Guidelines on bachelor thesis writing
BA in International Business Communication
Guidelines prepared by:
Study Committee for Undergraduate Programmes, Department of Language and Business
Communication
in collaboration with the ASB Library1
Contents:
1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 2
2 INFORMATION SEARCHES ................................................................................................................... 2
3 ELEMENTS OF PROJECT REPORT ......................................................................................................... 2
3.1 IDENTIFICATION .............................................................................................................................. 3
3.2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................... 3
3.3 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 4
3.4 STRUCTURING INTO SECTIONS ........................................................................................................ 4
3.5 TREATMENT OF TOPIC..................................................................................................................... 5
3.6 NOTES ............................................................................................................................................... 5
3.7 CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 5
3.8 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................... 6
3.9 QUOTATIONS, FIGURES AND TABLES .............................................................................................. 7
3.10 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................................. 8
MONOGRAPHIES ...................................................................................................................................... 8
ANTHOLOGIES ......................................................................................................................................... 8
ARTICLES IN ANTHOLOGIES .................................................................................................................... 9
ARTICLES IN JOURNALS........................................................................................................................... 9
TEXTS FROM THE INTERNET.................................................................................................................... 9
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................. 10
3.11 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................. 10
3.12 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................. 10
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This version has been revised for students of BA Marketing and Management Communication by Karen M.
Lauridsen, Department of Language and Business Communication. November 2008.
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Guidelines on bachelor thesis writing
BA in International Business Communication
1 Introduction
These guidelines describe information searches and formal requirements in connection with
the writing of bachelor theses. The guidelines are intended as a supplement to the rules
governing bachelor theses found in the curriculum and in the course and exam descriptions.
As regards the writing process, problem formulation, method etc., you will find examples of
relevant literature in the document Literature on BA thesis writing.
2 Information searches
Please note that you should start your information search as part of the process of finding
your topic and your problem formulation: In searching for sources of information, you can
find information and ideas for topics which may be worth studying in greater detail.
When working on a project, your treatment of your topics to a large extent rests on the
gathering of relevant sources of information and your handling of these sources. What you
need are methods for identifying (searching/finding), selecting (evaluating), structuring
(using/analysing) and communicating information, or in other words: making sense
of/learning from information as knowledge is constructed. In this process, the ASB
Library’s information databases and information guides are important resources which you
can draw on concurrently with receiving supervision from your academic supervisor
(Kastberg et al. 20072)
Via the ASB Library’s Book a librarian, you are able to discuss information handling with one
of the Library’s information guides. The discussion will take your topic and the problem
formulation for your bachelor thesis as its starting point.
3 Elements of project report
A project report should contain the following elements:
 Introduction
Identification
Table of contents
2
Kastberg, P. et al. (2007) Personligt Knowledge Management: Fra information til viden via læring.
Frederiksberg: Samfundslitteratur.
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Guidelines on bachelor thesis writing
BA in International Business Communication
 Body text
Introduction
Structuring into sections
Treatment of topic
Notes
Conclusion/recommendations
 Documentation
References
Quotations, figures and tables
 List of references
Bibliography
List of abbreviations
Appendices
3.1 Identification
The first element of the report is the identification on the cover page, providing information
about the title of the report, the name(s) of the author(s), year, student number and name
of supervisor. The main purpose of the identification is purely practical, i.e. to be able to
unambiguously identify the report so that you will be able to retrieve it again at a later point
in time.
The title must be carefully worded to cover the contents of the report so that the reader will
know what it is about. In many cases, a short ‘smart’ title is combined with a longer, more
explanatory (and possibly ‘duller’) subtitle.
3.2 Table of contents
The table of contents provides the reader with an initial, more detailed impression of the
contents of the report. The table of contents must set out the headings and page numbers
of all the chapters, sections and subsections of the report.
The headings in the table of contents must be identical to the headings in the text, and if
chapters, sections and subsections in the text are numbered (which is strongly
recommended), these numbers must also be shown in the table of contents.
If the report is written by a group, it must be clearly stated who has written what. The
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Guidelines on bachelor thesis writing
BA in International Business Communication
names of authors may be stated next to the individual chapters in the table of contents, or a
short text may be included after the table of contents explaining who has written what. No
names should be stated for the introduction and the conclusion as these are considered to
be joint chapters.
3.3 Introduction
The introduction elaborates on the introductory parts of the report, i.e. it is used to explain
the title, table of contents etc.
The most important elements of the introduction are:

