A Recommendations for

Writing a Bachelor’s/
Master’s Thesis at the IKT

„„A.1 Different Demands of Bachelor’s,

­Master’s, and Doctoral Theses
According to the examination regulations of the University, a bachelor’s thesis
should show that students are able to work independently on a project using scien-
tific methods within a given period of time. Furthermore, the students must pres-
ent the results in a 20 minutes long oral presentation. The same applies to a mas-
ter’s thesis, but the expectation of independence and depth is higher. Neither are
“scientific works” (see below). The scientific methods learned are to support grad-
uates in successfully working on tasks inside and outside of science.
A doctoral thesis differs from a bachelor’s or master’s thesis not only in its degree
of independence. It is an independent scientific research achievement (“scientific
work”; see below) that contributes to the overall progress of knowledge in the re-
spective subject area and must be published. As a rule, with a doctoral thesis in
the technical sciences, additional competencies are acquired that are also useful
for tasks outside the field of science. Scientific competence should be supple-
mented by additional competencies in project acquisition, project management,
and first chance for personnel management (guiding undergraduates and graduate
students), which prepare Ph.D. students for managerial tasks within and outside of
science.
Experience of working with students and research staff in recent years has made
it clear that the similarity between the terms “scientific method” and “scientific
work” can cause confusion. Therefore, the following explanations shall illustrate
the huge difference.
462 A Recommendations for Writing a Bachelor’s/Master’s Thesis at the IKT

„„A.2 Scientific Methods
Scientific methods are planned, systematic, target-oriented, and verifiable proce-
dures for developing research results, but also for solving tasks outside of science.
Different sciences use different methods. In the technical sciences and natural
­sciences, usually they use methods that examine different sources, theoretical
methods, and empirical methods.

A.2.1 Source-Examining Methods

Numerous research efforts will likely only be undertaken if the researcher and also
the person funding the research believe, to the best of their knowledge, that this
research object has not already been researched. Therefore, the competence of the
researcher requires knowledge of the state of the art and of research and technol-
ogy, which he/she can only acquire through source research (literature, patents,
and expert discussions).
Sources from different authors should be considered and working groups and must
be researched, described, analyzed, and interpreted up to the primary source. The
selection may also have to be justified. Sources often also serve to clearly define
and delimit a subject area.
The individual methods are called:
ƒƒSource selection,
ƒƒSource interpretation,
ƒƒSource comparison, and also
ƒƒSource criticism.
In the written version, sources must always be verifiable and clearly marked as
quotations or loans.

A.2.2 Theoretical Methods

The theory is the design of a cause-and-effect relationship which anticipates the

experimental confirmation. A proof is the strictly logical tracing back of a theory to
proven truths. In the strict sense, such proofs exist only in mathematics. Other
sciences in this strict sense work with hypotheses and models of cause-and-effect
relationships which can be verified as well as possible but not exactly proven. In
this strict interpretation of terms, for example, the theory of relativity and the
Higgs boson theory are not theories, but hypotheses.
 A.3 Scientific Work 463

The methods used in this context are called:

ƒƒAnalogy in the sense of transferability and
ƒƒCausality in the sense of “cause-and-effect”.
ƒƒ“Deduction” starts from a draft of a general cause-and-effect relationship and
searches for evidence (→ empiricism) to reinforce the draft.
ƒƒ“Induction”, on the other hand, brings together many individual observations to
formulate a general cause-and-effect relationship.

A.2.3 Empirical Methods

Empiricism (Greek: empeiria = “experience”) is understood as a collection of sys-

tematically determined, verifiable information. In the technical and natural sci-
ences, they usually serve to support hypotheses or models (→ deduction) or to build
up a hypothesis or model (→ induction).
Technical scientists and natural scientists often work heuristically. Heuristics (an-
cient Greek: heurisko = “I find”) is the analytical procedure of drawing conclusions
about a cause-and-effect relationship when knowledge is insufficient. Technical
scientists and natural scientists also approach their scientific work in a very simi-
lar way: they work, for example, with boundaries of the system under consider-
ation (“balance limits”) in order to consider cause and effect here. They plan such
­experiments skillfully so that hypotheses can be tested, rejected, or adapted with
little effort in order to arrive at a consistent statement iteratively (i. e., deductively
and inductively in alternation).
Empiricism uses the following methods:
ƒƒUnbiased observation,
ƒƒReproducible description,
ƒƒDefined system boundaries,
ƒƒAnalysis of determining influencing variables, and
ƒƒTheir targeted variation in experiments.

