Guidelines for project theses

Table of content

Timetable

Twelve weeks of lessons have been set aside for working on a project thesis, divided into three different periods during the course of study. In addition to these 12 weeks, one further week has been set aside for the Study Design and Knowledge Management course which is incorporated in the MED5095-Project Thesis course. The following deadlines and timetables apply for working on project theses:

First elective period. Timewise in the middle of Module 3 for the autumn year group/after Module 2 for the spring year group

The one-week course on Study Design and Knowledge Management will be held during Week 1 of the first elective period of the course of study. This period occurs in the middle of Module 3 for the autumn year group and after Module 2 for the spring year group. An information lecture about the project thesis will be held during this one-week course.

The Study Design and Knowledge Management course will provide you with knowledge about how to perform literature searches, use source references and references and critically assess literature. The Medical Library will also be able to provide advice and guidance on literature searches. The Library has been informed about this project thesis work and will be happy to assist.

Module 3

The deadline for selecting a subject for your thesis and submitting an electronic project outline is 1 May. The same deadline applies to both year groups (autumn and spring).

Module 4 (spring year group)/Module 5 (autumn year group)

Four weeks have been set aside for work on the project thesis. This period will occur before Module 4 for the spring year group and before Module 5 for the autumn year group.

Module 5

Four weeks have been set aside for working on the project thesis at the end of Module 5 for both year groups (autumn and spring).

Module 6 (spring year group)/Module 7 (autumn year group)

Four weeks have been set aside for work on the project thesis. This period will occur before Module 6 for the spring year group and before Module 7 for the autumn year group. The project thesis must be completed and submitted during the course of these weeks. The deadline for submission of the thesis is the last Friday of this period. The submission deadline will always be on a Friday, but the date will vary from year to year. The same deadline also applies for submissions in DUO.

Choice of subject and question

You choose your own subject for your project thesis, based on a medical subject area that interests you, but the question should preferably be drawn up in consultation with your supervisor. You will find a short presentation of questions in the list of Teaching Subjects for Medical Studies. If you have any doubts about which subject area the subject you wish to learn more about falls under, or if it covers different subject areas, you can contact your lecturer or Head of Studies. Ideally you and your supervisor should work together to identify a question which is interesting to both of you and which it will be possible to work with within the framework of your project thesis.

See available project theses

Types of thesis

Your project thesis question could be obtained from various medical subjects or it could be found at the intersection between a medical subject area and other academic fields of study, e.g. technological or pedagogical fields of study. Relevant types of thesis might include the following:

• Literature studies
• Be associated with clinical studies/projects
• Qualitative studies
• Epidemiological studies and questionnaires
• Experimental studies
• Other types of thesis (development projects, e-learning projects, etc.)

Supervision

All students shall have a regular supervisor while working on their project theses. Students are personally responsible for finding a supervisor who would be willing to take on the task and who understands the scope of the work involved. The name of the supervisor should be provided on the project outline which the student submits to the Study Section (see below). The supervisor must be academically qualified at PhD level or the equivalent, and he/she shall preferably be employed at the university. All supervisors shall be approved by the head of studies for the relevant subject areas. The supervisor shall help by providing guidance while the student is working on his/her project thesis.

Information about the duties and responsibilities of supervisors

Submission of project outlines

Once you have decided on your subject/question, you should submit a project outline and indicate who your supervisor is. This form shall be submitted online by the deadline for selecting theses, 1 May for Module 3. The form will be sent to the Head of Studies for approval and it will then be filed in the Study Section. If you change your question at any time, something which you are entitled to do, you must re-submit the form.

Online form for project outlines (bokm?l)

Online form for project outlines (nynorsk)

Guidelines, scope and templates

Up to two students may write a thesis together. Both students must work on all parts of their project thesis (theory, method, analysis, conclusion), and a written account must be submitted about how the work was shared while undertaking the project work and writing the thesis. Both students must individually fill in and submit a project outline and state who they have been cooperating with and who their supervisor is.

Articles as project theses

Students may submit an article (published or about to be published) as their project thesis of which they are the lead, second or last author. A summary/cap should be submitted with the article consisting of approx. 10 pages and it should contain a discussion about the results and place the research work in a larger academic perspective. An account provided by the supervisor about the student¡¯s role and contribution to the work on the article (up to 1 page) must also be attached. This should be submitted with the article.

