STV4911 – Master Thesis - Research Design and Project Management

Schedule, syllabus and examination date

Course content

Research design is essential for valid research. In this course, organized as a seminar series, students are introduced to strategies for improving the design of their master thesis project as well as being made aware of common pitfalls. Theoretical knowledge from the previous methods courses will be applied to show how different types of research projects are developed in practice. Students will be offered general instruction in research ethics and data protection and management. Moreover, they will receive additional training in presentation of data and empirical results and advice on how to manage their research project and write up their thesis in an efficient manner.

The seminar series will be divided into three main parts: 1) research question and research design, 2) planning and preparation of different types of studies, 3) other aspects of project planning and management.

During the seminar period, students will read literature on their chosen topic and work on developing the relevant aspects of their research plan for the master thesis. They will submit notes on their project every second week and submit complete a project plan at the end of the seminar period.

STV4911 is an integrated, compulsory part of the master theses in STV4992 – Masteroppgave i statsvitenskap and in PECOS4096 – Master's Thesis.?

Learning outcome

Knowledge

You will:

  • Know what the common pitfalls of designing a research project are
  • Know well-established strategies for avoiding such pitfalls

Skills

You can:

  • Develop and specify a research question at an advanced level
  • Situate the research question in scholarly literature
  • Identify key concepts, relevant theory and the appropriate logic of inference
  • Justify a general choice of research design
  • Develop a suitable research plan for case selection, time frame, data collection and choice of methods
  • Develop an ethically responsible research project
  • Draft a data management plan in line with EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

General competencies

You can:

  • Present a research plan to a group of peers
  • Participate in academic discussion of research designs
  • Reflect on your own research and writing proce