Graduation Thesis Seminar
Announcements
- Welcome back, and I look forward to working with you! This semester we will have our classes mostly on Zoom. I will also be on campus on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and can meet with you in-person if you want to talk about the class.
- The Zoom link for any time we meet online is: https://bit.ly/3MfJIhU
* Small assignment: For the first class, please come ready to talk about ideas for the topic you think you want to write about for your thesis.
SAFETY
* Masks: For any in-person (face-to-face) meetings or classes, please always wear a mask. The situation with COVID-19 is getting better, but I want everyone to be safe.
* Vaccination: If you have not gotten vaccinated yet, please consider doing this. I think it is very helpful to protect you, your family, and your classmates.
If you have any questions or comments, please email me at any time. You can always make suggestions and give me ideas for how I can improve the class.
*** THE INFORMATION BELOW IS FROM LAST SEMESTER, and PLEASE DO USE IT YET ***
Thesis Requirements
- Final due date: Submit on or before July 19th
- Length: 15 pages, with 30-35 lines (about 330-350 words average), so this is about 5,000 words minimum.
In-text / Internal Citations and Bibliography Style
- You need to use at least 10 sources, with 5 or more in English.
- Please see this document which explains the format we will use: https://app.box.com/s/ys4f8kqdns9dx0rm9y0ranhdcry65nda
- The use of in-text / internal citations are explained here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5igNRmKLug
*In this video they use the form (author, page number), and I would like you to use the form of (author year, page number) shown in the attached document.
Zoom Classes
Powerpoint Slides
PDFs of all the class slides can be found here: https://app.box.com/s/2mnyhjnfkqn014n1mz02ec6xbmnhetpz
Assignment on Sources and Summaries (due May 10th)
1. Purpose
Please continue reading more about your topic/question. Your goal is to find out what you need to do in order to start answering your question. What data and information exist? (At the same time, your question might change somewhat as you read and learn more.)
Please see what articles and even books have been written about it:
- Skim and scan to find what is worth reading more in detail
- Check current debates or conversations about your question
2. Finding Sources
Here are two places that you can find academic articles or books about your topic/question:
https://library.time.u-tokai.ac.jp/?page_id=99
You can also use Google, but make sure you use sources that come from respected news media or research institutions or think tanks.
3. Writing Summary Notes
Please keep track of what you find – write down the author, title, and year of the source (and the link if it is online)
- It will be helpful to write some notes to say what the source is about. I sometimes copy and paste the summary or key sentences, and write my own ideas too.
- You can also write any new ideas that come to mind. Does the source provide useful evidence or insight? How does it relate to your question?
* Here is an example of how you could take notes: https://bit.ly/2RrG3Xg
(The document shows how I took notes on books and articles during my PhD. Since you are at a university level, you do not need to make your summaries this long. I put extra notes in the margin to explain what I did. Please look at those to understand what I did.)