Prospectus

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Field Research Project NIMAR

Course
2023-2024

Admission requirements

There are no specific admission criteria. But, in view of the final attainment levels envisaged, minors are most suitable for third-year bachelor's students.

Description

This course is dedicated to fieldwork. Under the supervision of a lecturer and with weekly supervision sessions, students conduct their own independent field research on a specific and well-defined project and following the research proposal developed during the course Methods of Qualitative Research. They may do this individually, or in small groups of two or three students. They report on their research in an ethnographic report that consists of a combination of original empirical research, critical analysis of existing literature, and a theoretical framework. The supervision sessions include a training in data coding and academic writing.

Course objectives

  • Gaining in-depth understanding of Moroccan society.

  • Acquiring research skills and gaining experience in doing ethnographic research.

  • Analysing and presenting data, both orally and in a written form.

  • Developing generic skills, including research, analysis, critical thinking, and academic writing.

Timetable

The timetables are available through My Timetable.

Mode of instruction

  • Seminar

  • Research

Seminar
Attendance and active participation are obligatory for seminars. Students are required to prepare for and attend all sessions. The convenors need to be informed without delay of any classes missed for a good reason (i.e. due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness, family issues etc.). In these cases it is up to the discretion of the convener(s) of the course whether or not the missed class will have to be made up with an extra assignment. The maximum of such absences during a semester is two. Being absent without notification and/or more than two times can result in exclusion from the term end exams and a failing grade for the course.

Assessment method

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to be familiar with Leiden University policies on plagiarism
and academic integrity.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. It is assumed that students' work is their own work with all sources used properly indicated and documented in the text (with quotations and/or citations). Students may not substantially reuse any work they have previously submitted in this or other courses. Minor overlap with previous work is allowed as long as it is duly noted in citation.
Assignment(s) must be submitted to Brightspace through Turnitin, so they can be checked for plagiarism. Submission via email is not accepted.

Assessment

  • Final Research paper: 75%

  • Participation: 15%

  • Oral presentation: 10%

The field research project should result in a term paper. In the Introduction the students present the context, their research question and the main argument. In the following sections, they analyse relevant literature, outline their theoretical and conceptual framework and the research methods and then present the fieldwork findings. The conclusion offers an answer to the initial research question and main argument. The literature consulted is presented in a Bibliography.
An individual term paper counts about 10.000 words. If the research is undertaken by two students, the paper consists of 15.000-20.000 words. For a group of three students the wordcount is 20.000-25.000 words.

Weighing

The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighed average.
In order to pass the course, students must obtain an overall mark of 5.50 (=6) or higher.

Resit

If the final grade is below 5.5, the students have to revise the final term paper based on feedback.

Exam review

How and when a review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the terms papers results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the results, a review will have to be organized.

Reading list

  • Hennink, Monique; Hutter, Inge; Bailey, Ajay; 2010; Qualitative Research Methods. London: SAGE Publications.

  • Further reading material will be announced on Brightspace

Registration

Enrolment through My Studymap is mandatory.

Contact

  • For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.

  • For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office Vrieshof

Remarks

Important: this course is taught at NIMAR in Rabat, Morocco.