Note (not to be included in the project, please delete)
Your key source of guidance in the preparation of the project and the thesis is your advisor, but there are also general requirementsthat any evaluation committee will take into account. Deviationsfrom this structure, if they occur, typically require solid justification.
We expect the thesis project to be around 7-10 pages long. Theminimum required length for the thesis written in English is 50 so-called norm-pages (90 000 characters, including breaks, of theplain text, i.e. without the list of references, the annotation, and notes; for theses written in Polish, the minimum required length is60 norm-pages, or 108 000 characters,
It is recommended that the thesis is no longer than 100 norm-pages for the thesis written in English and 110 norm-pages for thethesis written in Polish and. In general, lengthiness of the text isnot considered a virtue; on the contrary, ability to write a concisetext is valued positively. At the same time, if the topic of thethesis so requires, a longer text is of course not a problem.
Plagiarism is taken extremely seriously, and any signs ofplagiarism in the theses are automatically reported to thedisciplinary committee of the Faculty.
The language of the project corresponds to the language of thethesis. It is possible to write and defend a thesis in Polish and English language.
What follows is the typically expected structure of a thesis proposal.
Introduction to the topic
Outline briefly the topic to be addressed in the thesis, and itspolitical/social as well as scholarly relevance. Political and socialrelevance is given by the ability of the project and the thesis to speak to important topics, issues, and problems in the realm ofinternational politics, broadly defined. Scholarly relevance isgiven by the ability of the project and the thesis to draw on and contribute to the existing stock of knowledge, as reflected in academic literature.
When identifying a suitable topic, keep in mind the relativebrevity of the thesis and the need to engage with the topic in sufficient depth. The more broadly the topic is defined, the more difficult it is to achieve the necessary analytical depth, on therelatively limited space provided. Consult with the thesis advisor, and consider this issue very carefully.
Research target, research question
Identify a specific research target of the planned thesis. In otherwords, define relatively precisely the criterion against which itwill be possible to judge whether the projected has beensuccessfully implemented. Formulate this research target also as a specific, well-defined, cogent research question (RQ) which thethesis will seek to answer. In some cases one research questioncan be just enough, in other cases having a few research questionsmay be suitable as well. In general, for theses that seek to explainsomething, RQs should be conceived as why…, while for thesesthat are interpretive (e.g. discourse analytical studies) RQs shouldbe conceived as how… That is, when the target is explanatory, RQ(s) should be normally either articulated so that a certain stateis to be explained through a (causal) relationship betweenphenomena (A -> B). When the target is interpretive, RQ seeks to understand and explore the conditions of how the state is possible(e.g. what are the historical conditions of emergence of a certaindiscourse and its constitutive effects on subjects, their interests ornorms governing their actions).
Literature review
Provide a brief review of key scholarly resources you will drawon in your thesis. At the time of writing the project, you should bewell familiar with the sources and able to summarize their keyinsights
relevant for the thesis. The review should be synthetic in itsnature, i.e. it should represent an informed, structured summary ofthe relevant insights from the literature, possibly identifyingexisting gaps, not a mere list of potentially relevant sources. Normally, it is likely that the thesis is in its structure, theoreticalbackground, and the empirical-analytical approach inspired by one or a synthesis of two or more of these key sources. Thatmeans that the literature covered in this section should be directlyand as closely as possible related to the specific topic and specificresearch question addressed in the thesis. In the very exceptionalcases in which no scholarly literature exists directly on the topicof the thesis, the project needs to elaborate on the scholarlyliterature that is closest and most relevant to the topic, even if itdoes not match it perfectly.
This literature review should cover at least 10 most importantsources, possibly with a brief list of further relevant references.
Conceptual and theoretical framework, researchhypotheses
In this section, outline briefly the key concepts the thesis willwork with. Typically, the key concept of the thesis correspondsvery closely to the topic of the thesis and is also captured in theresearch question. In explanatory research, the key concepts are normally those corresponding to the dependent variable and to thekey independent variable or variables. Specify, again briefly, whattheoretical framework or frameworks you will draw on in ourresearch, and refer to the key authors with whose theoretical textsyou will work. In other words, what are the theories and modelsthat will guide you in your search for the answers to your researchquestions? In most cases, it is not suitable to stay on the most general level of the grand theories of international relations, but instead to use a more specific model, with correspondingmechanisms, from that given framework.
