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Supervision and Consultation
Supervision is individually tailored to each topic and student. You should therefore make your own appointments for interim consultation with your supervisor and inform them of your progress. Usually, weekly jour fixe appointments are offered. However, the desired format of supervision can also be arranged individually with the supervisor (e.g. by e-mail, via Teams, face-to-face consultation).
Thesis Colloquium
In addition to supervision by a team member of the chair, you will take part in a so-called thesis colloquium. The aim of the colloquium is to promote exchange between students who are working on similar topics or research methods in their thesis. It also offers you the opportunity to practice your presentation and feedback skills.
Participation in the colloquium is mandatory and forms part of the overall assessment of your thesis. The colloquium (currently) always takes place on the last Thursday of the month between 16:00 and 17:30. You will be informed about the format (presence / digital via Teams) in good time.
You must present your thesis three times during the colloquium. Please note the following instructions for preparing your presentation:
- You will find a format template for the presentations as a PowerPoint template here.
- Presentation slides and length:
- Pitch presentation: 1-3 slides*, 5 min. presentation, 5 min. discussion (Q&A)
- Intermediate presentation: max. 5 slides*, 10 min. presentation, 10 min. discussion (Q&A)
- Final presentation: max. 10 slides*, 20 min. presentation, 10 min. discussion (Q&A)
* Refers to content slides only. Excluded are the title slide, list of references, and final slide.
Writing the Thesis
Please observe the specified formatting guidelines when writing your thesis. We also recommend that you take a look at the Future Skills of the UdS Data Pin team (most resources are in German, and some are available in English as well).
Format
Please use this World-Template with further information on the format guidelines.
Citation and bibliography:
Unless otherwise specified by your supervisor, the American Psychological Association (APA) style version 7 is used. We also recommend the use of a reference management program such as Mendeley, Zotero, or Citavi. Further information and a tutorial on the use of Mendeley can be found in the Moodle course ManTIS, which you will go through during your proposal phase (see here under ManTIS online course).
Page count and language:
The following information refers to the number of pages in the text section. The number of pages includes figures/tables, but not the title page, outline, indexes, and appendix. Exceeding the maximum limit is only permitted after consultation with the supervisor (e.g. in the case of extensive, empirical work).
Bachelor theses: English, in the format of the chair's guidelines, 7,000 words (±10%), equals approx. 28 pages.
Master's theses: English, in the format of a scientific publication, 14,000 words (±10 %), equals approx. 56 pages.
Furthermore, your thesis must contain the following affidavit:
“I hereby declare that I have developed and written the enclosed seminar / bachelor / master thesis entirely on my own and have not used outside sources without declaration in the text. Any concepts or quotations applicable to these sources are clearly attributed to them. This seminar / bachelor / master thesis has not been submitted in the same or substantially similar version, not even in part, to any other authority for grading and has not been published elsewhere. I am aware of the fact that a misstatement may have serious legal consequences.”
Use of AI tools
The use of AI tools is permitted as an aid when working on the thesis. However, please be aware that generative tools such as ChatGPT are not scientific sources and do not replace individual research. Among other things, generated text content can be fictitious or inaccurate. Generated texts should therefore always be checked for accuracy. The university provides how-to concepts for dealing with generative AI here. If you use such tools, you must indicate their use in the affidavit of your thesis. Please use the following wording:
“I declare that I used the following AI tools during the thesis process:”
Tool | Description of use |
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Thesis Colloquium
In the main phase, you must again participate in the thesis colloquium and take part in the discussion of the presentations. In addition, you will give a presentation on your current work progress at the beginning and in the middle of the main phase. Please also note the information on the thesis colloquium in the "Initial phase" tab.
Handing in the thesis
After the completion period, you must submit your thesis as follows:
- DIN A4 format and printed on both sides
- Submission to the examination office: 2 printed & bound copies (softcover/hotmelt binding, no ring binding) and a digital version (USB stick)
- Submission to your supervisor: one digital version of the thesis (by e-mail)
In general, the requirements of the examination office apply.
Assessment of the thesis
Assessment of the thesis
The thesis is assessed according to various criteria. On the one hand, the thesis itself is assessed, and, on the other, the process you have gone through in preparing and writing it. Below is a brief insight into which criteria may be included in the overall assessment. Please note that the assessment criteria are adapted individually depending on the topic and are not limited to the list provided.
General Approach | ||||
Time management | Independence | Systematic approach | Care of the research work | … |
Written Elaboration | ||||
Content | ||||
Literature research | Research question and method | Relevance of the results | Comprehensibility and completeness | … |
Format | ||||
Bibliography and citation | Format | Structure | Language and comprehensibility | …. |
Presentation | ||||
Time Management | ||||
Presentation | ||||
Outline | Structure | Slide design | General presentation skills/lecture | … |
Content | ||||
Selection of contents | Red thread | Comprehensibility | Completeness | … |
Participation in the Thesis Colloquium | ||||