AGRICULTURE ACADEMY OFVYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF BIOECONOMY DEVELOPMENT

ACADEMIC PAPER WRITING FOR STUDENTS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES:

GENERAL METHODOLOGICAL GUIDELINES

For students of the Faculty of Bioeconomy Development

Akademija, 2019

Prepared by:

Alvydas Aleksandravičius

Vilija Aleknevičienė

Vilma Atkočiūnienė

Vida Čiulevičienė

Valdemaras Makutėnas

Astrida Slavickienė

Neringa Stončiuvienė

Lina Šarlauskienė

Daiva Urmonienė

Gintarė Vaznonienė

Bernardas Vaznonis

Danutė Zinkevičienė

Approved by the Study Committee of the Faculty of Economics and Management on 17 of

December 2014, protocol No.

SL399. 16.11.2014. Print l. 4.0 Format A4 Order No. 34. Edition: 30 copies Published by ASU Press, 2014 Studentu St 11, LT-53361 Akademija, Kaunas district

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................4

1. MAIN TYPES OF STUDY WORKS..............................................................................................5

1.1. Research paper..........................................................................................................................5

1.2. Scientific essay..........................................................................................................................6

1.3. Term paper................................................................................................................................6

1.4. Internship reports.......................................................................................................................8

1.5. Professional portfolio..............................................................................................................13

1.6. Final work of bachelor's studies..............................................................................................14

1.7. Master's thesis.........................................................................................................................16

2. GENERAL ACADEMIC PAPER SPECIFICATIONS.................................................................20

3. REQUIREMENTS ON PREPARATION OF PAPER PRESENTATIONS.................................30

LIST OF REFERENCES...................................................................................................................35

ANNEXES.........................................................................................................................................36

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INTRODUCTION

All students are required to complete individual work as provided in the study programmes,

such as individual and/or group tasks, research papers, term papers, internship reports, and, at the

end of the studies, final work of the first (bachelor’s) or second (master’s) study cycle at the final

stage of the studies.

This methodological manual outlines the basic requirements on paper writing methodology,

contents, formatting and presentations to be followed by students studying at the ASU Faculty of

Economics and Management.

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1. MAIN TYPES OF STUDY WORKS

1.1. Research paper

Research paper is an individual study work intended for comprehensive analysis of a certain

theoretical question. The process of writing a research paper is aimed at developing the abilities in

collection, analysis, systematisation and summarisation of information on the specific topic.

Students are expected to develop the skills of identification of research problems and generation of

the related solutions when writing the research papers.

A research paper analyses a certain topic (questions) on the basis of various references.

Students may choose topics from the list of research paper topics or may devise their own topics

upon the teacher's consent. Students studying at the first study cycle (bachelor’s degree) use

subject-related and scientific literature, legislative acts, statistical data as well as other information

sources for their research papers. Students studying at the second study cycle (master’s degree)

analyse scientific literature (monographs, science studies, research articles referred in international

databases) and, in exceptional cases, legislative acts, in their research papers. At least 10 references

shall be used in a research paper. At least half of the scientific literature analysed during the

master’s studies shall be scientific literature in a foreign language. Research papers may be

prepared by an individual student or a group of students (in the latter case, each student's

contribution shall be specified).

Recommended length of a research paper is 10–15 pages (including the introduction and

conclusions). A research paper prepared by a group of students must be longer. The specific length

of the paper is decided by the teacher. A research paper is comprised of the introduction, body part,

and conclusions (Table 1).

Table 1. Research paper structure and content requirementsStructural

parts Content requirements

Introduction

The introduction describes the relevance of the chosen topic, object, aim, objectives of the work and research methods applied. When providing reasoning of relevance of the research paper, the author must indicate his/her personal need for analysis of the chosen question. The field of research must be reflected in the aim of the research paper. Objectives outline the chosen method for implementation of the aim, i.e. steps taken to achieve the set aim. Research aims and objectives shall be formulated in the infinitive form of verb: to analyse, to compare, to summarise, to determine, to validate, to present, to propose, to study. Research methods applied and the period under analysis must be indicated at the end of the introduction.

Body part This part provides the review of various concepts, phenomena, processes relating to the chosen topic; analysis, systematisation and summary of various authors' approaches towards the issue as well as the paper author's approach towards the analysed issue. Students should identify key arguments and ideas important for the analysis of the chosen topic (question).

Conclusions

Conclusions of the research paper present general key ideas, results related to each objective with the view towards the research aim. Master’s degree students must demonstrate coherence between their research and the results of research works analysed in their research paper, reject or prove the proposed hypothesis.

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Integral parts of the research paper shall be laid out in the following sequence: title page

(Annex 1), contents (Annex 7), structural parts of the paper (Table 3), list of references (Annex 10).

1.2. Scientific essay

A scientific essay is a student's individual written work, the scope and specific structure of

which are defined by the teacher who helps develop scientific thinking and argumentation skills.

An essay is aimed at presentation of an attitude based on scientific arguments, explanation of own

interpretation. When writing a scientific essay, a student refers to the literature or other data,

applies scientific methods and concepts. The main focus is put on the analysed issue and the

approach towards it, understanding of the theories and ability to discuss on them.

A scientific essay shall possess the following attributes: analysis instead of mere description,

application of general concepts, assumptions and theories to the specific material (not vice versa);

support of the ideas by literature (not the experience).

Formatting and structure requirements to scientific essays are the same as for research papers;

scientific essays may be shorter (the specific length of the paper is decided by the teacher).

A scientific essay shall answer all of the following questions:

1. Has the question defined by the title and the wording of problem been answered?

2. Have the applicable points covered during the theoretical lectures been included?

3. Are the ideas laid down in the essay based on scientific arguments?

4. Has the essay been written in an objective, analytical, argumentation style?

5. Is the language of the text fluent, easy to read?

Stages of a scientific essay:

1. Describe the topic, identify the problem and raise the question to be discussed in the

essay.

2. Find the explanation, answer, solution, come to a conclusion.

3. Start from an issue, question, etc. and work towards an explanation, answer, solution,

conclusion by logical argumentation.

4. All theses shall be validated by acceptable evidence.

5. The text must be presented in an easy to read form.

1.3. Term paper

A term paper is an individual study work for students to apply theoretical knowledge to

analysis of a specific scientific or practical problem. A term paper helps develop students’ ability of

applying theoretical knowledge in specialization subjects to conduction of empirical research,

evaluation of the current condition of economy, branch or an entity, development of methods of

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problem solving. As the students are writing the term papers, they develop their abilities of

analysing and summarising the scientific literature, applying other researchers’ methodology to own

research, analysing and systematising the results of empirical research, comparing them to research

data provided by other authors.

Students studying at the first study cycle use subject-related and scientific literature,

legislative acts, statistical and empirical data as well as other information sources for their term

papers. The list of references of a first-cycle term paper shall be comprised at least 15 sources, at

least the third of which shall be sources in a foreign language.

Students studying at the second study cycle analyse scientific literature (monographs, science

studies, research articles referred in international databases) and, in exceptional cases, legislative

acts, in their term papers. At least half of the scientific literature analysed during the master’s

studies shall be scientific literature in a foreign language. Students studying at the second study

cycle are required to identify the research problem, formulate the hypothesis, conduct the research

and put forward the methods for solving the problem, prove or reject the hypothesis in their term

papers.

Recommended length of the term paper is 15–20 pages (including the introduction and

conclusions). The term paper is comprised of the following components: introduction, theoretical,

analytical and result or project parts, and conclusions(Table 2).

Table 2. Term paper structure and content requirementsStructural parts Content requirements Introduction The introduction shall provide validation of the choice of the topic, its relevance, practical and

theoretical significance, specify the object, aim and objectives, methods of the research, and the period under analysis. Research aim and objectives shall be formulated in the infinitive form of verb: to analyse, to study, to assess, to determine, to reveal, to present, to compare, etc. The period under analysis shall be at least 5 years.

Theoretical part Theoretical part of the paper involves analysis of scientific, methodological and other literature, presents theories, key ideas, concepts of the analysed subject, summary of various authors’ opinions and scientific research on the analysed issue, theoretical methods of solving the analysed problem. Opinion of the author of the term paper shall be expressed in a reasoned manner.

Analytical part Analytical part of the paper involves detailed analysis of the problem under consideration, the conducted empirical studies are described, economic, statistical calculations are presented, results of the empirical studies and the determining factors, deviations of the results from the theoretical provisions, average values are analysed.

Result or project part

This part of the paper shows practical applicability of the research results, puts forward the proposals on solution of the analysed problem, their economic and social reasoning. Changes of the analysed object are projected based on the research results and theoretical concepts by using methods of forecasting, modelling and design.

Conclusions The conclusions provide concise summary of the author’s research results and possible methods of solving the research problem. The conclusions shall be closely related to the aim and objectives of the research.

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Integral parts of the term paper shall be laid out in the following sequence: title page (Annex 1),

terms of reference of the term paper (Annex 4), summary in Lithuanian (Annex 6), contents (Annex 7),

structural parts of the term paper (Table 2), list of references (Annex 10), appendices (where necessary).

Dividing theoretical, analytical and result or project parts of the paper into subsections is recommended.

Concise summary of the results shall be provided at the end of each section or subsection. The term

paper shall contain citations linked to the list of references used. Arguments provided in the term paper

shall be illustrated with tables, figures and appendices.

Supervisor of the paper provides support in development of and approves the terms of reference

of the term paper, evaluates the scientific and other literature, sources of statistical and other

information gathered by the student, provides consultations in identifying the research aims and

objectives, defining the research object, developing the research methodology.

Topics of the term papers are individual. Students may choose topics from the list of term

paper topics provided by the teacher. Students may devise their own topics of the term paper upon

the teacher’s consent.

Defence of the term papers takes place during practical classes and is comprised of brief

presentation of the research results by the student and question/answer part, where the student

answers the teacher’s questions. Having failed to write or defend the term paper by the defined

deadlines, the student is not admitted to examination of the subject. Term paper assessment criteria

are provided in the description of specific course unit.

