2 Thesis implementation methods and results
A thesis can be prepared as a part of a larger research or development project. Theses are principal tools in the development of working and business life and regional well-being and innovation activities, and in the creation of entrepreneurship based on new competence.
The components of the thesis are structured differently according to the thesis model
- Research and development work is understood as systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge and use it to devise applications based on well-researched knowledge.
- Applied research refers to research that uses well-researched knowledge to build a practical application.
- Development work refers to the use of new information that is generated by research and/or practical experience to achieve new products, services, production processes or methods or to improve existing ones.
- Innovation activities refer to all the activities that aim to produce new or improved products or processes, i.e. innovations and new entrepreneurship. Innovations include technical, social and cultural innovations, business innovations, design innovations, product or service innovations or any combinations of the above.
Basic structure and contents of the thesis
Below is a description of the basic structure of the thesis and the main content of the sections by Kananen (2017, 29). Each section asks the core question related to the paragraph, to which the question is in question. The paragraph seeks to answer. Chapter 4 can also come before chapters 2 and 3.
(Kananen, J. 2017. Kehittämistutkimus interventiotutkimuksen muotona – opas opinnäytetyön ja pro gradun kirjoittajalle. Jyväskylä: Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu.)
- Find answers to the question: Why?
- In the introduction, address the thesis topic at a general level. Explain the background and necessity of your development work.
- You start working at the planning stage.
- Find answers to the question: What?
- In this chapter, discuss the problem, boundaries, research questions derived from the problem, and/or the goal of the development work.
- You are working on this at the planning stage.
- Find answers to questions: How? Where?
- In this chapter, describe the object of the development work or research, select and justify the research approach or method of development work, and the data collection method used to collect the necessary information and try to solve the problem you have presented. Describe and justify the analysis methods you use to process the data or research data you have collected. At this point, also examine the reliability of the development work or research, such as the data management plan. The object of development work or research is where the work is carried out. In the plan, you describe and justify what you are going to do, and in the report what you did.
- You are working on this at the planning stage.
- Find answers to the question: What is known?
- The knowledge base describes the information and concepts relevant to the problem through literature, previous studies, etc. Use key databases in your field to search for information.
- You start working on this in the planning phase and finish the thesis in the implementation phase.
- Find answers to the question: What was achieved?
- You analyze the data you have collected. You write in the thesis report how you have analysed the material you have collected. In the results, you describe what results you achieved in your work after completing the analysis.
- In the implementation phase
- Find answers to the question: What does it mean?
- In the conclusions, you reflect on the results, i.e. what the results you get mean for the problem.
- In the implementation phase
- Search for answers to the question: So, what?
- In this section, you will consider the relationship between your development work or research and the results obtained and the theoretical knowledge discussed in the knowledge base, present development proposals or possible proposals for further research, and evaluate the reliability of the work following your chosen research approach or evaluation methods for development work.
- In the implementation phase
Consult the theses previously prepared at Jamk!
Theseus provide online access to the theses and publications of Finnish universities of applied sciences. A thesis that is completely identical to an existing one cannot be written, but a new the-sis can be written on the same topic by changing the point of view, commissioner, research problem, etc.
Documents
Progress of the Bachelor’s Thesis Project in Wihi (PDF)
Progress of the Master’s Thesis Project in Wihi (PDF)