Guideline for academic research and writing

Transcription

1 TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT BERGAKADEMIE FREIBERG Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften Lehrstuhl für Allgemeine Volkswirtschaftslehre, insbesondere Rohstoffökonomik Prof. Dr. Dirk Rübbelke Guideline for academic research and writing

2 Content 1. Information on academic writing Formatting Literature research and references Structure of scientific papers Information on academic writing The objective of academic writing in general is to handle a certain subject independently and critically with the assistance of scientific literature. This guideline shall function as orientation for term papers or theses which are written at the chair Allgemeine Volkswirtschaftslehre, insbesondere Rohstoffökonomik. The content of your work has to be understandable for readers who are not familiar with the literature used in your paper. Therefore try to use clear and concise linguistic expressions. Avoid using nested sentences as far as possible and make sure not to lose your thread. Furthermore, it is essential to mark references to the literature within your text and cite them correctly in your references list. These requirements also have to be met within presentations! Every submitted paper will be tested for plagiarism. In case of a positive result your work will be graded insufficient ( ungenügend ). The volume of term papers, if not stated otherwise in the assignment, should be 10 to 12 pages (Proseminar, bachelor level) or 14 to 16 pages (Seminar, master level), respectively. This specification includes only the text passage (with figures, tables, charts, etc.), but not the cover sheet, registers and appendices. For bachelor theses 30 to 40 pages are demanded, for master theses 50 to 60 pages. Term papers have to be submitted at the chair printed and stapled on the one hand, and electronically via or CD on the other hand. All further regulations regarding academic papers (processing time, number of required copies, etc.) you will find in your examination regulation. 2

3 2. Formatting Please take notice of the following formal formatting specifications: - Use white paper in accordance with DIN A4 - Page numbering: o Starting from the text passage with 1 ; this numbering continues until the end of the paper (including references and appendices) o Registers in front of the text passage are numbered in roman numerals o The cover sheet does not show a numbering, but is counted as first page (the following page begins with II ) - Font: preferably Times New Roman - Font size: 12, Footnotes in size 10 (if Times New Roman is used) - Line spacing: 1,5-times (single spaced for footnotes) - Inner margin: 4 cm - Outer margin: 2,5 cm - Margin at the top: 2,5 cm - Margin at the bottom: 2 cm 3. Literature research and references In order to comply with scientific standards, the literature used in the paper should not only contain monographs, collected volumes, working papers and, if necessary, internet resources, but also articles from scientific journals. It is useful to search for relevant key terms in Google Scholar ( You will be provided with a general overview of your topic, in addition to certain useful information about specific articles (for example: How many times has this paper already been cited?). One can access articles with TUBAF internal computers if the required license for the article is available at the university library. Scientific databases, like Ideas ( may offer a proficient starting point for further research. In general, you should try to start with the most recent literature and look for further helpful documents within the reference lists of your sources. By doing so, you will be working chronologically backwards and will be able to reprocess your topic step by step. While managing your sources, you should establish a system according to your own personal preferences, which should ensure a fast and proficient retrieval of the material already read. Literature databases like JabRef (freeware) or Citavi are suitable for this purpose. As a student of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg you can obtain a free license for Citavi at the university 3

