Course requirements
Course assignment
Students are expected to read selected papers in English; reading lists of required and suggested papers for each topic will be provided during the course. Each student is expected to prepare an assignment. The assignment topic should be approved by the lecturer, Tomas Sobotka. Assignments can be prepared by individual students or by two students working together. Each student has to successfully pass an exam to complete the course.
The working language of the course and of the assignments is English.
Exam and course completion requirements:
• Successfully completing an assignment (35%); see more detailed information below
• At least three (out of five) short tests (10 minutes each) during the course (30%); tests will be taken at the begginning of lectures 2-6. If more than three tests will be completed by the student, results of the three best tests will be counted
• Final short oral exam (in person or online via Zoom) (35%)
Assignment: detailed specification
A figure or a series of figures on a selected population issue
Original figure, map, or illustration (or a series of 2-3 figures, i.e., infographics) accompanied with a short text
• The figures should be original (created by you) and should relate to a selected population trend, issue, or challenge that you can analyse, comment and discuss
• The figure(s), together with a brief caption should „tell the story“ without requiring too much additional explanation
• The design, clarity, and the interconnection between different elements important
• Suggested format of the accompanying text: 1. One sentence summarising the aim or research question, 2. A brief analytical commentary on the figure(s), highlighting the main finding(s), 3. One-sentence summary or discussion on the relevance of your finding(s)
Evaluation criteria:
• Selection of the topic and the narrative; originality
• Using reliable and preferably official data (e.g., from the national statistical offices); all sources need to be documented
• Design and graphical presentation; how different elements (figure, accompanying text, data sources) fit together
• How informative the figure and the accompanying text are
Other notes and requirements:
• Do not use AI tools for generating the figure. Any use of AI, should be declared
• If the assignment is a joint work by two students, contribution of each of them should be specified. Assignments prepared by two students will be assessed more
Deadlines:
Assignment topic to be suggested by 24 March 2025 (i.e., until the 3rd lecture); topics can be consulted with the lecturer in advance. Each topic needs to be approved by the lecturer, T. Sobotka.
Deadline for completing the assignments: 15 May 2025 (recommended earlier)
Students need to have completed their assignment before their final (oral) exam
Poslední úprava: Janáková Kuprová Barbora, RNDr., Ph.D. (17.02.2025)
