Academic Skills

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/E_EBE1_ACSK

Course Objective

This course lays the foundations for your Academic and Research Skills. The focus is on searching and using relevant academic and non-academic sources, argumentation, academic writing in English including citing sources, and presenting and discussing the results. You are supposed to write an academic essay to demonstrate (the development of) your Academic and Research Skills. After successfully completing this course you: - are able to collect valid and reliable information about a specific topic, in particular a current socioeconomic debate (Academic and Research skills); - are able to write essays that have order and a logical structure (Academic and Research Skills); - are able to cite and acknowledge sources accurately and completely (Academic and Research Skills); - can write academic texts in correct English (grammar, spelling, sentence structure, style and punctuation (Academic and Research Skills); - are able to construct balanced argumentation (Academic and Research Skills); - understand what science and scientific research refer to (Bridging Theory and Practice – Knowledge); - know the main characteristics of scientific research (Bridging Theory and Practice – Knowledge); - know what rationality refers to (Bridging Theory and Practice – Knowledge); - are able to recognize the three types of rationality in socioeconomic debates (Bridging Theory and Practice
- Application); - can construct argumentation schemes to analyze socioeconomic debates (Bridging Theory and Practice
- Application); - are able as a team member to give feedback to and receive it from your ‘peers’ (Social Professional Skills); - can use the feedback from your tutor and your peers to improve your academic texts (Social Professional Skills); - can present the main findings of your research to tutors and students both in person (oral presentation) and in writing (essay) (Social Professional Skills); - are aware of the importance of academic skills during the bachelor’s program, including citing and acknowledging sources accurately and completely (Self-Awareness); - are aware of academic integrity and ethical dilemmas in scientific research (Self-Awareness).

Course Content

The Academic Skills course is part of the Academic Core of the Economics and Business Economics program. The course is aimed at developing your general research skills. This is done on the basis of a current economic social debate. In a team you will write an academic essay that is based on an extensive analysis of arguments (pro and con).

Teaching Methods

Lectures Tutorials

Method of Assessment

Written exam
- Individual assessment Academic essay
- Team assessment NOTE: Obtaining study credits for this course is pending on fulfilling your Language Test (Taaltoets) requirements.

Literature

- Akerlof, G.A. (2020). Sins of Omission and the Practice of Economics. Journal of Economic , 58(2), 405-418
- Bouwmeester, O. (2018). The social construction of rationality. Policy debates and the power of good reasons. Abingdon/New York: Routledge.
- Bouwmeester, O. (2009). Strategic advice as weighing arguments (Strategisch advies als het wegen van argumenten). In: Melker, G.P., Have, W. ten, Filipović, N., & Eenennaam, F. van (Eds.). Strategie maakt het verschil, p. 152-160. Amsterdam: Mediawerf Uitgevers. (Chapter 12, available in English and in Dutch)
- Christensen, L.B., Johnson, R.B., & Turner, L.A. (2014). Research methods, design, and analysis (global edition). Harlow (UK): Pearson (Chapter 1)
- Thaler, R.H. (2016). Behavioral Economics: Past, Present, and Future. American Economic Review, 106(7), 1577-1600

Target Audience

First year students Economics and Business Economics

Entry Requirements

None

Recommended background knowledge

None