Session 1: Introduction
A bachelor thesis demonstrates your ability to advance scientific knowledge while obeying ethical principles of scientific conduct. Specific steps typically include
– developing a research question;
– conducting a systematic literature search;
– summarising extant theories and/or empirical results;
– collecting and analysing data;
– reporting procedures and results appropriately (i.e., using APA guidelines).
You can find a number of example bachelor theses on ADAM.
One of the first challenges in writing a BSc thesis is to identify a gap in the existing research and, from there, formulate a research question that can be answered with a synthesis or other empirical approaches.
What is a research gap? A research gap is a question or a topic that research in a field has not yet answered or explored extensively (i.e. a scientific idea, a concept, a specific study population, or a comparison of opposing scientific opinions) Identifying one can be difficult. Here are some helpful steps:
| Steps | |
|---|---|
| Step 1: | Ask yourself what area of psychology you find interesting. |
| Step 2: | Search for literature in various databases (i.e. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science) and look for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as these provide an overview of research findings. |
| Step 3: | Start with reading a few abstracts first to get a good overview of the existing literature. |
| Step 4: | Focusing on the discussion and conclusion can be helpful, as you can often find suggestions and proposals for future research. |
| Step 5: | Hopefully, you have an overview now of where there might be a research gap. |
| Step 6: | Is the research gap feasible for a bachelor thesis? You can also discuss this with your supervisor. |
| Step 7: | Based on your research gap, you can formulate your research question. |