Please note: this course description is not fully up-to-date for the academic year 2019-2020. A new version will be presented on this page shortly.
Admission requirements
Open only to master students in Psychology.
Description
The student selects a topic of interest and a supervisor from the range of ongoing research projects within the domain of the specialisation. The participating faculty members will offer research topics related to their own research interests, for which students can sign up. The procedure of signing up and distribution of the topics differs per specialisation. The exact topics and the participating faculty members can vary from year to year. The students carry out their own study, as part of the ongoing research in the programme. The supervisor guides the student during his formulation of a research question, will monitor the feasibility of the intended research in the context of the thesis, and will advise the student in the case of difficulties or delays in the progress of his research. At first the student will work on the development of a research question and research design, and will write a research proposal on the basis of the relevant literature. The research proposal has to be evaluated before the start of the second phase. During the second phase the student will focus on data collection and data analysis, and during the third phase he will prepare a written research report (master thesis). In addition, master students of the specialisations Social and Organisational Psychology, Economic and Consumer Psychology, and Applied Cognitive Psychology, need to attend a number of colloquia. Credits for the master thesis will only be given in case of completion of this requirement.
Course objectives
Students obtain experience with all the phases of empirical research in psychology and to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in different course modules. On the completion of the thesis, they:
have the ability to carry out academic research in the field of the specialisation, as well as to evaluate the merits of existing research in this field;
have the ability to use computer programmes to carry out research;
have the ability to apply the instruments used in the field of the specialisation;
have the skills needed to apply the most important experimental methods in the field of the specialisation.
have the ability to write an academic report or article on their research.
Timetable
Individual supervision sessions
Registration
Registration with the thesis coordinator of the specialisation.
Mode of instruction
Individual supervision sessions.
Assessment method
Written research report and if applicable a complete colloquium card. See also the criteria for reviewing the thesis. See for assessment the Procedure Master Thesis Psychology Assessment on Blackboard.
The Institute of Psychology follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of this fraud policy.
Reading list
Relevant literature on the topic of the research.
Contact information
Thesis coordinator of the Master specialisation