BV3900 The Bachelor's thesis Course description

The bachelor's thesis is an independent academic and individual work based on a self-chosen child welfare and social pedagogy topic related to core areas of the programme. In the bachelor's thesis, the student formulates a problem of relevance to the child welfare worker's field of study. The aim is to put professionally relevant issues into a theoretical and practical perspective and demonstrate analytical competence and ethical reflection. The student will apply relevant academic and research literature related to the chosen topic. The student will answer his/her social science research question by collecting, processing and analysing knowledge, and present this in writing in an assignment that satisfies the requirements for scientific argumentation and presentation at bachelor level.The bachelor's thesis will demonstrate skills in academic thesis writing, source criticism, independence, critical reflection and ethical understanding. It is an objective that the student shall master the formal and methodological requirements imposed on academic work of such a scope.

The student must have completed and passed the second year of the Bachelor Programme in Child Care and Welfare and completed and passed the practical training in the third year.

Knowledge

The student:

- must have in-depth multidisciplinary knowledge of a self-chosen topic with relevance to the field of child welfare work

- must have knowledge of the importance of the philosophy of science in scientific activities

- must have knowledge of research ethics, basic social science research methods and their possibilities and limitations

- must have knowledge of different theoretical perspectives relevant to the topic and problem in the bachelor's thesis

- must have broad knowledge of the design of academic assignments

Skills

The student

· can reflect on power structures, professionalism and their own role as a professional in the child welfare system

· can develop research questions of relevance to the field of practice and apply new professional knowledge in a methodical and scientific manner

· can find, assess and refer to research and practice-based knowledge in the field of child welfare in a relevant manner that sheds light on the research question

· can conduct advanced literature searches in various databases and apply knowledge of child welfare and social pedagogy in major written works

· can reflect critically on theory of science perspectives and different sources of knowledge in their own work

· can exercise source criticism when assessing and selecting literature and obtaining information online and in databases

General competence

The student

· can analyse and critically reflect on research ethics issues in the performance of child care and welfare work

· has knowledge of the formal and methodological requirements that apply to academic writing

· has broad knowledge of research and development work of relevance to a child welfare officer’s areas of work

· can document and communicate professional assessments in writing

· can update their knowledge of the field of child care and welfare

Teaching of relevance to work on the bachelor’s thesis. All students will be offered three individual 45-minute supervision sessions. No supervision will be given in the final week before submission.

The following required coursework/compulsory activities must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

Coursework 1: INTERACT - INTER1300

The following required coursework must be approved:

Students must submit an individual log. Scope: 500 words (+/- 10%). The log requires participation at the two-day seminar. An individual assignment may compensate for absence.

Read more about INTERACT and INTER1300 here: https://www.oslomet.no/en/research/research-projects/interact

Coursework 2: Submission of an outline with the chosen topic and tentative research question for the Bachelor's thesis. The scope must be up to 1 page.

Compulsory activities and coursework requirements must be completed and approved by the given deadline in order for the student to take the exam.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student:

• is familiar with the structure, stereochemistry and bonds in organic molecules
• is familiar with organic acids and bases
• is familiar with reactions with alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, haloalkanes, aromatic compounds, alcohols, phenols, ethers, thiols, aldehydes, carboxyl acid, carboxylic acid derivatives and amines
• is familiar with the equipment used in organic chemistry and how it is used
• has some knowledge of the planning and performance of organic synthesis
• is capable of keeping up-to-date on key knowledge in the field of organic chemistry.

Skills

The student is capable of:

• reading and following the procedure of organic synthesis published in the chemical literature
• checking the identity and purity of a synthesis product with the use of physical measurements and spectroscopy
• reporting the results of their own laboratory work so that it can be reproduced by others.

General competence

The student is capable of:

• using knowledge about the reactivity of molecules to consider alternative syntheses and choosing a synthesis that entails little risk in relation to health, safety and the environment
• assessing their own work and, if necessary, proposing measures to improve an existing procedure
• communicating the results of laboratory work to both chemists and non-chemists, both orally and in writing
• contributing to good HSE practice in a workplace through attitudes to and knowledge of organic chemistry

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

The following coursework is compulsory and must be approved before the student can sit the exam:

• 6-day laboratory course with 6 pertaining written assignments (2-5 pages per assignment)

Individual written exam, 3 hours.

Exam results can be appealed.

In the event of a new or postponed exam, an oral exam can be used instead of a written exam. In the event of an oral exam in the case of a new or postponed exam, the exam result cannot be appealed.

Marie Hatlelid Føleide and Birgitte Nyblin-Austgulen