Msc in International Economic Consulting (IEC) Guidelines for Writing a Master’s Thesis

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AARHUS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AARHUS UNIVERSITY Msc in International Economic Consulting (IEC) Guidelines for Writing a Master’s Thesis Department of Economics Aarhus School of Business Aarhus University Fall 2010 The formal rules for writing a master's thesis can be found in the master programme study guide (cand merc studevejledningen) The following has to be viewed as a supplement Note: As these guidelines will be updated from time to time, the latest version can always be downloaded from the programme’s webpage: http://www.asb.dk/article.aspx?pid=22319 Introduction These guidelines provide a general advice on how to write a master’s thesis It should be noted, however, that any academic supervisor may agree with students under his supervision to opt for slight changes in the course of action recommended below Writing the master’s thesis is expected to take month (and month is set aside for the exam): it is the last and most important part of the MSc programme Currently, there are six annual registration deadlines and hence six submission deadlines In principle, the students decide when in the course of the programme they wish to register their thesis and begin the thesis work Theses are normally written on an individual basis but a group of two students may decide to co-author a thesis if their subject is very comprehensive The work of each student will be assessed and marked individually The thesis is based on the student’s own individual research into a particular area and its objective is to give each student the opportunity – within a limited subject area – to demonstrate the following abilities: • • • • • • Insight into economic analysis, theories and empirical methods especially applicable to economic consulting problem formulation, analysis and synthesis application of methods, critical judgment, presentation of results The first part of the thesis writing process involves the choice of a topic Students have to choose their own topics and subsequently submit them to their academic supervisor for approval Getting started Getting started and deciding on the proper approach to the thesis is often a barrier in itself There is no right way of doing so, and the ways suggested below are merely examples; they not constitute a complete list The lectures and other subjects are often an obvious inspiration: an interesting problem which has not been exhaustively treated or has not been treated in a given context (country, industry, etc.) may provide a good point of departure If the student has had an internship in a consulting firm, the idea for the topic may stem from here Alternatively, ideas for a topic may stem from the constant flow of information from newspapers, television and the Internet, or from academic journals, which usually publish the latest research Students may, of course, also consult their lecturers about thesis topics; a student’s own interest in the subject should, however, always be the driving motive for choosing a specific topic Students may choose any topic related in a broad sense to the field “International Economic Consulting” and focus on theoretical aspects, empirical aspects, the solution to practical problems or combinations thereof The final mark will not depend on the type of topic chosen but on the student’s demonstrated understanding of relevant topics of economics and econometrics, his/her proven ability to perform analyses, apply methods, exert critical judgment, present results and undertake indepth investigation of a subject area It is difficult to categorize master theses (especially for MSc in International Economic Consulting because of the limited life of the programme), but some potential types can be identified: • A problem in a consulting firm where you as a consultant make a report with suggestions for the solution of the given problem • A specific problem from economics, where based on literature studies you try to synthesize the given problem area • A theoretical development of a given area problem, where on the basis of existing theory you try to extent this theory with respect to a specific problem (e.g include new features in the ´New-New´ trade theory) This is a difficult and a rare case for a master's thesis • An empirical analysis of a given problem area This will probably be a common type of thesis Based on papers in the literature or your own ideas a hypothesis is formulated and tested using public available data or data that your supervisor is able to offer to you Data may also be collected by yourself through a survey, but in this case you should be aware of time restrictions • Combinations of the above Once the student has come up with an idea for a topic, the next step is to find out whether it is suitable for a thesis The way to find this out is to search for literature and data on the subject This is a question of balance: there should be neither too little nor too much literature and sufficient data should be accessible When the student has established that the topic is suitable for a thesis, a written synopsis should be prepared The synopsis should be approx 2-4 pages long and present the basic ideas of the thesis In particular the synopsis should identify the central research questions, a tentative problem statement, choice of scientific method as well as the key articles in the literature that are closely related to the proposed thesis with a brief description of these Next it should briefly describe how the