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The Students’ Guide

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Writing a Master Thesis at SMI

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Table of Content

Objectives of the Master Thesis

Application Process

Thesis Process

Grading Criteria

Literature on Theory and Methodology

Formatting Guidelines

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Objectives of the Master Thesis

Application Process

Thesis Process

Grading Criteria

Literature on Theory and Methodology

Formatting Guidelines

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Objectives of the Master Thesis

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Ø The main focus of the thesis is on the theoretical contribution with a high level of abstraction.

Ø Students should demonstrate a sound understanding of the relevant literature and theoretical frameworks.

Ø The results should be integrated into the broader academic literature.

Ø The main focus of the thesis is on developing solutions to a practical problem by analyzing empirical data.

Ø Students should demonstrate a sufficient engagement with the contextual literature and theoretical frameworks.

Ø The results should be of practical relevance and they should provide actionable recommendations.

MSc MAS

By writing the Master Thesis at MTEC, students show their ability to independently produce a coherent scientific piece of work.

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Objectives of the Master Thesis

Application Process

Thesis Process

Grading Criteria

Literature on Theory and Methodology

Formatting Guidelines

Application Process

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Required Courses for Writing a Thesisat SMI

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Mandatory coursesØ Academic Writing Course (offered by D-

MTEC)Ø Management ResearchØ Strategic Management

Strongly recommended coursesØ Corporate StrategyØ Industry and Competitive Analysis

Mandatory coursesØ Strategic Management

Strongly recommended coursesØ Corporate StrategyØ Industry and Competitive AnalysisØ Management ResearchØ Practicing Strategy

MSc MAS

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Find and Apply for a Thesis at SMI

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1. Examine the research topics of our research group: http://www.smi.ethz.ch/research.html

Option 1Propose your own topic

Option 2 Apply for an offered topic

2. Create a proposal with the provided template: http://www.smi.ethz.ch/education/master-thesis-

supervision.html

3. Send your CV, transcripts, and the thesis proposal to Zoe via email.

4. Decision on application based on overall assessment of proposal, availability of mentors and topic fit.

1. Examine the thesis topics on offer: http://www.smi.ethz.ch/education/master-thesis-

supervision.html

2. Write a motivation letter containing why you are interested in working on the topic and your

preliminary thoughts on the topic.

3. Send your CV, transcripts, and the motivation letter to the indicated responsible person.

SMI

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Contact Persons at MTEC

Questions about administrative issues should be directed to the student administration:

MSc AdministratorPrisca Rohr prohr@ethz.chhttps://www.mtec.ethz.ch/people/student-affairs/msc-mtec.html

MAS Administrator:Maria Murillo mmurillo@ethz.chhttps://www.mtec.ethz.ch/people/student-affairs/mas-mtec.html

Contact Zoe Jonassen (zjonassen@ethz.ch) for any other questions related to writing your thesis at SMI.

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Objectives of the Master Thesis

Application Process

Thesis Process

Grading Criteria

Literature on Theory and Methodology

Formatting Guidelines

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Exemplary Timeline for a Thesis Project

Goals§ Define a topic area with the tutor and corporate

sponsor§ Make a problem statement and define the scope§ Set the milestones à project management

Mile stones

Define a topic & scope1

Writ

e-up

Se

tup

phas

eA

naly

sis

phas

e

Review literature2

Tools & methods

§ Project management: Gant chart

Set up methodology3

Collect data4

Analyze data5

Final write-up6

Peer review & finalize7

§ Identify relevant literature for the topic§ Examine what is un/known à research question§ Write up literature review ending with a research

question

§ Search for papers via keywords (e.g. Google Scholar)

§ Summarize 10-20 important papers§ Use comparison tables to illustrate literature

streams

Review literature2

§ Edmondson, A. C., & McManus, S. E. (2007). Methodological fit in management field research. Academy of management review, 32(4), 1246-1264.

§ Select only important data§ Write-up early on!

§ Explicitly write up an interpretation

§ References tools: Mendeley, Zotero etc.

