Prerequisites:

Second-cycle Bologna degree in the relevant track or a university (level VII) degree

Content (Syllabus outline):

• First-year students for whom the course is intended are acquainted with the basic methodological literature of scientific research
• First-year students attend presentations of doctoral theses of second-year students
• Discussion led by mentors of doctoral students and second-year students presenting their doctoral theses

Readings:

• Lovell, S. A., Coen, S. E., Rosenberg, M. W. (eds.) 2023: The Routledge Handbook of Methodologies in Human Geography. Abingdon, Routledge.
• Hilpert, U. 2019: Diversities of Innovation. London, New York: Routledge.
• Anderson, J. 2015: Understanding Cultural Geography: Places and Traces. Abingdon, Routledge.
• Moulaert, F., MacCallum, D., Mehmood, A. and Hamdouch, A. 2013: The International Handbook on Social Innovation: Collective Action, Social Learning and Transdisciplinary Research. Cheltenham, Northampton, Massachusetts: Edward Elgar.
• Phillips, R., Johns, J. 2012: Fieldwork for human geography. London, Sage.

Objectives and competences:

First-year students will get acquainted with practical examples of scientific research and the use of various scientific methods and tips for the effective preparation of their doctoral dissertations, which will be useful more widely: for preparing project proposals and writing scientific articles. To this end, they will get acquainted with the basic methodological literature of scientific research and attend presentations of doctoral theses of second-year students, who will present the basic principles of their research questions, hypothesis formulation, methods used and expected results. Through a discussion led by mentors and second-year students, they will receive ideas and advice for preparing their own doctoral theses (see Research Seminar 2).

Intended learning outcomes:

First-year students will be trained to:

• Organise their research work
• Prepare project proposals
• Write research and discussion articles
• Prepare presentations of their work

Assessment:

Written paper (100 %)