Scientific work

The length of the thesis is 30 pages for dissertations (without graphics,
tables, etc.) or 60 pages (without graphics, tables, etc.) for masters theses.
Each thesis includes a tolerance of ± 10% text length. The appendix
such as graphics, tables and transcribed interviews are not included in the
text length. Longer works are only permitted in consultation with the supervisor
.
Order of the components of a final thesis:

1. 1Title page/cover page
2. Abstract
3. Table of contents
4. Abbreviated index, if applicable
5. If applicable, list of figures
6. If applicable, list of tables
7. Appendix index, if applicable
8. Text section
9. List of references
10. Appendix, if applicable
11. For bachelor's and masters theses: Declaration of honour

The title page contains: topic (do not change it!), supervisor, first and last name, place and date of birth, matriculation number, home address and the candidate's most frequently used e-mail address.

The abstract contains a very short description of the problem and the results of the work in German and English (half an A4 page each). Abstracts from journals can be used as an example.

The table of contents shows how the topic was approached and structured. It should be developed from the topic and show a "common thread". For each bullet point, the page number of the thesis at which the treatment of the section in question begins must be indicated. The bullet points
must correspond to the headings of the sections in the text and summarise their content concisely but precisely.

All figures (graphs, charts, photographs) and tables contained in the work must be included in the list of figures and tables and the corresponding page numbers must be indicated. Figures and tables can be used to visualise work; tables are well suited to presenting results clearly. Each table is given a caption. All pictorial representations that are not tables are labelled as figures and given a caption. Readers must be able to easily recognise both the meaning and the content of the table or figure. Extensive material, such as questionnaires, interviews, larger tabular and graphical representations, longer legal texts, etc., should be included in the appendix. Figures and tables should always be referenced in the text, i.e. it must be explained what can be inferred from the table or figure. Figures/tables that are not referred to in the text should be deleted.

The List of abbreviations contains all abbreviations used in the work and their explanations. Generally known abbreviations are not to be included in this list (e.g., etc., et al., respectively, cf.). See the detailed list in the Duden dictionary. The list of abbreviations is to be placed after the table of contents and list of figures and is given a numerical page number.

The list of appendices contains all titles of the appendices in the thesis as well as the corresponding page numbers. The appendices are for documentation purposes only (e.g. questionnaire, explanatory table, etc.). If appendices are used, they must be referenced in the text. Tables and graphics that are important for the presentation should be included in the text.

Note: If there are few figures, tables and appendices, the lists can be summarised on one page. Indexes are generally only to be created for more than 3 figures, tables or appendices and are given a mixed page number. Please always check whether the illustrations and appendices are necessary or helpful for the reader's understanding. If this is not the case, they do not belong in the text or the appendix.

The text part of the paper consists of the following parts:

• The introduction/problem statement serves to introduce the reader to the topic, to arouse the reader's interest in the topic under consideration, to define the aim of the work (What is the scientific problem that the author wants to address? If applicable: what is the practical relevance of the topic?) and present the structure of the work.
The case study usually included in a dissertation written at the chair is very well placed after the introduction. The case study can be written in a more journalistic style. Proper source work is also required here, but the sources often consist of practical material (business reports, newspaper reports, etc.). The case study should provide the background for the problem/research question addressed by the author.The main part of the thesis is usually divided into several chapters. The approach and the methodology on which the work is based as well as the theoretical frame of reference must be explained and justified. The terms used in the thesis are to be formed from the point of view of appropriateness and applied uniformly. If terms are used that deviate from the prevailing doctrine, this must be justified. An independent analysis and the application of theoretical instruments are expected. The arguments must build on each other logically. A clear and fluent style is conducive to understanding. Complicated linguistic constructions or accumulations of „pseudo-scientific“ foreign words should therefore be avoided. The author should formulate as independently as possible and not follow literary models too closely. The following should also be avoided:
• Filler words (such as: therefore, yes, now)
• Reinsurance words (such as: somehow, to a certain extent, probably, in and of itself)
• argumentation replacement words (such as: of course, of course)
• Exaggerations (such as: unbelievably high costs, appallingly bad conditions, immense increase, enormous (saving)
• Pleonasms: linguistic duplications (such as: mutually exclusive, adding up)
• Tautologies

