Bachelor theses, Master theses, and project works - course

Status: 11.12.2024

• Notes on finding the right topic
• Notes on processing Bachelor theses
• Notes on processing student works (Studienarbeit)
• Notes on processing Master theses
• Notes on good scientific practice
• Notes on written elaborations
• Notes on presentations

Notes on finding the right topic

A list of available topics for Bachelor's, student research projects and Master's theses can be found under the link. If you are interested in a topic from this list, please contact Prof. Grabe or the relevant academic staff. If you would like to work on a topic independently of the list, please contact Prof. Grabe.

Notes on processing of Bachelor theses

Students on the Bachelor's degree course in Civil and Environmental Engineering must complete a Bachelor's thesis. This is weighted with 12 credit points, which corresponds to nine weeks of full-time work. The topic and supervision will be coordinated accordingly. If you are attending courses at the same time, the supervisor will determine the completion period when you register your thesis. This period may not exceed six months. Students who would like to write their Bachelor's thesis in geotechnics should contact Prof. Grabe or the academic staff at the Institute. Information on the written thesis can be found at the end of this page. More detailed information on the Bachelor's thesis can be found in the respective examination regulations (external link).

Course:

• Student prints the white slip from the SOS, fills in the first section and takes the slip to the Examinations Office (PA). The examination office fills in the second section and the student takes the slip to the institute.
• The institute enters the topic, supervisor and deadline on the form, attaches a copy and sends the original to the Examination Office.
• Student works on the task.
• Two copies of the Bachelor's thesis must be submitted to the PA by the deadline.
• PA checks compliance with the submission deadline plus declaration of independent processing.
• Bachelor's thesis and white form go to the institute.
• Review and evaluation by the supervisor/examiner.
• White form of paper with grade to the PA.
• Bachelor thesis is simply added to the library and archived.

Notes on processing of project works (Studienarbeit)

Students on the Master's degree program in Civil Engineering must complete a project. The project work is weighted with 6 credit points; this corresponds to 180 hours of work. The thesis is usually completed during the semester and involves regular contact between the student and the supervisor. The written thesis should be submitted no later than 4 weeks after the end of the lecture period. The coursework can also be carried out as group work with individual assessment and a correspondingly larger scope of work. Exceptionally and with justification, the student research project can also be completed as a full-day assignment. In this case, it should generally be handed in 5 weeks, but no later than 7 weeks after it has been issued. Students who would like to write a student research project in geotechnics should contact Prof. Grabe or the scientific staff of the institute. More detailed information on student research projects can be found in the respective examination regulations (external link).

Notes on the processing of Master theses

Students on the Master's degree course in Civil Engineering must complete a Master's thesis. More detailed information on the Master's thesis is regulated in the respective examination regulations (external link). Students who would like to write a Master's thesis in geotechnical engineering should contact Prof. Grabe or the academic staff at the Institute.

Notes on good scientific practice

“Scientific integrity forms the basis of trustworthy science. It is a form of scientific self-commitment that encompasses the respectful treatment of each other, people, animals, cultural assets and the environment and strengthens and promotes society's indispensable trust in science. The constitutionally guaranteed freedom of science is inextricably linked to a corresponding responsibility. Taking this responsibility fully into account and anchoring it as a guideline for one's own actions is first and foremost the task of every scientist and of the institutions in which science is organized. Science itself ensures good scientific practice through honest thought and action, not least through organizational and procedural regulations.” (Source: Good scientific practice @ TUHH)

This also applies to student research projects and final theses, i.e. Bachelor's and Master's theses.

• Video on good scientific practice in the preparation of theses and research projects for students
• Good scientific practice @ TUHH
• Guidelines for safeguarding good scientific practice - code of the German Research Foundation (DFG)

Notes on written elaboration

General notes

The information provided here is intended as a guide, not a step-by-step guide. In individual cases, the form of the work must always match the content. The supervisors are happy to provide detailed information on the specific task. Student theses are generally academic papers. This should also be reflected in the language used: Colloquial language should be avoided. Technical terms should be used. These should always be used correctly. When using special technical terms, make sure that they are explained the first time they appear in the paper. The same applies to formula symbols. Important statements should be backed up with an appropriate source. Literal quotations should only be used when exact wording is required. Since geotechnical engineering is more about content/technical aspects than rhetoric, indirect reproduction is generally more suitable. A sketch or diagram can often clarify at a glance what would otherwise take half a page to describe. This tool should be used selectively. Particularly in the case of computer simulations, graphics from the software should not be used exclusively. A schematic sketch makes the system clear at a glance. Alternatively, post-processing the software images (e.g. inserting dimensions) can provide additional information. Detailed instructions can be found, for example, in Sven Storbeck's "Leitfaden zur Erstellung von Studien- und Diplomarbeiten in naturwissenschaftlichen Studiengängen".

