Post on 24-Dec-2021
MSC CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ANTROPOLOGY (MCSA)
GRUADUATE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES
FIELDWORK & THESIS MANUAL
Specialization Applied Anthropology 2018-2019
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Contents
1. INTRODUCTION FIELDWORK & THESIS MANUAL ................................................................... 3
2. DISCLAIMER ............................................................................................................................................. 3
3. THE MASTER’S PROGRAMME CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ANTROPOLOGY ........................ 3
3.1. INDIVIDUAL SUPERVISION ............................................................................................................. 3
3.2. FIRST-SEMESTER CLASSES ............................................................................................................. 4
4. FIELDWORK AND DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................................... 4
4.1. Fieldwork Reports ............................................................................................................................ 6
4.2. Final research report ....................................................................................................................... 8
5. THESIS AND THESIS SEMINAR ................................................................................................. 1210
5.1. OBJECTIVES OF A MASTER’S THESIS ................................................................................... 1311
5.2. CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................. 1311
5.3. REQUIREMENTS OF MA THESES .......................................................................................... 1513
5.4. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA THESES ........................................................................................... 1614
5.5. CHECKLIST STYLE AND FORMAT .......................................................................................... 1715
6. REMARKS ........................................................................................................................................... 1816
7. PLAGIARISM ..................................................................................................................................... 1917
8. EXAMINATION DATE ................................................................................................................ 1917
9. APPENDIX 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 2018
10. APPENDIX 2 .................................................................................................................................. 2119
11. APPENDIX 3 .................................................................................................................................. 2220
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MSC CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ANTROPOLOGY THESIS MANUAL 2018-2019
SPECIALISATION APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
1. INTRODUCTION FIELDWORK & THESIS MANUAL Writing a Master’s Thesis is a very substantial part of obtaining your Master’s degree in Cultural
and Social Anthropology, track Applied Anthropology. Students who graduate with the
specialization Applied Anthropology, frequently combine the writing of the thesis with work
intended to report their findings to the commissioning organization. Some organizations prefer
an academic thesis, others may want a presentation to be given, a report or input for a policy
document. Therefore, the writing of the thesis is an academic venture as well as an undertaking
that involves a translation of your Anthropological knowledge into mundane language. The
combination of the two works often makes the post-fieldwork period a challenging period of
your studies. In addition to demanding academic skills, courage, self-discipline and good time
management are pivotal to complete your thesis. In this manual you will find all relevant
information for writing your thesis. Any questions? Contact your study adviser.
2. DISCLAIMER We have tried to make the Manual for Writing a Thesis in Cultural and Social Anthropology
(specialization Applied Anthropology) as accurate as possible, but nevertheless the information
may not be exhaustive. Please always use the digital course guide (studiegids.uva.nl) for the latest
information concerning your program.
3. THE MASTER’S PROGRAMME CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ANTROPOLOGY The Msc program in Cultural and Social Anthropology is divided into three phases. The first
phase involves writing a research proposal. This is followed by the actual research, and during the
final phase the thesis is written. During a mini-conference the main conclusions are presented to
an audience. During the entire program you also work on establishing and maintaining contact
with the commissioning organization. Students receive personal supervision from a member of
the teaching staff during each phase, along with collective guidance during courses.
3.1. INDIVIDUAL SUPERVISION
As a student, you will get a personal supervisor who is closely involved with every component of
the Master's project, and the supervisor therefore plays an important part in the overall study
program. The study advisor for the Master's program matches students with suitable supervisors,
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taking into account students' preferences for a particular supervisor insofar as possible. A
supervisor is assigned to each student early in the first semester of the studies. As soon as you
have been given the name of your supervisor, you should contact her/him and make an
appointment. This is your responsibility and it is crucial that you maintain close contact with your
supervisor in all stages of the program. Only after your supervisor has given you a passing grade
for the research proposal, you will have the permission to leave for the field. (If you leave prior
to this permission, you risk losing supervision and your fieldwork allowance.) In order to meet
the required passing grade for your proposal, you will need to contact your supervisor regularly
during the first semester of the program. Make sure to cc all course assignments that concern the
research proposal to your supervisor, and meet him/her for personal guidance and feedback.
