Month: September 2019

In all books there is a table of contents, it should be in the thesis. Table of contents as a structural element of the thesis is required by standard: it is allowed to do without it only in very small works, up to 10 pages.

Why do you need the table of contents of the thesis

Example 1

An example of using a table of contents: the head asked you a question in a thesis. You just remember that you wrote about it in the second chapter, you start to search, scroll through the first chapter, lose time, go to the second chapter and start looking for the necessary paragraph. At the same time, you at least know the text. Members of the commission do not know what and in what order they should; they would take even more time to find the right place to work. Not finding any aspect of interest to them, they may decide that there is none at all, that the topic is not sufficiently disclosed.

The table of contents allows to avoid such incidents, facilitating the search for the desired page.

Additional benefits from the table of contents – it gives the opportunity to measure parts of the work. If the first chapter begins on page 5 and ends on the 50th, and the second begins on the 51st and ends on the 58th, this is the reason for the revision, redistribution of the material.

How to write content in the thesis

Before you begin to write a thesis, the student makes a plan. The design of the content is based on this plan; the plan is the first version of the table of contents. The difference of the plan is that it contains only the names of sections, without page numbers.

The plan must be coordinated with the supervisor so that a situation does not arise when the thesis is ready, and the supervisor says that it must contain completely different items.

The table of contents of the thesis can be compiled according to the following model:

• Introduction
• 1.Title of the first chapter.
  • 1.1 Name of the first paragraph.
  • 1.2 Name of the second paragraph.
  • 1.3 Name of the third paragraph.
• 2. Title of the second chapter.
• 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 The names of the paragraphs included in the second chapter.
• Conclusion
• List of sources used.
• Applications.

If there are more than 2 chapters in the work, each chapter is described in the same way as the first two.

Usually, elements up to the second level are included in the content (if paragraphs are divided into smaller parts – 1.1.1, 1.1.2 – they may not be indicated in the table of contents). Introduction, conclusion and list of references are not numbered.

How to make out the content in the thesis

The important question is how to properly arrange the content in the thesis. Basic requirements for registration:

• The content is located on the second page (after the title page).
• Before you write the content of the thesis, you need to make a title – “Table of Contents” or “Content.” A specific variant of the title is chosen by the department, but the use of the word “Table of contents” for complete work is more typical, and the “Content” is for a collection of individual parts.
• The design of the content of the thesis should be consistent with the design of the main text (font used, line spacing, paragraph indents).
• The content of the thesis is best done on the model taken at the department.

Example 2

In some universities, they require the use of a placeholder in the form of dots between the name of the item and the page number; in others, the line should be left blank.

• If in the text of the thesis the headings are written in capital letters, they are also taken out in the content. Selection in italic or bold is not saved in the table of contents.
• Headings of the second level are most often placed with indention in comparison with the headings of the first level, which facilitates human perception of the text.

Automatic registration of the table of contents in the thesis

Text editors make it easier to compile a table of contents. When using automatically collected table of contents two problems are solved at once:

• Page numbers are carefully aligned (it’s not necessary to adjust their position in the line using spaces).
• In case of any changes (both in the name of the item and in the number of the page on which it begins), the table of contents will be updated automatically.

Consider how to write the content of the thesis, using the technical capabilities of MS Word.

As the main text is written, it is necessary to specify the heading style – headings of the first and second level. You can change styles and when the text is ready – the main thing is not to miss anything. When this is done, on the “Links” tab, click the “Table of contents” button and select the most appropriate table of contents from the list of examples.

If none of the standard design examples is appropriate for the content of your thesis, you can create your own template by specifying levels of detail, font and indent settings, line filler, and other parameters. You can also change the font and indents by highlighting the table of contents as plain text.

To update the table of contents after changes, you must click on it with the right mouse button and select the item “Update field”. Two update modes are possible:

1. Complete update.
2. Update page numbers only.

If only the page numbers are updated, there may be a mismatch in the title of the paragraph in the content and in the text.

