Special topics in demography, such as anthropological and evolutionary approaches, kinship and family structure, race and ethnicity, and similar specialized or new topics in the field of demography will be covered. Seminar will be offered according to student demand.

This course, intended for graduate students at all levels, will focus on developing and writing an empirical research project. The purpose is to take students from a point at which they have general ideas about their dissertation topic or a research project, through the development of a solid structure, research strategy and producing a draft of either a dissertation prospectus or a publishable paper. We will discuss strategies for choosing successful research topics, developing a research plan and the principles of scientific writing. We will read and discuss recent dissertations from the department and other pieces of scientific writing. The course will be highly collaborative, and the goal of this class is to develop a community of researchers that are able and willing to support each other in the development of their research plans over the course of the semester and beyond. Students will give and receive feedback from the instructors and the group throughout the semester. The final product for this class will be either a complete draft of a dissertation prospectus or a publishable paper. Time permitting, we may also explore 1) other forms of disseminating scientific research, such as blog posts/articles and presentations, and 2) revising and submitting papers and responding to comments from journal reviewers.

Repeat Rules