Research skills 2: Literature study and academic writing

Course goals

Learning objectives
At the end of the course, the student is able to:

• Formulate a novel research question;
• Write an attractive and clear introduction of a paper potentially publishable in a peer-reviewed journal;
• Compose a substantiated literature list and position the research question in the literature;
• Give a clear presentation of the research question and its contribution to the literature;
• Reflect on importance and criteria of writing style and structure;
• Reflect on different research methods and cultures in economics.

Content

Students who are not enrolled in the research master Multidisciplinary Economics should contact the course coordinator for enrollment in this course.

In this course, each student gathers literature on a specific topic in which he/she wants to specialise, in accordance with a member of the faculty. Based on this, the student writes an introduction and literature survey, during which attention is given to writing skills and research culture in economics. In principle, the literature study and research questions serve as a basis for the research proposal and thesis the student writes in year 2. The course will consist of the following parts:

• Instructions, exercises and feedback on writing style and structure;
• Instructions, exercises and feedback on writing in economics in general, and on writing an introduction and literature survey in particular.
• Web-browsing skills for finding appropriate literature, and LaTeX writing skills;
• Presentations of literature surveys and discussions of economic writing;
• Written and verbal feedbacks by students

Intended Learning Outcomes
The graduate can:
2a) write an academic paper in English aiming for the level of a publishable article in a peer-reviewed journal;
2b) present and communicate in English (communication to experts and non-experts).

The graduate can:
3b) summarize and identify common themes in the literature on a specific topic, and keep track of recent developments;
3c) critically appraise literature;
3d) identify innovative and well-delineated research questions;
3f ) apply acquired knowledge of theories and empirical methods within economics;
3h) acquire and apply insights from other scientific disciplines;
3i) develop as an independent academic, formulating research questions, and answering them;
3j) generate new knowledge, and contribute to the academic literature;
3k) contribute to the solution of open research questions;
3l) make their own research relevant for society.

The graduate:
4a) can critically reflect on their own work, and critically reflect on work of others in an appropriate way;
4b) can defend their own research results, while being open to criticism;
4c) can self-reflect on their development as a researcher;
4d) can keep track of the external validity and societal relevance of their own research;
4f) has a sharp sense of academic integrity and demonstrates being a responsible and scholarly professional;
4g) knows, understands and complies with the requirements of scientific integrity as laid down in the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research 2018;
4i) acquires insight into the process of academic publishing.


In case online access is required for this course and you are not in the position to buy the access code, you are advised to contact the course coordinator for an alternative solution. Please note that access codes are not re-usable meaning that codes from second hand books do not work, as well as access codes from books with a different ISBN. Separate or spare codes are usually not available.