For example, it is often not suitable to use merely ‘realism’ as thetheoretical framework, but instead, for example, ‘balance ofpower’ as one specific model inherent in the realist theory, but more specific and empirically better tractable. Similarly, it is oftenof little value to claim that you use post- structuralism as thetheoretical framework, without specifying which concrete strandof post-structural theorizing will guide your analysis.
Sometimes students do not seek to engage directly with theapplication or an assessment of a specific theory, but are ratherinterested ‘only’ in the description of an important phenomenon. That is absolutely possible, but it is important to keep in mind thatthe description needs to be well structured
and systematic, and this is always achieved only though carefulconceptualization of the phenomenon of interest. Yet, the act ofconceptualization itself is inherently a theoretical exerciseanyway, in that every concept is derived from one or more theories. Hence, in such cases students should be aware of and make clear these theoretical roots of the concepts they work with, even if their target is not to engage with the theories directly.
Similarly, students with strongly policy-oriented interests are welcome to write theses on policy-related topics. Yet, they shouldunderstand and make clear in their theses that underlying variouspolicies and practical decision-making are implicit or explicit theories and models of what effects the policies and decisions are supposed to bring about. Such theoretical underpinnings of thepolicies and problems dealt with in the thesis, even if possiblyquite eclectic, need to be explicitly discussed.
Theses topics which border other disciplines, or that fall primarilyinto other disciplines than international relations and politicalscience proper, such as law, economics, sociology, or history, need to develop the connection to the discipline of internationalrelations, wherever possible. That means, it is the responsibility ofthe student to make himself or herself familiar with the relevantexisting interdisciplinary research that provides the connectionbetween the respective disciplines and international relations. Itrarely happens, if ever at all, that no such relevant connectionswould exist in the scholarly literature. This may be a challenge forthe student, as such inter-disciplinary literature is sometimes not covered in the compulsory international relations curriculum. Hence, the student needs to actively seek such works, beyondwhat is necessarily required in the courses forming theprogramme of International Relations.
Very importantly, and generally, the project needs to address themethodological considerations so that the RQ and methods usedto answer the question are duly linked. It need to be clear whetherthe thesis seeks to e.g., establish recurrent patterns of covariationthat can be used to tentatively establish a relationship betweenindependent and dependent variable, explore causal mechanismsor provide deep interpretation of sufficiently documenteddiscursive patterns.
Based on the outlined theoretical framework, on the literaturepresented in the literature review, and on your own reasoning, youshould be able to formulate one or more research hypotheses, i.e. reasoned expected answers to your research questions. These canbe descriptive (hypotheses of how things are) or explanatory(hypotheses of why things are the way they are). In some researchtraditions (e.g. in post-positivist research) this may not besuitable, but this should be carefully considered and discussed
with the advisor. Research design in interpretive projects will not operate with concepts of dependent and independent variable, but is expected to outline the conceptual framework of interpretationdrawing on an existing paradigm (e.g., Critical DiscourseAnalysis) that should be duly implemented in the actual analysis.
Empirical data and analytical technique
Identify as closely as possible the key sources of primary data youwill use in your research. That is, outline the operationalization ofthe key concepts used, typically corresponding to the keyphenomenon of interest in the thesis. In explanatory research, thismeans operationalization first and foremost of the dependentvariable and of the key independent variable(s). Indicate the exactsources from which the data necessary for the successfulanswering of the research question will be collected. In interpretive research, it is similarly key to establish a conceptualframework for interpretation and define and delimit the corpus ofsource material in terms of e.g., time period, sites from wheredocuments are collected etc.
Describe briefly the analytical technique to be used. Do not limit yourself to shallow statements indicating you will use e.g. quantitative methods or a comparative method, or similarly. Bemore specific and provide a brief but convincing description ofhow the empirical data will be analysed (e.g. specific quantitativetechnique suitable for the given type of data, specific case selection choice for case study research, specific comparativetechnique, specific type of discourse analysis, etc.). Refer to relevant methodological literature attending to the method youwill use.
Planned thesis outline
Present the expected thesis outline. Typically, an empiricallyoriented thesis will follow the following or similar structure:
• – Introduction
• – Conceptual/theoretical framework
• – Data
• – Methods
• – Empirical-analytical section 1
• – (possibly Empirical-analytical section 2)
• – Conclusions
Note that each thesis needs to contain also a review of therelevant literature. It can be presented in one section with theconceptual/theoretical framework, it can be a part of theintroduction, or it can constitute a separate section (typicallyright after the introduction).
References
List of references to the works referred to in the project, using the standard European citation format ISO 690. Students can consider using a citation manager (such as Mendeley, Zotero,…).
