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SSCI594b,Master’sThesisSyllabusUnits:2Term—Day—Time:Spring2017,OnlineLocation:OnlineInstructor:ElisabethJ.SedanoOffice:AHFB57CRegularOfficeHours:Tue10-11amPTandThur1-2pmPTAlsoavailableotherdaysandtimesbyappointmentviaemail.ContactInfo:[email protected],213-740-9582,http://www.bluejeans.com/u/sedanoLibraryHelp:KatharinPeterOffice:VKCB40AOfficeHours:ByappointmentContactInfo:[email protected],213-740-1700(office)ITHelp:RichardTsungOffice:AHF145DOfficeHours:ByappointmentContactInfo:[email protected],213-821-4415(office)
SSCI594bSyllabus,Page2of6
CourseDescriptionThiscourseanditsprerequisite,SSCI594a,arerequiredfortheMasterofSciencedegreeinGeographicInformationScienceandTechnology(GIST)Program;theyarenotapplicabletotheGISTGraduateCertificateprogramoranyotherSSIprograms.Thepurposeofthesecoursesistocompleteacapstoneprojectinthespatialsciences,culminatingstudents’experiencesintheM.S.inGISTProgramandvalidatingthemasmasterpractitioners.BaseduponthethesisproposalandthesisworkcompletedinSSCI594aandwiththeapprovaloftheSpatialSciencesInstitutefaculty,studentsshouldbeundertakingSSCI594bpreparedtocompletetheirthesiswritingandsuccessfullydefendtheirtheses.
LearningObjectivesOncompletionofthiscourse,studentswillbeableto:
• DesignandexecuteameaningfulresearchprojectthatdemonstratesspatialthinkingandusestheknowledgeandskillslearnedwhileintheGISTProgram.
• Undertaketheresearchprocessandbeawareofresearchobligationsandpitfalls.• Articulateresearchorprojectobjectivesclearly,situateresearchwithinanacademicor
scholarlycontext,stateclaimsandevidenceclearly,assessvalidityofclaims,evidence,outcomes,andresults.
• UtilizetheMicrosoftOfficeTMsoftwaresuiteandabibliographicreferencemanagercompetentlyandefficientlytoproducedocumentsthatmeetM.S.inGISTProgramrequirementsandshowyourworktoadvantage.
• Narratetheresearchprocessclearlyintheformofaformalmulti-chaptermaster’sthesismanuscript,structuredaccordingtotheapprovedM.S.inGISTthesisstyle.
• Describeyourmaster’sresearchclearlyandsuccinctly,inwrittenandoralforms,tofaculty,mentors,andpotentialsponsors.
Prerequisite(s):SSCI594aCo-Requisite(s):NoneConcurrentEnrollment:NoneRecommendedPreparation:StudentsmustbeenrolledintheM.S.inGISTProgramandhaveanapprovedthesisprospectusorproposal,withanadvisorandcommitteemembersassigned.
CourseNotesThepreparationanddefenseofyourmaster’sthesisistheculminatingexperienceintheM.S.inGISTProgram.Studentsareexpectedtoworkwithahighlevelofself-motivation.Successfulstudentsexerciseinitiativeandexhibitstrongcommunicationskillsinworkingwiththeiradvisorsandcommitteemembers.
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Thiscourserequiresindividualeffortthatisoverseenbythecourseinstructor,yourThesisAdvisor.Weeklyorbi-weeklymeetingswillbeheldtodiscussprogressandreviewsubmitteddocuments.Oncetheresearchandnecessaryanalysisandresultscompilationarecompleted,thenindividualthesischapterswillbewrittenandrevisediterativelyuntilwebothagreethatthedocumentisreadyforsubmissiontotheThesisCommittee.Ifthecommitteeagrees,thenaDefenseofyourthesiswillbeheld.FollowingsuccessfulcompletionoftheDefense,themanuscriptisrevisedafinaltimeandonceapproved,canbeuploaded.
Uponsuccessfulcompletionofthethesis,theIn-Progress(IP)gradereceivedinSSCI594awillbeconvertedtoPassing(P),andstudentsalsowillreceiveaPassing(P)gradeforSSCI594b.
TechnologicalandCommunicationRequirementsEverystudentmusthavethefollowingtechnologyrequirements:
• AcomputerwithafastInternetconnection.• Afunctionalwebcamandamicrophoneforusewheneverapresentationormeetingis
scheduled.• Acurrentwebbrowser-generallyitisagoodideatohavemorethanoneinstalledon
yourcomputerasbrowserrequirementsareconstantlyevolvingandtheirabilitytoworkwithvariousapplicationsvaries.
