Department of Psychology

Below you will find a brief overview of the key formal requirements for the respective degree programmes. For a comprehensive overview of the formal requirements for final-year projects, please read through the entire website.

The focus of a thesis in psychology is typically the planning and conduct of an empirical study. In some cases, other formats may also be chosen (e.g., qualitative studies, etc.). This must be discussed with the advisor on a case-by-case basis. In accordance with the academic requirements for a thesis in psychology, the following factors are particularly important for the evaluation of the thesis

• mastering and analyzing the material (thorough research, logical organization),
• the theoretical foundation of the work (presentation of the relevant theoretical background),
• the conception of the research design and instruments,
• the conduct of the survey,
• the analysis and interpretation of the data (formally correct presentation of the results),
• and the appropriateness of the linguistic presentation (correct citation of sources, clear thread of thought) relevant.

To write an academic paper in psychology, you should apply the various skills you acquire during your psychology studies:

Methodological knowledge

Fundamental—especially for empirical research—is the ability to formulate meaningful, testable hypotheses and to design experiments and studies in order to address your research question in an appropriate scientific manner. To handle collected data properly, a solid understanding of statistics is essential, and you should also be familiar with using statistical software (typically R or SPSS). It is best to discuss with your advisor, on a case-by-case basis and depending on the topic of your thesis, exactly what specific knowledge is required for your thesis in this context. You are generally expected to work independently, which also means that you are responsible for acquiring any knowledge you may lack on your own. The Methods Advisory Service also offers support with statistical methods not covered in the curriculum, as well as with specific problems such as severe violations of assumptions or similar issues.

Literacy skills

Literacy skills are equally essential for writing a thesis. These include, on the one hand, working with texts in an academic context (research, understanding key points, evaluating, citing, and incorporating them into one’s own work) and, on the other hand, producing one’s own text (planning and structuring, time management, academic writing style, and formally correct presentation in accordance with manuscript formatting guidelines - typically APA style). Since a large portion of the relevant literature is in English, it is essential that you be willing and able to read original English-language literature and incorporate it into your work. You can find support for your literacy skills through SKILLS here and at the Writing Lab here.

Formal requirements

The various psychology degree programs differ in terms of the formal requirements for their theses. Please read the information below carefully regarding your degree program and the specific requirements for your major.

Bachelor’s program

To register your bachelor’s thesis, you must have completed the following modules in accordance with the subject-specific regulations dated 16 November 2020, as amended on 1 October 2021 and 15 September 2023: 27-GM-EuF, 27-GM-Stat, 27-FoPrak, and at least three of the foundational modules (27-GF-Allg1, 27-GF-Soz, 27-GF-Allg2, 27-GF-Bio, 27-GF-Entw, 27-GF-Diff)..

A total of 300 hours (10 ECTS) is allocated for the completion of the bachelor’s thesis. The project duration is 3 months. Regular participation in a colloquium accompanying the respective course unit is mandatory. In this colloquium, you will present your thesis and discuss it with other students and faculty members. It is recommended that you present your thesis both before beginning data collection and during the data analysis phase, so that you can benefit from the feedback and suggestions of other colloquium participants throughout the various stages of your research process. Submission of an ungraded exam is mandatory.

Master’s programs:

In the M.Sc. in Applied Psychology: Diagnostics, Counseling, and Training (FsB dated April 1, 2022, with an amendment dated March 21, 2023, and a correction dated May 16, 2023), you will also attend two colloquia, for each of which you must complete a course work. There are no prerequisites for writing the master’s thesis. The time allotted for the thesis is 10 months..

In the M.Sc. in Psychology - Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience  (Study Program Description dated April 1, 2022, as amended on March 21, 2023), you are required to attend a colloquium in which you must complete an academic assignment. There are no prerequisites for writing the master’s thesis. The time allotted for the thesis is 10 months. In this program, the thesis topic must fall within the program’s range of topics. For this reason, only members of the department with expertise in these areas are approved as thesis advisors. A list of thesis advisors can be found on the Examination Office’s website.

In the M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (Study Program Description dated April 1, 2022), attendance at a colloquium is not required. There are no prerequisites for writing the master’s thesis. The duration of the thesis is 10 months.

All master’s theses in the are worth 30 ECTS (900 hours) and are weighted accordingly in the final grade.

The following applies to all degree programs: Check with your advisor to determine whether and to what extent you are permitted to use AI (e.g., ChatGPT), and select the appropriate declaration of independent work accordingly.