3.2. FIRST-SEMESTER CLASSES
Students start with a four week intensive full-time course called Key Debates in Anthropology,
which addresses the latest developments in anthropological theory. After this, you take two
intensive courses (full-time study load) in parallel fashion: Theory for Ethnographic Practice and
Designing Fieldwork. During these courses, you also make contact with the organization that you
would like to collaborate with. In the past, we have seen that establishing this contact needs to be
undertaken early in the program. Only then you will be sure to have a commissioning organization to
work with by the time that you are ready to embark on doing fieldwork. This also involves
checking your research question with the collaborating organization. How you will work together
with that organization, can vary. Sometimes the collaboration is close and you will want to keep
close contact with the organization during all the phases of your preparation and research. In
other cases, the contact may be more instrumental.
The two courses finish in December. After the completion of the two courses, the
student works on the research proposal individually (see 'timeline'). This is followed by a research
period lasting 10 weeks, starting in January.
4. FIELDWORK AND DATA COLLECTION
The second phase of the Master's program consists of the actual research. In some cases, a
student may leave earlier, but this can only be the case when a supervisor agrees on the research
proposal and when the student has passing grades for the previous course components. Most
students conduct ethnographic fieldwork, but it is also possible to opt for research at an
ethnographic museum or archive, or to do a project with a visual-anthropological dimension. The
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research period is ten weeks for students in Applied Anthropology. IMPORTANT: Students
must in any case have returned from their fieldwork location by the date of the first scheduled
session of the course in Writing Applied Anthropology. It is also important to carefully review
the timeline for the Master's programme before planning the research or purchasing travel
tickets, as the dates in this timeline are binding. The timeline can be found at the end of this
document and online. View: http://studiegids.uva.nl/, go to ‘English’, then to ‘programmes’,
choose your programme (Cultural and Social Anthropology) and open 'Study schedules and
planning'. There you find the ‘Timeline Applied Anthropology’.
Fieldwork is a main component within the Master's program and is shaped by your interests and
prior knowledge. Spending time and participating in the field is absolutely vital, even if your
research location is right around the corner. During the fieldwork period you are expected to
devote all of your time to your research. You will immerse yourself in your subject. Using various
methods and techniques of investigation, like formal and informal interviews, oral history, life
histories, photo eliciting, observations, chats, drawing maps or genealogies, recording of
household expenditures or the use of social media, you will seek to collect material and gain
insights in order to formulate an answer to your research question.
During fieldwork you will be confronted with all sorts of problems and dilemmas (both practical
and theoretical), such as: how do people connect and how do you connect to people? Does your
research question hold in the field, or does it need adjustment to what you have been
encountering? How do the methods of investigation of your choice relate to what people actually
do or say? What does it mean when you feel “nothing” happens? How do you accommodate the
wishes of the commissioning organisation while not compromising your own ethical
considerations?
One of the main things students struggle with –before, during and after fieldwork– is moving
back and forth between theory and concrete data. This is why it is necessary to operationalize, in
the proposal, the key theoretical concepts in order to translate concepts to data and vice versa.
In the case of Applied Anthropology, the undertaking may even be more complex as the
commissioning organisation may also want to maintain contact with you while you undertake
your research. You may even feel as if the organization will want to [subconsciously] wish to
‘control’ your research. How do you navigate this in an ethically as well as emotionally
responsible manner? For students in Applied Anthropology, it is very important to critically
reflect on this process while in the field, and later in your thesis. If this is the case, you can always
ask your individual supervisor for advice.
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Data analysis does not start after returning from the field. It is part of the very process of
collecting data, revising and asking new questions, and taking unexpected data into
account. During fieldwork, it is important that the researcher constantly goes over the data to
evaluate whether or not the “right” questions are being asked (i.e. the ones that provide more
insights on the research questions and are applicable to the lives of informants in the field).
Always keep an open mind and try to determine what the key issues are for your interlocutors.
Ethical dilemmas inevitably emerge during research. Please think them through beforehand and detail this in your proposal in an extra section on ethics. Anthropologist approach ethics as an on-going processes rather than as forms of consent that need to be signed. We highly recommend consulting the home page of the AISSR for a list of questions developed by the UvA ethics board, to help you thinking through sensitive issues: http://aissr.uva.nl/research/ethics-and-integrity/ethics-and-integrity.html#anker-ethical-review-of-research
It is also essential to plan beforehand how to store and organize data efficiently,
particularly when/if confronted with limitations such as impossibility to use your computer or
tape recorder in the field. Making different types of field notes (quick notes,
detailed descriptions, analytical notes, diaries and logs) is very useful, as well as creating a system
to ensure data is easily accessible (working with various documents, use of different colours
or fonts, use of document names and labels, recording of dates, locations, key words, etc.).