If you do not take into account the design elements, the introduction is the first section of the thesis. It is from the introduction that members of the attestation commission begin to read the thesis (after which, as a rule, they read the conclusion – and this is limited). The introduction should form a positive impression of the thesis.

The structure of the introduction of the thesis

The structure of the introduction of the thesis are quite clear requirements governing both the composition of the elements and the order of their following.

Definition 1

The main purpose of the introduction is a brief description of the work, the formation of the reader’s understanding of what the thesis is about, what it is about.

Standard components of the introductory part, not depending on the subject of research:

• The relevance of the problem, which is devoted to the study.
• The purpose and objectives of the work.
• The object and subject of the thesis.
• The hypothesis of the study.
• Scientific methods used in the development of the topic.
• Characteristics of the degree of knowledge of the problem.
• Definition of scientific novelty.
• Description of practical significance and possibilities of applying the results.
• Review of sources of literature and primary data.

The volume of injection should not exceed 10% of the total volume – otherwise it will contain too much “water”. At the same time, the prologue should not be reduced too much. On average, a harmonious volume is 3-5 pages with a thesis volume of 50-80 pages.

Relevance of the topic

The first thing that should be in the introduction of the thesis is the justification of relevance. The reader should understand that the theme you choose is related to modernity, it really makes sense to develop it. There are three ways to choose a topic that determine how easiest to write the relevance section in the introduction:

The department gives students a list of topics, and everyone chooses something that interests them. Such topics practically do not change from year to year and are well known to both graduate heads and commission members.

The thesis supervisor offers a topic related to his personal research (the topic of his dissertation, a monograph in preparation, or other work).

The topic is offered by the student himself on the basis of professional activity (it is appropriate for students working in their specialty)

In the first case, you can search for works of past years: many universities publish them on their website (even if the work is not fully laid out, the introduction must be included in the introductory piece). Many topics with minor changes are considered in other universities, so the Internet can be a significant help. Copying the relevance is literally risky in the light of the introduction of checks on borrowing, but it is easier to single out a rational grain and retell in your own words than to invent from scratch.

In the second case, you can ask the manager why he recommends this topic, or read his publications – they should indicate the prospect of studying this topic or its significance in modern conditions.

In the third case, you should rely on your personal experience or ask for help from more experienced colleagues, the boss. The thesis supervisor will help to formulate the relevance in a manner accepted in the scientific community, according to common patterns.

Relevance may be based on changes in the economic or political principles of the functioning of society, on the latest technological advances, on major discoveries or inventions of recent years, as well as on the discourse related to regulations or laws.

Example 1

For example, if a tax reform has occurred in a country, tax issues will be relevant due to the changes that have occurred.

The purpose and objectives of the work

It is important when writing the introduction of the thesis correctly formulate the goal.

Example 2

Examples of goals:

Evaluation of the effectiveness of labor resources in the context of improving the efficiency of the organization.

Improving the management of the investment attractiveness of an industrial enterprise on the basis of optimizing its resource potential.

Improving the strategy of personnel management of the enterprise.

Definition 2

The purpose of the thesis – this is what the result is planned to get after writing a thesis.

As a joke, students say that the purpose of the thesis is to get them a thesis, which then can be attributed to the employer. For the introduction of such a goal (no matter how sincere it may be) is not suitable.

The goal should be based on the theme of the work, almost literally repeat it. At the same time, the verb “study” should be avoided, because most topics imply not only acquaintance with literary sources and the situation at the enterprise, but also the development of any recommendations, the creation of a project, the assessment of its effectiveness.

Example 3

Convenient for the formulation of objectives will be the verbs “improvement”, “efficiency increase” (if it is possible to measure effectiveness), “improvement”, “project development”.

Definition 3

The tasks of the thesis are steps towards achieving the goal.

The easiest way to write tasks is to reformulate the contents of the thesis. Then the number of tasks will coincide with the number of paragraphs (not chapters).

