LBS 4999 - Senior Thesis II (4)

Tuesday,Thursday

03:00 PM - 04:47 PM

Main Campus Campus | Hannah Hall | Room 225

LBS 4999 is the second course of a two course sequence for Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies majors, and represents a culmination of a rigorous academic program of interdisciplinary learning. The emphasis in Senior Thesis II is on the refinement and completion of the thesis project begun in Senior Thesis I. 

Prerequisites/Comments: LBS 495 or LBS 4998 and permission of instructor. Satisfies the university requirement for a writing intensive course in general education. Prerequisite for writing intensive: completion of the university writing foundation requirement. WRT 1060 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher. This course is offered as a partially online course. Ten to seventy-five percent of contact hours (in-class time) are replaced with online activities. (Formerly LBS 496)

LBS 4999 fulfills the General Education requirements for the Capstone Experience. Completion of this course satisfies the requirement for Writing Intensive in the Major. 

E-mail: sifonis@oakland.edu

Office: 222 Pryale hall Office Phone: 248-370-4680 

Office Hours: TR: 9:00 - 10:30 

• appropriate use of a variety of methods of inquiry and a recognition of ethical considerations that may arise 

• the ability to integrate the knowledge learned in general education and its relevance to the student’s life and career Writing Intensive in the Major 

• knowledge of the elements, writing processes, and organizing strategies for creating analytical and expository prose 

• effective rhetorical strategies appropriate to the topic, audience, context, and purpose 

students to exchange ideas, review drafts and critique visual elements. The entire thesis, from proposal to finished product, must meet high scholarly standards and be approved by both the thesis professor and individual professor mentor. The resulting scholarly product (research paper/and creative project, oral presentation) serves as a measurable indication of your synthesis of all preceding BALS coursework. 

Moodle - Syllabus, assignment descriptions, links to useful materials, and other course material will be posted on the LBS 4999 Moodle web site. Students are responsible for all Moodle postings and should plan on checking the Moodle site regularly. 

Research Guidelines - LBS 4999 has a Course Page posted on the Kresge Library web site. The Course Page outlines a wide range of sources for research in the six liberal arts areas. Links for MLA and Chicago Manual formats are included. The Course Page can be accessed through the Kresge Library Home page or using the link on the LBS 4999 Moodle site. 

Presentations - Two oral presentations with accompanying PowerPoint or other presentation software are required for the course. The first presentation will give you the opportunity to inform your fellow classmates of the results of the research engaged in since the beginning of the semester. This Thesis Research & Insights presentation is worth 15 points. The second presentation is a presentation of your final thesis including background, research, insights/synthesis and integration. This presentation will occur at the end of the semester in a formal symposium open to the university - the BALS Research Symposium. This event celebrates the scholarly accomplishments of individual thesis candidates. The Final Thesis presentation is worth 30 points. The presentations will be evaluated on 

• Organization 

• Clarity 

• Style 

• Content 

• Ability to communicate thesis problem, research process and insights 

Written Thesis Components - There are several written components that will be completed this semester that will help students develop the full thesis they will turn in at the end of the semester. These include the Thesis Abstract, a Thesis Background/Literature Revision Draft, a Draft of the Methods and the Full Methods, the Research Findings and Insights, the Full Thesis Draft. 

The final version of the thesis should be a minimum of 40 pages (25 pages if the thesis has a substantial non-written component) and includes revisions of: 

• Abstract 

• Background/Literature review 

• Methods 

• Research Findings 

• Insights and Synthesis 

• Bibliography/Reference section 

Potential non-written thesis components - It is also possible for a senior thesis to include a non-written component (gallery show, film, performance piece, philanthropy, etc.). This non-written component should contribute substantially to the thesis problem being addressed either as commentary, example of the problem being addressed or the 

form of a potential solution to the problem (to name a few examples). Students intending to include a non-written component in their thesis need to declare to the instructor of the course and their thesis advisor their intention to do so before the fourth week of class. This official declaration of intent needs to include a written explanation of the nature of the component, how it supplements the thesis and the details of its instantiation. A thesis with a non-written component will have a portion of the total points be divided amongst the written and non-written components. The percentage will vary depending on how ambitious the other component is. However, that thesis will be would be worth 60% (minimum of 25 pages with non-thesis component, minimum 40 without) 

Event Response Summaries - A useful way to learn how to engage in disciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiry is to hear established scholars discuss their research. As in LBS 4998, the class will collaborate to generate a working list of lectures and symposia that include events sponsored by all CAS departments and relevant lectures or events off campus. Students in the course will use the list to choose four lectures or symposiums to attend during the semester. Following their attendance at the lecture, students will write a brief response paper (no more than 300 words), discussing the lecture/event attended (worth 20 total points). As was true for last semester, students should pay attention to presentation style and content delivery. However, this semester, students should also pay particular attention to how the problem was generated and studied; what methods were used to investigate the problem and the conclusions/insights reached on the basis of the research. The event response summaries should reflect this focus. 

Discussion Logs - This course requires both independent work and teamwork. The independent work occurs outside of class and the teamwork occurs in class or online in Moodle as students help each other work through the thesis. A large component of this in-class work includes discussion of the weekly assignments, readings and issues related to conducting the research and further developing and completing the thesis. In order to contribute meaningfully in class, it is important that students be prepared for the work that is to occur in class. To help everyone stay on track, each class requires students to prepare a discussion log for that week’s class. Each discussion log will be evaluated on a 0-3 scale (1= poor quality, 3 = high quality). Sometimes the discussion logs will be worth more points depending on whether students have been asked to provide feedback on each other’s work that week. Portfolio - Because Liberal Studies students taking this course will be graduating this year, a component of the course involves completing and refining their ePortfolio. This portfolio should have been created in LBS 1000 and added to and refined as the students progressed through their major. Completing the portfolio during the semester will help students organize their body of work and highlight the skills and knowledge they acquired during their education. Completing their portfolio should help them transition successfully to the next stage of their lives whether that be in the workforce or graduate school. The portfolio component will be worth 20 points and will be assessed at midterm (10 points) and at the end of the semester (10 points) 

Grade Determination 

Thesis Abstract 10 Thesis Background/Literature Revision Draft 10 Draft Methods 5 Full Methods 10 Research Findings and Insights 10 Full Thesis Draft 25 Final Thesis 100 Thesis Research & Insights presentation 15 Symposium Presentation 30 Event Response Summaries 20 Participation/Collaboration/Mentoring ~40 Midterm Portfolio 10 Portfolio 10 

The following grading scale will be used for this course: 

GRADE ENTERED INTO OU SYSTEM 

PERCENTAGE RANGE (CLASS PERFORMANCE) 

MERIT POINTS ON TRANSCRIPT A 93% - 100% 4.0 A- 90% - 92% 3.7 B+ 87% - 89% 3.3 B 83% - 86% 3.0 B- 80% - 82% 2.7 C+ 77% - 79% 2.3 C 73% - 76% 2.0 C- 70% - 72% 1.7 D+ 67% - 69% 1.3 D 60% - 66% 1.0 F <59% 0.0