Term paper or seminar paper
Imke Buß; Jutta Rump; Janina Kaiser; Melanie Schiedhelm; Petra Schorat-Waly
a) Description
Term papers and seminar papers are independent, written assignments that are completed in self-study within a specified period of time. The examinee should show that he or she can work on a problem area independently and using standard subject-specific methods within a limited period of time. An appropriate written presentation is also an essential element of term papers. A topic for this is either determined by the education provider or based on a suggestion from the student.
What is it good for?
This form of examination is used in particular to explore a topic through your own literature research and to present it in a scientifically sound manner. In term papers and seminar papers, students should also learn methodological skills, e.g. well-founded literature research, selection and evaluation, scientific argumentation and writing as well as citation. The use of quantitative or qualitative research methods may be required as part of a term paper.
Procedure
The procedure presented below is from the supervisor's point of view.
1. Preliminary arrangements: Agreement on the topic and topic limitation with regard to the time frame, recording the expectations of quality and scientific quality, possibly agreement on further meetings or definition of a supervision plan
2.Usually a maximum of 8 weeks)
3. Supervision of the work within the agreed framework
4. Review of the work within the appropriate correction period
5. Feedback discussion and technical justification of the assessment
Group size
The work involved in supervising and correcting term papers and seminar papers is significantly greater than for written examinations. For this reason, term papers are generally used as examinations in courses with up to 30 students.
Time required
Term papers and seminar papers are either written in parallel with the course or during the lecture-free period. Depending on the subject culture, the requirements for term papers and seminar papers may vary. Ideally, term papers should be written several times before the final thesis.
Room facilities
Students generally use the library facilities, which should provide sufficient individual workstations. This is particularly important as not all students have good, undisturbed study facilities at home.
Material
Lecturers can provide reading notes or literature lists. In order to make the assessment criteria transparent, it can be useful to provide students with relevant information.
b) How do term papers and seminar papers promote and challenge the following dimensions of diversity?
Prior professional experience and knowledge
Prior knowledge and experience can easily be taken into account during the preparation phase and through close consultation with lecturers, provided that students are involved in the selection of topics. In addition, students can acquire missing knowledge through research. Academic work is a major challenge for many students. This prior experience and the knowledge to be built up during their studies are particularly well promoted if students are supported in terms of content and methodology through courses on the subject of scientific work or similar as well as feedback from their education.
Core competence independent work & learning
Independent work is strongly promoted by the term paper due to the necessary research and analysis work. This is particularly true when students have to set learning objectives themselves (or with the support of teachers) (especially when they define their own topic). The organization of the learning process, including appropriate time management, strongly encourages and demands independent learning.
Motivation to study
Intrinsically motivated students in particular have the opportunity to work intensively on a topic (of their choice) through seminars and assignments.
Academic & social integration
Due to the individual work involved, term papers and seminar papers tend to promote and demand little social integration. An exchange can take place in the form of tandem partners. Tandems can be formed according to the same method or similar topics, carry out mutual proofreading, discuss content, etc. and thus support peer-to-peer exchange.
Academic integration is high if intensive supervision and final teacher feedback is provided in individual discussions.
Time and location restrictions
The time and location restrictions are low if longer processing times are provided for seminar papers and assignments.
Literature
Friedrich, H.; Mandl, H. (eds.) (1992): Lern- und Denkstrategien. Analysis and intervention. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Friedrich, H. F. (1995): Analysis and promotion of cognitive learning strategies. In: Empirical Pedagogy (9 (2)), pp. 115-153.
Jahn, D.; Kenner, A. (2015): Writing term papers. In: University didactic guidelines 05.2015.
Mandl, H.; Friedrich, H. F. (eds.) (2006): Handbook of learning strategies. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Zwingenberger, A.; Banzer, R.; Spiroudis, E. (2014): Assessing academic writing. In Neues Handbuch Hochschullehre (A.3.14).
Citation
Buß, Imke; Rump, Jutta; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra (2017): Term papers and seminar papers. In: Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra: Toolbox for good education in a diverse student body. Working Papers of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society, No. 6. www.hwg-lu.de/arbeitspapiere
Use according to Creative Commons under attribution (please use the citation provided) and for non-commercial purposes.