1.4. Internship reports

Students studying at the first cycle of university studies are required to prepare reports on

educational, entrepreneurial and professional internship

An educational internship report is an individual study work intended to analyse and

describe a chosen object of the internship (social and economic phenomena, processes, business or

public organisation, etc.) and its functional environment in actual situations; develop analytical

skills and skills of conducting empirical research, using information technologies in integration of

theoretical and practical knowledge on the basics of the field of study. Educational internship

reports may, in exceptional cases, be replaced by developed solutions of practical tasks.

An educational internship report is comprised of an introduction, analytical part, conclusions

(Table 3).

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Table 3. Educational internship report structure and content requirements Structural

parts Content requirements

Introduction The introduction must provide the aim, objectives of the educational internship report, research object and methods, successes and failures during the internship. Aims and objectives shall be formulated in the infinitive form of verb: to study, to analyse, to compare, to determine, to project, to present.

Analytical part The analytical part must describe the studied object and its functional environment, evaluation of internal and external environment of the object, present the identified practical issues and reasoned solutions of these issues, object operations improvement project or object development strategy. Individual arguments must be illustrated by examples, such as draft operational documents (by-laws, articles of association, job descriptions) and draft operational plans.

Conclusions The conclusions provide summary evaluation of the condition of the specific research object, indicate the positive features, reveal the weak aspects and the proposed potential corrective measures, benefit of the educational internship, appropriateness of the internship site.

Recommended length of the educational internship report is 15–20 pages (excluding the

appendices; including the introduction and conclusions).

Entrepreneurial internship report is an individual or collective study work intended to

describe operations of a simulation business enterprise and student as well as demonstrate the

acquired competences in business management.

The entrepreneurial internship report is aimed at solidifying theoretical knowledge held by

the students studying under the first-cycle (bachelor’s degree) university study programmes,

developing entrepreneurial skills at the HR, financial management and accounting, production and

sourcing, sales and marketing departments of a simulation business enterprise through solution of

various tasks in business, service planning and development, organisation, management, monitoring

and assessment, work towards strategic operational goals of the enterprise by means of simulation

in a virtual and actual setting.

A student's entrepreneurial internship report upon internship at a department of a simulation

business enterprise is comprised of the introduction, analytical part, conclusions (Table 4).

Table 4. Entrepreneurial internship report structure and content requirementsStructural parts Content requirementsIntroduction The introduction must indicate the general and personal aim, objectives of the entrepreneurial

internship, duties, methods of operations, successes and failures during employment at the simulation enterprise. Aims and objectives shall be formulated in the infinitive form of verb: to study, to compare, to determine, to present.

Analytical part The analytical part defines the goal of a specific department of the simulation business enterprise of internship, demonstrates the operational experience and specific characteristics of this department, provides the analysis, assessment of performance indicators, and the related recommendations on performance improvement. Individual arguments must be illustrated by examples, such as operational documents of the enterprise, various economic and financial calculations, etc.

Conclusions The conclusions provide evaluation of the condition of the department at the simulation business enterprise in the applicable area of operations of the department, indicate the positive features, reveal the weak aspects and possible corrective measures, benefit of the internship.

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Length of an entrepreneurial internship report (prepared for each department at the

simulation business enterprise) is 4–5 pages (including the introduction and conclusions). Data on

operations of the respective departments at the simulation business enterprise are used in

preparation of the entrepreneurial internship report. The data are collated and compared to the data

of actual existing enterprises that show progress.

A professional internship report is an individual study work intended to describe the

chosen operations or a certain process of a specific business entity or public organisation and

demonstrate the acquired competences and professional practical skills.

Professional internship reports are aimed at solidifying the theoretical knowledge and

enhancing students' practical knowledge in specialization subjects. The latest subject-related and

scientific literature, legislative acts, primary and secondary statistical and empirical data are used in

writing a professional internship report.

A professional internship report is comprised of an introduction, analytical part, conclusions

(Table 5).

Table 5. Professional internship report structure and content requirementsStructural parts Content requirementsIntroduction The introduction must indicate the aim and objectives, object of the internship, research methods and

the period under analysis, duties and the accomplished works that have contributed to the organisation of the internship. Research aim and objectives shall be formulated in the infinitive form of verb: to study, to analyse, to compare, to determine, to project, to present.

Analytical part The analytical part describes a specific entity that the internship takes place at, reveals the operational experience of this entity, its specific features, provides the analysis and evaluation of its performance indicators. Individual arguments must be illustrated by examples, such as copies of documents, various calculations, etc. Data of the organisation of internship are collated and compared to the latest data of research studies and advanced enterprises. This part of the report shall reflect the integrated approach towards practice and theory.

Conclusions The conclusions provide evaluation of the condition of the economic entity or public institution in the applicable area of operations, indicate the positive features, reveal the weak aspects and possible corrective measures. The student is required to provide his/her evaluation of the scope of implementation of the aims and objectives of the internship, his/her contribution to the operations of the institution and the contribution of the institution to the student's professional training.

Recommended length of the professional internship report is 15–20 pages (including the

introduction and conclusions).

Students studying at the second cycle of university studies who have chosen the practical

field of studies shall prepare the innovation internship report.

An innovation internship report is an individual master's study work intended to describe

the innovative aspect of the chosen operations of a specific business entity or public organisation

and identify new relations in the operations of the organisation by analysing and evaluating

innovations in management, social area, economy, accounting, marketing and other areas; reveal

and revise the relevance of the scientific practical issue analysed in the master's thesis.

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Innovation internship reports are aimed at solidifying the acquired theoretical knowledge,

developing and improving the skills in unassisted application of modern research methods to

innovative and knowledge-integrating practical activity, improving practical skills in quantitative

and qualitative assessment of work, research, business entities or public organisations, achieving

higher level of understanding on the studied object, and identifying the areas of improvement in the

operations of the organisation through analysis and assessment of innovations in management,

social area, economy, marketing and other areas, with subsequent proposal of appropriate

improvement measures. The innovation internship is intended to develop the innovative and

creative abilities in Master's degree students.

An innovation internship report is comprised of an introduction, analytical part, conclusions

(Table 6).

Table 6. Innovation internship report structure and content requirementsStructural parts Content requirements

Introduction The introduction must indicate the aim and objectives of the internship, research object, research methods, the period under analysis, provides the links to the scientific practical issue analysed in the master's thesis.

Analytical part The analytical part describes the specific entity the innovation internship takes place at, reveals the operational experience of the entity, provides the analysis of its performance indicators, identifies the issues, provides evaluation of relevance of the innovations in the organisation and the plan of implementation of the proposed innovations. Individual arguments must be illustrated by examples, such as documents, empirical study instrument (questionnaires), other documents gathered during the internship and used in the report. This part of the report shall reflect the integrated approach towards practice and theories.

Conclusions The conclusions provide evaluation of the innovation-related condition of the economic entity or public institution in the applicable area of operations, indicate the positive features, reveal the weak aspects and possible corrective measures, benefit of the internship (for the organisation and student), as well as proposals on improvement of the internship.

Recommended length of the innovation internship report is 15–20 pages (including the

introduction and conclusions). Subject-related and scientific literature, legislative acts, statistical

and empirical data gathered in the organisation shall be used in the internship report.

Research work report is an individual master's study work prepared by Master's degree

students wishing to prepare for PhD studies and practical activity. The report is intended to solve a

practical or scientific issue, demonstrate skills in writing a scientific literature review, preparation

of research methodology, conducting an empirical study and developing reasoned recommendations

for solution of the practical or theoretical issue.

The research work is conducted during the first and second years of the master's studies by

gathering, collecting, analysing, systematising, interpreting and critically evaluating the results of

previous research in the certain field of the study programme.

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While writing the research work report, the first-year Master's degree students wishing to

prepare for the PhD studies must prepare the review of the latest scientific literature according to

the chosen topic of the final thesis (the review shall identify the analysed issue and structure it as

accurately as possible), plan and methodology of the master's thesis, conduct the pilot study. The

second-year Master's degree students wishing to prepare for the PhD studies and practical activity

must revise the set of research instruments and methodology; conduct empirical study and analyse

the data; solve the research objectives, prove or reject the proposed hypotheses.

A research work report is comprised of an introduction, analytical part, conclusions

(Table 7).

Table 7. Research work report structure and content requirementsStructural parts Content requirements

Introduction The introduction must provide the reasoning behind the choice of the analysed issue and topic, define the research object, formulation of the issue of practical or scientific nature or propose the hypothesis, identify the aim and objectives, research methods, and the period under analysis. Favourable and unfavourable circumstances faced by the author in preparation of the report must be described.

Analytical part The analytical part presents the reasoning of the relevance and importance of the research to theory and practice. Rationale behind the extent of analysis of the scientific issue must be supported by theories, researchers' approaches and results of various research studies and the student's reasoned opinion. Theoretical materials from scientific articles, monographs, academic publications systematised by the student, reasoning of the research methodology, premises of the future practical or scientific analysis of the issue and empirical studies, theoretical model must be provided.Individual arguments must be illustrated by examples, such as theoretical patterns, strategic documents, empirical study instrument (questionnaire), other documents gathered during the research and used in the report. This part of the report shall reflect integration of practice and theories; each section of this part shall be followed by the respective summary (main results) that may facilitate formulation of the final conclusions.

Conclusions The conclusions shall provide evaluation of the condition of the economic entity or public institution in the applicable area of operations, determine the reasons for the respective condition, identify the positive aspects, reveal the weak aspects and the respective corrective measures, cohesion between theory and practice and proposals for solution of the issue of practical or scientific nature and improvement of the condition, considerations regarding further study on the analysed issue, attention shall be put towards the aspects of the issue that have not been analysed yet.

Integral parts of the internship and research work reports shall be laid out in the following

sequence: title page (Annex 1), contents (Annex 7), structural parts of the respective internship

report (Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7), list of references (Annex 10), appendices.

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1.5. Professional portfolio

A professional portfolio is a collection of contemplations, reflections, tasks on the individual

experience in professional activity or business; a collection of student's practical works, documents,

facts or other evidence proving his/her participation in the learning process.

