Master's Thesis · Quantitative Methods In The Social Sciences
How to write a thesis, how to give feedback.
The process of conducting academic research.
How to approach thesis writing; there were not that many meetings though, so you pretty much run on your own timeline with your advisor.
Skills to write thesis formerly and properly, to start my own research, gather data, and decide topics.
This course is designed to help provide a structure and peer review forum to assist writing the masters thesis for QMSS. This particular iteration had a couple breakpoints of where in the thesis process you're expected to be at particular points, and a series of assignments where you are assigned people to peer review. The class format had you divided into groups, which mostly served as a vague linear approximation of which order you might present in class.
I was very disappointed in this class. I was really eager and excited about this course since it is supposed to be a major highlight of the program. However, I was terribly disappointed. I—and many others in the class who I asked that said they shared the same experience—received no feedback on nearly all our thesis drafts. The thesis is supposed to be an interactive process—you submit a subsection, receive feedback on it, and then incorporate and build on that feedback in the next, longer draft. In this course, however, I received none. I essentially wrote my thesis without any feedback or advice, not because I didn’t want any, but because none was given. The professor highlighted in-person group discussions as a source of feedback, but summarizing the thesis in 5 minutes is very different from a fully written 50-page draft. Receiving no feedback on any of these drafts was very frustrating and disappointing, especially considering the large amount of time it takes to produce the thesis. For these reasons, I would not recommend this course or program . Instead, I would advise taking courses and enrolling in a program where you know the instructor will take the time to give you feedback. The syllabus stated feedback would be given on these drafts, but none was. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Spring 2021 Course: QMSSGR5999_001_2021_1-MASTER'STHESIS : QMSSGR5999_001_2021_…
the instructor provided feedback and advice on the thesis I am working on he asked me several questions that I was not consider during the research design - helpful!
The importance of making an argument in a thesis, the importance of coming to a social science conclusion in the thesis, the importance of finishing the thesis.
Skills to acquire data, data-cleansing, model construction, data analysis, research paper draft.
This course is required for QMSS students, and it's only available to QMSS students, so I'm not sure how much recommendation can be offered one way or another. I think writing a thesis has been rewarding and the other students are great, but the class structure itself as implemented left a lot to be desired.