Outline of the Master Thesis

(1) Title
Also called thesis topic. Describes the area you want to write in and is NOT YET YOUR
THESIS OBJECTIVE –it is not specific enough for this!

(2) Background/ Relevance / State of research in the field

Should – shortly! – say what the relevance of your chosen topic is. Why is it important or of
interest? What is the state of the art regarding it?
Thinking about why you want to look at your specific topic can help clarify your actual thesis
aim.
This background section is also the starting point of your later introduction.

(3a) Objective of the thesis

The thesis objective is, obviously, very closely related to your thesis topic; in the objective
you are more detailed already, saying not only what the topic is, but what you want to DO in
your thesis regarding this topic. What do you want to find out?
It should in one paragraph (1 to 3 sentences) state as precisely as possible want to do and
find out in the thesis.

 The thesis objective is what you really write the thesis about

(3b) Research questions

The research questions are based on your thesis objective and show which specific questions
you will have to answer to fulfil your aim.
The questions should cover ALL KEY points of the thesis, and two to four are usually
sufficient. Basically, they let you split your aim into searchable sub-questions. Consequently
it is a good idea to phrase them according to the PICO rules

 It is very important to be clear about the objectives and research questions, as

this will allow you to search for data and structure the data in the results part
efficiently!

(4) Material & methods

This describes in detail how you searched for and selected the necessary data. Where have
you searched? Which search terms did you use? How many papers did you find for those
terms? How did you limit the number of papers? What types of articles do you need and why?
What articles did you exclude, and why?
When you have completed the outline you should have gathered (almost) all the material you
need to write the thesis

 This means you M&M part for the thesis will be (almost) finished at this point

(5) Results structure

In the results index you structure your data in the way you want to present it in the thesis.
Use an index that gives chapter, subchapter and, if necessary sub-subchapter titles. Use
meaningful titles that clearly illustrate what you want to talk about in each chapter
(alternatively, add an explanatory sentence).
Base the index on your research questions – as a rule of thumb, there should one major
chapter per question. Add substructure!

 Do this in detail, it helps to organize your data and your thoughts

(6) Bibliography
List the literature you will use for your thesis.

 You should have almost all your literature now, and not later!