW Service Centre. A copy of the departmental Annual Review

must be submitted with the End of Year Progress Report.

10.5 Postgraduate Activities in the Department and Elsewhere

Departmental Seminars

These normally take place about every two weeks on Wednesday afternoons and take

the form of a presentation followed by discussion. Papers are presented by a member of

staff, a visiting lecturer, a specially invited guest, or a postgraduate student.

Full-time postgraduates are expected to attend regularly and it is hoped that part-time

postgraduates will attend as frequently as they are able. You will receive details of the

programme when it has been finalised, and with respect to future planning you are most

welcome to make suggestions (to the Head of Department) about potential speakers.

Theosoc

Theosoc is an undergraduate society which organises social events, debates and

excursions to places of interest. They welcome postgraduate participation as well. We

hope to keep you informed of events by email. There is also a section on the notice

boards in the Theology and Religious Studies Department.

10.6 Services for Part-time and Distance Learning Students A Postal Loan service is available to all distance learners at the University of Nottingham.

This service allows you to request ordinary loan items to be posted direct to your UK

address.

The Copy Scan Direct service allows you to request scanned or photocopied journal

articles or book chapters from items in stock in the participating libraries. For further

information about these services, please visit the library website 10.7 Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism Using other people’s ideas, information, and very words is a normal part of writing. A good writer will interact with the best information and ideas available on a subject before drawing his or her own conclusions. In the course of writing, other people’s work will be properly

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acknowledged to give credit where it’s due and to allow checking of sources for accuracy, reliability and intrinsic interest.

Good referencing greatly improves the quality and power of your writing. It shows how you are participating in a conversation with other great minds on the significant problems and questions we face. Good referencing also enables your readers (and you yourself later on) to follow up ideas that they may wish to pursue for their own benefit.

Referencing is a highly transferable skill. Most professions involve producing formal pieces of writing that require solid referencing. Whether you are a student writing a thesis, an academic writing a book, a civil servant preparing a document for government, a teacher writing a textbook or a consultant preparing a report for a client, it is essential to indicate your sources clearly and accurately.

Plagiarism destroys the integrity of your writing, and your academic community, by presenting someone else’s ideas, information or even words as your own. Plagiarism can be both intentional and unintentional. Intentional plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work as your own to avoid the hard work of thinking, analysing and writing. Unintentional plagiarism is when someone else’s ideas, information, and words find their way into your writing without proper acknowledgement due to unfamiliarity with academic writing conventions or lack of care in note taking, summarising or referencing.

Plagiarism - whether unintentional or intentional - is a serious matter in academic writing because it robs other writers of credit for their work. The University states that plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct: “representing another person’s work or ideas as one’s own, for example by failing to follow convention in acknowledging sources, use of quotation marks etc. This includes the unauthorised use of one student’s work by another student and the commissioning, purchase and submission of a piece of work, in part or whole, as the student’s own.” (University Quality Manual, Academic Misconduct, 2.1.1).

The University may hold you fully responsible for plagiarism that you claim was unintentional: “Students are expected to take responsibility for the integrity of their own work, including asking for clarification.” (University Quality Manual, Academic Misconduct, 1.6).This is because you are entirely responsible for knowing what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

To avoid plagiarism, acknowledge sources. To acknowledge the source of an idea and unique information, give the author, title, publication data, and the relevant pages of your source in a footnote. The details of how to write footnotes are given further on below.

To acknowledge the source of someone’s words, give the reference as for an idea and clearly distinguish these words from your own in your text. Normally, this means putting the borrowed words in quotation marks “...”. If the quoted extract exceeds four lines, indent and single-space it in an independent block quotation, without quotation marks. Always give the source reference in a footnote immediately afterwards.

To avoid unintentional plagiarism, cite and reference carefully, especially in your personal notes. If you summarize someone else’s text, be careful to put the key ideas in your own words so the wording of the text does not sneak into your formal writing later.

