The course will be on-site, with hybrid option at the beginning of semester ONLY for the students with visa issues. Please enroll on the course's Moodle page in order to receive all relevant information: https://dl2.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=6134
Link for online access: https://meet.google.com/qah-emsv-hvb
The course has two main objectives. The first is to provide the relevant methodological and theoretical knowledge and skills, at an advanced level, which are necessary for MA students to produce an MA thesis, keeping in mind the diversity of the student group at the level of knowledge and skills, educational background, prior training and experience. The second objective is to guide individual students in developing the core design of their MA thesis project, at the level of their research questions, theoretical/conceptual framework, methods and research design, and textual structure.
Last update: Turková Kateřina, Mgr. Ing., Ph.D. (23.09.2025)
Course completion requirements
submission of initial draft of MA thesis proposal (by October 18)
submission of 5-10NP of coherent text (theory or methodology) due to the schedule
being opponent of the work of the colleagues
active participation in the seminars
The students should fulfil all abovementioned criteria to be able to pass the course.
AI use and plagiarism rules:
Students may use generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity and similar, provided that the following conditions are met. Specifically, they may be used for the purposes of proofreading, translations or searching for sources. On the contrary, the prohibition of use strictly applies to the text creation, analysis or personal and sensitive data processing. Any use must be cited in the final output in accordance with academic rules. Generative AI tools will not be used to evaluate student outputs. Any violation of these rules will lead to a reduction in grade, failure to complete the course or disciplinary proceedings, depending on its severity. Only compliance with the aforementioned rules will guarantee the fulfilment of the educational objectives of the course, protect equal conditions for all students, and also ensure their privacy. The aforementioned potential sanctions also apply to any plagiarism.
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else’s work as your own, even if unintentional. It can involve copying text, paraphrasing without citing the source, undisclosed collaboration with others, or using AI. To avoid plagiarism, students must always properly cite their sources, mark quotations, and acknowledge contributions from others and AI. The responsibility always lies with the student—if you work with AI and plagiarism is found, it is considered your plagiarism. (AI is a language model that generates text for you from other texts.)
To detect plagiarism, FSV UK uses Turnitin, which is automatically integrated into Moodle, and I also privately use Copyleaks. Both tools can identify plagiarism and AI-generated texts. Plagiarism and unacknowledged AI use are reported, investigated and have serious consequences as per Dean’s provision 18/2015. https://fsv.cuni.cz/en/deans-provision-no-18/2015
Last update: Turková Kateřina, Mgr. Ing., Ph.D. (23.09.2025)
Literature
Literature on research design and dissertation writing
Allison, B. and Race, P. (2004). The student's guide to preparing dissertations and theses. London: Routledge.
Bailey, S. (2003). Academic writing: A practical guide for students. Psychology Press.
Bell, J. (2010). Doing your research project: a guide for first-time researchers. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.
Heath, M., & Tynan, C. (2010). Crafting a research proposal. The Marketing Review, 10(2), 147-168.
Ormrod, R. P. (2023). How to structure a thesis, report or paper: a guide for students. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Rudestam, K. E., & Newton, R. R. (2014). Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process. SAGE Publications.
Thomas, R. M., & Brubaker, D. L. (2007). Theses and dissertations: A guide to planning, research, and writing. Corwin Press.
Literature on methodology
General methods literature (including research ethics)
Altheide, D. L., & Schneider, C. J. (2013). Qualitative media analysis (2nd ed.). SAGE publications.
Berger, A. A. (2018). Media and communication research methods: An introduction to qualitative and quantitative approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Hammersley, M. (2013). What is qualitative research? Bloomsbury.
Flick, U. (2017). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Collection. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526416070
Jensen, K. B. (Ed.). (2020). A handbook of media and communication research: Qualitative and quantitative methodologies (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Jensen, K. B., & Jankowski, N. W. (2002). A Handbook of qualitative methodologies for mass communication research. Routledge.
Krippendorff, K. (2004, 2013. 2018). Content analysis: an introduction to its methodology. SAGE Publications.
