Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- formulate a clear research proposal, with a relevant theoretical approach and discussion of methodology for a viable research project related to Japanese language, literature or culture
- collect and critically examine material in Japanese that is relevant to the project
- write different types of academic texts, such as an abstract, a review, a popular science summary or a discussion on method
- give an account of basic research methods used in linguistics, cultural anthropology, translation studies and literary studies in a Japanese context
- analyse the arguments used in academic texts in detail, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these arguments
- discuss and explain the concepts of academic plagiarism and integrity
- give constructive criticism on the work of another student and respond to the criticism of others in an objective manner.
Course Content
The course gives an introduction to various examples of basic research methods that are commonly used in research about Japanese language, culture and literature. Based on these examples, students choose a certain area for their own research project and collect previous research of relevance to this. They present these in the form of an annotated bibliography and academic reviews. The course concludes with the writing of a research proposal of about 2000-3000 words for their project. They defend their proposal at the final seminar.
Assessment
- Active participation in tutorials
- Written assignments
Grades
The grading scale used for the final course grade is A–F.
The final grade for the course is based on an overall assessment by the examiner.
Grades are reported as follows:
- Reviews - 7 Credits | A–F
- Research Proposal - 8 Credits | A–F
Prerequisites
- 120 credits of which 45 credits in the main field of study of Japanese, including two of the courses Japanese IV: Haiku 15 credits, Japanese IV: Introduction to Linguistics 15 credits, Japanese IV: Introduction to Translation 15 credits, Japanese IV: Cultural Anthropology 15 credits, Japanese: Modern and Contemporary Literature 15 credits or Japanese: Practical Translation 15 credits, second cycle.
Other Information
The language of instruction is English.
This course overlaps the course Japanese: Academic Writing and Research Methodology, 15 credits.
This course cannot be counted towards the same degree along with courses that have equivalent content.
If the student has received a decision/recommendation granting study support from Dalarna University because of a disability, then the examiner has the right to offer an alternative examination arrangement. The examiner takes into account the objectives in the course syllabus when deciding whether the examination can be adapted in accordance with the decision/recommendation.