Additional information on the Academic Misconduct Policy can be found in the University’s Quality Manual: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/academicservices/qualitymanual/assessmentandawards/academic-misconduct.aspx

Also useful is the University’s guidance on avoiding plagiarism: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studyingeffectively/writing/plagiarism/index.aspx

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While there are several different referencing systems in common use, all systems share the aim of helping readers identify and locate sources easily. The plurality of systems can be confusing to writers and readers alike. To simplify matters and develop consistently good practice, the department recommends students to use the Chicago Manual of Style ‘notes and bibliography’ system of referencing. This system is straightforward and used widely in the humanities. It is described in detail here: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

Use the “notes and bibliography” system, not the “author-date” system.

This Chicago webpage contains examples of the main forms of reference that you are likely to need. Examples of the most basic kinds of references are given below, first as footnotes and then further down as bibliographical entries.

Books A footnote reference for a book includes the footnote number, the author’s name, the title of the book, the publication information in parentheses (place, publisher and date), and the page number:

1. Robert Smith, Studying Christian Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 36.

Full bibliographical details are given when an item is mentioned for the first time in your work. However, all subsequent references to the same item are cited only with the author’s surname, a short title of your own making, and the page number(s):

2. Smith, Christian Theology, 45.

Sometimes it may be useful to include the name of a series of which a book is a part, as in the following example. Here the book is Volume 7 in the series entitled “Library of Early Christianity.” 3. Shaye J. D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah (Library of Early Christianity 7) (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1987), 35.

Further references to this book would look like this:

4. Cohen, Maccabees, 48.

The author, book title and publication data are found in the first two or three pages of a book. In books giving two or more places of publication, list only the first. In books giving two different publishers, list both.

Chapter in an edited book It is quite common to use an edited book in which each chapter is written by a different author. In this case it is not adequate simply to cite the book and its editor. The chapter must be cited by chapter author and chapter title (in quotation marks), followed by the full detail of the edited book and the article pages. Here is an example:

5. Kaushik Roy, “Norms of War in Hinduism,” in World Religions and Norms of War, ed. Vesselin Popovski, Gregory M. Reichberg and Nicholas Turner (Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2009), 30-59.

Further references include simply the chapter author surname, short title and page reference:

6. Roy, “Norms of War,” 44.

Academic journal article

To reference an academic journal article for the first time in your work, provide the author’s name, the article title in quotation marks (not italics), the journal title in italics,

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the volume number, issue number (if applicable), year of publication and page number(s). The reference does not include information about the publisher or place of publication unless it is essential to distinguish two journals of the same name. Here is an example of a reference to an article in the journal Modern Theology, volume 94 number 4, published in 1999:

7. John Smith, “Why Theology Matters,” Modern Theology 93, no. 4 (1999): 33-54.

Further references to this article need only provide the author’s surname, a short article title, and the page reference as follows:

8. Smith, “Why Theology Matters,” 35.

Specialized encyclopaedia or dictionary entries

Referencing an authored article in a specialized encyclopaedia or dictionary is similar to citing a book chapter in an edited book.

For example:

9. C. E. Arnold, “Magical Papyri,” in Dictionary of New Testament Background, ed. Craig E. Evans and Stanley E. Porter (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2000), 666-670.

It is usually acceptable to ignore the publication information for a specialised encyclopaedia that is especially well-known and authoritative. Here is an example for an article found in vol. 4, pp. 187-208 of the Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān:

10. Marco Schöller, “Post-Enlightenment Academic Study of the Qur’ān, Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān, 4:187-208.

Book review in an academic journal

11. Ibrahim Kalin, review of The Teleological Ethics of Fakhr Al-Dīn Al-Rāzī, by Ayman Shihadeh, Journal of Islamic Studies 18 (2008): 248-250.

Electronic resources Books, journal articles and encyclopaedias are increasingly accessed electronically. Reference these in the same way as you would a hard copy book or journal article. The book chapter by Roy “Norms of War in Hinduism” found in notes 5 and 6 above comes in fact from an eBook accessible through the University’s library catalogue.

Citations to journal articles and other resources that are published only online (without identical hardcopy counterparts) must also include the web address and the access date. See the Chicago Manual of Style website above for further guidance on citing online sources. Note that it is never sufficient to give only the web address for an online source. Kindle versions of books should also be referenced as on the Chicago website given above.

The Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān article cited above in note 10 is also available online via the Library catalogue. It may be cited simply as above if you are able to discern the page division markers in the online version (marked with a ¶ in the text). Otherwise, you must give the web address and access date as follows:

12. Marco Schöller, “Post-Enlightenment Academic Study of the Qur’ān,” in Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān, accessed 9 July 2011, http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=q3 COM-00153

Sometimes, the online version of a resource will consist of a pdf scan of the hardcopy, which makes ascertaining the hardcopy pagination straightforward and obviates the need to provide online access detail.

If there is doubt about whether an online version corresponds with its hard-copy counterpart or whether an exact hardcopy counterpart exists at all, provide the access date and the online address (url).

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Sacred texts You will frequently need to cite sacred texts and these are done slightly differently.

When citing the Bible, there is no need to give the reference in a footnote. Place it in the text adjacent to the relevant passages like this: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). Use a footnote only if you have more than three biblical references so the main text does not get cluttered.

Versions of the Bible such as “NRSV” do not need to be mentioned in the text - it is enough to indicate the version on first use in a footnote and then give full details in your bibliography. For example after, “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1)13 note 13 would read:

13. Here and in the following all biblical references are taken from the

NRSV.

Biblical books, like most ancient sources, are normally quoted by their standard abbreviations e.g. Gen for Genesis, Num for Numbers, Gal for Galatians. For biblical and related studies consult the following book (here cited in a footnote):

14. Patrick H. Alexander et al., eds., The SBL Handbook of Style for Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Early Christian Studies (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson 1999), accessed 9 July 2011: http://rdtwot.files.word-press. com/2007/05/sbl-handbook-of-style1.pdf For abbreviations of primary sources see esp. § 8.3 (pp. 73-89). A shorter Student Supplement is here www.sblsite.org/assets/pdfs/SBLHSrevised2 09.pdf

NB: Et al. is the abbreviation of the Latin et alii meaning ‘and others’. It is used as an abbreviation when a book is edited by four or more people.

If you refer to a biblical book in the text, abbreviations should not be used. For example, “In Isaiah 40 a new historical setting is presupposed” (not: “In Is 40 ...”). Do not refer to a biblical verse or passage as: “John chapter five verse eight” (this should be “John 5:8”).

Similarly, when referencing the Qur’an, there is no need to use a footnote. To cite verse 6 in sura 1 (the Fatiha) of the Qur’an, abbreviate Qur’an to Q. and place the citation in the text: “Guide us to the straight path” (Q. 1:6). There is no need to give the sura name. As with translations of the Bible, indicate the translation of the Qur’an that you are using in a footnote at your first usage and then give full details of the version in your bibliography. For example, after, “Guide us to the straight path” (Q. 1:6), 15 note 15 would read:

15. Here and elsewhere all Qur’anic passages are taken from the translation of Abdel Haleem.

Ancient and medieval texts You will frequently need to cite ancient and medieval texts. These works are usually divided into numbered subdivisions (e.g. Part, Chapter, Paragraph etc.) which remain constant across different editions and translations. Such works should be cited first by the ancient or medieval author’s name followed by the name of the work, the cited subdivision given in Arabic numerals, the editor(s) and/or translator(s), the publication information, and the cited page number. For example here is a footnote reference to subdivision 10.6.8 in The Confessions of St. Augustine (d. 430) found on p. 183 of Chadwick’s translation published by Oxford University Press in 1992:

16. Augustine, The Confessions, 10.6.8, trans. Henry Chadwick (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), 183.

The best modern translations of ancient texts should be used, whether printed or online. When using online versions, every effort must be made to identify the printed versions

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behind the online texts. This information is not always in the most conspicuous places. Take for example John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion found on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library website. You want to cite subdivision 1.6.2 found at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.iii.vii.html and on p. 65 of the printed text.

To see an exact image of p. 65 in the printed book, click ‘65’ in the square to the right of the web page. To find the publication information, click on the TOC (Table of Contents) menu at the top centre of the page, and then click on the Roman numeral at the upper left. This brings up an image of the book title page. To locate the publication date, click on ‘next’ at the top centre of the page, which brings up an image of the next printed page in the book. The footnote reference is:

17. John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.6.2, trans. Henry Beveridge (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1989), 65, accessed 30 August 2013, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes/Page_65.html

If you are confident that you have seen the exact images from the printed book, you may dispense with the online location data (but if in doubt, retain it):

17. John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.6.2, trans. Henry Beveridge (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1989), 65.