proposed work differs from the existing literature and why it may be interesting Finally, if a student opts for an empirical topic, a brief discussion of possible data requirements should be included with an exact description of availability and data sources It is important that the question of access to data is addressed early in the thesis process Finding an academic supervisor and registering the thesis Having finalized the written synopsis, the student can contact one of the lecturers/researchers from the Department of Economics given in the list in appendix It is strongly recommended that you browse through the home pages of these faculty members in order to get further insight into their research interests But it is not a requirement that the academic supervisor has necessarily performed research within the topic chosen by the student The student may then contact the relevant lecturer/researcher and ask for a short meeting in order to discuss the synopsis The contacted lecturer/researcher may refer to the programme coordinator if, because of resource constraints, he is not able to supervise the student The key aspect for the supervisor’s acceptance of the proposed synopsis is that it is doable, relevant and of a sufficient academic standard For a project to be doable, it has to be well-defined and limited in scope Often students are too ambitious and propose topics that are too broad An example of a too broad topic is “The development of the Polish international trade since 1993”, whereas an example of a well-defined and limited topic is “The quality up-grading in Polish exports since 1993” Usually narrow topics are more likely to result in a good thesis, while too broadly specified projects may lead to frustrations and too much work on narrowing the scope at later stages In general a relevant topic is a topic related to one of the student’s courses That a topic is of a sufficient academic standard means that theories used are based on textbooks at master levels and academic papers from good journals or institutions Besides in empirical work the data set is of sufficient size and quality and analyzed with sufficient rigour (econometric techniques etc.) When the student has found an academic supervisor who has approved the synopsis and agreed to supervise the thesis process, the Thesis Registration Form can be filled in This form contains information about the student, a working title, registration data as well as signatures from the student, the supervisor and the programme coordinator Jørgen Ulff-Møller Nielsen The signed form and the synopsis are handed in to the programme secretary Ann-Marie Gabel, and the thesis is registered in relation to the relevant registration deadline The form can be found in appendix or downloaded from this website: http://www.asb.dk/article.aspx?pid=21991 There are six annual registration deadlines: • • • • • January (the thesis has to be submitted no later than June) March (the thesis has to be submitted no later than August) April (the thesis has to be submitted no later than September) June (the thesis has to be submitted no later than November) August (the thesis has to be submitted no later than January) • October (the thesis has to be submitted no later than March) If the student is in doubt about whom to contact as potential supervisor, the programme coordinator can assist in pointing the student in the right direction Academic supervisors and students The academic supervisor has two main functions Firstly, s/he has to approve the topic and judge whether the topic is of the required academic standard Secondly, the academic supervisor has to judge whether the project can be finalized within the deadlines (five month are set aside for writing the thesis) If the topic does not meet the required standard and cannot possibly be submitted within the deadlines, the academic supervisor will make the student aware of the problem The academic supervisor will assist the student in the thesis process if so requested by the student Most students will experience the feeling that the work is too much to cope with and will at times wonder whether her/his work is original enough for a thesis Many students will feel that their ambitions are different from those of the academic supervisor These feelings are quite common and can be alleviated by asking the academic supervisor for a meeting The student should be well prepared for meetings with the academic supervisor by drafting short written statements with specific questions and issues to be discussed at the meeting (agenda) The academic supervisor is not to be considered as an online helpdesk but rather a sparring partner In particular, students should note the following: a The student has to provide a suggestion for a topic No student will receive any help if s/he attends meetings unprepared b The student cannot expect the academic supervisor to provide answers to detailed questions The student has to prove his/her ability to go into depth and work independently and systematically with the thesis c The student cannot expect the academic supervisor to read through drafts of chapters before submission except for the introduction (including problem statement, methods, delimitation and structure) In general, help will mainly be offered with regard to choosing appropriate methodologies and the formulation of hypothesis Contents and layout 5.1 Contents A thesis should be aimed at the internal examiner (academic supervisor) and the external examiner, i.e it should be an academic report written for academics This is also the case when the thesis is about solving a consulting