Master´s Degree Seminar IEPS - JPM194

• Title: Master´s Degree Seminar IEPS
• Guaranteed by: Department of Political Science (23-KP)
• Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
• Actual: from 2008 to 2008
• Semester: both
• E-Credits: 6
• Hours per week, examination: 0/2, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: winter:unknown / unknown (unknown); summer:unknown / unknown (unknown)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: Czech
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: enabled for web enrollment; you can enroll for the course in winter and in summer semester
• Guarantor: prof. PhDr. Bořivoj Hnízdo, Ph.D.

Annotation

English

Last update: doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček, CSc. (16.02.2013)

THE BOARD WITH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

### 26 September 2012:
Dear participants in the Master Thesis Seminar,
Since this seminar is a rather special course, where you should work on and scientifically upgrade your master thesis (which should become a target of your personal pride in creativity), please be aware that it will take place once in two weeks only. Our first meeting is schedulled on 11 October at 14:00 At the Institute of Economic Studies, Opletalova Street 26, Hall 105 (ground floor).
The agenda for the first seminar: please prepare a short introduction to your MT topic.
See you on the 11th October.
Vladimir Benacek

Czech

Last update: doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček, CSc. (04.09.2013)

THE BOARD WITH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

### 16 February 2013:
Dear participants in the Master Thesis Seminar,
Since this seminar is a rather special course, where you should work on and scientifically upgrade your master thesis (which should become a target of your personal pride in creativity), please be aware that it will be taking place every second week only. Our first meeting is scheduled for 28 February at 12:30 - 13:50 at the Institute of Economic Studies, Opletalova Street 26, Hall 105 (ground floor).
The agenda for the first seminar: please prepare a short introduction to your MT topic.
See you on the 28th.
Vladimir Benacek

Aim of the course

English

Last update: doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček, CSc. (04.09.2013)

The course is dedicated to the students starting to work systematically on the diploma thesis. You are supposed to know alredy the topic of your thesis and be acquainted with basic references to books and journal papers which deal scientifically with your problem. The recommended enrolment to this course is the second or the third semester of your studies at IEPS. This means that you should have consulted that matter with Dr. Riegl, the programme coordinator and received his approval that the topic would be worth studying. The name of your thesis supervisor can be determined during this course.

Czech

Last update: doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček, CSc. (13.02.2014)

The course is dedicated to the students starting to work systematically on the diploma thesis. You are supposed to know already the topic of your thesis and be acquainted with basic references to books and journal papers which deal scientifically with your problem. The recommended enrolment to this course is in the second or the third semester of your studies at IEPS. This means that you should have consulted that matter with Dr. Riegl, the programme coordinator, and received his approval that your intended topic would be worth studying. The name of your thesis supervisor can be determined during this course, even though it would be much better if you had already your supervisor. More details how to find your supervisor can be found in the IEPS Guide you received in October.

Literature

Last update: doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček, CSc. (02.10.2011)

McCloskey, D. (1999). Economical Writing. Waveland; 2nd edition.
Strunk, W. & E. B. White (2000). The Elements of Style. Longman; 4th edition.
Williams, J. M. (2010). Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Longman; 10th edition.

Entry requirements

English

Last update: doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček, CSc. (16.02.2013)

Master Thesis Primer  (2 September 2011) - Recommendations and basic guidelines by Vladimír Benáček, the supervisor of the IEPS programme and the instructor of this course

Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University and me as the supervisor of the IEPS programme give a special stress on a high quality of your Master Thesis. The writing of thesis should become a highlight of your study - revealing your real capacities to work with scientific literature, to think logically and to invent new ideas about your selected topic. A good thesis will open you the doors to your specialisation in your professional career. Following the motto "quality rather than quantity" the examiners should base the evaluation of Master’s Theses on their quality, i. e. on the specificity of the research question, on its successful transformation into testable hypothesis(-es) and on the independent contribution by the student in addressing this question. In addition, we will consider the overall consistency of the work and the interlink between the research question, the hypotheses, the methods used, the results and conclusions. Conversely, the students are encouraged to limit the extent of their work and to eliminate irrelevant parts, e.g. trivial repetitions from wikipedia or journalistic catchwords recycled already thousands of times.

