2.1 Different types of theses

A thesis produced through a service, product or production provides the student with an opportunity to delve into and focus on solving a specific practical problem. A thesis that is produced in this way often rises from the needs of working life, with the aim of developing practical operations.

The completed thesis consists of two parts. The first part of the thesis contains the documentation and the second part the operative part. The results are always based on the professional knowledge base of the professional field concerned.

Possible outcomes include an exhibition, event, guide, electronic material or other concrete output or project implementation process.

Example structure (to serve as a template for the table of contents)

1. Introduction
2. Literature review, 20–30 pages
3. Purpose and objective of the thesis
4. Product development process and the methods used, data and data analysis
5. Output: Product/service/event
6. Analysis and assessment of the output, conclusions and applicability

References
Appendices

In research-based development, the main focus is on working life development, which is carried out with a research-based approach. It combines concrete development activities with research methods. The starting point is a practical problem and questions emerging from working life. They guide information acquisition in a practical operating environment.

Example structure (to serve as a template for the table of contents)

A literature review seeks to answer a well-delineated research question and determine how much re-search knowledge exists on the subject and from what kind of point of view the subject has been studied and with what kinds of methods. A literature review describes the conceptual background of the thesis and how the present thesis relates to the existing studies on the subject.

Example structure (to serve as a template for the table of contents)

1. Introduction
2. Theoretic-conceptual points of departure (change the heading to correspond to the content of your thesis)
3. Purpose and objectives of the literature review
4. Implementation
   1. Method
   2. Collection and description of data
   3. Analysis of data
5. Results
6. Conclusions
7. Discussion
   1. Assessment and applicability of the results
   2. Reliability

References
Appendices

The author of a quantitative, qualitative or multi-method thesis study identifies the research problem or question by means of methods that are used in scientific research. The thesis usually includes specific objectives and a research problem, as well as a research hypothesis or research questions, and the objective of the thesis is to respond to them.

Example structure, conventional thesis structure (to serve as a template for the table of contents)

1. Introduction
2. Theoretic-conceptual points of departure (change the heading to correspond to the content of your thesis)
3. Purpose, objectives and research questions of the study
4. Implementation
   1. Method(s)
   2. Collection and description of data
   3. Analysis of data
   4. Ethicality (can also be discussed together with reliability in the discussion section)
5. Results
6. Discussion
   1. Reliability (and ethicality)
   2. Discussion of the main results in view of the theoretical framework of the first section
   3. Conclusions and development proposals

References
Appendices

Example structure, qualitative study (to serve as a table of contents template)

1. Introduction
2. Purpose, objectives and research questions of the study
3. Theoretic-conceptual points of departure (change the heading to correspond to the content of your thesis)
4. Implementation
   1. Research method
   2. Collection and description of data
   3. Analysis of data
   4. Ethicality (can also be discussed together with reliability in the discussion section)
5. Results
6. Discussion
   1. Reliability (and ethicality)
   2. Discussion of the main results in view of the theoretical framework of the first section
   3. Conclusions and development proposals

References
Appendices

An article-form thesis refers to the part of the thesis that is published in a professional or scientific journal or conference in the field. The target group of the article should always be the community of experts in the field. The publication channel of the article (journal, magazine or electronic platform) must have an editorial board that approves the articles intended for publication. The thesis worker must not be a member of the editorial board, or if he is, he must recuse himself from decision-making regarding the publication of the article.

In addition to the article manuscript, the article-form thesis includes an introduction, a broader knowledge base (about 20–30 pages) and a discussion.

In the introduction the thesis author describes the approach of a work-oriented research or development project. In the discussion part they reflect on the meaning of the results or output more broadly than is possible in the article.

The article-form thesis must fulfill the evaluation criteria in the thesis itself (introduction, knowledge base and discussion) and more narrowly in the article manuscript.

