Thesis Report Guidelines for a Research Project

Thesis Report Guidelines for a Research Project

HAAGA-HELIATHESIS REPORT GUIDELINES1 (9)

BIT Research project

Thesis report guidelines for a research project

BIT Thesis group

Bachelor’s Thesis Guidelines

DP in Business Information Technology

2010-1

Thesis report guidelines for a research project

The purpose of this guide is to give instructions how to write a thesis, when the thesis is a research project.

This guide is for BIT students.

The basic structure and instructions of the guide have been taken from the

Writing your thesis at HAAGA-HELIA document.

The main parts of the guide are

1 Structure of the research project thesis

2 Guidelines for the contents of the research project thesis

3 The research project thesis in a nutshell

There are also instructions concerning the confidential material of the thesis.

When writing the thesis the BIT student must also follow the common instructions concerning bibliography, references, use of source etc. given in Writing your thesis at HAAGA-HELIA. See HH extranet Studies/Thesis/ThesisReportGuide(word2007).

1 Structureof the research project thesis

Cover page

Assessment statement

Abstract

(Preface)

Contents

Vocabulary

Abbreviation

Introduction

Theory

Research, the carry out

Results

Summary and conclusions

Recommendations

Bibliography

Appendices

- public appendices (if any)

- confidential appendices (if any)

In the library version there are only short references of the

confidential appendices.

Back cover

Note! Confidential material

If the thesis contains business or trade secrets, then

1) primarily the sponsor and business branch are blotted out from the thesis.

If that is not possible, then

2) the secrets parts determined by the sponsor are placed to the appendices.

These confidential appendices are removed from the public thesis (which goes to the HAAGA-HELIA library and to the electronic Theseus library) and there arein the appendices only a list of the results and short descriptions of their purpose.

Note! Numbers of the sections

The first numbered section is the “Introductions”sections with number 1 and the last the "Recommendations". The other numbers depend on the way you dived and label the thesis sections.

2 Guidelines for the contents of the research project thesis

Cover page

  • educational institution, logo
  • name of the thesis
  • writer's/ the writers' names
  • text = “Bachelor´s Thesis”
  • training programme
  • publication year

See Thesis cover example.

You may edit your thesis title also after you have completed your work to ensure that the title matches with the contents.

Assessment statement

  • the final assessment statement,which is given to the student after the thesis evaluation meeting.

Abstract

  • must fit to one page
  • in English only
  • short, independent presentation of the contents of the thesis,

is publishedin the HHlibrary

  • contents: background, research problem, objectives, delimitations, used methods, obtained results, conclusions and given recommendations
  • also bibliographic information
  • keywords (the index terms)
  • length: English 250 - 500 words
  • standard SFS 3855

UseAbstract template.

Prefacenot necessary

  • for example reasons for the making of the thesis joining an assignment extensions to the bigger wholeness or division of labour if two writers,

or thanks to the persons or organisations from which the student got help along

  • to end:place, date the writer's name's/ the writers' names
  • If there is no preface, thanks can be presented here in a "Thanks" –paragraph.

If the work contains confidential appendices,it must be told here, and in that case the preface is mandatory.

Contents

  • tall headings and corresponding page numbers
  • appendices with page numbers
  • possible list of pictures and tables (after the actual table of contents)

Vocabulary

  • if the thesis contains signs, terms and units the readers cannot easily understand, they are explained here in a listwith one or two sentences.

Abbreviation

  • a list of abbreviationswith total names and explanations

(Introduction)

Introduction

The introduction has two primary tasks:

- to raise the reader’s interest and

- to provide the reader with background information about the topic.

Subjects

  • general introduction, description of the background
  • an old belief or understanding about your topic
  • research problems and research questions, objectives and scope, delimitations of the thesis
  • the methodology employed
  • the commissioning party
  • key concepts and other factors effecting the work’s structure

It is essential to present the research problem and research questions.

Write the introduction so that the reader will understand the whole thesis. It is best that you finalise your introduction only after you have completed the remainder of your thesis.A good introduction is short, for a thesis 2-4 pages.

(Theoretical part, the framework)

TheoryThe concepts, theoretical background, earlier research.

Here is the theoretical background of your thesis, which is based on reference literature and earlier research. The theory must always be presented with sufficient detail, and you must indicate how the theory relates to the empirical part.

Subjects

  • concepts and their definitions within a conceptual scheme that is known, established and accepted by experts
  • what is known about the topic already beforehand, in other words

which information this thesis is based on

  • use of information sources and critical study of information for this work; including the whole earlier domain of research

(Empirical part)

Research, thecarry out

Describe to the reader what you did and how you did your study: collection and handling of the data and presentation of the methods.

