Pedagogical research project at the Department of Government

Writing a thesis is the final and most important step in a political scientist’s education at the university. The skills that the students have learned during previous courses in the discipline must be combined in the process of writing a thesis. Supported by their supervisor, students face the challenge of formulating research questions with scientific and social relevance, and answering those questions in a stringent and scientifically sound way. For the department and our teachers, the students’ capacity to cope with the different aspects involved in thesis writing provide an indication of how well our teaching works in general.

An invitation to participate in the project is sent to those students who were registered for a thesis writing course at the Department of Government during the period 2017-2021. By participating, our students can influence how the department works with supervision and contribute to our ongoing process of pedagogical development. Our survey asks questions about the students’ experiences of writing a thesis and receiving supervision at the Department of Government in Uppsala. We target students who have finished their theses, as well as students who have started writing their thesis and had at least two meetings with their supervisor, but have not yet finished writing. The students that are invited to participate receive an e-mail with a link to the survey.

More information about the project and the students’ rights as participants in the study is available in a document that outlines information to the research participants

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Principal Investigator: Johanna Söderström and Moa Mårtensson

Period: 2021–2024

Funding: SEK 243 576 from PUMA/PUDU (Project grants for educational development) and SEK 545 249 from the research programme Democracy and Higher Education 

The study has been reviewed by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (2021-06534-01).