Research Designs

Studiewijzer 2021/2022

Globale inhoud

The Research Designs course aims to provide you with the skills and experience to create a well-written and thoughtful research proposal for the Bachelor’s thesis that you will complete immediately following the course.  

Each step of the course will be a practical guide to undergoing a new research project and will allow you to excel as you develop your research career, wherever that may take you. Given the large range of topics that you, as a group, are pursuing, we aim to provide information that is relevant to you, whether you go on to study ecology, hydrology, environmental management, or political ecology (among many other fields).  

During the six practicals, you will work in a group to conceptualize a research question and write a proposal. The practicals will include a brief introductory lecture, guided group work, and short presentations to the class on your findings. If you utilize this time wisely, the practicals will allow you, as a group, to successfully complete the research proposal in a timely, structured manner that you can easily mimic during your thesis and future research. During the second week of the course, you will also undertake a 'skills lab' which is ungraded but attendance is mandatory (unless you are conducting fieldwork in Spain this week) and includes one of the following topics: 1) data management, 2) statistics, or 3) computer techniques. 

Studiemateriaal

Literatuur

• Readings and Resources on Canvas

Syllabus

• Syllabus on Canvas

Practicummateriaal

• Practicals Material

Leerdoelen

• Write a thorough scientific research proposal in English.
• Distinguish between the various elements of a research proposal.
• Define a research problem and understand the objectives and relevance of the proposed research.
• Creatively use and adequately incorporate relevant literature and theoretical insights in relation to the proposed research question.
• Set up a relevant methodology by making a well-founded choice for a particular approach and utilizing specific quantitative and/or qualitative methods and techniques.
• Understand the methodologies involved in relevant data identification, collection, processing, analysis, visualization, and management.
• Understand the life cycle of scientific data by setting up a data management plan.
• Present and debate a clearly defined research proposal in English.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams.

Onderwijsvormen

• Werkcollege
• Hoorcollege
• Zelfstandig werken aan bijv. project/scriptie
• Begeleiding/feedbackmoment

During lectures, student will learn and review theoretical topics that will help them to understand how research is designed, including navigating scientific literature, quantitative and qualitative method, data management, data analysis, and academic writing. During the six practicals, students will work in groups to conceptualize a research question and write a proposal. The practicals will include a brief introductory lecture, guided group work, and short presentations to the class on the student's findings. The practicals are structured so that students will be able to successfully complete a research proposal in a timely, structured manner that can easily be mimicked during their thesis and future research.  

Verdeling leeractiviteiten

Aanwezigheid

Aanwezigheidseisen opleiding (OER-B):

• Deelname aan veldwerk is verplicht en niet vervangbaar door opdrachten of andere cursussen.
• In geval van een practicum is de student verplicht ten minste 90% van de practicumbijeenkomsten bij te wonen en zich op deze bijeenkomsten terdege voor te bereiden, tenzij anders aangegeven in de studiewijzer van het vak. Indien de student minder dan 90% heeft bijgewoond dient het practicum opnieuw te worden gevolgd.
• In geval van werkgroepbijeenkomsten is de student verplicht tenminste 7 van elke 8 werkgroepbijeenkomsten bij te wonen en zich op deze bijeenkomsten terdege voor te bereiden, tenzij anders aangegeven in de studiewijzer. Bij meer dan 8 werkgroepbijeenkomsten geldt dat de student steeds per (deel van) 8 bijeenkomsten maximaal 1 bijeenkomst mag missen. Indien de student minder dan het verplichte aantal heeft bijgewoond, kan het vak niet worden afgerond.
  

Aanvullende eisen voor dit vak:

In this course, the main focus of each class session will involve continuing discussions with your colleagues. Therefore, attendance in the practicals is mandatory. We will be doing many in-class activities as well as peer reviewing during class time, so a missed practical is an inconvenience to your fellow classmates. If you have special circumstances (i.e., illness, family emergency), please email me (c.e.black@uva.nl) or your tutorial lecturer (“werkgroepdocent”). If you miss more than one tutorial, this will affect your grade as you will not be contributing equally to your group proposal. If you miss more than one tutorial (out of 6 total), you will not be able to complete the course. Skill labs (week 2) are not graded but attendance is mandatory (unless you are conducting fieldwork in Spain that week). 

Attendance in the lecture is not mandatory, although important to your success in the course. However, missing lectures will result in missed quizzes, which will affect your grade. We work hard to make this course as interactive and relevant for you as possible, so please respect our time by attending lectures and practicals as they are ultimately for your benefit. 

Toetsing

The bulk of your grade will be the project proposal. You will be expected to submit one proposal for your team by 23:59 on February 26. Your proposal will be 10-12 pages long (double-spaced, 12-point font), not including a bibliography and table of contents. You should have a bibliography of at least fifteen academic sources. Use one consistent format for bibliography and citations (e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver). All proposals must be submitted to Canvas. This is separate from the proposal you will submit for the bachelor's thesis following completion of the Research Designs course. 

A grading rubric is also posted in Canvas; please follow this carefully to ensure you receive the highest grade possible. You can also find a Proposal Guidelines document on canvas, which describes the expected format for your research proposal. You will need to complete a self/peer-assessment survey by 23:59 on Monday, March 7th on Canvas, which will provide us with information on any uneven participation and contributions to the proposal within the group. We will take this assessment into account when assigning individual grades based on your group’s proposal. 

Groups will have a second chance to submit an improved proposal within 2 weeks after receiving their final grade with a maximum grade of 6.0. The deadline for resubmission will be communicated to you once we have completed grading. 

Toetsmatrijs (studentenversie)

Inzage toetsing

Groups will have a second chance to submit an improved proposal within 2 weeks after receiving their final grade with a maximum grade of 6.0. The deadline for resubmission will be communicated to you once we have completed grading. 

Opdrachten

The bulk of your grade will be the project proposal. You will be expected to submit one proposal for your team by 23:59 on Monday, March 7th. A grading rubric is also posted in Canvas; please follow this carefully to ensure you receive the highest grade possible. You can also find a Proposal Guidelines document on canvas, which describes the expected format for your research proposal. This assignment is graded and constitutes 100% of your grade.

Fraude en plagiaat

Dit vak hanteert de algemene 'Fraude- en plagiaatregeling' van de UvA. Hier wordt nauwkeurig op gecontroleerd. Bij verdenking van fraude of plagiaat wordt de examencommissie van de opleiding ingeschakeld. Zie de Fraude- en plagiaatregeling van de UvA: http://student.uva.nl

Weekplanning

Rooster

Het rooster van dit vak is in te zien op DataNose.

Vakevaluatie afgelopen jaar

Vanaf 2013-2014 hebben we ervoor gekozen om d.m.v. onderstaande tabel de studenten meer inzicht te geven in de kwaliteitszorg. Daarom nemen we een korte weergave van de studentenevaluatie op en de daaruit voortvloeiende acties ter verbetering van het vak.

Contactinformatie

Coördinator

• Caitlin Emily Black

Docenten

• Daniël Kooij
• Lotte Levelt
• Rosa van Schaick
• Katinka Wijsman MPhil
• J. Willems

Docenten

• Sebastiaan van Bruchem
• Daniël Kooij
• Lotte Levelt
• Anne Uilhoorn
• Katinka Wijsman MPhil

Docenten

• Sebastiaan van Bruchem
• Daniël Kooij
• Lotte Levelt
• Anne Uilhoorn
• Katinka Wijsman MPhil