Student Academic Journal

Students prepare a research paper or popular science article in a format similar to the editorial workflow of a journal. They may work individually or in small teams, moving through the successive stages of writing: choosing a topic, formulating a problem, collecting and analysing sources, developing an argument, preparing the article structure, and editing the text. The final outcome is an article, most often following the IMRAD structure, which is then assessed or reviewed.

In a more complex activity, students may also engage with elements of the publication process: peer review, responding to editorial feedback, proofreading, preparing a topic-specific issue, and publicly presenting or publishing the best papers.

The teacher’s role is to design the framework for the work: define the topic or scope of the journal issue, prepare author guidelines, specify the assessment criteria, and guide students through the writing process. The teacher acts as a mentor or managing editor, helping students refine the problem, organise their work, and focus on the quality of argumentation, appropriate use of sources, academic integrity, and clarity of writing.

Course: Finance
Topic: Contemporary Issues in Finance
Students work individually or in small groups to prepare a research paper on a selected
financial issue. The activity combines in-class work with students’ independent work.

Warm-Up (10–15 min)
Students discuss financial issues they have recently heard about in pairs or small groups. They consider which issue they find most important or interesting and choose a topic for further work.

Filtering (15 min)
Students discuss their previously selected topics again in groups. They consider whether the topic has the potential to become a research paper. They search for data that could be used in the article and review online publications related to the topic. They ask themselves: Does the selected issue have research potential? Draw students’ attention to the quality of literature sources. Encourage them to use academic databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, or Web of Science.

Literature Review (30 min + independent work)
Teams compare the results of their review on a shared board or in a collaborative document, while the teacher moderates the discussion by asking which sources provide the most useful data, which are the least reliable and why, and whether different materials lead to similar or contradictory conclusions. The aim of this stage is to demonstrate that not all information has the same value in the decision-making process.

Presentation to the Group (30 min)
During the following class, students present the areas on which they would like to focus.

Work Planning (15 min + independent work)
Students plan their teamwork by deciding on the division of roles, collaboration tools, and the schedule. They consult their plan with the teacher, who helps organise the stages of work and highlights the strengths of the team.

Mini-Workshop (30 min)
Introduce students briefly to the structure of a research paper (IMRAD): Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Show students several examples of articles. Ask questions such as: How do the authors refer to the literature in the field? What sources did they use? What methods did they apply?

Conducting the Research and Preparing the Article (2–3 months)
Students carry out the successive stages of the research process: defining the problem and aim, reviewing the literature, identifying the research gap, selecting methods, collecting and analysing data, and formulating conclusions. They prepare the article according to the IMRAD structure. The process takes place under the teacher’s supervision. Explain to students that the aim of this activity is to prepare research papers, although not all of them need to be published. Students may decide themselves whether they would like to take on the challenge of publication. Present how long and demanding the publication process can be, emphasising the need for peer review and often multiple rounds of revision. Explain what requirements a paper must meet before publication. During subsequent classes, students present the next stages of their work to the teacher.
These stages should include:
• Research problems or research questions
• The aim of the article and its significance
• A detailed literature review (selection of the most important sources)
• Identification of the key theories
• Identification of the research gap
• Selection of research tools and methods
• Data collection
• Data analysis and interpretation of the results
• Discussion of the results, including comparison with previous studies presented in the literature
• Formulation of conclusions

Presentation of Research Results (45 min)
During later classes, students present their research results and discuss the difficulties they encountered during the process.

Evaluation (45 min)
During the final class, discuss both the strengths and challenges of the research process and reflect together on the experiences gained throughout the project.

• With more advanced students, such as second- or third-year undergraduate students, postgraduate students, or students participating in dissertation seminars.
• In courses with at least 15 contact hours and worth around 4 ECTS credits.
• When students work in small groups of 2–4, with the teacher acting as a mentor.

• With students who do not yet have sufficient background knowledge, especially at earlier stages of their studies.
• In short modular courses, where there is not enough time between classes for students to progress through the different stages of the project.
• In very large classes (e.g. more than 35 students).

• Students may use AI without checking generated data or sources → encourage critical discussion and source evaluation.
• Teachers need to address ethical issues, such as plagiarism or fabricated data → introduce clear and explicit rules on academic integrity.

Easier → Prepare an article template. Limit publication to a student university journal. Provide a list of possible topics. Narrow the scope of the research, for example by focusing on statistical data.

More Challenging → Introduce specific publication requirements, for example regarding the publisher or journal. Ask students to justify how their research contributes to the development of knowledge.

• Suggest that each article should focus on only one research question.
• Ask students to map their literature review, as this will make it easier for them to identify a research gap.
• Be active in all classes, even during group work: approach each group and ask questions, such as: What is the most difficult part for you?
• Introduce students to literature management tools, such as Mendeley or Google Scholar.
• Suggest that students write the introduction to the article last.
• Organise a conference at the end of the course to further motivate students.

Formative Assessment
At successive stages of the project, collect interim outputs such as the topic, research aim and research questions, article outline, selection of sources, description of the method, and draft sections of the manuscript. Provide feedback on the coherence of the research problem, the appropriateness of the method, the quality of the sources, and the logic of the argumentation, enabling students to revise and improve their work before submitting the final version.

Summative Assessment
Assessment is based on the final research article and its presentation in class. Assessment criteria include the clarity of the research problem, the appropriateness of the aim and research questions, the suitability of the method, the quality of the analysis, the coherence of the argumentation, the validity of the conclusions, the structure of the article, and the effectiveness of the presentation of the findings.