SOW-BS019
Minor Research Project
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleSOW-BS019
Credits (ECTS)12
CategoryMA (Master)
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Social Sciences; Behavioural Science;
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator
dr. M.W.C. van Weerdenburg
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. M.W.C. van Weerdenburg
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
dr. M.W.C. van Weerdenburg
Other course modules lecturer
Examiner
dr. M.W.C. van Weerdenburg
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2020
Period
JAAR  (01/09/2020 to 27/08/2021)
Starting block
JAAR
Course mode
full-time
Remark
Please note: if you do not yet have a master's registration, you are not yet registered for the tests for this course
RemarksFor Behavioural Science RM students only.
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesNo
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
The present course aims to teach students how they should set up, analyse and interpret theoretically driven research in behavioural science. The course aims to provide practical training in all the crucial skills involved in behavioural science research, covering the whole range of the empirical cycle. Furthermore, the course additionally aims to learn and improve student skills related to programming experiments, academic writing and orally presenting of research papers.
Content
As a starting point, students choose for a research theme that is provided by staff members of the BSI or PhD students under the supervision of BSI staff-members. During the Minor research project, students will mostly work in small groups. Students thoroughly scrutinize recent scientific literature on this research theme. Subsequently, we provide students with a practical training that follows the full empirical cycle, including critically reading empirical and theoretical papers about the research theme, thinking about new research ideas, designing new studies/experiments, planning it (e.g. programming, organizing field study), collecting the data (students are generally expected to collect their own data during the project, but they can also make use of datasets available at the research institute), analysing the data, interpreting the results, and finally reporting the research in the format of a journal article. In addition to learning how to conduct a study, several other basic skills are learned. First, we aim to improve students' presentation skills by having students give an oral presentation on their research ideas as well as on their interpretation of their findings at the end of the course.  Second, we aim to improve students' writing skills. Students will be supervised in writing a research proposal (Minor Research Proposal) as well as the Minor Research Thesis, an empirical paper on the conducted research. In the Minor Research Thesis, students write a paper on their studies according to the standards of international scientific journals. Thus, in nine months, students learn the necessary skills to do collaborative behavioural science research, to present it, and to report on it in a professional way.
Students work on a research project within one of the research themes that are provided by BSI staff members and PhD students. Both the content and the nature of the research method (e.g. laboratory experiments, quasi-experimental field study) will vary across the various research themes. At the same time, the procedure for the Minor Research Project is standardized in various ways in order to make sure that the goals of the course are met.

Teaching format: The students will have weekly meetings with their supervisors and we provide specific weekly assignments to structure these meeting working towards a strong research idea (assignments will be available on Brightspace). Based on these meetings and discussions, students write their Minor Research Proposal. The Minor Research Proposal contains a research plan in which (1) the theoretical relevance of the topic is substantiated and the research questions and hypotheses are clearly formulated, (2) the research methods and procedures are described, and (3) a time schedule for conducting the research is proposed. Before submitting the Minor Research Proposal, students present their research ideas during the Minor Research Proposal Symposium, in which students and staff members provide feedback. Then, students will prepare data collection (e.g. making research materials, programming experiments). When the Minor Research Proposal has been approved by the supervisor, students start collecting the data. At the end of the course, students present their results and discuss their results with the other students and staff members during a poster presentation at the Research Master Conference. Finally, students submit their Minor Research Thesis. Students work in small groups on the project, and collaborate with other students in various ways. Brightspace will be used as a tool for communication between teachers and students outside the regular meetings. Specific guidelines and procedure for the Minor Research Project will be available on Brightspace.

The grade for the minor Research Project will not only be based on the Minor Research Thesis, but also (to a minor extent) on the process and the way the students participated in the whole project (e.g. eagerness, conscientiousness, innovativeness). The grading form and specific guidelines will be available on Brightspace.
Level

Presumed foreknowledge

Test information

Specifics

Assumed previous knowledge
This course is for students of the Research Master Behavioural Science only.

Instructional modes
Research Project

Tests
Minor research project
Test weight1
Test typeProject
OpportunitiesBlock JAAR, Block JAAR