Decide beforehand whether you will use qualitative data analysis software and take into account
what this may require of organizing your data.
Please refer to the following bibliography for further information on ethnographic methods and
techniques:
Bryman, A. (2004) Social Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Emerson, Robert, Rachel Fretz and Linda Shaw (2011) Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago:
University of Chigaco Press. O'Reilly, K. (2005) Ethnographic Methods. London: Routledge.
On ethics, see the resources on the AAA webpage:
http://www.americananthro.org/ParticipateAndAdvocate/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=1895
4.1. Fieldwork Reports
Upon arrival in the field, always let your supervisor and the study advisor know that you have
arrived and provide your fieldwork address and phone number. A crucial aspect of fieldwork
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consists of keeping a daily record of your research. The form in which you report on your
activities is determined by you and your supervisor. At minimum, you must send two interim
reports (at intervals of roughly three-four weeks) describing your research progress to your
supervisor, who will respond as quickly as possible with comments. These interim reports must
be structured and should contain an overview of your entry in the field and networking progress,
your research activities, an account of your collected material in relation to your main question
and sub-questions, the relevance of your activities to the research topic, any questions or
problems you may have experienced, as well as the solutions you came up with. The content of
such reports should always refer back to the theoretical starting points formulated in the research
proposal, as data from the reports is to be presented with a certain degree of analysis. Depending
on the nature of your collaboration with the commissioning organisation, you can also send the
reports to the organisation.
Of course, you may experience problems you encounter in the field and ask your supervisor’s
advice. You need not wait for this until submitting your interim report. Just email your supervisor
when you experience acute problems related to the research or, more generally, connected with
being in the field. In the case that your supervisor does not react within a week, please contact
your study advisor so that she can help you further. When you return from the field, a Final
Fieldwork Report is due in the beginning of April (see timeline). You will find that writing good
and precise interim reports during the fieldwork phase will be greatly helpful in keeping an
overview of your activities, the relevance of your collected material and the adequacy of your
questions. For detailed instructions on how to write the final report see the next paragraph. Do
not forget to submit the final fieldwork report in time! Individual supervisors may prefer to set
other criteria for the fieldwork report, so discussing the assignment with your own supervisor
beforehand is crucial.
For students in Applied Anthropology, the final fieldwork report may or may not be a
moment to report back to the organization that you collaborate with. How you plan to report
back and whether or not you will use the final fieldwork report for that, primarily depends on
what you deem most suitable, but of course also on the agreements that have been made with the
organisation. During the first meeting of Writing Applied Anthropology you will discuss this, and
in the following week you will make a plan concerning the work that you will do for the
commissioning organisztion during the entire period until the end of the MCSA program.
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The supervising lecturer gives his/her approval for the fieldwork report in the form of a passing
grade (AVV) on a grade slip (15 ECTS credits). This certificate also serves as proof for the
purpose of acquiring a GSSS subsidy (or the remaining portion thereof) for the research project.
Fieldwork periods last for a minimum of 10 weeks and must be completed before the start of the
course on Ethnographic Writing. You will be expected to plan your fieldwork to fit within the
`Timeline Master Cultural and Social Anthropology, specialisation Applied Anthropology'. If you
wish to deviate from this timeline in any way, please contact your study adviser first. Permission
usually needs to be sought from the Examination Committee and will be granted only in
exceptional cases.
4.2. Final research report
At the end of the research period, you will write your final research report for your supervisor.
This report will be based to a large extent on the interim reports that you sent 'from the field.'
The deadline for the report is stated in the `Timeline Master Cultural and Social Anthropology'.
Below, you find a format on how to structure this report. However, in consultation with your
supervisor you may decide to write the report in a different form. You can also choose to write a
report that covers the wishes for an update by the organization as well. If that is the case, it is
important that you use understandable language, that is sensitive to the local concerns of the
organization. You can further discuss this in the class Writing Applied Anthropology, as well as
with your supervisor.