§ Request feedback from the tutor§ Spell check, plagiarism check

§ Identify suitable methodology§ Review literature on that methodology§ For quantitative: Draw a theoretical model§ For qualitative: Create an interview guideline

§ Set up data collection§ Prioritize and make focused efforts

§ For quantitative: Prove the hypothesis§ For qualitative: Abstract meaningful results from

data§ Formulate conclusions§ Describe your research approach & results as

objectively as possible§ Write in a good scientific style

§ Check for completeness§ Check for clarity, correctness

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Working with Multiple Stakeholders ina Thesis Project

Stakeholders at the company…

Literature/Theories to be used…

Data sources to be used…

Envisioned results…

Expected results for the company…

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Working with multiple stakeholders requires a good coordination. Mapping out the key elements of the thesis project – for example in the following template – can facilitate this process.

Company context…

Research question to be solved…

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Objectives of the Master Thesis

Application Process

Thesis Process

Grading Criteria

Literature on Theory and Methodology

Formatting Guidelines

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Template for Master Thesis Format

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Please use the thesis template provided on our homepage. If in doubt, ask your mentor.

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Objectives of the Master Thesis

Application Process

Thesis Process

Grading Criteria

Literature on Theory and Methodology

Formatting Guidelines

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Conducting a Literature Search

Google Scholar§ Preferable way to access scientific papers

(if you are within the ETH network)§ Useful to quickly search for different

combinations of search terms§ Includes broad range of publications (e.g.

forthcoming work, book chapters, etc.)§ Limited options for systematic searches § Order of search results not always useful

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Web of Science§ Accessible within the ETH Network§ Useful for systematic searches, as soon as

a core paper is identified § Many search options to filter forward and

backward citations, to search for papers and to sort results

§ Considered outlets fulfill important quality criteria

§ Smaller range of publications

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Literature on Literature & Theory Building

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Scope

Literature Review Papers Relevant Journals

Students should deeply engage with the research stream on which their master thesis is set and know:- the foundational papers (and other highly relevant work)- the current debate in recently published papers

To identify relevant outlets for literature search, students can use the following documents for orientation:• A list of highly relevant and high quality

journals on our field is available on the SMI homepage: http://www.smi.ethz.ch/publications-and-awards/journals-and-conferences-in-the-field.html

• A full journal ranking that also encompasses other management/business fields: Academic Journal Guide https://charteredabs.org/academic-journal-guide-2015/

To gain a broad overview over particular research fields, it might be useful to read reviews and literature critiques, which summarize and synthesize research streams. Typical quality outlets for this type of papers are: • Academy of Management Annals → Journal

purely devoted to review articles• Journal of Management → Highly ranked

journal that publishes a bi-annual review• Book Chapters → written by leading

researchers in the field • Meta Analyses → Papers that empirically

synthesize literature on a broader research topic

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Literature on Literature & Theory BuildingWhat makes a theoretical contribution?It is helpful to understand what constitutes a theoretical contribution in the field of management research, because such understanding will support you in the following tasks:

- Identifying a research gap- Analyzing data and developing constructs - Structuring the thesis into chapters

Papers on what makes a theoretical contribution- Alvesson, M. & Sandberg, J. 2011. Generating research questions through problematization.

Academy of Management Review, 36(2): 247-271. - Corley, K. & Gioia, D. 2011. Building theory about theory building: What constitutes a theoretical

contribution? Academy of Management Review, 36(1): 12-32. - Cornelissen, J. P. & Durand, R. 2014. Moving Forward: Developing Theoretical Contributions in

Management Studies. Journal of Management Studies, 51: 995–1022.- Locke K. & Golden-Biddle K. 1997. Constructing Opportunities for Contribution: Structuring

Intertextual Coherence and “Problematizing” in Organizational Studies. Academy of Management Journal, (40)5: 1023-1062.

- Suddaby, R. 2010. Construct clarity in theories of management and organization. Academy of Management Review, 35(3): 346-358.

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Literature on Qualitative MethodologyThere are different approaches to qualitative research that can be relevant for a master thesis. The following literature provides a overview of qualitative research methods in social sciences:

Books - Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. 2015. Basics of qualitative research (4th ed.).- Creswell, J. W. 2013. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Approaches.- Flick, U. 2002. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.- Patton, M.Q. 2015. Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (4th ed.).- Yin, R. 2013. Case Study Research: Design and Methods (5th ed.).

