BA Thesis Seminar
subject to changes
Course Description
Students demonstrate with their bachelor thesis that they are able to address a scientific problem under the supervision of an academic adviser in a prescribed period of time.
The bachelor thesis is a written homework assignment. It usually entails conceptualizing, carrying out, and evaluating a project that relates to the students’ study goals and subject matter.
Students are encouraged to suggest a topic and research question of their own for their thesis. With the agreement of the examination board, the thesis may be undertaken at a company or institution outside of the college if comparable supervision is possible there. The thesis topic is assigned by the examination board.
Course Objectives
Every student is supervised by an academic adviser. The BA thesis seminar provides students with additional, structured supervision, peer feedback, and the opportunity to reflect on and discuss own approaches, problems, and progress.
Course Materials
Required:
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. Fitzgerald. The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016. [CoR]
Available at bookdepository and amazon.
Further recommendations:
On Reading
- Adler, M.J., and van Doren, C. (1972): How to Read a Book. Simon & Schuster
- If you know how to read you are likely to get the idea how to write well, too…
Rhetoric / Arguments
- Williams, J.M., and Colomb, G.G. (2006): The Craft of Argument. 3rd edition. Pearson Longman.
- The textbook on (planing, drafting, and revising) written arguments.
How to structure your paper
Writing with Style
- Williams, Joseph M., and Joseph Bizup (2016): Style: lessons in clarity and grace. 12th edition. Boston: Pearson.
- Textbook
- McCloskey, D.N. (2000): Economical Writing. 2nd edition. Waveland Press.
- Brief. Practical Advice.
- Sword, H. (2012): Stylish Academic Writing. Havard University Press.
- Meta-perspective. Good academic writing is personal, creative, and vivid – stylish.
- Clark, R. P. (2008). Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. Little, Brown.
- Clark, R. P. (2010). The glamour of grammar: A guide to the magic and mystery of practical English. Little, Brown.
- Once you start revising these may offer some good advice on improving your own style.
Standard Reference Work
Software Tools I Use
Back-up your data!
- Free online storage space: Dropbox automatically syncs a folder on (all) your computer(s)
Use a reference manager!
- JabRef, free, intended for use with LaTeX, supports also MS Word and LibreOffice
- Paperpile, subscription service, for use with google docs & Chrome
Keep track of your tasks!
- Project management and (collaborative) To-Do lists: Trello, free, web & mobile apps
- Personal to-do lists: Any.do, free, app for mobile and for Chrome
Take notes (and organize them well)!
- Evernote for easy note taking on your mobile and when you surf the web
Create a distraction free writing environment.
- While writing do not care about formatting: Google docs in full-screen modus, or Draft offer a clean interface for writing.
Course Requirements:
Only those students who have successfully concluded the examinations foreseen for completion by the end of the fifth semester, successfully finished the internship, and registered for examinations still outstanding, may be permitted to begin a bachelor thesis.
Students must be present at all sessions, submit their thesis proposal, thesis draft, and final thesis on time, and perform their duties as peer reviewer.
Instructor Information:
Prof. Dr. Dennis A. V. Dittrich
dennis.dittrich@touroberlin.de
http://economicscience.net
You can always reach me via email. For meetings in my office appointments can be arranged through my webpage at: http://economicscience.net/content/book-appointment. For asking for a meeting outside my normal office hours and off-campus please use http://doodle.com/davdittrich.
Updated information, links to the literature, additional materials, etc. can be found on my webpage as well.
Grading Guidelines:
| Grading Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| BA Thesis | 2/3 |
| Defense | 1/3 |
Workload
360 hours.
| Activity | Time |
|---|---|
| Class Time | 15 hours |
| Thesis & Peer Review & Preparation Thesis Defense | 345 hours |
Class Meeting Topics and Assignments
Class Session 1: 17.02.
Preliminaries
What is your topic?
Reading: Chapter 3, CoR
Class Session 2: 3.03.
What is your Research Question?
How do you want to answer your Research Question?
Who is your supervisor?
Reading: Chapters 4 and 5, CoR
Deadline: 16.03.
Submission of Thesis Proposal / Outline
Reading: Prologue Part IV and Chapter 12, CoR
Class Session 3: Thursday, 23.03. 12:30
Presentation and Peer Review of Thesis Proposal & Outline
Reading: Chapter 7 and 8, Part V “The Ethics of Research”, CoR
Deadline submission of BA thesis form.
Class Session 4: Friday, 31.03. 12:30
Thesis Proposal Defense
Deadline: 11.05.
Submission Thesis Draft
Elicitation of Peer Reviews
Reading: Chapters 6, 9 – 11, and 13, CoR
Class Session 5: Thursday, 18.05. 12:30
Presentation of Peer Reviews
Deadline: 2.06. Noon
Submission of Final Thesis
Reading: Chapters 14 – 17, CoR
Class Session 6: Friday 16.06.
Thesis Defense
2nd Schedule for postponement due to sickness etc.
Deadline: 29.05.
Submission Thesis Draft
Elicitation of Peer Reviews
Class Session 5b: Friday, 02.06. 12:30
Presentation of Peer Reviews
Deadline: 16.06. Noon
Submission of Final Thesis
Class Session 6b: Friday 23.06.
Thesis Defense