1. BACHELOR’S THESIS 2014-2015 INFO SESSION 2
Joan Lofgren, Program Director
Tomi Heimonen, Development Manager
AALTO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Mikkeli Campus BScBA Degree Program
9 October 2014
10/09/2014

2. Agenda Purposes of the thesis & requirements Selecting a topic
Key elements of the process, esp.:
Research plan
Thesis outline
Literature review & conceptual framework
Methods
Thesis grading rubric
Referencing
Other issues
Brainstorming task
Follow-up Q&A info-session Oct. 15
10/09/2014

3. 1. Purposes—to: Gain experience in academic research
Plan and implement a research project
Understand and apply theoretical approaches
Strengthen academic writing skills
Strengthen skills generally
Need to work independently
Develop skills needed for
Further study
Working life
10/09/2014

4. Essential Requirements
Basic standards – the thesis must be written in:
the field of international business
English
formal academic style
Academic standards – it must:
rely on academic literature
have a theoretical foundation (lit review-conceptual framework)
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5. Essential Requirements (cont.)
Management of the thesis project—you are expected to:
meet all deadlines (time management)
maintain communication with your supervisor
participate actively in the thesis meetings and workshops
Personal ethical standards – it must:
be your own work (no plagiarism)
give appropriate credit for the work of other scholars
(see following slides—review of O-week slides)
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6. Code of Academic Integrity
Aalto University operations are founded on integrity, openness and equality.
The responsible conduct of teaching, research and service to the community is essential.
Students are expected to abide by Finnish law and to know and follow university rules and regulations, but to also go beyond these to promote an ethical and supportive learning community.
Keep in mind:
Our core affirmation and protection of intellectual honesty
Dishonest academic work of any kind strictly forbidden.
Dishonest academic behavior is subject to severe disciplinary action.
Each student has the final responsibility for her/his learning and for knowing what is permitted and what is not permitted.
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7. Code of Academic Integrity (cont.)
Violations against the Code of Academic Integrity are divided into:
disregard for the responsible conduct of research or good artistic practices (refers to negligence and irresponsibility in the conduct of scientific research or producing a scientific work)
misconduct in studying (defined as a deliberate act or means of misrepresenting one’s own or someone else’s level of competence
Academic Integrity Confirmation form
Every student signed and returned the form to Mari Syväoja.
See the Program’s Citation and Referencing Guide: The Harvard System for more details on plagiarism:
10/09/2014

8. 2. Selecting the Thesis Topic
Motivation
Personal interest
Potential professional interest
Opportunity to develop your expertise
Be creative and innovative
Resources
Time – manageable in this time frame?
Financial – need to do field work?
Languages – enough sources available in the ones you read? Do a quick search.
Overall: a suitable topic for you?
Indication of interest Area for Thesis Form Deadline: October 26, 2014
10/09/2014

9. 3. Key elements of the process
Research plan
Thesis outline
Literature review/conceptual framework
Methodology – what type of data is needed/appropriate to the topic?
Primary data v. secondary data
Qualitative v. quantitative
Compiling/interpreting the results
To what extent can you generalize the results?
Are the results more to inform future research?
Or both?
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10. Note on information retrieval
Information Specialist Jaana Santala is available to meet with you to advise you in searching for academic sources.
Book a meeting time with her by writing to:
Theses from past years are also available for you to browse through.
10/09/2014

11. 3a.Research Plan: The First Step
Tentative working title of the thesis
Interest and relationship to thesis topic
Research problem
Research question(s)
Research objectives
Significance of the research (and/or its relevance)
Methodology—secondary/desk research or primary data you gather yourself (eg interviews, survey, etc.)
Literature to be used (list of sources)
Critique of a journal article related to your topic
Action plan (be specific)
Note: Those of you taking Research Methods this fall will have an assignment related to the Research Plan.
First draft of Research Plan, Deadline: December 15, 2014
10/09/2014

