Bachelor Project Future Planet Studies – Future Society

Bachelorproject Future Planet Studies – Future Society

Course manual 2023/2024

Course content

During the course of the Bachelor Project, students will apply the research skills that they have learned throughout the FPS program, as well as learn new skills for carrying out their own scientific research either within the track Future Earth (i.e. from the domain of the geo-bio sciences and/or chemistry) or within Future Society (bridging domains of political science, human geography and/or spatial planning). Within each track, students will choose their research topics from projects proposed and supervised by an UvA (assistant/associate/full) professor, in collaboration with one or two process supervisors in Research Designs.

The first few weeks of the course are devoted to working out a detailed research proposal for the individual thesis. During the execution phase, each student delivers a contribution from within the field of their expertise. Critical reflection of relevant theories and literature on the chosen subject forms part of the research as does reflection on the relevance, reliability, and validity of the gathered data, and the methods and techniques that were used to obtain them.

At the end of the Bachelor Project, the student reports the findings of the research in a thesis. The thesis is a clear, systematic, and scientifically well-founded report on the research project and its results. Writing the thesis is more than merely writing a report. Students must be able to show that they have gained and applied essential research skills, and the report needs to incorporate all essential elements of an academic research project that the student has engaged in. This includes a critical analysis of the results which are discussed in the context of contemporary scientific insights on the theme and a reflection on the impact but also the limitations of the research.

Students can indicate their preferences as regards the topic that they would want to work on and the supervisor they would like to work with. We will try to assign students to their preference as much as possible, given certain preconditions and limitations of the course and available hours from the supervisors.

Study materials

Literature

• • Literature provided with each topic by the supervision team (either compulsory or suggested literature).
  • Particular workshops may require compulsory readings. These will be communicated and made available via canvas.

Objectives

• Work out a Project Plan and manage time schedule while working on a research project
• Define a research problem and state the objectives and relevance of the research question.
• Creatively use and adequately incorporate relevant literature and theoretical insights in relation to the proposed research question.
• Set up an adequate methodology by making a well-founded choice for a particular approach and utilizing relevant methods and techniques for data identification, collection, processing, analysis, visualization, and management.
• Correctly analyse the results and draw plausible conclusions based on the research findings.
• Critically discuss the results in the light of the ongoing social and scientific debate.
• Reflect on the limitations and ethical implications of the research.
• Show academic and professional attitude in communication with examiner, supervisor and peers.
• Show responsibility and independence in organising and executing the planned activities for the Bachelor Project.
• Present the research process and results in a clear and comprehensive written thesis.
• Orally-present the research results in a clear and visually attractive manner.

Teaching methods

• Seminar
• Presentation/symposium
• Self-study
• Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis
• Supervision/feedback meeting

Learning activities

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):

• Participation in fieldwork is compulsory and cannot be replaced by assignments or other courses.
• In case of practical sessions, the student is obliged to attend at least of 90% of the sessions and to prepare himself adequately, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. In case the student attends less than 90%, the practical sessions should be redone entirely.
• In case of tutorials/seminars with assignments, the student is obliged to attend at least 7 out of 8 seminars and to prepare thoroughly for these meetings, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. If the course has more than 8 seminars, the student can miss up to 1 extra meeting for every (part of) 8 tutorials/seminars. If the students attends less than the mandatory tutorials/seminars, the course cannot be completed.

Additional requirements for this course:

Attendance to the lecture and workshops is mandatory. Participation in supervisor meetings is also compulsory and cannot be replaced by other assignments. When students are absent more than twice, they will be excluded from the course.

Assessment

• Proposal: Resit within 2 weeks after the received feedback
• Presentation: Resit in consultation with examiner
• Thesis: Resit only if the first grade is < 5.5. The maximum grade than can be achieved via the resit is 6.

Assessment diagram

Inspection of assessed work

Students will be graded on the basis of rubrics which will be available for inspection.

Assignments

Research Proposal (including Time Management & Project Planning)

Starting in Research Designs and during the first weeks of the Bachelor Project, you will write your research proposal. Your examiner will provide you with some mandatory and additional literature on your topic, especially at the start. However, you must also tailor additional papers and resources that you select to your specific research question and your individual needs as a researcher. You will be expected to read and cite at least 15 relevant resources in your proposal.

To make sure you will be able to successfully complete the Bachelor Project, you are asked at the start to set up a Time Management & Project Planning, and include this in the Research Proposal.

The Research Proposal should have a length of 2000 words (10% margin, references excluded). The research proposal should be submitted via Canvas for FS-students and Datanose for FE-students (instructions will be provided)
The Research Proposal will then be assessed by the examiner. Your supervisors will aim to provide you with feedback on your proposal within 10 working days after the deadline. The grading will be based on the rubrics for the Research Proposal of the Bachelor Project, also used in Research Designs for coherence. With a grade above 5.5, you can continue working and start executing your research. In case of a fail, you cannot start your research but have to rewrite your proposal. The deadline for submitting your revised research proposal will be maximum 2 weeks after receiving feedback. If you fail again, you will unfortunately need to take the course again next year.