„„A.3 Scientific Work
A scientific work requires knowledge that cannot be derived purely by hard think-
ing. It tries to give clarity to the extent to which statements about “splinters” of
reality can be generalized, i. e. it serves the knowledge of general connections and
laws. It is not a coincidental discovery, but a systematic search for the universal
connection with the help of scientific methods.
464 A Recommendations for Writing a Bachelor’s/Master’s Thesis at the IKT

The application of scientific methods (see above) alone is not scientific work. This
requires at least the following additional steps:
ƒƒInterpretation of the results based on the cause-and-effect relationship (the “hy-
pothesis”, the “model”),
ƒƒConsideration and discussion of possible errors,
ƒƒComparison, discussion, and delimitation of the results with cause-and-effect
­relationships of the source work,
ƒƒPositive conclusion: decision to embed in the general cause-and-effect relation-
ship and thereby extension.
ƒƒNegative conclusion: discard the hypothesis or the model with justification and
thereby question the cause-and-effect relationship. Scientific work is therefore
also an act of “creative destruction”.
From the author’s point of view, the application of the above-mentioned scientific
methods to achieve technical improvement is not scientific work (nor “applied re-
search” or similar), but rather “development”. They can nevertheless use the same
methods, see Figure A.1. For example, large-scale parameter studies without inter-
pretation against the background of a model or a hypothesis and without “embed-
ding” are only method applications.
general

specific

S
research development
T E

S: source-examining methods
T: theoretical methods
E: empirical methods

Figure A.1 Differentiation of research and development

„„A.4 Bachelor’s or Master’s Thesis

Of course, we at the IKT in Germany are pleased about the creativity of our stu-
dents, but they should focus on the problem of the work and not on the structure of
the written composition.
 A.4 Bachelor’s or Master’s Thesis 465

The structure of a bachelor’s or master’s thesis is like any other scientific and tech-
nological publication and is described quite well in ISO 7144. Scientific journals
such as “Nature” or “Polymer” also expect approximately the same structure of a
submitted publication, so it makes sense to imprint this on the students in Stutt-
gart as well. The basic structure is as follows:
ƒƒTable of contents (structure: max. 3rd level),
ƒƒList of illustrations, tables, symbols and abbreviations, glossary (if required),
ƒƒAbstract,
ƒƒIntroduction,
ƒƒBody of thesis (state of the art, objectives, experimental, results/discussion, con-
clusion/outlook),
ƒƒReferences,
ƒƒAnnexes (if necessary).

A.4.1 About the Title of the Thesis

During my time in industry and also as an institute director, I received CVs from
applicants containing titles of theses that had to be explained to me first. Since
then, I have taken great care to ensure that the titles, at least of the master’s the-
ses, do not sound too academic on the one hand, but are also meaningful on their
own, without reflecting the entire content and objectives.

A.4.2 About the Content of the Thesis

The successful processing of a task naturally requires first and foremost new, care-
fully prepared results. However, these are not useful if they are not written down
just as carefully in the final paper and are therefore comprehensible for interested
readers.
It is important that the work contains a central theme. This can only be achieved
by presenting not only the results but also the initial problem and the complete
path to a solution. The following section shows which aspects of content should be
covered in the components of a bachelor’s or master’s thesis.

A.4.2.1 Summary
Professionals spend about 30% of their time reading. Since there is a flood of read-
ing material coming up every day, e. g. in the form of specialist publications, news-
letters, letters, file notes, etc., it is becoming increasingly important to be able to
select essential information in a target-oriented manner and to make the relevant
466 A Recommendations for Writing a Bachelor’s/Master’s Thesis at the IKT

texts accessible rationally. Therefore, a summary is always read first and thus de-
termines whether a text is read completely or not.
It should therefore inform the reader in advance about essential aspects of the
work – introduction, status quo, goal, and procedure – as well as briefly and clearly
reflect the principal conclusions and recommendations from the content of the
entire work, without weighing different results against each other. The summary
should be able to stand alone and be understandable without the rest of the work.
Altogether it should not comprise more than one page, for master’s and doctoral
theses a maximum of two. As a rule, a summary does not mention any brand
names or concrete numerical values, and only uses generally known abbreviations.
Descriptors are descriptive short terms that represent the content of the work,
with which the work is linked in literature databases in order to make it easier to
find. At the IKT in Stuttgart they are listed at the beginning of the summary.

A.4.2.2 Introduction
The introduction is supposed to provide the reader with a quick introduction to the
research area in question on one to two pages. For this purpose, for example, the
motivation and the embedding in plastics technology can be described, however,
without going into the concrete objectives.

A.4.2.3 Main Part
The main part forms the core of every bachelor’s and master’s thesis. It should
therefore be given special care in its preparation. In order to achieve the above-men-
tioned central theme of the thesis, the main part should preferably be structured
in three main chapters according to the following scheme:

First Main Chapter: Initial Situation and Objectives

Distinguishing new knowledge from already known knowledge requires compre-
hensive source work (literature, patents, and expert discussions) and the presenta-
tion of the status quo. Quotations and loans must, of course, be labeled. The follow-
ing content aspects should be developed and presented in the work:
ƒƒState of knowledge,
ƒƒOpen questions,
ƒƒIdea derived from this to answer the open questions/“objectives”.

Second Main Chapter: Solution

The second main chapter describes the solution and therefore the approach chosen
to achieve the objective. In theoretical work, the focus is on source and theory
work. The following content aspects should be presented in a practical work:
 A.4 Bachelor’s or Master’s Thesis 467

ƒƒExplanation and justification of the materials, processing machines, analytical

procedures, and methods used for the experiments.
ƒƒExact experimental setup and execution with explanation of difficulties, special
features, and how they were dealt with.
The content must be presented in such a way that each subsequent operator can
reproduce it and arrive at the same results.
Important note: Brand names or manufacturer designations of the carefully chosen
materials used should only be mentioned once at the beginning. Easily memorable,
meaningful abbreviations are used for the further course of the work.

