Thesis Supervision

 

If you consider writing a seminar paper or your thesis on a topic covered by members of the TIME research area, you might wish to check the requirements and application procedure. You can also access and search a database containing selected topics for bachelor and master theses.

Requirements and Registration Process

Members of the TIME Research Area continuously supervise bachelor, master and diploma theses that explore research questions relation to the fields of technology and innovation management, marketing and entrepreneurship.

It is necessary to get in touch with the respective supervisor at least eight weeks ahead of your planned start date to both specify the theme and initiate the registration process. Students who are interested in writing a thesis at the Chair of Marketing or Service and Technology Marketing Group additionally are asked to send a motivational letter and their recent transcript of records.

Bachelor, master and diploma theses typically fall into one of two categories:

1. Empirical: An empirical thesis includes the analysis of quantitative or qualitative data to address a specific research question. Such data might either be provided by the supervisor or be collected by the candidate. Empirical theses typically also contain a theoretical section where hypotheses are derived or theoretical arguments developed.
2. Conceptual: A conceptual thesis develops theoretical ideas, frameworks, methods or instruments without systematically drawing on actual data. The testing of novel ideas that go beyond the extant literature is thus typically excluded from the scope of a conceptual thesis.

Both empirical and conceptual theses can be written in collaboration with private or public sector organizations. If not advertised on this website, the candidate will have to organize such collaborative arrangement by him- or herself.

Theses can be written in either German or English language. Members of TIME Research Area propose specific research topics to be explored in a bachelor, master or diploma thesis. These topics are briefly depicted below. Should you be interested in one of the topics, please contact the respective supervisor to arrange a first meeting. In some cases, it may be possible to suggest your own research topic. Should this be of interest to you, please get in touch with one of the above listed TIME members.

If required, it is possible to get financial support from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, if you need specialized literature or software, for example, to finance experiments and surveys, or to access special databases. Please ask your supervisor if necessary.