This text is closely based on the corresponding guide by Ms. Prof. Dr. Gehringer
The final thesis is your final exam. It is designed to prove that you are able to independently work on a specific question from a specific scientific field within a given time frame, using scientific methods and in compliance with scientific standards.
Theses in the field of sustainability, culture/values, psychology, and/or IT
Are you interested in overarching, more complex topics or empirical questions? Please contact Prof. Dr. Susann Kowalski via Email (susann.kowalski@th-koeln.de). You can suggest a specific topic or choose a topic from the list below. If you don't have a concrete suggestion yet but a rough idea, I would be happy to help you find a topic.
If you wish, you can write your thesis in English if your degree program does not require this anyway.
If you encounter any problems while working on your thesis, do not hesitate to contact your supervisor. This is especially the case when it comes to the coordination of essential contents, when you are afraid of losing the overview, when you have layout-related questions or when essential changes of the outline are necessary. Make intensive use of this support opportunity. You should not be afraid of consultations. To the contrary, they enable you to acquire useful information and avoid misunderstandings. If this goes beyond the level of independence required for a thesis, I will inform you appropriately and in a timely manner.
However, you should refrain from sending parts of your work to your supervisor before you hand it in in the examination office. It is and remains your final thesis, which can only be fully evaluated after submission.
The topic is basically freely selectable. However, it must contain a scientific question and be related to the study course, whereby the boundaries here are quite broad.
Even if the last semester is intended for writing the final thesis, you do not do anything wrong or forbidden if you deal with finding a topic early enough.
The agreed topic is the basis for the preparation of a preliminary outline and a preliminary reference list. If you wish, you can also submit an exposé.
After a first insight into the literature relevant to your topic, please prepare a preliminary outline that reflects the structure of the work as well as a preliminary literature list. During your work, individual points of the outline may change/displace by arrangement with your supervisor.
You can find additional information regarding the outline in the document "Information for registration and preparation of the Bachelor thesis" (click) or "Information for registration and preparation of the Master thesis" (click).
In the exposé, you explain which research goals you pursue with your thesis, to what extent the research gap will be closed by your research and how you will proceed methodically.
Why an exposé? It serves as an assessment by your first and second supervisors/reviewers of the extent to which your work can be completed within the planned timeframe while meeting the requirements of a scientific paper. However, the reviewers cannot give you a guarantee of success at this point, but a well prepared exposé can eliminate some uncertainties at the beginning of your work. It also makes it easier for you to find a suitable structure for your work.
The structure of a thesis usually consists of the following parts:
Length
The text part (without outline, figures, tables and appendices) should not exceed 40 pages for Bachelor's theses and 80 pages for Master's theses. However, it may also be shorter. As a general rule, the scientific depth of the thesis should not be rigidly measured by the number of pages. It is important that even complex relationships are formulated as compactly as possible.
Overall, a logical, common thread must be recognizable in your explanations. You must deal with the subject area in a depth appropriate to your topic and you must describe and justify your research process in a comprehensible and reproducible way.
An important basis for your elaboration - regardless of whether you are doing a pure literature thesis, a thesis based on case studies or an empirical study - are the basic works of the related subject area. On this basis, you will be able to adequately work on central concepts.
To work on your topic, you will present the current state of research (textbooks, scientific journals, official documents). An in-depth search for suitable literature references is indispensable. Take a critical look at the references. Only in this way, you will succeed in a literature-based argumentation. Please also make sure that your research of sources is conducted according to scientific standards (some sources cannot be seriously cited, for example: Wikipedia, Internet forums).
When writing your thesis, please remember to use correctly justified text, as it contributes significantly to a better readability of your thesis.
You can use this format template (click here) as a basic formatting guide. It corresponds to one of the options described in the guidelines for your degree program. Please do not use TH Köln templates, as these are aimed more at technology-oriented degree programs and do not always correspond to the specifications in the guidelines (see above).
There are various options for page numbering. Here is a concrete suggestion:
You have a certain margin of freedom in choosing the style of the literature list. It is important that you remain coherent in your choice throughout your thesis. As a guide, you can use the information in the document "Information for registration and preparation of the Bachelor thesis" (click) or "Information for registration and preparation of the Master thesis" (click) orientieren. Use the citation style you are most familiar with.
Appendices
Certain source data, research results, or questionnaire transcripts should not be included in the main part of the thesis because they might be too extensive and would not provide the reader with immediate insights. The appendices at the end of your thesis are very suitable for this purpose. Extensive appendices as well as data sets from empirical studies are best implemented as electronic appendices. Please contact me about this.
A time frame of 9 (literature theses) or 12 (case-study-based and empirical work) weeks is formally given for the Bachelor thesis, from registration to submission. The corresponding writing time for a Master thesis ist 15 or 19 weeks respectively, which can vary from degree program to degree program.
The actual writing time within the formal deadline depends on various factors and can hardly be predicted. In any case, it is advisable to start working on the thesis on time.
After the submission of the thesis, the evaluation takes place, which could take several weeks.
Would you like to complete your thesis before the start of a new semester? Then, according to the above information, you should start defining the topic, outline and literature research about four (BA) or nine (MA) months before the end of the semester. Please also note that any colloquium must also be passed BEFORE the end of the semester if you wish to complete your studies in that semester.
When reviewing your thesis, the reviewers usually proceed schematically and evaluate the work according to certain criteria:
Use of AI such as LLM/ChatGPT
In principle, AI may be used. However, the exact form in which it was used must be precisely identified. "Precisely identified" means that every text passage generated or co-generated by the AI must be cited, including the AI model and the prompt entered. In addition, the results obtained by the AI must be documented in a fully traceable manner, either by a direct link to the chat history or by a screenshot of the input and output of the AI (in a separate attachment document).
If this is not complied with, we will assume plagiarism!
When using AIs such as LLM/ChatGPT, please note that you are solely responsible for what appears in the text of your thesis. You must stand behind the statements you make there and you must substantiate the statements with correct sources (the sources given by an AI are not always correct).