The article manuscript follows the writing instructions of the journal (or other publication channel) to which the article is planned to be submitted. In case of a joint article by several authors, the independent contribution of the thesis author must be clearly stated.

The writing of an article-form thesis should already be agreed upon between the student and the thesis supervisor at an early stage of the writing process. The principal thesis tutor accepts the scope of the thesis and the publication channel.

Example structure (to serve as a template for the table of contents)

1. Introduction (about 5-10 pages)
2. Knowledge base (20–30 p.)
3. Article manuscript
4. Discussion (about 10-20 pages)

References
Appendices

Plagiarism check (Turnitin)

1. During their work, student should only perform plagiarism check in the “Turnitin Check” workspace in Moodle, as this does not save (index) the text in the Turnitin database.
2. In Wihi, only the parts that supplement the article manuscript (introduction, knowledge base, discussion) are submitted to plagiarism check, not the actual article. The publication channel will perform its own check on the article.

Publishing an article-form thesis in Theseus

All Jamk theses are public and published in Theseus. In the case of an article form thesis, only the parts that supplement the article (introduction, knowledge base, discussion, and list of sources) are published. The article included in thesis is not published in Theseus in order to preserve the right of first publication in the selected publication channel. The student need not to wait for the article to be published in order to graduate, but it is enough that the article is submitted to the publisher.

If the article has already been published elsewhere, permission must be obtained from the publisher for its republication in the thesis/Theseus. Further, it must be agreed which version of the article may be published (publisher’s version, final draft, etc.).

Some examples

Niemelä, J. 2016. Statistical Analysis of Malware Defence Methods. Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu. (Theseus)

Jaurimaa, J. 2021. Suitability of EQF-4 Level Education for Improving Cyber Labor Shortage in Finland. Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu. (Theseus)

Leino, V. 2021. Analysing Cybersecurity Education in Degree Programmes of Finnish Universities. Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu. (Theseus)

A portfolio-form thesis is a long-term process consisting of outputs made at different stages of studies. It provides the student with an opportunity to discuss and examine the theme of their choice from different perspectives in a number of projects.

A portfolio-form thesis forms a coherent, documented whole of these processes and outputs. It includes a written report in which the student compiles a professional knowledge base that binds the outputs together.

Example structure (to serve as a template for the table of contents)

1. Introduction
2. Knowledge base of the portfolio, 20–30 pages
3. Purpose and objective of the portfolio
4. Process and material for compiling the portfolio
5. Description, analysis and results of the portfolio components
6. Assessment of the output, conclusions and applicability

References
Appendices

The objective of the thesis is to develop and demonstrate the students’ ability to apply their knowledge and skills in a practical expert role related to professional studies. It is typical for a diary-form thesis that the data is collected as the work progresses. The implementation method is particularly well-suited for students who are already strongly engaged in expert duties in their work. In terms of research approach, a diary-form thesis represents autoethnographic research, as does a portfolio-form thesis.

The reporting period is about 15 to 20 weeks.

Example structure (to serve as a template for the table of contents)

1. Introduction
   a. Explains why the matter is of current interest in general, to the commissioner and to you.
   b. General description of the objectives, survey of the initial situation, action plan, delineation.
2. Operating environment
   a. A brief description of the environment for the sector (stakeholders, resources, team, etc.).
3. Knowledge base
   a. The definition of concepts is important in order to achieve the objectives of and to delineate the thesis.
   b. Key concepts, a broader summary presentation of, e.g., types of programmable logic, phenomena and concepts with references.
4. Diary chapter
   a. Actual versus planned, objectives, diary entries, analysis: what new knowledge was obtained this week.
   b. Also including experiential new knowledge.
   c. The analysis should constantly reveal new knowledge and the progress made in the the-sis.
   d. An analysis once a week. A weekly presentation in the table of contents. For example, testing according to the testing plan will be included in the diary.
   e. Results to be discussed later in the summary of results section.
5. Summary of the results
6. Conclusions and discussion

References
Appendices