problem for a specific consulting company In this case the thesis may include an executive summary targeted for the consulting firm or their clients The thesis must contain an abstract of maximum page The introductory chapter includes a general introduction mentioning the ideas and motivation for the thesis Besides, it includes a section on problem statement, methodology, delimitation and the structure of the thesis The key mission of the introductory chapter is to narrow the topic by specifically stating areas of interest and why the area is interesting This chapter should be no longer than pages Besides the abstract and introductory chapter the structure of the thesis depends on the type of topic chosen, i.e whether the topic is of theoretical nature, empirical nature, a combination or of a more practical nature solving a consulting problem Anyway, typically there will be chapters on: • • • • • Literature survey Data Methodology/Theory Analysis Conclusions You may choose to include appendices consisting of additional tables, computer printouts and other documentation The thesis itself should be written in such a way that it can be read independently of the appendix – in other words all central figures and tables should be placed and commented upon in the thesis text itself The examiner and the external examiner will not as a rule read the appendix However it is read randomly and in cases of doubt Tables and figures should be numbered and with added notes of explanation, including the source The notes should ensure that the tables and figures can be read independently of the thesis text But tables and figures should anyway be an integrated part of the text Tables and figures should have a clear title and should also include the unit of measurement The last pages in the thesis should be reserved for the list of sources used The following material is considered sources: books, academic journal articles, working papers, persons (interviewed), software, data, web pages Note that all sources listed should be specifically referred to in the text The list of literature must not be grouped in books, articles, etc., but should be listed alphabetically by author Also it should include information on the title of the book/article, place of publication, publication year, journal name and page(s), e.g.: Marrewijk, C van (2007), International Economics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York Melitz, M and Ottaviano, G I P (2008), Market Size, Trade, and Productivity, Review of Economic Studies, 75: 295-316 Please note the use of italics References to a source are made in the following way: In Melitz and Ottaviano (2008), it is shown… or Melitz and Ottaviano have shown that… (see Melitz and Ottaviano, 2008) 5.2 Layout As a guideline, the size of the thesis written by one student should approximate 60 type written A4 pages (excl appendix) The page setup should be with 1.5 line spacing, 12 point Times Roman or Arial type font, 2.5 cm top and bottom margins, cm left and right margins All pages, except for the list of contents and the appendix, should be numbered The first page in the appendix section should contain a list of all appendices, but the individual pages should not be numbered If there are two authors, the thesis should be approximately 90 pages In special circumstances the advisor can approve that the maximum length is increased to 70 or 100 pages respectively Increases over and above 70/100 pages must be approved by the coordinator of the MSc specialisation programmes Concerning the cover page, see appendix in these guidelines Time schedule One or several meetings can be held depending on the individual student’s progress The student may ask the academic supervisor for meetings throughout the entire process The student should attend such meetings well prepared – for instance by bringing along or sending beforehand a short written agenda with specific questions and issues to be discussed at the meeting Furthermore, it is recommended that students begin thinking about the thesis already in the 2nd semester This is especially important for students planning exchange stays abroad during 3rd semester It is strongly recommended to have the first discussion with a potential supervisor as early as possible It is recommended that students stay in Aarhus during the 4th semester This makes frequent contact with the supervisor much easier and experience shows that it increases the likelihood of a successful thesis project If a student decides to stay abroad, it is strongly recommended that the student and supervisor make the initial meeting(s) ‘face to face’ Submission Deadline for submitting the thesis is months after registration: • • • • • • A thesis that is registered before January has to be submitted no later than June A thesis that is registered before March has to be submitted no later than August A thesis that is registered before April has to be submitted no later than September A thesis that is registered before June has to be submitted no later than November A thesis that is registered before August has to be submitted no later than January A thesis that is registered before October has to be submitted no later than March If a student does not meet his/her submission deadline, the student has used the first of a total of attempts at passing the thesis exam The student is then automatically registered for the second attempt and now has months (from the initial submission deadline) to finish writing the thesis, which has to be based on a modified thesis synopsis This means that to some extent the student is allowed to reuse