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Content and Structure of Master’s Thesis |
The purpose and tasks of the master’s thesis:
A master’s degree is awarded based on the results of the master’s thesis. A master’s thesis is a research-oriented work dedicated to solving a relevant issue, with theoretical or research significance for modern science and technology. The preparation and defense of the master’s thesis are mandatory stages in the master’s program. The scientific level of the thesis must meet the requirements of the master’s curriculum. The master’s thesis is an original scientific work of the author. It is based on the results of theoretical and practical research. The thesis demonstrates the author’s ability to conduct independent scientific research. The student must use theoretical knowledge and practical skills to address scientific problems and solve application-oriented issues independently. The master’s thesis differs from the bachelor’s thesis in that it is a more sophisticated, theoretically and practically elaborated research work.
The writing of a master's thesis requires the student to:
- systematize, reinforce, and expand scientific and practical knowledge in a scientific direction for the purpose of solving a specific issue in their field of specialization;
- develop the ability to conduct research independently by mastering methods and methodologies in the scientific field to address the tasks set in solving a scientific problem;
- apply modern research methods.
Stages in the Execution of a Master’s Thesis
- Appointment of a supervisor and selection of a topic;
- Preparation and approval of the thesis plan with the supervisor;
- Official approval of the thesis topic and supervisor;
- Determination of requirements for the selected topic;
- In-depth development of the problem related to the topic;
- Conducting research;
- Generalization of results;
- Writing the thesis according to the plan;
- Discussion of preliminary results in the department or laboratory;
- Providing feedback;
- Discussion of the thesis;
- Defense and evaluation of the thesis.
Selection of Thesis Topics, Appointment, and Approval of Supervisors
In the first two weeks of the academic year, the selection of the topic and the appointment of the supervisor are reviewed in the departments to which the master’s students are assigned. The topic of the master’s thesis is chosen with some freedom. The topic and supervisor are discussed in the department meeting with specialists, and the topic title is corrected and the project plan is prepared and presented to the Faculty Scientific Council. After the decision on the topic and supervisor is made by the Faculty Scientific Council, the list of topics and supervisors is submitted to the relevant structural department of BSU by December 15, and approved by the management.
The title of the master's thesis topic should be formulated in such a way that it can concretely reflect the idea of the work to the maximum extent. The thesis topic should embody both the theoretical and practical directions of the research. The theoretical part of the work should focus on the investigation and study of the theoretical and methodological foundations of the object (process) under examination. In this regard, the work should be distinguished by the use of new ideas and concepts in the scientific field, as well as modern research methods. The practical part should demonstrate the master's ability to solve real application issues based on contemporary methodological approaches.
Magistr dissertasiya işinin elmi rəhbərinə According to the guidelines, a scientific advisor for a master's thesis is allocated a workload of 80 hours per academic year, with 40 hours per student. The scientific advisor has certain responsibilities. These responsibilities include: proposing a topic for the master's thesis, assisting in the development of an individual work plan, correcting the thesis plan, providing essential methodological support for the preparation of the thesis, facilitating discussions on the results, gathering relevant primary literature, advising on the preparation of articles based on the materials of the thesis, and providing guidance in preparing presentations. It is important to reiterate that the master's thesis is the student's independent personal work. The advisor's assistance should be within the framework of advice and guidance. After the thesis is submitted to the advisor, they ensure the checking of the work by chapters.
If the topic is changed during the execution of the work, the approval of the leadership of Baki State University (BDU) is required.
Structure and Arrangement of the Masters Thesis:
The master's thesis should be arranged in the following order:
- Title page;
- Table of contents;
- List of abbreviations (if available in the thesis);
- Introduction;
- Main body (thesis content, divided by chapters);
- Conclusion;
- References;
- Appendices;
- Summary (in Russian and English).
Title Page:The first page of the thesis must be formatted in accordance with established rules. (A sample is provided in the appendices)
Table of Contents:The table of contents must indicate all chapters, sub-chapters, and sections of the thesis, specifying the page number where each chapter begins.
Introduction:The introduction should detail the relevance of the topic, the aims and objectives of the research, the object and methodology of the research, the novelty of the research, its practical significance, as well as information about the structure and approbation of the work.
Chapter I:Should provide a summary of the literature, substantiated with theoretical, practical, and methodological aspects reflected in the literature relevant to the topic of the proposed problem.
Chapter II:Should outline the object and methods of the research. The subsequent chapters are dedicated to specific issues of the proposed problem. These chapters present the analysis of the research carried out, comparative assessments, substantiated comparative discussions, and interpretations of their findings.
Növbəti fəsillər qoyulmuş problemin konkret məsələlərinə həsr edilir. Bu fəsillərdə aparılan tədqiqatın təhlili, müqayisəli qiymətləndirmə və əsaslandırılmış müqayisəli müzakirələr və onların nəticələrinin şərhi təqdim olunur.
While writing the thesis, the content may consist of Chapters III to V based on the topic.
Conclusion:The conclusion should summarize the discussions and analyses conducted in the research and provide interpretations of specific results.