Third Main Chapter: Results and Discussion

Here the results of the work are presented value-free, then discussed and evalu-
ated against the background of the objectives and source situation (first main
chapter).
The focus should be on the most important findings, thereby sharpening the “eye
for the essentials”. In addition, honest statements on uncertainties or a critical
discussion of errors in no way diminish the work, but are an expression of the
self-critical discussion.

A.4.2.4 Concluding Remarks
In the final remarks, conclusions from the essential, newly achieved work results
and follow-up work deemed necessary are to be presented.

A.4.2.5 Appendix
The chapters of the main section should clearly refer to the core contents and the
central theme of the task at hand. Documentations, longer mathematical deriva-
tions, detail pictures, measurement data, etc., which would disturb the flow of the
representations in the main part by their detail or quantity, should therefore be
placed in the appendix.

A.4.3 About the Scope of the Thesis

Structure the substance at an early stage and always log problems and decisions
“online” in a laboratory book, i. e. during practical work. Add results to an Excel
file, for example, already during the tests and visualize them in meaningful dia-
grams. Do not start “writing up” after all the practical work has been completed.
The scope is not a measure of the quality of a work. The work should be short and
concise, but sufficiently clear. At IKT, a length of 40 to 70 pages (without appendix)
468 A Recommendations for Writing a Bachelor’s/Master’s Thesis at the IKT

is appropriate for a bachelor’s or master’s thesis; a good guideline for doctoral the-
ses in technical sciences is 100 pages (without appendix).

A.4.4 About the Writing Style of the Thesis

Although the most important thing in student theses is the content, seemingly
minor aspects such as correct spelling, punctuation, and formatting are very im-
portant. Inadequacies in these areas would attract the attention of the educated
reader, distract him/her and interfere with the flow of reading. In extreme cases,
even research results may appear less important if the reader is left with the im-
pression that the author has not devoted enough linguistic attention to his/her
work. Appropriate formatting and correct spelling and grammar are therefore not
only decorative accessories, but also quality features, like the content.
As a rule, bachelor’s and master’s theses in Stuttgart must be written according to
the recognized spelling and grammar rules. Transferred to e. g. U. S. universities
that would mean that standard U. S. English would be required. Everyone has his
or her own personal style of writing, which he or she should be happy to retain.
Nevertheless, for a better understanding of the work, some aspects should be con-
sidered:
The content of a bachelor’s or master’s thesis has to be formulated concisely and
clearly, following the logical train of thought. In any case, the thesis must be pre-
sented so precisely that third parties can understand the investigations and exper-
iments you have carried out. Comprehensibility and accuracy are therefore usually
more important than a polished writing style.
In addition, only those technical terms should be used whose comprehension
seems assured to the reader. For a bachelor’s or master’s thesis at the IKT, you
should aim to ensure that a plastics technology engineer, or an engineer from a
related discipline, understands your work. Newly introduced or less common terms
or designations should be defined (abbreviations or glossary). These terms or des-
ignations must be used consistently with the same meaning. Repeated words that
were frowned upon in school essays are appropriate for technical terms in order to
impress them on the reader.
Despite all its precision, a paper does not have to be boring or dryly formulated. It
is quite possible to present such a text in an interesting way.

Concrete Writing Style Recommendations

ƒƒAvoid colloquial formulations. Not: “The created software was really great.”
ƒƒUse short, easy-to-understand sentences instead of nested sentences. Not: “The
computer in which the . . . is located, then causing the . . .”
 A.4 Bachelor’s or Master’s Thesis 469

ƒƒCreate clear references: “The current I flows through the resistor R. This is rela-
tively small.” What is meant, I or R?
ƒƒUse clear, meaningful formulations. Not: “quite complex”, “almost linear”, “rela-
tively small”, etc.
ƒƒChoose unique names for the same object. Stick to a name! Repetitions are ex-
pressly desired here! Not: “The input stage . . . In the preliminary stage . . . At the
1st stage . . .”, etc.
ƒƒIllustrate your text with pictures and diagrams. Too much text can be confusing.
Not: “The second uppermost hole of the rod holder is exactly 3.4 mm below the
middle bead of the third mounting plate, with the lateral edge distance from the
left . . .”.
ƒƒAvoid or explain internal designations. Not: “The measurements were made with
our proven RUDI measuring system.”
ƒƒUse the present as narrative time. Instead of “To prevent oscillation, I soldered a
capacitor (. . .)”. Better: “The additionally soldered capacitor C reduces the ten-
dency to oscillate.”
ƒƒAvoid the first person (“I” and “we”) and use the passive form instead if it is
clear. Better is, for example: “the software is started by a mouse click”, than:
“I start the software with a mouse click”.
ƒƒBut avoid the passive form if possible. Better is, for example: “A mouse click
starts the software” than: “The software is started by a mouse click”.