12. 3b. Thesis Outline
Helps identify the flow of the thesis and indicates the direction and detail of the thesis to the supervisor.
Should be updated constantly to match your actual research
Use this thesis outline to develop the table of contents of the thesis.
The electronic form “model outline” is available on Into.
Included in the research methods course.
Send the first draft of your thesis outline by to your thesis supervisor by January 7, 2015.
10/09/2014

13. 3c. Purposes of the Literature Review—to:
chart what is already known about the topic
identify possible gaps in the current research
facilitate problem definition
provide ideas about different variables (factors)
learn about different theoretical and methodological approaches to your topic
help you develop framework for analysis
suggest additional research questions
help you interpret your findings
note: the lit review evolves as your research evolves
First draft of Literature Review, Deadline: February 4, 2015
10/09/2014

14. Keep in mind re: the literature review
What it is:
a survey of scholarly books, articles and other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, theory or methodology
What it is not:
A list of article summaries (he said this, she said that, they said another thing) – you structure the discussion, the themes, the headings.
10/09/2014

15. What kinds of works?
There are norms in academia for what is considered acceptable
General categories include:
books (incl. monographs, chapters in anthologies)
journal articles
theses and dissertations
government documents
unpublished manuscripts, working papers, conference proceedings (cutting-edge research by top scholars)
10/09/2014

16. Which sources to avoid? Textbooks are usually not acceptable
They are for teaching purposes, not research. If a concept is mentioned in a textbook you can be sure it is based on an important original work.
Wikipedia and other open-source texts
Their authoritativeness is in doubt due to many authors and lack of information on their methodology. Use it in browsing perhaps, never in the final thesis! A means to an end, not a quotable source!
Newspaper articles and magazines
Unless a news item or opinion piece on a contemporary topic adds something to the scholarly debate, which is not very common.
Newspaper articles have a certain angle, are time-bound, and have not been peer-reviewed.
So if you use them, think carefully about why it’s justified.
10/09/2014

17. Peer Review Why is it so important?
It keeps the authors on their toes, checking that their arguments are valid, that their methodology is sound.
Can limit the discussion in a field, but is still a well-accepted practice.
Be sure to include plenty of peer-reviewed sources (usually journal articles, but also books from reliable publishing houses).
10/09/2014

18. Checklist for analysis
Is the author addressing a scholarly audience?
Does the author review the relevant literature?
Is the main argument based on data the author has gathered, or on secondary sources?
How recent is the work?
How significant is the journal in your field?
Does the author have a particular theoretical viewpoint? (How controversial is it?)
Does the author write from an objective viewpoint, and are his/her views based on facts rather than opinions?
10/09/2014

19. Linking others’ research to your thesis
Where do I place myself in the debate?
Here is where your “voice” comes into the lit review – it is more personal without being unprofessional.
Styles vary in this regard—US style uses first person more, European not as much.
It is not about saying “I think this is &%!#, just because . . .” but engaging yourself in the debates.
10/09/2014

20. Your argument You’ll outline your full argument in the findings.
However, your lit review chapter does set the tone, and provides the basis for your own argument.
For some theses that do not include primary sources (eg conceptual theses), this becomes even more important.
It is acceptable to use secondary empirical research (ie someone else carried out a survey), but then you must work with that material and develop your own argument about it and other research.
10/09/2014

21. Conceptual Framework
reflects existing research and its relevance for your topic;
provides clear links between the existing literature and your research questions;
identifies gaps—in the research that you are trying to fill;
shows how you have adapted or improved or extended an existing framework;
presents the key ideas or constructs in your approach and their relationship; and
is usually expressed in a schematic diagram or table.
Go to the web link in the thesis instructions.
See examples from recent theses in the library.
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22. Grading the lit review An excellent lit review:
Demonstrates critical thinking, creativity and insight in reviewing earlier literature relevant to the research problem and questions.
An insufficient lit review:
Reports on earlier literature without connecting it to the research problem and question, and/or fails to identify relevant literature
The discussion should be focused. .
not a collection of various topics included to fill the pages.
You should show you are in control of the material, which is guided by your topic and research questions/objectives.
See the Literature Review Assessment Tool & Thesis Grading Rubric.
10/09/2014

