Psychology : Thesis Assessment

Thesis Structure

The research thesis must be between 6,000 and 7,000 words in length and must be written according to APA Manual [1] format in the form of a submission ready journal article.

All words from beginning of the Introduction to the end of the Discussion (including in-text citations, and the text involved in tables and figures), but excluding the Abstract, reference list and appendices, are counted in the word length.

Candidates are required to indicate the word length of the thesis (excluding the abstract, reference list and appendices) on the front page of the thesis following the academic declaration.

Note that your marker is not required to read your appendices. They should provide only optional information that is not essential to the presentation of your project, e.g., illustrative examples of questionnaires and other relevant ma terial, such as an edited version of data analysis printouts (e.g., relevant SPSS output; note: guidance regarding the editing of SSPS printouts is to be sought from your supervisor). Raw data should not be included in your Appendix.

The reference list should contain only those sources cited in the thesis.

Components of the Thesis

- Title page

- Title

- Your name, student number, program

- University

- Year

- Declaration, with date of submission: The declaration should state that this thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for your degree, and is your own work except where otherwise specified.

- Word length of thesis (excluding Abstract, references and appendices)

- Signature

- Acknowledgements page (optional)

- Abstract (beginning on a new page)

- Table of contents (optional)

- Introduction (beginning on a new page and headed with the title of the thesis)

- Method: (sections as relevant) Participants, Design,

Materials/Apparatus/Instruments (as appropriate), Procedure,

Analytical Design

- Results

- Discussion

- Reference List (beginning on a new page)

- Appendices

The thesis should be accompanied by a completed Students Report form. The subject convenor will inform you of how to submit this form.

Submission and feedback on thesis drafts

Feedback on the students literature review and draft thesis material is provided by supervisor(s). To ensure an equitable experience for all students so that no student will be advantaged or disadvantaged in the case of cosupervision, all students are entitled to receive written feedback on:

the literature review, and

one draft of the final thesis (i.e., Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion sections).

For example, if a student has two supervisors, then one supervisor may provide written feedback on one draft of the Abstract, Introduction, and Method sections, and the other supervisor may provide written feedback on one draft of the Results and Discussion sections. Alternatively, supervisor(s) may share providing written feedback in some other way. Thus, each thesis section is only provided with written feedback once, but the supervisors may negotiate amongst themselves who will provide written feedback on which sections. However, the supervisor(s) and student may verbally discuss the theoretical basis of the study, the logical progression of the students argument, the formulation of hypotheses, the presentation of the method and results, and interpretation of results and discussion throughout the year.

Thesis Examination

The Thesis mark is determined by at least two examiners, neither of whom is the supervisor or a member of the supervisory team. The two examiners mark independently of each other. If there is a discrepancy between the two marks, the two examiners will confer with each other and agree upon a final mark. If the two examiners cannot agree on a final mark, a third examiner will act as arbiter. Following review of the thesis and the other examiners reports, the arbiter will determine the final mark.

The thesis examiners will be provided with a copy of the thesis, a copy of the Students Report form, and a copy of the Supervisors Report form. Marking criteria will require examiners to take into account information provided in the students and supervisors reports regarding variations in type of project, student input, supervisor support, etc.

An external thesis moderator will also be consulted to provide a report on the theses and the marking of the theses.

[1] American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style (7th ed.). American Psychological Association