This may be shorted in subsequent references to:

18. Calvin, Institutes, 1.6.2, 65.

If no publication details for an online text can be identified, the access date and URL must be given. The source must also be used with due caution until verified as reliable.

At times, ancient works are found in well-known collections such as the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. The series title, along with the appropriate volume and page number, must also be included in the reference. In the following example, the citation is to volume 5, page 387.

19. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Making of Man, 1.1, trans. W. Moore and H.A. Wilson, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series Two (1893; reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), 5:387, accessed 30 August 2013, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205/Page 387.html.

Quoting a quotation At times you need to make references that do not fit normal patterns. In these cases you should think about how to convey your source or sources accurately and succinctly.

For example, imagine that you are reading an article by Roland Deines, and he quotes a work by Pope (now Emeritus) Benedict. You want to quote the Pope’s words as they are given in Deines’ article. Second-hand quotation is bad scholarly practice, but is sometimes unavoidable. Here is the passage from Deines’ article that you are reading. The little bit by the Pope that you want to quote is underlined:

To sharpen his point, Ratzinger argues that the Christ of faith and the historical Jesus are inseparably one, not just from the perspective of faith, but out of historical reasons as well (e.g. 300–3). What the Christian faith confesses about Jesus’ intimate closeness and relatedness with the Father during his earthly life (based on his being with him before it), is true also in a historical sense, which means that Jesus’ ‘communion with the Father...is the true center of his personality; without it, we cannot understand him at all’ (xiv). The phrase consubstantial (ho-mooúsios), coined by the Nicean Creed, is in line with, and an adequate rendering of the way in which Jesus was ‘putting himself on an equal footing with the living God himself’ (303), which was already visible for the disciples before

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Easter ‘in Jesus’ way of speaking with the Father’, which was ‘incomparably new and different’ from all others (355). Note first that the Pope’s comments are set off in single quotation marks, not the double quotation marks indicated by the Chicago Manual of Style, and that the word “center” is given with the American spelling. This is because the academic journal—Didaskalia—in which Deines published his article uses a different style, and the Pope’s words were originally published with American spelling. In general, direct quotations should always reproduce the exact style and spelling of the source.

Now suppose that you decide to quote in the following way:

Pope Emeritus Benedict claims that “the communion with the Father ... is the true center of his [i.e. Jesus’] personality” 20 and needs to be taken seriously in a historical enquiry about Jesus.

Your footnote 20 should look like this:

20. Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration (London: Bloomsbury, 2007), xiv, as quoted in Roland Deines, “Can the ‘Real’ Jesus be Identified with the Historical Jesus? A Review of the Pope’s Challenge to Biblical Scholarship and the Various Reactions it Provoked,” Didaskalia 39.1 (2009): 11-46, (17).

The number 17 in parentheses at the end of this footnote indicates the actual page in Deines’ article where the quotation of the Pope Emeritus’ book appears.

In this example of the quotation of a quotation, the Pope Emeritus’ book will not be listed in the bibliography at the end of your work because you accessed it only via Deines’ article.

Bibliography The bibliography is a list of sources used during your research listed alphabetically by author surname. The bibliography should include all works used for your research, even if you do not refer to some of them in your footnotes. However, be careful not to pad your bibliography with materials that you did not read. Otherwise, your readers may wonder why you did not take them into serious consideration.

Examine the following examples carefully. The form of bibliographical entries differs in small but important ways from footnote references. Note especially that the author is listed by surname first and that full stops are placed after the author’s name and the title, not commas. Also, the publication information for books is not enclosed in parentheses.

Books

Cohen, Shaye J. D. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah (Library of Early Christianity 7). Philadelphia: Westminster, 1987.

Smith, Robert. Studying Christian Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

NB: Books are listed without indicating which pages that you have read, cited or quoted.

Chapter in an edited book

Roy, Kaushik. “Norms of War in Hinduism.” In World Religions and Norms of War, ed. Vesselin Popovski, Gregory M. Reichberg and Nicholas Turner, 30-59. Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2009.

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Academic journal articles Deines, Roland, “Can the ‘Real’ Jesus be Identified with the Historical Jesus? A Review of the Pope’s Challenge to Biblical Scholarship and the Various Reactions it Provoked,” Didaskalia 39 (2009): 11-46.