Subjects

  • presentation of target under study (people, community, reference materials ..), place, limitations etc. and justifications for the choice
  • used methods (data acquisition and handling),devices, tools, measurements, testsand other such factors
  • justifications for the choice of methods
  • researchimplementationphase by phase

The research implementation description should be precise enough that the reader will be able to evaluate used methods and reliability of the achieved results.

The results

This is the core of the thesis: the research results, the new information that has been received.

Subjects

  • describe what the results were and interpretation of results
  • reflect the results to the set research problems
  • present the results in the order that the research questions were presented (no discussion or conclusions here)
  • assess reliability and validity of the results

(Discussion = analysis)

Summary and conclusion

This section reviews the key results, and the conclusions that can be made from them. The section should indicate how successfully the thesis questions were solved. It also discusses the significance and validity of the results, and value of the results with regard to both theory and practice.

(summary)

  • a review of the work’s primary objectives and purpose
  • a review of the key resultsand the new theoretical avail

(conclusions)

  • conclusions are drawn based on the obtained results
  • conclusions are solutions to the research problems
  • only those conclusions which can be made reliably on the basis of results
  • conclusions are presented in the order that the research questions

(discussion)

  • estimate how successfully the thesis contribute to the topic under study
  • describe the extent to which your results can be generalized
  • estimate suitability of the chosen methods
  • any limitations in your research methods and, if so, what they were and how they could be further improved upon in addition researches.

(Evaluation and reflection of the learning and experiences during the thesis project belong to the project final report.)

Recommendations

  • concrete recommendations based on the obtained(to the sponsor, some other organizations, to Haaga-Helia, to the society...)
  • for example how your findings can be utilized in practice
  • recommendations or suggestions for further research

(Recommendations concerning project management belong to the project final report.)

(Bibliography and appendices)

Bibliography

The theory of your thesis is based on your reference:

  • all the sources in which in the text it is referred to are listed (works which are useful to the reader, but are not referred toin this thesis, can be listed in a separate bibliography)
  • research studies, books, articles, interviews, the Internet, professional seminars, lectures, as well as reports produced by companies, associations or the public sector

Appendices

Remember that an appendix cannot stand on its own; it must always be referred to in your text.

Publicappendices

  • material which will be necessary from the point of view of the contents, but weaken logical progress, if it is presented in connection with the actual text
  • material which on the basis of its scope or its notation is not suitable for the connection of the actual text
  • material which can be skipped but however, is valuable and interesting
  • for example, a questionnaire used for gathering information, the covering letter sent with such a questionnaire, a document, an agreement or a large table or figure.

Confidential appendices

  • business or trade secrets, parts which are not published, determined to be confidential by the sponsor

If the thesis contains business or trade secrets, then

1) primarily the sponsor and business branch are blotted out from the report.

If that is not possible, then

2) the secrets parts determined by the sponsor are placed to the appendices. These confidential appendices are removed from the published thesis work (which goes to the HAAGA-HELIA library and to the electronic Theseus library) and there are only a list of the results and short descriptions of their purpose in the appendices.

Standards concerning appendices

  • Writing your thesis at HAAGA-HELIA, Report Guidelines Working Group, 1.9.2007
  • Standard ISO 5966: in identification of appendices upper-case letters: Appendix A, the Appendix B etc., for example Appendix A Equipment.
  • Headlining in appendices: A.2. Peripheral devices, A.2.3. Printers

Back cover

  • empty

3 The research thesis in a nutshell

The research project thesis report in a nut shell according to the HH Thesis Report Guidelines

RESEARCH-ORIENTED THESIS
An empirical study* or a literature study
Official assessment statement
Abstract
in English only
Preface
not necessary
Contents
Vocabulary and abbreviations
Introduction
- background, an old belief or understanding
-research questions, the scope of work
- methodology, key concepts
Theoretical part
- theoretical background based on
professional literature, earlier researches and other sources
*)Empirical part
- presentation of target under study
- data
- used methods (data collection and handling)
- results and assessment
Discussion (analysis)
- summary
- conclusions
- discussion (success, extensions, used methods, limitations)
- recommendations
Bibliography
Appendices
- confidential part of the thesis (not published), if any
- other appendices, if any

*For a theoretical/philosophical analysis, the empirical part is somewhat different.

The emphasis of this type of a thesis report is on the following parts: the theoretical part, the empirical part and the discussion. The results of the thesis work are represented in the empirical part. The size of the thesis report with appendices is 50-70 pages.

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