The report at least discusses the following:
1. Your entry 'in the field':
- Contacts, gatekeepers and sponsors:
- Who helped you getting entry (so-called sponsors), into what networks?
- Who entertained some kind of control on your access, or claimed you (gatekeepers), and
how did you deal with them and their actions?
- What 'informants' did you get in touch with, and what social groups or categories. Can
you organize them (compare backgrounds, age, gender, etc.: compatible or exceptional as
group or category within your broad research population)?
- Where did you live, with whom did you stay?
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- Language: communication problems? Use of an interpreter, and if so, how did that work
out?
- Any entry problems other than gatekeepers and language issues that affected your
research?
2. Central questions:
- What was the central question that guided your research, has it changed during the
research, and if so, why.
- What were the sub questions that guided your research, did all show to be relevant, did
other questions pop up? Why?
- What research activities did you undertake to answer these questions, and explain why
you chose these methods. Offer a clear overview of, and for, each sub question. For
example, in the case of interviews: with who (classify, for example: 7 Dutch-Chinese
owners of restaurants, 1st generation migrants), how many, about which topics in
particular. Also describe the type of research method (e.g., informal interviews: how,
where, what did this method offer).
3. Evaluation of your research:
- An overview of your research material:
- Interviews about . . .
- Observations about . . .
- Case studies about . . .
- Event analysis of . . .
- Photos
- Documents
- Etc.
- What went well/wrong, and why?
- Which methods and techniques offered the best insights, and why? Which did not?
- A brief summary of your preliminary research results: a first, provisional answer to your
(newly formulated) research question in a few points.
- In addition, discuss: What has interested you the most in the research? What struck you
the most? Any information and insights that surprised you, that were not expected, but
that you would like to give a place in the thesis?
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4. Reflection on your research.
- What obstacles and setbacks did you encounter, and how did you try to deal with these?
- What effect did this have on your research? Be frank: All researchers have to deal with
unexpected twists and turns in the research. The point is to acknowledge this and reflect
on how it affected the research, e.g. in your contact with informants or the topics that
you could discuss. Sometimes setbacks also have unintended positive results.
- What positive outcomes did/do you experience from your research, personally, socially,
and/or scholarly?
- Particularly relevant for students doing Applied research: analyse how you came to
understand the theoretical issues that you prepared to investigate in local terms.
5. A first draft of the table of contents of the thesis: of chapters and, preferably also of sections
of each chapter, structured along your main topics and argument. N.B.:
- Go back to your theoretical framework, the definitions and classifications as used in your
research proposal and define which theoretical discussions you wish to partake in with
your thesis.
- Legitimate your chapters and sections each in 3 sentences. What are they to contain?
- Keep in mind the maximum length in pages for your thesis (approx. 50-60 pages, or
25.000 words). Basic structure of the thesis: 10 p. Introduction; 3 chapters of 15 p.; 5 p.
Conclusion). For more info on the thesis requirements see the digital course guide
(http://studiegids.uva.nl/, go to ‘programmes’, choose your programme (Cultural and
Social Anthropology) and open ‘study schemes and planning’.
- Think about what ‘genre’ you deem fit for your thesis in relation to your main topic(s),
how these topics were discussed and empirically dealt with amongst the people
concerned, the argument and methods. Consider the use of vignettes, presentations of
dialogues (chats, interviews, life histories) or in-depth descriptions (from participant-
observation), the role and place of photographs and other visual research material, etc.
These matters will be elaborated upon in the ‘Ethnographic Writing’ module following
your period of fieldwork.
Length of the final research report: max. 10 pages words or approx. 3000 words.
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The report is discussed by the supervisor and student. The supervisor fills out an exam slip
('tentamenbriefje') with an 'AVV' (pass) when the research report is deemed satisfactory. This
covers the 15 EC of the research.
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5. THESIS AND THESIS SEMINAR
The final phase of the Master's program begins after students return to the UvA. Students
register for the course Writing Applied Anthropology (6 EC). Upon returning from the field the
students hand in their fieldwork report. The seminar Writing Applied Anthropology is designed
to give students the opportunity to share their thoughts about general issues encountered whilst
writing their theses. For the students in the specialization Applied Anthropology, three extra
dimensions are very important during this seminar:
- It gives students the possibility to discuss the form and language (as well as the necessity
or not to ‘translate’ Anthropological knowledge) in which they will communicate about
the results of their research to the commissioning organization
- It gives students the possibility to discuss the complexity of the undertaking of both
maintaining independence while working together with a commissioning organization.