When writing tasks, you can use these verbs:

• Expand (concept).
• Describe.
• Make a classification / classify.
• To study.
• To explore.
• Analyze / analyze.
• Characterize / characterize.
• Rate / evaluate.
• Develop (draft, recommendations).

The object and subject of study

Before you write an introduction to the thesis, you need to understand the differences between the object and the subject of study.

Definition 4

The object is a field of work, and the subject is a constituent part of this field on which attention is concentrated.

The object can be an organization, public relations, phenomena. The subject is reflected in the topic of work.

Example 4

An example of an object is Chinese manufacturing companies, the subject is models and strategies for the internationalization of Chinese companies.

Example 5

For legal subjects, the object is public relations arising in the process of determining the capacity of citizens, the subject of the study is the norms of legislation governing relations in the process of determining the capacity of citizens.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis as an element of introduction is not always required, but it will not be superfluous.

Definition 5

A hypothesis is an assumption, an expectation from the results of a study.

The hypothesis may not be confirmed in the course of the experiments (although this situation is relatively rare for graduation projects).

Example 6

The hypothesis may relate to the existence of a connection between phenomena, expectations of the result of actions: “the introduction of a program of non-material motivation will increase productivity in the enterprise”, “the developed program will provide control”, “the use of the proposed exercises will help improve performance among younger students.”

The hypothesis should have a direct connection with the ongoing practical research, carried out experiments, to be verified in the framework of the thesis.

Research methods

Definition 6

Methods are ways to study posed problems.

There are general scientific and special (for a particular science) methods. Before you write this section of the introduction to the thesis, you should determine how the study will be conducted. After performing the main part of the work, the methods can be adjusted. Extra methods should not be included, because the commission may ask where exactly this method was used. Commonly used methods:

• Synthesis.
• Analysis.
• Induction.
• Deduction.
• Modeling.
• Graphic method.
• Vertical and horizontal analysis.
• Balance method.
• Classification.
• Generalization.
• Comparison.

The degree of knowledge of the topic and an overview of the sources

Writing a thesis assumes that the student relies on the works of predecessors, and does not invent something from scratch. Some topics are widely covered in the literature, others are new, recently interested in the scientific community. Sometimes a problem is traditionally viewed from a certain angle, while other aspects remain unlit. The task of the author of the thesis is to designate in which section the problem was studied and described in detail, which “white spots” remained, and in what directions the researchers did not come to a common opinion. Interesting can be both actively discussed topic, and a new one, which was previously paid unduly little attention. When writing this part of the introduction, you should refer to specific authors, scientific schools and areas.

The degree of knowledge echoes the review of the sources used – after all, in order to understand how well a topic has been studied, it is necessary to become familiar with the literature. Additionally, in the review of sources, it is necessary to indicate if statistical data were used (by which organization they were prepared), enterprise documentation, normative acts.

Scientific novelty and practical significance

Sections of scientific novelty and practical importance answer the question; what thesis can bring to humanity. Before you write this part of the introduction in the thesis, you need to determine for yourself what your work may be useful for – for pure science or for practical work.

In abstract, theoretical studies, greater emphasis should be placed on scientific novelty (that you came up with something that nobody knew before you). In practice-oriented work, it is more important to demonstrate practical significance.

As a proof of the value of the work, references to patents, registered copyrights, acts of introduction, letters of thanks from the enterprise – the base of pre-thesis practice can be given. External confirmations always adorn the student’s words about the significance of his work.

From the first year, students wonder whether it is difficult to write a thesis. Each teacher considers it his duty to say: “If you cannot write a test (essay, coursework), how will you write a thesis?”. As a result, final qualifying work – the most voluminous work of those that students write over the years of study – is surrounded by an aura of inaccessibility. In fact, to write a thesis work itself is quite realistic – if you correctly approach the process.

