Before starting the thesis

At the thesis information session or introductory seminar, students are introduced to the practices, phases and guidelines of their thesis process.

Contents:

• Topic selection and delimitation: You will receive instructions on how to select and limit the topic of your thesis in a working life-oriented manner.
• Phases of the process: The thesis process from the idea to the plan, implementation, and reporting is presented.
• Guidance and support: Information will be provided on the role of supervisors, possible stakeholders, and language and communication guidance.
• Reporting and publishing: Guidance is provided on how to report the thesis in writing and to publish it, for example, in Theseus.
• Practical procedures: Degree programme-specific instructions, schedules and materials in Moodle are presented.

The purpose of the thesis information session is to ensure that:

• you can plan the work realistically
• you know the thesis requirements and evaluation criteria
• you can complete the thesis according to the plan.

Research permit and ethical review for theses

As soon as the topic and method of implementation of the thesis have been determined, it is advisable to consider the ethics of the thesis with the supervisor, if necessary, and whether research permits and/or an ethical review are required.

The need for a research permit is determined by the target organisation of the thesis. For example, if the subject of the thesis is the stress experienced by nurses working in the wellbeing services county, a research permit must be obtained from that county. Some organisations wish to apply for a permit using their own form, but if such a form is not available, you can use Lapland UAS’s general research permit form. If you study matters related to the personnel and/or students of Lapland UAS, you will always need a research permit, which you apply for from the principal through the records office. Lapland UAS’s research permit application is processed within two weeks of receipt. Further information: Research ethics

Ethical use of information

The ethical use of information includes correct citation and referencing. You can find instructions for this on the library’s website. The correct marking of source references is learned at the thesis planning stage at the latest.

If you utilise ready-made images, patterns or other similar material in your thesis, always check the copyrights related to them.

In the planning stage of the thesis, you can already read the ImagOA guide, for example, where you will find information about the use of images and the Creative Commons (CC) licenses. Lapland UAS has separate instructions for using artificial intelligence .

Suspected fraud

If the author of the thesis has violated good scientific practice, this will be reported in writing. The matter will be handled in accordance with the degree regulations and ethical principles.

Examples of good sources for examining the ethical basis of your thesis are:

The Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences Arene has published ethical guidelines for theses. After reading them, you will be able to identify some of the ethical premises related to your own thesis.

UASs have also committed to comply with the Responsible conduct of research and procedures for handling allegations of misconduct in Finland guidelines (TENK 2023) of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK). TENK is an expert body of the Ministry of Education and Culture that promotes good scientific practice, prevents scientific fraud and promotes debate and information about research ethics.

Public nature of the thesis

A thesis drawn up in a public educational institution is, in principle, a public document (Section 12.2 of the Constitution of Finland; Section 1 of the Publicity Act).

The publicity of the thesis may be restricted only in respect of material that is prescribed by law to be kept secret. The decision of the University of Applied Sciences on the secrecy of a thesis must be based on the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (L 621/1999), which stipulates that documents containing business secrets (if the concerned party does not consent to the publication thereof) or documents concerning the research plan or source material of a thesis or scientific study must be kept confidential, unless it is clear that the publication thereof does impede the performance of the thesis, its utilisation, appropriate assessment, its researcher or RDI partner(s) (§ 24). The patenting of a possible invention complies with the law on inventions made in higher education institutions and general patent law.

According to the instructions issued by the Ministry of Education (2/500/2004), Universities of Applied Sciences must ensure that confidential material is not included in theses, and that theses are public immediately after approval.

Handling the confidential material of the thesis

• It is advisable to agree with the partner on the public nature of the thesis already at the beginning of the assignment.
• It is the student’s responsibility to ensure the thesis does not include information agreed to be confidential.
• If the source material contains confidential material, it is included in the background material, not in the public thesis.

Editing of research data

• The material must be edited so that a public report can be prepared from it in accordance with the instructions of the University of Applied Sciences.
• The student must consider whether a thesis on the topic can be done that contains only information to be made public and how the partner’s confidentiality requirements affect the content and presentation of the work.
• Any confidential attached material will be recorded in the thesis agreement.

Abstract and evaluation

• The abstract states whether the thesis contains a confidential appendix.
• The appendix will remain in the possession of the partner and will not be evaluated. The evaluation is only carried out for the public part.

Publishing in Theseus

• Theses are published online in the Theseus service.
• The thesis can be stored in an open collection (readable and printable on the internet) or in a restricted-use collection (descriptive data and the abstract are visible to everyone, but the entire thesis is accessible only via the Lapland UAS network).

Choosing a thesis topic based on working life

The thesis must be related to core content of your degree programme and to professional practices in your field. Planning begins with the selection and delimitation of the topic. It is important to become familiar with the phenomenon, gather and analyse information and justify the choice of topic.

The topic should be related to your own competence, work, career or the development of your work community. At the same time, the thesis should ideally generate knowledge that is useful more broadly in the field.

A thesis may be commissioned by an external partner, Lapland UAS or an external funding project. You can discuss suitable topics with your own organisation or explore Lapland UAS projects for potential ideas.

Where to find a topic

From working life: Discuss the development needs that have emerged in your own workplace or internship position. Often, theses are based on concrete problems that need to be solved.

Through your degree programme: Teachers and supervisors can suggest topics, and degree programmes often already have collaborative projects.

Networks: Companies, organisations and communities in the field can offer topics that benefit both them and you as a student.

Your own interests: You can choose a topic related to your own professional orientation, hobbies or future career goals.

Theseus and previous theses: Explore the works of others to get ideas and see what topics have already been covered.

Current phenomena: Industry trends, new technologies or societal changes can provide interesting research and development topics.

