JB2900 Semester Paper Course description

Studentene skal lage en analytisk oppgave der de fordyper seg i et journalistisk emne, som kan bidra til å styrke kunnskapsgrunnlaget for journaliststudenter. Utviklingen av fordypningsoppgaven innledes med metodeinnføring og utarbeiding av prosjektbeskrivelse. Oppgavens tema velges fra journalistikkens fagområde.

Bachelorstudiet i journalistikk har generelle progresjonsbestemmelser:;

Normalt må hvert studieår være bestått for at studentene skal kunne fortsette studiet i neste studieår. For å få tildelt praksisplass må første studieår være bestått. Bestått praksis er en forutsetning for videre studier.

Studenten skal etter å ha fullført emnet ha følgende totale læringsutbytte definert i kunnskap, ferdigheter og generell kompetanse:

Kunnskap

Studenten har kunnskap om

• grunnleggende forskningsmetoder, spesielt knyttet til journalistikk- og medieforskning
• temaområder i journalistikk- og medieforskningen
• et journalistfaglig tema som studenten ønsker å gå i dybden på

Ferdigheter

Studenten kan

• utvikle en problemstilling
• gjennomføre en undersøkelse innen et valgt tema
• begrunne hvorfor et emne er interessant
• diskutere egne funn opp mot annen forskning

Generell kompetanse

Studenten har

• en reflekterende og kritisk holdning til vitenskapelig kunnskap
• evne til å gå i dybden
• strukturere og skrive en akademisk tekst

Emnet starter med en ukes undervisning i forskningsmetode. Deretter skriver studentene oppgaven individuelt eller to og to sammen, under veiledning. Veileder for fordypningsoppgaven skal normalt være en av instituttets lærere. Studenten har krav på seks veiledningstimer. Dersom to studenter jobber sammen om oppgaven, har de krav på ni veiledningstimer samlet.

Studenten(e) leverer, innen en bestemt frist, inn en prosjektskisse etter mal. Skissen skal beskrive problemstillinger, metoder, kildegrunnlag og en tidsplan for arbeidet. Skissen skal godkjennes av emneansvarlig eller oppnevnt veileder. Det blir lagt vekt på at arbeidet kan gjennomføres innenfor den gitte tidsrammen. Skissen må være innlevert innen fastsatt frist og godkjent for at studenten skal kunne framstille seg til eksamen.;

Ved ikke godkjent skisse, kan studenten levere en ny og forbedret utgave innen angitt frist. Ved sykdom eller annen dokumentert tvingende grunn kan det avtales egen frist med faglærer. Hvis studenten ikke overholder fristen som er gitt i kursplanen, eller fristen som er avtalt med faglærer, mister studenten retten til å gå opp til eksamen.

None

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has basic knowledge of

• the role of economics in contemporary societies
• the accessibility of economic and financial information in both public and private sector
• basic accounting and economics

Skills

The student has a basic understanding of how to:

• identify newsworthy information in budgets and financial statements
•  find and access sources of economic and financial information

General competence

The student

• can critically reflect upon the impact and role of economy in contemporary society
• can critically reflect upon the role of journalism for public understandings of economic and financial mechanisms

The course is organized in gatherings of intensive tuition, with lectures, workshops, group presentations and discussions.

Participation during class sessions is mandatory. Students who have more than 20 percent absence from class sessions will have to hand in an additional assignment.  Students who have more than 25 percent absence from class sessions will  not be qualified to take the exam.

The coursework requirements consist of three obligatory assignments. Two of the assignments will be related to the practice of economic/financial journalism, while the third is a discussion assignment focusing on a subject from the required reading. All three assignments must be handed in within the deadline and approved before the student can take the exam.

Each group will consist of approximately 5 students. The purpose of the first assignment is to learn about a case of financial crime and by sharing the knowledge between the groups, everyone should become better acquainted with current trends in international financial crime. The first assignment will be a group work in which students will investigate literature about a recent financial scandal involving corruption. The group will present their findings in an oral presentation lasting 15 to 20 minutes, and after the presentation, they will upload their power point to Canvas.

The second assignment will also be a group work, in which students will discuss and give an oral presentation on a portion of the reading list in front of all the students. The purpose of this assignment is to learn from existing literature relevant for the course and to facilitate learning between groups and students. Like the first assignment, the oral presentation should be 15 to 20 minutes and after the presentation, the students can upload their power point to Canvas.

The third and final assignment will be individual, and will require students to use the knowledge acquired during the work on assignments 1 and 2 to write a short op-ed analysing the issue at stake from a journalistic, economic, or juridical perspective. The purpose of this assignment is to train students to formulate complex issues in a clear and readable way designed for a general audience. This assignment will not have an oral presentation, instead, students should upload a word document of approximately 1 page on Canvas.

If the assignment is not approved, the student may hand in a new, improved version within a set deadline. In the event of illness or other documented absence for compelling reasons, special deadlines can be agreed with the lecturer. If a student fails to submit work within the deadline stipulated in the course plan or agreed with the lecturer, the assignment cannot be submitted, and the student will lose the right to take the exam.

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