University of Vaasa Faculty of Business Studies
University of Vaasa Faculty of Business Studies
VAASA 201X
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
1.1. Format
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2.1. Abstract
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3. MATURITY TEST
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The University of Vaasa publication guidelines also apply to seminar papers and theses
where applicable.
Such guidelines apply to seminar papers, bachelors and masters theses in the Faculty
of Business Studies. These can be augmented by the Faculty Administration
Amanuensis as well as by departments, study units and professors responsible for the
paper. If there are problems with understanding these guidelines, the afore-mentioned
bodies should be turned to.
Masters Thesis, which is included in the Master level studies, consists of 30 credit
units. Students should be able to conduct academic research on a subject related to the
research area. Typical Masters Thesis is in the form of a monograph. Masters Thesis
can also conduct of a scientific article (which has been sent to be published in a
scientific journal) and Introduction, which introduce the research theory, the research
methodologies and the results of the research wider than the article itself. The scientific
article based thesis should follow the guidelines of the scientific journal and the
Introduction should be written according to the writing instructions of the faculty.
1.1. Format
The fonts recommended are Palatino, Times New Roman or similar. Normally the font
size is 12 or the one corresponding to that, in main headings or similar places a larger
size font (e.g. 14), or in some special cases a smaller font (10), may be used.
The width of the text is 15 cm, with a 3 cm margin on both sides and at the top and
bottom of the page. The interlinear space corresponds to 1.5 of the traditional typewriter
scale. Since theses in practice are written using word-processing programmes, the
interlinear space equals point 18 on the continuous computer scale.
The interlinear space in the abstract is 1.
Boldface, italics, petite (font size 10), small interlinear space (e.g. in direct quotations)
among other things can be used to enliven the text. Underlining, however, is not
recommended. Effects should be used logically and their overuse avoided to safeguard
legibility.
The text should be divided into paragraphs which are separated by one empty line. The
first line of a new paragraph is not indented. The text should be flush with both left and
right margin as well as titles longer that one line. When the text is flush with the right
margin, care has to be taken that there are not too many irregularly spaced lines.
Each main heading is started on a fresh page (e.g. Chapter 2 starts on a new page even if
Chapter 1 has not continued to the bottom of the previous page). Subheadings are
placed on the same page as the preceding text. Two-split subheadings (e.g. 2.4.) are
placed on the third line from the preceding text. A subheading with more splits (e.g.
2.4.1.) is placed on the second line from the preceding text. Subheadings with more than
three splits are not recommended.
Figures and Tables must have double interlinear space both above and below.
The layout of the table of contents has to be like the table of contents of these
guidelines. (The hyperlinks in the table of contents of these guidelines may be
underlined due to the fact that they are in the www-form. Do not, however, interpret
them as underlined headings. The same applies to other possible hyperlinks of these
instructions as applicable. Also remember that the indention of the table of contents for
www-technical reasons may not be impeccable. The indention of subheading numbers
must be flush with the left margin of the text under the preceding heading.)
The title has to be brief and unambiguous, and it has to be in accordance with the
contents (study topic and locality). If necessary, subheadings can be used to specify the
topic.
Figures. All figures and photographs should be consecutively numbered. Legends are
placed below the figure or to its side. The word figure and its number are in boldface
(e.g. Figure 1.), but the legends are not. Legends are flush with the left margin and end
in a full stop.
Tables are provided with their respective consecutive numbering and sufficient
captions. Table captions are placed above the table. Vertical lines are generally not
used. The word Table and its numbering (e.g. Table 1.) are in boldface but the table
captions are not. The table captions are flush with the left margin and there is a full stop
at the end. Statistical information has to be presented clearly and in accordance with the
conventions followed in statistics.
Mathematical formulae. Mathematical formulae that may be used in the thesis have to
be numbered systematically and they have to be an intergal part of the text. Normal
ortographic rules, including punctuation, have to be followed. Each formula is written
on its own line and is separated from the text double-spacing both above and below.
The consecutive numbering will be put in the parenthesis and placed on its left side. The
formula has to be indented so that all formulae start from the same point.
Dashes. Between extreme values or classes, whether expressed with words or numbers,
a dash is used (not a hyphen) For example: in years 1941 1944, items 3 7, pages 12
15.
References. (See Chapter 1.2.1.). References are usually given in the parentheses within
the text. Electronic sources are inserted in the text in the parentheses, just like
conventional sources.
