Procedure for Documentation of Supervisor Approval of Project Literature Foundation
Extent of Foundation of Literature
In the Study Regulations for programmes under pertaining to Communication and Digital Media the minimum number of pages required as the foundation of literature for a project has been specified.
The literature foundation means the literature listed as reference and in the bibliography of the project report. Meaning it is literature that has been applied in the report and that the group members are therefore expected to be knowledgeable about.
The definition of a standard page as specified in the Study regulations also applies to the literature foundation.
The purpose of formulating specific requirements to the amount of literature applied to a project is in order to match expectations between the student(s), supervisor(s), and internal and external examiners.
Supervisor Approval
The supervisor must approve the literature foundation. This is a prerequisite for the project being approved and being able to attend the oral exam. It is not merely enough to list 1,000 pages – they must be of adequate academic quality and be relevant to the learning objectives presented in the Study Regulations.
It should be emphasised that an approved literature foundation does not guarantee a good, let alone a passing, grade. The approval attests that the supervisor deems the project able to pass based on the literature foundation. The student(s) processing of said literature along with the problem-based project work in general and the oral examination are still the pivotal in the final overall assessment.
Requirements for Approval of the Literature Foundation
As the literature used in classes has been matched according to the module’s theme and learning objectives, literature from the project module teachings should be approved as part of the literature foundation of the project – and usually a rather large part. It must, however, be expected that the student(s) add some scientific literature that is applicable to the specific research topic of the given project.
When approving literature that lies beyond that of the curriculum of the study programme, the supervisor must ensure that it is scientific literature. Scientific literate can be articles from scientific journals or books from academic publishers that has either undergone peer review or that must be acknowledged as scientific literature based on recognition and application of the work within the academic environment.
Books, articles and other sources that convey research to non-professionals cannot be approved as scientific literature. Sources that cannot be part of the literature foundation may, however, be included as data or examples of theory in practice or systematics.
As the literature foundation must be approved in due time before submitting the project, it is allowed for the student(s) to add more literature during the final stages of writing the project – even if the extent of the literature foundation surpasses 100 pages per ECTS. Literature that has been approved to be part of the literature foundation may only be removed with the approval of the supervisor (as well as any potential addition of new literature).
Notice that the literature foundation may only include qualified deselection of literature. If the student(s), during literature review, has processed and described literature that, after careful deliberation, has been decided to not be applied to the project, this deselection may still count in the overall literature foundation.
Procedure for Attaining and Documenting Supervisor Approval of Literature Foundation
The procedure for approval of literature foundation must be planned in a manner that, in the best way possible, favours the rights of the student(s) as well as provides the supervisor(s) with fair conditions. That means that the supervisor(s) must have adequate time to assess and potentially approve the literature foundation, as well as adequate time to reassess it, should it not be approved.
The literature foundation should be part of the supervision process from the very beginning, and the student(s) should strive to provide the best possible basis for approval when first submitting for approval. If doing so, the approval should take up the least amount of the student(s) allocated hours for supervision.
It is the responsibility of the student(s) that submitting for approval is done in due time and that the approval has been given before submitting the project.
The supervisor(s) will approve the foundation of literature by sending an email to the student(s) stating that it has been approved.
Documenting Supervisor Approval of Literature Foundation
When the supervisor(s) has approved the literature foundation, this must be documented as part of the standard formalities of the project.
The email written by the supervisor(s) to the student(s) approving the literature foundation, along with the literature foundation itself, must be included as an appendix when submitting project.
If the student(s) has not received approval of the literature foundation, the project will not be accepted, as the standard formalities have not been met. When reviewing submissions after the submission deadline, the administration may reject the project if an approval of literature foundation is not included.
If the project is rejected it will count as an exam attempt for the student(s), and the assessment “Not assessed” (“Ej bedømt”) will be given. The student is then still able to register for and attend the re-exam.