Development of a professional portfolio helps reveal the person's generic and specific

competences acquired through formal, non-formal and informal learning, enables the student to

organise own learning more efficiently, understand own goals of professional activity, possibilities

for correction of such activity, assess and demonstrate own achievements, engage in experience-

based learning. The developed professional portfolios show the students' achievements and

professional growth. Professional portfolio may be developed in a digital form by means of the IT

(e-portfolio).

Recommended structure of the professional portfolio:

1. General information about the student: name, surname, study programme, group, CV, letter

of motivation for an employer.

2. Student's experience in practical activity, tasks and duties.

3. Compliance of the competencies developed by the student during the practical activity to the

aims of the study programme or the intended outcomes of the individual subjects.

4. Methodological material: descriptions of meetings, activity, methods.

5. List of the studied literature, transcripts, copies of the read and considered material, extracts

from the references.

6. Information or evidence on the student's competencies: generic competencies (personal,

social, communicative, critical thinking and problem solving, work and activity, IT use, etc.);

personal qualities (e.g., self-confidence, sense of responsibility, persistence, ability to take risks,

self-determination, support to others and cooperation); specific competencies based on certificates,

certificates of merit, various qualifications (e.g., competition diplomas, prizes, examination

assessments, etc.); participation in the activity of community of the institution.

7. The student's action plan reflecting the learner's current position (where am I know?), the

aims (where am I moving?), the set objectives (what steps am I going to take?), methods for

achievement of the aim (how am I going to achieve it?).

8. Student self-evaluation form. The student uses the form to provide own comments and notes

on oneself in various situations (in the educational institution, at home, in the community, etc.),

hobbies and the activity he/she is particularly attracted to, specific abilities, achievements,

expectations for the future (e.g., intentions to continue learning, areas of development, employment-

related intentions, etc.).

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9. Activity analysis diary, summary table of assessment of daily activity results, samples of the

completed tasks (e-version, hard copy).

10. Student's individual plans related to work in the simulation enterprise, certain subject, term

or academic year: daily, topic-based, weekly, for the internship period.

11. Contemplations on the problems and methods of their solution, bank of new ideas.

12. Teachers and other specialists' reviews, recommendations.

More guidelines on the structure of the professional portfolio are provided by the

Methodology of Assessment and Recognition of Non-Formally and Informally Acquired

Competencies (2014) developed by Aleksandras Stulginskis University.

The portfolio of learning outcomes shall be clear and easy to assess, each evidence provided

in the portfolio shall reveal the candidate's competence (brief explanation may be required for

certain documents). It is important that:

1) all evidence is numbered and provided in logical order;

2) the portfolio is developed under a certain system to enable easy linking of the evidence to

appropriate documents, items and activity criteria.

Where the evidence in the portfolio of learning outcomes validates the student's

achievements only partially, the teacher may use additional methods of assessment of the student's

competence.

1.6. Final work of bachelor's studies

A final work of bachelor's studies is an individual work required for award of a qualification

and intended for solution of a chosen research problem.

The final work of bachelor's studies is intended to expand, improve and reveal

theoretical knowledge on the analysed topic, identify the research problem, apply the

methodology to the research and generate possible methods for solution of the problem, without any

assistance.

The topic of the final work shall conform to the study field and programme. The language of

the work shall be the language that the studies are held in.

A student is responsible for preparation of the final work, correctness of the provided results,

conclusions and formatting of the work. Supervisor of the paper provides support in development of the

terms of reference of the work, evaluates the scientific and other literature, sources of statistical and

other information gathered by the student, provides consultations in identifying the research aims and

objectives, defining the research object, developing the research methodology. Evaluation of the

student's efforts in preparation of the work is provided by the supervisor in the supervisor's review.

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The latest subject-related and scientific literature, legislative acts, statistical and empirical

data shall be used in writing the final work of bachelor's studies. At least 20 sources shall be

provided in the list of scientific and other references. Literature in a foreign language shall be used

and account for at least the third of all sources. Course books used as the only type of sources are

not sufficient for preparation of a final work.

Recommended length of a work is 30–35 pages (including the introduction and conclusions),

if the final work accounts for 12 credits; 25–30 pages, if the final work accounts for 10 credits, and

20–25 pages, if the final work accounts for 8 credits.

A final work of bachelor's studies is comprised of the following components: introduction,

theoretical, analytical and result or project parts, and conclusions(Table 8). All parts of the work must

be interrelated. Dividing theoretical, analytical and result or project parts of the paper into subsections is

recommended. Concise summary of the results of a subsection shall be provided at the end of the

respective subsection.

Table 8. Final work of bachelor's studies: structureand content requirements

Structural parts

Content requirements

Introduction The introduction provides reasoning of the relevance, importance of the topic to the theoretical and practical domain, describes the research object, indicates the aim and objectives of the work, contains brief reference to the research methods and techniques, specifies the period under analysis. Scientific arguments must be used and author's personal need for analysis of the topic must be revealed in reasoning of the relevance of the topic. Research object is a social, economic or environment-related phenomenon in an organisation, region, country or world. Research aim points at the field of the research, while the objectives reveal the chosen method for solution of the aim, i.e. consistency of the research steps to be taken to achieve the research aim. Wording of the aim of the work shall be related to the topic of the work. The aim and objectives shall be formulated in the infinitive form of verb: to define, to assess, to compare, to prepare, to present, to verify, to revise, to construct, to formulate, to develop, etc. The objectives shall be logically subordinate to the aim, i.e. an objective may not be more general than the aim. No more than 3–5 objectives should be used. Research methods used for each objective must be described. Methods appropriate and sufficient for analysis and solution of the problem analysed in the work must be chosen. The period under analysis shall be at least 5 years.

Theoretical part

This part of the work is comprised of the analysis of scientific and other literature, presents the concepts and their interpretations, theories and key ideas on the analysed topic. Authors who have previously analysed the problem of the research are indicated, summary of their results is presented, and the author's opinion is provided with proper reasoning.

Analytical part

This part of the work presents the situation of the analysed problem, provides details on the research object, the performed observations, sample, analysis of the primary and secondary data (Annex 13). Results of the empirical study, conditions and scope of variation of the analysed phenomena and indicators are assessed and presented; deviations from theoretical provisions, requirements established in the effective official documents, average values are analysed, the reasons for such deviations are determined and evaluated. Certain arguments must be illustrated by examples, such as copies of documents, various calculations, etc.

Result or project part

This part of the work presents a reasoned, calculation-based forecast of variation of the analysed phenomena, indicators; proposals on improvement of planning, organisation, accounting, control and other processes in the analysed entity; social and/or economic argumentation of the proposed solutions, based on the aim and objectives of the research object.

Conclusions The conclusions provide concise summary of the results of the conducted research and the identified

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possible methods of solving the research problem. The conclusions shall provide answers to the questions of the aim and objectives set in the beginning of the work.

Integral parts of the final work of bachelor's studies shall be laid out in the following

sequence: title page (Annex 2), composition of the final theses evaluation committee approved by the

Rector's order (Annex 2 continued). Terms of reference of the final work of bachelor’s studies (Annex

5), summaries (in Lithuanian and English) (Annex 6), contents (Annex 7), structural parts of the final

work (Table 8), list of references (Annex 10), appendices (where necessary). A5 size envelope with

the supervisor's and reviewer's evaluation forms as well as the CD containing the final work included

shall be glued to the inner side of the last sheet (hard cover).

1.7 Master Final Thesis

Master final thesis – a written work prepared and defended by a student independently

summarizing the student’s ability to solve scientific or practical problems defined in the study

programme, acquisition of other competencies set in the other study programme. When Master

studies are of a scientific nature, the final thesis is devoted to the identification and solution of a

scientific problem. When Master studies are of a practical nature, the final thesis is intended for the

identification of a practical problem and its solution by research methods.

When preparing the Master final thesis, the student follows the description of the special

requirements and procedures for the preparation and defence of the Master thesis at the Faculty

of Bioeconomy Development of Vytautas Magnus University.

During the preparation of the final thesis, the student shall demonstrate the ability to apply

theoretical knowledge, identify a scientific or practical problem, collect, analyse and summarize

scientific literature, develop or adapt a methodology for conducting research and apply it to the

research object.

In the final Master thesis when the studies are of a scientific nature (intended to prepare for

doctoral studies), the scientific problem and the hypothesis/statement(s) of defence (hypothesis,

intuitive scientific assumption) are raised and substantiated or denied by the analysis of the scientific

literature on the topic under consideration, with particular emphasis on the development of theories

and scientific approaches, providing a critical and reasoned opinion of the student. Based on the

analysis of the scientific literature, the student shall develop a methodology for solving a scientific

problem and examine its application possibilities, assumptions and constraints in the country(s),

region or organization(s).

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In the final Master thesis, when the studies are intended to prepare for practical activities, the

analysis of the identified practical problem is presented by emphasizing the student’s attitude to the

problem. With regard to the analysis of the scientific literature, the student shall develop a

methodology to solve a practical problem, to test its feasibility, assumptions, and constraints in the

country(s), region or organization(s).

The latest subject and scientific literature, legislation, statistics, and other data are used in

writing the Master thesis. At least 35 references have to be quoted in the Master thesis of scientific

nature, while in a practical thesis have to be cited at least 30 references. Fully half of the references

used has to be published by foreign scholars.

Volume of the final Master thesis is between 50 to 70 pages (without appendices). Master

thesis consists of the following parts:

- Title page (Appendix 3);

- Composition of the Commission for Theses Defence approved by the Rector’s order

(continuation of Appendix 3);

- Contents (Appendix 7);

- Summary in one of the main languages of the EU (English, French, German) (1 page,

Appendix 6);

- Glossary of key concepts (Appendix 11), which is intended to provide the student with

basic concepts to guide research and preparation of the final thesis (concepts may be of other

authors and formed by the student oneself);

- Introduction, presenting the scientific (Table 10) or practical problem (Table 11) and all the

main parameters of the research described: object, purpose, tasks, etc.;

- The main components of the thesis: in the scientific thesis – theory, methodology and

results (Table 10); in practical thesis – situation analysis, methodology, including theoretical

aspects, as well as result/project results (Table 11);

- Conclusions and recommendations;

- List of references and other sources of information (Appendix 10);

- Appendices.