The choice of topics and the head of the final qualifying work

Before you begin to write a thesis, it is necessary to decide on the topic and the leader. Samples of themes are usually given at the department; you can choose from a ready list or agree on changes. Two approaches are possible at the preparatory stage:

First choose a manager. This may be a teacher of the department, with whom you have developed the warmest relationships over the years of study, with which it will be easier for you to reach a mutual understanding. This may be a teacher, about which as a leader you have heard good reviews from past graduates. Some ambitious students are trying to get to the head of the department, but this choice is quite risky: the head of the department may simply not have enough time to carefully study your thesis. Once an agreement has been reached, a topic should be formulated with the manager.

First choose a topic. The topic may be related to your practical activity (it’s not a secret that many undergraduates, even full-time students, work in their specialty, and it is common among correspondents) or you are just very interested. Then the leader will have to choose from those in whose sphere of scientific interest this topic falls.

Example 1

For example, if your thesis in programming will concern the automation of accounting, it is impractical to negotiate guidance with a teacher who specializes in low-level programming. Similarly, if you are a philologist and want to concentrate on slang in modern Internet communication, an expert in Silver Age poetry can hardly become a useful mentor.

It is very important who leads the thesis. If the manager is not well-versed in the topic or is simply dishonest, you will have to write WRCs yourself, and if he is interested in the topic and he is ready to delve into the work, you will receive strong support and a competent guide in the scientific world.

Preparation of the thesis plan

To write a thesis correctly, you need to determine its structure from the very beginning – to make a plan. The main requirements for the content are determined at the department. As a rule, students are invited to do a thesis work in three parts. The first part is theoretical, the second – methodical, the third – practical. Another variant of the distribution of parts: the first is a theoretical methodological, the second is a review of the current situation, the third is recommendations. For some specialties, another work structure is possible.

Example 2

For example, a thesis work of an engineer along with the actual development (terms of reference, work project) may include a chapter on occupational safety and a business case for development.

You can ask the manager for an example of writing a thesis, or at least a sample of the plan – most likely, he has last year’s work, and he will allow to get acquainted with them. The main thing is not to write off everything verbatim (even if the topic is very similar), but to use information only as a starting point for your own research.

The thesis plan must be coordinated with the supervisor, since it is the plan that determines the content of the material. It would be a shame to write a thesis quickly and with inspiration according to your plan, and then find out that all this is not the case – and slowly and painfully rewrite according to the new content.

Introduction of thesis

Suppose a plan is made. The question arises – how to start writing a thesis. There is no single answer to this question.

You can go in order and start writing a thesis from the introduction, you can leave the introduction at last. In the first case, after writing the main part, the introduction will still have to go back and make adjustments – but at the writing stage, the tasks will be clearly defined, and their solution will be more systematic.

The introduction of the thesis should include a number of mandatory elements:

Justification of relevance. This material may take up about half of the volume of administration. Relevance is the connection of the topic of the thesis with the current state of affairs in society, science and technology.

Example 3

Thus, the optimization of the manufacture of punch cards is completely irrelevant, since they are not currently used. At the same time, the study of long-abolished laws is relevant, since they often form the basis of adopted later (and still in force) or may be useful in reforming the branch of law.

The purpose of the work – what are you going to achieve in the course of writing a thesis (except to obtain a document on higher education). To correctly formulate a goal, you need to clearly understand what it means to write a thesis. If term papers for the most part were purely educational in nature, and in them goals like “to study the process of accounting for settlements with suppliers and contractors” were acceptable, then the thesis should first of all demonstrate the completeness of your training, the ability to perform the functions of a specialist. The goal cannot be educational. The goal can begin with the words “optimization”, “improvement”, “identification of patterns”, “model building”, “development of a software product (device)”.

Tasks work. For their writing will need a plan. How many points in the plan – so many tasks? You just need to reformulate the names of the paragraphs, so that they answer the question “what to do?”.

The object and subject of study. The object is the system you are considering, and the subject is from which side you are considering it. For example, the object will be an enterprise, and the subject will be labor productivity in this enterprise.

