BA Thesis Seminar

subject to changes

Meeting dates and times are still tentative.

Session / DeadlineDay and Time
Session 1asynchronously
Session 2on appointment
Submission of Thesis ProposalMarch 11th
Session 3March 14th or 15th
Submission of revised Thesis ProposalMarch 18th, noon
Proposal Defense (Session 4)March 21st, 18:15
Submission Final DraftApril 27th
Session 5May 2nd, evening
Submission ThesisMay 19th (post mark)
Thesis DefenseJune 3rd or June 7th-10th

Course Description

Students demonstrate with their bachelor thesis that they are able to address a scientific problem under the supervision of an academic advisor in a prescribed period of time.

The bachelor thesis is a written homework assignment. It usually entails conceptualizing, carrying out, and evaluating a project that relates to the students’ study goals and subject matter.

Students are encouraged to suggest a topic and research question of their own for their thesis. With the agreement of the examination board, the thesis may be undertaken at a company or institution outside of the college if comparable supervision is possible there. The thesis topic is assigned by the examination board.

The topic assigment is conditional on the submission of the BA thesis form on the due date and the supervisor’s approval.

Details are regulated by the Studien‐, Prüfungs‐ und Zulassungsordnung für den englischsprachigen Bachelorstudiengang Management, section V.

Course Objectives

Every student is supervised by an academic advisor. The BA thesis seminar provides students with additional, structured supervision, peer feedback, and the opportunity to reflect on and discuss own approaches, problems, and progress.

Course Materials

Required:

Turabian, K.L., 2018. A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations: Chicago style for students and researchers, 9th ed.. University of Chicago Press.
Available at bookdepository and amazon

Further recommendations:

  • Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. Fitzgerald, 2016. The craft of research. 4th ed.. University of Chicago Press.
    More in-depth than the Turabian, the relevant parts are by the same authors. The recommended chapters are listed below as “CR: chapter”.
    Available at bookdepository and amazon.

  • Miller, J.E., 2015. The Chicago guide to writing about numbers. 2nd ed.. University of Chicago Press.
    Helpful guide for presenting quantitative information effectively.
    Available at bookdepository and amazon.

On Reading

Rhetoric / Arguments

How to structure your paper

Writing with Style

Standard Reference Work

Software Tools I Use

Back-up your data!

  • Free online storage space: pCloud and Dropbox can automatically sync a folder on (all) your computer(s)

Use a reference manager!

  • JabRef, free, intended for use with LaTeX, supports also MS Word and LibreOffice
  • Paperpile, subscription service, for use with google docs & Chrome

Keep track of your tasks!

  • Project management and (collaborative) To-Do lists: Trello, free, web & mobile apps
  • Personal to-do lists: Any.do, free, app for mobile and for Chrome

Take notes (and organize them well)!

  • Evernote for easy note taking on your mobile and when you surf the web

Create a distraction free writing environment.

  • While writing do not care about formatting: Google docs in full-screen modus, or Draft offer a clean interface for writing.
  • Even better, use a typesetting software that takes care of all the formatting for you — including your references — like, e.g., overleaf or Authorea.

Course Requirements:

Only those students who have successfully concluded the examinations foreseen for completion by the end of the fifth semester, successfully finished the internship, and registered for examinations still outstanding, may be permitted to begin a bachelor thesis.

Students must be present at all sessions, submit their thesis proposal, thesis draft, and final thesis on time, and perform their duties as peer reviewer.

Instructor Information:

Prof. Dr. Dennis A. V. Dittrich
dennis.dittrich@touroberlin.de
https://economicscience.net
Twitter: @davdittrich

You can always contact me via email or twitter. For meetings appointments can be arranged through the my webpage at: https://economicscience.net/appointments/

Updated information, links to the literature, additional materials, etc. can be found on my webpage as well.

Grading Guidelines:

Your grade is determind on the basis of your written thesis and your thesis defense. You need to pass both of these grading components. If you miss the submission deadline of your written (final) thesis, or if you miss your thesis defense you will fail the thesis.

Upon duly submission, your final grade will be the average grade awarded (for your written thesis and your thesis defense) by your first and second reader, and – if their assessment differs substantially – a third reader.

The thesis proposal defense is not part of the grading. Failing the proposal defense may, however, lead to the postponement of the thesis project to the next semester.

Workload

360 hours.

ActivityTime
Class Time15 hours
Thesis & Peer Review & Preparation Thesis Defense345 hours

Class Meeting Topics and Assignments

Class Session 1

  • Preliminaries
    What is your topic?
    Reading
    • required: Chapters 1 and 2
    • recommended: CR: 1–3

slides

Class Session 2

  • What is your Research Question?
    How do you want to answer your Research Question?
    Who is your supervisor?
    Reading
    • required: Chapters 2 and 3
    • recommended: CR: 4 and 5

slides

Deadline

  • Submission of Thesis Proposal / Outline
    Please send your thesis proposal to all students in the thesis seminar and your topic supervisor.
    Reading
    • required: Chapters 4–6
    • recommended: CR: 6, 7, 12, Part V “The Ethics of Research”

Class Session 3

  • Deadline submission of BA thesis form.
    Your BA thesis from needs to be signed by your supervisor before you can submit it.
  • Presentation and Peer Review of Thesis Proposal & Outline

Deadline

  • Submission of revised Thesis Proposal / Outline
    Please send your thesis proposal to all students in the thesis seminar and your topic supervisor.

Class Session 4

  • Thesis Proposal Defense

Deadline

  • Submission Thesis Draft
    Elicitation of Peer Reviews
    Reading
    • required: Chapters 7–10
    • recommended: CR: 8–11, and 13–16

Class Session 5

  • Presentation and Discussion of Peer Reviews
    Reading

    • required: Chapters 11 and 12
    • recommended: CR: 17

    Thesis Checklist

Deadline

  • Submission of Final Thesis

Class Session 6

  • Thesis Defense
    Reading
    • required: Chapter 13