Abstract
In this paper, the findings and conclusions from a previous study concerning Danish psychology students’ Master thesis projects are discussed. By conducting eight qualitative semi-structured interviews with nine psychology students, shortly after they had handed in their Master’s theses, we attempted to uncover and challenge some of our previous findings. We set out to deepen our previous conclusions concerning (1) why there is a seeming discrepancy between the use of certain methods and theories amongst the students and psychology as a discipline writ large, (2) whether their use of qualitative methods indicated a routine-like relationship to methods, and (3) whether a unification of methods and theories can be identified. Based on the interviews conducted for this commentary, we conclude that the students do indeed take an active stance when it comes to choosing their methods and topics, and that they are fully aware of the discrepancy between their interests and psychology as a discipline.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, K., Quinn, J., Hollingworth, S., & Rose, A. (2013). Becoming employable students and ‘ideal’ creative workers: exclusion and inequality in higher education work placements. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 34(3), 431–452. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2012.714249.
Baik, B., Larcombe, W., & Brooker, A. (2019). How universities can enhance student mental wellbeing: the student perspective. Higher Education Research & Development, 38(4), 674–687. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1576596.
Boden, R., & Nedeva, M. (2010). Employing discourse: universities and graduate ‘employability’. Journal of Education Policy, 25(1), 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680930903349489.
Canton, E., van der Meer, P., & van der Meer, P. (2001). Public funding of higher education: the Danish taximeter-model. In E. Canton, R. Venniker, B. W. A. Jongbloed, J. B. J. Koelman, P. H.
Davies, B. (2020). Life in neoliberal institutions: australian stories. Qualitative Inquiry, 26(7), 748–754. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800419878737.
Gibbs, P. (2015). Happiness and education: troubling students for their own contentment. Time & Society, 24(1), 54–70.
Ginn, F. (2014). “Being like a researcher”: supervising Masters dissertations in a neoliberalizing university, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 38:1, 106–118, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2013.836746
Kalfa, S., Taksa, L., & Employability (2017). Managerialism, and performativity in higher education: a relational perspective. Higher Education, 74, 687–699. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0072-2.
Lyotard, J. F. (1984). The post-modern condition: a report on knowledge. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Macfarlane, B. (2015). Student performativity in higher education: converting learning as a private space into a public performance. Higher Education Research & Development, 34(2), 338–350. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2014.956697.
Meer, & Vossensteyn, J. J. (Eds.). Higher education reform: getting the incentives right (pp.85–99).SDU.
Moreau, M., & Leathwood, C. (2006). Graduates’ employment and the discourse of employability: a critical analysis. Journal of Education and Work, 19(4), 305–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080600867083.
Ottesen, M. H., Andreasen, A. G., Dahl, K. M., Hestbæk, A. D., Lausten, M., & Rayce, S. B. (2018). BØRN OG UNGE I DANMARK – VELFÆRD OG TRIVSEL 2018 (p. 302). VIVE. https://pure.vive.dk/ws/files/3032016/B_rn_og_unge_i_danmark.pdf
Parker, I. (2014). Managing Neoliberalism and the Strong State in Higher Education : Psychology Today, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 11:3, 250–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2013.872214.
Pedersen, O. K. (2011). Konkurrencestaten (1st ed.). Hans Reitzels Forlag.
Petersen, A. (2016). Præstationssamfundet. Hans Reitzels Forlag.
Prokou, E. (2008). The emphasis on employability and the changing role of the University in Europe. Higher Education in Europe, 33(4), 387–394. https://doi.org/10.1080/03797720802522593.
Rowley, J., & Slack, F. (2004). “What is the future for undergraduate dissertations?“, Education + Training, Vol. 46, 4, pp. 176–181. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910410543964
Rubin, J. D., Bell, S., & McClelland, S. I. (2018). Graduate education in qualitative methods in U.S. psychology: current trends and recommendations for the future. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 15(1), 29–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2017.1392668.
Sandorff, J. L. (2021). Psykologistuderende frygter ensretning af deres fag Uniavisen. https://uniavisen.dk/psykologistuderende-har-afdaekket-en-markant-udvikling-i-deres-pensum/ (Accessed 31.03.22)
Szulevicz, T., Lund, P. C., & Lund, R. L. (2021). Social Normativity of Research Methods and the Methodological Discrepancy between Mainstream Psychological Research and Danish Psychology Students’ Master’s Thesis Projects. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-021-09612-0
Szulevicz, T., Lund, P. C., & Lund, R. L. (2020). Det psykologiske kandidatspeciale – imellem teori, metoder og diagnoser. Psyke & Logos, 41(2), 201–224. https://tidsskrift.dk/psyke/article/view/127521/173798.
Szulevicz, T., Kure, L. K., & Løkken, L. O. (2019). Stress - between welfare and competition. I L. Tateo (red.), Educational Dilemmas: A Cultural Psychological Perspective (s. 41–55). Routledge. Cultural Dynamics of Social Representation https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315101095-3
Szulevicz, T., & Feilberg, C. (2018). What Has Happened to Quality? In J. Valsiner, A. Lutsenko, & A. Antoniouk (eds.), Sustainable Futures for Higher Education: The Making of Knowledge Makers (s. 313–326). Springer. Cultural Psychology of Education, vol. 7 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96035-7_26
Tateo, L., Marsico, G., Min, H., et al. (2022). University without Borders. Integr psych behav, 56, 893–901. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-022-09714-3.
Tomlinson, M. (2017). Student perceptions of themselves as ‘consumers’ of higher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 38(4), 450–467. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2015.1113856.
Valsiner, J. (2019). Cultural psychology as a theoretical project / La psicología cultural como proyecto teórico. Studies in Psychology, 40(1), 10–47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02109395.2018.1560023.
Vohland, K., et al. (2019). Citizen Science and the Neoliberal Transformation of Science – an Ambivalent Relationship. Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 4(1): 25, pp. 1–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.186
Walters, G. D. (2017). Beyond Dustbowl Empiricism: the need for theory in Recidivism Prediction Research and its potential realization in Causal Mediation Analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 44(1), 40–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854816677566.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Szulevicz, T., Clement Lund, P. A Qualitative Perspective on the Status of the Master’s Thesis in Higher education – A Commentary on ‘Social Normativity of Research Methods and the Methodological Discrepancy Between Mainstream Psychological Research and Danish Psychology Students’ Master’s Thesis Projects’. Integr. psych. behav. 57, 1050–1064 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-022-09743-y
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-022-09743-y