BACHELOR’S THESIS 2014-2015

INFO SESSION 2

Joan Lofgren, Program Director

Tomi Heimonen, Development Manager

AALTO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESSMikkeli Campus

BScBA Degree Program9 October 2014

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Agenda

1. Purposes of the thesis & requirements2. Selecting a topic3. Key elements of the process, esp.:

a. Research plan b. Thesis outlinec. Literature review & conceptual frameworkd. Methods

4. Thesis grading rubric5. Referencing6. Other issues7. Brainstorming task8. Follow-up Q&A info-session Oct. 15

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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

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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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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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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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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: https://into.aalto.fi/display/enbscba/Other+Guides

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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

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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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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:– Jaana.Santala@aalto.fi

• Theses from past years are also available for you to browse through.

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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

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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 email to

your thesis supervisor by January 7, 2015.

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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

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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).

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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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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.

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3d. Common methods used • Case studies • Survey

– 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

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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:• https://into.aalto.fi/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=2883729

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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.

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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).

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6. Other issuesRole 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

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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. . .

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Keep in mind (cont.)• Sophia Butt’s writing workshops 1 and 2,

Dec. 1-3, 2014 and Feb. 16-19, 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)

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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.

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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!

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8. Next session: Q&A etc.

• Joan Lofgren and Tomi Heimonen will hold a follow-up info session.

• When: Wednesday, Oct. 15, 16.00-18.00• 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

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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 TestApril 24, 2015

(Note: mandatory attendance to get the credits, submit 2 hard copies of Final Thesis (library copies) April 24 by 12.00)

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Good luck!

Joan and Tomi

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