Thesis work may also contain suggestions and recommendations. In this case, the proposed recommendations should address a systematic and specific solution to the proposed problem.
The list of referencesis a compilation of existing literature sources cited while writing the thesis. The sources used in the thesis should be listed alphabetically according to the languages in which they were published (first Azerbaijani, then Turkish, Russian, English, French, Arabic, etc.), numbered in sequence with Arabic numerals.
Appendices:These are materials that do not fall under the main text based on the content of the thesis. Appendices should not exceed 15% of the total volume of the thesis.
Summary:This reflects a brief overview of the thesis. If the work is written in Azerbaijani, the summary should be presented in Russian (резюме) and English (summary). If the work is written in Russian, the summary should be presented separately on a single page in Azerbaijani and English.
The text of the dissertation should be typed on a computer in Azerbaijani using Az- Times Lat-14 or Times New Roman –14 font; and in Russian and English, Times New Roman –14 font should be used. The text should be printed on A4 size white paper, ensuring the left margin is 30 mm, the right margin is 10 mm, and the top and bottom margins are 20 mm, with a line length of no less than 60-65 characters, and the number of lines per page being 29-31. All letters, numbers, and symbols in the dissertation must be clear and of the same thickness. The density of the additional text should be similar to the density of the main text. The thesis must consist of no fewer than 50 pages and no more than 75 pages.
The main text of the thesis is divided into chapters, sub-chapters, and sections. The titles of the chapters must be symmetrically centered in the text, written in capital letters, while the titles of the sub-chapters should begin with a paragraph and be written in conditional letters (except for the first letter). Words in titles should not be transferred to the next line, and there should be no period at the end of the title. If a title consists of two sentences, they should be separated by a period.
"TABLE OF CONTENTS," "INTRODUCTION," "CONCLUSION," "REFERENCES," "APPENDICES" must be accepted as headings for the appropriate structural sections of the dissertation. The space between chapters, sub-chapters, and between a title and the text (section) should be 2 line spaces. There should be no line drawn below the title. Each chapter must begin on a new page. The pages of the dissertation are numbered with Arabic numerals. The title page is not numbered, while the following page carries the number "2" and subsequent pages are numbered consecutively in the upper right corner of the page. Pages (including appendices, references, acts, etc.) are numbered consecutively.
Chapters are numbered with Roman numerals (e.g., CHAPTER I). The table of contents, introduction, and conclusion are not numbered. The number of a sub-chapter consists of the numbers of the chapter and sub-chapter separated by a dot. A period is placed at the end of a sub-chapter number (for example: 3.2, representing the second sub-chapter of the third chapter). If sub-sections exist within a sub-chapter, they are numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals (for example: 3.2.1, which refers to the first section of the second sub-chapter of the third chapter).
Illustrations that are placed on a separate page (tables, drawings, schemes, graphs) are numbered like the pages of the dissertation. Tables, figures, and drawings larger than A4 format are considered as one page and are placed at the end of the dissertation following the conclusion, in the order they appear in the text. Both the dissertation text and notes clarifying the tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals in sequence.
The sources used in the thesis should be written in alphabetical order and numbered in sequence, indicating the language in which they are published. Preference should be given to literature from the last 5-10 years in the list of used references. The bibliographic description of the used source should depend on its type. The bibliographic description of books (monographs, textbooks, etc.) is structured by the author's name or book title, and when there are up to four authors, the surname and initials of the author(s) are provided. Works with no indicated author or more than four authors (collective monographs or textbooks) are listed by the book title.
The bibliographic description of articles comprises two parts: the first part includes information about the article, and the second part contains information about the publication in which the article was published. These parts are separated by a double slash (//) with a space before and after. For articles with up to four authors, all authors' surnames and initials are cited. For articles with more than four authors, the first three authors' surnames and initials are provided, with the rest omitted.
The bibliographic description of sources from collected articles and conference materials also consists of two parts. These parts are separated by a slash (/) with a space before and after.
When referencing a thesis, the author's surname, initials, and dissertation title are first mentioned, followed by a colon introducing the claimed academic degree, city, year of publication, and volume. The same rules apply to references in the thesis abstract, with the addition of the word "abstract".
Footnotes on the thesis pages are not advisable.
Numeric materials in the dissertation are usually presented in the form of tables. Each table must have a title. The title should be started with the word "TABLE" in capital letters. There must be no lines drawn beneath the title. Tables and figures can also be presented in A3 format (297x420 mm). If there are multiple tables and figures in the thesis, they should be numbered accordingly. Within the chapters, tables are numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals that correspond to the chapter number (for example, Table 3.2).
Preparation of the abstract for the master’s thesis
The master's student must prepare an abstract in the form of a concise summary that fully reflects the content of the thesis, with a length of 2 pages, in order to defend their master's dissertation. The abstract should include the relevance of the topic, the purpose of the work and the objectives set, its novelty, practical significance, a brief summary of the chapters of the dissertation, results, the structure of the work, approbation, as well as recommendations and suggestions. The abstract must be written in the language in which the dissertation was written. In exceptional cases, the abstract may also be written in a language different from that of the dissertation (such as English or German).