E2023

International Bachelor Study Programme in Social Science

basic project

English

Registration through stads self-service within the announced registration period, as you can see on the Studyadministration homepage.

When registering for courses, please be aware of the potential conflicts between courses or exam dates on courses. The planning of course activities at Roskilde University is based on the recommended study programs, which do not overlap. However, if you choose optional courses and/or study plans that goes beyond the recommended study programs, an overlap of lectures or exam dates may occur depending on which courses you choose.

In Basic Project 3, the chosen theory(ies) are linked to their philosophy of social science to show their importance for answering the problem formulation. The purpose is not for the students to commit to a particular philosophy of social science, but to work with how the choice of theory gives the project a theoretical direction and how this affects the answer to the problem formulation.

The students continue to work on their understanding of methodology, where the choice of method and the choice of theory are linked to answering to the problem formulation. In the third semester, the students are expected to have learned about the role of academic literature in the project, and this has become an integral part of the project work.

In the third semester, students have had the four basic subjects and start their chosen subject module specialization. This gives the students a good foundation for understanding how societal problems are interdisciplinary. Therefore, basic project 3 is interdisciplinary.

Students in the third semester have BC7 philosophy of science course , where they learn about different social science theories of knowledge (epistemology, ontology, methodology, and validity). The philosophy of science course is linked to the Basic Project 3, which emphasizes the role of theories and their significance for the project.

The semester starts with an introduction to the project and the methods course, where the SIB coordinator and the course leader explain how the methods course and the project are connected.

During the intensive days, known as project formation, the students work with different themes and issues that they may want to investigate during the semester. During the project formation, the individual student identifies an issue that they will investigate further together with 2-5 other students, with whom they form a project group.

The students in the project group alternate between working independently on different elements of projects, meeting in the project group and meeting with the supervisor. The supervisor gives feedback to the group based on the written material they have submitted prior to meeting. The supervisor may also ask about the dynamics between the members of the project group.

A student is expected to work 405 hours on a 15 ECTS project.

The 405 hours include semester introduction, project formation, workshop and group project work, including problem area seminar and internal evaluation. The group project work entails literature search, reading and literature review, preparing feedback, supervision meetings, group project meetings, writing the project report, exams etc.

Each member of the project group is expected to work 405 hours on the project.

the project group in collaboration with the supervisor identify the literature that is relevant for the project.

Feedback is an important part of the project work and takes place in different ways throughout the project.

Peer-to-peer feedback occur continously in the project group, for example when the students discuss some of the literature they have read, or when the project group talks about the empirical data collection and analysis. The project collaboration is essentially about giving and receiving feedback.

The supervisor is also an important source of feedback. Initially, the supervisor provides feedback on the group's project ideas and problem formulations. Later the supervisor provides feedback on the literature review, theory, methodology and analysis. Feedback is given both through supervision meetings and written comments on drafts.

The students actively participate in the mid-term evaluation where they give feedback to another project group and receive feedback from this group and another supervisor. This feedback helps to qualify the project work and help the project group move forward with the project.

The students receive exam feedback that they can use in future project work.

Moreover, the Study Board regularly evaluates the project. Here, the students' evaluation is important for developing the project in relation to the learning objectives and the project process.

Helene Dyrhauge (dyrhauge@ruc.dk)

SIB Registration & Exams (sib-exams@ruc.dk)

Helene Dyrhauge (dyrhauge@ruc.dk)
Tatiana Fogelman (fogelman@ruc.dk)

Pr. 1. september 2023 er gruppestørrelsen på Basisprojekter og Fagmodulprojekter altid minimum 3 studerende. Dette gælder også selvom der måtte stå andet andre steder.

As per 1 September 2023, the size of the project groups for basic and subject module projects is always minimum 3 students, even if it says otherwise elsewhere.

