Course description
The course accompanies the course “Institutions and Organizations in Japan” (hereafter “Institutions”). In this seminar we will focus mainly on methodological, technical and practical issues of social scientific research on Japan. Participants will develop research competence in the fields of sociology/political science of Japan by becoming acquainted with various methods of information gathering (general and Japan-specific) and processing, as well as research techniques. In addition, you will apply these skills practically by conducting small research exercises in class or as assignments. We will also discuss methodological issues based on your work and the “Institutions” class.
Upon successful completion, seminar participants will be able to conduct research in the field of social science and in using a variety of international and Japanese sources on social and political development in Japan. Participants will also receive support for dealing with methodological issues related to their module research paper. Research exercises are geared toward the successful completion of the research paper and guide the participants through the various steps of academic paper-writing.
Requirements
Participants are required to conduct research independently in the context of several small research exercises. Research strategies and results will be reviewed and discussed in class. Participants are required to:
- attend the course regularly,
- read the required texts,
- complete practice exercises/assignments,
- prepare and submit a literature review (in preparation of the term paper).
Grading
Students will be evaluated on the basis of their assignments, active participation in discussions, on their presentation and leading one of the discussions, preparation of literature, and for the final research paper. 25% of the module grade is determined by participation and assignments in the “Research” seminar. Coursework (attendance, presentation, discussion, assignments) in the “Institutions” seminar count for another 25% of the final module grade. The research paper counts for 50% of the module grade.
Institutions 25 %
Research 25 %
Paper 50 %
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Final Grade 100 %
The evaluation is based on both course-specific exercises and participation, and a research paper prepared for the module as a whole.
Course material
All readings for the course are posted on Moodle (together with the material for the “Institutions” class) and students are expected to download and print the course materials themselves as appropriate.
Start
"Research" starts on 14th April 2016.
"Institutions" starts on 15th April 2016. |
