MASTER’S THESIS

Master 120 students

in Management and

Business Engineering

Target 2016

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w.u

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Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 2/17 Louvain School of Management

CONTENTS

1. OBJECTIVES and ACADEMIC SUPERVISION of a MASTER’S THESIS ....... 3

1.1 Objectives of a project Master’s Thesis and research Master’s Thesis ..................................... 3

1.2 Exception : Master’s Thesis in the framework of the IB Programme .......................................... 5

1.3 Supervision and assessment of Master’s Thesis ......................................................................... 6

1.3.1 Master’s Thesis seminar - LLSMD 2094 .................................................................................... 6

1.3.2 Supervisor ................................................................................................................................... 6

1.3.3 Internal Reader ........................................................................................................................... 7

1.3.4 Internship supervisor .................................................................................................................. 7

2. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES and MASTER’S THESIS PLANNING ...... 8

2.1 Form 1: Topic and Supervisor ......................................................................................................... 8

2.2 Form 2 – Composition of the Master’s Thesis Jury ...................................................................... 9

2.3 Form 3 – Authorisation to print ....................................................................................................... 9

3. SUBMISSION AND DEFENCE OF MASTER’S THESIS .............................. 10

3.1 Printing and submission ................................................................................................................ 10

3.2 Oral defence .................................................................................................................................... 10

3.2.1 Composition of the Master’s Thesis board ............................................................................... 10

3.2.2 Timetable for defence ............................................................................................................... 11

3.2.3 Organization of defence ............................................................................................................ 11

4. STUCTURE OF A MASTER’S THESIS ...................................................... 12

4.1 Structure and layout of a Master’s Thesis ................................................................................... 12

4.1.1 Cover ........................................................................................................................................ 12

4.1.2 Foreword ................................................................................................................................... 13

4.1.3 Contents .................................................................................................................................... 13

4.1.4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 13

4.1.5 Main body of the text ................................................................................................................ 13

4.1.6 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................. 14

4.1.7 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 14

4.1.8 Annexes (if necessary) ............................................................................................................. 15

4.2 Ethics ............................................................................................................................................... 15

4.3 Confidentiality ................................................................................................................................. 15

5. CONTACTS ........................................................................................... 16

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 3/17 Louvain School of Management

PREAMBLE

Students enrolled in the Master’s degrees, 120 credits, in Management and Business Engineering are

required to complete a Master’s Thesis (18 Credits1) and to attend a Master’s Thesis seminar (2 Credits).

This document defines the objectives of a Master’s thesis, the academic supervision of a Master’s Thesis

and the different steps and requirements involved in a student's Master’s Thesis submission process.

1. OBJECTIVES AND ACADEMIC SUPERVISION OF A MASTER’S THESIS

1.1 Objectives of a project Master’s Thesis and research Master’s Thesis

In order to complete a Master’s Thesis the following two conditions must be observed:

1°) The Master’s Thesis must be based on a critical review of the theoretical knowledge and methods

related to the main topic of the Master’s Thesis; the theoretical foundations of the work should be clearly

presented and discussed.

2°) The Master’s Thesis must include a systematic empirical work designed to produce original

results, as for example, the collection or production of new data, the original use of existing data or the

application of an existing methodology to a new field. The methodology used should be clearly set out.

The Master’s Thesis may be the result of an individual work or of a joint work.

For joint Master’s Thesis the work may be carried out by two students.

1 Crédits du système CREDITS (European Credits transfer System)

Two different kinds of Master’s Thesis are possible: the project Master’s Thesis and the research Master’s Thesis, both may be linked to an internship or not.

MAIN FEATURES OF EACH KIND OF MASTER’S THESIS

Research Master’s Thesis Project Master’s Thesis

Content Theoretical Master’s Thesis.

Contribute to the production of scientific knowledge or methodologies.

A theoretical part and a practical part

Applied Master’s Thesis.

Contribute to the solution/the analyse of a given problem of a

company/organisation

Analyze a given problem or realize a prospective study on the possible

impact of certain structural changes in a company/organisation.

A theoretical part and a practical part

Requirements Demonstrate independent and personal investigation, starting with the

formulation of the research issues and objectives and leading to a

distinct and clearly identifiable contribution.

Demonstrate the academic quality of the literature consulted and the

research methodology employed.

Contain some methodological or empirical application or contribution,

not a simple review of the existing literature.

Provide an analysis of the problem AND propose at least a partial solution

to it or provide proposals which could be valuable for managerial

decision-taking.

