Bachelor thesis (BPSBAC)

Content

The bachelor's project should culminate in a thesis that adheres to the format of a scholarly research article. The thesis should include an introduction, research questions and objectives, methodology, results section, discussion, and study limitations. All other content, such as the abstract, references, and tables, are not included in the overall word count. Empirical studies, meta-analyses, or literature review studies can be used for the bachelor thesis. The content should focus on the student's chosen academic issue. The project will explore a psychological phenomenon from one or more domains, including but not limited to personality psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, and cognitive psychology. The course incorporates, among others, an introduction to applied ethics with an emphasis on research ethics and professional and disciplinary ethics.

Learning outcome

Knowledge

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should:

• understand the specific research field addressed in the assignment
• comprehend the key theoretical frameworks and their historical context within the student's specific area of study
• acquire knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
• be acquainted with relevant themes and issues within the realm of applied ethics and research ethics

Skills

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should:

• be capable of outlining a subject area and formulating a research question
• be proficient in conducting a relevant literature review
• be able to perform a comprehensive analysis of a selected psychological phenomenon by synthesizing and critically evaluating relevant theories, empirical evidence, and ethical considerations
• be able to structure and articulate a coherent research process, from formulating a research question to presenting and discussing findings, culminating in a well-substantiated conclusion

General Competence

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should:

• be able to produce a comprehensive academic text
• be capable of reflecting upon and debating ethical questions within the scope of applied ethics
• be able to account for, analyze, and discuss the research question and generate a well-thought-out progression from the question to the conclusion

Required prerequisite knowledge

BPS110 Introduction to psychology, BPS120 The History and Method of Psychology, BPS130 Personality psychology, social psychology and psychological methods, BPS140 Biological psychology, developmental psychology and cognitive psychology

Recommended prerequisites

BPS310 Quantitative methods, BPS315 Qualitative Research, BPS320 Knowledge development and research design

Exam

Coursework requirements

Attendance

All of the compulsory activities must be approved in order for the student to be eligible for examination. Approval/non-approval of compulsory activities is announced on Studentweb, normally no later than 7 days before the examination. Students who lack approval of one or more compulsory activities will be withdrawn from the examination.

Compulsary activities:

• Seminars: Preparation for, attendance and participation in five seminars. Students who have less than 75% attendance at the seminars lose the right to take the examination, regardless of the reason.

Course teacher(s)

Course coordinator:

Pravin Tembjerg

Study Program Director:

Bianka Anna Karshikoff

Method of work

The teaching consists of lectures and seminars.

• Students are expected to prepare for lectures by reading relevant literature.
• A self-determined required reading of 800 pages related to the various subjects relavent to the course and thesis, for example; methods and statistics , ethics, and topics relevant for the thesis.
• In seminars, the different theoretical topics and methods are presented using a variety of different learning activities.
• The seminars will take place in groups, based on topics and/or methodological approach. The students and seminar tutors in the different groups will work with the relevant method(s).
• The seminars will be used to initiate and facilitate informal peer review by the students.
• In terms of supervision, the individual student and their academic supervisor are expected to agree on the form and content of the supervision within the defined forms at an early stage.

Literature