Advanced states (RECP)

Duration

Number of credits

Lecturer

Collégialité, Daniela Nicolosa Prina

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

All year long

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The ARCH0461-1 Progress reports course (4 credits) is included in block 1 of the master's degree (Q7+Q8). Its purpose is to help students train themselves in the techniques of documentary research and scientific methodology within the framework of their thesis.
The contents of this course help to guide students in the definition of a question, a subject of study, the examination of the state of knowledge in their field of research, the choice of a methodology, and establishing an objective in terms of results.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

Thanks to this course, students will be able to:

• carry out documentary research;
• define and study a subject for their thesis;
• master the basic tools of bibliographic research: annotation of references, writing a bibliography, organising sources, using notes and citations;
• assess the scientific value of documentary sources and the methodology of scientific research;
• investigate a reflection on a research project or an architectural approach, correctly summarise and write the synthesis of their research subject and thus formalise their thesis plan (M1) and implement it (M2).

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

It is assumed that students have basic knowledge of how the library works.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The ARCH0461-1 Progress reports course will provide students with information on the means to gather and organise sources, as well as methods and techniques to write their progress reports.
One part of the course is comprised of lectures and the other part of practical exercises to be done in class, which are designed to facilitate learning a scientific research methodology and the rules for bibliographic citations.
Each student will be asked to do a practical exercise, outside the progress report class, involving the formatting and presentation of research. The progress reports are designed to accompany the students' research work, on a gradual basis, within the framework of their thesis during the first year of their master's degree.
Every student will have to write two progress reports during the academic year; they will concern the subject of their thesis.
The first progress report consists of an outline of the key points of the research subject (introduction, status of the question, research proposal, research methodology, expected results, bibliography).
The second progress report is based on the structure of the first one, but it must be more detailed and show how far the student has progressed in terms of their reflection and their research.
The first progress report should be handed in at the end of Q7.
If students don't submit the first progress report, they won't be authorised to submit the second one. They will receive zero for the ARCH0461-1 Progress reports course.
At the beginning of the second term, the coordinator will provide feedback on the first progress report and will inform students of the improvements they need to make. Students will correct their work based on these remarks and hand in a second progress report on the date and according to the conditions decided by the coordinator.
The second progress report must be submitted in Q8.
If students fail, the coordinator will provide feedback on the second progress report and will inform students of the improvements they need to make.
The progress reports will only be assessed if students submit a data sheet through e-Campus, by 30 November at the latest. It must be completed with at least the subject of research and the name and signature of a sponsor.
The data sheet will be sent to students via e-Campus at the beginning of the academic year.
Students who don't submit their data sheet or who don't respect the deadlines or the conditions for handing in the progress report will be automatically deferred.
Students who can't find a sponsor must inform the thesis coordinator in time so they can help them to find one.
Students are strongly advised to attend the course, right from the beginning, on a regular basis, and to start to develop the research for their thesis as soon as possible so that they follow a gradual learning curve (regular research work during the year; submission of the progress reports during the first session).
Students enrolled in the second exam session, who have failed or who haven't regularly worked on their piece of research, will have to submit a data sheet completed with at least the research subject, name and signature of a sponsor, as well as a progress report (they will be informed of the dates in the course of the year). The assessment methods for the progress reports remain the same, however, the final mark for the course will be calculated on the basis of only one progress report (100 %).

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

Theory - face-to-face

Recommended or required readings

Optional reading:
Michel Béaud, L'art de la thèse, Ed. La Découverte, Paris 2006
Umberto Eco, Comment écrire sa thèse, Flammarion, Paris 2016
Students may be provided with other documents via MyULg or e-Campus.

Assessment methods and criteria

The progress report will be assessed by each student's sponsor and by the course leader, D. Prina. The sponsor will assess the content of the work. The assessment must take into account the status of the work when the progress report is submitted. D. Prina will be responsible for assessing the scientific methodology rules, the formatting of the research, its presentation and respect for the instructions given during the ARCH0461-1 Progress reports course.
The assessment will also focus on the students' command of French.
The mark for each progress report will be calculated according to the mean of the two individual marks.
The progress reports chart the progress of the research done within the framework of the thesis. For this reason, the final mark for the course will be composed of 25 % of the mark for the first progress report and 75 % of the second progress report.
If the sponsor doesn't submit their mark within the deadline, the mark for the progress report will be given by Professor Prina, in order not to penalise the student.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Students are responsible for finding out when they have to submit the data sheet, possible progress reports and the thesis. This information will be given to students and the sponsors by the thesis coordinator at the beginning of the academic year (information session or email) and at least via the e-Campus platform.
Students must respect the deadlines to ensure practical, didactic and administrative matters are properly managed.
Documents handed in late won't be taken into account and won't be assessed. Students who don't submit their data sheet or who don't respect the deadlines are automatically deferred.

Contacts

Daniela Prina
dprina@ulg.ac.be
Any written communication must contain the following information:
Student's surname and first name, the year of enrolment (M1 or M2) and, after submitting the data sheet, the name of the sponsor and the title of the thesis.