23. 3d. Common methods used Case studies Survey Semi-structured interviews
Questionnaire (using eg Webropol, SurveyMonkey)
Structured/standardized—directly administered/online
Closed vs. open-ended questions
Questions must be approved by supervisor before administering
Semi-structured interviews
Experts – for background
Small set for rich description, some generalization if clear pattern emerges
Content analysis
10/09/2014

24. 4. Thesis Grading Rubric
Used by all supervisors, at least to grade the final draft of the thesis and final version.
Shows areas for improvement.
Grade of 0 in one attribute results in failing grade for the thesis (at final stage).
Different aspects are weighted differently.
Project management is included, ie whether you meet deadlines, participation in info sessions and workshops.
The rubric is available on Into:
10/09/2014

25. 5. Referencing
School standard is Harvard (similar to APA, but not exactly the same).
Also known as the “Author-Date System”.
In-text citation in parentheses, reference list at the back of the thesis
Very common in social sciences
Standard usage in Finland, elsewhere in Europe
Many international journals use this referencing standard.
10/09/2014

26. Plagiarism
We will use Turnitin as a writing support tool, also to check for plagiarism in the thesis process.
A high similarity percentage doesn’t automatically mean plagiarism has occurred – it could mean there is too much direct citation, not enough paraphrasing.
More information on Moodle/Turnitin will be provided in a later info session (Nov. 5, 12-13).
10/09/2014

27. 6. Other issues Role of the thesis supervisor
Meets with students to discuss their work, mainly individually but also as a group if the supervisor so wishes.
Academic expert and mentor
Provides advice on literature and methodology
Provides feedback on work submitted
Evaluator of thesis
Reads and evaluates thesis
Submits thesis grade
10/09/2014

28. Keep in mind. . .
Your thesis supervisor has commitments at home, he/she is not available in the same way as professors are during a 3-week module.
Don’t expect instant answers to your questions, so ask questions early enough to resolve them without pressuring your supervisor.
Example—what not to do: You’ve set up an interview and only send the interview questions to your supervisor for review the day before. . .
10/09/2014

29. Keep in mind (cont.)
Sophia Butt’s writing workshops 1 and 2, Dec. 1-3, 2014 and Feb , 2015.
Your performance matters!
Non-starters must drop out of the process in Jan.
Performance review by supervisor end of Feb.
Overall performance affects grade (project mgt)
Ask Information Specialist Jaana Santala for help when doing research.
All relevant documents on Into (open intranet)
10/09/2014

30. Keep in mind (cont.)
Talk to Mari Syväoja about any concerns questions about the process in general, with your supervisor about thesis-specific issues.
If you have academic concerns not addressed in these ways, contact Joan Lofgren or Tomi Heimonen.
If you are considering dropping due to anticipating a low grade for the thesis, think again – weigh the consequences of postponing versus the marginal potential gain from a possibly better grade in the future.
10/09/2014

31. 7. Brainstorming activity
Form a pair or small group (2-3 persons).
Choose a sample topic from the general list or a topic of your own (should fall within one of the subfields).
Prepare three research questions on that topic.
List two methodologies that can be used to study these questions.
You will have 10 minutes for the task (till 17.15).
Be prepared to report to the rest of the group and answer questions.
Have fun!
10/09/2014

32. 8. Next session: Q&A etc.
Joan Lofgren and Tomi Heimonen will hold a follow-up info session.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 15,
Part I: General discussion, see topics below
Part II: Open-ended Q&A with Joan and Tomi
Where: Auditorium
Topics to be addressed (based on Oct. 9 session):
Information retrieval
Choosing a topic
Methodology
Keeping your topic manageable
Company projects
Literature review, eg showing examples
10/09/2014

33. Key Dates Full Draft of Thesis: April 2, 2015
(Note: no additional drafts after this, only final thesis)
Final thesis: April 21, 2015
Thesis Presentation and Proficiency Test
April 24, 2015
(Note: mandatory attendance to get the credits, submit 2 hard copies of Final Thesis (library copies) April 24 by 12.00)
10/09/2014

34. Good luck!
Joan and Tomi
10/09/2014