General provisions

The course is offered within the Bachelor's Programme in Business and Economics and as a single subject course. The course syllabus was approved by the board of the Department of Business Studies on delegation from the Faculty of Social Sciences and takes effects as of 2010-01-18.

Entry requirements

Completed courses in Business Studies: Basic Course A, 30 credits, Intermediate Course B, 30 credits and a minimum 15 credits from Intermediate Course C.

Exemption: For students admitted to the entire C-level of 30 credits the requirements are Basic Course A, 30 credits, and a minimum 15 credits from Intermediate Course B.

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to develop the ability to make and report scientific investigations by integrated and advanced independent work.

The ability to make scientific investigations includes the ability to discover possibilities, identify problems, collect relevant information, formulate problems, and solve them with the aid of scientific methods. To do this, many skills are required, such as methodological knowledge, the ability to think in terms of models – making conscious and explicit simplifications – and the ability to recognise and treat problems from different perspectives. The ability to report scientific work means being able to write lucid and interesting reports, as well as making oral presentations. Both the work itself and how it is presented should be adapted to the problem and the user.

After completion of the course the student should be able to:

- understand different science-theoretical and methodological starting-points

- independently and critically examine different theoretical and empirical phenomena

- discover and handle problems and alternatives with a starting-point from different perspectives and methodological frames of reference

- practically carry through investigatory and examination work based on science

- orally and visually as well as in writing present arguments in an objective, interesting, and convincing manner.

Content

Within the framework of an independent project, the participant will choose different ways to identify, delimit, and study problems, as well as ways to transmit findings to the reader. This includes problem definition, discussions of methods and models, data collection, oral and written reports, and revisions both of early drafts and of the final version of the report. The independent project is normally carried out in groups of two students. The final work should be a completed whole.

Instruction

The course is taught in Swedish. The largest share of the course consists of independent work in teams. Teaching includes seminars (obligatory), lectures and tutorials.

Assessment

Grades will be given in accordance with the Swedish grading system. The following grades will be used: VG (pass with distinction: ECTS A or B), G (pass: ECTS C, D or E), and U (fail: ECTS F).

Evaluation is primarily based on the final version of the report, but also made on other seminar activities, such as presentation and defence of reports, criticism of and comments on the work of other participants, and contributions to discussions. The obligatory course requirements also contain a methodological course consisting of lectures, seminars and exercises. Approved participation in this methodological course corresponds to 1.5 credits of the total 15 credits. The final grade of the course will not be registered unless all obligatory parts of the course are completed. The grade Pass with Distinction is awarded only to theses that are evaluated at a final seminar and the revised version is handed in during the actual course period. The right to be supervised ends at the final seminar.

Transitional provisions

The course substitutes/overlaps among others Bachelor's thesis 2FE530.