Table 10. Structure and content requirements of the main parts of a Master thesis

Structural parts Content requirements Introduction The relevance of the topic is substantiated in the introduction, the scientific problem identified in

the theoretical part of the thesis is highlighted, its level of research is described, the object of study, its aim, and tasks, methods and period of research are defined. The hypothesis(es)/ statement(s) of defence of the thesis is defined in introduction.The object of the research is the social or economic phenomenon or process in the organization, region or country(s) chosen by the author of the final thesis.The object of the research is a social or economic phenomenon or process corresponding to the theme of the final thesis in organizations, region or country, detailed in the aspect of the practical

17

problem to be investigated.The formulated aim of the research must indicate the direction of the study, and the objectives point out the selected way of reaching the aim, i.e. the methods of the research be to applied to achieve its intended aim. The aim and objectives must be formulated in the infinitive form of verbs: to define, evaluate, determine, compare, prepare, submit, verify, refine, compose, formulate, create and so on. The research methods used to solve each problem are presented. At the end of the introduction, it must be stated where and when the results of the thesis research were presented and published.

Theoretical part

The theoretical part deals with the analysis of theories, ideas, and concepts related to the scientific problem under consideration, as well as the results of previous research. Such analysis requires a scientific discussion, systematization of the research results, revealing contradictions in the works of different authors, expressing the student’s critical and reasoned attitude to the issues under discussion.The scientific problem which will be solved in the Master thesis is determined by the analysis. In this part of the thesis, the scientific hypothesis(es) and the defended statements can be formulated.In the methodological part, the student has to develop and substantiate the logical scheme of the research to solve the selected scientific problem or to substantiate the hypothesis. This section presents the research methodology, formulates the assumptions and limitations of the research, justifies the research sample, and describes the intended data sources, their collection, and their adequacy and representativeness.

Continuation of Table 10Structural parts Content requirements

The result part

According to the prepared methodology, applied theoretical or empirical research is performed, the obtained research results are analysed, their causality is revealed, their interaction and relation with the set aim and objectives are highlighted as well as the scientific problem or hypothesis and research results of a student and scholars are compared in this part. There is also an assessment of the suitability of the developed methodology (or model, if any) for solving the problem raised, and an analysis of the assumptions of its application under different conditions.

Conclusions

Conclusions must directly relate to the aim of the research and the solution of the scientific problem. As well, conclusions have to reflect the results of the solution of each objective raised, must reveal the scientific and/or practical significance of the performed research. If hypothesis(es) or statement(s) of defence is raised in the thesis, research-based validation or rejection of it must be included in the conclusions.

Table 11. The structure and content requirements of the main parts of a Master thesis of practical nature

Structural parts Requirements

Introduction

The introduction briefly and reasonably identifies a practical problem arising from practical activities in the chosen topic, justifies the relevance, object, aim, and objectives of the research.The object of the research is a social or economic phenomenon or process corresponding to the theme of the final thesis in organizations, region or country, detailed in the aspect of the practical problem to be investigated.The aim of the research must indicate the direction of the study, and the objectives must show the chosen path to the aim, i.e. the methods of the research be to applied to achieve its intended aim. The aim and objectives must be formulated in the infinitive form of verbs: to define, evaluate, determine, compare, prepare, submit, verify, compose, develop and so on. The research methods used to solve each problem are presented. At the end of the introduction, it must be stated where and when the research results were presented and published.

The analytical part of the situation

This part thoroughly examines the practical problem, its essence, context, and extent of expression in practice. Analysis and synthesis of written and visual documents, Content analysis, quantitative analysis of secondary data by statistical methods, case study method to illustrate the expression of a practical problem and other methods may be used to assess the situation. The student should also emphasize his / her own attitude to the essence and expression of the practical problem.

Methodological In this part, scientific approaches to the practical problem, its determinants, links with other

18

part

simultaneously occurring problems, methods of empirical research and solutions to the problem are revealed. Results of published research and methodological literature of social research are analysed. With regard to the results of scientific and methodological literature analysis, empirical research methodology is developed and substantiated to investigate the factors of practical problem and justification of solutions. The rationale for the methodology should include a description of the logical consistency of the study (a logical study design), the reasonableness, adequacy, and representativeness of the data sources chosen.

The result/design part

In this section, the results of empirical research are described and economically, socially and environmentally validated solutions to a practical problem are prepared. Assumptions and limitations of the solutions found must also be defined.

Conclusions and recommendations

Conclusions must directly relate to the aim of the research and the solution of the practical problem, reflect the results of the solution of each objective and reveal the practical significance of the research. Where possible, recommendations are addressed to specific addressees.

All structural parts of the thesis must be interconnected. It is recommended to divide the main

parts (chapters) of the thesis into sub-chapters. A short summary of the results must be provided at the

end of every chapter and sub-chapter.

On the inside of the final page of the final thesis (on page 3 of the hard cover) the A5

envelope must be attached. The supervisor’s review, the opponent’s review, an extract of the protocol

of the Attestation Commission and the CD with the recorded thesis, data matrix (if quantitative),

survey reports ( if the study is qualitative), software code and other documentation related to the

preparation of the final thesis must be placed inside the envelope).

2. GENERAL ACADEMIC PAPER SPECIFICATIONS

Language of the text. Academic papers shall be written in a clear, correct language, in a

scientific style. Passive voice of verbs should be used (e.g., has been determined, analysed, suggested,

etc.). General spelling, grammar and punctuation rules shall be followed. Unconventional

abbreviations other than those provided by the general spelling, grammar rules and standards should

be avoided (if an unconventional system of abbreviation or concepts is used in the paper, the list of

abbreviations and special terms with the corresponding definitions shall be provided). No scanned

tables, figures, equations or scanned text are permitted in an academic paper.

Page layout. Text shall be typed in Times New Roman 12 pt size fonts using 1.5 line spacing

on one side of A4 size (210x297 mm) portrait orientation paper sheet.

All pages of the paper (including the title page and appendices) shall be numbered. Title page

is considered to be the first page of the paper (page number shall not be shown in the header of the

first page). Page numbers are written in Arabic numerals in the centre of the header without any full

stops or hyphens.

19

Margins and paragraphs. The text must be justified according to the following margins: left

– 3 cm, right – 1 cm, top and bottom – 2 cm each. Each paragraph begins with a new line using 1.27

cm indent from the left margin.

Structural parts of the paper and titles. Any academic paper shall include the following

structural parts: title page (see Annex 1), contents, introduction, sections and subsections of the

body text, conclusions, list of references. Appendices may be provided at the end of the paper. Final

theses shall include a title page (see Annexes 2 and 3), flyleaf (see Annexes 2 and 3 continued),

terms of reference of the thesis, summary in Lithuanian and foreign language (length – 1–2 pages)

(see Annex 4), contents, glossary of key terms and abbreviations, introduction, research methods

and results presented in the appropriate sections, conclusions or summary of results, list of

references.

Each structural part of the paper (contents, introduction, conclusion, list of references, etc.)

and sections are started on a blank page. Sections are divided into subsections. Titles of each section

and subsection must be followed by at least several lines of text; sections and subsections must also

end with text. A section or subsection may not start or end with a table or figure.

Titles of structural parts, sections and subsections of academic papers must be centred. Titles

of sections, subsections and paragraphs (with the exception of other structural parts, such as the

introduction, conclusions, list of references) must be numbered using sequential Arabic numerals

(each numeral must be followed by a full stop). One blank line must be inserted between the titles

and the text. Titles of structural parts and sections are written in UPPERCASE in bold, font size –

14 pt. Titles of subsections and paragraphs are written in Sentence case in bold, font size – 12 pt.

Tables. All tables must be clear, carry the titles and numbered using Arabic numerals. Tables

are numbered in sequence throughout the paper or based on individual sections (first number is the

number of the respective section that the table is presented in, while the last number is the number

of the table in the section).

Number and title of a table is written above the table in bold, font size – 12 pt. Titles of table

columns are provided in Sentence case, subtitles – lower case. Table text is provided in 10 pt font

size using 1 line spacing. Text of the first table column is aligned to the left of the column, texts of

other columns is centred. Examples of tables are provided in Annex 8.

If table values are provided for the same units of measure, the units are indicated in the table

heading without any commas. If table values are provided for different units of measure, the units

are indicated next to each parameter. No units of measure are provided for the number of people,

animals, inventory. No separate columns for any units of measure or sequence numbers are

permitted in the tables. Units are provided under units, decimals – under decimals, etc. in the

columns. Same number of digits is provided after the point. All table cells must be filled in. A dash

20

is entered where no phenomena is available, "x" – where parameters are not counted, "0" – where

the calculated value is very low, "..." – where no data has been obtained. If a title of parameter is

entered in several rows, the numbers shall be provided on the level of the last row.

Tables must be provided on the same page as the related analysis or on the next page.

Reference to the table must be provided in the analysis of the data provided in the table, e.g., (Table

1). Table layout must be reader-friendly to avoid rotation of the academic paper, or be legible by

rotation of the page clockwise. If a table cannot be fitted on a single page, the number of the table is

provided on the new page, followed by "table continued". Column titles indicated at the beginning

of the table are also to be provided in the continuation of the table. Tables that do not fit on an A4

size page are provided in appendices on a larger paper sheet of the maximum A3 paper size.

If a table published in another source is provided, the source must be specified in brackets

after the table title. If a table is formed of materials provided by other authors, the fact that the table

has been formed by the author according to the specified references must be noted at the end of the

table title. Conventional signs used in the table or other explanations may be provided below the

applicable table. Example of a table is provided in Annex 1.

Figures. Charts, photographs, diagrams and other illustrations provided in an academic paper

are referred to as figures. Figures are subject to same presentation requirements as tables. Figures

must have titles and be numbered using the Arabic numerals. Figures are numbered in sequence

throughout the paper or based on individual sections (first number is the number of the respective

section that the figure is presented in, while the last number is the number of the figure in the

section). Number and title of a figure is written above the figure in bold, font size – 12 pt, position –

centred. Words, numbers and symbols in the figure must be provided in 10 pt size. Conventional

signs used in the figure or other explanations may be provided below the applicable figure.

