Admission requirements
Admission requirements and any restrictions.
Description
The Thesis Seminar will introduce students to the requirements and processes of writing a Master Thesis. Students will be introduced to the standards of evaluation for the thesis, and guided through the process of designing a research project and preparing a thesis outline, including practical aspects of academic writing such as source citation according to the Chicago-Style. Special focus will be given to the formulation of the main research question. During the Seminar we will further discuss how to find the main relevant literature to your thesis topic and how to write a research proposal.
The seminar starts with a general introduction meeting in which the procedure regarding the Master Thesis and the requirements will be explained. In the following seminar meetings, all the aspects of designing a study for a Master’s thesis will be discussed, for instance: how to find an appropriate topic and how to formulate a research question. Concepts and methods from each of the three specializations of the Master Arts and Culture will serve as a guide in the discussion on how to approach a topic theoretically and methodologically. The more practical aspects of conducting research, such as planning and reference management, will be discussed too. In the course of the semester students will propose a research topic and will be assigned to a supervisor by the Board of Examiners. In-between the seminar meetings students will work on their research proposal through weekly preparatory assignments on which they will receive feedback.
Course objectives
Students will acquire the knowledge and competences to write an academic research proposal and present it to an audience;
Students will acquire the necessary skills for writing a Master Thesis;
Students learn to analyse their research interests and formulate a concise and clear research question;
Students will learn to evaluate possible research methods in relation to their topic, research problem and research question;
Students learn to use the Chicago-Style manual for referencing;
Students learn to critically review the relevant literature;
Students will learn to design a thesis outline and write a research proposal.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Assessment method
- Research proposal (100%).
Weighing
A student passes the class if the grade for the research proposal is a 6.0 or higher (marks under 5.0 are not allowed)
Resit
The research proposal can be rewritten in a resit in the case of an insufficient grade (5.0 or lower).
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Wayne C. Booth; Gregory G. Colomb; Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago & London, 2016 (4th ed.)
Registration
Students are required to register for this course via uSis, the course registration system of Leiden University. General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal
Remarks
None.