Theses (B.Sc./M.Sc.)

Leaflet for theses in the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy: Status WS21/22

Basically, please follow the guidelines of the APA (7th edition) or DGPs (5th edition). Deviations from the guidelines are marked in this document. No default means that students can choose for themselves how the point is designed. For the bibliography, a corresponding citation style (APA 7th edition) for common programs (e.g. CITAVI, Endnote) can also be downloaded.

 

1. preparation of a thesis:

  • Communication: Contact us early in order to have time to find suitable supervisor:s and topic for your thesis. The choice and definition of the topic will be made in consultation with the respective first and second supervisors.
  • Exposé: Each student should submit an exposé of 3 to max. 5 pages at the beginning of the thesis (the exact date will be determined in consultation with the supervisors). For the formatting of the exposé see point 2. The exposé should contain:
    • Short (!) (max. half page) description of the theoretical background of the research question
    • Research project and (if available) the hypotheses to be investigated
    • Methodological approach (design, sample, instruments)
    • Approximate time schedule (indicating milestones, e.g., completion of theory, submission of first draft, etc.).
    • In general, the synopsis should enable you to plan your thesis well and to reach a common understanding about the research project, the scope and the time schedule with your supervisor(s).
  • Ethics application: If you collect data yourself for your thesis, an ethics application must now be submitted to the Ethics Committee of FB01 of the University of Kassel in most cases prior to the collection. Since the preparation and review of the application takes several weeks, you should definitely allow additional time for this and discuss it with your supervisors early on (at least 3 months before the planned registration of your Master's thesis). It also makes sense to inform yourself in time about the meeting dates of the ethics committee (usually 3x/semester): https: //www.uni-kassel.de/fb01/organisation/gremien/beauftragte/ethikkommission. Recruitment of test persons and data collection can only start after a positive vote of the ethics committee!

2.basic information about the thesis:

  • Number of pages:
    • The number of pages is specified on the homepage of the university: 30-50 pages for the bachelor thesis, 50-80 pages for the master thesis.
    • This guideline is not binding in our department!
    • The thesis can be longer or shorter.
    • The decisive factor is:
      • Say and explain everything that is important!
      • But do not "ramble".
  • Line spacing: 1.5 lines (NOTE: Deviation from APA and DGP guidelines, which suggest 2 lines).
  • Please show page number; do not specify where.
  • Numbering of pages: no default (whether or not the title page, abstract, or table of contents is already "counted". Whether table of contents is numbered differently (with i, ii, ...), etc.)
  • Page margins: top, right, left: 2.5cm; bottom: 2.0cm
  • Header: please use, for example, with title of the thesis, subchapter, or similar.

3. structure of the thesis:

  • Orientation to the structure of a technical article is desired (theory, method, results, discussion).
  • In case of comprehensible reasons, it is possible to deviate from this structure.
  • Type of numbering of the parts of the thesis (numbers, letters, subpoints; italics, boldface, underlining): no default. However, it should be designed in a SINGLE manner.
  • Order of abstract and table of contents: no default.

4. structure of the paper specifically:

