Dissertation Lab

The Dissertation Lab provides students with guidance about how to structure and draft the final dissertation of the master "Global Politics and Society", and is especially intended for students aiming to conduct empirical research for their dissertation. In the first part, the Lab will explain how to define a research topic, develop research questions and craft a research design. It will then continue with introducing the main research methods in social sciences and with outlining how to conduct a literature review. Lastly, it will illustrate how to structure the thesis and the individual chapters. Moreover, time will be devoted to the correct management of citations and bibliography and to the effective presentation of research findings, both in written and oral form. In order to give students the opportunity to immediately apply what they learn to their own interests and plans for the final dissertation, particular emphasis will be given to exercises and in-class activities, which will complement standard lectures. Skills acquired through the Dissertation Lab will be useful even in the professional field, especially for what concerns writing reports and preparing oral presentations.

By the end of the Dissertation lab, students will be able to:
- Identify a research topic and formulate appropriate research questions (with related hypotheses, when relevant);
- Collect, organize and present the relevant literature;
- Develop the empirical research design;
- Build their argument;
- Present research findings in written and oral form, including the presentation of slideshows.