Student Research Project Guide

The time for completing a student research project is three months from registration (see Study Regulations, Annex 1 Module Descriptions).

The processing time for the diploma thesis is five months from registration (see examination regulations).

If measurements or surveys are part of the thesis, the time of registration of the thesis is determined in consultation with the supervisor. As a rule, students are given a certain amount of time before to plan the surveys.

It is also possible to work on your own topics and ideas within a study or diploma thesis. For this purpose, an exposé (approx. one DIN A4 page) must be prepared and agreed upon with the potential supervisor.

Ideas or comments from students can also be taken into account for tasks that have already been set.

The length of the paper depends, among other things, on the respective assignment and the student's writing style. When writing the paper, the aim should be to write as concisely as possible and as detailed as necessary.

In principle, there is no format template for the seminar papers or diploma theses. For the cover page, the guidelines for the preparation of a student research project or diploma thesis contain a sample. If the logo of the TU Dresden is used (e.g. on the title page), the instructions of the Corporate Design Manual of the TU Dresden (ZIH login required) must be observed.

In principle, the paper should be written in a legible typeface. In addition to the text part, it should include:

• title page
• suppositions on the paper
• table of contents
• list of abbreviations
• list of figures and tables
• bibliography
• list of appendices

(see guidelines for the preparation of a student research project or diploma thesis). Further information on the formal layout can be found in the current version of DIN 5008. This can be accessed via the DBoD (Datenbankserver Sachsen) service after registration on the SLUB website. The current version of the Rules of German spelling and punctuation, which are referenced in the DIN 5008, must be observed. If the student research project or diploma thesis or individual text passages are written in another language, the respective regulations must be observed.

For Presentations the TU Dresden does provide format templates (ZIH login required).

The supervisor must be consulted regarding the format templates for the display board, which is to present the most important results of the thesis with meaningful illustrations.

A scientific paper can basically be divided into the following sections (these may also vary depending on the task):

• hypotheses
• basics (Introduction, objectives, procedure)
• literature analysis
• methodology
• results (including critical analysis of the chosen approach)
• summary (including assessment, achievement of objectives, need for further research)

At least the sections on literature analysis and results should have a separate conclusion.

In principle, scientific texts should be written in the 3rd person. The wording should be as neutral as possible ("There is a clear connection between ...") and not subjectively evaluative ("good", "bad"). Findings from the literature should be presented neutrally, whereby possible limitations in the significance (e.g. due to the methodology used or sample sizes) should be described. Results of own evaluations (differences, effects and correlations) should be described concisely and, if possible, justified or substantiated (if applicable, reference to the findings of the literature analysis). Own theses that cannot be substantiated should be marked as such.

Colloquial formulations are to be avoided. Technical terms should be used uniformly and consistently. Different terms should not be used for one and the same concept. For technical terms, the  FGSV definitions and other technical literature can be used as a guide.

In addition, the TU Dresden advocates equality-oriented text and image design. For example, when formulating documents and publications, the tips listed in the Guideline on gender-fair language and images should be applied so that the exclusion of other genders through the use of the generic masculine is avoided.

For further advice on writing academic texts, the offer of writing advice at the Writing Centre is recommended.

Hypotheses are assumptions that are to be examined in the research project. Therefore, they should be formulated at the beginning of the work or, if necessary, after the literature analysis. The content of the hypotheses is closely related to the topics of the paper and are evaluated with agreement or disagreement. The answers to the hypotheses should be found in the summary. Hypotheses are no longer than one sentence. One paper includes at least 3 and no more than 10 hypotheses. For more advice on how to formulate hypotheses please refer to the three-step approach of the Writing Centre of the TU Dresden.

The literature analysis is the basis of every scientific paper. It serves to delimit your topic and provides an overview of the methods used and the resulting findings.

When analysing a large number of sources, it is advisable to proceed in a structured manner. It makes sense to read the introduction and summary first and decide whether the source is relevant to your own work. If the relevance is given, the most important results should be documented and supplemented by further information from the main part (methodology used, sample size), which serves to classify the results.

The documentation of the literature analysis should be structured thematically. The results of sources that have investigated the same aspects should be summarised.

The summary of the literature analysis is of great importance. It should basically answer the following questions:

• What has already been researched?
• How was it examined?
• What are the conclusions for your own work?

For researching technical literature, we recommend the subject-specific databases of the SLUB. A technical database which also includes functions for tracking citations is the  „Web of Science Core Collection“.

For the research of technical rulebooks, the FGSV-Reader of the SLUB can be used. It is accessible after logging in on the SLUB page via the DBoB (Datenbankserver Sachsen).

Further online sources where research papers are published for free are:

• ELBA: Electronic Media of the Federal HIghway Research Institute
• German Insurers Accident Research (UDV)
• Fahrradportal

Additionally, at  FID move a Transport Research Record Licence can be used (registration required).

Independently of this, the supervisors can also be consulted about the research of suited sources. However, the responsibility of research lies with the students.

