General questions:
How can I start to work on a bachelor/master thesis?
1. Select a potential topic from this list
2. Get in contact with a topic supervisor mentioned for your project (If you get no reply in two weeks, the supervisor is unavailable!)
3. Write 2-4 pages expose of the thesis by using the template
4. Send the expose to the topic supervisor with an appointment request
5. Appointment with EduTec supervisor
Bring a printed version of the expose AND the thesis registration form of the Goethe University examination office of the Computer Science department.
Is there a template?
Yes, there is a Latex and Word template on our website: LINK
How many pages should I write?
The easy answer is 12 for seminar work and around 40 for bachelor/ master thesis. But actually, this is the wrong question. We value quality more than quantity. Therefore, you have the freedom of study to write as many pages as needed to express your research. Usually, people write between 12 – 20 for seminar works. There has been excellent seminar/ bachelor /master thesis with only a few pages, but others with many pages (seminar: 40 pages Bachelor/master 150 pages). It is really up to your project, say what you have to say, don’t blow up your thesis artificially with unrelated words and graphs.
How many references should I cite?
The easy answer is 12 references. Again, we value quality more than quantity. Therefore, you have the freedom to add as many references as you want. The scientific rationale for citing is: Whenever you claim something that is not your work, you need to refer to the initial author. You also need to refer to other authors to position your own work and contribution to the body of knowledge within the community.
What to deliver at the deadline?
Submit a PDF as well as any related material e.g. source code, statistics file, etc.
Should I put the source code in the text?
Please only report source code that is important for your work, we do not want to have pages of sources code printed. We appreciate it if you use something such as a Jupyter Notebook or a GitHub to refer to your source code. Alternatively, you can zip it and send it with your report.
Is there a Git Hub?
Yes, there is. Please create your own Git repository and share the link with us. We will fork the repository when you finish your project: https://github.com/EducationalTechnologies
How to do a literature review?
The literature review is an important part of most seminar works as well as Bachelor and Master theses. It often is the source that helps you to describe the related work section in your thesis. There are many instructions for a literature review on the web. Here you can find one example of many: https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/litreview.jsp
How to cite articles, websites, or newspapers?
Use any citation style of your preference. However, we recommend the APA style: LINK
There is no literature! What to do now?
Use similar keywords and search again. Also, have a look at point 6. Here are some databases that you can use:
- https://dl.acm.org/
- https://link.springer.com/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/
- https://www.fachportal-paedagogik.de/
- https://www.eric.ed.gov/
- https://scholar.google.com
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/home.jsp
- https://academic.microsoft.com
- https://www.semanticscholar.org/
- https://dblp.uni-trier.de/
- https://www.researchgate.net
How to write an empirical report?
Especially in the Master’s thesis, you are expected to demonstrate that you can contribute to science by running an empirical study and collecting data and investigating data for specific research questions. Again there are many resources on the web on how to conduct an experiment and write an empirical article. Under the following link, you can find further instruction to run the literature review: https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/empiricalarticle.jsp
Can I get an extension?
No, we expect you to deliver your report on time or even before the deadline.
How do I find a secondary examinator for my thesis?
You can suggest a secondary examinator at the Prüfungsamt Informatik. They will try to fulfil your request. If you do not explicitly request someone, the Prüfungsamt will pick someone for you. Try to pick someone whom you think has the right expertise for your topic.
What are the assessment criteria for my thesis?
Within the EduTec School we have a wide variety of Bachelor (BA) and Master (MA) theses ranging from new techno-didactic concepts, stakeholders’ analysis to infrastructure components for AI-supported learning and teaching.
In order to be transparent about the assessment process and guarantee comparable quality standards for BA / MA thesis, we have developed the following assessment rubrics to evaluate the quality of a thesis. After your thesis expose is delivered, please consult with your thesis supervisor which assessment rubric best suits your thesis. Please note that this document aims to make you aware of our expectation to EduTec thesis; We regularly review the fitting of the assessment rubrics to the BA/MA thesis. So, we might have already some new rubrics in use. Therefore, no rights can be granted to this document at any moment.
Assessment Rubrics EduTec V2.1 (Download)
Questions regarding the EduTec seminar:
I can not find the Moodle course?
No panic, it is here: LINK
It is always good to know if one of our systems does not work properly or is not reachable. If you can find an issue, please report it to one of us – We will do our best to get it up and running again.
How to deliver the seminar reports?
Please upload your final seminar report via the Moodle environment on the agreed submission deadline in the final Moodle assignment.
How and when to unsubscribe from the seminar?
You have to inform us and the Goethe University examination office of the Computer Science department before the 15th of January via mail that you want to unsubscribe from the seminar. If you do not do so, you will fail the seminar.