Final Thesis Practicalities and Research Methods (2cr)

Objectives (course unit)

This course introduces the practical issues involved in the final thesis process. The course concentrates on giving the students necessary information and competences to begin the final thesis process. This compulsory course must be completed before the student starts the writing process under the guidance of an assigned supervisor.
After completing the course, the student will be able to:
Describe the different forms of final thesis as well as the principles of thesis assessment in TAMK.
Use the guides and instructions helping and regulating the final thesis process.
Apply the basic research approaches applicable in BA theses.
Write a topic analysis with an appropriate form of thesis, literature review and frame of reference.
Manage his final thesis process.

Content (course unit)

What does the concept of applied research mean?
What are the main research methods for applied research?
How does the final thesis process go in practice?

Exam schedules

No exam but individual mandatory assignments to be completed.

Assessment methods and criteria

In this virtual course the student must go through all the materials in Tabula and complete the given assignments individually.
1) An essay about topic and theory
2) An essay about research methods
3) Evaluation of a Bachelor's Thesis
Once all the assignments have been completed, the responsible teacher will evaluate them and either accept them or ask for clarification or improvement.

Assessment scale

Pass/Fail

Teaching methods

Individual studying in Tabula
Essay writing

Learning materials

All material will be given or introduced in Tabula.
In addition, the student must search for other material (books, articles) about research methods to complete the essay task.
All essays and written material must use the official TAMK reporting guidelines.

Student workload

2 credit point course = 54 hrs consisting of student's independent work

Content scheduling

See Tabula course

Completion alternatives

There are no alternative ways to complete the course.

Practical training and working life cooperation

None

International connections

none

Further information

To start the course, sign-up normally in Winha and then start the course in Tabula.
Link: http://tabula.tamk.fi/course/view.php?id=6213

Assessment criteria - pass/fail (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Fail:
- student has not completed all the tasks
- student does not explain what is expected of a Bachelor's Thesis
- student can not list the necessary steps of doing the thesis
- student can not search for and write a relevant reference list for the methodology part of the thesis