Represent a fairly sophisticated application of theoretical principles and

specific methods.

Not linked to

an internship

The Master’s Thesis will be based on the literature and scientific

methodologies.

The Master’s Thesis will consist in a case study relating to a company

without having completed an internship there.

Linked to an

internship

Link to the research field in the LSM’s research centre of excellence.

Contribute to a wider research area which has already been developed

by the research centre of excellence or explore new questions and

avenues.

Link between the topic of the Master’s Thesis and the experience on the

field during the internship.

Link between the practical experience and theory

The Master’s Thesis can not simply be an internship report.

Composition

of the

Master’s

Thesis board

See conditions 3.2.1. See conditions 3.2.1.

1.2. Exception: Master’s Thesis in the framework of the IB Programme

Within the IB programme, the extent of the internship, the geographical distance, the timing of the

definition of internship mission as well as the necessary adjustments to the local standards and working

habits, make it difficult the completion of a project Master’s Thesis or a research Master’s Thesis as

defined above.

Therefore IB students complete a Master’s Thesis containing two distinct parts, in the final

assessment of the Master’s Thesis and the Master’s Thesis seminar

A theoretical work (8 Credits):

Under the guidance of an academic supervisor, the student reviews the literature to highlight the

state of the art and considers the available expertise on an international and intercultural

management topic.

This preliminary work leads to the formulation of some questions on a research topic. This purely

theoretical work (up to a maximum of 40 pages) must be completed before the location of the

internship is decided and uploaded before going abroad on Moodle/iCampus ‘LLSMD IB

Program – Master Thesis – Theoretical part’ and sent to the supervisor by e-mail.

All deadlines are mentioned on Moodle/iCampus. If the student does not comply with the

deadline, this will have an impact on the evaluation of the Master’s Thesis.

A practical work (10 Credits):

Under the guidance of an academic supervisor (Professor Christophe Lejeune), the student

writes a detailed report (max. 40 pages) where the proper methodology and the empirical

results related to the topic are presented.

The empirical line of work may concern the company where the internship is carried out (e.g.

case study method with interviews, documents, etc.) or other areas (e.g. a database) to be

approved by the IB academic supervisor.

The final version (practical and theoretical parts) of the Master’s Thesis should be submitted to the

Student Office at the date mentioned in the students’ agenda (www.uclouvain.be/en-474063) and

according to practical modalities mentioned in chapter 3 of the present brochure.

The oral defences of the IB Master’s Thesis take place during the September exam session, at the

earliest, and the assessment is as follows:

40% academic director for the theoretical part

40% IB academic tutor (Christophe Lejeune) for the empirical part

20% Master’s Thesis board for the Master’s Thesis (composed by the academic director, the

academic supervisor and the internal reader).

NB: If the academic supervisor (for the empirical part) is also the academic director (for the theoretical

part); the members of the Master’s Thesis board will be the Academic director (= academic supervisor),

an external reader and the IB internships director (M. Daniel Ypersiel).

IB students are also required to attend the Master’s Thesis seminar (2 Credits) which is spread over

the 2 years of the Master programme. They must attend the classes given during the 2nd

term of Master 1

and follow the instructions mentioned in the document « memo-LLSMD2094 » available on Moodleucl

‘LLSMD 2094 Master’s Thesis seminar (in management) for the second part of this seminar during their

2nd

year of Master studies.

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 6/17 Louvain School of Management

1.3 Supervision of Master’s Thesis

1.3.1 Master’s Thesis seminar - LLSMD 2094

All students (INGE120, GEST120, IB, CEMS, and DD), except Master75 who have already written a

Master’s Thesis, must attend the Master’s Thesis seminar (2 Credits). This seminar is designed to

provide general advice and guidelines concerning bibliographical, methodological and writing tools useful

for a Master’s Thesis.

These advices and guidelines given in the Master’s Thesis seminar will not be repeated by the academic

supervisor whose role is to focus exclusively on the specific subject dealt with in the Master’s Thesis.

Even though this seminar appears in the study programme of the 2nd

year, it starts during the 1st year of

Master. Therefore, all students must sign up as users on Moodleucl to the course LLSMD 2094 Master’s

Thesis seminar, at the beginning of Master 1 (September) where they can find all relevant information

concerning the seminar.

Students who are abroad during their Master 1 or Master 2: internship abroad, IB, DD (In and Out), CEMS

and Master 75 can find detailed instructions on the procedure to follow in the document ‘memo-Objectif20..’.

