Master's Degree Dissertation
Code: 43969 ECTS Credits: 9| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Journalism and Digital Content Innovation | OB | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- Carmina Crusafon Baques
- Email:
- carmina.crusafon@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
Objectives and Contextualisation
This module aims to introduce the student to the conduct of research and applied projects in the field of journalism and digital communication. To this end, the work will be carried out under the tutelage of a doctor, who will guide and supervise the process throughout all its phases. The project must answer one or more research questions related to a specific topic linked to one of the areas of the Master's program, and aligned with the lines of work of one of the Department's research groups. Likewise, the module aims for the student to present and publicly defend their work before an academic tribunal. The result must constitute a relevant contribution to the knowledge applied in the field of communication sciences.
Competences
- Apply tools of management, analysis, organisation and planning of information in accordance with objectives and specific information projects.
- Be able to evaluate inequalities for reasons of sex or gender to design solutions.
- Design, create and carry out projects of innovation and research in the area of journalism and digital communication.
- Develop the ability to assess sex and gender inequalities in order to design solutions.
- Generate innovate and competitive proposals for applied research.
- Know and evaluate the management and production processes for digital information content, proposing innovative solutions which involve the use of ICT.
- Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
- Students can communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and rationale underpinning these to specialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously.
- That students are able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity and formulate judgments based on information that was incomplete or limited, include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
- That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
- Understand and analyse the trends and dynamics of change in the communicative, informative and regulatory ecosystem of the media company in the twenty-first century.
Learning Outcomes
- Apply methodologies and technologies for producing and managing news content in order to develop innovative journalism projects.
- Evaluate news projects and products on the basis of Spanish, European and international regulations and legislation.
- Explain dynamics of change in the use of technology for producing and managing communicative phenomena from within a research project.
- Identify the contributions of gender study to the research topic.
- Integrate new languages and innovative tools into workplace dynamics and reflect on the social and ethical responsibilities linked to their use in communicative environments.
- Integrate theoretical and practical knowledge into daily workplace tasks of digital news production.
- Know and experiment with trends in mobile journalism, data journalism and artificial intelligence applied to everyday practice in journalism production.
- Know and use scientific methodologies and procedures applied to the standpoint of a research project.
- Know and use the contributions of women and gender studies in the discipline.
- Know and use the contributions of women and gender studies to their discipline.
- Know how news companies and the media ecosystem have evolved and adopt a critical stance based on the communication policies and regulations being studied.
- Know how to carry out a research project with a gender perspective.
- Know how to create and use qualitative and quantitative indicators including statistics to gain a better understanding of gender inequalities and differences in the needs, conditions, values and aspirations of women and men.
- Know how to distinguish in theoretical and empirical analyses the effects of sex and gender variables.
- Know how to identify the role of ICT in the transmission of gender stereotypes and apply measures to avoid them.
- Know how to make an inclusive and non-sexist use of language.
- Know the structural dynamics of journalistic content positioning on news sharing and search platforms.
- Manage the processes for managing, analysing, organising and planning news content, introducing innovative and creative elements into each process.
- Produce, compile and interpret empirical data in a gender-sensitive manner.
- Propose critical scientific studies to analyse the viability and effectiveness of new digital narrative models in a specific application context.
- Propose innovative, creative alternatives that integrate the new participatory, collaborative trends in the narration of digital news content.
- Recognise the evolution of the media environment and professional profiles in order to propose leadership roles within a news company.
- Recognise the methodologies and technical tools needed to formulate a research project on the dynamics of change in technology for producing and managing communicative phenomena.
- Recognise the role of the media, audio-visual productions and advertising in the construction of gender relations and sexual and gender identity.
- Understand the basic features of the dynamics of news production in the 21st century and apply them in a simulated work-experience environment.
- Understand the different forms of digital narration and the models for organising and presenting news.
- Use audience-measurement systems to design tailor-made strategies for positioning news content.