It gives students the possibility to discuss how to show the theoretical significance of the
concrete recommendations they are going to present to the external partner.
The thesis seminar concludes with a mini-conference at which students present their work.
Throughout the whole program, the supervisor gives the student concrete guidance and is also
responsible for appointing the assessment committee and for the final assessment of the
student's thesis. The thesis is chiefly an argumentative text in which a theoretical argument is
formulated, based on and substantiated with the ethnographic material collected as part of the
fieldwork. This ethnographic material is supplemented with / embedded in a study of the most
relevant (theoretical) literature. See for more information and the requirements the digital course
guide http://www.studiegids.uva.nl/xmlpages/page/2017-2018-en.
Students who opt for writing their thesis in Dutch should use the guidelines as described
in their “Vaardighedengids”, see http://student.uva.nl/ca/az/content/semestergids/studie--en-
semestergids.html. Students who write in English, can use the Writing Skills and Style Guide [see
http://student.uva.nl/mcsa/az, go to ‘thesis’]. For matters that are not covered by the Skills and
Style Guide, we recommend that you utilize the style guide of the American Anthropological
Association (downloadable at http://www.aaanet.org/publications/style_guide.pdf).
Students can decide to conclude the MCSA with a hybrid thesis, in which they combine a
thesis with a text that is written especially for the organization. For more details, see § 5.3 , where
the length requirements are also discussed .
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5.1. OBJECTIVES OF A MASTER’S THESIS
To present a written account of a research carried out by the student individually; to demonstrate
familiarity with the methodological and ethical aspects of social-scientific research; demonstrate
the ability to extrapolate theoretical insights about society and culture from empirical knowledge;
demonstrate the ability to become familiar with the social world and beliefs of other societal
structures and cultures in practice and to analyse these in their own unique terms.
5.2. CONTENTS
The Master's thesis is written on the basis of the fieldwork material.. You and your lecturer will
agree on the timeline in which the thesis is to be written and revised, keeping in mind the
deadlines as stated in the supervision agreement that you both have signed. Upon your return
from fieldwork, you will also make your individual planning concerning the text that you will
provide for the commissioning organization. 1 When will you deliver it? This needs to be
communicated first with your supervisor and then with the commissioning organization. The
total of your work for both the thesis as well as the required text for the organization has a
maximum of 25.000 words, which you can divide in such a way that it fits with the requirements
agreed upon with the organization. The minimum amount of words for the academic thesis,
however, is 15.000 words. The general instructions on the thesis that you see below, show the
flexibility concerning the length of the constituting parts of the thesis. These lengths may vary,
depending on the work for the organization that you will produce.
Academic thesis:
Chapters are written and submitted in succession according to the deadlines you and your
supervisor agreed upon. The lecturer reads the submitted work and provides detailed comments
at each meeting (held no more than three weeks after each submission). Where he/she deems it
advisable, the lecturer may ask you to rewrite the discussed and annotated chapter first before
proceeding to work on the next chapter. This procedure continues until a draft of the thesis has
been completed. The supervisor makes a last round of comments and indicates whether he/she
wishes to review the final version before the concluding meeting.
Although there is no one-way of composing a good thesis, the basic organization of the
thesis can be as follows:
1. Introduction (approx. 7 to 10 pages, max 4000 words) including sections on the following
1 I use the word ‘text’ here, but the organization can also be content with a presentation or other form of output.
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• An introduction to the topic and research question: what is the empirical and/or
theoretical issue at hand?
• Elaboration of relevant theoretical debates (usually: as discussed in the theoretical section
of your research proposal).
• The relevance of the topic for present-day academic and/or public debates
- A brief discussion of your methodology and reflection upon the research, including
ethical questions.
