Theses at CENTIM

If you're thinking about writing a thesis, it's best to start by thinking about what kind of topic you'd like to write about:

Interest and Qualifications: Your first consideration should be: What am I interested in, but where am I also qualified? In terms of content categories, it is hard to read into a body of literature in a short period of time that you did not know at all before. As for methods, you need to not only feel confident with the relevant method, but be proficient enough in it to see it as a means to advance to interesting scientific questions.

Methodology: Your second consideration should be the compatibility between the content and the methodology: Some methods do not go well with certain content, at least in the context of a thesis. Why do you think the method you are proposing is applicable to the phenomenon you are proposing? It often helps to get a concrete sense of possible research projects if you read current literature on a general topic that interests them. Think about what obvious or less obvious problems the research reported in the papers has. Can you suggest and try a solution here within the time you have?

Independent contribution: this is probably the most important point: think about what the independent contribution of your work is: what do we know afterwards that we did not know before? You cannot write a good paper without clarifying this key point. Ideally, your purpose can be formulated in terms of a hypothesis that will be falsified or supported as the paper progresses. Contributions can be primarily substantive (e.g., describing a phenomenon), primarily methodological (e.g., developing/enhancing a tool), or both together.

Do not underestimate topic identification: identifying an appropriate topic (interesting, practical, of the right scope) is almost half the work.

If you have found a topic that fits the practical fields of CENTIM in terms of content and you would like to write your thesis under the supervision of a CENTIM research assistant, please fill out the sheet "CENTIM Application for Theses" and send it by mail to the email noted above to Ms. Joyce Treptow or Christine Haake. The form can be found under " Related Documents" in German. After receiving feedback from CENTIM, you can then make an appointment for the first consultation hours. Here you can meet your supervisor, discuss and discuss your topic further and you will receive information on how to proceed.

To ensure good cooperation, regular meetings are important: at the beginning of a job, every week if possible, then as needed, but at least every three to four weeks. You are expected to make timely arrangements for appointments during the respective office hours of the supervisors assigned to you. Unfortunately, these meetings cannot last as long as you wish, as time is limited. Both parties therefore benefit best from meetings that are concise and focused. Therefore, it is expected that you come to meetings well prepared. An agenda with issues to be discussed has proven useful for this purpose. Ideally, the supervisor will receive the agenda one day in advance and can already prepare for the meeting. The first item on the agenda should always be a brief summary of the work done since the last meeting.

The most important point: Communicate with your supervisors! Let them know when something has worked, and also what has not worked. Good support is only possible if the supervisors are informed about the current status and the communication is transparent and direct.

In order to successfully write a thesis that meets the criteria, aspects of content as well as formal and methodological aspects must be taken into account. Detailed information on the criteria can also be found on the respective websites under "Related Links".

Here, the content-related criteria are to be emphasized above all: Your thesis should meet the requirements of a scientific paper. This includes in particular:

• Clarity. State clearly: What is your hypothesis? What is its contribution?
• Academic Honesty. Mark all ideas, materials, graphics, quotations that you have taken from other papers, otherwise it is plagiarism!
• Formal neatness. Whether you write in English or German, write grammatically correct, correct spelling errors, make sure cross-references and references exist and are coherent.
• Diligence. Argue clearly. If you make causal connections, substantiate them (or mark them as conjecture). Make sure you have read the literature extensively.
• Reproducibility. An important and often neglected point: your presentation should ideally be detailed enough that an interested reader will be able to reproduce your experiments and come to the same conclusion.

Sometimes a project does not work as planned. It is the responsibility of both sides to not only recognize this as early as possible, but also to bring it up. So if there are problems, you should address them directly and exchange ideas with your supervisors.

There is a difference between supervisor and reviewer. In principle, supervisors can be any person (e.g. if you write your thesis at a company). However, you also need two reviewers. (The supervisor can also be the second reviewer). Therefore, make sure to find a second reviewer as early as possible.