This course is an introduction to international students about research standards but also a more general introduction to academic standards in Germany. It consists of a seminar plus a compulsory tutorial.

Main topics covered are: Different types of academic text production and how to deal with it; Techniques of efficient reading and making excerpts; how to handle large amounts of literature; Writing a seminar paper: the main steps (problem statement, identifying a research question; identifying good literature); Standards of citation, and how to avoid plagiarism; How to use our library; databases (SSCI); software to manage citations; formal aspects of writing seminar papers; structuring your argument; Organising the writing process; How to make good seminar presentations

Participation in the seminar is reserved for students of MA Development and Governance