Master - Media and Technology Ma

MTM Research and Publications (MTM RaP)
Master - WS '23/'24

C. Loebbecke

2 SWS

Mondays, 4:00 - 7:15 pm
First Session: Oct. 09, '23
Location: Lecture hall XXIII, WiSo Building

Held in English

Pre-Assignment Deadline: Sept. 27, '23, 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, and 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 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)

Oct. 09, Oct. 16, Nov. 13, Nov. 27, Dec. 04, Dec. 18 - all '23; Jan. 15, Jan. 22 - both '24.
Most time is needed between the sessions for reading and writing - even in the times of ChatGPT :-)!

Pre-Assignment due Sept. 27, '23, 11:00 am, via eMail from your sMail account.

1) Read Mumford (2006) and choose two of her recommendations.
Then state the recommendation [50 words] and provide your experience / thoughts and refer to at least ONE OTHER ACADEMIC reference [150 words]. This makes a total of 400 words related to the Mumford text.

2) Following Whetten (1989), provide a paragraph: what is or what characterizes a theoretical contribution of a paper or a thesis? [about 50 words]. Then pick any top-published paper with a theoretical contribution (check that you find the contribution!) and answer the seven questions that Whetten raises for judging the quality of a paper for the paper of your choice. Do NOT summarize etc. the paper, but precisely answer Whetten's seven questions. Please note: in case of yes / no questions, we look for a 'yes' or a 'no' plus your reason / explanation [150-250 words]

3) Read Dwivedi et al. (2023) and (a) outline three of the AI-related topics that they raise and (b) comment on each, whether you find it interesting, relevant, and already know the answer. Make sure you do not use any summary printed in the article, but pick some pieces from the long list of issues raised [3 x 100 words]
4) Reflect upon Dwivedi et al. (2023): why does it or why does it not entail a theoretical contribution in your eyes? [50 -100 words]

Formal requirements

- State your name, matr.-number, sMail address, and study program and its start date on top of the first page (ideally in one line, max. two lines); then continue typing, no cover sheet!

- Have only your name in the header of each page
- Have an empty line before the task, copy the task, and in the next line start the answer. After a task, have one empty line before typing the next task and the answer

- 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
- Complete reference list formatted appropriately with all required information per file - even if it is only one source
- See also MTM website on scientific work

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 lastname only, no accent, etc.)
- File name: RaP-Pre-Lastname.doc(x) (your lastname only, no accent, etc.)

Course Grading
Grading will be based on
- 20%: Pre-Assignment - due Sept. 27, '23, 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 Sept. 27, '23 (passing the Pre-Assignment is required for passing the course).
On Sept. 28, '23, 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 Oct. 17, '23, 11:00 am.

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