Review the definitions of the following thesis genres: Research paper, Extended position paper.

Read through the following three examples of a research paper: 2 theses and one article (and answer the questions about them in the homework). In case of the BA theses, also read the discussant's report. Both theses are an example of a research paper.

RAMMER, Jakob. The Political Discourse Regarding the War in Afghanistan: A Comparative Analysis Between American Presidents Bush and Obama [online]. Brno, 2021 [cit. 2021-09-08]. Available from: https://is.muni.cz/th/q40x7/. Bachelor's thesis. Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies. Thesis supervisor Maya HIGGINS.

MALÁ, Zuzana. The Varied Effects of the Structural Adjustment Programs on Women’s Well-Being in Mexico [online]. Brno, 2021 [cit. 2021-09-08]. Available from: https://is.muni.cz/th/btg66/. Bachelor's thesis. Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies. Thesis supervisor Jan OSIČKA.

You will find the discussant reports in the archive. The discussant report on Zuzana Malá's thesis is in Czech. I have translated it for you:

You may read the advisor's reports  to the assigned theses as well if you want.

Kahn-Nisser S. For better or worse: Shaming, faming, and human rights abuse. Journal of Peace Research. 2021;58(3):479-493. doi:10.1177/0022343320905346 

Note: I have not uploaded the pdf of the journal article here on purpose. The reason is not that I would like to make your already busy to-do lists even busier. The motivation for making you download it on your own is to give you motivation to  learn how to remotely access the journal databases provided by the library. Without knowing how to remotely access the library resources, writing anything in academia (let alone a BA thesis) is very difficult. Basically, it forces you to come to the FSS building whenever you want to download a recent academic paper and download the paper on an on-site computer. This is awfully inconvenient, especially in the era of widespread internet and remote access. Go to https://library.fss.muni.cz/eresources.php?podsekce=14  and make at least one of the remote access options work on your laptop. I, personally, have downloaded the Kahn-Nisser article through institutional login on the article's website. The other remote access options, however, should work as well. If you still can't make the remote access work even after you read through the tutorials, stop by in the library and ask. This is an important thing. At this point in your studies, it is high time you made the remote access to recent academic literature work on your computer. 

Homework

Do the homework before this week's class. Insert your answers in the ROPOT application (the link is below) and also bring your answers to the class.

Answer the questions in following document that are related to the required readings:

Due to cancelled class on Oct 25, two ROPOT applications appear below. Week 1 of the writing challenge was supposed to be filled out by Oct 25. Week 2 of the writing challenge is supposed to be filled out by Nov 1.

Recommended readings:

You may read the advisor's reports  to the assigned theses as well if you want.

Examples of research articles from which you can draw inspiration for your these. Notice the research questions they ask, how they are written - their structure, how they formulate what contribution they make, how they review the existing literature, how they describe the evidence that they are providing, and how they formulate their argument. Of course, a BA thesis does not have to be such a significant contribution to scientific knowledge. The logic and the structure, however, should be the same as in the best articles.

Lai B, Thyne C. The Effect of Civil War on Education, 1980—97. Journal of Peace Research. 2007;44(3):277-292. doi:10.1177/0022343307076631

- this is a nice example of a study in which the authors examine empirical support for two theories. One theory is supported, the other is not.

Beardsley K, McQuinn B. Rebel Groups as Predatory Organizations: The Political Effects of the 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Journal of Conflict Resolution. 2009;53(4):624-645. doi:10.1177/0022002709336460

- this is an interesting article that uses a case study design. Notice how the selection of cases helps with the identification of causes of political development in the two regions. 

Hanania R. The Humanitarian Turn at the UNSC: Explaining the development of international norms through machine learning algorithms. Journal of Peace Research. 2021;58(4):655-670. doi:10.1177/0022343320929728

- This is a good example of a paper where even a descriptive analysis is highly relevant

 

Gonzalez-Ocantos E, de Jonge CK, Meléndez C, Nickerson D, Osorio J. Carrots and sticks: Experimental evidence of vote-buying and voter intimidation in Guatemala. Journal of Peace Research. 2020;57(1):46-61. doi:10.1177/0022343319884998

- This is an example of an experimental research design in IR

 

Nagel RU. Gendered preferences: How women’s inclusion in society shapes negotiation occurrence in intrastate conflicts. Journal of Peace Research. 2021;58(3):433-448. doi:10.1177/0022343319899456

- this is an example of a typical research paper: formulates a theory, tests the hypotheses using quantitative analysis  

Kreft A-K. Responding to sexual violence: Women’s mobilization in war. Journal of Peace Research. 2019;56(2):220-233. doi:10.1177/0022343318800361

- this paper combines a large-N quantitative study with a qualitative analysis. At the same time, it is a nice example of a case study.