Political Science S2, 8 local credits

Thesis Seminar

Teacher: Juri Mykkänen

Office Hours: Thu 10-12

Contact: 191 24821 or juri.mykkanen@helsinki.fi

Seminar sessions: Mon 16-18, department meeting room

Prerequisites: Basic and intermediate studies in political science

Requirements: All students must attend the seminar sessions for two semesters. The enrollment can take place either in fall or spring as the seminar is continuous. This means that in each session there are students who are in different stages of the seminar. All students are required to present three papers in the course of the seminar, normally one in fall and two in spring.

The seminar as a whole is designed to prepare the students for their Master's theses. This means that the seminar papers should be written on subjects that relate to the thesis topic. The papers are of two types, substantial and technical. The substantial papers are further divided in two; the first paper outlines the thesis topic and introduces relevant literatures. In short, it is an attempt to find a suitable theme for the thesis. The paper should be no longer than 15 pages. The second paper developes the ideas of the first paper and marks the finilazing stage of the central ideas of the thesis. The second paper should be somewhat longer than the first, approximately 25 pages. The final paper consists of a research plan, including presentation of a research problem, the research design, description of the empirical or historical context, the data, methods of analysis and a schedule for the execution of the study. The length of the research plan is about 15 pages.

Each paper goes through a certain routine. The papers are handed in one week before the seminar meeting in which the author gives a 15-20 minute presentation followed by a critique from a specially assigned opponent. Every seminar member will serve in turn as an opponent. After the opponent's critique the floor will be open for general discussion, questions and critique. Every seminar member is expected to read the paper carefully and participate in the discussion. The author will then revise the paper and submit it for grading in one month from the day of presentation. Two thirds of the final grade will be based on the simple average of the three papers and one third comes from participation.

Technical information: The papers should have margins of four centimeters on the right side and two on the left. Use font size 12. The papers should have a separate cover sheet stating the title, author's name and the student number. The cover sheet should be followed by a table of contents. The cited materials should be placed in a separate bibliography at the end of the paper. You may use whatever style you prefer for marking subtitles and references as long as you do it systematically. If you are looking for a model, see the style used in the American Political Science Review.

Submitting papers and keeping in touch: An adequate number of copies of the seminar papers should be left one week before presentation in the seminar box located in the department lobby area. One copy should be handed to the instructor personally or put in his mail box. The seminar has a mailing list vol-thesis@valt.helsinki.fi which can be used for communicating various seminar-related issues, but remember that your message can be read by everyone on the list.

Seminar schedule: The detailed schedule will be sent to the mailing list.