For English speaking students, check appendix 3 at the end of the document memo-Objectif20.

1.3.2 Supervisor

The student is supervised by an academic supervisor, who is a member of the academic staff.

Students must start finding a supervisor as from the beginning of annual block 1 and should have found

one by the deadline specified in the master’s thesis planning (www.uclouvain.be/en-lsm-master-thesis).

The list of LSM Professors as well as their proposed topics/subjects is available via the LSM master’s

thesis platform (www.uclouvain.be/en-lsm-master-thesis).

Student should contact professors as soon as possible in annual block 1 in order to define the subject

and, after finding the supervisor, to discuss on the working plan. Working progress is regularly monitored

according to a timetable agreed jointly by the student and her/his supervisor.

All LSM-LLN academic personal members, tenured or invited, or tenured research staff may act as

academic supervisor.

Apart from academic personal members or tenured research staff at LSM-LLN :

- Student can ask to one of the LSM-Mons academic personal members, tenured or invited, or

tenured research staff to be her/his supervisor. The LLN Academic Director of the programme

(INGE or GEST) must give the approval to this choice. The defence of the Master’s Thesis will be

organized by the LSM-LLN. The student will therefore respect the deadlines and the administrative

requirements of the LLN campus and will be evaluated according to the LSM-LLN rules.

- The student can ask to act as supervisor to one of the members of the tenured academic or

research and teaching staff from other UCL faculties, chosen for their expertise on the

management issue to be dealt with in the Master’s Thesis. In this case the approval of the

Academic Director of the programme is needed. The oral defense of the Master’s Thesis is

organized by the LSM at the LLN campus.

- If the student has taken at least options of 15 credits at UNamur or ICHEC, s/he has the right to be

supervised by a member of the tenured academic or research and teaching staff of the

corresponding institution. The Academic Director of the programme has to give the approval. The

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 7/17 Louvain School of Management

oral defense of the Master’s Thesis is organized by the LSM-LLN. The student will therefore

respect the deadlines and the administrative requirements of the LLN campus and will be

evaluated according to the LSM-LLN rules.

It is also possible for a LSM research assistant to act as supervisor of a Master’s Thesis, a professor will

then act as co-supervisor.

Given the workload of all professors, it is not advisable of changing of supervisor during the year, indeed

the student might end up without any supervisor and would thus not have the opportunity to defend the

master’s thesis.

Double degree students

The Master’s Thesis of a double degree student is supervised by two academic supervisors: one from

the home institution, the other from the host institution.

The ‘main’ supervisor is usually the one who supervises the student during the second year of the

Master’s degree:

For outgoing DD students (LSM students spending their second year in a partner institution), it is

the academic supervisor at the partner institution.

For incoming DD students (students spending their second year at the LSM), it is the academic

supervisor at the LSM.

A double degree Master’s Thesis must comply with the requirements and criteria as defined by the LSM

and the partner institution. Although much work has gone into harmonising the criteria, there may still be

some in which case students should abide by the most compelling criteria.

1.3.3 Internal Reader

When complementary aspects of different disciplines (e.g. marketing and finance; finance and IT;

marketing and human resource etc.) are dealt with in a Master’s Thesis, students may also consult an

internal reader whose areas of expertise complement those of the supervisor.

Any individual qualified to be a Master’s Thesis supervisor, in addition to any member of the temporary

research and teaching staff in the department, may act as an internal reader as long as:

s/he does not belong to the same teaching and research unit as the Master’s Thesis supervisor,

s/he has been in post for at least one academic year,

and the part of the Master’s Thesis for which help is being sought relates to their area of

expertise and activity.

1.3.4 Internship supervisor

The subject of a project Master’s Thesis or of a research Master’s Thesis linked to an internship is

defined by the academic supervisor and the internship supervisor jointly. The academic supervisor and

the internship supervisor jointly supervise the student’s work to achieve the Master’s Thesis.

The internship supervisor must respect some academic background conditions mentioned in the

Internship guide : www.uclouvain.be/8118

The subject of the Master’s Thesis, the methodology used as well as the proposed timetable are

described in the internship logbook and agreed jointly by the student, the academic supervisor and the

internship supervisor. Each of the parties promptly informs the others of any circumstances or

amendments to his/her schedule which could significantly affect the proposed ‘timetable’, so that

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 8/17 Louvain School of Management

corrective measures (changes to the programme, replacement of supervisor etc.) may be taken

accordingly.

