Rules, Practicalities, Process Thesis Seminar 2018 Rules, Practicalities, Process

”According to the Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004), all master of Arts degree candidates must complete a thesis to receive their degree”

Aims of the master’s thesis Demonstrate command of the field of the master’s programme and ability to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in the programme independently; Demonstrate ability for research-oriented work on an artistic, theoretical or applied research topic and demonstrate ability to use data and source material for research purposes; Demonstrate good communication skills for work in the field of study

What is Thesis ? A piece of theoretical, artistic or applied research A work of art Or a combination of these May also include a production component – a design, a work of art, an exhibition, or project Always a book = written component – 25 – 70 pages (approx. 50 000 – 140 000 characters) 30 credits

Before Thesis Get aquainted with the existing thesis https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/ University’s library Thesis Seminar – https://djs.aalto.fi

Before Thesis Get aquainted with the thesis guidelines https://into.aalto.fi/ + master programmes choose your programme Graduation Master’s Thesis Guide

Thesis begins The thesis process begins with choosing a topic and defining the scope or research questions of the thesis

Thesis Plan Topic / title of the thesis Your name and programme Thesis supervisor and thesis advisor(s) Extent of thesis Goals set for the research of the thesis Description of the artistic component (artistic work) Definiton of the thesis scope Methodological choices Language Timetable Financial plan

Approving the topic After the plan is complete, the thesis topic needs to be approved by the supervisor If you don’t know your supervisor, contact the head of your MA programme Approving the topic also involves setting a period of validity of the thesis plan – that is one year The supervisor notifies the thesis evaluation group of the approved topics and of the thesis advisors appointed

Thesis Supervisor and Thesis Advisor Supervisor should be a member of faculty – professor or lecturer appointed by the director of the degree programme Supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the thesis topic is related to the programme and feasible to be covered within the scope of the MA thesis. Supervisor and advisor may be the same person. Every thesis must have a supervisor and advisor. Advisor supports students in different stages of the thesis process. A thesis may have one or two thesis advisors, who may be either faculty memebers or external advisors. At least one of the advisors should have excellent knowledge of the field of the thesis. Supervisor and advisor may be the same person. Every thesis must have a supervisor and advisor.

Thesis Supervisor and Thesis Advisor Student has the responsibility to consult the thesis advisor during the process Max. 10 hours of face-to-face advice Agree about the advising arrangements and timetables One year ”contract” Approves the topic and the thesis plan Appoints a thesis advisor or advisors Agrees about the period of validity of the thesis project – typically one year Agrees about the language of the thesis Agrees about the issues such as confidentiality, conflict with the advisor etc. Checks the content of the maturity exam (abstract) Gives the permission to submit the thesis for evaluation

Thesis as teamwork Possible Needs to be agreed by the supervisor The student must be able to demonstrate his or her contribution to the work

Thesis on commission Possible Evaluated against academic criteria No confidental information Written contract about the topic, timetable, advising responsibilities (see the university contract templates)

Language of the thesis Finnish, Swedish or English Student is responsible for ensuring the correctness of the language; the language may affect the evaluation Aalto University Language Centre offers courses and writing clinics for thesis writers

Language of the thesis Finnish students: Opinnäytteen kieli on myös tutkintotodistuksen kieli Jos tekee opinnäytteen Suomeksi niin saa tutkintotodistuksen Suomeksi. Jos tekee opinnäytteen Englanniksi niin saa tutkintotodistuksen Englanniksi ja Suomeksi

Responsbile conduct of research and good artistic practice Aalto University Code of Academic Integrity and Handling Violations there of https://into.aalto.fi/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=5127241 Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity http://www.tenk.fi/sites/tenk.fi/files/HTK_ohje_2012.pdf

Turnitin https://wiki.aalto.fi/display/turnitin/Turnitin+for+Students 1. Submitting work to Turnitin How to submit to Turnitin and view the originality report in MyCourses workspace of a course or a thesis (mycourses.aalto.fi) For independent originality check of files there is a workspace calledIndependent Turnitin Originality Check in MyCourses. 2. Handling your originality report How is the originality report interpreted? What happens if plagiarism is suspected? 3. Viewing your feedback and grading How do I get feedback in GradeMark? 4. What is expected of you when using Turnitin How to aim at skilful writing and avoid plagiarism Your rights and responsibilities  

Layout of the thesis The title page of the thesis must include: The student name Thesis title Type of the thesis Extent of thesis Name of the programme School University Year of thesis publication

Abstract (maturity exam) The thesis includes an abstract describing the contents of the work Written in the present tense No subheadings No abbreviations Max. one A4 In two languages – Finnish or Swedish and English – foreigners write only in English Substitutes the old maturity exam Both the content and language are checked

When thesis is complete First get your advisors approval Secondly get your supervisors approval Three (3) binded copies = books Also the electronic version Two examiners are nominated to the thesis In general the supervisor acts as one evaluator

Public thesis examination session Presentation to the supervisors and audience Examiners present their statements The students has right to respond to the remarks and questions of the examiner Examiners submit their written statements and present their grade proposal to the thesis evaluation group The examination statements are public Min. 4 thesis examination sessions per year

Thesis evaluation Grading 1 – 5 Note: thesis evaluation criteria as appendix 1 of the Master’s Thesis Guide of Aalto ARTS A thesis may be failed if it does not meet the requirements set for the thesis or if the student has violated against the university code of academic integrity while working on it (e.g. plagiarism)

Thesis evaluation criteria ARTS has set evaluation criteria for the MA thesis. The final grade is given for the thesis as a whole using those evaluation criteria which are relevant for the thesis. Emphasis may be put on those criteria that are relevant for that particular thesis: if the student defines his or he work as theorethical or applied research, the criterion Quality of the artistic component may be ignored. In such cases, weight is put on the criterion Discussion of the topic, conclusions and interpretation. The oral presentation given in the examination session and the skill in answering the questions posed by the examiner may raise the grade of the thesis.

Thesis evaluation criteria CHOISE OF TOPIC AND OF THE ARTISTIC AND/OR SCIENTIFIC GOALS FOR THESIS COMMAND OF TOPIC AND USE OF SOURCES DISCUSSION OF THE TOPIC, CONCLUSIONS AND INTERPRETATION QUALITY OF THE ARTISTIC COMPONENT DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE PROJECT QUALITY OF THESIS LANGUAGE AND PRESENTATION, AND THE EXAMINATION SESSION KNOWLEDGE AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS OVERALL IMPRESSION

Graduation days https://into.aalto.fi/display/encoim/Graduation Deadline to hand-in Thesis presentations Graduation day the thesis 24. September 2018 22. – 26.10.2018 18.12.2018 26. October 2018 26. - 20.11.2018 31.12.2018 7. March 2019 8. – 12.4.2019 mid-June publiikki/ceremony 29. April 2019 27. – 31.5.2019 31.7.2019

Appeals Students dissatisfied with the grade of their thesis may appeal against the decision in writing Instructions in the Master’s Thesis Guide of Aalto ARTS

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR THESIS !