UNIVERSITÄT HOHENHEIM Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre Lehrstuhl für Volkswirtschaftslehre, insbes. Umweltökonomie sowie Ordnungs-, Struktur-, und Verbraucherpolitik (520F) Prof. Dr. Michael Ahlheim Vorl Telefon: Fax: E-mail: (07 11) 4 59-235 96 (07 11) 4 59-240 81 ahlheim@uni-hohenheim.de Profile of requirements for Master Theses Master s theses are scientific papers and are therefore subject to certain requirements regarding their form and content. All essential aspects to be considered during writing a thesis at this department are listed below. 1 1. Components of a Master thesis The elements of a thesis include the title page, an outline or a table of contents, a list of abbreviations, a table and mapping directory and a bibliography. If needed, a Master thesis can have attachments, but only after consultation with the supervisor. The structure of the main text has four parts; it consists of an introduction, a theoretical part, a main part and a summary / outlook. The work should consist of about 60 text pages (± 10%). The title page and all directories and attachments are additional to this maximum page request. 2. Title page For the design of the title page please take advantage of the departments template which you can download via our homepage. Startseite Teaching Course Material & Information 3. Outline/ Table of contents The outline provides an overview of all components of the paper. For the table of contents a numeration with Arabic numerals shall be used, like (1., 1.1, 1.1.1 ). The choice of sublevels has to be appropriate and sequential. Overall there are not more than three levels (e.g. 1.1.1). Additionally subsections that belong together may be marked by bold subheadings. Attachments and directories etc. are not concluded in the Arabic numerals numeration. They can be marked by capital letters if it helps to provide clarity. 1 For other formal requirements for Master Theses please also note the information sheet of the Audit Office and the Examination Regulations for Master's degree programs in economics. 1
4. Introduction The aim of the introduction is to present an outline of the topics problem and to clarify the actuality and relevance. The relevance can come from two different perspectives. On the one the hand, one may use a (current) real political situation as a basis, on the other hand theoretical and scientific research itself is repeatedly used as a starting point for research questions. The introduction also serves to delimit the topic area. A State of the Art and existing research controversies shall be identified by using relevant literature; here you derive the cognitive interest and explain it briefly. In addition, the research questions and used methods should be introduced and the structure of the work should be presented at the end of the Introduction. 5. Theoretical part In the theoretical part, you set the theoretical foundations and situate your inquiry intention within the general economic theory. Sometimes it is necessary to introduce theoretical sub disciplines in this process and to distinguish them from each other. In the so-called 'state-of-the-art' it is necessary to situate your topic into an appropriate discipline or sub-discipline. You will develop the state of the art in this discipline by screening the relevant literature in the context of the research question. You should understand what is currently known about the research objective, the ways in which it was previously processed and what research frontiers have formed therein. You should also check whether your research project or a similar one has been previously studied. And which scientific positions have emerged to your selected topic in recent years. It must be ensured in the theoretical part that in case of mathematical representations the equations must be numbered. And do not simply incorporate mathematical models from the literature, but show an individual understanding by inserting intermediate steps that were omitted in the original. All mathematical derivations, formulas, etc. are to be described in detail and need to be explained in terms of their economic interpretation or meaning; never use formulas that you have not understood. Graphs and charts in the theory section are to embed in the full text reasonably and should be explained; this particularly refers to variables and mathematical notations used within these graphs and schemes. 6. Main part Components of the main part are synthesis and discussion. Both should be inferred from your theoretical and methodological approach. The methodology of your research purpose can, in principle, be far-ranging (empirical or hermeneutic, quantitative or qualitative, comparative or case-oriented). For an empirical research purpose, you will choose criteria, establish and analyze those and finally verify or falsify a new or existing hypothesis. In the operationalization of your work, you should always make sure that a golden thread runs through your thesis. Therefore reference the working sections to the research question. It should be incorporated few and only explicitly justified digressions. Clear guidance on the proper course of 2
