One Health and Sustainability

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE THESIS FORMAT

Follow the guidelines in the thesis template. Below are some general guidelines:

• Font size 11 pt for the main text
• Single line space
• Page numbers centered
• Run spellcheck and grammar check (can be found in Microsoft Word under “Tools”)
• Check the pages for abstract and popular summary of the Thesis template and make sure that the number of pages (YY pp) and the year (201X) is correctly filled in
• When you are finished with your thesis (after the presentation and all the corrections), save the project in pdf-format “Family name Name thesis.pdf”.

SCIENTIFIC SECTIONS IN YOUR THESIS

You can have additional chapters and subchapters, but the parts listed below mostly commonly included. However, depending on scientific discipline, the thesis can have slightly different structure, or the names of particular parts can differ (e.g. Results section can be called “empirical findings”, or something else; it may also have subsections. Similarly, in some disciplines Discussion is combined with Results). Follow advice of your supervisor if in doubt.

1. Title
2. Scientific abstract plus 5-6 keywords
3. Popular scientific summary plus 5-6 keywords
4. Introduction
5. Background
6. Methods
7. Theory
8. Results
9. Discussion
10. Summary/Conclusions

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11. Acknowledgements
12. Reference list
13. Figures, tables and/or graphs

1. TITLE

Both the title and the abstract are very important parts of your thesis, since these will be read most often by many readers. They disclose the basic information of your research and help the readers decide whether or not to read the entire paper.

• The title is your first opportunity to let the reader know what your thesis is about.
• It should be descriptive and to the point. Define a short, significant title which clearly reflects the contents of your thesis.

2. SCIENTIFIC ABSTRACT + KEYWORDS

The abstract should, in a concise manner, present the problem of the thesis, discuss the materials and procedure or methods used, and state the results or conclusions.

• The abstract is a brief summary of the contents of the thesis.
• Present a short and simple summary of the work and its most essential elements (problem, methods and results).
• When selecting keywords, you should choose keywords that best describe the content of your proposed thesis project. Use keywords that will be easily recognized by others in your discipline.

The abstract should not include:

• A discussion of your results
• References
• Tabulated data
• Any abbreviations, unless they are understood when standing alone (e.g. “DNA”, “pH”, “USA”)

3. POPULAR SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY + KEYWORDS

• Remember that readers not familiar with the subject should understand this summary and it should be written in a popular, but still scientific way.
• When selecting keywords, you should choose keywords that best describe the content of your proposed thesis project. Use keywords that will be easily recognized by others in your discipline.

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4. INTRODUCTION

Clarify why this study is important giving a general introduction to the topic, list the basic knowledge needed and outline the purpose of the study. Take in consideration that you do not divagate to other topics that are not relevant, this part of the proposal should be very clear and to the point. This section sets the context for your proposed project and should capture the reader’s interest.

1. Establish topic
2. Provide significance of the topic
3. Review the relevant literature for the reader
4. Point out the research gap
5. Reveal the research question (and sometimes, hypotheses)

It is very important to read enough literature in the field of your research, this is needed to justify your research question. You will answer questions such as: Why is this research important? Have other researchers engaged in this question in the same way, or in similar ways? How do present-day debates in this field of study recognise your research question? When you are conducting your literature review, it will support you in addressing these topics. In the same time it will also contribute to resources needed to build your own conceptual framework.

• Review what is known about your research topic as far as it is relevant to your thesis
• Explain the background of your study starting from a broad picture narrowing in on your research question
• When explaining the background this should also understandably point to the gap in the research you are trying to fill. The “gap” in the literature is a conflict or missing piece of information which your research question will answer. If the research has already been done, then why waste your time and the reader’s time with all this work?
• The gap also explicitly identifies the contribution a piece of research makes.
• What is the aim of the study?
• How does this study contribute to the study area/what are the outcomes? (objectives)
• You may also indicate shortcomings in previous literature or lack of knowledge about the topic you intend to research.
• When the gap is recognised a research question is raised. The writer presents the question that will answer the gap as revealed by the literature to be a missing piece of the topic/research.
• Remember to always cite relevant references, this is the part of your thesis that most likely will have the highest number of references.

