1. MASTER’S THESIS SEMINAR II
Hanna Järvenoja/ LET2018

2. Schedule for today
12.15 Intro & Recall on reseach plan structure, academic writing ja literature review
13 Presenting research plans
14 Introduction to OAMK workshop
Preparing a pecha kucha for the workshop

3. AIM Faculty of Education: Research-based education!
In this course, the students are given support in order to expedite the completion of their Master’s Thesis, especially through participation in research teams. Students carry on their final thesis as a research process and the demands and challenges related to writing it.
Brief lectures
Learning
Working
Peer support
Supervision
Examples

4. Master’s thesis path Research plan Literature review
May-September 2018
Theoretical framework
Data collection
Autumn 2018
Data analysis
Finalizing the thesis
Graduation
Spring-Summer 2019

5. Seminar themes 03.10.18 12-14: Presenting research plans, part I
: Presenting research plans, part II
: Writing empirical part of the thesis
Situation update
: Finalizing thesis     
Opponent session, part I     
Opponent session, part II

6. ABOUT ACADEMIC WRITING

7. Academic writing Academic texts are expected to… Introduce a claim
Acknowledge prior work and situate the claim within a disciplinary context
Substantiate the claim with evidence and argumentation
→Academic texts understand the past but look to the future. In doing so, they drive the scientific discussion onwards.
Use APA-style from very beginning.

8. Features of academic language
Informative
The objective of academic language is to inform rather than to entertain.
Formal
Academic language avoids colloquial words and expressions. Also metaphorical or emotive language should be used cautiously. Written texts use a standard written form and adhere to formal guidelines.
Precise and accurate
Facts, measures and times are given as precisely as possible. Vocabulary is used accurately and concepts are defined.

9. Features of academic language
Objective and reliable
Academic communication is objective rather than subjective. Evidence and justification needs to be presented for claims.
Complex
Written language has longer words, it is lexically more dense and it has a more varied vocabulary.
Clear
Ambiguity and obscurity is not a virtue. Good writers avoid long sentences and paragraphs, complex structures and overuse of abstract concepts. Good writers also explain their ideas and their work.

10. ABOUT LITERATURE REVIEW

11. Writing a literature review
In general, literature review
forms theoretical framework for your research,
introduces earlier studies related to your research topic,
supports reader to understand the phenomena and to position the research in the field of earlier studies.
How to do it?
Review critically the research related to your topic, then present your own perspective on the research in your field.
’Where is the gap?’ What we already know and what we don’t know yet.
Choose your perspective and be coherent! Don’t present everything which is related to your study and research questions. Include only such articles / materials which you have decided are essential, and relevant to your own argument.
Rely on opinions of experts and authorities on your topic, but expand on and/or disagree with those same opinions.
Give credit to researchers who have come before you, but highlight your own new significant contribution.

12. How to get started? Define: What are the key concepts of my research?
What are the sub-areas of my topic?
What research has already been done on this topic?
What other research (perhaps not directly on the topic) might be relevant to my study?
Searching the sources → contact library staff

13. Although many recent studies have shown that students require extensive support when learning complex topics and that the roles of motivation and emotions should not be undermined, there is little research regarding how to implement scaffolds or tools for motivational and emotional regulation in real learning situations (Belland, Kim, & Hannafin, 2013; Linnenbrink-Garcia & Pekrun, 2011). The few studies regarding scaffolding for self-regulated learning among primary school students, however, have been promising. Leidinger and Perels (2012), for example, performed an intervention study in which they asked primary school teachers to support self-regulated learning in their mathematics lessons. In intervention classes, specifically designed learning materials to support cognitive and motivational components of self-regulated learning were provided for teachers. The results revealed that while control students showed a significant decline in post-test, students with the self-regulated learning training maintained their level of self-regulated learning activities. The results of the study indicate that learned self-regulatory activities could be maintained, if the relevant scaffolds are integrated into authentic school tasks.

14. RESEARCH PLAN – Run-through from Spring

15. Structure of the research plan
Title (tentative)
Background / Introduction
Theoretical framework
Aim and objectives
Research methods
Timetable
Expected results and possible risks
Ethical issues
(max 12 pages, Times New Roman 12 pt)

16. PREPARING A PECHA KUCHA

17. What is pecha kucha?
Presentation style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (6 minutes and 40 seconds in total).
Not too much words, use images, pictures, animations etc.
Keeps the presentation short and focused!
Include to your presentation:
What is your topic and why you are interested in that?
Why the topic is important?
What are the key concepts and theories in your research?
What kind of data you plan to collect?
What are expected results?
Who will benefit from the results of your research?

18. Next steps Deadline for research plans Fri 21st of September!
Put the plan to your team’s work space (and send the link to that space to your mentor) → Read each other’s plans before next seminar (3rd of Oct.)
Set a meeting with your team before next meeting, invite yuor supervisor if needed.
Discuss about challenges and urgent questions you confronted while writing your research plans.
If you are considering topic change, involving someone “outside” etc. ALWAYS consult your supervisor first!

19. Presenting research plans
3rd of October
Diego
Dora
Eunice
Chunxiao
Ishmael
7th of November
Mariam TK
Larissa
Lourdes
Esther
Presentation 20 min + feedback/discussion 10min