In case of complex figures or figures providing two or more attributes, conventional signs and

explanations must be provided. Figures are provided under the paragraph of their first mention in a

reader-friendly way to avoid rotation of the academic paper, or, if the figure does not fit, to be legible

by rotating the page clockwise. Figures that do not fit on an A4 size page are provided in appendices

on a larger paper sheet of the maximum A3 paper size. Reference to the figure must be provided

before the figure in the respective text of analysis, e.g., (fig. 1).

If a figure published in another source is provided, the source must be specified in brackets

after the figure title. If a figure is formed of materials provided by other authors, the fact that the

figure has been formed by the author according to the specified references must be noted at the end

of the figure title.

Research data provided in the tables and figures should not be duplicated or repeated in the

text.

21

Example of a figure is provided in Annex 9.

Physical values. Units of measure of physical values are provided under the International

System of Units (SI). Units of physical values and their designations must comply with ISO

standards (Annex 12). Values that have units of measure are provided in numerals (e.g., 300 LTL)

in the text, values that do not have any units of measure are provided in words (e.g., five times).

Where several values having same unit of measure are provided in the text, the unit of measure is

specified after the last value only (e.g., in 2009, the total weight of sold pigs – 110, cattle – 450,

sheep – 50 kg). If a value is more than a thousand, the value should be written using the digit and

word (e.g., 5 thousand, 1 million). Decimal points are used to mark decimal numbers (e.g., 0.256).

Equations. Equations are written using Equation Editor or similar equation tools. Equations

must be centred in the text. Symbols and numerical factors used in the equations must be explained

after the equation in the order of occurrence in the respective equation. Word "where" starting with

a lower case letter must be written before the explanation, in a new line, without any indent before

or punctuation mark after the word. All widely accepted symbols of equation or symbols approved

by the respective standards may be used in the equations. A symbol used in equations may carry

one meaning only, and its meaning must not vary from equation to equation. The equations must be

numbered, if two or more equations are provided in the text. Number of equation is provided in

brackets at the end of the equation line. If an equation published in another source is provided, the

source must be specified in the text.

Example of presentation of an equation:

; (1)

where an average yield of the appropriate group of crops (grain crops or their cereals, or

leguminous plant grain, or vegetable);

crop area (ha) of the appropriate group of crops (grain crops or their cereals, or

leguminous plant grain, or vegetable);

di 100 kg/ha yield of the appropriate group of crops (grain crops or their cereals, or

leguminous plant grain, or vegetable); the crops of the appropriate productive

group.

Appendices. Appendices are used to provide additional information (tables, figures, etc.).

Appendices are provided after the list of references. Order of appendices follows the order of

occurrence of the respective references to the appendices in the paper. Each appendix starts on a

blank sheet. All pages of the appendices must be numbered as the continuation of paper. Each

22

appendix must be numbered in sequence. Word "Appendix" and the number of the appendix are

written in the top right corner of the sheet (e.g., Appendix 2). Title of an appendix is centred and

written in Sentence case. Reference to appendices must be provided in the text of paper, e.g., (see

Appendix 1).

Advice on academic paper writing:

do not use synonyms when describing the same phenomena, do not use international

words or terms if Lithuanian equivalents (or equivalents in the language that the paper is

written in) are available;

do not abbreviate any names of physical units if these are written without any values

(except for the tables and equations);

unconventional abbreviations other than those provided by the general spelling, grammar

rules and standards should be avoided (if an unconventional system of abbreviation or

concepts is used in the paper, the list of abbreviations and special terms with the

corresponding definitions shall be provided);

do not use minus (–) or plus (+) signs in the text; use the word "minus" or "plus" instead;

do not use the following mathematical signs without numbers: (less or equal),

(more or equal), (not equal), as well as ;

do not use indices of standards (LST, ISO) without the respective registration number;

do not describe the meaning of a unit of measure next to the unit of measure (e.g., write

"5 ha of clover field" instead of "5 ha area of clover field");

passive voice of verbs should be used in the academic papers (e.g., it has been determined

by generalisation; after the research results have been analysed, it may be stated that,

etc.);

the obtained research results are presented in the form of tables or figures. Do not repeat

the data in different forms of presentation, i.e. present the data only once either as a table

or as a figure.

Providing references to literature sources and building the list of references. Each document

or source of information used for data collection or preparation of an academic paper must be cited

in the academic paper. The list of references must be provided at the end of an academic paper,

while the text of paper must provide reference to each source listed in the list of references.

When a source is cited in a text and then described in the list of references, the respective

author's surname must be provided first (where an author is not available, the title of the reference

must be provided), followed by the year of publication or revision of the reference.

Reference to a source, author and year of publication in the text may be provided in brackets,

e.g. (Nekrašas, 2004). If an author is mentioned in the text (the author's surname and the initial are

23

provided), the year of publication must be specified in brackets after his/her surname, e.g., "E.

Nekrašas (2004) has argued that…". If the same author or his/her source is mentioned in the same

text paragraph, only the author is cited. Where two or more publications have been published by the

same author the same year, these shall be marked by lower case letters (a, b, c) written next to the

year of publication (see the example in Annex 1). If a source has two authors, the both authors'

surnames are provided, e.g., (Stoškus, Beržinskienė, 2005). If a source has three or more authors,

only the first author's surname is provided and followed by "et al.", e.g., (Mikulskienė et al., 2013)

or "B. Mikulskienė et al. (2013) have found that ...". If a source has been developed by a team,

organisation, or no authorship is available, the title of the organisation or source and the year are

mentioned in the reference, e.g., (Lithuanian Standards Board, 2013); (Organisational management,

2005). Where reference to different sources is provided, authors' surnames and years are separated

by a semicolon, e.g., "This topic has been analysed by several researchers (Baršauskienė, 2012;

Barkauskas, 2009)."

If tables, figures or equations from other sources are provided in an academic paper,

references to the respective sources must be provided at the end of the titles as well. If a table or

figure has been developed based on certain references, the indication that the table or figure has

been developed by the author according to the respective references must be provided, e.g.,

(developed according to Gižienė, 2012; Arimavičiūtė, 2010; Sakalas, 2010). References to

electronic sources are provided following the same rules; references may not be replaced with a

website address. If no publication date of an electronic source is available, the date of upgrade, etc.

may be provided.

The list of reference is provided at the end of an academic paper according to standards "LST

ISO 690:2002. Documentation Bibliographical references. Content, form and structure" and "LST

ISO 690-2 Information and documentation. Bibliographical references. Part 2: Electronic

documents and parts thereof". All sources cited in the text must be provided in the list of references.

References not mentioned in the text may not be provided in the list of references. Source entries

must contain the required information that describes the respective source of information. An entry

shall contain the following information depending on the type of publication:

author or authors, i.e. persons, team, institution;

title, i.e. title of the book, article, journal;

publication data (place, publisher, year), scope (volumes, numbers, pages);

type of storage media, date and access of the link (for electronic sources).

Information provided in the entries must be provided as is (i.e. full titles, author's original

surname must be provided, etc.). Source entries must contain the mandatory information as

provided in the examples of source entries. Pages must also be specified in a book entry, if only part

24

of the book has been used for the paper or a quote from the book has been used. Information

provided in a source entry must comply with the specified order, contain proper punctuation (full

stops, commas, brackets, etc.) according to the specified rules.

IMPORTANT: First Element and Date citing method is used for references in texts, meaning

that the source entry provided in the list of references must start with the first element (author or

title (if no author is available) of the source) and date (source publication year), followed by all the

remaining information on the source (publication year may not be provided at the end of the entry).

Source entry depends on the type of source. Examples of entries of various types of sources

are provided in Annex 10. Source entries are sorted according to the first letter of the authors'

surnames (titles, if no authors are available) in and numbers in the ascending order. Entries in Latin

script (Lithuanian, English or other languages) are listed first, followed by entries in other

languages (Russian or other non-Latin scripts). Cyrillic entries are not converted into Latin script.

Example of references to literature sources in the text:

According to L. Marcinkevičiūtė (2003a), employee motivation is a complex phenomenon, and

multiple motivation theories and concepts have been developed. Employee motivation may be

explained as process of encouragement of certain behaviour, actions, activity caused by various

individual motives or a set of motives (Dictionary of Psychology, 1994). Analysis of works by foreign

authors (Berger, Luckmann, 1999; Cole, 1993) on use of employees' potential has suggested that

employee potential functions are studied by psychologists or sociologists who closely cooperate with

the institutional managers in the developed countries. According to the data of studies conducted in

Lithuania (Marcinkevičiūtė, 2003b), employee motivation systems in municipal institutions receive

insufficient attention.

Example of the list of references:

1. BERGER, L.; LUCKMANN, T. 1999. Socialinis tikrovės konstravimas. Vilnius: Pradai.

2. COLE, G. 1993. Management: Theory and Practice. London: Guernesay Press.

3. MARCINKEVIČIŪTĖ, L. 2003a. Darbuotojų motyvavimo modeliai. Kaunas district,

Akademija: LŽŪU Press.

4. MARCINKEVIČIŪTĖ, L. 2003b. Lietuvos įmonių darbuotojų motyvavimo modelių ypatumai

besikeičiančios rinkos sąlygomis: doctoral dissertation. Kaunas district, Akademija: LŽŪU Press.

5. Dictionary of Psychology. 1993. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla.

Research ethics and plagiarism prevention. Members of the academic community (students,

teachers, researchers, etc.) are required to follow social moral norms and principles of academic

ethics that are usually defined in the respective codes of academic ethics. Main values of academic

activity are honesty, unbiased approach, transparency of activity and results, respect, socially

responsible conduct, research legality, animal and environmental protection. Researchers, teachers

25

and students must adhere to international and national copyright and other laws. Violations of

academic ethics (e.g. cheating, cases of plagiarism, data falsification, etc.) are usually referred to as

academic dishonesty, are subject to investigation and, if confirmed, result in various penalties or

other administrative measures.

Abidance by the ethical provisions is relevant to all processes of the studies, research and

academic paper writing. Main provisions of ethical conduct of the University personnel and

students have been published in the Code of Academic Ethics of ASU. In terms of academic

writing, it is important to follow academic ethics in conduction of research and writing of the

theoretical part, i.e. use of scientific literature.