Remember the following points when writing the literature review:

• The literature review should collectively support the process and purpose of the study
• Organization and structure of the text
• Focus, unity and coherence
• Avoid being repetitive and wordy
• Cite influential papers
• Keep up with recent developments
• Remember to critically evaluate cited papers
• Avoid citing irrelevant or trivial references
• Don’t depend too much on secondary sources

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5. BACKGROUND

The background section is often called the literature review. “The literature” refers to other research on your topic. The background synthesizes current knowledge on your research question in far greater detail than your introductory section does. Its goal is to articulate patterns within the literature and to describe unresolved issues or questions, then to show how your study fits into the larger body of work in your field.

Background makes the reader understand the reasons of conducting a study and the incidents leading up to the study.

Introduction presents the thesis in an interesting way so the reader wants to go through the entire thesis.

Separate Introduction and background:

Some disciplines organize the introduction and background as separate sections of the thesis. Theses in the social sciences, for instance, frequently have an introduction followed by a literature review.

Background within the introduction:

In many disciplines, the introduction will include a section called “Background” or “Literature Review,” which provides a history of criticism on your topic.

6. METHODS

In your thesis the method section contains an overall description of the approach, materials, and procedures you have been using. Precision and exact details are key to this section, but do not include irrelevant material. If you have a complicated method part that you are unsure on how to arrange, use a research article that deals with a similar issue and you can model your method description in a similar way.

• What methods did you use and why?
• Give a clear and detailed description of the method (s) you used, i.e. don’t only write “qualitative method” or “quantitative method”.
• Justify why the chosen methods were selected as the most appropriate for your research in comparison with others.
• Analysis. How was the data collected and analysed? Present and analyse your findings. What does the evidence suggest with regard to your hypotheses (if applicable)? How does it relate to the existing literature and on-going scholarly and/or policy debates?
• What materials did you use?
• Data sources (documentary sources, secondary sources, transcripts of interviews, life histories, narratives, survey data, etc.)
• State limitations.

REMEMBER to connect the methods you have been using to the requirements of your research question. You need to justify why the chosen methods were selected as the most appropriate for your research, amongst the many alternative ones, in particular its specific objectives, and limitations you may encounter in terms of access, time and so on.

NOTE the conceptual, theoretical and methodological approaches used by others in studying related topics. This will help you decide on your own conceptual/theoretical/methodological strategies and on how your own study may contribute to improvements in this regard. 31

7. THEORY

The theory used in an empirical study is meant to shed light on the data in a scholarly or scientific manner. Not all theses have a separate theory section. In the IMRaD format (often used in natural sciences) the theory section is included in the introduction, and the second section covers the methods used. Unlike theses in the social sciences, the IMRaD format does not include a separate theory chapter.

8. RESULTS

In the Result section you summarize the data collected and the statistical treatment of them. Therefore, this section consists of the observations and measurements recorded while conducting the procedures described in the methods section. These components must address the questions raised in the introduction and any hypotheses formulated there.

• Present your results in an order that is similar to the order you presented your hypothesis or research questions.
• Provide all the descriptive data such as demographic results.
• Give the results of the statistical processes conducted for your study.
• Provide only the results and don’t give any conclusions or interpretations of the results in this section. (Note, however, that in some disciplines Results section is combined with Discussion section. Follow your supervisor’s advice in relation to structuring your thesis)

9. DISCUSSION

In essence the discussion chapter tells your reader what your findings might mean, how valuable they are and why. This is your opportunity to show that you have understood the significance of your findings and that you are capable of applying theory in an independent manner.

• The discussion starts with the interpretation of the results, then moves outwards to contextualize these findings in the general field.
• Relate your findings to the issues you raised in the introduction. Note similarities, differences, common or different trends. Show how your study either corroborates, extends, refines, or conflicts with previous findings.
• For all your results you are discussing you need to find results from other publications having a suitable relationship to your result that you want the reader to understand. Most often, your result either agrees with (corroborates), extends, refines, or conflicts with the other result.
• State the key conclusions from your study and present the theoretical and practical implications of your thesis study.
• Discuss the implications of your study for future research and be specific about the next logical steps for future researchers.
• Provide recommendations to further research on this topic or how parts of your study could be improved upon. If you found as a result of your study that another topic should be looked at in order to offer more insight into this topic, then suggest that at this time.
• You may also (if relevant) discuss implications of your study for practice/policy, etc.

