Bachelor's Thesis Preparation 1 - JSB737

• Title: Bachelor's Thesis Preparation 1
• Guaranteed by: Department of Sociology (23-KS)
• Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
• Actual: from 2025
• Semester: winter
• E-Credits: 10
• Examination process: winter s.:
• Hours per week, examination: winter s.:0/4, C [HT]
• Capacity: unknown / 20 (20)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Additional information: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=17896
• Note: enabled for web enrollment
• Guarantor: doc. Mgr. Martin Hájek, Ph.D.; Aysha Farhana Chakkampully
• Teacher(s): doc. Mgr. Martin Hájek, Ph.D.; Aysha Farhana Chakkampully
• Class: Courses not for incoming students
• Pre-requisite : {Group of pre-requisites for JSB737 (JSB736 or JSB749)}
• Is pre-requisite for: JSB738

Annotation

The seminar is to help students develop their thesis. During the course students present an discuss their progress in their thesis and comment on the progress of their peers.

Last update: Hájek Martin, doc. Mgr., Ph.D. (26.09.2025)

Syllabus

Week 1 - 02.10.2025

Introduction. Organisation of the course

Week 2 - 9.10.2025

Mini-lecture

Discuss thesis expectations and reflections, ambitions and fears.

Instructions for writing a thesis research diary.

Week 3- 16.10.2025

Class activity: Discussion of homework.

Mini-lecture: Giving constructive feedback

Forms: critical, positive and negative (without relying on vague phrases like “interesting project” or “I liked it”).

Identifying both strengths and weaknesses in peer projects.

Ethics in feedback & AI

Responsible criticism and respectful engagement.

Considering ambition vs. feasibility in defended theses.

AI consent and ethical boundaries.

Homework

Week 4 - 23.10.2025

Lecture

Using LLM (AI) in your research and writing

Class activity: Sharing experiences with the use of AI;

Discussing productivity & ethics of the use of AI; tips and tricks for chatbot conversation

Power, downsides and ethical considerations in AI usage

Homework

Week 5 - 30.10.2025

Mini-lecture

Class activity: Discussion of homework.

Discussion of the use of literature.

What is the literature for? How many sources? How to cite? Are there differences between good and bad sources? etc.

Week 6 - 06.11.2025

Mini-lecture

Theorizing: Choosing and using theory

The role of theory in a bachelor's thesis. Do I need a theory? How to choose a suitable theory for my research?

Class activity: Sharing experiences with theories and theorising

Week 7 - 13.11.2025

Mini-lecture

Overview of research designs – qualitative, quantitative, mixed.

Choosing the right method for your research question.

Class activity: Discussion of homework.

Homework

Week 8- 20.11.2025

Mini-lecture

Data generation techniques: what counts as data, sampling, access to the field/to data, and ethical issues related to data collection.

Class activity: Discussion of homework.

Homework

Week 9- 27.11.2025

Mini-lecture

Conducting an interview & observation.

Research diary and memos, note-taking, and basics of field work in Social Science.

Class activity: Discussion of homework.

Homework

Week 10- 04.12.2025

Mini-lecture

Analytical approaches - how to analyse data - coding or computing

Week 11- 11.12.2025

Data session 1

Presentation and discussion of part of the data and its analysis in class  (five students)

Week 12- 18.12.2025

Data session 2

Presentation and discussion of part of the data and its analysis in class (five students).

Last update: Hájek Martin, doc. Mgr., Ph.D. (26.09.2025)