Papers- Eisenhardt, K. 1989. Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management

Review, 14(4): 532-550.- Eisenhardt, K. & Graebner, M. 2007. Theory building from cases: Opportunities and challenges.

Academy of Management Journal, 50(1): 25-32.- Gehman, et al. 2017. Finding theory-method fit: A comparison of Three Qualitative Approaches to

Theory Building. Journal of Management Inquiry, forthcoming.- Gioia, et al. 2012. Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research - Notes on the Gioia methodology.

Organizational Research Methods, 16(1): 15-31.- Langley, A. 1999. Strategies to theorizing from process data. Academy of Management Review,

24(4): 691-710.

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Literature on Qualitative Methodology

Conducting interviews- Rubin, H. J. & Rubin, I. S. 2011. Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Sage

publications.- Spradley, J. P. 2016. The ethnographic interview. Waveland Press.

Qualitative data analysis- Flick, U. 2009. An introduction to qualitative research. Sage publications.- Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. 2013. Qualitative data analysis. Sage publications.

Writing qualitative research- Lamott, A. 2007. Bird by bird: Some instructions on writing and life. Anchor.- Pratt, M. G. 2009. From the editors: For the lack of a boilerplate: Tips on writing up (and reviewing)

qualitative research. Academy of management journal, 52(5): 856-862.- Strunk, W. 2007. The elements of style. Penguin.

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Literature on Quantitative MethodologyQuantitative research involves various analysis methods such as ordinary linear regression (OLS), structural equation modeling (SEM), or specialized techniques for testing moderated mediation (e.g. PROCESS macro of A. Hayes).

Important resources- Creswell, J. W. 2013. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Approaches.- Handbooks of the respective statistics software (SPSS, Stata, R, Mplus etc.)- Wooldridge, J. M. 2010. Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data. MIT press.

Additional resources- Hayes, A. F. 2013. Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis:

A Regression-Based Approach. Guilford Press.- Muller, D., Judd, C. M. & Yzerbyt, V. Y. 2005. When moderation is mediated and mediation is

moderated. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(6): 852–863.- Preacher, K. J., Zhang, Z. & Zyphur, M. J. 2016. Multilevel Structural Equation Models for

Assessing Moderation Within and Across Levels of Analysis. Psychological Methods, 21(2): 189–205.

- Preacher, K. J., Zyphur, M. J. & Zhang, Z. 2010. A general multilevel SEM framework for assessing multilevel mediation. Psychological Methods,15(3): 209–233.

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Examples of Completed Master Theses for Inspiration

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https://jums.academy/

Theses in business and management completed at other universities

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Objectives of the Master Thesis

Application Process

Thesis Process

Grading Criteria

Literature on Theory and Methodology

Formatting Guidelines

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SMI Grading CriteriaStructure and composition

Outline and chapter sequence, text clarity and consistency

Introduction Problem formulation, scope and relevance, aspiration level

Literature review Range and focus, fit of concepts to study, logical reasoning

Research design Fit of methodology to the research task, appropriate methods (samples, data collection, analysis)

Results and contribution

Critical evaluation and analytical depth and scope, goal achievement and link to research questions, novelty

Practical relevance of the solution

Relevance to the company, actionable recommendations, clear articulation, consistency with findings

Conclusion Summary, implications, limitations, future research, link to current academic debate, direct relation to evidence and previous arguments

Format Layout, writing style, spelling and grammar, quality and quantity of references, tables and figures

Pro-activity and independence

Time management, problem-solving, own contribution and ideas

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Grading Procedure

Hand in thesisPlease submit two prints and a PDF version of your thesis to your mentor and include the certificate of originality (by the due date).

Review by third person

Feedback

Review by mentor

Conclusion of a grade

Decree of grade

Another person from our group who has not been involved in the project reviews your thesis.

Your mentor reviews the work.

Both reviewers and Prof. von Krogh agree on a grade.

You receive feedback from your mentor.

You receive the grade within the official grade decree deadline after submitting the thesis.