• You may also use AI tools to explore and refine potential thesis topics.

A good topic is limited, working life-oriented and motivating for you. When you are genuinely interested in the topic, doing the thesis is more meaningful and the result is of higher quality.

The role of a working life representative in the thesis

When you write your thesis for an employer, the commissioning organisation appoints a contact person. With you and your supervisor, the contact person helps define the goals of the thesis and plan the implementation.

The contact person is responsible for facilitating cooperation within the company or organisation, provides content guidance and information, if necessary, and takes care of the issues listed in the thesis agreement. The partner’s representative will give you a statement on the completed thesis.

When retrieving information, you search for and collect reliable information related to your topic from various sources, so that you can build a knowledge base for the thesis and justify your solutions.

Steps in information retrieval

1. Define the topic and scope
   • Record what you want to study or develop.
   • Create a clear research question concerning your topic.
2. Identify keywords
   • Consider the key concepts and synonyms.
   • Use English terms if necessary.
3. Choose search sources
   • Search for information from:
     • databases (e.g. Theseus, Finna, international research databases, industry databases.)
     • literature, research articles, manuals, reports and other reliable sources.
     • reliable websites and government sources.
4. Search for and collect data
   • Information should be searched for systematically and comprehensively.
   • Use keywords in different combinations.
   • Save helpful sources and notes.
5. Assess sources critically
   • Is the information up to date and reliable?
   • Who is the author and what is the background of the source?
   • Does the information apply to your topic?
6. Organise and utilise information
   • Take notes and organise data by themes.
   • Use the collected information in the theoretical framework, analysis and discussion of the thesis.
   • Combine information from different sources into a coherent whole that supports the solution of the research problem.
7. Document sources
   • Immediately note down all sources used.
   • Use the referencing style required by the University of Applied Sciences
   • Information retrieval ensures that your thesis is based on up-to-date, reliable information. With it, you demonstrate a good understanding of research in the field and can apply it in practical development or research work.
   • Information literacy and information retrieval guidance is part of RDI studies in different degree programmes. These provide further guidance on identifying information needs, using different search channels, and critically evaluating sources.

During the planning and implementation phases of your thesis, you can also make information retrieval guidance appointments at the library.

You can also find field-specific databases, as well as information source and database guides, on the library’s website.

Writing the thesis report should begin as early as possible as the thesis progresses. Thesis reporting is a writing process, not a one-time event. Start writing at the beginning of the thesis project and work on your text throughout the process. Follow Lapland UAS’s reporting guidelines. In some cases, the entire thesis report can also be prepared in accordance with the commissioner’s instructions. Agree on this in advance with the supervisors. The thesis is  submitted to the supervisor and any commissioner’s representatives for comments in accordance with the agreed schedule.

Reporting and references

Regardless of the topic and method of implementation, you must report your thesis in writing. Use Lapland UAS’s template for reporting the thesis. Good academic writing is coherent, precise and clear. In reporting, particular attention should be paid to carefully justifying your arguments. The thesis text is your own text, in which you also refer to the ideas of others by marking the sources in accordance with the instructions. Direct copying of text is plagiarism and is therefore not allowed. All theses are checked with plagiarism detection software, which identifies plagiarism by comparing the text with other documents in the system.

The APA 7 reference guidelines used at Lapland UAS instruct you to mark source references correctly from the beginning. See also how you can make use of artificial intelligence e.g. in the language review of the English abstract.

Reporting methods

There are various methods for reporting in writing, for example:

• a traditional report
• a diary (in bachelor studies)
• a portfolio (in bachelor studies)
• an article in an edited volume (articles complementing UAS master’s theses or multidisciplinary master’s theses)
• an article in a scientific or professional journal (UAS master’s theses)

The thesis should be written using the  thesis template or, where applicable, the article template.

Regardless of the reporting method, the text should clearly present:

• the subject matter and premises of the thesis
• the purpose, goal and limitations of the thesis.
• work-related methodological and other choices with justifications.
• a description of the implementation of the study with justifications.
• the outcome of the thesis.
• an assessment of the reliability and ethical foundations of the work.
• a reflection on one’s own learning process.

Regular documentation of your choices and observations during the implementation phase will contribute to the progress of the work. Both the communication teacher and the supervisor provide advice on reporting issues.

Theses published at the UAS must be accessible. An accessible thesis is one where people with, for example, visual impairment, dyslexia or learning difficulties can access the content of the PDF file using assistive tools such as screen readers.

Accessibility promotes equality. It means that the online service is easy to access for everyone. Accessibility means that

• content can be found and accessed by everyone
• content is in a format that everyone understands
• services and content are available to everyone, so people can access the information they need and carry out necessary tasks.
• people are treated equally, regardless of their individual characteristics.

The Act on the Provision of Digital Services (306/2019) contains the requirements of the European accessibility act. It also applies to UAS theses that are published on Theseus. In Theseus’s instructions you will find an accessibility checklist, which summarises the main points about creating an accessible thesis. For the thesis report, you will find good instructions on the accessibility of the Word file (e.g. tables and Alt texts of images) in Theseus.

Plagiarism means presenting someone else’s text or idea in one’s work without mentioning the source. A broader concept is theft, where someone’s research results, ideas, plans, findings or material are used in one’s own name without permission. Plagiarism is a violation of copyright law.

At Lapland UAS, all theses are checked by using the Turnitin system. The student can submit their thesis at different stages via Wihi and receive a report to support their writing. The finalised thesis is sent for review with the permission of the supervisor.

The supervisor approves the thesis if there are no signs of plagiarism. If doubts arise, a preliminary investigation is initiated, in which the student is also consulted.