material and issues analysed in the first period, and therefore it should be realistic for the student to finalise the thesis within the months extension In those cases where the second submission deadline is also not met, the student has used the second exam attempt and again has to modify the thesis synopsis Again a period of months is granted to finalise the thesis, and the student is automatically registered for the third and final attempt In case the first or second deadline is not met, the revised thesis synopsis must be approved by the academic supervisor and the programme coordinator even though the student is automatically registered for the next attempt A specific registration form for this purpose is available The final thesis has to be uploaded using theses@asb and submitted to the Registrar’s office (room B4) in paper copies together with a copy of the registration receipt from theses@asb and a filled in copy of the form for handing in master theses A thesis containing confidential information (e.g client material) must be clearly marked “confidential information” on the front page The thesis will then not become available for loan by the public at the library Exam The thesis process is concluded with an oral exam (defence) based upon submission The exam will take place within month after the submission deadline Apart from the student and the academic supervisor, an external examiner will take part in the exam The exam takes about 60 minutes The student will initiate the exam by giving a short presentation (max 10-15 minutes) of the most important results of the thesis The first part of the exam will then focus on the more general aspects of the thesis, and the latter part of the exam on detailed questions The thesis layout and written presentation are of utmost importance The student should pay considerable attention to avoiding bad English, spelling errors etc A badly written presentation of the results may affect the grade negatively even though the thesis is otherwise good A master’s thesis can be written by one or two students The thesis is concluded with an individual oral exam (defence) within month after the handing in of the thesis The assessment of the thesis is based on the thesis and the individual oral exam If there are two authors, each author has the right to individualise their contribution by highlighting for which parts they are responsible In case the grade -3 or 00 is obtained at the defence, a new topic and a synopsis must be approved by the academic supervisor and the programme coordinator The deadline for submitting the thesis is months after registration, but the number of attempts used still applies Plagiarism Academic papers and master theses are generally built upon research carried out by other scholars These connections are important elements of academic progress and should be clearly stated It is forbidden and discreditable to use the ideas of others without using references When the work of others is used directly word by word (citation), quotation marks should be used, whether the citation stems from written references or from talks or interviews of other people When previous research and ideas are referred to in spirit, references must be given, e.g (Jones, 1979) Using material from other sources without using references or citation is called plagiarism, and in the academic as well as the non-academic world, it is extremely dishonourable to take the applause from other people’s ideas or work Cases of committed or attempted plagiarism, cribbing etc will promptly be handed over to the Rector, who will subsequently decide on the type and extent of sanctions Appendix List of faculty members at the Department of Economics offering supervision for IEC students Jan Bentzen (jb@asb.dk) • Cost Benefit Analysis Christian Bjørnskov (chbj@asb.dk) • Economic Growth • Political Economy • Foreign Aid • Social Capital Anna Piil Damm (apd@asb.dk) • Economics of Migration • Population Economics • Labour Economics • Applied Microeconometrics Tor Eriksson (tor@asb.dk) • Empirical analysis of differences in corporate performance • Management practices (in particular HRM) and how these affect firms' performance • Empirical studies of labour market consequences of changes in firms (ownership, internal organisation, competitive environment, etc) Erik Strøjer Madsen (ema@asb.dk) • Industrial economics • Development economics • International economics • Corporate performance • Labour economics Jørgen Ulff-Møller Nielsen (jum@asb.dk) • International Trade and FDI: Theory and Empirics • Trade Policy: Theory and Empirics • EU: Integration and Policies Michael Rosholm (rom@asb.dk) • Estimation of treatment effects, design of evaluation studies • Labour market policy issues • Integration policy issues 10 Davide Sala (dsala@asb.dk) • Internationalization process of firms, organization of production (FDI, outsourcing, offshoring…) • International migration and integration • Economics of agglomeration • International trade and trade policy: theory and empirics Valerie Smeets (vas@asb.dk) • Trade and organizations • Firm growth and productivity • Trade and productivity • HR practices and incentives in firms • Mergers and HR practices • Careers in organizations Philipp Schröder (psc@asb.dk) • Globalisation, trade, international markets • Eastern enlargement, FDI, trade, growth and restructuring • WTO and EU issues, policy reforms and economic impact • Sectoral issues, impact of policy/regulation on businesses • Software industry, open source software Valdemar Smith (vs@asb.dk) • Corporate Performance • Industrial organization • Economics