Writing your Master Thesis at CIFE - a concise overview

General Introduction:

The individual research work is a highly important element of the CIFE’s Master's programmes. Students should devote the time which is free of classes to their research and conduct their individual research project throughout a large period of the academic year. By writing their Master theses, students demonstrate their ability to analyse a subject using a stringent methodology, to adopt a critical attitude and mobilize their reflection on the theme addressed, to apply the rules of academic writing, and to organize a mid-range research project in their own responsibility.
The Master  thesis  is  an  academic  contribution  of the student that belongs to a pre-existing field of research, but one which is not inherently exhausted. The research topic normally corresponds to the thematic field of the respective Master’s programme. The research process and proceedings are organized individually in CIFE’s diverse Master’s programmes. All regulations regarding the organization of the research process, the form of the master thesis, grading of the thesis and other relevant aspects are laid down in each programme’s official documents such as the ECTS brochure or a Master thesis guide.

Fraud and plagiarism:
By fraud we understand in an academic sense: “every action by a student which can result in the falsification of their assessment”. 
There are several types of fraud concerning a thesis: copying, the falsification of basic ideas or sources, or the submission of a thesis or a part of a thesis of which one isn’t the author. 
Fraud can be penalised by means which range from the refusal of the thesis to the exclusion from the programme and the annulment of the diploma. 
Every person involved into fraud is subject to sanctions.
Academic education not only aims at the in-depth exploration of a subject, but also at developing an ability to summarise the thoughts and work of other authors and to draw the right conclusions from this. 
It is thus inevitable to refer to secondary literature, the ideas or even whole sentences of others. But even if the usage of such sources shows your research capacities, you also have to assume an intellectual and ethical responsibility. 
Therefore, it is essential to specify with accuracy and strictness all the sources of the quotes and ideas you are using. Plagiarism is the use of ideas and words of someone else without indicating this explicitly. Even if you use, with your own words, the idea an article or a journal) of someone else, you have to specify the source, if not, it is considered plagiarism. Deliberately or not, plagiarism is always fraud.

Precise instructions and regulations regarding fraud and plagiarism can take place in the different Master’s programmes.