UNIVERSITÄT HOHENHEIM INSTITUT FÜR VOLKSWIRTSCHAFTSLEHRE Lehrstuhl Finanzwissenschaft Prof. Dr. Nadine Riedel Universität Hohenheim (520 D) D - 70593 Stuttgart Universität Hohenheim Schloß-Mittelhof (Ost) D - 70593 Stuttgart Telefon: 0711 /459-22990 Telefax: 0711 / 459-23732 E-Mail: Nadine.Riedel@uni-hohenheim.de Hohenheim, Guidelines for writing a student research project a seminar paper or bachelor thesis or master thesis (520D) Seminar Papers are scientific texts and thus are subject to certain requirements regarding format and content. For further information please look at the service pages of the examination office or the homepage of the SIZ. I. General Remarks The scope of the paper should not exceed 45.000-50.000 characters (Diplom-Vertiefung), respectively 30.000 to 35.000 characters (Bachelor-Seminar). A master thesis generally comprises 150.000 to 200.000 characters. The scope of a bachelor theses lies between 75.000 and 85.000 characters. Not included are the table of contents (if applicable with additions cf. C and D), the appendix and the references. The same applies to figures, charts or tables, as they don t belong to the text component, as well. Submission of a seminar paper: Hand in two hard copies at the secretary and two digital copies (as a PDF burned on a CD or sent via email to your supervising stuff member). The digital copy has to be submitted one time with complete covering page and one time with a covering page omitting address data and enrolment number. Submission of the master or bachelor thesis: Hand in one digital version at the chair s secretary and two hard copies to the examination office. Please note that additionally to the declaration of academic integrity regarding the independent preparation of the bachelor thesis or seminar paper of the chair, an Eigenständigkeitserklärung of the Examination Office has to be signed and attached to a bachelor and master thesis. - 2 -
II. Formal Requirements A. Formal Layout and Format of the Text Layout of a scientific text: - Empty page (not with seminar papers) - Front page (see enclosed exemplary front page) - Table of contents - List of figures - List of tables - List of abbreviations - List of symbols - Text body - References - Appendix - Declaration of academic integrity regarding the independent preparation of the bachelor thesis or seminar paper ( Ehrenwörtliche Erklärung des Lehrstuhls ) - If applicable Erklärung für Master- & Bachelorarbeiten 1 of the examination office - Empty Page (not seminar papers). Use a proportional font (12 pt.) with line spacing 1,5. Only one side of the sheet is allowed to be used; left margin 4 centimeter and right margin 1,5 cm. The table of contents has to be placed before the text component; the references have to be placed after the text component. All pages except the front page have to be numbered consecutively. Two alternatives are applicable: either all pages are numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals or the table of contents, list of graphics, tables and symbols are numbered in roman numerals and the text component, appendix and references are numbered in Arabic numbers. B. Structuring/ Outline Seminar papers have to be clearly structured. The outline is an important part of your effort and should clearly demonstrate in which way the topic was processed. The outline should represent the logical structure of the whole work. This implies that sections and subsections follow in a logical order and do not merely constitute a random enumeration of aspects relevant to the main topic. The paper has to be subdivided into paragraphs, sections and (if necessary) subsections. Employing sections and subsections is making sense only if 1.1, for instance, is followed by 1.2. When structuring your seminar paper, you do not have to make sure to include transitions to guide the reader from one section to the subsequent subsection. The table of contents should be outlined directly following the title page. It should contain the headings of all paragraphs, sections and subsections. 1 The Erklärung für Master & Bachelorarbeiten can be found at the homepage of the examination office. - 3 -
Decadic Classification 1.... 2.... 1.1.... 1.1.1.... 1.1.2.... 1.2.... Mixed Classification A.... I.... 1.... 2.... a.... aa.... ab.... b.... If necessary, it is advisable to clearly separate major topics and groups of thoughts through classification in parts, chapters or sections and to take up the used scheme of classification for each part again, in order so create a parallel structure. C. Figures and Tables Number the charts and figures consecutively. The content has to be specified in the heading. Position the references as well as comments, explanations and name of symbols directly below the table or figure. Fig. 1: Example for a name or denotation of a table or figure Fig. 2: Source: Thomas (1987), p.367, own representation. Do not include figures or tables directly below a heading, but in an appropriate position. Whenever you make reference to a figure or table the respective number has to be mentioned. The list of figures and the list of tables have to include all provided figures and tables, along with their number, title and page number. D. Abbreviations Do not use abbreviations in headings. Especially for the list of references and cross references you can use generally accepted abbreviations. Abbreviations for the sake of convenience (e.g. econ) are not allowed. Use fewest possible abbreviations in the text component. Abbreviations like e.g., etc., or cf. are allowed but are not to be included in the list of abbreviations. Subjectspecific abbreviations are also allowed but should be spelled in full when they are used for the first time. In the list of abbreviations, the abbreviations are arranged alphabetically: - 4 -
