How to write a Bachelor s Thesis in Cogni4ve and Decision Sciences? Gilles Du4lh

Transcription

1 How to write a Bachelor s Thesis in Cogni4ve and Decision Sciences? Gilles Du4lh

2 Who I Am Gilles Du4lh, 32 Psychology at University of Amsterdam Master Psychological Methods Got my PhD in mathema4cal psychology Disserta4on on modeling of response 4mes of speeded two- choice tasks Now Post Doc at Jörg Rieskamps Economic Psychology Group gillesdu4lh.com/pages/baseminar.htm

3 Who are you?

4 Goals of this seminar Advising you on wri4ng your bachelor thesis in Cogni4ve and Decision Sciences Advice on: Finding a topic, searching literature Developing a research ques4on and structuring the thesis Prac4cal issues (APA rules, scien4fic wri4ng) Peer- to- peer support Feedback and cri4cs Mo4va4on Supervision Seminar (4 classical sessions) Individual mee4ngs

5 Topics of the Seminars Today: Introduc4on Planning and goals of the seminar Your mo4va4on and expecta4ons Week 2: Choosing a topic Requirements What is a good topic? Work out a topic yourself vs. Choose one of the suggested topics Week 3: Literature search How to search How to read How to keep account of you literature Week 4: Scien4fic wri4ng Working produc4vely and crea4vely How to structure your work Wri4ng 4ps

6 Today What is a Bachelor s thesis? Short introduc4on of available topic sugges4ons Planning of the Seminars Your mo4va4on and expecta4ons

7 Bachelor Thesis A bachelor thesis is a literature review However, it s not just a summary of the literature, but should build up to a strong message. A good thesis: Defines and clarifies a problem. Summarizes the state of the field. Iden4fies connec4ons, inconsistencies, and gaps in the literature. Points to poten4al future research or suggests a solu4on to a problem.

8 Bachelor Thesis A good Bachelor Thesis: Has a research ques4on that is relevant and strongly formulated. Clarifies concepts, constructs and methods. Is a nice read in scien4fic style. Makes use of relevant literature, including research ar4cles, review ar4cles, meta- analyses, and book chapters

9 Bachelor Thesis Rules APA style 6 structuring and forma`ng APA 6 wri4ng Size: pages main text Covers theore4cal work (it s a literature review)

10 Topics in Cogni4ve and Decision Heuris4cs Sciences G. Gigerenzer, A. Bröder, H. Simon E.g., Take The Best, Recogni4on Heuris4c Which city is larger? Simple rules vs complete informa4on integra4on

11 Topics in Cogni4ve and Decision Chance percep4on Gamblers fallacy Streakiness Risk percep4on Sciences Do you prefer 10 franks for sure or 10% chance of winning 100 franks? Ambiguity: do you prefer 10 franks or a chance of winning 100 franks?

12 Thesis Subject Probably the most difficult part of thesis. Consider choosing one of the subjects proposed here.

13 Examples of Thesis Topics What is the difference between Risk and Ambiguity? What models have been proposed to account for this difference? How well are we able to classify people as risk- takers? Reliability of risk a`tude assessment Differences between means of measuring How does a person s educa4onal background influence risky decision making? E.g., economy vs. history students

14 Examples of Thesis Topics (2) How can we improve peoples understanding of probabilis4c events? Experience based vs Descrip4on based informa4on presenta4on In what situa4ons are heuris4cs used? Take The Best Recogni4on Heuris4c

15 Important Dates : Start searching for and developing a topic : Hand in proposal & signing bachelor thesis contract : Deadline in 1 st draj (op4onal) : Deadline final version

16 Proposal ( ) Structure of thesis in 2-3 pages Introduces most relevant: Concepts Constructs Literature Ques4ons Properly wrimen (not just catchwords!) Claims should be accompanied by cita4ons Preliminary reference list When agreed on proposal, contract is signed

17 Ques4on round Why did you choose Cogni4ve and decision sciences? What do you expect from this seminar? Who of you already have an idea of a subject or general topic?