Problem formulation

Delimitation of topic

Presentation of choice of theory and method

Presentation of structure of report

Possible definition of central concepts
3.4 Structuring into sections
The overall structure of the report divides the text into chapters, sections and subsections,
with a heading being given to each of these. The headings must be carefully worded to
cover the contents of the individual sections, and the hierarchy of sections and subsections
must be clearly marked.
This is done by using the decimal number system in which the heading numbers indicate
how far down the hierarchy a text is.
4. Chapter
4.1 Section
4.1.1 Subsection
4.1.2 Subsection
4.2 Section
4.2.1 Subsection
4.2.2 Subsection
4.2.3 Subsection
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Guidelines on bachelor thesis writing
BA in International Business Communication
Normally three levels will be adequate. More than three levels may be confusing for the
reader.
3.5 Treatment of topic
The treatment of the topic comprises a presentation of theory and possibly empirical data,
an analysis and argumentation and possibly subconclusions. It is important that the analysis
and argumentation are documented by means of references to the sources used, see
Section 3.8.
3.6 Notes
Particularly detailed background information can be provided in notes. You must always
consider whether particular background information is sufficiently important to be included
in the text, or whether it is possible to follow the argumentation without such information.
Less important information can be stated in notes.
3.7 Conclusion/recommendations
The conclusion is the last separate part, and its function is to answer the question(s) set out
in the problem formulation.
It is important to emphasise that it is not always possible to answer the question(s) with a
clear YES or NO. In some cases it may even be necessary to conclude that it is impossible to
answer the question(s) on the basis of the information, analyses and discussions set out in
the report. However, a conclusion should always be attempted.
Normally, the conclusion contains a summary which concisely outlines the main content and
results of the text, but a separate summary may be a good idea if the text is very long
and/or complicated.
If the report is written as part of a decision-making process, for example in a private
business or public institution, the text often ends with a number of recommendations, i.e.
suggestions as to what can/must/should be done (or not) in the specific situation.
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Guidelines on bachelor thesis writing
BA in International Business Communication
3.8 References
In project reports and academic papers it is important to include references to the theories
and sources applied. It is also important that this is done correctly so that the reader is not
left in any doubt about what is referred to, and so that the reader can procure the material,
if so desired. Also, it is important that sources are quoted correctly – if you don’t, this
amounts to inexpedient handling of the selected sources.
References to sources should always be inserted in the report in the case of:

Verbatim quotations – ‘hidden’ quotations are tantamount to plagiarism and should
never be done

Extensive, indirect quotations – when a particular section is based on one or more
particular sources

Tables and figures

Reproduction of viewpoints

Documentation used in the form of figures and examples which are not commonly
known