BPO GDP ICT IMF Business Process Outsourcing Gross domestic product Information and communication technology International Monetary Fund If applicable you have to mention symbols for formal derivations or economic variables in the list of abbreviations. Abbreviations, which should only be used in the context of references and which should not be contained in list of abbreviations are: ed. edition bd. band ib./ibd./ibid. ibidem f. following page ff. following pages ed. editor vol. volume p. page see fig. see figure E. Symbols and equations Equations have to be numerated (right-adjusted). The symbols and equations have to be explained in the text when they are used for the first time. The list of symbols has to contain all symbols that are used in the paper. Use the formula editor and make sure that one symbol has only one meaning. If symbols from other works are used, they can be adjusted to the ones used in your paper. F. Footnotes Footnotes contain references or remarks of the author. Only use them if really necessary. Try to restrict the extent of your footnotes. An excessive use of footnotes might indicate a flawed structuring of the author. Footnotes have to be separated clearly from the text component by the use of a line. Each footnote is completed by a dot. G. Appendix An appendix is only necessary if graphics, tables and formal derivations cannot be included into the text component because of their nature and range. - 5 -
H. Citations and list of references All arguments from other authors, which are not scientific common property, have to be indicated clearly. There are different ways of citation in practice. It is very important that the reader is able to find the text passage with the help of a clear reference. The reference is shown in the footnote, as well as in the list of references. The list of references contains the whole cited literature, and further cited sources. Do not include any sources but those referred to in the text. The chair might request cited references. Thus, you are asked to retain used sources in printed or digital form until the work is graded. Please note, that a secondary literature is only used in reasonable exceptions. Alternative 1: Traditional referencing (Short document in footnotes) The reference has to be cited in the footnote by indication of author, year of publication and page. The reader is referred to the list of references for detailed information about the cited work. If you are quoting several works published by the same author in the same year, they should be differentiated by adding a lower case letter directly, with no space, after the year for each item. Short document in footnote: - Barro, Sala-i-Martin (1992), p. 224. - cf. Barro, Sala-i-Martin (1992), p. 224f. - Barro/Sala-i-Martin (1992b), p. 224. - cf. Barro, Sala-i-Martin (1992a), p. 224f. Alternative 2: Harvard System of Referencing (in-text citations and detailed references) The indication of source directly succeeds the quote in brackets. Only the author, the year of publication and the page are indicated. Short document in continuous text: or: - It has been suggested that classical music can help to create a calm study environment in which students can focus on their work (Garett 2011, p.12). - It has been suggested that classical music can help to create a calm study environment in which students can focus on their work (Garett 2011: p.12). For detailed information on the Havard System of Referencing see www.libweb.anglia.ac.uk - 6 -
Supplementary remarks regarding quotation: a. Quotations reaching over several pages 2 If a quote refers to a text reaching over two sides, or more than two sides respectively, an f. or a ff. has to be attached to the page number. Alternatively, it is possible to state the exact page numbers (e.g. 40-68). b. Primary and secondary literature Reliable secondary literature may only be named in cases in which the primary source is not accessible! It has to be clearly indicated with the add-on quoted from c. Legal sources Legal sources have to be quoted as primary sources. The paragraph or article, passage and official abbreviation of the legal text have to be stated. In the list of references the official abbreviation, the official title and date of the last change have to be stated. Continuous text: Between the member states of the European Union charging of tariffs is impeded (Art. 23 ECT). Reference list: ECT, Treaty establishing the European Community, last amended on 2002/12/24. d. Author and year of publication Up to three authors are mentioned by name in the text component. In case of more than three authors, only the first is mentioned by name the others are referred to with the add-on et al. In the list of references all authors have to be named. Continuous text: Recent research (Green, et al., 1995) has found that the majority of these policies promoted growth. Reference list: Green, A., Cass, O., Brown, G., White, J. (1990), Modern management, London: Redfern Press. If the work is by a recognized organization and has no personal author then it is usually cited under the body that commissioned the work. It is acceptable to use standard abbreviations for - 7 -
