B9654 - RESEARCH DESIGN (II) AND THESIS LAB

Learning outcomes

The course aims to deepen students’ insights with their academic development, research design and bachelor thesis research. They will learn how to develop an effective research strategy and how to choose the most appropriate research method. By the end of the course, students will learn how to find their own research question, how to select the cases functional to their questions and how to look for qualitative or qualitative sources useful to write their thesis.

Course contents

This course is reserved exclusively for students in the Bachelor of European Studies programme. Students of other programmes are not allowed to take this course in their programme.

Language of the course: English.

The course covers essential research and transversal skills to prepare students for implementing their own research project and prepares them for developing their own Bachelor thesis project. The course explicitly builds on previous research skill training within the BAES programme but deepens these skills by following a hands-on and skills-oriented approach. The course is structured in three blocks: (1) recap of core research skills and steps of the research design process (i.e., how to implement a literature review, how to choose a theoretical or conceptual framework, how to effectively review the literature); (2) insights into research designs across different disciplines and multidisciplinarity (i.e., diverse data collection and analysis approaches, questions of researcher positionality and research integrity); (3) steps towards an independent research project (i.e., thesis structure, workload planning, public speaking).

Course entry requirements

It is recommended that students have completed the first part of the research skill training of the BAES programme (i.e. Methodology and Research Design (S0S36A))

Course objectives

• Strengthen students’ analytical skills to conduct research under supervision, to formulate research questions, understand academic literature, collect and analyse data, and critically reflect on research findings;
• Strengthen students’ capacity to present and report, clearly and comprehensively, both orally and in written form knowledge concerning questions of European Studies and their own research results;
• Deepen students’ understanding of multidisciplinarity in academic research and the diversity of research designs across European Studies disciplines;
• Strengthen students’ transversal skills towards developing their own independent research project.

Readings/Bibliography

Reading and further study materials (academic texts, lecture slides, etc.) will be available on the platform Toledo.

Teaching methods

This course consists of on-campus lectures and on-campus seminars. In total, there will be 20 on-campus sessions.

Interactive formats will characterize both the lectures and the seminars (i.e., short debates, group works, individual reflection moments, etc.). Some lecture sessions will be dedicated to mock presentations, in which students will present their thesis projects and receive feed-back by their peers and mock juries.

Assessment methods

Evaluation type: Continuous assessment without exam during the regular exam period

Evaluation method: Paper/assignment, Presentation, Participation

Determination of the final result:

This course includes the following evaluation:

1. Written assignment (60%). The submission period and deadline as well as detailed instructions are defined by the lecturer(s) and communicated through Toledo.
2. Oral presentation (30%)
3. Participation during teaching hours (10%)

Determination of the final result

The evaluation is graded by the lecturer(s), as communicated via Toledo and the exam schedule. The result is calculated and expressed with a whole number to 20.

Students need to pass the oral presentation and written assignment in order to pass the course. If the student does not take part in one (or more) of the partial evaluations, the assessment of the part(s) not taken is counted as a 0-score within the weighted final result.

When submitting assignments, the agreed deadline is respected. Possible deviations are not negotiable. If special individual circumstances have arisen, one should contact the ombuds service before the deadline. If the deadline is not respected, the assessment of the component in question will be counted as a 0-score within the weighted final result, unless for a valid reason a new submission date is determined after the application.

More details about the assessment criteria used to evaluate the written assignment, the oral presentation and the attendance will be provided on Toledo before the beginning of the course.

Students are responsible for submitting work that is free of fraud. Irregularities, in particular with regard to authorship (e.g. plagiarism and the improper use of genAI), will be punished with the sanctions provided for in the BAES exam regulations [https://ghum.kuleuven.be/EN/baes/students/regulations].

Grades based on the 20-point scale will be finally converted into the Italian grading scale (18-30). For a better understanding, grades on the 18-30 scale correspond to the following evaluations of the assignment:

• 18-19: Barely sufficient work.
• 20-23: Sufficient/satisfactory work.
• 24-26: Good work.
• 27-29: Very good work.
• 30-30L: Excellent work.

Retakes

The second exam opportunity will consist of a retake presentation (30%) and written assignment (60%). Students cannot retake their participation in the on-campus sessions. Students only redo those parts of the examination where they failed in the first examination period.

Teaching tools

The slides and other teaching materials (e.g. blended learning elements) will be available on the platform Toledo. The lecture slides are an integral part of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Nicola Maggini

See the website of