Note: The bibliography contains all sources used in the paper. With regard to the total number of sources required, it can be stated as a rule of thumb that dissertations are regularly based on 30-70 relevant sources and masters theses on 100-120 relevant sources. However, this guideline depends on the topic and can vary. The sources used should form an appropriate theoretical framework for your work. So avoid citing irrelevant sources just to cite a certain number of sources. Instead, ask yourself how you can depict the discourse relevant to your topic in sufficient depth using various relevant sources. The appendix may contain extensive material (long legal texts, large figures and calculations, questionnaires, interview transcripts, etc.), which would interfere with the central theme of the text, but is essential for understanding the topic of the paper. For empirical work, a copy of the questionnaire used should be included in the appendix. The declaration of honour confirms that the thesis has been written independently. It is legally binding with the signature of the respective student. The text is specified by the Examination Office

Layout

• Paper: DIN A 4 format, printed on two sides
• Alignment: headings left-aligned; text justified with sensible word separation
• Page margins: 3 cm left, 3 cm right, 2 cm top, 2 cm bottom
• Line spacing: 1.5 lines
• Font style: Times New Roman or Arial
• Font size: text 12pt, footers 10pt, headings 16/14/13 (according to level)
• Page numbering: Title page, table of contents, list of figures, tables and abbreviations consecutively with round numbers (I, II, III etc.) at the bottom. Title page without page number. Main section, bibliography, appendices & honourable declaration Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3 etc.) at the bottom outside.
• Colour: text and headings in black

Submission of the paper

In accordance with your current examination regulations, the Examination Office will arrange the submission formalities with you. The Examination Office then forwards the work to the reviewers.

Note: Please have your work printed/bound as sustainably as possible (no plastics, metal bindings, etc.) and on recycled paper.

Further formal requirements & citation

Further formal requirements not specified here, as well as specifications for citation, are based on the APA Style.

The supervision of final theses takes place as part of the seminar „Current Issues in International Management“. Please note the registration deadlines for your final thesis. An additional application for the seminar is not required!

The work in the seminar includes:

• Independent or joint problem definition of the future final thesis,
• written exposé and oral presentation of the scientific project,
• Corepresentation / critical appraisal of another exposés.
• written review of an already reviewed dissertation

This is intended to promote the writing of a final thesis in a highly interactive way.

Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property, the adoption of other people's ideas without citing the source. Based on Wohnsdorf and Weber-Wulff (2006), five general forms of plagiarism are listed below as examples:

• Copy & Paste in toto: verbatim ¨citation without author's note.
• &translation plagiarism: Foreign-language text is translated and passed off as the author's own work.
• Shake & Paste: Taking sections (usually whole paragraphs) from different sources, mixing and indiscriminate merging (formatting changes, different sentence levels).
• Half-sentence patching: Adoption of sentences and half-sentences from different sources and minor editing (e.g. rearrangement of bullet points, use of synonyms, rearrangement of the sentence, etc.).
• Structureübernahme: Adopting the sequence of argumentation and thoughts of other authors and reproducing them in your own words.
• Chat GPT and other software for text design generated by artificial intelligence (AI): The use of AI in science is currently the subject of intense debate. The use of e.g. Chat GPT to support a research project (e.g. in finding a suitable research question or a suitable title) can make perfect sense. However, the use of AI-generated text (e.g. by software such as Chat GPT) is problematic, as the original sources are usually missing. This violates a central requirement of scientific work and the work may have to be assessed as plagiarism.

If plagiarism is detected, the work will be assessed with a grade of 5.0. Furthermore, the examination board will be informed immediately. In serious cases, candidates will be exmatriculated from the university. All work is subject to an extensive plagiarism check.