Presentation of the Research Results

You will present your thesis and the (preliminary) findings of your research at least one week before the final deadline for the thesis. Your supervisor will inform you about the exact moment. The presentation should include a powerpoint and last no more than 10 minutes. The Presentation will be assessed by the examiner in collaboration with a Research Designs lecturer. The grading will be based on the rubrics for the Presentation of the Research Results. Your supervisors will aim to provide you with feedback after your presentation, and the grade will be communicated to you within 10 working days after the presentation.
You are welcome to invite family, friends and fellow students. You will be offered a resit in case of a fail in consultation with the supervisor.

Thesis, i.e. the Final Bachelor Project Report

Writing your thesis is both a test of previously acquired knowledge and skills, but it also aims to improve these during the process. In this phase, you must therefore continue to tailor the papers and resources that you read to your research topic and your individual needs as a researcher.

Your thesis should be an original, empirical contribution to existing literature (going beyond a summary of existing literature). It should make use of relevant scientific methods to analyse primary data (students are strongly encouraged to collect their own empirical data, but are allowed to use existing data when its selection is sufficiently substantiated). It must be written in correct English and have a length between 8000-10000 words (references and appendices excluded). While conducting your research you must comply with the UvA’s ethical guidelines (information will be provided).

The thesis will be assessed by the examiner and a second reader, i.e. a staff member with a PhD. The grading will be based on the rubrics for the Final Bachelor Project Report. The rubric will be compiled by the 1st and 2nd readers, in consultation, and after having independently assessing the various elements of the rubric. If the 1st and 2nd readers fail to reach a consensus, a 3rd reader will be asked to step in (particularly when their grades diverge by more than 1 point). Once consensus is reached, the rubric will contain partial grades as well as written feedback per element agreed upon by all readers.

If your thesis fails to meet the minimum criteria, you are allowed to rewrite the thesis, using the feedback that your examiner has provided you with in the assessment form. The deadline for the rewritten thesis is at least 1 week after the student obtains the assessment form from the examiner. As by then the summer holidays have started, your examiner will decide about what is a feasible deadline for the revised thesis. In no case can this deadline be later than mid-august 2024 (the exact date will be communicated via canvas).

A revised thesis can obtain a maximum grade of 6. If your rewritten thesis still does not meet the minimum criteria, you will fail the course and must take part in the course next year. You then must write a completely new research proposal and thesis.

If your final thesis is graded >5.5, there is no second chance; you cannot submit a revised thesis based on the feedback that you have been provided with in the assessment form. If for any reason you feel you are not able to write an optimal final thesis (yet), you can put a motivated request before your examiner and ask for a delay of the deadline.

If you do not agree with the assessment procedure and/or your final grade, take the following steps:

• Make use of the inspection moment to get further clarification of the assessment procedure and the way your final grade for the Bachelor Project was determined.
• If there are any remaining ambiguities, ask the examiner and second reader to give further explanation.
• If, after consultation with the examiner, you cannot reach an agreement about your final grade and you are still convinced you have sufficient reason to object, you can contact the program coordinator. The program coordinator can try to mediate between you and the Bachelor Project examiner.
• Finally, if you cannot reach an agreement internally, you can lodge a formal objection with the Examination Appeals Board (CBE - College van Beroep voor de Examens). Such an appeal must be lodged within six weeks after the announcement of the final grade.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Additional information

Entry requirements

• Completion of all first-year courses of Future Planet Studies
• Having obtained at least 42 EC of the second year of Future Planet Studies

Registration: Students must enrol in time. Subscription for classes is possible per semester. The registration period for classes in Block 4, 5 & 6 (second semester) is in December. The exact dates will be announced HERE. 

Additional note on fraud and plagiarism: Writing a thesis is the most important assignment of your Bachelor’s phase. This is the work in which you must show your knowledge of state-of-the scientific insights and debates. And during the Bachelor Project you need to show how your academic training over the past three years has come to fruition in such a way as to enable you to individually execute your research and write a scientifically well-founded report about it. You need to be able to do this yourself, independently (though not without us supporting you all the way) and cannot use AI to write your proposal and thesis, or to prepare your presentation.

The Bachelor project links to the following exit requirements:

• De student kan wetenschappelijk onderzoek ontwerpen, uitvoeren en analyseren.
• De student kan op academisch niveau argumenteren en onderzoeksresultaten mondeling en schriftelijk rapporteren in Nederlands en Engels aan een wetenschappelijk en breder publiek.
• De student kan diens wetenschappelijke professionele houding gebruiken om kritisch, open en integer te handelen.
• De student kan projectmatig werken, eigen werk organiseren en samenwerken in interdisciplinaire teams.

Last year's student feedback

In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student feedback to enhance the quality of education, we decided to include the table below in all course guides.

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. ir. Crelis Rammelt

Co-coordinator: Jordy Willems