- Use the knowledge acquired to formulate original ideas for developing an applied research project.
Content
During the development of the module, the student must carry out applied research, under the direction and supervision of a doctor, which answers one or more questions related to a specific topic. This topic must belong to one of the research areas contemplated in the Master's Degree and be linked to the lines of work of one of the Department's research groups.
At the beginning of the course, a list of available topics will be presented, which will also be published on the Virtual Campus of the subject.
The work may follow one of the two modalities provided: research or applied project. In both cases, the student is expected to make a relevant and original contribution to the knowledge applied in the field of communication sciences.
As part of the module, the student must present and defend their work before an evaluation committee.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Academic Tutories | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 3, 8, 20, 23, 28 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Preparation of works/reports | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 3, 2, 25, 26, 7, 8, 17, 11, 18, 6, 5, 21, 20, 23, 22, 28, 27 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Elaboration of the Master's Final Treball | 200 | 8 | 1, 3, 2, 25, 26, 7, 8, 17, 11, 18, 6, 5, 21, 20, 23, 22, 28, 27 |
The subject includes both activities supervised by the tutor assigned to the Master's Degree Final Project (TFM) and autonomous activities by the student, aimed at achieving the final objective: to design, develop, and present a research project.
The tutoring of the TFM includes the mandatory completion of at least three tutorials throughout the process. In each of them, the student must present significant progress in the development of the project.
Failure to attend compulsory tutorials or lack of progress in the work will entitle teachers to interrupt tutoring. In this case, it will be considered that the TFM is not being carried out within the established academic parameters and, therefore, the student will not be able to present his/her work for evaluation.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Completion and submission of the Master's Final Project | 90 | 0 | 0 | 1, 3, 2, 25, 26, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 11, 18, 4, 6, 5, 19, 21, 20, 24, 23, 22, 12, 14, 16, 15, 13, 28, 27 |
| Oral presentation of the Final Master's Project | 10 | 0 | 0 | 8, 9, 4, 19, 20, 24, 12, 14, 16, 15, 13, 28 |
The grade of the TFM will be awarded by an evaluation committee made up of three doctors. The final grade will be calculated as follows:
- 70%: Evaluation carried out by the tribunal after the defense of the TFM.
- 30%: Report from the TFM tutor, which will include an assessment of the work carried out by the student.
This report will be sent to the members of the tribunal in advance of the defense. Without this report, the TFM cannot be defended by the student before the evaluation committee.
Once the defenses have been made, the panel will deliver the minutes with the final grade to the master's degree coordinator, who will be in charge of entering the grades on the Sigma platform. Once published, the grades will be accessible to students.
The public defense of the Master's Thesis will be carried out during the first half of July, on a date determined by the Master's Committee. This date will be communicated to students with its publication on the Virtual Campus.
The TFM must be an original work. All sources consulted, both direct and indirect, must be duly referenced. Citations must be made within the text following the APA citation system.
Plagiarism
If the student incurs any irregularity that may significantly alter the grade of the work, said act of evaluation will be graded with a 0, regardless of any disciplinary process that may be initiated in this regard.
Not assessable
The TFM will obtain the grade of "Not assessed" if any of the following three circumstances are met:
- The tutor considers that the work does not meet the minimum requirements to be presented and evaluated.
- The student does not carry out the 3 mandatory tutorials established and does not have the consent of the tutor.
- The student does not present the TFM.
Recovery
According to Article 261 of the UAB Academic Regulations, the TFM is excluded from the recovery process.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
The TFM tutor will determine whether the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the TFM is allowed depending on each case and type of TFG/TFM, as well as in which phases of the work it has been used and for what purpose (for example: Initial phase (search for sources), generation of tables and visual representations...). Students will have to clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how they have influenced the process and the result of the TFM. The non-transparency of the use of AI in this end-of-studies project, or greater sanctions in serious cases.
Bibliography
Software
There is no specific software for this subject.
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.