4 library. In addition, the library offers periodic instruction courses, in which you will learn how to use this software. Citations should be quoted according to the Harvard Style. Quotations are marked directly in your text with the following information: Author (Surname), year and page number. Indirect citations begin with cf.. If there are more than three authors for one publication, please use only the name of the lead author, supplemented by et al.. Several documents written by the same author in the same year are differentiated by adding lower case letters (2011a, 2011b etc.) Example: Aufgrund der Gesetze der Thermodynamik wäre es theoretisch möglich, geschlossene Stoffkreisläufe herzustellen und eine Recyclingquote von 100% zu erreichen (cf. Perman et al. 2011, p. 23). Try to use indirect citations whenever possible and avoid simply copying your sources. For a critical reflection of a topic it is crucial to use several sources with different points of view (if possible) and generate own thoughts and ideas. Charts, diagrams, spreadsheets, etc. have to be numbered continuously and provided with a caption, including a source citation. All references used in this way in your text are sorted alphabetically in the list of references. The following examples show the most common types of references: Monograph: Perman, Roger; Ma, Yue; Common, Michael; Maddison, David; McGilvray, James (2011): Natural Resource and Environmental Economics, 4 th ed., Pearson, Harlow. Contribution in a collected volume: Pickering, Jonathan; Rübbelke, Dirk (2014): International Cooperation on Adaptation to Climate Change; in: Routledge Handbook of the Economics of Climate Change Adaptation, Markandya, A.; Galarraga, I.; Sainz de Murieta, E. (eds.), Routledge, London and New York, p

5 Journal article: Pittel, Karen; Amigues, Jean-Pierre; Kuhn, Thomas (2010): Recycling under a material balance constraint, Resource and Energy Economics, Vol. 32, p Working Paper: Flues, Florens; Rübbelke, Dirk; Vögele, Stefan (2013): Energy Efficiency and Industrial Output: The Case of the Iron and Steel Industry, ZEW Discussion Paper No , Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, Mannheim. Internet source: Graedel, T. E. (2011): Recycling Rates of Metals A Status Report, United Nations Environment Programme; URL: Metals_Recycling_Rates_ pdf, accessed on 03 rd July Structure of scientific papers Scientific papers are structured as follows: - Coversheet - Table of contents - List of figures, list of tables, list of abbreviations and list of symbols (if required) - Text part - Appendix (if required) - List of references - Statutory declaration (for theses) The cover sheet of term papers must contain the following information: - Topic - Type of the paper - Title and semester of the course - Faculty and chair - Author s name, course of study, number of semesters, matriculation number and address - Date 5

6 For final theses there is a template for the cover sheet which should be filled in along with your supervisor. The list of contents represents the structure of your paper and indicates the page numbers. Arabic numerals should be used for the numbering. Please note that every structure level has to have at least two itemization points. (For example: If there is 3.1.1, there has to follow 3.1.2) The text part is divided into introduction, main part and conclusion (each part supported by significant headlines). The introduction includes a definition of the topic, the objective of the paper or the question you are trying to solve, a short information on the methods used and an explanation of the structure of the paper. The introduction should be at most 10 % of the overall volume. The main part covers the detailed argumentation where you make use of your references. Here, you should also develop own thoughts and ideas in order to provide answers to the research question of your paper. In accordance with the research questions asked in the introduction, the conclusion summarizes the results of the paper. You should also provide an outlook for further research in this context. The conclusion should also be at most 10 % of your overall volume. Final theses have to contain a statutory declaration, which is to be integrated as the last page. It has to provide the following features: Location, Date and signature. It is recommended to use the following wording: Hiermit versichere ich (versichern wir), dass ich (wir) die vorliegende Arbeit ohne unzulässige Hilfe Dritter und ohne Benutzung anderer als der angegebenen Hilfsmittel angefertigt habe(n); die aus fremden Quellen direkt oder indirekt übernommenen Gedanken sind als solche kenntlich gemacht. Die Arbeit hat in dieser oder ähnlicher Form noch keiner anderen Prüfungsbehörde vorgelegen. Hereby, I (we) formally declare that I (we) have developed and written the enclosed thesis without illegitimate help of a third party and that no other than the indicated aids have been used for its completion; all thoughts from other sources that have been used literally or indirectly are marked as such. The thesis has not been submitted to any other examination committee in this or a similar form. (If the paper was a group project, the contribution of every single group member has to be marked clearly by stating the separate paragraphs and page numbers.) 6

7 This guideline only constitutes a general overview of the most important aspects of scientific writing. If further questions arise, please make use of the respective literature which can also be found in the university library. 7