High quality work is typically characterized by:

*  a clearly specified well-motivated research question,

*  the existence of testable hypotheses derived from the research question,

*  a rich survey of facts and processing of data,

*  an independent contribution by the student, i. e. a fair endeavour to address the specified research question by pointing to new views and your own ideas,

*  an overall consistency and good interlink between the individual parts.

The research question should be feasible (i. e. sufficiently specific and potentially answerable) and interesting (the answer to it should not be trivial). It should be transformed to clear testable hypotheses that are based on the existing literature and answered with the use of the obtained results. The form of the individual student‘s contribution depends on the nature of the research question and on the chosen method. It can for example be an independent analysis (empirical or theoretical) or an identification of non-trivial relationship in a given topic. Theses linking the problems of political science with economics are strongly encouraged.

On the other hand, the recommended extent of the thesis should typically be 50 - 60 pages (1.5 spacing, font size 12; excluding the initial pages, the list of references and appendices). See more information at http://intranet.fsv.cuni.cz/FSVINT-1114.html#5  http://intranet.fsv.cuni.cz/FSVINT-1578.html     http://intranet.fsv.cuni.cz/FSVINT-1152.html      http://intranet.fsv.cuni.cz/FSVINT-1273.html     (sorry if these materials are not in English).

This guideline should be seen only as a general recommendation; in areas where more extensive analysis is justified (e. g. history) longer theses are acceptable. Reasonable limitation of the thesis extent aims at enhancing the "density" and sophistication of the text, which may have an effect on its perceived higher quality and better grade.

During the course you are supposed to present your introductory synopsis, have an oral presentation of extended working outline, comment as peer reviewers on two theses of your colleagues, respond to their reviews and defend your first draft of the thesis (i.e. the Preliminary Draft) comprising at least 15 pages. Students who will not be able to satisfy such requirements will have to repeat the whole seminar again in the next semester.

The non-participation in the seminars may restrict you in passing the course and getting the credits. A written application sent to the MTS supervisor (V. Benáček) before the start of semester is required from all those who intend to study abroad and participate in the seminar in an extramural correspondence class. They should explain why they cannot take part in the course at some later date or why they did not finish the course prior to their stay abroad.

Remark about plagiarism: FSV has purchased an anti-plagiarism programme screening your essays and theses. Please be aware that in this school plagiarism is prosecuted and I will not stand at your side in such a case. Please check carefully your theses and make sure that sources of all texts and graphs (or even data) taken from outside are quoted explicitly. Use the Harvard style of referencing (downloadable from this website). See below an excerpt from our school policies. A tribute is deserved to all of you who do their work honestly and creatively. You should not be ashamed of your own thoughts and own intelligence.

Vladimir Benacek

Plagiarism - "the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work." Any materials downloaded from the internet, which are copied into a dissertation, paper or essay, must be explicitly quoted and referenced. Failing to do that will be treated as a case of plagiarism and cheating, and therefore prosecuted. Plagiarism in the coursework can end up in a course failure. Plagiarism in the thesis may also lead to expelling you from the school.

 

Czech

Last update: doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček, CSc. (04.09.2013)

Master Thesis Primer (2 September 2011) - Recommendations and basic guidelines by Vladimír Benáček, the supervisor of the IEPS programme and the instructor of this course

Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University and me as the supervisor of the IEPS programme give a special stress on a high quality of your Master Thesis. The writing of thesis should become a highlight of your study - revealing your real capacities to work with scientific literature, to think logically and to invent new ideas about your selected topic. A good thesis will open you the doors to your specialisation in your professional career. Following the motto "quality rather than quantity" the examiners should base the evaluation of Master’s Theses on their quality, i. e. on the specificity of the research question, on its successful transformation into testable hypothesis(-es) and on the independent contribution by the student in addressing this question. In addition, we will consider the overall consistency of the work and the interlink between the research question, the hypotheses, the methods used, the results and conclusions. Conversely, the students are encouraged to limit the extent of their work and to eliminate irrelevant parts, e.g. trivial repetitions from wikipedia or journalistic catchwords recycled already thousands of times.

High quality work is typically characterized by:

* a clearly specified well-motivated research question,

* the existence of testable hypotheses derived from the research question,

* a rich survey of facts and processing of data,

* an independent contribution by the student, i. e. a fair endeavour to address the specified research question by pointing to new views and your own ideas,

* an overall consistency and good interlink between the individual parts.