Scientific studies and research conducted during the studies must be based on the ideas of

honesty and pursuit of truth. Main provisions of research ethics have been developed based on the

Code of Ethics of Lithuanian Scientist (1999) and the Code of Academic Ethics of Aleksandras

Stulginskis University (2012):

research methods and the obtained data shall be conveyed and described in an accurate

manner to enable verification of reliability of the research;

only unbiased research results may be published; these shall not be fabricated; falsified,

or manipulated;

unbiased and correct approach is required in use, quotation and comments in relation to

other authors' works;

other researchers' ideas or their methodologies may not be appropriated by an author

for conduction of research and presented as own ideas or methodologies; data

generated by research conducted by other researchers may not be copied;

research shall not pose harm to people, environment or cultural values;

where people are the object of the research, such research shall be based on the

principle of voluntary participation, without humiliating human dignity and by

following the main human rights. Data obtained during the research shall remain

anonymous and used for the purposes of the research only.

One of the key principles of academic ethics is abidance by copyright in use of other author's

works, i.e. quotation, paraphrasing of other author's works by providing references to the sources.

References to the sources are provided in the text and the lists of references for scientific, practical

and legal issues. The sources of information reveal how familiar the author is with the analysed

topic, appropriateness of the information sources, their suitability for validation of ideas analysed in

the work, chosen research methods, etc. They also help track the sources used in the paper, verify

the presented facts or take deeper insight into the cited literature.

26

Use of inappropriate sources or assisted writing of the paper may be viewed as the case of

plagiarism and lead to strict penalties – from a notice to exclusion from the University or

cancellation of the awarded qualification and degree. Plagiarism constitutes an academic offence.

Graduates of schools of higher education sign the declarations of originality and authenticity of

their works, i.e. declare that their works are free from plagiarism, prior to defence of the completed

works. Students shall specify the date of preparation and sign under the conclusions when

submitting any academic papers. Special software is used by the universities for detection of

plagiarism. Final theses and dissertations are published in the open access databases with built-in

plagiarism detection applications that check the works automatically.

Plagiarism is not only presentation of another person's work or parts thereof under own name,

but also wrong quotation of the text. Ignorance or failure to remember the rules of proper use of

sources do not exempt the students from liability. Same penalties apply to the detected cases of

plagiarism, whether deliberate or not. The following may be construed as plagiarism:

presentation of another person's work (purchased, downloaded, copied or otherwise

acquired) or parts thereof under own name;

conveying or paraphrasing of another person's idea, opinion, theory as one's own;

use of texts copied from other authors' works in one's paper without any reference to the

sources;

use of text copied from other authors' works in one's paper with reference to the sources,

but without any quotation-marks, which makes an impression that the work has been

paraphrased by the author;

text quoted (in the quotation-marks) is less than text copied from other authors' works,

which makes an impression that part of work has been paraphrased by the author;

changes have been made to the text copied from other authors' works (word inversion,

changes to grammatical structure, replacement of words or sentences, abbreviations,

shorter sentences, etc.), which makes an impression that the work has been paraphrased

by the author;

presentation of paraphrased or summarised information from other authors' works

without the respective reference to the sources;

literal translation of texts from other languages;

quotation of data or information from the secondary sources by providing reference to

the original source;

provision of unpublished information;

provision of inadequate, false or fabricated references to sources;

forgetting to provide references.

27

Academic papers shall be written by students individually; students shall use the sources

properly, be able to quote and paraphrase the information.

The following text-related requirements shall be followed:

references to all the used sources shall be provided and listed in the list of references;

references must be provided not only for the text, but also figures, tables, equations from

other sources;

text from other source literally rendered in the paper shall be provided in quotation-

marks and followed by reference to the source;

quoted text (provided in quotation-marks) shall not be longer than one paragraph;

text of a source not included in quotation-marks shall be summarised, shortened,

systematised, compared to other authors' works and the related reference to the source

shall be provided;

a lot of various sources shall be used; information shall be analysed in a professional

manner rather than retold.

Proper academic paper, positive learning outcomes are possible and the acquired professional

and scientific competence may be demonstrated based on the guidelines and by individual

conduction of research and literature analysis.

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3. REQUIREMENTS ON PREPARATION OF PAPER PRESENTATIONS

A presentation (of a research paper, term paper (project), professional internship report, final

work of bachelor’s studies, master's thesis) is a presentation of key theoretical and/or practical

results of the research, insights and conclusions to the evaluation committee and/or audience (using

MS Power Point or similar slide presentation software).

Visual information provided in the presentation must be reasoned and supported by previous

scientific research conducted by Lithuanian and foreign authors, facts and/or statistics. Length of

the presentation depends on the time allocated to the presentation. Recommended duration of a

presentation: final work of bachelor’s studies – 7 min, master's thesis – 7–10 min, research paper,

term paper, professional internship report – 5 min. No more than 15 slides are recommended for one

presentation.

In order to prepare a systematised and detailed presentation, the following recommended

stages should be considered (Table 10).

Table 10. Structure of preparation of a presentation.

Preparatory stage Desired aims

Step 1. Aim

What is the desired aim of this presentation? What would be the ideal result after the presentation? What emotional aim have I set (demonstration of my knowledge, abilities, presentation of the results of conducted research, self-confidence, neutrality instead of an initial sceptical attitude, curiosity to learn more)?

Step 2. Analysis of the audience

What is the target audience (a teacher, evaluation committee providing evaluation, colleagues, etc.)? What are the needs of the audience? How informed are they? What are their evaluation criteria?

Step 3. Key argument

How will I validate my main statement (main topic, question under analysis, problem, etc.)? Why did it need to be analysed? When should the strongest argument be provided: at the beginning or at the end? Does the audience prefer originality or conservative caution?

Step 4. Structure

How many subtopics must be covered? What logic should be followed in grouping items and subitems (according to the objectives, structure of the paper or other criteria)? What will be presented in the introduction? What will be used to end the presentation?

Step 5. Elaboration

What theoretical insights, facts, statistical data or examples will be used to support the statements? How much time will I need to cover the introduction, individual subtopics, ending (summary points, conclusions, proposals, etc.)?

Step 6.Effect

What illustrations might be suitable? What would help visualise the statements: a quotation, illustration (figures, tables, photographs, etc.), actual data, questions to the public or other tools? MS Power Point software is the mandatory environment for text typing and recommended environment for drawing the tables and figures, where and when possible.

Step 7.Body language

Maintain the eye contact between you and the audience. Do not rush when speaking for the audience to understand what you are telling them. Stay calm, professional, do not use too many gestures.

29

Table 11. General requirements to presentation slides

Requirement orrecommendation

Explanation

Do not use more than 8 rows. Do not overload your slides with too much text. The text must be legible and comprehensible.

Use one idea per slide. Provide one idea with the related reasoning per slide. Slide title Title matching the key idea of the slide shall be written on the top of the slide.

2/3 of the slide area is used for presentation of information.

Do not put too much text or visual information in one place, leave some blank areas in the area of the slide. At least 12 pt line spacings are recommended between the listed items.

Information provided in charts

Information presented by visual means is easier to comprehend and remember. Use various means of expression: words, charts, drawings, numbers.

Recommended font size Title – 28–40 pt font size (bold), text– 20–32 pt, illustrations (figures, tables, etc.) font size (recommended) –14–20 pt.

Text fonts One of the following typical fonts are recommended: Times New Roman or Arial. Text may become distorted if other fonts are used.

Slide colours

Light background (ASU template slide background), contrasting text colours (two – for the text, one – for highlighting) are recommended, same colours shall be applied throughout the presentation. Please note the room lighting when preparing the presentation slides.

AnimationFormal presentations (e.g., presentation of a final thesis) should not include any animation or only the animation that is necessary to convey the argumentation of ideas.

Slide sequence number Slides shall be numbered, except for the title slide.

Slide as a plan Information provided on the slide is just a plan used for consistent presentation of a topic. Text provided on the slides should not only be read, but also commented, explained, supplemented with verbal information.

Recommended structure of presentation*:

1) title slide;

2) presentation structure (contents);

3) introduction (recommended structural parts of the introduction: relevance, novelty, the

extent of research, problem, research aim, objectives, research object, key definitions,

concepts, research methods, period, etc.). Structural parts of the introduction are chosen

according to the set aims of presentation (1–3 slides may be allocated to the introduction);

4) narration – body part of a presentation, delivery of the chosen topic (5–8 slides);

5) summary points; conclusions, proposals, main results (1–3 slides);

6) acknowledgement to the audience;

7) title page repeated.

* may be subject to changes according to the requirements established by an evaluating expert

(committee).

30

Examples of slides.

Title slide

Presentation of text on the slide

Presentation of a table on the slide

31

Presentation of a figure on the slide32

LIST OF REFERENCES

1. ALIŠAUSKIENĖ, R. 2004. Kursinių, bakalauro ir magistro darbų rengimo vadovas.

Šiauliai: ŠU Press.

2. BARŠAUSKIENĖ, V.; MAČERINSKIENĖ, J. 2006. Studijų darbų parengimo tvarka.

Kaunas: Technologija.

3. ČERNIUS, V.; TERESEVIČIENĖ, M. 1996. Kaip rašyti magistro studijų baigiamąjį darbą.

Kaunas: VMU.

4. DARGVAINIS, M. 2000. Metodiniai nurodymai studentų rašto darbams įforminti. Kauno

r., Akademija: LŽŪU Press.

5. Dokumentų rengimo ir įforminimo taisyklės. 2001.Vilnius.

6. GAPUTIENĖ, I. 2002. Socialinių mokslų studijų darbų rengimo tvarka. Kaunas.

7. JANONIS, O. 2005. Bibliografinių nuorodų ir jų sąrašo sudarymo studijų bei mokslo

darbuose metodika: (pagal Lietuvos standartus LST ISO 690 ir LST ISO 690-2). Vilnius.