(Accompanying) colloquium:

While working on your thesis, you will attend a colloquium (with the exception of the Master’s program in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy). As a rule, you will attend the colloquium of the academic unit (AE) in which you are writing your thesis. However, this is not mandatory; it is possible to attend the colloquium of another AE. The colloquium serves to clarify general questions, to present and discuss the synopsis that each student prepares at the beginning of the thesis, and, if applicable, to present and discuss (partial) results of the theses. In addition, the course serves to examine current research questions and findings and their relevance, as well as to engage in a critical and constructive discussion of one’s own thesis.

You can find the requirements for the colloquium in the corresponding module handbook for your degree program.

Registration:

You must register your thesis with the Examinations Office. To do so, download the forms from the Examinations Office website and submit them to the Examinations Office after they have been signed by your advisor. Please note that the topic may not be changed after registration. The title may be adjusted if necessary. In this case, please notify the Examinations Office. The completion period for your thesis begins on the date of registration, in accordance with your degree program. If you do not submit your thesis by the specified deadline, the course will be considered failed. In this case, you must repeat the thesis.

If, in exceptional cases, you wish to seek external supervision, please contact the Examinations Office well in advance of registering your thesis to discuss the procedures for the necessary application. Please note that the Department of Psychology has no influence whatsoever over external advisors—external supervision is undertaken “at the student’s own risk” with regard to the quality of supervision and adherence to deadlines. An external advisor may only serve as the second reviewer. The primary reviewer must be a member of the department of Psychology.

According to the standard study plans, the thesis is scheduled for the last two semesters of all degree programs. Keep an eye on the time required to complete the thesis and your own resources, and start looking for a topic early.

It generally makes sense to choose a topic for your thesis that interests you and that you expect will keep you motivated to work on it intensively over several months. It is certainly helpful if you have already encountered a topic that interests you in seminars or in your project seminar. You may be able to adapt a similar experimental setup from your previous experimental study and simply need to generate new data.

You can find the thesis topics currently available in the individual departments (accessible only from the university network or via VPN) here:

•    Thesis Topic Portal

Note: The topic portal is updated annually, usually around July 15. Experience has shown that highly “sought-after” topics—such as those in the field of clinical psychology—are assigned quite quickly; therefore, if you have a specific interest, it may be worthwhile to take the initiative and contact faculty members whose research aligns with your area of interest.

If you are interested in working on a topic you have developed independently, you should contact potential advisors early on to clarify whether supervision of your thesis can be guaranteed. Also keep in mind that you will need a second reviewer. Be sure to ask your advisor about this in a timely manner.

If appropriate, and after consulting with your advisor, it may make sense to tackle a very extensive research question together with another student. In this case, the scope of the thesis increases accordingly, and it is particularly important that you clearly identify each student’s individual contributions so that they can be evaluated separately.

With the exception of theses in the M.Sc. Psychology program with a focus on Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, you are not limited to specific topics. You are free to choose any topic within the field of psychology.

When “applying” for a thesis topic, access to your transcript or grades is not permitted.

The process of writing a thesis is generally divided into the following phases, although these are not usually completed in a strictly sequential order:

1. Literature review and formulation of a specific research question

2. Analysis of the literature and development of the theoretical framework

3. Formulation of hypotheses

4. Conceptual planning of the study

5. Practical preparation and conduct of the study / data collection

6. Analysis of the data

7. Writing the thesis

In particular, parts of the writing process can be completed in parallel with other steps, and additional literature research is usually necessary as the project progresses. An exposé should be written between phases 1 and 2.

You can find helpful resources on the writing process in the bibliography below.

In some coursework, writing an exposé is mandatory, while in others it is not—it is therefore recommended that you discuss this with your advisor. The exposé provides an outline of your future work and serves as a basis for planning, but also helps to clarify and, not least, fine-tune your research project in consultation with your advisor.

Prepare the research proposal before you begin data collection and seek feedback from your advisor—this will help you think through the theoretical background and the design of your study and analysis, and plan your data collection accordingly so that you don’t face any “rude awakenings” later on. In addition, having clearly formulated hypotheses makes it easier to begin analyzing the data.

Incidentally, the hypotheses in your research proposal are just a draft and may differ from the final thesis later on. The research proposal thus serves as the bridge between familiarizing yourself with the topic and conducting the study. It is not graded, but it can serve as a foundation and starting point for your data analysis and the writing of your thesis.

The exposé should concisely (500–1,000 words, plus references) outline the key aspects of your planned thesis. In terms of structure, you may base it on the eventual structure of the thesis. It should include the following sections:

• Precise research question of the thesis
• Theory on which the thesis is based, state of the art
• Hypothesis(es)
• Study design
• Measures to be collected
• Planned sample
• Planned analysis strategies
• Scientific and practical relevance of the study
• Timeline

A more detailed guide to writing a research proposal can be found here. To access the document, you must activate the VPN client.

You also have the option of documenting your study plans in a pre-registration form in consultation with your advisor. In pre-registration, the key elements of the planned study (hypotheses, sample size, variables, analyses, and exclusion criteria) are entered into an online form before data collection begins. This generates a time-stamped document that can serve as proof that the procedure was already established prior to data collection and analysis.

Journals are increasingly requiring the submission of such a document. Pre-registration also helps (much like an abstract) to clarify research questions and identify potential problems with data analysis and sample size early on. Above all, however, it increases the transparency and credibility of research—the Association for Psychological Science provides further information on this topic.

There are various platforms that offer pre-registration options. Data security is important in this context (by default, research plans are not published, but you can choose to make them public); for example, this platform is recommended: https://aspredicted.org/.

Regular meetings in which you discuss specific steps with your advisor are helpful and can help prevent misunderstandings. It’s best to clarify at the beginning of the advising relationship when such meetings should take place. You should also discuss what kind of support you can expect for specific problems and whether your advisor will proofread parts of or the entire thesis before submission.

Clarify with your advisor early on whether and to what extent you are permitted to use AI when writing your thesis (e.g., Are only certain tools allowed? Can AI tools only be used for specific purposes?). In accordance with the agreements, include the appropriate declaration of originality at the end of your thesis. You can find information on this topic and the declarations of originality on the homepage for ChatGPT and other AI writing tools.

In some courses, advisors offer a supervision agreement that outlines important formal arrangements. In general, you should prepare for and follow up on each meeting, for example:

• Clarify the agenda for the meeting in advance.
• If necessary, send prepared materials in advance (e.g., a draft questionnaire or similar).
• If you encounter difficulties, try to find a solution on your own first before asking your advisor for advice.
• Take notes during the meeting.
• Summarize the results of the meeting concisely in minutes, which you’ll send to your advisor.

This way, you’ll not only get the most out of these meetings, but you’ll also show your advisor that you work independently and take responsibility.

The thesis itself should be structured similarly to a scholarly journal article. It should generally include the following sections:

• Title page / Cover page
• Acknowledgments (if applicable; at your discretion)
• Preface (if applicable; at your discretion)
• Table of Contents
• Abstract
• Theoretical Section
• Research Question and Hypothesis(es)
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• Bibliography
• Appendix (if applicable)
• Declaration of Independent Work (in accordance with the agreements regarding AI use)

You can find sample questions to help you navigate each section under the heading: Questions / Checklists for Guidance.

As a general rule, the thesis should be as concise as possible and contain only the content directly related to the research question. The required word count may vary by degree program. Deviations from the word count may result in a lower grade. Please read the information below carefully regarding your degree program or subject-specific requirements.

Bachelor’s Degree Program:

Bachelor’s theses, in accordance with the subject-specific regulations dated November 16, 2020, as amended on October 1, 2021, and September 15, 2023, should be 8,000 words in length—excluding the title page, abstract, table of contents, list of figures, list of tables, bibliography, tables, figures, appendix, and declaration of originality.

Master’s Programs:

Master’s theses for the three Master’s programs (M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, M.Sc. in Applied Psychology: Diagnostics, Counseling, and Training; M.Sc. in Psychology with a focus on Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience) must be approximately 10,000 words in length—excluding the title page, abstract, table of contents, list of figures, list of tables, bibliography, tables, figures, appendix, and declaration of originality.

In addition to maintaining a consistent thematic thread throughout the content, you should also ensure compliance with formal formatting guidelines. In psychology, these are generally the guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA, 6th ed.), particularly with regard to in-text citations, the reference list, tables, and figures. In other areas (such as line spacing or text alignment), deviations from the guidelines may be possible or even desirable; if in doubt, please discuss this with your advisor.

You are generally expected to write your thesis using a word processing program (e.g., Word), in which you should set the following formatting options:

• Top, left, and right margins = 2.5 cm; bottom margin = 2 cm (default setting in Word)
• Left-aligned text
• Hyphenation enabled
• Line spacing of 1.5 lines
• One blank line after each paragraph
• An easily readable font in 12pt (if necessary, ask your advisor’s preference)
• Page numbers on all pages except the title page; all pages up to and including the abstract are numbered with Roman numerals, and all subsequent pages with Arabic numerals

An absolutely fundamental requirement that applies to all academic work is that every statement must be supported by evidence. This can be done through your own (reasoned) arguments or, preferably, through the findings or statements of other authors. Anything you quote verbatim (including translations) or paraphrase from other sources must be clearly identified as such by citing the corresponding source. This is typically done using a so-called “short citation” (author, year of publication) in the body of the text, which in turn can be linked to a complete reference in the bibliography. Note: You should only cite or list as a source literature that you have actually read yourself.

You can find a more detailed guide on the (formal) structure of a bachelor’s thesis here. To access the document, you must activate the VPN client.

You can also find helpful resources on the structure and guidelines for formatting your academic thesis in the bibliography below.

Don’t forget to back up your texts and data regularly (multiple times). For the data, it is recommended that you set the raw data file to read-only—this ensures that you can always start from the original data if necessary (it allows you to perform calculations from the beginning, thereby avoiding, for example, multiple recoding). All analyses should be documented and annotated in syntax files (or scripts for R data) so that all analysis steps are traceable (and replicable) at any time. All documents related to data analysis must generally be retained and submitted upon request by your advisor (it is not necessary to submit data storage media to the examination office)—so when preparing the syntax file or script, you should ensure that your advisor can easily navigate it and understand your approach to the analysis.

When planning your schedule in relation to the submission deadline, please keep in mind that individual steps often take longer than originally anticipated. Also keep in mind that you have only limited control over certain processes (e.g., approval processes within companies), and make sure to find out well in advance about the office hours and vacation schedules of your advisor, your second reviewer, and the examination office. Discuss with your advisor which parts of the thesis can be submitted for review before you formally submit it. This draft should already meet all formal and content requirements. Allow for the time your advisor will need to read it, as well as the time you yourself will need to implement any corrections—and, if possible, also plan for a small additional time buffer for each step to account for illness or other unforeseen events.

Note for Bachelor’s students: Until the grade appears on your transcript, you should allow for a 6-week grading period plus 2–3 days for processing by the examination office. If you want the thesis grade to be included in your GPA for your Master’s application, you should submit the thesis by mid-May at the latest (most application deadlines are July 15). Otherwise, only the completed modules with module grades that have been recorded by the time of application will count toward the application and your individual GPA; in other words, the grade for the bachelor’s thesis will not be included in the GPA. For those of you enrolled in the Psychotherapy track (FsB 16.11.2020 with amendments dated 01.10.2021 and 15.09.2023), please note that in order to complete the module (and thus have it included in the final grade), the colloquium (an ungraded examination) must also have been recorded by that time.

Notes for Master’s students: Until the grade appears on your transcript, you should allow for 6 weeks for grading plus 2–3 days for processing by the Office of Academic Examinations. This is particularly important for graduates of the Master’s program in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, as a deadline for submitting the transcript must be met in order to register for the licensing exam. Please be sure to plan your time carefully.

Helpful resources on time management and self-management related to the writing process can be found in the bibliography below.

The thesis must be submitted to the examinations office by the specified deadline at the latest following registration. Submissions are currently accepted exclusively in digital form (as an email attachment to the examinations office email address). Examiners generally receive a PDF file of the written thesis (only upon request directly to the examiner; not mandatory), the dataset, and the analysis files in electronic form.

Issues regarding the submission of the thesis: Upon a justified request (e.g., illness with a doctor’s note, difficulties with data collection and analysis, technical problems—proof must be submitted to the examination office in each case), the Examination Committee may, on a case-by-case basis, extend the time allowed for completing the thesis by up to twice the original period. In such a case, contact the examination office immediately to find out about your options and the exact procedure.

If the submission deadline is not met, the thesis will be considered a failure. A corresponding note will be entered on your transcript. The thesis may be retaken. This also applies to theses that have already been passed (to improve the grade). The thesis must be registered with a new topic/title. Please consult the examination office for guidance on retaking the thesis.

• Methodological Counseling
  • For statistical questions and problems
• Academic Advising
  • Information on studying psychology at Bielefeld University
• SKLLS / PunktUm / Writing Lab
  • Workshops
  • Writing Days
  • Study Buddy Exchange and group activities
• Services offered by the University Library
  • Interdisciplinary training sessions on literature research and management
  • Services specifically for psychology students

Methods / Experimental Design

• Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for generalized causal inference. Boston, MA, US: Houghton Mifflin.
• Reiß, S. & Sarris, V. (2012). Experimentelle Psychologie: Von der Theorie zur Praxis (2. Aufl.). München: Pearson.

Theses

• Peters, J. H., & Dörfler, T. (2014). Abschlussarbeiten in der Psychologie und den Sozialwissenschaften: Planen, Durchführen und Auswerten. Hallbergmoos: Pearson.
• Spaeth-Hilbert, T., & Imhof, M. (2013). Bachelorarbeit in Psychologie. München: Reinhardt.
• Sonnentag, S. (2006). Abschlussarbeiten und Dissertationen in der angewandten psychologischen Forschung. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
• Shon, P. C. (2015). How to read journal articles in the social sciences: A very practical guide for students (2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications.

Formal Design

• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychologie (Hrsg.) (2007). Richtlinien zur Manuskriptgestaltung (3. Aufl.). Göttingen: Hogrefe.
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.
• Peters, J. H., & Dörfler, T. (2015). Abschlussarbeiten in der Psychologie und den Sozialwissenschaften: Schreiben und Gestalten. Hallbergmoos: Pearson.
• Bem, D. J. (2004). Writing the empirical journal article. In J. M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, H. I. Roediger, J. M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, H. I. Roediger (Eds.), The compleat academic: A career guide (2nd ed.) (pp. 185-219). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.

When providing support, you should consider the following questions:

• Coordination with the mentor
  • Support agreement?
  • How much time and how many meetings are realistic?
  • Supervisor’s preference regarding questions and problems
  • Is the use of AI permitted? If so, to what extent?
• Preparing for meetings
  • Create an agenda (topics and time required) and send it if necessary
  • Discuss any questions that arise with fellow students first, if possible, and suggest potential solutions
  • Bring articles, text passages, or data related to any points of confusion
• During the meetings
  • Take notes directly related to the questions
  • Ask for clarification if answers to questions are unclear
  • Ask for clarification if advice is unclear: is it a suggestion or a mandatory expectation?

When writing the individual sections of your thesis, you can use the following sample questions as a guide:

Theoretical introduction (Theory, Research Question):

• What research question is being addressed? What problem is to be solved?
• What causes the problem?
• What is the current state of the literature?
• Are the relevant theoretical approaches presented clearly?
• Has the relevant literature been cited?
• Have the hypotheses been rigorously and correctly derived from the theoretical considerations? Are they explicitly stated?

Methodology section:

• Does the text include all important information about the sample (gender, age, education, etc.), the experimental procedure, the design, and the materials (operationalization of variables)?
• Is it clear what the specific operationalization of the theoretical constructs entails?
• Is the methodology presented as a continuous text (rather than a list of bullet points)?
• Would even a reader unfamiliar with the topic (i.e., someone other than the advisor) understand what was done, and could an expert replicate the study?

Results section:

• Was the manipulation check reported (for experiments)?
• Are the descriptive statistics reported?
• Was the procedure for hypothesis testing described transparently (i.e., could a third party replicate the results using the same dataset)?
• Do the tests conducted correspond to the hypotheses formulated?
• Is a correlation table including all study variables included?
• Are all statistical values presented correctly (either in the running text or in tables)?
• Was the significance of the results for the hypothesis stated in a single sentence in each case?
• Were tables referenced in the text by specifying their numbers?

Discussion:

• Are the main results summarized again at the beginning?
• Is the significance of the results for the hypothesis(es) restated?
• Are reasoned speculations regarding (absent) effects discussed?
• How clearly is the relationship between the thesis’s results and those of other studies explained (where are the differences, where are the similarities, and why)?
• Are implications for follow-up studies and, if applicable, practical applications mentioned?
• Are potential limitations of the study addressed and discussed?
• Has the main message of the thesis been stated (possibly in a conclusion)?

Bibliography:

• Is all cited literature listed here?
• Is only the cited literature listed?
• Is the bibliography formatted according to DGPS or APA guidelines?

Keep the following formal requirements in mind:

• Has the entire paper been proofread? (Preferably not just by you!)
• Are all references listed in the bibliography, and have all entries in the bibliography been cited?
• Is line spacing, page margins, font, and font size in accordance with the guidelines?
• Cover page, lists, and declaration
• Is the title exactly the same as on the registration form?
• Do the headings guide the reader logically through the text? Are all headings listed in the table of contents?
• Has the declaration of originality been included in accordance with the agreements regarding the use of AI?