Smith, John. “Why Theology Matters.” Modern Theology 93, no. 4 (1999): 33-54.

Specialized encyclopaedia and dictionary entries

Arnold, C. E. “Magical Papyri.” In Dictionary of New Testament Background, ed. Craig E. Evans and Stanley E. Porter, 666-670. Downers Grove, IL: IVP 2000.

Schöller, Marco. “Post-Enlightenment Academic Study of the Qur’ān.” In Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān, 4:187-208.

Book review in an academic journal

Kalin, Ibrahim. Review of The Teleological Ethics of Fakhr Al-Dīn Al-Rāzī, by Ayman Shihadeh. Journal of Islamic Studies 18 (2008): 248-250.

Electronic resources

Alexander, Patrick H., John F. Kutsko, James D. Ernest, Shirley Decker-Lucke and David L. Petersen, eds. The SBL Handbook of Style for Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Early Christian Studies. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson 1999. Accessed 9 July 2011.

http://rdtwot.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/sbl-handbook-of-style1.pdf

Schöller, Marco. “Post-Enlightenment Academic Study of the Qur’ān.” In Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān. Accessed 9 July 2011. http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=q3 COM- 00153

Sacred texts

The Holy Bible. New Revised Standard Version. London: HarperCollins, 1997.

The Qur’an. Trans. M.A.S. Abdel Haleem. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Ancient and medieval texts

Augustine. The Confessions. Trans. Henry Chadwick. Oxford: Oxford Univer- sity Press, 1992.

John Calvin. The Institutes of the Christian Religion. Trans. Henry Beveridge. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1989. Accessed 30 August 2013, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes

Gregory of Nyssa. On the Making of Man. Trans. W. Moore and H.A. Wilson, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series Two. 1893. Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995. Vol. 5, pp. 387-427. Accessed 30 August 2013, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205

For more detailed guidance on research writing and especially referencing according to the Chicago Manual of Style, see:

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. Rev. Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. 7th ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2007.

English language, style and punctuation: helpful resources

Gowers, Ernest. The Complete Plain Words. 3rd rev. ed. London: Penguin 2004.

Manser, Martin. Good Word Guide: The Fast Way to Correct English Spelling, Punctuation, Grammar and Usage. 7th rev. ed. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.

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Manser, Martin and Stephen Curtis. The Penguin Writer’s Manual. London: Penguin, 2004.

Truss, Lynne. Eats Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. London: Profile, 2003.

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APPENDIX I: Glossary of Terms The University of Nottingham has introduced a new student records system across its campuses in the UK, Malaysia and China. Students will access the new system through a web portal called MyNottingham. MyNottingham has some new terminology that you will need to understand and become familiar with. The guide below has been developed to help prepare you for this change.

MyNottingham Language

Current Language

Definition Examples

Academic Plan Course or Programme of Study

An approved plan of study that provides a coherent learning experience and

leads to a qualification.

BSc Nursing – Adult; Chemical Engineering MEng; Music and

Philosophy BA; Brewing Science MSc; Law with French and French Law BA.

Accommodation Reasonable adjustment

Learning adjustments for a student’s particular circumstances (not a reference to living accommodation).

Alternative examination arrangements.

Advisee Tutee/ Student

A student receiving advice from a tutor, supervisor or advisor.

N/A.

Career No direct equivalent

Qualification level. Undergraduate, Postgraduate.

Class No direct equivalent

An umbrella term for specific units of teaching.

Lectures, seminars or labs.

Course Module A self-contained, formally-structured unit of study, with a coherent and explicit

set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria.

Applied Ethics, Advanced Financial Economics, Biochemistry of Disease,

Public Health and Epidemiology.

eDocs No direct equivalent

Electronic document repository for documents that are uploaded and attached to a student

record

Evidence in support of an extenuating circumstances claim etc.

Financial Aid No direct equivalent

An umbrella term for any scholarships, stipends or

other funding awards given to students.

Core bursaries, Aspire scholarships, industry

scholarships etc.

Session No direct equivalent

A specific teaching period, usually one semester but other defined teaching periods may exist.

Autumn Semester, Spring Term etc.

Term Academic

Year

A defined period of time,

refers to the academic year, which runs from September to August.

September 2017 to August

2018.

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