8. KARDELIS, K. 2002. Mokslinių tyrimų metodologija ir metodai. Kaunas: Technologija.

9. LAKIS, V. 2000. Magistro darbo rašymas. Vilnius: VU Press.

10. LILEIKIENĖ, A.; ŠAPARNIS, G. 2004. Magistro darbo rengimo metodika. Šiauliai: ŠU

Press.

11. MAKŠTUTIS, A. 2000. Studijų baigiamųjų darbų rengimo metodiniai nurodymai ir

patarimai. Klaipėda: KU Press.

12. PIROČKINAS, A. 1990. Administracinės kalbos kultūra. Vilnius: Mintis.

13. RATKUS, J.; TAMOŠIŪNAS, T. 1998. Magistro darbo rengimo metodinės

rekomendacijos. Šiauliai: ŠU Press.

14. RIENECKER, L.; JORGENSEN, P. 2003. Kaip rašyti mokslinį darbą. Vilnius: Aidai.

15. RUŽEVIČIUS, J. 2003. Magistrantūros studijos ir magistro darbo rašymas. Vilnius: VU

Press.

16. SEILIUS, A. 2002. Verslo vadybos magistro baigiamojo darbo (tezių) rengimo metodika.

Klaipėda: KU Press.

17. ŠARLAUSKIENĖ, L. Studijų rašto darbų įforminimo bendrieji metodiniai patarimai ASU

studentams [interactive]. Akademija, 2014 [viewed on 18 August 2014]. Online access:

<http://dspace.lzuu.lt/handle/1/3061>

18. ŽILINSKAS, P. 2003. Patarimai rengiantiems rašto darbus. Vilnius: VU leidykla.

33

ANNEXES

Annex 1

AGRICULTURE ACADEMY OFVYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF BIOECONOMY DEVELOPMENTBusiness and Rural Development research institute

Name SURNAME

…………………………… programme ……………… studies

year ..... group ........ student

CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF INFLATION

Research Paper in Macroeconomics

Checked by Assist. Prof. Dr N. Surname

Akademija, 2014

34

Annex 2

AGRICULTURE ACADEMY OFVYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF BIOECONOMY DEVELOPMENTResearch institute for bioeconomy

Name SURNAME

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT MARKET REGULATION

Final Work of Bachelor's Studies

Study area: Social sciences

Study field: Economics

Study programme: Agricultural Economics

Akademija, 2014

35

Annex 2 continued

Final theses evaluation committee:

(Approved by the Rector's Order No. …, .... March 20...)

Chair Prof. Dr Habil. A. Surname, Vilnius University

Members:

1. Prof. Dr Habil. B. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

2. Prof. Dr Habil. C. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

3. Assist. Prof. Dr D. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

4. Assist. Prof. Dr E. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

5. Assist. Prof. Dr F. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

Supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr B. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

Reviewer Assist. Prof. Dr V. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

Head of the Institute Assist Prof. Dr D. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

36

Annex 3

AGRICULTURE ACADEMY OFVYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF BIOECONOMY DEVELOPMENTBusiness and Rural Development research institute

Name SURNAME

HUMAN AND SOCIAL CAPITAL FORMATION POSSIBILITIES IN

ORDER TO ENSURE COMPETITIVE ABILITY OF RURAL TOURISM

Master's Thesis

Study area: Social sciences

Study field: Public administration

Study programme: Administration of Rural

Development

Akademija, 2014

37

Annex 3 continued

Final theses evaluation committee:

(Approved by the Rector's Order No. …, .... April 20...)

Chair Prof. Dr Habil. A. Surname, Vilnius University

Members:

1. Prof. Dr Habil. B. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

2. Prof. Dr Habil. C. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

3. Assist. Prof. Dr D. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

4. Assist. Prof. Dr E. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

5. Assist. Prof. Dr F. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

Supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr B. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

Reviewer Assist. Prof. Dr V. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

Opponent Assist. Prof. Dr F. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

Head of the Institute Assist Prof. Dr D. Surname, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

38

Annex 4

AGRICULTURE ACADEMY OFVYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF BIOECONOMY DEVELOPMENTBusiness and Rural Development research institute

…………………………… …………………………… study programme

year ……… student …………………………………………………………

TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE TERM PAPER

1. Topic ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Contents _____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Conditions and general instructions _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Scope of paper _________________________________________________________________

Paper completed on __ _________ 201__.

Terms of reference submitted on __ _________ 201__.

Student ____________________ _________________________(signature) (name, surname)

39

Supervisor ____________________ _________________________(signature) (name, surname)

40

Annex 5AGRICULTURE ACADEMY OF

VYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITYFACULTY OF BIOECONOMY DEVELOPMENT

STUDY PROGRAMME OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

STUDENT NAME SURNAME

APPROVED BY Head of the Institute of Economics, Accounting and Finance

_________________________________ (signature)

_________________________________ (name and surname)

.... January 20....

FINAL WORK OF BACHELOR’S STUDIES TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. Topic __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Approved by the Order No. , __ __20.... by the Dean of the Faculty

2. Contents ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Works time scale Stages Dates Notes

Work completed on __ _________ 20__Terms of reference submitted on __ _________ 20_

Student ________________________________ (signature) (name and surname)

Supervisor _________________________________________________________ (signature) (name and surname)

Conclusion by the Institute ________________________________________________________Protocol No. Date ____________Head of the Institute ___________________________________________________________

(signature) (name and surname)

41

Annex 6

SUMMARY

(Lithuanian – SANTRAUKA)

Name SURNAME

Title of the paper

Final work of Bachelor's studies or Master's thesis, 60 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables, 25

references, 2 appendices, in Lithuanian.

Key words

Research object

Research aim

Objectives

Research method

Research results (brief presentation of what has been analysed in all parts of the work and

the obtained results):

in the first part of work (has been analysed, presented, conducted, etc.)

in the second part of work (has been explored, analysed, determined, conducted, etc.)

in the third part of work (has been presented, assessed, estimated, proposed, etc.)

main conclusions and the importance of work to theoretical and practical domain.

*The time and place of presentation and/or publication of the research results of the work

must be specified in the master's thesis.

Recommended length of the summary: 1–2 pages.

42

Annex 7

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................…..... 3

1. UNEMPLOYMENT AS A MACROECONOMIC PROBLEM ……………………..…........ 5

1.1. Types of unemployment ……..……………………………………………................... 5

1.2. The problem of unemployment in global practice ………...…………………................ 10

2. THE PROBLEM OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND ITS DYNAMICS IN LITHUANIA …..... 14

2.1. Main causes of unemployment in Lithuania ……………...……….......………........ 14

2.2. Variation of the unemployment level ……………………………………................ 17

2.3. Employment differences from the regional perspective …………………..........…......... 20

2.4. Unemployment in different groups of residents ………..………………………...... 23

2.5. Labour market perspectives in Lithuania ………………..…………………………........ 25

3. SOLUTION OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM ………………………...………. 30

3.1. Use of passive measures in the labour market policy………...………………..... 30

3.2. Use of active measures in the labour market policy ...........………………….... 35

CONCLUSIONS………………….. …………………………………………………...………. 40

LIST OF REFERENCES…………………………………………………..............…....… 41

APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………………............……. 42

43

Annex 8

Table 1. Lithuanian gross domestic product assessed by the method of expenditure and its

structure, 2010–2012 (Statistical Yearbook of Lithuania, 2013)

Types of economic activityLTL GDP million GDP structure %

2010 2012 2010 2012Personal consumption expenditureGovernment consumption expenditureGross capital formationExport of goods and servicesImport of goods and services (minus)Total

61503.719474.916560.264792.466655.395676.0

71978.819996.920827.695468.794537.3113734.7

64.220.417.367.769.7100

63.317.618.383.983.1100

Table 2. Income from sale of grain of agricultural company M in region, 2010–2012

(developed by the author according to the data of agricultural company M)

YearGrain sold

tGrain

price LTL/tIncomethou. LTL

Absolute changes of income thou. LTLbasic chain

total of which due to total of which due toquantit

yprice quantit

yprice

201020112012

629.1260.4631.6

288488673

181.2127.1425.1

x-54.1243.9

x-106.2

0.7

x52.1243.2

x-54.1298.0

x-106.2181.2

x52.1116.8

44

Annex 9

Fig. 1. Grain crop harvest and yield in Lithuania, 2006–2012

(developed by the author according to the information by the Department of Statistics

under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania)

45

Harvest thou. t Yield 100 kg/ha

Thou

. t

Annex 10

Examples of bibliographical references to various types of documents

Book by one author

 ALEKNEVIČIENĖ, V. 2007. Finansų valdymo pagrindai: praktinės užduotys. Kaunas district,

Akademija: LŽŪU Press.

ALCHIAN, A.A. 1977. Economic Forces at Work. Indianapolis, Ind.: Liberty Press.

Book by two or three authors

KASIULIS, J.; BARVYDIENĖ, V. 2004. Vadovavimo psichologija. Kaunas: Technologija.

KRIŠČIŪNAS, K; DAUGĖLIENĖ, R. 2006. Žiniomis grįstos ekonomikos link: žinių skvarba ir

raiška. Kaunas: Technologija.

BAGDANAVIČIUS, J; GRIGAS, R; SENKUS, V. 2006. Vadybos sociologijos aspektai. Vilnius:

Vilnius Pedagogical University Press.

Book by four or more authors

KUMPIKAITĖ, V. ir kt. 2006. Vadybos pagrindų savarankiški darbai. Kaunas: Technologija.

KUBILIUS, V., et al. 1997. Lithuanian literature. Vilnius: Vaga.

Book by a team of authors (or no author is available)

Buhalterinės apskaitos pagrindai: praktinių užsiėmimų užduotys ir metodiniai

patarimai. 2004. Kauno r., Akademija: LŽŪU leidybos centras.

Global development of organic agriculture. 2006. Wallingford, UK Cambridge.

2000 m. darytų augalininkystės bandymų duomenys. 2001. Akademija (Kėdainiai

district): Lithuanian Agricultural Advisory Service.

Volume or part of a multivolume publication

LIUBERTIENĖ, J. 2003. Aukštosios matematikos konspektas Agronomijos fakulteto studentams:

D.2. Tikimybių teorija ir matematinė statistika. Kaunas district, Akademija: LŽŪU Press.