However, it is the student writing the Master’s Thesis who must take the initiative in this process, and

therefore to arrange regular meetings with the academic and internship supervisors and avoid overly

long gaps between the contact sessions. The internship supervisor is welcome to attend the regular

meetings between the student and his/her academic supervisor.

2. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

2.1 In Master 1

2.1.1 Subject and supervisor

In order to complete the Master’s Thesis on time and in the best possible conditions, each student should

seek for a supervisor during the 1st term of Master 1. It is crucial to comply with the administrative

rules and deadlines, the respect of them will be taken into account in the final evaluation of the Master’s

Thesis.

The master’s thesis subjects and topics of the LSM-LLN professors can be found on the master’s thesis

platform (www.uclouvain.be/en-lsm-master-thesis).

Access this platform with login « student » and password « studentlsm ».

The student must take contact with the professors, following the information - of how to get in touch with

possible supervisors - available on the master’s thesis platform, in order to decide of the subject and

define how to study it.

Both students and supervisors may suggest possible topics.

As soon as the student has received an agreement in principle from a professor, s/he must go the

master's thesis platform and fill in the subject submission online form in "Espace réservé à l'étudiant".

The supervisor should validate or refuse the student’s proposal within 15 days.

If, after having sent a proposal, the student does not receive any answer from the supervisor within the

delay of 15 days, s/he can complete a second proposal and eventually send it to another supervisor. A

maximum of 3 proposals can be sent.

The student must have received the official approval from the supervisor, via the platform, no later than

the date mentioned in the planning (www.uclouvain.be/en-lsm-master-thesis).

2.1.2 Automatic Attribution: exceptional solution

If, exceptionally, a student has not found a supervisor despite all efforts and contacts taken with several

professors (as proved by e-mail messages) by the deadline, s/he has to fill in online, via the platform, the

“Attribution” form. The student must choose 3 different disciplines in order of preference and 5 key

words for each discipline. Please notice that some discipline will not be available anymore as soon as

supervisors in these specific disciplines are fully booked.

In order to benefit from this exceptional solution, the student will have to prove all provided efforts to find

a supervisor (as proved by e-mail messages) and will have to print the confirmation email for sending

form as well as all emails sent to professors. All documents must be handed it to the Students Office

during the office hours or to put it in the appropriate mail box corresponding to the programme INGE or

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 9/17 Louvain School of Management

GEST (main entrance of the Doyen Building) at the date mentioned in the planning

(www.uclouvain.be/en-lsm-master-thesis).

An automatic attribution will be realised as best as possible by the Jury’s Office. This procedure must

remain exceptional.

It can in any way be guarantor of the student's priority choice and under no circumstances can

replace the student’s primary responsibility of finding a supervisor. In fact, looking for a

supervisor is part of the process leading to the Master’s Thesis.

Following the attribution, the student will have to contact the appointed supervisor in order to (re)define

the subject of the Master’s Thesis. Once an agreement has been found, the student must fill in, via the

platform, the subject submission online form in "Espace réservé à l'étudiant".

The student must have received the official approval from the supervisor, via the platform, no later than

the date mentioned in the planning.

It is useful to keep in mind that, in all fairness and according to LSM Competency Framework, to comply

with the procedures and administrative deadlines is part of the assessment criteria of the Master’s

Thesis. Penalties will be applied for not abiding by them.

2.1.3 Change of topic and/or of Master’s Thesis supervisor

For a change of supervisor, student must first ask to the initial supervisor to delete, via the master’s

thesis platform for the professors, the student from its list. After that, the student must fill in, via the

platform, the subject submission online form in "Espace réservé à l'étudiant" in order to give the

possibility to the new supervisor of officially approving it.

For a change of the topic, the student does not have to fill in a new form. The new topic will simply have

to be mentioned in Master 2, at the composition of the master’s thesis jury.

2.2 In Master 2 : Composition of the Master’s Thesis Jury

The student must validate all information, after having verified and eventual changed and/or added

information, on the master’s thesis platform no later than the date mentioned in the planning. This will

allow the Jury’s Office to compose a jury for the master’s Thesis oral defence.

At this stage, it is not anymore possible for changing of supervisor.

2.3 In Master 2 : Authorisation to print

In order to deposit the master’s thesis at LSM, the student must ask, via the platform, for an authorisation

to print to the supervisor (and to the co-supervisor if the master’s thesis is supervised by a research

assistant).