Controversial information of any kind
There are several ways of referring to the material used, and the two primary ways of doing
so are presented below. It is up to you how you want to do your references, but it is
important that you are consistent.
Name-and-year method:
This method consists of references included in brackets in the text. In the brackets, you
state the surname(s) of the author(s), the year of publication of the text and the page
number(s):
“The claim has been made that ... (Bowan & Jarrett 1996:129)”
”However, Majaro (1993: 97) has documented that ...”
The information in the brackets refers to the bibliography at the back of the report.
If a text has three to five authors, all the authors are written in the brackets the first time,
but subsequently it is enough to state the name of the first author followed by et al. (and
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Guidelines on bachelor thesis writing
BA in International Business Communication
others). If there are more than five authors, et al. is stated also in the first reference.
“There are many ways of going about information searches, but one way of
describing the process is to liken it to, for example ‘berry picking’ where
(Kastberg et al. 2007: 96-101)”.
Footnotes:
You can also refer to your sources in footnotes. The system is simple: The first time a text is
quoted, the whole source (as in Section 3.10 Bibliography) is stated together with the
relevant page number(s). For example: Victor, D. (1992). International Business
Communication. HarperCollins Publishers. p. 63.
If the same text is quoted immediately afterwards, the reference is abbreviated to ‘ibid’. For
example: Ibid., p. 64.
If the same text is quoted again at a later stage, the reference consists of the author’s name
followed by ‘op.cit.’ and the relevant page number(s). For example: Victor, op.cit., p. 195.
3.9 Quotations, figures and tables
You can strengthen your argumentation by not just referring to other texts advocating a
particular viewpoint or containing particular information, but by quoting the texts directly.
Text is reproduced in the form of quotations. It is important that you credit the author when
quoting, i.e. that you clearly state where a particular quotation comes from. You must be
conscientious when quoting and make it clear that you are quoting. Quotation marks or
italics may be used to indicate that you are quoting, or longer quotations (as the one below)
may be written in a separate text box or written in a smaller font size:
Face has two aspects: one is negative face, which is a claim to personal space, privacy and the right not
to be distracted; another is positive face, which is a claim to be appreciated and to be approved of by
others ...
(Guirdham 1999: 140)
Quantitative documentation may be reproduced in the form of tables or figures such as
graphs, bar charts or pie charts. Remember to number tables and graphs so that you can
refer to the numbers in the text.
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Guidelines on bachelor thesis writing
BA in International Business Communication
It is important that the report clearly explains what is actually said in the documentation
which is reproduced in the form of graphs, charts or diagrams, so as to avoid
misinterpretation by the reader.
3.10 Bibliography
All reports must contain a list of the literature and other materials used in the writing of the
report. You should not simply include a long list of books written about the topic but which
have not been used to write the report.
The bibliography (books, articles, web references etc. in a list) should be organised
alphabetically, and the principle is to include sufficient information for the reader to be able
to procure the text. This means that references to various types of texts should look like the
examples below. The standard follows the APA - American Psychological Association’s
practice – and is inspired by Skov, A. (2007)3.
Monographies
Author. (year). Title: Subtitle (edition). Place of publication: Name of publishers. (Series
title; no.).
Note.
Example:
Adcock, D., Bradfield, R., Halborg, A. & Ross, C. (1993). Marketing: Principles and Practice.
London: Pitman Publishing.
Anthologies
Author (ed.). (year). Title: Subtitle (edition). Place of publication: Name of publishers.
(Series title; no.).
Note.
Editors are treated as authors when referring to the whole anthology - the abbreviation of
editor follows the language of the document in a standardised form.
Example:
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Referér korrekt!: Om udarbejdelse af bibliografiske referencer. Copenhagen: Danmarks Biblioteksskole.
Cited from (27.8.2007) http://vip.db.dk/tutorials/referencer/default.htm
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Guidelines on bachelor thesis writing
BA in International Business Communication
Bargiela-Chiappini, F. & Harris, S. (eds.) (1997). The Languages of Business: An International
Perspective. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Articles in anthologies
Author of article. (year). Title of article: Subtitle. In: Author or editor of monography, title of
monography (possibly edition, page number(s) of article). Place of publication: Name of
publishers.
Example:
Mulholland, J. (1997). The Asian Connection: Business Requests and Acknowledgements. In:
Bargiela-Chiappini, F. & Harris, S. (eds.), The Languages of Business: An International
Perspective (pp. 94-114). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Articles in journals
Author of article. (year). Title of article. Host publication, vol./year(no.), page number(s).
Examples:
Rawlinson, M. & Hassard, J. (1993). The Invention of Corporate Culture: A History of the
Histories of Cadbury. Human Relations, 46(3), pp. 299-326.
Marriott, H. (1993a). Spatial Arrangements in Australian-Japanese Business Communication.
Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 4(3), pp. 167-192.
Marriott, H. (1993b). Politeness Phenomena in Japanese Intercultural Business
Communication. Intercultural Communication Studies, 3(1), pp. 15-37.
Texts from the Internet
As texts on the Internet come and go, a paper copy of texts downloaded from the Internet
and which are of significance to the report must be enclosed with the report. These may be
texts which are analysed, or from which quotations are included. References to such texts –
and other texts downloaded from the Internet – are given as follows:
Origin. (year/latest update). Title (edition). Located [date of visit] on URL
Heilskov, T. & Grumstrup, K. (20.02.2008). Engagement er penge. Cited from (25.2.2008)
http://www.kommunikationsforum.dk/default.asp?articleid=13025
Skov, A. (2007). Referér korrekt!: Om udarbejdelse af bibliografiske referencer. Copenhagen:
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Guidelines on bachelor thesis writing
BA in International Business Communication
Danmarks Biblioteksskole. Cited from (27.8.2007)
http://vip.db.dk/tutorials/referencer/default.htm
Summary
For all the above types of references, if you are using more texts by the same author and
published in the same year, you add a, b, c etc. to the year of publication in the bibliography
and in your references.
For example Marriott, H. (1993a)
Marriott, H. (1993b)
At the ASB Library you have access to reference handling tools (Refworks, Endnote and
Reference Manager), which allow you to build your own database of literature and
automatically insert quotations and generate your bibliography. You have access to these
programs via the ASB Library website (under Guidance  Refworks, Endnote & Reference
Manager). The ASB Library also offers courses in how to use the tools. You can register for a
course at CourseEvent: http://okfweb1.asb.dk/kursusplan/ and read more at the ASB Library’s
Refworks blog http://refworksbloggen.weblogs.asb.dk/.
3.11 List of abbreviations
If your report contains special abbreviations with which the reader may not be familiar, they
must be explained in the text, both the first time they are used and in a special list at the
back of the report. You must not use home-made abbreviations for names, concepts etc.
3.12 Appendices
If you feel that it helps the reader to understand the report, some of the documentation
(such as analysed data or very long tables etc.) can be enclosed with the report in the form
of appendices.
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