Blackboard–Whileeachstudentwillcompletehisorherworkindependently,acourseBlackboardsiteisavailabletoprovideguidanceabouttherequiredadministrativeprocessesandmanuscriptformat.Linkstonecessarytimetables,proceduresandformswillbefoundhereaswellasdiscussionboardsthroughwhichyoucanshareideasandsupportwithotherthesisstudents.Duringthefirstweekofthesemester,youshouldconfirmthatyoucanaccesstheBlackboardsite.Pleasereadpromptlyallcommunicationsthataresentthroughit.
SSIserverandtechsupport–UnlikeothercoursesintheGISTProgram,studentsinthiscoursewillutilizetheSpatialSciencesInstituteServeronlyforindependentthesiswork.YouaccesstheServerat:https://gistonline.usc.edu/.Ifyouareunabletoconnecttotheserverorexperienceanytypeoftechnicalissues,sendanemailtoSSITechSupportatspatial_support@dornsife.usc.eduandcopy(cc)meontheemail.BesuretobespecificinemailsenttoSSISupportwithrespecttotheproblemyouareexperiencing.
Meetingsandpresentations(includingdefenses)–BlueJeansisabrowser-basedservicethatfacilitatessynchronous,interactivesessionswithvoice/videoandshareddesktopcapabilitiesbetweentwoormorepeople;thisistheprimaryforumforourindividualmeetingsandpresentations.TouseBlueJeans,you’llneedawebcamonacomputerwithafastinternetconnection.Itisusefulalsotohaveaphone(mobileorlandline)onhandincasethereareissueswiththewebcamaudio.
Communications–Thisisadistancelearningcourse,somanyofourinteractionswillbeasynchronous(notatthesametime).AllmaterialstobehandedinwillbesubmittedviaBlackboardorviaemail.Pleasebesurethatyoureadassoonaspossibleallemailsentfrom
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Blackboardorfromme.ChecknowtomakesurethatmailsentfromboththeUSCBlackboardaccountsanddirectlyfrommyusc.eduaccountdoesnotgointoyourjunkmail!
RequiredReadingsandSupplementaryMaterialsStudentswillcontinuetorefertothetextbooksthatwererequiredinSSCI594a:
1. TurabianK.L,W.C.Booth,G.G.Colomb,andJ.M.Williams2013.Amanualforwritersofresearchpapers,theses,anddissertations.8thed.Chicago,IL:UniversityofChicagoPress.
ThisbookprovidesadetailedreferencetotheChicago16theditionreferenceandcitationstylethatmustbeusedtomeettheSSIGISTthesisformatrequirements.
2. Montello,D.R.andP.C.Sutton2013.Anintroductiontoscientificresearchmethodsingeographyandenvironmentalstudies.2nded.LosAngeles,CA:Sage.
ThisbookprovidesguidanceontheundertakinganddesignofresearchinSpatialScience.
DescriptionandAssessmentofAssignmentsTherearenoformalassignmentsinthiscourse.Inconsultationwiththecourseinstructor,yourThesisAdvisor,studentsdevelopapersonalworkschedulewithspecifieddeliverables.Weeklyorbi-weeklyindividualmeetingswillbeheldonlinetodiscusssubmitteddeliverablesandrevisetheworkplanifneeded.
GradingBreakdownSincetherearenoassignments,thereisnoassignmentgradesinthiscourse.CompletionofthiscourseisdeterminedwheneachmemberofyourThesisCommitteedigitallysignstheApprovaltoUploadform.Thisformissignedaftersuccessfulcompletionoftheoraldefenseandacceptancebyeachcommitteememberofthethesisdocument.
CourseScheduleInconsultationwiththecourseinstructor,eachstudentwilldevelophisorherownworkscheduleforthecourse.ThisschedulewillbeuploadedintoBbatthebeginningofthesemesterandrevisedasneededastheworkprogresses.
Therearetwopossibleschedulestofollowinthiscourse.Option1isveryaggressiveandrequiresthatallofthehands-onprojectworkhasalreadybeencompletedbythebeginningofthissemester.Thustheworkcompletedinthissemesterinvolvesonlyfinalizing,defendingandrevisingthethesisdocument.Ifsuccessfulinthisaggressivetimetable,studentswillbeabletouploadbymid-semesterandachieveadegreedatedattheendofthissemester.