The student must then print the e-mail received via the platform, resuming the supervisor’s agreement,

and must submit this document at the same time as the master’s thesis on the date mentioned in the

planning.

Important notice for students who submit their master’s thesis in September: during July and August

periods, professors are much less available. It is therefore crucial that each student ask to its supervisor,

as from May, for its availabilities and to fix with a schedule for the latest readings of the master’s thesis

as well as for the authorisation to print.

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 10/17 Louvain School of Management

3. SUBMISSION AND DEFENCE OF MASTER’S THESIS

3.1 Printing and submission

Rules for printout of the master’s thesis :

The master’s thesis must absolutely be printed on both sides and, preferably, on recycled paper.

The cover should be made of card (not plastic) and from the same format as the Master’s Thesis. It

should correspond to the model which can be downloaded on the LSM site (www.uclouvain.be/en-

lsm-master-thesis).

The Master’s thesis together with any annexes should be bound in DIN A4 = 210 x 296 mm format.

The binding should be glued or pressed.

Deposit:

The deposit of for the Master’s Thesis (paper version and electronic version) takes places:

Mid-December for the January examination session,

Mid-May for the June examination session,

Beginning of August for the September examination session.

The exact dates are fixed each year by the LSM-LLN Council and are available in the academic

calendar (www.uclouvain.be/en-3080).

It is highly recommended to submit for the June examination session.

Electronic deposit

It is mandatory for all students to submit an electronic version of the master’s thesis.

The procedure regarding this deposit is described in the document "Procedure electronic deposit of

master’s thesis" available in the item "Deposit" on www.uclouvain.be/lsm-master-thesis.

Paper deposit

The complete deposit is explained on the “checklist for the master’s thesis submission“ available on

www.uclouvain.be/lsm-master-thesis.

3.2 Oral defence

3.2.1 Composition of the Master’s Thesis jury

The Master’s thesis Jury assesses the work produced on the basis of the written document submitted by

the student and the oral defence of the work in front of this jury.

MEMBERS OF THE MASTER’S THESIS JURY

Supervisor Internal reader External reader

Research Master’s Thesis

(not linked to an internship) /

Project Master’s Thesis

(not linked to an internship) () *

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 11/17 Louvain School of Management

Project Master’s Thesis

(linked to an internship) Internship supervisor

Research Master’s Thesis

(linked to an internship)

Internship supervisor from

the Excellence Centre

Master’s Thesis Double Degree Supervisor host institution

Master’s Thesis IB

(for the theoretical part) Academic tutor

Master’s Thesis CEMS (if Project Master’s Thesis

linked to an internship) *

Master’s Thesis CPME See CPME rules on www.uclouvain.be/28730

* Possibility, for the student doing a Project Master’s Thesis not linked to an internship, to propose an external

reader to take part in its Master’s Thesis jury; this person must hold a university degree and must have dealt already

with the problems and issues of the Master’s Thesis; a representative of an organisation which has contributed to the

Master’s Thesis; a member of a professional association or other private or public bodies interested by the subject of the

Master’s Thesis. External reader‘s details have to be communicated via the master’s thesis platform when verifying

and validating all information needed for the composition of the master’s thesis jury (www.uclouvain.be/en-lsm-master-

thesis), otherwise, s/he will not be invited to the oral defence.

For Master’s Thesis co-supervised (research assistant and professor), a third academic member should be

part of the Master’s Thesis jury.

3.2.2 Timetable for defence

The Master’s Thesis defences dates are fixed by the Faculty Council (www.uclouvain.be/3080).

Students are requested to book these dates in their diaries and take them into account when taking an

appointment (professional or other). The precise timetable is announced the week before defence.

Should either a candidate or a member of the Master’s Thesis jury wish to change these dates,

dispensation must be requested by e-mail to the President of the Jury of Examiners - Prof. Belleflamme

(paul.belleflamme@uclouvain.be) - and will not be granted unless all parties agree. The student will also

have to inform Mrs Astrid Kontzler (astrid.kontzler@uclouvain.be) in order to check the availability of the

rooms for the defence.

If a member of the Master’s Thesis jury is not able to take part in the oral defence, he/she have to send a

written report (based on an evaluation grid sent by Mrs. Kontzler) and a mark (out of 20) to the student’s

supervisor and to Mrs. Astrid Kontzler (astrid.kontzler@uclouvain.be) at least 3 days before the date of

the oral defence.