these bodies, e.g. RCN, in your text, providing that the full name is given at the first citing with the abbreviation in brackets as well as in the list of references. Continuous text: 1st citation: 2nd citation: Reference list:... following major pioneering research in 2006 undertaken by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) it has been shown that... More recently guidelines were issued intensively (RCN 2007, p. 87). Royal College of Nursing, 2006. Children in the Community. London: RCN. Name affixes (de, De, Di, La, Le, Mac, Mc, O', ten, van, von,...) are part of the name. Academic titles (Dr., Ph.D., Prof.,...) are omitted. Occasionally it may not be possible to identify an author or publication date. You then may write anon or w.c. for without composer if the author is anonymous or not identifiable and n.d. or w.y. for without year if the date is unknown. If a certain source is used in consecutive quotations, you can write ibid and the page where the quote is from. In case different sources of an author from the same year are citied, this has to be indicated with the add-on a, b, c. Continuous text: Earlier research by Dunn (1993a) found that...but later research suggested again by Dunn (1993b) that... Reference list: Dunn, R. (1993a), Learning Style Differences of Nonconforming Middle-School Students, Boston: Allyn and Bacon Dunn, R. (1993b), Teaching elementary students through their individual learning styles: Practical ap proaches for grades 3 6, Boston: Allyn and Bacon. e. Literal or analogous citations In general, students should try to express the thoughts of others through analogous quotation that is with own words. In contrast, literal quotation should be the exception and should only be used for very important or succinct statements. When literal quotation is made use of, the text passage should be adopted word for word (even old or flawed writing) and put in quotation marks. With "[!]" the author can indicate, that he does not cause the error. Omissions have to be indicated with [...]. Also own remarks have to be in put angular bracket. Quotations in quotation are framed with an apostrophe in the beginning and in the end of the quotation. - 8 -
Continuous Text: The convergence club of centrally planned economies does not only refer to Eastern Europe, since also China and the USSR are included. (cf. Baumol 1986, S. 1079f.). Reference List: Baumol, W. (1986), Productivity Growth, Convergence and Welfare: What the Long-Run Data Show, American Economic Review, Bd. 76, Nr. 5, S. 1072-1085. f. Figures and tables When graphics and tables are used, the source has always to be indicated directly below the table or figure. If the author changed the specific table or chart, this is has to be indicated with on the basis of... Self-made figures or tables have to be indicated with own figure/ own table based on... The sources below figures and tables have to be included in the reference list as well. Indication of the table: Table A.6: Per capita income in Eastern and Western Europe 1950-1990. Source: Maddison (1995), S. 193ff. Reference List: Maddison, A. (1995), Monitoring the World Economy 1820-1992, OECD, Paris. - 9 -
List of references: The list of references has to contain all sources referred to in the text and no further. Mark unreleased work with the add-on unpublished. Arrange the literature on alphabetical order by the surname or if no author is specified the publishing institution (e.g. Deutsche Bundesbank). Several authors are separated by comma; several works of the same author are sorted by the year of publication (in brackets). There is no sorting by publication type. Every declaration has to be concluded with a dot. The author has to be named with surname and with the initial letter of the first name. Several authors have to be separated by comma. The year of publication has to be in brackets. a. Monographs Monographs have to be named with composer, year of publishing, entire title, edition (except first edition) and place of publishing. For dissertations and professorial dissertations adduce the university. Erber, G., Hagemann, H., Seiter, S. (1998), Future Perspectives of Germany in the Global Economy. Industrial Policy Implications of New Growth Theory, Berlin and Heidelberg. b. Discussion papers, working papers Discussion papers or working papers have to be named with composer, year of publishing, title of article, name and number of series. Fischer, S., Sahay, R. (2009), The Transition Economies after Ten Years, NBER Working Paper Nr. 7664 c. Journal articles Journal articles have to be named with author, year, title of article. Then, the complete title of the journal, year s issues or volume, the year of publication, and the number or rather the issue date of the journal if the pages of the year s issue or volume are not numbered consecutively have to mentioned. Moreover the page number has to be mentioned. Baumol, W. (1986), Productivity Growth, Convergence and Welfare: What the Long-Run Data Show, American Economic Review, Bd. 76, Nr. 5, S. 1072-1085. - 10 -