2. Three chapters (approx. 35 to 45 pages in total) in which the central argument of the thesis is
developed. In these chapters the research findings are presented and discussed in such a way that
they contribute to the main argument of the thesis. Depending on the topic and the nature of the
research, chapters can be organized around the following subthemes – not necessarily in this
order:
• Introduction to the 'field' (setting or specific subtopic to be discussed in the particular
chapter), including secondary literature (for instance on regional or historical issues)
• Case studies or analyses of events
• Interviews and key-informants
• Other empirical data and discussions
3. Conclusion (approx. 3 to 5 pages) which:
• Briefly summarizes the central questions and research findings
• Discusses the central argument
• Elaborates upon the scope of the argument and its relevance for public concerns,
theoretical debates, or further research.
Final text for the organization:
See Appendix 2.
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5.3. REQUIREMENTS OF MA THESES
1. The thesis must be based on your own, original material. This material is usually
collected ‘in the field’. Alternatives to fieldwork may include: a study of source material,
a museum internship or a practice-oriented internship (provided there is an independent
research component resulting in an independent report).
2. Depending on the length of the work a student writes for the commissioning
organization, the thesis has a maximum between 15.000-25.000 words. The combination
of the two kinds of text has a minimum of 20.000 words. The text of the thesis is broken
down into different chapters and sections. The bibliography must contain a minimum of
15 titles.
3. The content of the thesis can have a theoretical character or a more
ethnographic/empirical character. A clear link between empirical material and theory
should however be discernible.
4. The thesis contains the formulae on plagiarism as formulated by the Examination
Committee of the Msc Cultural and Social Anthropology, signed by the author of the
thesis. See Appendix 1 for the formulae.
5. The thesis starts with a summary of the argument (max 1 page) in English.
6. The thesis must furthermore meet the following criteria:
1. It should define a clear research question followed by a presentation of the relevant
empirical/theoretical material, an analysis of that material and a conclusion.
2. It should provide a clear substantiation for the guiding theoretical principles and research
method chosen.
3. It should show a clear development in the argumentation / argumentative thread and a
conclusion that corresponds to and answers the research question.
4. Quotes must be reproduced free of error; literature cited in the text must correspond
with the bibliography and the bibliography itself must be compiled in conformity with the
prevailing guidelines. It is carefully edited on spelling and formulations. Theses that do
not meet these requirements or exceed the maximum length will not be considered for
examination.
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5.4. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA THESES
A thesis should include at least the following elements:
• Title page (title, and if applicable subtitle; your name; UvA ID number; the name of the
program; the name of the department (= GSSS); the name of your supervisors; date and
place of submission).
• Table of contents.
• Introduction.
• Body of the thesis (divided into chapters, in which the theoretical framework is
presented, the research method is explained, the argument is elaborated and the research
results are analyzed).
• Conclusion (where your theoretical and empirical findings come together).
• References (footnotes, endnotes or references in the text) – according to the Writing
Skills and Style Guide
• Bibliography.
The criteria used for assessing the thesis are as follows:
• Formulation of the problem/hypothesis: clarity and precision, originality, argumentation
and delineation; how is the formulation of the problem operationalized?
• Construction of the argument: systematic elaboration of the formulation of the problem,
logical consistency, linking of the components of the thesis, clear line of argument, well-
founded conclusions.
• Knowledge of the topic of the thesis shown by, among other things, the degree to which
and the manner in which one has made use of relevant literature.
• Scholarly insight: how are theories and methodologies used, justification of theoretical
assumptions, description and application of theoretical concepts (consistency in use),
novelty of the argument. Make clear how the concrete recommendations for the
commissioning client are theoretically informed, if that is the case. Use reflection on this
process of translation from theory to recommendation if this is enlightening.
• Quality of the research: manner of collecting material (operationalization of concepts,
research techniques, choice of empirical field), justification of method(s) used and the
choices made therein, reflection on positionality, analysis of the data.
• Accountability: accurate references and quotation of one’s sources, well recorded
quotations, footnotes, bibliography, accountability of any calculations.
• Language: precision, clarity, legibility
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• Presentation: layout, spelling, punctuation, orderly arrangement (table of contents, etc.),
titles of chapters and paragraphs etc.
• Degree of independence in above mentioned points.
• Degree of creativity in above mentioned points.
• In the thesis, the researcher shows independence as a researcher vis-à-vis commissioning
client.
• In the thesis or an additional text written for the commissioning organization, the
researcher is able to show the relevance and sometimes also concrete recommendations
that will support the commissioning organization.