In case of absence of the internship supervisor, it is the student’s responsibility to check that the written

report has correctly been sent as explained above.

3.2.3 Organization of defence

The student will ensure to bring a laptop, in order to do the presentation, as well as a hard copy of the

presentation in case of computer problems. The student without personal computer will ask her/his

supervisor to take a laptop and will ensure to have a paper version and an electronic copy of the

presentation.

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 12/17 Louvain School of Management

Defence of a Master’s Thesis is chaired by the supervisor. It is made up of the following stages:

(1) members of the jury may, if they feel it is useful, exchange preliminary remarks on the work in the

absence of any other witnesses (including the student);

(2) the candidate is shown in, together with any members of the public; s/he is invited to make a 15

minute presentation, using slides as a visual aid on the objectives, methodology and main points of

his or her Master’s Thesis;

(3) members of the jury and, with the President’s agreement, members of the public ask questions and

make comments to the candidate, who responds. The usual order for questions is first, the external

reader, then the internal reader(s), the supervisor and, finally, members of the public;

(4) the candidate and members of the public leave, so that the members of the jury can make their

decision.

All four stages should take no longer than 45 minutes (60 minutes in the case of a joint master’s thesis).

The stages (2) and (3) are public.

4. STUCTURE OF A MASTER’S THESIS

4.1 Structure and layout of a Master’s Thesis The Master’s Thesis must be written in French or in English and should contain the following parts:

1. Cover;

2. Foreword;

3. Contents;

4. Introduction;

5. Main body of Master’s Thesis;

6. Conclusions;

7. Bibliography;

8. Annexes.

Except with the express and reasoned approval of the Master’s Thesis supervisor and of the Academic

Director of the Programme, the text should not exceed 80 pages (annexes excluded). Nevertheless the

text can count less than 80 pages. Master’s Thesis jointly written by 2 students should not exceed 120

pages (annexes excluded).

The term annexe covers any kind of text, table of figures or graphics which are not directly necessary to

properly understand the body of the text.

4.1.1 Cover

The cover should be made of card and of the same format as the Master’s Thesis. It should correspond

to the model which can be downloaded from the LSM site (www.uclouvain.be/en-lsm-master-thesis).

The binding should be glued or pressed.

Double Degree students have to use a specific cover, according to the model available on the LSM

website (www.uclouvain.be/en-lsm-master-thesis).

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 13/17 Louvain School of Management

4.1.2 Foreword

This page should not have a heading or be numbered. It should mention the supervisor and include the

usual acknowledgements.

4.1.3 Contents

The subdivisions should be consistent. The usual division of the subject into parts, chapters, sections,

paragraphs and sub-paragraphs should be followed.

4.1.4 Introduction

The introduction should state the problem and the reasons for the choice of the topic. It should make

clear the significance of the topic and give an outline of the working methods adopted and difficulties

encountered.

4.1.5 Main body of the text

Polices and Size

Times New Roman, Cambria, or Calibri are recommended size 12 for the text and size 11 or 10 for the

footnotes and references.

Spacing

For textual clarity, spacing of 1.5 is preferable.

Titles

Titles will be bold, size 12 or 13 but not underlined. Frames are accepted for titles of sections or chapters;

italics for the sub-sections.

Pagination

The first pages, up to and including the contents, should be numbered in Roman numerals. From the

introduction onwards, Arabic numbering should be used. Page numbers should be located in the top right

hand corner and be followed with a full stop.

Margins

The space between the header and footer and the text (excluding pagination, but including footnotes and

reference) should be between 2.5 and 4 cm. There should be a visible margin of 2.5 cm both to the left

and right of the text.

Footnotes, quotations and references

A footnote is a piece of explanatory text which goes at the bottom of a page, separated from the text by

a horizontal line from the left up to the middle of the page. A footnote should have single spacing and be

numbered from (1) to (x) on each page.

A quotation is a textual extract from an author whose intellectual property should be indicated by putting

the text in italics or between quotation marks, followed by the reference (which refers to the bibliography).

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 14/17 Louvain School of Management

The lack of such an indication denotes intellectual fraud (i.e. plagiarism). When a quotation is fairly long

and includes more than fifty words, the text should be reproduced in single spacing. A break in the

quotation should be indicated by a series of dots enclosed in brackets (…).