List of references (See Chapter 1.2.2.) should include all works cited as sources in the
text, but nothing else. An unpublished work is placed in the list under Unpublished, and
the institute or library where it is found is mentioned.
Every reference in the text must clearly point to a specific source in the list of
references. Each source mentioned in the list of references must be referred to in the
text.
Within the text, references are made by giving in the parentheses the last name of the
author, the year of publication, colon and the page or pages referred to. If the reference
is to the whole work, page numbers are left out.
An electronic source is mentioned within the text in the parentheses in the same way as
a conventional source, but without page numbers. The Internet address of the electronic
source is not included in the reference; the full details are given in the list of references.
For example a printed publication: (Suutari 1996: 120 121) and
an electronic publication: (Salmi & Virtanen 1996).
If the name of the author is mentioned in the text, there is no need to repeat it in the
parentheses. In such cases only the year and a possible reference to pages are put in the
parentheses.
For example: Virtanen (1966: 25 27) has reported
If a source has several authors, they are all cited in the first reference. In subsequent
references it is sufficient only to give the last name of the first author followed by ym.
(if the source is in Finnish) or et al. (with sources in other languages), the year of
publication and the pages.
For example: first mention (Vauhkonen, Viillos & Hrml 1968: 34),
later references (Vauhkonen ym. 1968: 56 58).
If there is a generalisation in the text based on several sources, they are mentioned
within the same parentheses, e.g. in the order they were published. References are
separated with semicolons.
Works by the same author are distinguished by means of the year of publication, and
they are mentioned in the order of publication. Publications by the same author from the
same year are identified by means of low case letters.
If the source does not have a specific author, it is referred to in the text by the first
words of the title appearing in the list of references. For example: (Komiteanmietint
1986: 12).
What has been derived from each source has to be exactly indicated in the parenthetical
citation. If the whole information content of a paragraph is borrowed from somebody
else, the citation is placed at the end of the paragraph after the full stop. The reference
within the parentheses ends in a full stop which is followed by the closing parenthesis.
For example: end of the text. (Suutari 1996: 120 121.)
If the reference applies to a shorter passage or one sentence, the citation is placed within
the sentence.
The nature of the reference can be clarified by using abbreviations, such as: see, cf.
(compare), viz. (namely).
For example: (cf. Allardt 1976: 52 53).
A direct quotation consisting of several sentences is set away from the text by indenting
it, putting it in quotation marks and using smaller interlinear spacing.
Publications are alphabetised by the last name of the author. The alphabetical listing
follows the convention of the language in which the thesis has been written.
Publications by the same author are listed in order of the publication date. Works by the
same author published in the same year are identified by adding a low case letter after
the year of publication (e.g. 1960a, 1960b etc.).
If the same source has several authors, first comes the last name of the first author,
followed by their first name(s) or initials. The other authors names are not inverted:
first name comes before last name with no comma between. There is a comma after
each authors name, with the exception of the last two that are separated with an
ampersand (&).
If titles of books are in English, initial capitals are used for all major words. In the title
of an article from a publication series, only the first word is capitalized; in the title of
the publication series, all major words are capitalised.
Books
Printed books:
Last name of the author, first name(s) or initials (the year of publication). Title of the
book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher. *Page number. *Annotations.
*ISBN.
Rao, Radnakrishna C. (1973). Linear Statistical Inference and its Applications. New
York etc.: John Wiley & Sons.
Electronic publication:
Last name of the author, first name(s) or initials (the year of publication). Title of the
book [type of medium].Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, time of updating
[date of citation]. * Annotations. Availability and address. *ISBN.
Salmi, Timo & Ilkka Virtanen (1996). Deriving the Internal Rate of Return from the
Accountant's Rate of Return: a Simulation Testbench; The Turbo Pascal
Programs [online]. Vaasa: University of Vaasa [cited 20.8.1996]. Available from
Internet: <URL:ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/research/simirr11.zip>.
Last name of the author, first name(s) or initials (the year of publication). Title of the
article. Title of the periodical. Volume number: issue number, the inclusive page
numbers of the article cited..
Gautschi, David A. (1981). Specification of patronage models for retail centre choice.
Journal of Marketing Research 8:2, 162-174.
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Last name of the author, first name(s) or initials (the year of publication). Title of the
article. Title of the periodical [type of medium] Volume number: issue number
[date of citation], location. *Annotations. Availability and address. *ISSN
Printed article:
Last name of the author, first name(s) or initials (the year of publication). Title of the
article. In: Title of the compilation, pages. Editor(s) of the compilation. Place of
publication: Publisher.