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10. SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS

A summary ought to repeat the most important issues raised in your thesis (particularly in the discussion), although preferably stated in a (somewhat) different way and only shortly. For example, you could frame the issues within a wider context.

A solid conclusion section can include:

• The conclusion should answer your research question(s) in the Introduction. Remember that a negative conclusion is also valid.
• Reflective analysis of the scholarly work and its conclusions in light of current knowledge in the field,
• Comments on the significance and contribution of the scholarship reported
• Comments on strengths and limitations of the research/scholarship
• Discussion of any potential applications of the findings
• A description of possible future research directions, drawing on the work reported.

This section should synthesize your findings with the current knowledge in your area of study and you should demonstrate your knowledge of the field.

11. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author expresses a professional and personal gratitude, including any permission to use previously copyrighted material.

• Remember to acknowledge persons that have been part of your thesis and/or helping you out, for example people in the field, contacts, funding agencies, personal communication, and of course your supervisor, subject reviewer, examiner and opponent.

12. REFERENCE LIST

You must have a list of the references used to write the thesis. By having a reference list and referring to the literature in the text you are demonstrating to its readers that you can find and use literature in the field of your study. Furthermore reading up on this particular literature makes you able to identify a possible research gap in earlier literature and studies, this gap might be filled by your master thesis.

• Use in-text references for all the sections of your thesis.
• Cite all ideas, concepts, text, data that are not your own. When you refer to somebody else’s ideas or research, you always need to acknowledge it in your text. If you don’t, it is a serious offence (plagiarism) and can have major consequences
• If you make a statement, back it up with your own preliminary data or a reference
• All references cited in the text must be listed in the references list at the end
• Focus on peer-reviewed articles and don’t base your text on internet links

• Follow the Harvard reference system: https://www.slu.se/en/site/library/write-and-cite/writing-references/referencelist-according-to-the-harvard-system/ 33

13. FIGURES, TABLES AND GRAPHS

NOTE. If you have data, don’t only present them as table in your thesis, please use graphs or pie diagrams. The data will be much more evident and the reader (including your subject reviewer, examiner and opponent) will get a better overview of the results. Often the examiners react upon the lack of figures presenting your data.

• Tables and figures should be numbered and labeled in accordance with the style manual being used.
• Tables and figures are numbered independently and consequently (e.g. Table 1 and Figure 1).
• The tables and figures should make sense on their own and they should be commented/discussed on in the text.
• You need to have captions for your figures/tables/graphs. Captions are titles or brief explanations for example a figure you have in your thesis.
• Remember to write the source when using data from a published document and/or another person’s figure. If a figure/graph is created by somebody else (e.g. you found it in another paper or report), you need to ask author/s for permission to use this figure/graph in your thesis. If you get such permission, include information about it in the figure’s caption (“used with permission of…”)

LENGTH OF THE THESIS

The length of the thesis varies depending on the project – and it is the quality of it that matters, not the quantity. But as a guidance a 30 hp/ECTS thesis should have a minimum of 30-35 pages and an upper limit of 70 pages, including figures but excluding appendices and references. For a 15 hp/ECTS the length of the thesis is recommended to be around 25-30 pages and have an upper limit of 70 pages, including references and figures but excluding appendices. The lower limits are guidelines, there are well-defined parts that have to be included in a thesis and also requirements to be fulfilled and it is of most importance to present these in a scientific and structured way.

OPTIONAL IN YOUR THESIS

• Figure/photo on your title page. You are not allowed to have a figure/photo on your cover page, but one on your title page is allowed. If you would like to have one please send that in a separate document.
• List of Symbols or Abbreviations: clarification of any terminology in the study that may not be commonly known; provides a similar interpretation for all readers of the study
• List of Tables/Figures. If you have List of Figures, List of Tables (etc.), these should be placed between the Popular Scientific Summary page and the Table of Contents page.
• Appendix/Appendices: contains related materials/data that provide additional information but are not essential for understanding the thesis/report. E.g. tables with raw data, letters written to subjects, questionnaires, large data files or sheets not appropriate for main body of thesis. If you have more than one appendix, label them APPENDIX A, B, etc.

ADDITIONAL

• Sources, research ethics: research ethics is required. Ethical issues such as preserving the anonymity of interviewees, or using dubious sources should be discussed with your supervisor.