Please note that it is only possible to use an article as a project thesis if the article is not to be used as part of a PhD. Any articles which are to be used subsequently as part of a doctoral thesis cannot be included as part of a project thesis, since this would contravene Section 10.2 of the Regulations relating to PhDs at the University of Oslo:

¡°Work or components of work which have been approved as a basis for previous exams or degrees cannot be accepted for evaluation. However, data, analyses or methods from previous degrees can be used as a basis for work on doctoral projects.¡±

Scope and design of theses

The scope of a project thesis shall normally comprise approx. 25-30 pages, excluding the table of contents and bibliography (font 12, Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing). The scope of a thesis may vary, depending on the question, material and method used. If two students write a thesis together, a more comprehensive thesis will be expected.

A Word template for theses has been prepared.

If you write your project thesis in English, you shall use the designation ¡°project thesis¡±.

A scientific work can be prepared and presented in different ways. However, there are certain basic principles which should be followed when working on a project thesis. Medical literature has the following layout: front page, summary, introduction, method, results, discussion and literary references. This layout is used in almost all journals, despite the fact that shorter articles do not always have explicit titles. Project theses shall comply with this template. There are several benefits to be derived from having such a fixed template:

• the material is divided up naturally,
• it is easier to navigate around the article/thesis,
• the basis for a logical order is laid, where the background and question are presented before the actual project is presented,
• a clear distinction is made between data and interpretations,
• references from previous publications are collated in a separate list.

When working on a project thesis, students should aim to present the material in a simple, clear manner. Any questions and material which are processed in such theses are often so complicated that it becomes a challenge to present the message clearly.

Thesis structure

English summary

All project theses shall contain a summary (abstract) of approx. 250 words in English. This summary shall appear at the beginning of the text (after the front page) and shall serve as a brief summary of the thesis: the question, an account of the background to the question, a summary of the results, an interpretation and a conclusion.

Introduction

The introduction shall explain the choice of thesis, as well as present the background for the choice, the question to be addressed and any previous research in this area, along with references to relevant literature. It is important that you clarify the question as early as possible for the reader. Scientific medical articles generally have short introductions, although a project thesis should have a more comprehensive introduction than such articles.

Method

The method chapter shall provide an account about which method you use in connection with your question. For projects involving experiments, it will be necessary to provide a detailed explanation about the technical methods employed. In other cases a description of clinical equipment, for example, may be appropriate.

For literature studies, the collection of publications shall be explained, as well as which search words and databases have been used and what restrictions apply, etc. In scientific articles, the method chapter is often relatively short, because references are usually made to previous publications. On the other hand, for project theses, the method chapter shall be a substantial part of the thesis, since methodology is an important part of medical studies.

Results

This part describes the results which the question has led to. It is appropriate to distinguish between describing the results (the results chapter) and interpreting the results (the discussion chapter). It is important to place emphasis on a clear presentation of the results, providing an itemised presentation of results. It may be useful to use tables and figures, because this presents results clearly. In academic articles tables and figures are often incorporated in the description of results. However, for project theses it may be an advantage to collate these at the back of the thesis.

Discussion

Finally the results leading up to the conclusion are discussed. In this chapter you have greater leeway than in the rest of the project thesis, with the exception of a few aspects: the discussion shall contain critical evaluations of the results and their conclusions. You should include anything that supports or fails to support your results, i.e. whether or not your choice of method(s) was reliable enough, and/or whether or not there was enough material and if it was representative enough. Do your results concur with other research? What could have been done differently in order to reach firmer conclusions? Have your literature studies, for example, falsified previously verified hypotheses relating to a medical speciality? Does the project generate new interesting questions which should be investigated further? Finally a conclusion should be drawn on the basis of your arguments relating to the material and results. Since project theses are subject to time limits, it will often be impossible to reach a firm conclusion. In such cases it is important to include this in your discussion.

Literature references

You shall list source references for all the sources used in your thesis. There are various standards which apply to references. Many medical journals use the Vancouver style, and we recommend that you use this style for your thesis. Other styles can be used, but you cannot mix different reference styles. Please seek advice from your supervisor about how to write and design your thesis. The Medical Library can also provide advice about listing references.

Further advice about the written presentation of scientific projects is available in the book entitled ¡°Research in Medical and Biological Sciences: From Planning and Preparation to Grant Application and Publication¡¯. Petter Laake, Haakon Breien Benestad and Bjorn Reino Olsen (2015)(2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Useful information about writing theses and the design of comprehensive written works is also available on the Library¡¯s website.