15

• Knowledge

  • Knowledge about selected theory/ies and their philosophy of social science importance for the project design

  • Knowledge about the different elements in the project report, with focus on critical reflections about the theories’ importance for the problem formulation

• Skills

  Theoretical choice and reflections:

  • To provide reasoning for and to reflect critically on the choice of theory in relation to other possible theories, in terms of answering the problem formulation
  • To identify and delimit chosen position within the philosophy of social science and its importance for the analysis

  Methodogical choices and reflections:

  • To provide reasoning for and to reflect on the choice of methods and empirical material, and to relating these choices to the choice of philosophy of social science
  • To carry out an empirical data collection/generation and analysis of the collected data, and to critically evaluate the quality of the data
  • To carry out an interdisciplinary social scientific, problem orientated project, and to reflect critically on the connection between subject areas in relation to the problem formulation

• Compentences

  • To be able to academically evaluate the implications of philosophy of social science for one's own and other' projects
  • Competence in constructive handling of challenges in the project group
  • Competence in giving constructive feedback to other students about their project work, and in reflecting on the feedback received from other students

The purpose of the project work is to conduct an interdisciplinary analysis on the basis of a research question, with the inclusion of perspectives represented by two or more of the four subject areas of the basic social science courses. The analysis must be theoretically substantiated. The theories must be more advanced in relation to the basic courses and the project assessment will emphasise the ability of the student to relate different theories to each other. In addition, a reflection on the appropiate perspective(s) witihin philosophy of social science regarding the choice of research question, theory and method is to be carried out in the project work. The objective of the project is additionally to strengthen the student's English language skills through work with written academic formulation

It is a prerequisite for participating in the exam that the student has submitted a written individual study portfolio, which hasto be approved by a supervisor. The individual study portfolio consists of relevant questions that the student has to answer.

The assignment must be between 4.800 and 7,200 characters, including spaces. The number of characters include the cover, table of contents, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude any appendices.

Information regarding the deadline for the assignment will be on study.ruc.dk.

Re-exam:

If the individual study portfolio is not approved the student has used one examination attempt. The re-examination has the same form and criteria and can be based on the previous individual study portfolio. Information regarding the deadline for handing in the assignment will be on study.ruc.dk. If the resubmitted individual study portfolio is not approved, the student has used another examination attempt and the student will not be allowed to participate in the project exam.

The primary teaching method consists of project supervision, where each project group meets with their assigned supervisor according to individual agreement.

The project supervision is complemented by a project supporting process,which includes the following elements:

1. Project formation
2. Project workshops
3. Midterm evaluation
4. Individual study portfolio

The specific content of the individual elements of the project supporting process will be published in Moodle

Project

Group exam for the participants in the project work.

The exam is based on the students’ project report. The exam includes individual presentations on a topic of the students’ own choice. The topic must be relevant to the issues highlighted in the project report. Each individual presentation lasts up to 5 minutes. The individual presentations are followed by a dialogue between the students and the assessors based on the project.

There may be posed questions related to the subject area of the project report and the project support process' relevance and significance for the project process.

The assessment is individual and is based on the project report and the student´s oral performance.

Permitted group size: 2-6 students.

The character limits of the project report are:
For 2 students: 81,600-122,400 characters, including spaces.
For 3 students: 81,600-122,400 characters, including spaces.
For 4 students: 100,800-141,600 characters, including spaces.
For 5 students: 108,000-141,600 characters, including spaces.
For 6 students: 122,400-163,200 characters, including spaces.
The character limits include the cover, table of contents, summary, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude any appendices.

The project report must include a summary in English, that is part of the assessment.

Time allowed for exam including time used for assessment is for:
2 students: 60 minutes.
3 students: 75 minutes.
4 students: 90 minutes.
5 students: 105 minutes.
6 students: 120 minutes.

Writing and spelling skills in the project report are part of the assessment.

Permitted support and preparation materials during the exam: All.

Assessment: 7-point grading scale.
Moderation: External examiner.

Samme som ordinær eksamen / same form as ordinary exam