You know that: The bachelor thesis – you start and want to change the world: Build a framework that completely changes companies or a new type of theory to scale agility in the company! I think these visions are really great, but perhaps as a young researcher you should narrow it down a bit in your first research paper to only 30 pages.
I often get calls and inquiries for help for one Bachelor thesis in my telephone hours . I would therefore like to shed some light on the dark in this article.
Let’s be honest: The primary goal of the bachelor thesis is to learn something and to get the degree. You can still change the world afterwards in your doctorate.
Mistake 1: A bachelor thesis does not solve a practical problem or utopia
At the beginning, many of you spoke to a practice partner or supervisor and want to solve the following two categories of problems:
- A practical problem that is not academic (SAP implementation, Scrum implementation, evaluating software, …)
- Solve an absolute uptopia (scaling Scrum throughout the company, digitizing complete processes, …)
On the one hand, you should note that you are not solving a practical problem in a company, but rather questioning something such as the effect of Scrum on employee satisfaction or the introduction of software on productivity. The company’s employees and not science are responsible for such practical problems.
On the other hand, you shouldn’t try to work on unsolvable and unsolved problems of mankind, e.g. to scale Scrum into every corner of the company. You can do this if you want to win a Nobel Prize later.
Reading tip: Find topic
Mistake 2: A bachelor thesis is not a project
Furthermore, I often hear that students make an absolutely precise plan: I will read exactly that so that exactly that comes out and then I’ll be done. This is not science but project management. Science means questioning and an openness to the subject of research. You read literature openly and work out of these research gaps, which you question.
Tips: Literature analysis
A bachelor thesis conveys scientific working methods
Ultimately, you should learn how to deal with a topic structured according to scientific methods with openness. The aim is to expand the level of knowledge for the complex issue with the help of a research design. The results are therefore less important than the actual methodology, so that you do not work on a topic according to the scheme X as before, but learn to think complexly. It’s about an exercise and your first real scientific contribution.
Reading tip: Build research design
Example: watching a film via streaming service
I would like to use an example to illustrate both views. Imagine a scientist and a practitioner want to watch a film on the streaming service.
Example – scientific approach : The scientist asks himself whether streaming services really increase his satisfaction and asks the Internet and its environment. He carries out extensive comparisons and sets up criteria for the streaming service. The result is a large list of streaming services as well as questions and a questioning of what makes a good streaming service and which ones exist and which criteria make them up.
Example – practical approach: The practitioner reads such test reports or takes these criteria and simply watches the desired film on a service of his choice.
Conclusion
You notice that a bachelor thesis should help you to work on tasks scientifically and to work on finding solutions with foresight and structure. Take the chance and study the scientific method and mindset. It will help you throughout your life.
Image source: School photo created by mindandi – www.freepik.com
[student] [fotolia]