A reference indicates the source of a piece of information, an opinion or a statement. It should be

mentioned in the text in the form of : author (year, pages if necessary). This new reference method

avoids cumbersome footnotes at the bottom of the page (which can then be reserved for discursive

comments) and the repetitive ‘op.cit.’, which the reader may find confusing.

If the reference is to several successive pages in the same work, a double ‘p’ (pp.) should be used,

followed by the first and last pages being referred to, separated by a hyphen (e.g. pp. 250-254).

If the reference is to pages which are not successive, a comma should be used instead of a hyphen (e.g.

pp. 250, 254).

If the reference is to an indeterminate number of pages, a double ‘p’, followed by the number of the page

and then ‘ss.’ should be used (e.g. pp. 250 ss.).

If two different publications by the same author in the same year are referred to, they should be

distinguished by a lower case letter after the year (2008a, 2008b) and the same notation should be used

in the bibliography.

Tables, graphics and illustrations

Care should be taken to follow the rule: "Tables, graphics and illustrations should be able to be read

independently of the text". The following must therefore be shown:

a) A title which explains the purpose of the table (in all cases)

Numbering of tables can be done in different ways providing it is logical. Each table (and usually each

annexe) should be mentioned in the body of the text to indicate when to refer to the table. If a table (or

an annexe) is not referred to in the text, has it been used in the development of the argument.

b) A precise source which allows the figures given to be checked (in all cases). This involves quoting the

exact page of the source or the full address of the website used.

c) Units and/or totals (where there are figures).

d) A key, line/column sub-headings, axis keys (if necessary).

e) An explanatory note, indicated by * (where there are possible doubts or something worthy of note).

4.1.6 Conclusions

Conclusions can vary in length depending on circumstances, but they should contain a summary of the

research topic. Students should put forward their personal opinions on the factual elements, the

arguments and the ideas from their analysis and set out any proposals they may have.

4.1.7 Bibliography

The presentation will follow the adopted standards of the American Psychological Association (APA) that

requires alphabetically arrangement by authors' names, with no separate classification of monographs,

articles or websites otherwise this would compel the reader to refer to three different lists.

For monographs, information should be mentioned in the following order :

- surname(s) of the author(s) and initial of his/her (their) first name(s)

- year of edition

- title of work in italics (volume or edition if appropriate)

- place of publication

- editor

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 15/17 Louvain School of Management

Example:

Peppers, D., & Rogers, M. (1998). Le one to one. Paris : Éd. d'Organisation.

For articles, information should be mentioned in the following order :

- surname(s) of the author(s) and initial of his/her (their) first name(s)

- date of publication

- title of article

- name of publication in italics

- number of the journal

- number of the volume, number of the journal (if appropriate)

- pages at beginning and end of article or the number of pages for a separate article

Example:

Lee, S., Garrow, L., Higbie, J., Keskinocak, P., & Koushik, D. (2011). Do you really know who your

customers are?: A study of US retail hotel demand. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, 10(1),

73-86.

For Internet sites, information should be mentioned in the following order :

- surname(s) of the author (person or body)

- year of edition or of the last update of the web site in brackets (if unknown: n.d. or n.a. for “not

available”)

- title of text or article,...

- source: full internet address (direct linking through CTRL + enter)

- date site was consulted ("retrieved on” to guard against possible future updating)

- if possible, critical assessment of the site

Example:

Infosphère (2006). Sciences humaines et sciences de la gestion : préparer la recherche, choisir un sujet.

http://www.bibliotheques.uqam.ca/InfoSphere/sciences_humaines/index.html (Consulté le 04/10/2010)

Didacticiel d'auto-apprentissage de la recherche documentaire.

4.1.8 Annexes (if necessary)

The term annexe covers any kind of text, table of figures or graphics which are not directly necessary to

properly understand the body of the text. Annexes should be numbered and have a heading. It is very

useful to put the number of the relevant annexe at the bottom of the page to enable the reader to quickly

find any annex.

4.2 Ethics

When producing a Master’s Thesis, students should abide by the Code of Ethics relating to borrowed

material, quotations and use of various sources as defined by the Academic Council on 9 February 1998

(Annexe 1). In particular, it is the sole responsibility of the student to avoid any form of plagiarism.

Further information and advice on this subject can be found at www.uclouvain.be/plagiat.

In order to detect any plagiarism in their Master’s Thesis, students must also provide an electronic

version of their Master’s Thesis in pdf via DIAL System. A sample of Master’s Thesis is chosen to be put

through plagiarism detection software.