Ethical challenges and confidentiality

All students who are going to write a project thesis must clarify with their supervisor whether or not they need to report their project.

Projects which involve the processing of personal data must be reported to the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD).

The Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics (REK) shall approve all medical and health science research projects before they can be commenced. This also applies to student theses.

Information about approvals and permissions for project theses

Project theses which contain information which is subject to statutory confidentiality shall be classed as confidential, cf. Section 13 of the Norwegian Public Administration Act.

Information about confidentiality

Submission and publication

The deadline for submitting project theses is the last Friday during the final period of the study plan which has been set aside for working on the thesis in question. The submission deadline will always be on a Friday, but the date will vary from year to year. The same deadline applies for submitting theses online in DUO and in Inspera. There is an option for classifying a thesis in order to protect its contents. You will find information about this on DUO¡¯s website.

Submission deadlines can be deferred in response to the submission of a documented application containing a certificate from the relevant supervisor. Applications for deferred deadlines must be submitted before the deadline for submissions. Applications and documentation shall be submitted to: postmottak@medisin.uio.no. No deferred deadlines will be granted after three weeks following the original deadline for submission.

Applications for deferred deadlines subject to special permission (exchange visits during the weeks set aside for writing the thesis and parental permission) shall be sent to: postmottak@medisin.uio.no by no later than 1 January.

It will be possible submit theses earlier on during the course of study than the deadline set for a particular year group. In such cases you will have the opportunity to submit your thesis one year earlier than the original deadline for your year group. If you are planning to submit your thesis earlier on during your studies, you must send an enquiry about this to the Study Section, cf. the contact info below.

Students who fail to comply with the submission deadline for their year group, and who have not applied for a deferred submission deadline before the submission deadline, will drop down to the next year group.

Examinations

Project theses are assessed by an assessment commission which consists of one external examiner (without affiliation with the UiO) and a senior supervisor. The choice of examiners for individual theses is dependent on the academic content of the thesis in question and its analytics perspectives.

The deadline for the assessment of project theses is 8 weeks after the submission deadline. Project theses are assessed as being passed/not passed.

Students will receive written feedback consisting of up to one page after their assessment has been made. Such feedback is prepared by the external examiner. No oral hearings are held in addition.

If a project thesis is assessed as ¡°not passed¡±, the student in question will receive an explanation and suggestions for corrections/improvements to his/her thesis. In such cases the student in question shall arrange a meeting with his/her supervisor to look at re-working and re-submitting his/her thesis.

Information about research studies and project theses

Research students shall submit their medical study project theses on the same terms as those which apply to other students. Any research study manuscripts or articles which are to be used subsequently as part of a doctoral thesis cannot be included as part of a project thesis, since this would contravene Section 10.2 of the Regulations relating to PhDs at the University of Oslo:

¡°Work or components of work which have been approved as a basis for previous exams or degrees cannot be accepted for evaluation. However, data, analyses or methods from previous degrees can be used as a basis for work on doctoral projects.¡±

The contents of project theses for research students may be linked to their research projects so that they receive the mutual benefits of their theses. Any material that students know will definitely not be used in the publication of doctoral work can be freely used in their project thesis. Relevant types of thesis may include, for example, pilot trials (for an experimental or clinical study) or a systematic list of literature about a subject or methods which are related to research projects (see the section entitled ¡°Guidelines, scope and templates¡± for more information about the submission of articles as project theses). It is natural that research students should engage in a dialogue with their supervisors about the choice of subject for their project theses. However, research students also have the opportunity to select subjects/questions for their project theses which are not related to research projects.

Project theses and exchanges

The Faculty does not organise exchange visits in connection with project theses or the project thesis period. However, if you would like to spend time abroad in connection with your project thesis, organised by yourself or via your supervisor, you may receive travel funding from the Norwegian State Education Loan Fund, provided that your visit lasts for a minimum of 4 weeks. To obtain documentation relating to such visits for the State Education Loan Fund, please contact the coordinator for medical exchange students travelling abroad.

Contacts

If you have any further questions over and above the answers available on websites or from MED-studieinfo, you can contact an administrative coordinator: for spring year groups: Nina Lind for autumn year groups, Merete Thomte for any practical questions about project outline forms and submission/approval forms, or Academic Officer Rune Enger for any academic questions relating to your thesis.