After completing this course, students are able to:
-
conduct social scientific research under the supervision of a SSC instructor
-
write a coherent literature review and formulate a research question
-
develop an appropriate research design
-
apply a suitable method to collect data and analyze the results
-
draw conclusions and write a coherent report.
|
|
|
Within the social sciences different traditions prevail. Anthropologists conduct qualitative research on the basis of fieldwork, whereas experiments or surveys involving hypothesis testing are common methods in the fields of psychology, sociology, political science and economics. In fields such as law or geography, comparative literature study in combination with case-studies may be the most appropriate method. Finally, the use of archives, combined with forms of content or discourse analysis are frequently used methods.
Format
The student is responsible for finding a supervisor (and should start looking for the supervisor halfway the pre-research semester), and writes the thesis under his/her supervision. Students hand in a Declaration Form Bachelor's Thesis in the semester preceding the semester in which the actual research is carried out. Students have completed a research proposal of around 1000 words by the end of the pre-research semester. Deadline for the report is one week after the last day of the semester.
Requirements
The Bachelor’s Thesis results in a report of 20-40 pages, consisting of: (1) an introduction to the theme; (2) a literature review; (3) a research question, following from the literature review; (4) a research plan; (5) a description of research results, and (6) a conclusion.
Prerequisites
As the Bachelor’s Thesis is intended as the final stage of the academic program, students should not start a research project before finishing their second year..
All SSC majors must complete UCACCMET11 plus a level 2 methodology course of their choice. The choice should be guided by existing course prerequisites for certain level 3 courses, and the thesis topic. The UCU fellows can also help you make an informed choice.
These are the required methodologies per field. Contact the fellow about exceptions
ANT - UCACCMET23 + module 2D or UCACCMET24
ECO - UCACCMET22 or UCACCMET23
PSY - UCACCMET22 or UCACCMET23
GEO - UCACCMET22 or UCACCMET23 or UCACCMET24
LAW - UCACCMET23 + module 2D or UCACCMET24 or UCACCMET25
POL - UCACCMET22 or UCACCMET23 or UCACCMET24 or UCACCMET25
SOC - UCACCMET22 or UCACCMET23 or UCACCMET24
|
 |
|