Encyclopedia Lituanica. 1965. T. 32. Boston: Lithuanian Encyclopedia Press.

Dissertation

VALATKAITĖ, I. 2004. Žinių naudojimo verslo informacinėse sistemose tyrimas: doctoral

dissertation. Vilnius.

Summary of Doctoral Dissertation

ŠMATAS, R. 2006. Migration activity and abundance of aphids (Aphididae) and thrips

(Thysanoptera) in cereals and their control: summary of doctoral dissertation. Kaunas district,

Akademija: LŽŪU Press.

46

Legislative acts

Law on Copyright and Related Rights. 18 May 1999. No. VIII-1185. Official Gazette "Valstybės

žinios", 1999, no. 50–1598.

On approval of civil servant training programmes: Order by the Director of the Civil Service

Department under the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Lithuania. 22 January 2010. No.

27MP-24. Official Gazette "Valstybės žinios", 2010, no. 12-611.

On approval of the concept of the Lithuanian national development of information society:

Resolution by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. 28 February 2001. No. 229. Official

Gazette "Valstybės žinios", 2001, no. 20–652.

Standard

LST EN ISO 9000:2007. Kokybės vadybos sistemos. Pagrindai ir aiškinamasis žodynas (ISO

9000:2005) = Quality management systems. Fundamentals and vocabulary (ISO 9000:2005).

Vilnius: Lithuanian Standards Board

Patent

PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY "KATRA". Electramagnetic heat and water meter. Int. Cl7: G

01 K 17/16. Lithuanian patent, 4851. 25.10.2001

Article from a book or multivolume publication

VALIULIS, S. 1992. Kino kritika. In Žurnalisto žinynas. Kaunas, p. 105-108.

NAVASAITIS, A. Uosis. 1988. In Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija. Vilnius, p. 379.

WRIGLEY, E.A. 1968. Parish registers and the historian. In STEEL, DJ. National index of parish

registers. London, p. 155–167.

Transcript in conference materials

TAUTKEVIČIENĖ, G; ŠARLAUSKIENĖ, L; DZINGIENĖ, V. 2007. Informacinio raštingumo

kursas virtualioje aplinkoje: patirtis ir vertinimai. In Advanced Learning Technologies and

Applications ALTA'2007: conference proceedings. Kaunas, p. 214–224.

Article in a journal or continued scientific publication

ADAMONIENĖ, R. 2007. Ugdymo proceso vadybinio funkcionalumo didinimas. Vagos: mokslo

darbai, vol. 74 (27), p. 27–33.

ANDRIUŠČENKA, J. 2003. Strategic entrepreneurship: conceptual attitude in management

paradigm. Organizacijų vadyba: sisteminiai tyrimai, no. 26, p. 7–25.

VELICHKA, R.; RIMKEVICHENE, M.; MARTSINKYAVICHENE, A. 2006. Changes in the

properties of a loamy Gleyic Cambisol as related to the saturation of crop rotations with

rape. Eurasian Soil Science, vol. 39, no. 9, p. 1002–2293.

47

AUGUSTAITIS, A., et al. 2007. Trend in Ambient Ozone and an Attempt to Detect Its Effect on

Biota in Forest Ecosystem: Step I of Lithuanian Studies. The Scientific World Journal, vol.

7, p. 37–46.

Electronic books, databases and other electronic documents

RUTKAUSKIENĖ, D. 2006. Lietuvos virtualus universitetas: monografija [interactive]. LieDM

[viewed on 2 February 2010]. Online access: <http://distance.ktu.lt/livun/>.

Dictionary of Lithuanian Language 2005 [interactive]. Vilnius, [viewed on 2 February 2010].

Online access: <http://www.lkz.lt>.

ALBREKTAITĖ, D. 2007. Kaimo plėtros administravimo studijų programos studentų karjeros

valdymo galimybių studija: magistro tezės [interactive]. Kaunas: Lithuanian Academic Libraries

Network [viewed on 2 February 2010]. Access via database LitETD: <LT-eLABa-0001:

E.02~2007~D_20070816_154000-03149 local/elaba>.

Lietuviškos knygos metai. 1998 [CD-ROM]. Vilnius: Institute of Mathematics and Informatics.

Article from an electronic book, etc.

JANONIS, O. 2005. Spaudinių aprašo elementai ir jų pateikimo tvarka. In Bibliografinių nuorodų

ir jų sąrašo sudarymo studijų bei mokslo darbuose metodika [interactive]. Vilnius: Vilnius

University Press, p. 23–29 [viewed on 2 February 2010]. Online access:

<http://www.vpu.lt/bibl/file/Janonis.pdf>.

MCCONNELL, W. H. 1993. Constitutional History. In The Canadian Encyclopedia [CD-ROM].

Mcintosh version 1.1. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, c.

Article from an electronic journal, continued publication, website, etc.

VINCIŪNIENĖ, V.; RAULUŠKEVIČIENĖ, J. 2009. Lietuvos respondentinių ūkininkų ūkių

techninio ir masto efektyvumo neparametrinis vertinimas. Vagos: mokslo darbai [interactive], no.

85(38), p. 39–46 [viewed on 2 February 2010]. Online access: <http://www.lzuu.lt/file.doc?

id=30138>.

DIEFENBACH, T. 2007. The managerialistic ideology of organisational change management.

Journal of Organizational Change Management [interactive], vol. 20, no. 1, p. 126–144 [viewed on

2 February 2010]. Access via database Emerald <http://www.emeraldinsight.com/ft>.

Lietuvos ekonominė ir socialinė raida. 2009 [interactive]. Lithuanian Department of Statistics,

[viewed on 2 February 2010]. Online access: <http://www.stat.gov.lt/lt/catalog/download_release/?

id=3447&download=1&doc=1691>

48

Annex 11

GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS

Ecological farming – a system of farming based on natural biological processes and materials,

ensuring production and sale of high quality and more natural agricultural products (Ivanikova,

Ruževičius, 2008).

Financial leverage rebalancing – adjustment of the capital structure of enterprise to achieve the

targeted capital structure (Emery, Finnerty, Stowe, 2004).

Rural community – a group of people living in a certain rural locality, sharing certain common

institutions (school, church, community centre, etc.) and using their services; united by solutions on

the management of change of their residential locality, common understanding of the local identity,

interdependence, neighbourhood relations (Atkočiūnienė, 2004, 2010).

Rural community needs – the needs based on personal needs of all members of a certain

community (certain rural locality) and general needs, shortages, shortfalls of residents of a certain

rural locality (Atkočiūnienė, 2004, 2010).

Price convergence – reduction in the difference between the futures price and the spot price as the

date of submission approaches (Juozapavičienė, 2009).

Quality management – aligned actions guiding and managing the quality-related activity of an

organisation (ISO 9000:2000); part of the general management function establishing the quality

policy, aims and duties as well as the related measures, such as quality planning, quality

management, quality assurance and quality improvement on the basis of quality system (ISO

8402:1994).

Model – a schematic description of a system, theory or phenomenon explaining their available or

implied properties that may be used for their subsequent study (Balvočiūtė, 2007).

Modelling – study of an object by using the developed models; formal, simplified visualisation of a

phenomenon (Valkauskas, 1995).

Motivation – a system of specific interrelated activation measures and techniques used to increase

employees' interest and activity (Senge, 2004).

Additional working capital – difference between current assets and current liabilities not carrying

any interest, showing the lack of sources of finance for financing additional current assets

(Aleknevičienė, 2009).

Values – key beliefs that a certain conduct or mode of existence is personally or socially more

acceptable than a conduct or mode of existence of opposing nature (Rokeach, 2001).

49

Annex 12

Table 1. Abbreviations for the most commonly used wordsPhenomenon measured Name Designation Example

Lengthmillimetre mm 5 mmcentimetre cm 7 cmmetre m 10 mkilometre km 15 km

Time, duration second s 30 sminute min 15 minhour h 12 hday day 5 daysyear year 2003

Mass gram g 100 gkilogram kg 8 kgton t 7 t

Volume litre l 4 lcubic metre m3 23 m3

Area Square metre m2 46 m2

are a 30 ahectare ha 6 ha

Speed metres per second m/s 5 m/skilometres per hour km/h 55 km/h

Payload distance ton-kilometres tkm 6 tkmPower Watt W 40 W

kilowatt kW 15 kWValue, price Litas LTL 89 LTL

cent ct 24 ctEuro EUR 46 EURU.S. dollar USD 50 USD

Temperature degree 0 C 37 0 CRelative values percent % 10 %Absolute units piece pcs 15 pcs

thousand thou. 10 thou.million m 2 mbillion bn 5 bn

Territorial-administrative units

county Cnty, co. Kaunas CntyKaunas co.

municipality municipality, muni Kaunas dist. municipalityKaunas dist. muni

district dist. Kaunas dist.village vlg. Naudžiūnų vlg.locality loc. Birštonas farmyard loc.

50

Annex 13

Primary and secondary data

Research may be conducted in the basis of primary and secondary data.

Primary data are collected for solution of a certain research problem. Collection and

storage of such data starts when comprehensive research is needed to solve the problem. Primary

data provide the benefit of their direct relation to the contents and characteristics of the studied

problem.

Primary data collection methods:

1) qualitative research: non-structured interview with a small group of respondents

aimed at identifying new ideas and hypotheses;

2) survey research: gathering of information by structured survey;

3) observation: collection of information by observing events or people (research

participants).

Secondary data is the information that has previously been gathered, recorded and stored in

a certain form for other purposes; may be accessible and used for solution of a research problem.

Secondary data are usually sufficient to conduct the initial research. In case the amount and quality

of secondary data matches and satisfies the needs of research, no primary data are required.

Secondary data may be obtained from internal and external sources.

Secondary data may be collected from:

1) internal sources – yearbooks of companies or institutions, libraries, internal

accounting or documentation of employee associations, etc.;

2) external sources – state (statistics publications), public publications, databases,

etc.

Secondary data may be used for identification of needs, scopes, contents, essence of the

research, etc. These data are not sufficient to conduct a comprehensive research.

51