• An AA thesis is assessed according to the same criteria as a non-AA one. The only
difference may concern its theorization; whereas in a ‘regular’ thesis the theorization is
usually quite explicit, AA research is undertaken upon the request by an external partner
who wants to get concrete recommendations or answers out of it. These are theoretically
informed, and it is important that these considerations and ‘translations’ are made
explicit.
5.5. CHECKLIST STYLE AND FORMAT
Included in the requirements for the style and format are:
• The thesis should have a title page which states: title, name of author, name of the
program, name of the department, name of the supervisors, student number, thesis type,
and place and date of submission.
• A legible, functional and consistent lay-out (lettering)
• Chapter titles and section titles
• Consistent typography with regards to chapter- and section titles
• Use of spacing between the lines, moderately wide margins (2,5 x 2,5 x 2,5 x 2,5)
• Numbering of pages
• No spelling- or typing mistakes
• Correct punctuation
• References and Bibliography: Please view the Vaardighedengids (Dutch) or Writing Skills
and Style Guide (English).
• Spacing 1,5, font- Times New Roman/Garamond (size 12)
• A functional and clear reproduction of diagrams, tables and graphs
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• Write for a reader. Remember that your thesis demands the attention of other readers and
that you will be responsible for someone's reading experience. Try to formulate clearly.
Avoid using sentences that are longer than three lines.
• Check and re-check spelling, grammar and punctuation. If you are not an English native
speaker, have your thesis read by one.
• The final version of the thesis also contains the text that you write for the organization. If
no final report has to be written for the organization, the thesis contains information on
how and in what way the student has communicated with the commissioning
organization. This can be done in the academic thesis, as part of the chapters that have
been written, or in a separate reflection that is added to the thesis in the form of an
appendix. If the commissioning organisztion wants to see a presentation as a result of the
research, a simple list of recommendations or a translation of the research results in
another form, this output should be added to the thesis (as a separate product).
• The final version of your thesis should be bound. You hand in this final version to your
supervisor at the deadline. Once your supervisor gives you green light, hand in two
additional bounded copies for the two additional readers. Also hand in a digital version of
your thesis to your supervisor and the programme secretariat. Be aware that a digital
version of your thesis must always be available for your supervisors and/or student
secretariat upon request.
6. REMARKS
At the start of the program all students sign a supervision agreement. The document also
mentions the deadline for the master’s thesis. You can also check the timeline (see 'schedules and
planning') for the information on the deadline that applies in the case of your program. For
graduation ceremony dates and exam application procedures, see the A-Z overview on the
Anthropology website: http://student.uva.nl/mcsa
To ensure that you can graduate at the earliest possible date after completing your thesis, you can
start the diploma application procedure immediately after receiving the grade for the fieldwork
report from your supervisor. You should apply at the latest before the 15th of the month in
which you wish to graduate. A student is furthermore required to submit a digital copy of the
thesis to the program secretariat, so that the thesis can be added to the University Library.
University Library only accepts Master's theses in digital format, as a single document. The
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administration is responsible for collecting all submitted theses and sending them to the library.
All this needs to be done before the graduation ceremony.
7. PLAGIARISM
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, to plagiarize is to take the work or an idea of
someone else and pass it off as one’s own. This means that if you copy, paraphrase or translate
materials from websites, books, magazines or any other source in your thesis without giving full
and proper credit to the original author(s), you are committing plagiarism. If you do so, you may
be facing the possibility of expulsion from your program and the University of Amsterdam, not
to mention having to live with the reputation of dishonesty.
The fair use of evidence from primary and secondary sources is the basis of academic discourse.
The abuse of this fairness undermines the very nature of scholarly research. Plagiarism is a form
of theft and fraud and should be avoided at all costs. If you find yourself in doubt about
quotations or correct use of a source, it is always a good idea to provide full information. Your
thesis supervisor or specialization tutor can help you if you have doubts. On the program website
you can find more specific information on the rules and regulations regarding plagiarism and
academic fraud (http://student.uva.nl/rmss/az/item/plagiarism-and-fraud.html).