Mason, J. (2002). Qualitative Researching (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Riffe, D., Lacy, S., Fico, F. (2019). Analyzing media messages: using quantitative content analysis in research (4th ed.). Routledge.
Saldaña, J. (2013) The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Silverman, D. (2010). Doing qualitative research: a practical handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Part of older version available online at: https://fasstasticmethodologygroup.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/silverman2005.pdf
Silverman, D. (ed.) (2004). Qualitative research: theory, method, and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Available online at: http://www.stiba-malang.com/uploadbank/pustaka/RM/QUALITATIVE%20THEORY%20METHOD%20PRACTICE.pdf or https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232481491_Qualitative_Research_Theory_Method_and_Practice
Digital methods literature
Hargittai, E., Sandvig, C. (eds) (2015). Digital Research Confidential. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Hine, C. (2015). Ethnography for the Internet. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Rogers, R. (2013). Digital Methods. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Literature on theory and literature review
Cooper, H. M. (1998). Synthesizing Research: A Guide for Literature Reviews. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Hart, C. (1998). Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination. London: Sage [in association with] The Open University.
Galvan, J. L., Galvan, M. C. (2017). Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, 7th Edition. New York: Routledge.
Laughey, D. (2007). Key Themes in Media Theory. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.
Littlejohn, S. W., Foss, K. A., Oetzel, J. (2016). Theories of Human Communication, Eleventh Edition. Long Grove: Waveland Press.
Ridley, D. (2008). The Literature Review: A Step-By-Step Guide for Students. London; Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Watson, J. (2008). Media communication: An introduction to theory and process, 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Last update: Turková Kateřina, Mgr. Ing., Ph.D. (01.10.2024)
Syllabus
This is a yearlong seminar during which time the students will start from general ideas about their MA thesis topic to the development of a full MA thesis. The seminars will be structured in the following way:
1. Each student will produce a draft of proposal (by October 18), which will include the proposed primary and secondary research questions, theoretical framework, the methodological framework and methods, the research design. It will be discussed with the course lecturers and participants, and will result in a full draft of the proposal), which should be further discussed and adjusted due to the recommendation of the supervisor and further knowledge.
2. This phase will consist of a series of assignments and discussions dealing with: how to write an MA thesis - core components; putting methodology in practice; putting theory in practice; doing the literature review; and research ethics. These tasks and lectures will help students to improve the final MA thesis proposal outlining all core elements of the MA thesis by November 15.
3. The aim of the fourth phase is to support students in writing their MA thesis by providing peer feed-back, in-class discussions and guidance from the course lecturer. The success of the seminar largely depends on students reading and engaging with assigned texts and each other’s work. Each student should submit and defend the topic of the MA thesis and the 5-10NP of coherent text (theory or methodology). The work shoud be submitted at least 5 days before a lecture where it will be discussed.
Assessments Fall semester:
submission of initial draft and full version of MA thesis proposal
submission of 5-10NP of coherent text (theory or methodology)
September 30 2025: Introduction; course structure; formal requirements; going through the research proposal
October 7, 2025: Discussion about the topics and possible approaches; possible sources of information & literature
October 14, 2025: Overview of research methods; proposal workshop
October 21, 2025: Comments on full draft of proposal; QUAL research methods: Mainly interviews + CDA
October 28, 2025 HOLIDAYS, the lecture will not be held
November 4, 2025: Quantitative research methods: Quantitative content analysis and other methods
November 11, 2025: Mixed-methods research
November 18, 2025: Remaining methods (on request)
November 25, 2024: Remaining methods (on request); presentations + feedback (5 minutes presentation of the text + 10 mins teacher's and students' feedback for each text) TEXT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: November 21, 2025 (23:59)
December 2, 2025: presentations + feedback (5 minutes presentation of the text + 10 mins teacher's and students' feedback for each text) TEXT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: November 28, 2025 (23:59)
December 9, 2025: presentations + feedback (5 minutes presentation of the text + 10 mins teacher's and students' feedback for each text) TEXT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: December 5, 2025 (23:59)
December 16, 2025: Individual study + consultations
Last update: Turková Kateřina, Mgr. Ing., Ph.D. (23.09.2025)
