BA Thesis Seminar
preliminary — subject to changes
Session / Deadline | Day and Time |
---|---|
Session 1 | 15.02., 12:30 |
Session 2 | 27.02., 18:00 |
Submission of Thesis Proposal | 11.03., about noon |
Session 3 | 13.03., 18:00 |
Proposal Defense (Session 4) | 22.03., 12:30 |
Submission Final Draft | 30.04., about noon |
Session 5 | 06.05., 17:40 |
Submission Thesis | 29.05., 12:00 |
Thesis Defense | 11.06. |
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
- Adler, M.J., and van Doren, C. (1972): How to Read a Book. Simon & Schuster
If you know how to read you are likely to get the idea how to write well, too…
Rhetoric / Arguments
- Williams, J.M., and Colomb, G.G. (2006): The Craft of Argument. 3rd edition. Pearson Longman.
The textbook on (planing, drafting, and revising) written arguments.
How to structure your paper
Writing with Style
- Williams, Joseph M., and Joseph Bizup (2016): Style: lessons in clarity and grace. 12th edition. Boston: Pearson.
Textbook - McCloskey, D.N. (2000): Economical Writing. 2nd edition. Waveland Press.
Brief. Practical Advice. - Sword, H. (2012): Stylish Academic Writing. Havard University Press.
Meta-perspective. Good academic writing is personal, creative, and vivid – stylish. - Clark, R. P. (2008). Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. Little, Brown.
- Clark, R. P. (2010). The glamour of grammar: A guide to the magic and mystery of practical English. Little, Brown.
Once you start revising these may offer some good advice on improving your own 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
http://economicscience.net
You can always reach me via email. Appointments for meetings can be arranged through my webpage at: http://economicscience.net/content/book-appointment. For asking for a meeting outside my normal office hours and off-campus please use http://doodle.com/davdittrich.
Updated information, links to the literature, additional materials, etc. can be found on my webpage as well.
Grading Guidelines:
Grading Component | Weight |
---|---|
BA Thesis | 2/3 |
Defense | 1/3 |
You need to pass both grading components.
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.
Activity | Time |
---|---|
Class Time | 15 hours |
Thesis & Peer Review & Preparation Thesis Defense | 345 hours |
Class Meeting Topics and Assignments
Class Session 1
- Preliminaries
What is your topic?
Reading- required: Chapters 1 and 2
- recommended: CR: 1–3
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
Deadline
- Submission of Thesis Proposal / Outline
Please send your thesis proposal to all students in the thesis seminar.
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
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
Deadline
- Submission of Final Thesis
Class Session 6
- Thesis Defense
Reading- required: Chapter 13