On this page, you will find general information and an overview of topics for theses offered at the Research Methods and Evaluation section. If you are interested, please contact the respective persons directly.

We supervise theses on topics that fit our research focus. In the following, we describe the general procedure for bachelor's and master's theses in our work unit. If you are interested in a topic, please contact the person listed under the respective research focus. If you yourself have an idea for a topic that might fit our research, you are also welcome to contact us.

General information on Bachelor's theses and Master's theses can be found in the respective examination regulations for the B. Sc. Psychology program and the M. Sc. Psychology program as well as on the department website under Bachelor's theses and Master's theses.

Procedure for theses in our work unit:

1)  Find a topic

• Find out about the topics we are currently offering and about our main research areas
• Discuss the topic with the respective person
• If you agree on a topic with the respective person and they agree to supervise you, discuss the possible procedure

2) Submit an exposé

• Read relevant literature
• Work out the schedule
• Write the exposé and send it as a pdf to your supervisor

3) Presentation of the planned work in the propaedeutic course/master colloquium

• Presentation of the theoretical background, hypotheses, study design and planned analyses
• Based on the discussion and feedback, the procedure should be finalized with the supervisor

4)  If applicable, implementation of data collection

5)  Data analysis and writing the thesis

6)  Submission

• In addition to the written thesis, the analysis code and - if available - the raw data set should also be handed in. If a raw data set is submitted, a codebook containing explanations of the variable names should be included.
• The analysis code should be commented in a comprehensible way.

Exposé

The aim of the exposé is to think about the main points before carrying out the work and to fix them in a written form. In the sense of transparent and replicable research, the exposé also serves to clearly differentiate between exploratory research questions and confirmatory hypothesis testing and to ensure that sufficient power is guaranteed before the analyses. The exposé further serves as the basis of the written thesis to guide the writing process.

The exposé should be structured according to the following points:

1.  Topic
2.  Brief summary of the theoretical background
3.  Research question of the own work
4.  Hypotheses, if applicable 
5.  Study design and procedure
6.  Sample incl. justification of sample size (e.g., power analysis)
7.  Measures
8.  Analysis plan
9.  Approximate time schedule
10. References

The exposé should cover all essential points of a preregistration (see e.g., template auf https://osf.io/t6m9v/). The exposé should be a maximum of 3 - 5 A4 pages in length. The exposé is not included in the grading of the thesis.