How to start?

   Set realistic goals

Before you start learning, it is important to set realistic goals for your learning unit. Then focus on these specific goals and review them immediately after the learning session. This way, you can make sure you have achieved the learning goal. Dividing your learning into small "chunks" also helps you stay motivated and make digestible chunks out of a seemingly unmanageable amount of content.
 

• Identify your learning goals by writing them down.
• Set deadlines for each goal. By what date do you want to have learned chapter XY?

   Plan fixed learning times

The to-do lists are long and the appointment calendars are full. To give yourself enough space to learn, it's important to schedule specific study times.

• Create a schedule for yourself in which you enter all the appointments where you need to be present (e.g. webinars, online group meetings, etc.). You can use a digital calendar (e.g. Outlook, Google Calendar, etc.) to do this, or you can use the calendar in Sakai.
• Now set fixed study times that you will need to complete assignments in each course. To do this, you will need a good overview of all assignments and deadlines, and a realistic estimate of how long it will take you to complete each assignment.
• Make sure you plan for breaks as well. It's better to plan shorter blocks of study and then take a short break rather than plan a very long period of study and then fail. Be sure to schedule breaks for eating, recreational activities, and social interaction (even if virtual).
• Reward yourself! A short walk outdoors, a coffee break or a meeting with friends - there has to be room for that, too. Give yourself a small reward in between, because that's how you stay motivated.

  Tipps for learning

• Start the learning phase well rested
• Keep the learning goals in mind
• Find your ideal learning place where you are undisturbed
• Stay focused and do not get distracted
• Take regular breaks from learning
• Exchange information in the group, so you can see if you have understood the material and at the same time anchor it.
• Reward yourself for the learning goals you have achieved.

   A lot of material, little time? Tips for a good learning plan

    Learning Tools - which one suits your learning style?

By using different media (paper, pen, tablet, internet, etc.), mutlimedial, interactive and mobile learning is possible. This allows everyone to choose the right tool for their own learning style.

The transcript - a basic working technique in studies

A large part of the knowledge transfer in studies consists of lectures and seminars. In addition to the lecture notes, which you may receive from your lecturers, your personal notes are particularly important. This requires you to actively listen and think, but also to reflect on and structure what you have heard and seen. A good transcript is your basis for learning and is therefore also crucial for your success in exams.

Preparation

• Come to the lecture informed and interested. What do you already know about the topic? Activate your previous knowledge to be able to tie in with it.
• Define your learning goal
• Do the lecturers provide lecture notes or handouts? If so, use this resource for your notes.
• Consider the form in which they will take notes - e.g. handwritten or / and digital, tablet, PC, notebook or pad. There is no right and wrong here and you can use whichever method suits you best or fits the lecture style. Do you write in hyroglyphs and can no longer read your transcript yourself? Then it's probably better to switch to a digital transcript.
• Create a template with date, page number, heading, etc. for your transcripts. This will help you keep track of everything later.
• For paper transcripts, plan space for post-processing and additions.

Transcription

• Pay attention to the demarcation between your own notes and the lecture itself.
• Note down only the essentials! Do not try to note down every word spoken. Only record the main statements. This also includes explanations / consequences / causes of the main statements as well as formulas / data.
• Does your presenter speak in convoluted sentences or ramble? Note down only the key words - you will remember the connections later.
• Stick to your style of speaking. Try to reproduce what has been said in your own words
• Use abbreviations and clues to reduce your writing work. Symbols such as arrows, call signs, equal signs also help to make relationships and show connections
• You can ignore spelling and grammar for now. There will be time for this in the follow-up.

Follow-Up

• Follow-up not only improves the quality of your transcript, it also serves as your first repetition and thus anchoring of the content
• Read through your transcript carefully. Is everything understandable? Are there any ambiguities or questions?
• Add information and highlight important statements in color.
• Make a note of keywords in the margin - this will help you later when learning.
• Cross out or delete unimportant information
• If you prefer visual learning methods, then create a mind map of the course.

Scientific Research

Writing a scientific paper in the form of a seminar paper, bachelor or master thesis is an essential part of your academic career. These papers should therefore meet certain scientific standards, which relate, among other things, to the structure of a scientific paper, the citation and the linguistic and formal design.

Structure of a scientific paper

Similar to a literary text, a scientific paper is also composed of an introduction, main body and conclusion. These parts include the following aspects:

Literature research

The basis of a scientific paper is high-quality literature sources and empirically founded results. At the beginning of every writing process, there is always a detailed and structured literature search. In order to be able to reflect the current state of research on the chosen topic as accurately as possible in the scientific paper, it is advised to search strategically and systematically for legitimate sources.

Basically, both printed and online sources can be considered for the scientific work. Especially textbooks from publishers are also available online. You are welcome to take a look at the MCI's e-Library. There you have access to all online resources and databases of the MCI. For further questions about literature research, Citavi and plagiarism, please contact your librarians. They will be happy to help and support you (bibliothek@mci.edu).

When assessing whether a source is suitable, the following aspects should be considered:When assessing whether a source is suitable, the following aspects should be considered:

• The scientific influence of a source: the Science Citation Index indicates how often a source has already been cited,
  i.e. the higher this factor, the better

• Publisher: Well-known publishers, such as Springer Verlag or Pearson, are considered to be well-known publishers of
  textbooks and scientific texts

• Author: Authors who publish several papers are considered experts in their field.

• Peer review of the source: Reputable scientific sources are often subject to a peer review process, i.e. other independent
  researchers anonymously assess the quality and reliability of the research. This can ensure the highest level of scientific integrity.