4.3 Confidentiality

The topic of a Project Master’s Thesis may be declared confidential at the request of the body which

provides this topic.

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 16/17 Louvain School of Management

The student will communicate this request of confidentiality via the master’s thesis platform when

verifying and validating all information needed for the composition of the master’s thesis jury

(www.uclouvain.be/en-lsm-master-thesis) and will also mention this confidentiality on the cover of the

Master’s Thesis.

If the body requires it, a confidentiality agreement is available on www.uclouvain.be/8118. It must be

signed by the supervisor. It is not possible to design special adaptations to this document, as to possible

specific wishes of one or other of the parties involved in the master’s thesis.

Only the members of the Master’s Thesis board (supervisor, internal reader and external reader) can be

shown the text. They are required to treat it in the strictest confidence. The library copy of the Master’s

Thesis may only be consulted 10 years after the date on which the Master’s Thesis was submitted. It

should be noted that only the body which requested the confidentiality originally is entitled to agree that

the confidentiality should be lifted.

5. CONTACTS

Academic Directors of Masters’ programmes

Prof. Gerrit Sarens – Academic Director for the Master in Management

Prof. Leonardo Iania - Academic Director for the Master in Business Engineering

LSM Student Office

Astrid Kontzler – Administrative Manager for the Master in Management

astrid.kontzler@uclouvain.be +32(0)10 47 83 13

Dominique Warte - Administrative Manager for the Master in Business Engineering

dominique.warte@uclouvain.be +32(0)10 47 83 15

Estelle Tonon – For international Programmes DD, IB

estelle.tonon@uclouvain.be +32(0)10 47 83 25

Marie Lefèvre – Study Advisor

marie.lefevre@uclouvain.be +32(0)10 47 83 09

Openings:

Hall Doyen Building, B001

Opening hours: From Monday to Thursday from 10:00 to 11:30 and on Thursdays from 13:30 to 15:00

Closures: please check on www.uclouvain.be/en-373585

Master’s Thesis Guidelines – Target 2016 17/17 Louvain School of Management

ANNEXE 1

Code of ethics for students on borrowed material, quotations and use of varied sources

(Academic Council, 9 February 1998)

Problem

The proliferation of sources of information, particularly those offering "personal" work via the internet brings the old problem of correctly using source material into sharp focus.

Positive aspects to be encouraged...

Firstly, we should highlight the positive aspects of access to information:

- The progress we can bring to the state of knowledge has its roots in previous knowledge constructed by others. It would be pointless to reinvent the wheel and the gathering of data is work that is not only permissible and useful, but also indispensable since it enables us to use, in our own work, the results and ideas of other authors to construct our own thinking and to enter the world of intellectual research. It is therefore crucial for the student to realize early on in his or her university education how important it is to research all the relevant sources of information: the first pieces of individual work, which must be encouraged, are the first practice steps; for a degree Master’s Thesis and a doctoral thesis, it is essential.

- The quality of the work depends on the quality and the variety of the information which has been gathered. In the search for information, the student can take advantage of all the resources made available by the University, such as access to libraries, the internet, courses, lectures, seminars and laboratories. In these different areas, students should be able to depend on the help of the teaching staff to find, sort and check information.

But also rules for good behaviour

The use of information must follow simple but strict ethical guidelines: respect for intellectual property and truth prevents it from being passed off as one’s own, even if, by omission, it is work that one has not done.

It is therefore important to clearly quote sources; this enables the work to be critically judged by the reader who can therefore appreciate for himself the quality of the information.

In particular, the student should always take care to make a clear distinction between what comes from others and what is his or her individual work: quotations from authors should be indicated by quotation marks or other methods used in the discipline; if they are slightly amended, even by emphasizing certain words, this should be indicated (for example by using the phrase "our underlining"); commentaries which closely follow a text or work which is an adaptation must be indicated as such (“here we are following X’s ideas, adapting them to our context"); translations should mention the author, who may be the student himself or herself; personal contributions may, of course, be indicated as such and are to be encouraged.

The bibliography should be precise and always enable the source to be found (books, articles, etc). Courtesy demands that important unwritten information gathered orally should be indicated. The use of information from the internet has not yet been codified, but as a matter of ethics, the sources of a piece of academic work should be indicated; here, as elsewhere, it is not acceptable for a student to pass off completed work taken from the internet as his or her own.

Plagiarism, fabrication and falsification of results are, without exception, considered as serious misconduct. www.uclouvain.be/plagiat