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Specialisation with Methodology Seminar
The final date to register for the subjects in the fall semester 2006 is September 1st. You should also register for SVF-3023 during the fall semester, even though you registered for this subject in the spring. You should be back in Tromsø by this date. The information to pay the student association fee is available in StudentWeb. You can log on with your Norwegian personal number and PIN-code, retrieve the KID number (customer ID-number) and bank account number to make the transfer. After you have payed you can register for the subjects you will take during the semester.
According to the MPCT program, during the fall semester you are to take SVF-3023 Specialisation with Methodology and a 10 study point elective course which you can chose from the following overview: Elective Courses
The Information Meeting for SVF-3023 Specialisation with Methodology in the Fall semester is:
Date: Monday, September 4th, 2006
Time: 12:15
Place: Room U-06
When you have already completed the first component of SVF-3023 during the spring semester, the second component of SVF-3023 will consist of a Specialisation with Methodology (discussion) Seminar that will serve as a meeting place for students writing their research paper of up to 6000 words, to be submitted 15 November 2006, by 14:15 at the front desk of the Faculty of Social Sciences. This paper will be evaluated by a commission and will be assigned a grade in the scale A-E, F = Fail (no oral examination).
During the Specialisation with Methodology Seminar, each Wednesday from September, students are to present their work which they are developing, providing an opportunity to explore issues and challenges associated with the research process, to talk about each individual research paper and to think through any difficulties experienced during the research and writing process. Ideally, supervisors of presenting students should attend the seminar as well. To make the time we have productive and useful for everyone, each presenter should circulate to everyone (mpct05-list, Diane Lister, Alberto Valiente and supervisor) no later than the Monday before each session, the following:
1) One or two paragraphs about the subject matter of your research paper, aims and objectives, research questions and methods used;
2) A statement about how you feel you are progressing with your research paper; and
3) Any issues/concerns that you want to raise for discussion and comment where you feel you need guidance.
The presentation should focus upon these issues and should not be something to worry about, instead the presentations are an opportunity to talk about your research paper and to think through any difficulties experienced. We will all provide constructive comments to each other and we will focus on the challenges each one faces as a graduate student, how to learn from them and how to overcome them.
There are no compulsory requirements about what each research paper should be about or contain, rather it is left for each student (with help of supervisors) to choose an aspect from their own work. The final research paper, or part of it, should ideally be used as the basis of part of the thesis in some form, adapted and tailored to fit into the overall scope and structure of your thesis.
Research papers can solely address key theoretical issues, as well as methodological and empirical issues. For example, it may form part of the introduction of the thesis, analysis of data collected during fieldwork or a discussion of theoretical/methodological/analytical issues. There are no hard and fast rules about this.
It is important to bear in mind that the presentations and the process of writing the final research paper are intended to provide a stepping stone to acquire new knowledge and skills which will be important when you write your thesis. The seminar-course is designed to aid the learning process and deal with reading, writing, and analytical skills as well as discussion of theoretical issues. Therefore, the presentations provide an important opportunity to explore issues and challenges associated with the research process and to learn from one another’s experiences as well as providing feedback and comments. It is important that you all attend.
The sessions in the seminar will take place every Wednesday, from 10:15 to 12:00 in Room U-06. Register by sending an e-mail to the seminar leader Alberto Valiente Thoresen. The table of registered presenters is publishes online here. It is important that this is done during the course of the summer to avoid delays, so it is in your interest to register as soon as possible. From experiences we have had with this course, some students think it is more convenient to present early in the process of writing their research paper, while others think the opposite and that they would rather wait and do it some days before delivering their research paper. Either way, it is important that you pick a date that is convenient for you and your supervisor as soon as possible.
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