MTM Research and Publications (MTM RaP)
Master - WS '24/'25

C. Loebbecke

2 SWS

Mondays, 4:00 - 7:15 pm
First Session: Nov. 04, '24
Location: S92, Philosophikum

Held in English

Pre-Assignment Deadline: Oct. 21, '24, 11:00 am, via eMail from your sMail account (see below)

Voluntary, not binding, but helpful: If you are interested in the course, please send an eMail from your sMail account to claudia.loebbecke<at>uni-koeln.de with the course for which you want to register, your name, matr.-number, and study program. We suggest that you also add a phone number so that we can help on short notice.

Introduction

The course will cover the basics of conducting research and writing a master thesis / paper on a media and technology management topic. It will introduce and help to select research methods and approaches, but not teach how to conduct any specific one. It will emphasize the importance of properly structuring and outlining one's work. It will cover the basics of writing some literature grounding / literature background for any given research paper. Note that such literature grounding is different from conducting a literature review paper.

Finally, the course will get students accustomed to reading and perhaps reviewing research papers.

The course does not teach the content of / literature on any specific MTM topic. It is mostly suitable for students interested in appreciating academic contributions to MTM and those considering to write a master thesis in MTM; in that case, we see a strong overlap potential; otherwise, the course requires reading and writing quite a bit as one has to do and practice for mastering academic reading, writing, and assessing.

Depending on the number of registrants, groups will be formed during the first course meeting. Registration details are shown below.
 

Dates (max. 6)

Nov. 04, Nov. 25, Dec. 02, Dec. 09 – all '24; Jan. 13, Jan. 20, Jan 27 – all '25.
Most time is needed between the sessions for reading and writing – even in the times of ChatGPT :-)!

Pre-Assignment due Oct. 21, '24, 11:00 am, via eMail from your sMail account.

1) Read Mumford (2006) and choose two of her recommendations.
Then state the recommendation [ca. 50 words] and provide your experience / thoughts [ca. 150 words]

2) Following Whetten (1989), provide a paragraph: what is or what characterizes a theoretical contribution of a paper or a thesis? [ca. 100 words]

3) Read Kim and Dennis (2019) and

- briefly introduce both authors: when / where Phd, since when working where, research / methodological focus [ca. 50 words p. person]

- state what exactly they investigate (be precise!) [max. 50 words]

- briefly explain their approach [ca. 50 words]

- summarize their findings (no statistics!) [max. 50 words]

- apply Whetten's (1989) 4 question to assessing the quality of Kim and Dennis (2019) [50-100 words]

- comment on the research project and its finding / contribution from your perspective. Do not repeat what they did or found, we know that, but elaborate on what you like / dislike and why!) [100-150 words]

Formal requirements

- State your name, matr.-number, sMail address, and study program with start date (max. two lines) in the header of each page; no cover sheet

- Have an empty line before the task, copy the task, and in the next line start the answer. For each regulatory initiative / article / paragraph have a subheading

- No empty lines after any heading / sub-heading, after a paragraph, or after a reference

- After a task, have one empty line before typing the next task and the answer

- NEVER two empty lines!

- Do not start a new page for every new task

- Times New Roman (TNR) 12, single-spaced

- Have 2 points (2 pts.) before and after each (1) paragraph

- Scientific writing style – no jokes, no slang, hardly any passive voice
- References IN THE TEXT (no footnotes), no 'ibid.' – s. some Anglo-American academic management journals
- NO author first names, NO usage of reference titles in the assignment text

- For formatting the reference list, see our website
- Consistent format (including spacing, etc.)
- Page numbers of references only for word-by-word citations

Delivery
Please send an eMail from your sMail account to claudia.loebbecke<at>uni-koeln.de and astrid.obeng-antwi<at>uni-koeln.de; attach a non-protected word file (.doc or .docx)
- Subject line: RaP-Pre-Lastname (your last name only, no accent, etc.)
- File name: RaP-Pre-Lastname.doc(x) (your last name only, no accent, etc.)

Course Grading
Grading will be based on
- 20%: Pre-Assignment - due Oct 21, '24, 11:00 am
- 45%: Exercises / Discussion during the semester (details to follow)

- 35%: Final examination, date tbd.

It is required to at least 'pass' (grade 4.0 or better) each grading element for passing the course.
'Alle Prüfungselemente müssen mindestens bestanden sein.'
 

Required Course Registration:

(1) Hand in Pre-Assignment by Oct. 21, '24, 11 am (passing the Pre-Assignment is required for passing the course).
On Oct. 23, '24, we will list all those who will hand in the Pre-Assignment in time as course participant in KLIPS and THEREUPON you must
(2) Register for the exam on KLIPS by Nov. 06, '24.

For any course related questions, please contact claudia.loebbecke<at>uni-koeln.de from your sMail account.
 

© Department of Media and Technology Management