Lesson Report:
**Class Report: Understanding Theoretical Frameworks and Citations for Senior Thesis Projects**
**Attendance:**
There were no explicit mentions of absentees in the transcript.
—
### **Topics Covered:**
1. **Introduction to the Day’s Focus**
– Instructor begins by discussing key aims for the session, particularly to understand theoretical integration in senior thesis projects, and to review citations and the rubric.
– Expresses concern that many students are not integrating theory properly in their research, which was a common issue in previous theses.
– Emphasis that superficial or underdeveloped theory reduces the quality and academic rigor of the final paper.
2. **Example Project: Tuba’s Thesis – Using Theory for Analysis**
– Tuba’s research explores how Central Asian countries are securitizing issues surrounding Afghanistan’s unstable regime changes and human rights abuses.
– Detailed focus on “securitization,” defined by the instructor, as a state perceiving a circumstance as a threat and taking policies to address that threat.
– The instructor uses Tuba’s project to clarify how a theoretical approach should be properly applied in a project.
– Tuba’s example uses **Offensive Realism** (specifically, John Mearsheimer’s theory), focusing on the “spillover effectâ€� — the flow of internal conflicts of one state impacting neighboring states.
– The example expanded on how Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis, including degradation of women’s rights and economic collapse, leads to instability influencing neighboring countries’ policies towards Afghan refugees and international threats (such as ISIS activity).
– Instructor stresses the need to use theory not simply to describe individual events but to create a chain of logical argumentation, connecting various political, economic, and social elements within a framework.
– Emphasis on drawing conclusions based on theoretical perspectives rather than descriptive observations.
3. **Student Concerns About Theory Overreach**
– Discussion about gaps in literature, with one student raising concerns about how Tuba’s argument involves multiple logical leaps.
– Instructor reassures that groundwork on human rights leading to political instability has likely already been established, and Tuba’s focus should be explaining how this applies to the specific context of Afghanistan.
4. **Collaborating with Supervisors**
– Encouragement from the instructor to schedule meetings with supervisors to refine theoretical frameworks before the thesis proposal is due.
– Note that students should already have chosen theoretical frameworks by this stage.
5. **Citation Guidelines**
– Highlighted importance of citations to avoid plagiarism and to maintain academic credibility.
– **Types of Citations**:
– In-text parenthetical citations (used in APSA format) were explained, which should include author name, year of publication, and page number where relevant.
– **Citing Paraphrased Work**: Paraphrased ideas also require citations, not just direct quotations.
– Online sources and APA-style comparison: Clarification that APSA differs from APA, and APSA does not use footnotes. Instead, parenthetical citations are preferred.
– Specific mention of citation tools and resources like citation machines, which can generate proper APSA citations.
– Detailed how to handle citations for materials like books, articles, and websites, and ensured students understand the importance of including page numbers for detailed references.
– **General Guidelines**:
– Avoid junk citations (incorrect sources or fake articles generated by AI tools are unacceptable).
– Missing citations or poorly done citations are causes for zero grades.
6. **Rubric for Thesis Proposal**
– Summary and breakdown of the thesis proposal structure:
– **Research Question**: Must be clearly defined and justified. It should address a significant gap in research.
– **Theoretical Framework**: Students must go beyond textbook definitions of theories, demonstrating deep understanding and directly tying them to their research.
– **Literature Review**: Must contain at least five peer-reviewed sources that link to the research question. Literature should focus on themes and gaps rather than summarizing each paper individually.
– **Historical Background**: Should be concise and relevant to the specific political-social context but not dominate the proposal.
– **Methodology**: Students need to explain whether they are using variable-oriented or process-oriented approaches and show a clear research plan.
– **Clarity and Citation**: Proper grammar, APSA-style in-text citations, and a bibliography are absolute necessities. Missing or incorrect citations would result in a failing grade.
7. **Final Deadline Reminders**
– Strong emphasis on completing the thesis proposal, highlighting the importance of pressing deadlines and the urgency of having a clear theoretical framework.
– Reminder that incomplete, unreferenced, or excessively descriptive work without theoretical backing will not be graded favorably.
—
### **Actionable Items:**
1. **Assignments/Due Dates**:
– *Thesis Proposal Deadline*: Tuesday, by 23:59. All students must submit on time.
– Immediate action should be taken to write up clear research questions, theoretical frameworks, and methodology.
2. **Advisory**:
– *Supervisory Meetings*: Instructor encourages students to meet with their supervisors ASAP, especially those struggling with theory development.
– Supervisors can assist in refining arguments and connecting theories to their case studies.
3. **Citation Accuracy**:
– Leverage citation tools (APSA citation machine) to ensure all citations are appropriately formatted.
– Pay close attention to citation page numbers, especially for specialized articles and long texts.
4. **Rubric Review**:
– Students must review the proposal rubric carefully before submission to ensure alignment with all grading categories (e.g., research question clarity, literature review, methodology, and theoretical framework depth).
Homework Instructions:
NO HOMEWORK
Justification: No specific homework was assigned during the lesson. The discussion focused on elaborating how to effectively use theory within the students’ thesis proposals and stressing the importance of completing the thesis proposal by an upcoming deadline on Tuesday. There was no mention of any separate or additional homework assignments beyond completing the proposal.