MABU5900 Master Thesis Course description

Language of instruction: Norwegian/English

Under supervision, the students will conduct an independent research or development project, or a literaturestudy. Students can choose to write the master’s thesis individually or in pairs. On application, large, interdisciplinary innovation projects can be written in groups of up to four students. Students can also apply to write the master’s thesis with students from other specialisations if they so wish, provided that the scope of the master’s thesis is the same. If more than one student work on the master’s thesis together, each student’s contributions must be documented. The thesis can be written as a monograph or as a scientific article on a specialised topic.

Development of the project description in preparation for the master’s thesis is part of the course MAVIT4070 Research Design and Project Description, 10 ECTS credits.

All compulsory courses in the programme must be passed before the student can submit their master's thesis for assessment.

After completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has advanced knowledge of their area of specialisation and can analyse academic problems to identify the need for research and professional development
• has in-depth knowledge of the research process

Skills

The student

• can analyse relevant theories and issues to initiate and carry out a limited research, quality improvement or development work
• can use relevant methods for research, quality improvement or development work in their own work
• can analyse and deal critically with various sources of information and use them in scholarly arguments in their own research, quality improvement or development work
• can carry out an independent, limited research, quality improvement or development work in accordance with the approved project description and the applicable norms for research ethics

General competence

The student

• can communicate relevant issues, analyses and conclusions from their own research, quality improvement or development work to both the general public and academia
• can contribute to new thinking, innovation processes and evidence-based practice in the health services and in health-promoting work

Work and teaching methods used in the course are self-study, three to six master’s seminars with presentations, and an offer of 20 hours’ supervision per thesis, regardless of whether it is written individually or in a group.

The seminars are an arena for sharing experience from all stages of the project work. Students will take part in academic discussion and practise structuring and wording academic argumentation and communicating constructive criticism. Presenting their work, giving feedback to fellow students, and receiving feedback from fellow students and teachers, are important parts of the seminars.

The supervision agreement is signed by the students and supervisors at the start of the supervision.

When a group of students work together, an overview of each student’s individual contribution must be enclosed with the assignment.

The following must have been approved in order for a student to be permitted to take the examination:

• Two oral presentations (up to 20 minutes each) at the master seminar, and completion of the opponent role with critique/feedback on the presentation from fellow students.

The master’s thesis written by one or two students. Large, interdisciplinary innovation projects can be written in groups of up to four students on application. Individual oral examination where the grade can be adjusted.

The content and scope of different forms of master's theses:

• Monograph: Recommended scope of a monographic assignment is 22,000 words +/- 10%

• Scientific article: The thesis must include a manuscript in the form of at least one article that is in accordance with the author guidelines for a relevant scientific journal, and a supplementary memo/introductory chapter to the article-based thesis ('kappe') that elaborates on the theoretical and methodological considerations underlying the article. The layout, structure and scope of the article must comply with the guidelines of the journal in question, and the introductory chapter to the article-based thesis can be a maximum of 10,000 words.

The thesis can be written in English or a Scandinavian language (Norwegian, Swedish or Danish).

The written thesis must be awarded a grade of A-E (preliminary grade) in order for a student to take the oral examination. The final grade is set after the oral examination. The whole grade scale can be used when setting the final grade.

An individual oral examination lasting up to 40 minutes based on the master’s thesis. The candidate gives a 10 - 15 minutes presentation of their master’s thesis at the start of the oral examination.

Students can appeal against the grade set for the written part of the examination in accordance with the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges.

I 3. studieår skriver studentene bacheloroppgave innenfor valgt profil. Gjennom arbeidet med bacheloroppgaven får studentene trening i å gjennomføre et selvstendig arbeid der datainnsamling, analyse, tolkning og rapportering inngår. Studentene får erfaring med å gjennomføre et større prosjekt i gruppe, og de oppøver evnen til å bruke teori og metode i forhold til utdanningens fagområde. Studentene skal tilegne seg grunnleggende forståelse for forskningsmetode knyttet til økonomisk-administrative problemer.

Undervisnings- og veiledningsspråk kan være på norsk eller engelsk.

Studentene må ha bestått/fått innpasset/fritak for minimum 100 studiepoeng for å få starte på bacheloroppgaven. 15 av disse studiepoengene må være:

1) Statistikk (ØAMET1100) og

2) Samfunnsvitenskapelig metode (ØAMET2100) eller Business Decision-Making Using Data (ØAMET2200)

Studenten skal etter å ha fullført emnet ha følgende totale læringsutbytte definert i kunnskap, ferdigheter og generell kompetanse:

Kunnskap

Studenten har

• kjennskap til ulike typer forskningsopplegg, har innsikt i forholdet mellom teori, data og virkelighet
• kunnskap om populasjon og utvalg, og om ulike analyse- og datainnsamlingsmetoder, både kvalitative og kvantitative

Ferdigheter

Studenten

• kan definere en problemstilling og formål og foreta avgrensning og definering av begreper og problemer
• kan anvende og begrunne valg av relevante metodeverktøy og arbeidsmåter innenfor finans, samfunnsøkonomi, litteraturstudier, kvantitative og/eller kvalitative forskningsdesign og metoder
• kan bruke aktuell teori og analysemetoder til å skrive en selvstendig oppgave
• kan søke etter informasjon, utøve kildekritikk, referere og sette opp litteraturreferanser i henhold til gjeldende mal
• behersker analyse og tolkning av teoretiske og empiriske funn samt kvalitetssikring av disse, og er bevisst mulige feiltolkninger og feilkilder

Generell kompetanse

Studenten

• kan søke etter faglitteratur og kritisk vurdere kvaliteten på kilden
• kan grunnleggende regler for kildebruk og kjenne til hva som defineres som plagiat og fusk i studentarbeider
• har evne til kritisk vurdering av eget arbeid
• kan reflektere rundt forskning og vitenskapelig metode, forskningsetikk og redelighet
• kan samarbeide med andre om en større oppgave
• kan utforme og skrive strukturerte rapporter som omhandler økonomisk-administrative problemstillinger som tilfredsstiller krav til etiske og faglige standarder