Research methods. To a large extent determined by the scope of the study, but almost always can be mentioned general scientific methods – deduction and induction, analysis and synthesis.

Review of used literature.

The standard introduction volume is 5% of the total workload (3-5 pages).

The theoretical part of the thesis

The theoretical part of the work is based on the study of literary sources. In this part the student does not create anything of his own – he studies what has been done before him. Since the theses are checked for borrowing, and the requirements for originality are high enough, you simply cannot copy textbooks and articles, you have to write the theory in your own words. A thesis cannot be based solely on textbooks: both monographs and articles in periodicals (specialized journals, collections of conference materials), and electronic sources must be used, and for many areas – legal acts.

The choice of sources is a guarantee of the quality of the theoretical part. Source Requirements:

Modernity. Sometimes rigid formal requirements are established: textbooks are not older than 5 years, articles are not older than 3 years. This approach is not entirely correct. On the one hand, classical works (especially of deceased authors) do not gain from reprints, and you can quote Karl Marx both in the 2018 edition and in the 1956 edition – there will be no difference. On the other hand, in dynamic areas even for 5 years (and taking into account that the textbook is not published instantly, that is, a textbook published 5 years ago was written about 7 years ago) a lot can change. The easiest way in this regard is with the regulations: you need to take from the reference legal systems the current edition (if we are not talking about a historical review of the changes).

Reliability. Inaccurate information is often found on the Internet and in unlicensed journals (as well as collections) – this may be due to both the incompetence and dishonesty of the authors, and the deliberate distortion of the facts. It is better to take material from magazines with a reputation (ideally, those included in the list of HAC).

To write a good thesis, you need to recycle many sources. The list of references should reflect at least 30-40, and most of them usually refer to the theoretical section.

The practical part of the thesis

The theory of the thesis is not limited; it must be a practice. The practice can be divided into two parts:

Inspection of the object “as is”. If in the theoretical student analyzes the sources, then in the practical part there is an analysis of a specific subject.

Example 4

So, for example, for lawyers – this is an analysis of judicial practice, for journalists – an analysis of a specific publication, for accountants – the financial activities of a company.

Development of something new – a project, recommendations, and an assessment of their effect.

Example 5

It is not enough to simply write: “A new law should be adopted”, it is necessary to explain in detail how it should differ fundamentally from the current one, what gaps in the law it will allow to close, what problems to avoid. For economic theses, the most popular criterion is profit: the proposed measures for commercial enterprises, directly or indirectly, should contribute to its increase (through cost reduction or revenue increase). However, for some topics, other criteria may be selected. For engineering surveys, it is usually about improving the existing technology – you need to prove that it really will be something better.

Thesis

By the 4th course, when it comes time to write a thesis, students usually already know what a conclusion is and how it is written. The conclusion is not significantly different from the conclusion of the course work – except that it has a slightly larger volume. Like the introduction, it should occupy about 5% of the volume of work (perhaps a little more – 7-8%), that is, about 3-6 pages.

In the conclusion summarizes the work, draws conclusions for chapters. The focus should be on the practical part; only the main points can be written out from the theory.

In conclusion, it summarizes how the objectives set in the introduction have been accomplished and the goal achieved. If some problems could not be solved, it should be explained in detail why this happened (although this is usually avoided – if there is too little material on some aspect of the topic, adjust the plan and choose a more illuminated one).

At the very end one can note the practical significance of the research, the possibilities of its application. If the project has been implemented or the copyright certificate (patent) has been drawn up, it can also be mentioned.

List of used sources

References – the most strictly regulated part of the thesis. It is necessary to write a thesis at a university on the basis of a large array of sources — a standard requirement is the use of at least 40 units. Each source should be referenced in the text, and each should be described in the list of references.

Own requirements, how to write a list of references in the thesis, can be formulated and the department. In this case, the sample is issued in the form of guidelines on thesis design. It is at the department that the sources are listed alphabetically or in order of use, whether they are divided into sections (books, articles in periodicals, electronic sources).