d. Essays from collected editions For essays from collected editions, festschrift or the like the following has to be considered. Name chapter author(s), year of chapter, and title of chapter. Additionally mention,in: with the add-on editor (ed). after the title. It follows the known specifications, year of book, title of book, publisher supplemented by the page numbers of the complete essay (e.g. page 64-73). Ohlin, B. (1991), The Theory of Trade, in: Flam, H., Flanders, M.J. (ed.), Heckscher-Ohlin Trade Theory, MIT Press, p. 71-214. e. Internet sources Additionally to the information required above, the Internet address and the date of access have to be indicated, when using Internet sources. Please take care that the documents are accessible through entering the Internet address. Rave, T. (2005), Urban Congestion Pricing Economists and Practitioners Join Hands, CESifo DICE Report 3/2005, S. 3 4, http://www.cesifogroup.de/pls/guestci/download/cesifo%20dice%20rep- ORT%202005/CESIFO%20DICE%20REPORT%203/2005/DICEREPORT305FORUM1.PDF, abgerufen am 05.12.2005. III. Spelling and Style Besides the criteria of your grade regarding content, also the formal guidelines have to be taken care of and are important. Additionally, the style of writing and the mastery of the rules of the language influence your grade. An academic work requires an appropriate style of writing. Bold or crude statements should be avoided as well a cumbersome way of writing. It is absolutely necessary that the work is proofread before submission. IV. Textual Remarks Setting of priorities An essential part of academic work constitutes the independent limitation of the topic and the formulation of important questions. Before writing, try to get an overview over your respective topic. You are not allowed to change the title of your work independently. Structuring The outline is an essential part of your work. It mirrors the logical structure of the writing and proves how well you are able to structure a complex topic. As a consequence you should put extra effort in your outline: Find meaningful headings and discuss the outline with your supervisor. All points of the outline have to bear a relation to the topic. Attempt to create a clear outline, - 11 -
which follows a logical sequence of working or argumentative steps. The outline aims at providing a fast and accurate overview over the methodology and the content of the work. The sections in the table of contents have to match the headings in the text component and the outline should not comprise more than three levels of segmentation. Each structuring level must have at least two sub-sections. All sections, which are on the same level with regard to contents, have to be formatted and structured identically. A scientific work consists of an introduction, a main part and a conclusion. The main part does contain descriptive as well as normative parts. Following academic neutrality it is often advisable to depict contrary opinions before stating an own judgment. If you include an own judgment make clear on which theory etc. you based your decision. Introduction and conclusion build a bracket around the main part and should summarize it in a way. The introduction must include: The object of the study, the approach, the epistemological interest, the main issue (which has to be answered in the end) and a brief presentation of the outline. The conclusion must contain the most important insights and an own judgment of the issue. Processing of the content You should learn to capture existing research and to summarize it. The own scientific effort consists of the examination of literature and of processing of the approaches of different authors. Only include facts and issues you understand. Please make sure, that connections and relations are explained causally and do not just adopt several texts word for word. Literature Good scientific work requires that the essential literature was found, understood and processed. Literature provided by the chair is only the starting point for further research; own search for literature is inevitable. 2 Avoid the quotation of basic textbooks. We expect you to know the content of basic textbooks. Try always to quote the newest edition of a work. Important for the success of your work is the discussion of current scientific essays and papers. Daily or weekly newspapers our other sources should only be cited, if their content is of extraordinary relevance for your work. Avoid the usage of lecture notes, transcripts and popular scientific sources (Wikipedia, Brockhaus etc.) Specific information for bachelor and master theses Content A diploma or bachelor thesis is more than a comprehensive seminar paper. On the one hand, a broader depiction of the literature, especially of recent research in the field of subject is absolute essential. This usually requires the usage of (not only german) journals articles, since text books often do not provide the state of research. On the other hand, a master or bachelor thesis differs 2 e.g. in databases as ECONIS, IDEAS.repec.org - 12 -
from a seminar paper in their degree of development and accuracy of a certain topic. Moreover, a master or bachelor thesis requires a comprehensive own judgment. Naturally, an own scientific effort cannot be demanded in the range of a diploma or bachelor thesis and thus is not required in order to pass. Supervision For the most part, you decide on the nature and intensity of supervision. In any case, it is highly recommendable that you discuss your outline with your supervisor after you have read through the relevant literature and before you start to write. During your working process you can always consult the chair s staff in order to discuss certain issues. However, you should notice that the autonomy of your work also influences your grade. V. Further reading Recommend literature for scientific writing: Thomas, U. (1987), Empfehlungen zur formalen Gestaltung von Diplomarbeiten, WiSt, 16. Jg., S. 367-372. Theisen, M.R. (2006), Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten: Technik Methodik Form 13. Aufl., München. Day, R.A., (1998), How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper: 5th Edition. Online Guide for the Havard System of Referencing: http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm - 13 -
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Appendix 3 2