Scientific supervisor’s review of master’s degree thesis
By Kseniia Danilova
“The impact of ground public transport on well-being and 
quality of life: the case of Saint Petersburg and Tel Aviv”

1. Relevance of the research topic. In her research project, Kseniia Danilova sets an ambitious objective of examining transport system as an integral system of the city life. There are a lot of papers focused on the description of such practices but there is no any on developing the instruments of measuring it. So the paper of Ksenia is very original and full of novelty because it presents the unique methodology of measuring quality of city life by transport system based on sociological research methods. The author demonstrated the capacity of using the sociological theory and methodology for creating the methodology of study and presenting the results.
2. The degree of independence and ability of the author of the master thesis to research (the ability and skills to search, summarize, analyze the material and draw conclusions): the author of the thesis research has sufficiently developed the skills and abilities to search for the necessary information, generalize and analyze the material, as well as the ability to draw conclusions based on the analyzed materials.
3. Evaluation of the graduate's activity during the completion of the final qualification work (the degree of conscientiousness, efficiency, responsibility, accuracy, etc.): during the work on the master study, Ksenia Danilova showed herself as an executive, initiative student who is responsible for the assigned work.
4. The degree of literacy in the presentation of the material (consistency, reasonableness, etc.): all the materials of the thesis research are presented logically, all the paragraphs, introduction and conclusion are interrelated and subordinate to the purpose of the study. Ksenia manages quite well and shows herself as an insightful and reflective researcher. Her research, makes a good impression. The aim of research was to develop the methodology for analyzing the role of the transport system for urban infrastructure in Saint Petersburg and Tel Aviv. To achieve the aim, a set of research tasks was elaborated: rethink the conceptualization of sociological research in relation to strategies and ways of order, based on the concept of grounded theory; review well-being and quality of life indices and develop the methodological framework, tools and analysis model; approve the developed methodology in the case of ground public transport in Saint Petersburg and Tel Aviv and analyze empirical data, using two-level categorization and comparative analysis; identify relevant theoretical concepts, according to categorization, and reconsider the role of transport system for urban well-being and quality of life.
5. The possibility of using the results of the research in scientific and practical activities: the materials of the diploma research represent a wide field for further research and practical activities in Saint Petersburg and Tel Aviv. It makes the scope of the study even wider, and provides opportunities for testing the results of the study in other regions and countries.
6. General conclusion on the final qualification work: the work meets the requirements for the final qualification work, and can be rated «excellent», “A”.

Nikiforova O.,
PhD, Associate Professor of the Department of Economic Sociology, 
St. Petersburg State University 
06/06/2023