argument is important and do not overload the analysis with bombast research padding remnants. 7. Summary / Outlook The conclusion is the summary of the main findings. The main results are listed again briefly and the key research questions from the introduction are answered. Furthermore, established theories are picked up again and respectively verified or falsified. Finally, the results should be supplemented by an outlook and further, indepth thoughts. 8. List of abbreviations The list of abbreviations contains the list of all abbreviations used in alphabetical order. Standardized abbreviations of English spelling, such as "e.g." or "i.e.", should not be listed. 9. Table and mapping directory This directory is a numerically structured list of all tables and figures using image name and image descriptions. Pay attention to the unique and descriptive titling of figures and tables. 10. Bibliography The bibliography consists of the alphabetical list of all literature and sources used. This includes the correct indication of monographs, anthologies, scientific journals, essays and articles from periodicals and accurate documentation of Internet sources using the URL specification and the polling date. All references mentioned in the text must be documented in the bibliography. It therefore contains only those sources that are actually used in the text. 11. Attachments / Appendix The appendix is an optional element of the thesis. If necessary, it serves for the collection of longer mathematical derivations, documents, maps, charts or diagrams if they would interfere with the flow of text in the main part. The listing order corresponds to the content sequence in the text. It is important to note whether maps, tables, graphs, etc. are unchanged taken from other works, edited by the author or have been independently created by him. 3
12. Form and Layout In a master thesis the top and bottom margins should be 2.5 cm, the margin at the left hand side should be 3 cm and the margin at the right hand side should be 2 cm. All pages have to be printed on one side only. As font may be used Times New Roman or Arial, with font sizes of 12 points in the text body and 10 points in the footnotes if you choose Times New Roman and if you choose Arial 11 points in the text body and 9 points in the footnotes. The line spacing should be set at 1.5 in the text body and at 1.0 in the footnotes, irrespectively of the chosen font. The text body and footnotes are to be written justified with reader-friendly hyphenation. Also pay attention to the consistent use of Microsoft Word formula editor for mathematical expressions, or LaTex plugins; the use of mere letters to specify algebraic expressions is prohibited. Mathematical expressions are highlighted, centered and numbered consecutively on the right hand side; the direct embedding of mathematical notations in the text body is prohibited. Due to the required Harvard citation, the footnotes of the thesis should be used for further comments and thematic supplements only. You can use them for example for definitions and accruals; alternatively, you can use them for additives and edge information which would be disruptive directly in the text. All footnotes have to be numbered and written in sentence style. Therefore, you begin with a capital letter and end with a period. The footnotes have to "hang" at the end of each page. Instructions on how to format the footnotes can be found on the website of the Department. Please distinguish between sentence and paragraph. Do not overuse paragraphs in your text body; the paragraph element is used to terminate a line of argument. Abbreviations should be written out at their first occurrence in the text and highlighted parts throughout the text are to be in italics. Page numbers are indicated at the bottom right, starting with the first page of text. To be used is factual-technical language style, with justified and proven reviews and polemics, irony or political believes must not slip in. Other important points are the right and strict usage of quotation marks (» «) and a correct use of grammar and spelling. 13. Citation Please use Parenthetical/ Harvard referencing,.i.e. short references in squared brackets follow the quote or the comment in the text in accordance with the template "Introduction to Academic Writing," which can be obtained on request from the chair. The Harvard citation is also used on tables, charts, and illustrations. The page numbers of the citation are to be cited (Smith 2014, p. 101) if you need to reference two or more sides indicate this by using "pp." (Smith 2014, pp. 101). Up to three authors (separated by slashes) can be cited, in case of more than three authors, only the first surname is written out and "et al." is added (Smith et al. 2014, p. 101). Primary sources (e.g. legislative text, scientific basics) should be the preferred choice before secondary. Furthermore, it is inadmissible to only evaluate secondary literature; important and relevant sources are to be read and processed in the original. Please note the scientific rigor of all specified literature and internet sources; check particularly how current your literature sources are. Violations of the citation 4
rules Blindzitate 2 may lead to grade deduction or failure to pass the thesis, depending on the seriousness of violation. 14. Plagiarism and deceit You have to comply with the Principles of Scientific documentation requirements. Additionally you have to add an Affidavit as the last page of the work and personally sign it. The template can be obtained from the website of the examination office. We explicitly state the criminal relevance of a false affidavit. 15. Submission of Work Two written copies in bound form are to be submitted in the examination office on Submission date. In addition, a digital version that invariably corresponds in content and wording of the printed copy has to be submitted as a single PDF document at the same time to the Chair. 2 A Blindzitat exists when tracking a marked word passage as a direct or indirect quote is not possible since this source does not exist. Furthermore, there is such a state of affairs when the specified phrase in the original has a different content or meaning and is falsely covered by the reference in your own text. There is also a delusion when documents and sources listed in the bibliography are invented. 5