The research question should be feasible (i. e. sufficiently specific and potentially answerable) and interesting (the answer to it should not be trivial). It should be transformed to clear testable hypotheses that are based on the existing literature and answered with the use of the obtained results. The form of the individual student‘s contribution depends on the nature of the research question and on the chosen method. It can for example be an independent analysis (empirical or theoretical) or an identification of non-trivial relationship in a given topic. Theses linking the problems of political science with economics are strongly encouraged.

On the other hand, the recommended extent of the thesis should typically be 50 - 60 pages (1.5 spacing, font size 12; excluding the initial pages, the list of references and appendices). See more information at http://intranet.fsv.cuni.cz/FSVINT-1114.html#5 http://intranet.fsv.cuni.cz/FSVINT-1578.html http://intranet.fsv.cuni.cz/FSVINT-1152.html http://intranet.fsv.cuni.cz/FSVINT-1273.html (sorry if these materials are not in English).

This guideline should be seen only as a general recommendation; in areas where more extensive analysis is justified (e. g. history) longer theses are acceptable. Reasonable limitation of the thesis extent aims at enhancing the "density" and sophistication of the text, which may have an effect on its perceived higher quality and better grade.

During the course you are supposed to present your introductory synopsis, have an oral presentation of extended working outline, comment as peer reviewers on two theses of your colleagues, respond to their reviews and defend your first draft of the thesis (i.e. the Preliminary Draft) comprising at least 40 000 characters of the net text. Students who will not be able to satisfy such requirements will have to repeat the whole seminar again in the next semester.

The non-participation in the seminars may restrict you in passing the course and getting the credits. A written application sent to the MTS supervisor (V. Benáček) before the start of semester is required from all those who intend to study abroad and participate in the seminar in an extramural correspondence class. They should explain why they cannot take part in the course at some later date or why they did not finish the course prior to their stay abroad.

Remark about plagiarism: FSV has purchased an anti-plagiarism programme screening your essays and theses. Please be aware that in this school plagiarism is prosecuted and I will not stand at your side in such a case. Please check carefully your theses and make sure that sources of all texts and graphs (or even data) taken from outside are quoted explicitly. Use the Harvard style of referencing (downloadable from this website). See below an excerpt from our school policies. A tribute is deserved to all of you who do their work honestly and creatively. You should not be ashamed of your own thoughts and own intelligence.

Vladimir Benacek

Plagiarism - "the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work." Any materials downloaded from the internet, which are copied into a dissertation, paper or essay, must be explicitly quoted and referenced. Failing to do that will be treated as a case of plagiarism and cheating, and therefore prosecuted. Plagiarism in the coursework can end up in a course failure. Plagiarism in the thesis may also lead to expelling you from the school.

Registration requirements

English

Last update: doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček, CSc. (16.02.2013)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MEETING WITH REGISTERED STUDENTS AND THE LAUNCHING OF REGULAR SEMINARS

1) There will be regular seminars on Thursdays 14:00-15:20 held in Opletalova St. 26 in hall # 105 (the left door after the entry).The first seminar will start on 11 October 2012 and the next one on 25 October.

The later dates will be announced in the Minutes from Seminars. Only those students are eligible who already know their thesis TOPIC, will be able to work out a THESIS PROPOSAL and present at the end of semester a DRAFT of their manuscript whose length will be minimally 20 pages.

2) Individual supervisions and contacts will be held on Thursdays after the seminar at 15.30 at IES, Opletalova St. 26, room 311.

Czech

Last update: doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček, CSc. (04.09.2013)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MEETING WITH REGISTERED STUDENTS AND THE LAUNCHING OF REGULAR SEMINARS

1) There will be regular seminars on every second Thursday 12:30-13:50 held in Opletalova St. 26 in hall # 105 (the left door after the entry).The first seminar will start on 28 Feb 2013 and the next one on 14 March.

The later dates will be announced in the Minutes from Seminars. Only those students are eligible who already know their thesis TOPIC, will be able to work out a THESIS PROPOSAL and defend during this semester a DRAFT of their manuscript in sufficient quality.