Option2isthemorecommonlyfollowedschedule,allowingtimefortheprojectworktobecompletedinadditiontothethesispreparation,revisionanddefense.Byuploadingbeforethe
SSCI594bSyllabus,Page5of6
beginningofthefollowingsemester,studentswillavoidhavingtoregisterandpayfor594z,thoughdegreeswillbedatedattheendofthefollowingsemester.
Option1BasicTimetable–AllworkcompletedandfinalapprovedanddefendedthesisuploadedbeforetheGraduateSchool’sdeadlinethatnormallyfallsduringWeek10.Degreedatedattheendofthissemester.
Date Tasks
Week1(orearlier)
Prepareworkschedule.Meetwithadvisorandcommittee.Continueworkonthesisdraft.
Week2-5Writefullthesisdraft.Iterativelysubmitsectionstoadvisorforreview.
Weeks6 Preparefinalrevisionofthesisdraft.
Week7 Submitdrafttocommittee.Week8 DefenseWeeks9 FinalrevisionsWeek10 Uploadfinalthesis
Option2BasicTimetable–Allworkcompletedbytheendofthesemester.Registrationinnextsemesternotrequired,howeveryourdegreewillbedatedattheendofnextsemester.
Date Tasks
Week1 PrepareworkscheduleMeetwithadvisor
Week2 CommitteemeetingBegintechnicalwork
Weeks3to6 CompletetechnicalworkWeeks7to10 PreparethesisdraftWeeks11to12 RevisethesisdraftWeek13 DefenseWeeks14-15 FinalrevisionsWeek16 Uploadfinalthesis
StatementonAcademicConductandSupportSystems
AcademicConduct
Plagiarism–presentingsomeoneelse’sideasasyourown,eitherverbatimorrecastinyourownwords–isaseriousacademicoffensewithseriousconsequences.Pleasefamiliarize
SSCI594bSyllabus,Page6of6
yourselfwiththediscussionofplagiarisminSCampusinSection11,BehaviorViolatingUniversityStandardshttps://policy.usc.edu/student/scampus/part-b/.Otherformsofacademicdishonestyareequallyunacceptable.SeeadditionalinformationinSCampusanduniversitypoliciesonscientificmisconduct,http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct.
Discrimination,sexualassault,andharassmentarenottoleratedbytheuniversity.YouareencouragedtoreportanyincidentstotheOfficeofEquityandDiversityhttp://equity.usc.eduortotheDepartmentofPublicSafetyhttp://adminopsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety.ThisisimportantforthesafetyofthewholeUSCcommunity.Anothermemberoftheuniversitycommunity–suchasafriend,classmate,advisor,orfacultymember–canhelpinitiatethereport,orcaninitiatethereportonbehalfofanotherperson.TheRelationshipandSexualViolencePreventionServiceshttp://engemannshc.usc.edu/rsvp/provides24/7confidentialsupport,andthesexualassaultresourcecenterwebpagehttp://sarc.usc.edudescribesreportingoptionsandotherresources.
SupportSystems
AnumberofUSC’sschoolsprovidesupportforstudentswhoneedhelpwithscholarlywriting.Checkwithyouradvisororprogramstafftofindoutmore.StudentswhoseprimarylanguageisnotEnglishshouldcheckwiththeAmericanLanguageInstitutehttp://dornsife.usc.edu/ali,whichsponsorscoursesandworkshopsspecificallyforinternationalgraduatestudents.TheOfficeofDisabilityServicesandProgramshttp://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.htmlprovidescertificationforstudentswithdisabilitiesandhelpsarrangetherelevantaccommodations.Ifanofficiallydeclaredemergencymakestraveltocampusinfeasible,USCEmergencyInformationhttp://emergency.usc.eduwillprovidesafetyandotherupdates,includingwaysinwhichinstructionwillbecontinuedbymeansofblackboard,teleconferencing,andothertechnology.
ResourcesforOnlineStudents
TheCourseBlackboardpageandtheSSICommunityBlackboardpagehavemanyresourcesavailablefordistancestudentsenrolledinourgraduateprograms.Inaddition,allregisteredstudentscanaccesselectroniclibraryresourcesthroughthelinkhttps://libraries.usc.edu/.Also,theUSCLibrarieshavemanyimportantresourcesavailablefordistancestudentsthroughthelink:https://libraries.usc.edu/faculty-students/distance-learners.Thisincludesinstructionalvideos,remoteaccesstouniversityresources,andotherkeycontactinformationfordistancestudents.