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Last name of the author, first name(s) or initials (the year of publication). Title of the
article. In: Title of the compilation [type of medium]. Editor(s) of the compilation.
Place of publication: Publisher [date of citation]. Location in the compilation.
McConnell, W.H. (1993). Constitutional history. In: The Canadian Encyclopedia [CDROM]. Macintosh version 1.1. Toronto: McClelland & Steward.
Conventional sources:
Kinnunen,
Jyri-Pekka
(1981).
Yleisimmt
investointilaskentamenetelmt
eri
Electronic source:
Pritchard, Sarah (1995). Your request for information about ISO standards [online].
Message to: Margaret Morrison. 18 February1995 [cited 3 March 1995]. Personal
communication.
[cited
15
August1996].
Available
from
URL:http:/www.uwasa.fi/~sukkula/toiminta1996.html.
World
Wide
Web:
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In the Standard SFS 5342, there are instructions for referring to patents, maps, statistics,
standards, Governmental documents, laws and other such sources. In legal science, the
general practice in connection with laws is, instead of including them in the list of
references, to draw a separate list (of abbreviations) where the abbreviations used of
laws are explained (e.g. KPL = Kirjanpitolaki 30.12.1997/1336). If there are several
Committee Reports, they are mentioned in the order of appearance. The same applies to
e.g. Statistics Finland.
Printed source:
Kirjanpitolaki 30.12.1997/1336.
Liiketaloustieteellinen tutkimuslaitos (1967). Suomen keskus- ja vaikutusaluejrjestelm. Summary: The system of functional centres and areas in Finland.
Valtakunnan suunnittelutoimiston julkaisusarja A: 19, VIII + 134 s.
Electronic source:
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Periodicals
When reference is made to all or several volumes of e.g. a year book or magazine, the
title and the publication information of the periodical in question are mentioned in the
list of references, instead of mentioning each issue separately. The volume and issue
numbers as well as page numbers are in the parenthetical citation in the text.
Printed Journal:
Instructions concerning electronic journals are temporary and are based on the
international standard ISO/DIS 690-2, which is presently being drafted.
Including the DOI name (Digital Object Identifier) in the reference: More information
about the DOI system: http://www.doi.org/
Bailey, Charles D., Dana R. Hermanson & Timothy J. Louwers (2008). An examination
of the peer review process in accounting journals. Journal of Accounting
Education, 26:2, 55-72. doi:10.1016/j.jaccedu.2008.04.001
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When dividing a URL-reference at the end of a line, do not use hyphens. Neither should
the line break be made at a hyphen already belonging to the reference. Instead the URLreference should be divided at a slash, so that the slash of the division point is moved to
the beginning of the next line.
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The structure and process of the degree and thesis writing are explained in the study
guide for Business Studies. This chapter deals with the final stages of the thesis writing
process.
2.1. Abstract
The abstract is included in the thesis as a single-sided page placed after the table of
contents, and it is numbered. When the thesis is left for assessment, at least one separate
copy of the abstract page without a page number has to be submitted.
The abstract page must have information about the topic, material, research methods
used and major research results. The title of the thesis in the abstract has to be identical
with the name on the cover page of the thesis. Model for the abstract page is in the
Appendix 2.
Take care to fill ALL the requirements for the abstract and note the margins. There
should be 1 5 keywords, and the first word should indicate the topic in as great a detail
as possible while the others (if any) further specify it. If necessary, you can discuss the
keywords with the Assistant or the Supervisor.
In addition, the abstract page has to be sent to the library, to the Thesis form-page
http://www.tritonia.fi/?d=247&l=3. The receipt of the WWW-form is a prerequisite for
considering the thesis at the Deans acceptance.
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The layout of the final version of the thesis should be verified with the Amanuensis
before the thesis is duplicated.
2.2.1. Masters thesis
1) Attention must be paid to the quality of the print of the Masters thesis. A laser
printer or a printer of equal standard should be used when printing the text from a
word processor. When Figures, Tables and Appendices are pasted and copied, care
has to be taken that there are no signs of untidiness in the thesis.
2) The text on the cover page must be in accordance with the model (Appendix 1).
3) The colour of the cover is for the whole faculty Pale blue.
4) The paper has to be copied on both sides apart from the title page and the abstract
page, which must be one-sided. Pages that remain empty because of this rule are,
however, considered paged, even though their page numbers are not marked. The
page numbering of the thesis is therefore consecutive.
