Master's Thesis, Research Writing (3cr)

Evaluation scale

Pass/Fail

Content scheduling

Lecture recordings (Video 1, Video 2, and Video 3) will be available via the Moodle workspace to watch according to the student's own schedule.

For complete details on the sequential structure of the assignments and how they relate to the lecture recordings, see the Moodle workspace.

Objective

The content of the course is specifically designed to support theses that serve the development and renewal of working life. During the course, the focus is on writing the theoretical basis of your own thesis.

You will gain the needed confidence in your research-style writing to be able to work on your thesis and write authentic, factual text based on published sources, follow the principles of scientific writing, and demonstrate your ability to write in accordance with the style manual designated by JAMK (Project Reporting Instructions/APA 7).

Content

The writing process
Structure of the thesis
Basic principles of citation
Argumentation
Narrative of the thesis

Location and time

This course will be implemented during the Autumn semester 2025 from September 8–December 14 as online, self-paced (non-stop), self-directed learning.

The course instructor handles student enrollments directly and grants access to the Moodle workspace at the time of enrollment.

The course starts on September 8, 2025.

The final date for assignment submissions is December 14, 2025. After this date, you cannot submit your assignments anymore.

The course ends on December 14, 2025.

Course assessments will be ready by December 19, 2025. Please note that assignments are not graded during public holidays or other school breaks.

Materials

American Psychological Association. (2020). *Publication manual of the American Psychological Association* (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Teaching methods

This course is intended for those students who have previously attempted to pass the standard Research Writing course but have received a “Failed” grade.

Online, self-paced (non-stop), self-directed learning.

Panopto lecture recordings, exercises/learning assignments, structured rubrics, various methods of online pedagogy.

Exam schedules

The final report is treated as the course exam, which must be marked as "Passed" by the end of the course. Since this version of the course essentially serves as an alternative completion method for the standard Research Writing course, there are no resit exams scheduled or otherwise organized. Instead, students are permitted to rewrite and resubmit their reports as many times as necessary until their work satisfies the requirements of the assignment, which are defined in the Moodle workspace.

Completion alternatives

There is no alternative completion method for this special "fast track" implementation of the Research Writing course. This version of the course essentially serves as an alternative completion method for the standard Research Writing course for those students who have previously attempted to pass that course but received a “Failed” grade.

Student workload

The schedule and workload information below relates to the standard Research Writing course and is provided here for reference only. Since this special "fast track" implementation of the course is designed to support self-paced/-directed study, it is not possible to outline a proposed schedule with much accuracy.

"Student workload for this course is 81 hours spread out over the course of 6 weeks, which translates to approximately 13.5 hours of study per week. The course is managed and implemented according to a fairly fast-paced and intensive schedule, so please be aware of this and prepared to maintain the necessary output of work to stay with the program.

Weekly study may include any or all of the following:

* contact and/or virtual lesson attendance (1.5 hrs),
* reading course materials and messages in Moodle (2.5 hrs),
* homework (4 hrs),
* group meetings (4 hrs),
* practice and self-study regarding the use of hardware and software for making various types of recordings (1.5 hrs)"

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

The course is marked as passed when all assignments have been completed and they demonstrate that the themes of the course have been studied and the learning materials have been utilized in the process.

Qualifications

You have completed the Research-Based Development course and Phase 1 of the Thesis Plan, which is described on the Thesis webpage in JAMK's Open Study Materials.

Further information

This course is intended for those students who have previously attempted to pass the standard Research Writing course but have received a “Failed” grade.

Individual work reviewed and approved by the course lecturer, with various assignments, including the final report, guided by AI (Copilot).