8. EXAMINATION DATE
The study program concludes with the submission of the thesis to an assessment committee and
its defense at the final meeting. The committee's composition is determined by the official
supervisor, with the student's agreement, and consists of the supervisor him/herself and two
other members of academic staff selected by the supervisor. The supervisor approaches the other
candidates and fixes a date for the thesis meeting in consultation with all participants. Each
committee member receives a copy of the thesis at least three weeks before the date of the final
meeting. During this final meeting, which lasts approximately one hour and is chaired by the
supervisor, the student will be expected to present a substantiated defense of the written text. On
concluding the meeting, the student will be asked to leave while the assessment committee agrees
on a mark. The supervisor will subsequently inform the student of his or her mark and provide
any remarks in person. These remarks can be recorded and sent to the student upon demand. All
three members of the assessment committee sign the grade slip for this component.
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9. APPENDIX 1
Please view here the plagiarism formulae that you can cite in your thesis: "Verklaring: Ik heb de UvA regels ten aanzien van fraude en plagiaat gelezen en begrepen [http://student.uva.nl/mcsa/az/item/plagiarism-and-fraud.html]. Ik verklaar dat dit geschreven werkstuk volledig mijn eigen werk is, dat ik alle bronnen die ik heb gebruikt zorgvuldig en correct heb aangegeven, en dat ik volgens de regels heb geciteerd. Ik heb dit werkstuk, in deze of gewijzigde versie, niet eerder ingediend voor een ander vak of als onderdeel van een ander werkstuk." "Declaration: I have read and understood the University of Amsterdam plagiarism policy [http://student.uva.nl/mcsa/az/item/plagiarism-and-fraud.html]. I declare that this assignment is entirely my own work, all sources have been properly acknowledged, and that I have not previously submitted this work, or any version of it, for assessment in any other paper."
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10. APPENDIX 2
Final work for the commissioning organization
Msc Cultural and Social Anthropology, Specialization Applied Anthropology
This appendix is only made to support students, therefore not everything mentioned here is
binding. While the instructions on the title page are mandatory, the structure of the content of
the report may be different.
Title page: Msc Cultural and Social Anthropology, specialization Applied Anthropology Date: Name student: Student ID nr and email address: Name report / concluding text:
More detailed information about the research internship: Research intern name: Telephone Academic supervisor of the research internship (lecturer) Name Telephone E-mail …….@uva.nl Organisation providing internship Name Address Telephone E-mail Internship supervisor/contact person at the commissioning organisation Name Function Telephone E-mail Contents:
1. Objectives and research questions of the project as originally defined 2. Changes to the objectives and research questions in the course of time 3. Detailed description of the activities undertaken within the framework of the project 4. Results and analysis 5. Recommendations 6. Financial report
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11. APPENDIX 3 TIMELINE APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
September 2018
Start Key Debates in Anthropology: two weekly meetings of three hours each, literature study and assignments.
October – December 2018
The two parallel taught courses Theory for Ethnographic Practice and Designing Fieldwork start. For each course a weekly meeting of three hours, plus literature study and assignments.
October 2018
First contact is made with the commissioning organization
October 2018
A supervisor will be assigned to each student. Parallel to the courses, the student follows an individual trajectory with the supervisor, who advises the student on readings and on the way the student should develop the research proposal.
December 2018
Revision and finalization of the research proposal that you submit to your supervisor for assessment.
January - March 2019
Fieldwork: Fieldwork should last 10 weeks. You are required to be back in Amsterdam by the 15th of March 2019
End of March 2019
The student writes the fieldwork report and hands it in with the supervisor. For details on the requirements, view http://www.student.uva.nl/mcsa Go to Fieldwork → Fieldwork guidelines and then choose Final Fieldwork Report CSA.
Week of 18 March 2019
First meeting Writing Applied Anthropology. Start writing your thesis and maintain close contact with your individual supervisor.
21 June 2019
Deadline Master thesis. If your thesis is not meeting the minimum requirements, you will get a chance to re-examination before 2 August 2019.
First half of July 2019
Defense of the Master thesis. The examination commission is formed by your supervisor, the assigned second reader and one fellow staff member who is asked by the supervisor. The supervisor also proposes a date for the defense of your thesis.
2 August 2019
Re-examination rewritten version of the thesis, if required. Only students that have handed in their finalized thesis for the deadline of 21 June 2019, can use this resit opportunity. The defense of the thesis for the examination commission takes place in August.
September 2019
Graduation ceremony. Information about the graduation: http://www.student.uva.nl/mcsa/az → graduation. Questions: antropologie@uva.nl