In principle, all information from other sources must be marked as such. If only individual items of information are taken over, it is sufficient to indicate the source. If the source is quoted verbatim, the quotation should be indicated by inverted commas and, if necessary, by italics. In the case of verbatim and analogous quotations, the source should be supplemented by the page number. For further information, the SLUB's free tutorials on citation are recommended.

The task at hand is briefly introduced, the most significant results and answers to the research questions are documented. Any new methods should be mentioned and remaining questions are gathered.

The summary should be no longer than two DIN A4 pages.

The abstract is a shorter version of the summary in just one paragraph (10 lines).

Generally, all images and tables from printed and digital publications (also from websites) can be incorporated into your work as a quotation as long as you cite your source. In order for it to count as a quotation according to copyright law, the content of the text needs to interact with the figures; the figures should not simply serve to illustrate the text. In terms of adapting cited images or tables, copyright gives strict limits or requires the consent of the original authors. It is necessary to be especially careful when citing maps, rulebooks, etc. where the providers' business model is based around licensing such contents. These providers often systemically check printed and digital publications for copyright infringements. If you want to quote rulebooks, you should check with your supervisor first. If you want to incorporate maps into your work, it is recommended to use OpenStreetMap. Provided you cite your source you can use and edit these without a licensing fee.

Your own images and tables are to be used without a citation.

All tables and images need to be labeled. Additionally, the text of your work needs to refer to the images and tables.

Images and tables which are directly interpreted should be incorporated into the written part. Evaluations which are only mentioned briefly and do not need much interpretation can be an exception.

Your appendices should include images, tables or other components (e.g. basic definitions, data bases, surveys, notes from conversations with others or measuring point documentations) which are mentioned in the text but merely support interpretations or elaborations.

The digital appendices should include the data basis, all data analyses, if applicable digital maps and plans as well as a digital version of the paper.

It is advisable to speak with your supervisor after each inportant milestone (e.g. knock-off, after literature analysis, after the development of the methodology, after measuring, when you have first results, before the disputation). Additionally, it is recommended to have a final consultation for the evaluation of the paper/thesis. It is the sudents' responsibility to make the appointments for consultations.

Consultation appointments can be made at each appointment for the next one or can be based on a schedule of milestones defined in the beginning. According to the guideline on writing papers/theses, a minimum of three consultations is recommended.

Students should prepare for the consultations. This mainly means collecting and documenting open questions (if applicable with suggestions for answers) as well as a plan for the next steps. For the consultation before the disputation, you should have a first version of your presentation. 

Two copies of the study or diploma thesis as well as a digital version must be submitted to the institute (see task).

Generally, you should bear in mind that a presentation is a support of what you say. Therefore, you should choose a short and clear structure (e.g. introduction, methodology, results, summary). A second level of structure should be avoided. Slides should show as many images and as little text as possible (excluding slides on basic principles and conclusion). Images need to be good to see.

All images and tables that are not your own need to have citations. This also applies to quotes or information from the literature.

The disputation lasts about 55-60 minutes. The presentation of your results will last about 20-25 minutes. The Kolloquium will last about 30 minutes.

For the layout of your presentation, you can use the TU Dresden templates (sign-in to ZIH necessary).

Basically, the fulfillment of the task is evaluated on the basis of the specified work steps. These are subdivided into the following aspects and evaluated on a percentage basis according to the degree of fulfillment. The following criteria are taken into account for the aspects:

• Basics (introduction, objective, procedure) and structure: 

  clarification of the initial situation as well as the added value of the research, comprehensible delimitation, conclusiveness of the structure

• Literature research: content-related delimitation and completeness, literature references and citations, conclusion incl. implications for the own research

• Methodology: comprehensibility of the procedure, discussion of the chosen methodology, effort in data collection and/or preparation, way of working - independence, preparation of consultations

• Results: conclusiveness of the interpretations, contribution of the selected presentations/evaluations to the understanding, classification of the results against the background of the literature analysis, answering the research questions, deriving recommendations, critical handling of the results as well as the selected methodology, outlook on alternatives with regard to the data basis as well as the selected methodology

Regarding the language and layout, it should be noted that gross deficiencies will negatively impact the content evaluation. The following aspects are taken into account:

• Linguistic expression (comprehensibility, terminology, repetitions)

• Spelling and grammar

• Figures and tables (quality, size, labels)

• References to figures and tables in the text

• Overall layout

The evaluation of the disputation includes both the presentation of the results and the answering of the questions within the colloquium. The presentation of the results is primarily evaluated with regard to formal aspects. These are language, appearance, comprehensibility, presentations on the slides as well as the adherence to the speaking time limit. The subsequent colloquium will be evaluated according to content aspects: Can the questions be answered? How are the questions answered? Can facts be explained in a comprehensible way? Questions that are obviously outside the scope of the assignment or that cannot be answered with comprehensible justification do not result in a negative evaluation. The evaluation of the presentation and the colloquium receive a joint grade.

The overall grade is made up of the evaluation of the written work with double weight and the evaluation of the disputation with single weight (for more detailed information, please refer to the examination regulations and study regulations).