  • Title page:
    • Title of the paper
    • Author:in with matriculation number and contact(email)address
    • University and institute
    • Reviewers (first or second review)
    • Date of submission and semester
  • Abstract (in German and English)
    • 20-200 words (in case of complex work also longer, but max. 250 words). For each of the four main parts (theory, method, results, discussion) approx. 2-3 sentences.
    • NO introduction, but complete summary of the paper (so that even without reading the paper you know how you came up with the research question, what the procedure was, what the results are and what is discussed in the core).
  • Table of Contents:
    • Always include
    • Outline level: More than just the top level, the exact layout is up to the respective student
  • Optional: list of tables, list of figures, list of abbreviations
  • Theory section:
    • Introduction: brief derivation and introduction to the topic and project.
    • Recommendation: do not start too broad ("Psychology per se is in the area of tension between natural science and humanities roots...") but also not too specific ("The second subscale of the third revision of therapeutic relationship is..."), but take the "average informed reader" by the hand.
    • Theoretical background, state of research
    • Derive the research question (Where is the research gap!) and formulate hypotheses. Sometimes a separate subchapter in the theory is dedicated to this point.
    • Important: always keep the "red thread" in mind. Do not simply string theoretical concepts together, but create transitions (often 1 sentence is enough). Central question: Why am I explaining something and what does it have to do with my question?
  • Methods section:
    • In general, the methods section should be written in such a way that other researchers could "replicate" your research project. Nevertheless, the following applies here: Write short and to the point.
    • Sample description
    • Study design
    • Material and instruments
    • Statistical hypotheses (as a "translation" from the content hypotheses, i.e., how do you intend to statistically test the content hypotheses).
    • Description of statistical analysis/method
  • Results section:
    • Content wise structured presentation of all results, best oriented to structure of hypotheses / questions.
    • Important: Do NOT interpret ("the higher expression of group one can be explained due to X"), but only present ("group 1 differed statistically significantly compared to group 2 with p = ....") Stay in "ZDF mode" (numbers-data-facts mode).
  • Discussion section:
    • At the beginning, briefly pick up reader:s ("This work has investigated....").
    • Interpretation of the results (here not ZDF mode, but evaluate results).
    • Classification of the findings in the existing state of research.
    • Critical reflection (what could have been done differently? What worked well, less well? What are strengths or weaknesses of the work?)
    • Outlook: What could be further researched after your project?
    • Conclusion: highlighting the knowledge gained from your work
  • Bibliography:
    • According to APA requirements. Recommendation to use a citation software, e.g. CITAVI (it is really worth it! License can be obtained free of charge from the University of Kassel. An introduction to CITAVI can be found here).
    • For CITAVI there is an APA version 7 citation style available, which you can use to automatically create your bibliography. (This saves time and automatically does all the necessary formatting such as italics).
    • All sources cited in the text must appear in the bibliography and vice versa.
    • Citation: General notes:
      • Authors are cited only in parentheses with "&", in the text with "and". e.g. Mayer, Fischer and Müller (2006) found that men are on average taller than women. However, other authors found opposite results (Hofmann, Schenk & Schmitt, 2007).
      • Please identify any verbatim transcription.
      • Further guidance on APA citation can be found, for example, here.
  • Appendix: Anything that is interesting in itself but beyond the scope of the paper can be added as an appendix. e.g.:
    • Items of a developed questionnaire
    • (Sub-)results of sub-analyses
    • Complete category systems with subcategories of a qualitative content analysis

5. reporting of results according to APA

  • Characteristic values:
    • Italicize all characteristic values (also in the text): t, F, r, p, M, SD .
    • Always use a period (e.g., 2.93) as a decimal separator (both in tables and in text).
    • Round to two decimal places.
    • For confidence intervals, report results indicating the confidence level: e.g. 95% CI [3.45, 6.78].
    • Include characteristic values and degrees of freedom of a test in or at the end of the sentence. e.g., F(2,143) = 3.41, p = .04.
    • For the p-value: omit 0 before the decimal point.
      • Exact value: p = .08
      • Not significant: n.s.
      • Write rounded values: p < .01
      • NEVER write: p = .00 or p = .000. This is wrong in terms of content (even if SPSS displays it that way), since p-value can never be exactly 0, but always approximates. Always write p < .01 in these cases.
      • Example for t-test: The t-testfor independent samples showed that men(M = 1.76, SD = 0.22) and women(M = 1.72, SD = 0.23) differed statistically significantly in size, t(39) = 3.01; p < .01.
  • Tables:
    • Table numbering (e.g., Table 1) is in bold above the table on its own line.
    • The title is written in italics and below the table number.
    • No vertical lines (only horizontal)
    • Choose clear and concise labels for column and row headings.
    • Relevant explanations (e.g. for abbreviations) are inserted below the table.
    • You can find an example here.
  • Figures:
    • Numbering is in bold above the figure on its own line.
    • The title is written in italics and below the figure number.
    • Choose meaningful captions and always include a legend.
    • Relevant explanations (e.g. on abbreviations) are inserted below the figure.
    • You can find an example here.