Scientific Reading

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What does efficient reading mean?

Do you wonder why some people can keep track even with so many pages of scientific text? Why others are faster at reading and can reproduce what they have read at the end?

What distinguishes you from these readers? Efficient readers...

•  Are aware of why they are reading a text
• Make connections between what they already know and new information in the text
•  Use context to understand unfamiliar concepts
• Take notes and underline passages in the text
• Evaluate the quality of the text and question it
• Can identify and reproduce important statements in the text
• Think about how they can apply and use the information.

Comprehension = active reading

Reading is often understood as a passive process that involves only recognizing and receiving words.

Efficient reading, however, requires active mental work if what is read is not only to be recognized and, at best, absorbed into short-term memory, but also retained and understood.

Activate your existing knowledge!

If you connect your existing experience and knowledge with the text to be read, you have a much better chance of remembering the new information more easily because you can classify it in already existing knowledge structures. To do this, you can, for example, do a short brainstorming session on the topic being discussed and write down and categorize the terms that come to mind. If you already know quite a bit about the topic, you can ask yourself a series of questions before you start working on the content and thus strengthen your focus. Feel free to write these down as well. A brief scan of the text can also help prepare you for the intellectual debate.

The SQ3R reading method for scientific texts

This method is not about increasing the reading speed, but rather about understanding the content and being able to remember it in the long term. SQ3R is derived from the initial letters of the 4 phases in which this technique is run through.

Survey - Question - Read - Recite

Formal guidelines (general)

Scientific papers are to be designed in a formally uniform manner. On the one hand, this makes it much easier to read, and on the other hand, it makes the work more comparable.

For this reason, please consider the following formal guidelines for your thesis:

Citation

When writing scientific papers, one usually refers to existing research and thus bases one's work on the thoughts and results of other authors. This is particularly evident in the literature and methods sections. In general a distinction is made between primary and secondary sources:

In the citation style, the difference between primary and secondary sources is often made clear by citing primary sources directly, while for secondary sources the author of the secondary source is cited, who refers to the primary source.
However, this can quickly result in errors. In the worst case, this can lead to plagiarism - that is, intellectual property theft or copyright infringement. But how can plagiarism be avoided? Simple. There are many different citation styles based on the respective guidelines of journals or publishers, such as APA or the Havard style.

In the following, the APA citation style with its guidelines as one of the most widespread citation styles will be explained in more detail.

APA Basics

The APA citation style, developed by the American Psychological Association, is one of the most widely used methods for citing in scientific papers, especially in the social sciences and economics. It is characterized by clear guidelines for presenting sources, which helps your readers more easily track the information used. This precision and uniformity make APA style particularly popular, as it promotes the accuracy and credibility of scientific writing, allowing you to communicate thoughts and research findings effectively.

With the help of the correct and consistent use of a citation style, you identify and reference, on the one hand, in the body text and, on the other hand, in the bibliography at the end, which information and thoughts you have taken from other researchers.

Citing in continous text:

If citations are made in the continuous text, a distinction is made between direct citations and indirect citations. Direct citations are taken directly from the original source and marked with the corresponding page number. Indirect citations, on the other hand, are paraphrased in the continuous text.

The following examples refer to the APA citation style:

# direct citation: "If  we only take aspects of intentional (goal-oriented) learning into consideration, the general concept of learning motivation refers to the
fact that a learner has an actualized wish or intention to engage in a  specific learning activity (Krapp, 1999, p. 27).

# indirect citation: Learning motivation in terms of goal-oriented learning is demonstrated by the learner's willingness to consciously and purposefully focus
on a particular learning activity or subject area (Krapp, 1999).

Please note: Two authors are separated by "&", from a number of three authors, the first author is named and "et al." is added!

# two authors: The psychological construct of motivation can be divided into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. While the action itself provides the incentive
for intrinsically motivated individuals, an extrinsically motivated action is usually linked to certain conditions or certain intentions are pursued.(Deci & Ryan, 2000).

# more authors: Motivational regulation strategies are learning approaches that aim to increase one's effort and persistence in a learning task. In contrast to
cognitive (e.g., information intake) and metacognitive (e.g., learning control) learning strategies, these focus on increasing one's motivation and persistence
without focusing on the nature of learning or learning planning (Schwinger et al., 2007).

Creating the bibliography:

The bibliography at the end lists all sources used for the scientific paper. The following should be noted:

• The sources are listed alphabetically

• If available include the DOI (Digital Object Finder)

• The list indentation oin the bibliography is hanging

• All authors are named with their last name and the first letter of their first name. If there are more than 21 authors, they are abbreviated with .... and the last author is named.

Example of a bibliography:

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The „What“ and „Why“ of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01

Krapp, A. (1999). Interest, motivation and learning: An educational-psychological perspective. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 14(1), 23–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173109

Schwinger, M., Steinmayr, R., & Spinath, B. (2009). How do motivational regulation strategies affect achievement: Mediated by effort management and moderated by intelligence. Learning and Individual Differences, 19(4), 621–627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2009.08.006

Citation software

Citation software programs such as Zotero or Citavi are essential tools for students, researchers and scientists who want to optimize their source management and citation practices. These high-performance programs make it possible to organize literature efficiently, automatically create correct citations and bibliography, and thus greatly simplify the research and writing process.

The two programs differ in a few ways:

Despite the differences, there are also some similarities between the two programs:

• Both programs allow automatic creation of citations and bibliographies in different citation styles.
• They offer options for organizing and managing literature and sources.
• Both Zotero and Citavi support adding annotations to sources.
• Both have interfaces for integration with common word processing programs such as Microsoft Word.