of strategy Frédèric Warzynski (fwa@asb.dk) • Industrial economics • Economics of strategy (in particular how to align organizational structure with strategy) • Personnel economics (analysis of careers and wages within firms) • Estimation of productivity growth, markups and the effect of competition on efficiency (eg the dynamics of competition in new EU member states) • Outsourcing and efficiency Nabanita Datta Gupta (ndg@asb.dk) • Workplace health • Job satisfaction • Health disparities and education • Incentives and retirement behavior 11 Mariola Pytlikova (marp@asb.dk) • Labour economics • Immigration, foreign labour • Labour diversity in firms and performance • Foreign vs domestic firms, productivity and wages • Personnel economics, incentives Astrid Würtz Rasmussen (awu@asb.dk) • Family economics and family friendly policies • Population economics • Labour economics • Education • Evaluation of reforms and labour market policies • Gender differences in the labour market Roger Bandick (rbandick@asb.dk) • Multinationals and firm performance • Foreign acquisition and the effect on labor market • Trade and firm survival • Outsourcing and demand for skills • Foreign ownership, employment and wage inequality Lars Skipper (larss@asb.dk) • Labor market policy evaluation • Applied microeconometrics • Firm-based training and productivity 12 Appendix Cover page The following information should appear on the front over of the thesis The layout is up to the individual student Msc in International Economic Consulting Author: Academic Supervisor: Title Subtitle Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus University Month/Year 13 Appendix Registration Form (http://www.asb.dk/article.aspx?pid=21991) 14 15 16 17 18 19 Appendix Confidentiality Agreement between Company: and Student: in connection with the work of the student with Paper/report: In connection with his/her contact with the company, the student will obtain confidential information In order to avoid that a third party learns about that information, the following has been agreed upon: The company specific knowledge, which the student acquires in connection with his/her contact with the company and its representatives, is confidential This especially applies to products, methods of production, businesses, goals and strategies The company specific knowledge, which the student acquires in connection with his/her studies and the like with no bearing on the contact with the firm, is not included in the confidentiality agreement The company is entitled to go through the paper/report before it is handed over to Aarhus School of Business However, this is done only to guide the student whether part of the paper or report contains confidential information It should be possible for the company to carry out the reading in less than a week The company may agree with the student that papers, which have to be handed over to the library, are placed on a “closed shelf” in the library of Aarhus School of Business The company is entitled to a copy of the paper/report At Aarhus School of Business the papers and reports will be managed and dealt with by the central registry, the faculty, the external examiner and the library staff The employees of Aarhus School of Business have to observe the confidentiality of the administrative and criminal codes The company has the right to internal use of the results of the paper and the report 20 The company may only publish the paper/report and/or part of it subject to agreement with the student Place and date: _ (Student) Place and date: _ (Company) 21 Appendix List of Defended Master’s Theses Supervisor Student Jørgen Ulff-Møller Nielsen Jan Bentzen Philipp Meinen Title The knowledge capital model – A critical empirical and theoretical analysis Morten Bak Wind Power Expansion and the Danish Energy Policy 2025: A Cost-benefit analysis Jan Bentzen Anita Rytter Samfundsøkonomisk Analyse af en Færgeforbindelse Sabine Lundgaard mellem Mols og Århus: - en cost-benefit analyse udarbejdet for Syddjurs Kommune Jan Bentzen Tanja Groth Socioeconomic evaluation of the Ballen-Brundby district heating plant Christian Franziska Erlekam To which extent is water shortage a key determinant for Bjørnskov a retarded economic growth? A case study of Mexico City Elke Jahn Eline Theresa Bouwhof International Globalisation – An analysis of how Holljen offshoring affects employment and the skill structure in Denmark Elke Jahn Cedric Gorinas How does Immigration Affect the Danish Labour Market? - Measuring the Wage and Unemployment Effects of Immigration for the Host Country: The Case of Denmark Valerie Smeets Niels Kristian Ingerslev Internal Economics of the Firm – Evidence from Roug personnel data Frederic Warzynski Eliane Choquette Productivity Spillovers from Foreign Direct Investment – Evidence from Denmark Frederic Warzynski Lija Strasuna Deflation scenario in Latvia: Estimated deflation depth and policy implications Valerie Smeets Nils Hagen Immigrant Ties to Their Home Countries: Empirical Estimation of European Trade Flows Frederic Warzynski Madalina Andreea Cartel Deterrence and the Impact of Competition Policy Radulescu on Price-Cost Margins – Evidence from the EU Manufacturing Industry Philipp Schröder Peter Lange On Innovation and Exports – Evidence Using the Gravity Equation Approach Philipp Schröder Ivanka Nikolaeva Agriculture in transition and Eastern enlargement – the Ruskova case of Bulgaria Michael Rosholm Kristine NedergaardSubsidiering af solenergi i Danmark – En cost-benefit Berntsen tilgang Nabanita Datta Stina Sylvest Optimale SU-systemer Gupta Vestergaard 22