Thesis Proposal
Full course description
One of the common tasks of professional researchers and academic scholars is writing research proposals. Such documents lay down the topic, the concrete research question, and the proposed research strategy for future research projects. At the same time, research proposals talk about the societal and academic relevance of the proposed research and present ideas how the results of the research project may be put to practical use.
The sole deliverable of this course is the submission of the Thesis Proposal. This document marks the end of the first year of the MSc ES and will provide the basis for the writing process of your MSc thesis in the second year, while naturally still leaving room for new ideas and necessary adaptations. To assist you in this endeavour, you will receive advice and personal coaching by the course coordinator and by your thesis supervisor.
Course objectives
- have the practical skills to draft and assess research proposals, particularly the thesis proposal; • be able to discuss critically the potential and limitations of presented research designs in the context of the established research questions;
- be able to present an outline for the thesis proposal in a clear and convincing manner and being able to respond to critical questions and comment
- to acquire advanced knowledge of how to integrate substantive, theoretical and methodological knowledge;
- to select and apply, depending on the specialisation, the appropriate historical, qualitative or quantitative social science research methods to analyse new research puzzles and questions in the multi- and interdisciplinary field of European Studies; to integrate and apply substantive knowledge, theories and methods from the multi- and interdisciplinary field of European Studies to new research puzzles so as to facilitate substantive, theoretical and methodological innovation;
- integrate substantive and methodological knowledge as a basis to develop evidence-based arguments.
Prerequisites
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Recommended reading
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