Structure

The structure depends on the type of task. For example, a paper focusing on laboratory experiments (or another evaluation of experimental results) needs a different structure than a paper in which computer simulations are carried out. Examples of outlines are given here for three different types that frequently occur in our institute:

• Laboratory experiments: Table of contents, list of figures and tables, original assignment, introduction, literature research, description of experiments, experimental results, evaluation of experimental results, theories, summary, outlook, literature references, nomenclature (if applicable), appendices including all experimental protocols.
• Computer simulation: Table of contents, list of figures and tables, original task, introduction, literature research, boundary value problem(s), modeling, simulation results, comparison with other calculation methods if applicable, summary, outlook, literature references, nomenclature (if applicable), appendices including detailed computer simulation results, input files for simulation programs.
• Design of a geotechnical construction: Table of contents, list of figures and tables, original terms of reference, introduction with description of the construction project, preliminary design (at least two design variants, pre-dimensioning of the respective main load-bearing elements, graphic representation of the designs, assessment of execution risks, ecological assessment, rough calculation of the production costs, comparison of the design variants according to technical, ecological and economic aspects, selection of the execution variant), design for the execution variant (dimensioning for decisive sections, provision of all necessary earth static verifications, if necessary, proof of serviceability based on FEM, graphic representation of the construction for decisive sections, description of the construction process for all construction phases), summary, list of references, proof of serviceability based on FEM, description of the construction process for all construction phases). Proof of serviceability on the basis of the FEM, graphic representation of the construction for relevant sections, description of the construction process for all construction phases), summary, bibliography, attachments (drawings, earth static calculations, possibly handwritten).
• Each individual bullet point can be dealt with in varying depth. How detailed a point is described depends on its importance for the thesis and can be agreed with the supervisor. Examples
• The introduction should contain a motivation. This usually consists of a description of the status quo and the existing problems and derives a task/objective from this. The introduction should roughly describe the methods to be used to achieve the objective. However, it should not anticipate any results.
• How detailed an experiment description needs to be depends very much on how specific the experiment is and whether there is already previous work with a detailed description that can be referred to directly.
• When presenting test results, it is important not only to show the curves in the figures, but also to describe them in the text. Any special features should be mentioned. If possible, the interpretation and evaluation of the results should be presented in a separate section so that there is a clear separation between the description and the evaluation of the results.
• The summary should not be a work description, but should summarize important findings of the work. Have the objectives of the task / motivation been achieved? The outlook should suggest which further investigations are necessary or which problems have arisen. If there is not much to say on this point, the outlook can be omitted.

Layout

• With the exception of the original assignment, the work may not contain the logo of the TUHH or the institute.
• Illustrations should be easy to read. This also means that they should be large enough and the font sizes and line weights should be chosen accordingly. The caption should be clear and detailed. The image and caption should be as self-explanatory as possible. Nevertheless, the text should include a description of the image. For graphs, ensure that the axes and data series are correctly labeled. The informative value of a graph is significantly increased if anomalies (minima, maxima, jumps, different phases of an experiment) are marked directly in the figure and the descriptive text refers to them. Each figure should fulfill a specific purpose. The best way to check this is to ensure that each image is referenced in the text. If it is not referenced, it may be unnecessary, and with the exception of the original assignment, the work may not contain the logo of the TUHH or the institute
• A separate outline level should only be used if it contains at least two entries. Example: If section 2.5 only has one subsection, this should not be labeled 2.5.1.
• The page number should appear in the header or footer. The chapter number or section number can be useful for long sections. Indicating the title, name or matriculation number on each individual page is of no benefit to the reader.

Scope and submission

• All theses must be submitted in duplicate. Theses must be firmly bound (e.g. with glue or adhesive binding). Loose bindings (e.g. ring binders) will not be accepted.
• Files must be attached to the paper on a CD or DVD-ROM. This includes the written paper as a PDF as well as all programs, files and, if applicable, illustrations and sources used.
• As this is an examination paper, a signed declaration must be enclosed stating that this paper was written independently and that all sources have been cited. The work must not have been submitted in the same or a similar form to any other examination office.

Notes on presentations

As with the written version of the thesis, the presentation must not contain any TUHH or institute logos. Keep the following rules in mind when preparing the presentation:

• Strucure the presentation (title, outline, ..., summary and outlook)
• Indicate on each slide where you are in the outline
• Do not overload the slides with information
• Plan about 1 minute of speaking time per slide
• Label diagrams so that they can be interpreted independently of the text
• If necessary, prepare extra slides that you can refer to in the discussion
• Che ck your layout on the projector (foreground color for font, background color)
• Check on the computer you are using whether all integrated videos start correctly