Choice of a bachelor thesis

The student is obliged to choose the topic of his/her bachelor thesis in the third year of study after the beginning of the lecturing period of the particular academic year (he/she usually chooses from the topics proposed by the specialized department and its teaching staff). The topic for bachelor thesis may also come from a proposal made by the student and prior arrangement with the specialized department). Choosing the topic of the bachelor thesis the student should carefully consider his/her knowledge, skills, the  present grasp of the subject he/she is willing to focused on in accordance with the specialization within the branch of study and study programme, as well as his/her own abilities to work out the topic accordingly. The chosen topic should be especially interesting and up-to-date.

In choosing the topic of his/her bachelor thesis the student must be able to word the concrete title (topic) of his/her bachelor thesis, to set its objective, to define which sources of information and which methods he/she will make use of (the availability of the professional literature and sources, theoretical solutions), and to outline the conception of the thesis. It is recommended to consult the topic of the thesis to be chosen and its scope with the teaching staff of the specialized department before the actual choice will be made.

The process of choosing the topic of the bachelor thesis is usually completed by setting and submitting the official assessment of the bachelor thesis to the date given in the schedule of the particular academic year.

The length of the bachelor thesis and how it is arranged

The bachelor thesis usually consists of 30 - 40 pages and is set up according to the "General Principles for Writing the Bachelor Thesis."

The target of the thesis, the grounds for the choice of the topic, the applied methods and the suggested conception of the thesis are given in the introduction. The thesis usually consists of a theoretical and a practical part, and individual parts follow in logical order.

When working on the thesis the student consults his work with the head of the thesis and with a consultant (opponent) outside the University. The student has to choose suitable forms of communication with these persons and should consider their comments and suggestions which he/she then incorporates into his/her work.

The final summary and evaluation of the assigned targets are given in the conclusion.  The thesis is completed with tables, figures, schemes, diagrams and annexes. The results and conclusions of the bachelor thesis should be especially interesting and up-to-date.

A summary of the most common mistakes and objections to a bachelor thesis

The most frequent objections to a bachelor thesis are the following:

• Inadequately chosen topic (the topic is not inspiring enough or not demanding enough,
• The target of the work is not appropriately defined,
• The synopsis of the thesis and its contents are not in correspondence with the topic of the thesis and the set targets,
• The student does not follow the principles for writing the bachelor thesis,
• The arrangement of individual chapters (parts) is incorrect,
• Subject mistakes,
• Blank statements without explanations,
• Superficial argumentation
• Passing citations off as arguments
• The language style in not in correspondence with the character of the work (the student uses inappropriate expressions and formulations - detraction from the text),
• Non-conceptual work
• Compilatory character of the thesis
• Incorrect proportionality of individual parts,
• Insufficient usage of literature and other sources,
• Imperfections in dealing with the facts (their analysis is missing, only their description is given,
• The student's own contribution is not expressed
• Linguistic, spelling and technical mistakes,
• Incorrect ordering of sentences and clauses,
• Insufficient layout of the text (unjustified text, text editing is missing, etc.),
• Long and complicated sentences,
• Annexes, tables, figures, schemes are not denoted,
• The references are not given, information sources, the thesis is not written in correspondence with the principles for writing the bachelor thesis,
• Some parts of the thesis are missing
• The contents are not in correspondence with the titles of the chapters and chapter groupings in the text and vice versa,
• Numerical data or tables in the text are not sufficiently utilized and annotated,
• Annexes are not sufficiently interconnected with the text and vice versa, they are not logically matched,
• The conclusion is not a conclusion, but only a compilation of the facts given before in the text,
• The length of the thesis does not correspond, or it is exceeded,
• The student's affirmation stating that he/she has completed the thesis on his/her own is missing,
• Other things lacking

Evaluation of the bachelor thesis given in the review drawn up by the head of the bachelor thesis and the opponent.

The head of the bachelor thesis and the opponent give their evaluations of the student's thesis usually in the form of a written review focused on the following:

• Assessment of the contents on how they correspond to the given topic and set objective,
• Importance, novelty, relevance and suitability of the given topic,
• Structure of the topic, mutual interconnection, logical sequence, work with bibliography and other sources, originality, creativity,
• Using professional language, the quality of the linguistic presentation
• Formal arrangement and pertinency
• Applicability of the results in everyday life.

The reviews of the head and the opponent of the bachelor thesis are usually concluded with

• Bachelor thesis marking (excellent, very good, good, failed),
• A written statement whether the bachelor thesis is recommended to be defended or not,
• Additional questions which the student will answer in the course of the defense during the final state examination.

Worked out by: Ing. Jana Hakalová, Ph.D., Katedra účetnictví, Ekonomická fakulta, VŠB-TU Ostrava