5) The pages and the coloured front page are stapled together, after which they are
glued to the cover so that on the front there is a transparent plastic cover and a white
cardboard cover at the back. On the back cover, a tape is added where the last name
of the author and the year of the thesis can be seen. The copying of the thesis may
be left with any printing house.
6) All the theses written at the University of Vaasa undergo a plagiarism check based
on an electronic plagiarism detection software before the theses are accepted.
Deliver a pdf version of your thesis into Moodle.
7) A thesis handed in for evaluation must have three or four copies. Submit four copies
of your thesis, or if you have given a permission for publishing online, three copies
to Amanuensis. In addition, a paper version of the separate abstract page (without
page number) is left to the Amanuensis. In addition, the thesis (all pages + abstract)
has to be saved in the electronic form (see item 2.1. afore) before the thesis is
submitted.
8) The reader requires 30 days (excluding the holiday periods) for assessment.
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There is no right of appeal in the rectification resolution made [by the Examination
Board], concerning study attainment (Section 3.2).
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3. MATURITY TEST
The student has to pass a maturity test, i.e. to write a paper on a topic related to the
thesis, as a part of the Masters or Bachelors degree in Business Studies. The maturity
test is an invigilated examination where students prove that they master their discipline
and mother tongue.
If the student takes the maturity test in the language of their school education, it certifies
that they have perfect competence of that language. A person who has 1) got school
education in Finnish or Swedish, 2) passed the matriculation examination which
contains a grade in Finnish or Swedish, or 3) passed a maturity test at a University in
Finnish or Swedish is considered having good competence of that language. (Decree on
Demonstrating Good Competence of Finnish and Swedish (442/87) Sections 11 12.)
The student is usually given two topics related to their thesis from which they have to
choose one. An essay on that topic has to be written. The reader is assumed to be a
person who is aware of the general thinking within the discipline in question but is not
particularly well-informed about the problem discussed. Thus, the writer must not
assume that the reader is acquainted with their thesis, but text has to be comprehensible
as such.
The maturity test can be taken on any examination day, and registration for it is done by
using an examination envelope available from the study office. Registration for the
maturity test is not allowed before the Masters thesis has in its final form been
submitted for inspection. This can at its earliest be seven days after the thesis has been
submitted. It is advisable to check the timing of the maturity test with the supervisor.
If the student has already taken the maturity test for the Bachelors degree, the
knowledge of the language used need not be retested; only the subject knowledge is
tested. (Cf. Decree on Degrees of Economics and Business Administration, Section 11,
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Clause 2.) If the student has previously taken a maturity test as part of another academic
degree, the procedure is the same. The maturity test on content only is required.
Apart from having good academic content, the writing is expected to be stylistically
good. The text has to be well-structured. It has to be built by linguistic methods, not e.g.
by means of tables, whose authenticity cannot be verified at the test. It has to have a title
(without a title, the language reviser cannot judge whether the writer is capable of
abiding by the subject). The paper has to have an introduction and a conclusion. The
recommended length is one folded paper written on each line. The text must be divided
into paragraphs between which one empty line has to be left.
It is recommended that the essay be recopied. Handwriting has to be clear, and capital
and low case letters must be clearly distinguishable, words must also be clearly
separated. The basic rules on orthography and punctuation have to be followed.
Plentiful use of abbreviations is not allowed. The paragraph and sentences have to be
logically linked, sentences have to be complete and varied. Severe mistakes in
references are unacceptable. The word order has to be unambiguous and in accordance
with the information structure presented, the style used has to be rigorous, informal
style is unacceptable.
The same time limit of 30 days (holiday periods excluded) applies to the inspection of
maturity tests as to other examinations. The maturity test is not graded; it is either
passed or failed. If the maturity test is failed due to the content, the student has to see
the supervisor before registering for a retake. If failure is due to linguistic faults, the
student has to contact the person who has revised the language.
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Students can write their theses in English. Use of English has to be agreed with the
supervisor of the thesis.
Foreign students can take their maturity test in languages other than Finnish and
Swedish. There will be a note in their Graduation Certificate of the language in which
the maturity test has been taken. Foreign students should discuss matters related to
thesis writing and the maturity test with the study secretary or the thesis supervisor
before they start writing it.
The expenses possibly accruing from the language revision or other such matters related
to writing in a language other than Finnish or Swedish are chargeable to the student.
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Author
TOPIC OF THE THESIS
Master`s Thesis in
xxx
VAASA 201X
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KEYWORDS: