Guidelines for the final Thesis
The thesis has to be a scientific work, based on the data obtained and analysis performed during the Practicum. It has to follow a paper format and the scientific content has to be robust. This might not suppose that it has to be a finished paper (probably most of the work you have done during the Practicum is just a part of an experiment or, in the best case scenario, might probably be work in process). However, the methodology of the research, the presentation of the results, the statistical analysis, Figures, tables and references must follow the best scientific standards. We strongly encourage you to write the thesis in English, but in case it is not, at least the title and the abstract should be written in the two languages.
As in any scientific manuscript, the thesis has to contain the following sections:
-Title page: containing the title of the thesis, the author and the supervisor
-Abstract: a short summary (~250 words) explaining the goal of the thesis, the methodology, main results and short conclusion. After the abstract it would be convenient to include 5 or 6 keywords
-Introduction: it has to contain the rationale to perform the study, including the background from previous studies and the current state of the art on the question. It should also contain the goal of the study and the hypothesis.
-Materials and methods: it should contain all the necessary information about participants, procedures, experimental design and statistical analysis.
-Results
-Discussion: it has to indicate the relevance and the interpretation of the results, relating them to previous findings. It is also important to indicate the limitations of the study and the future directions.
-References: The format of the references has to be consistent along the text. A good recommendation is to follow the well-known APA format, although other styles can be used.
-Tables
-Figures and Figure Legends
There is no recommended length for the thesis, as this might change a lot with the different experiments and works done. In general, other years most of the thesis have around 25 pages of text + references, but this will depend a lot on the characteristics of the research and the work done.
The research lines can be grouped as follows:
