Writing your thesis at HAAGA-HELIA

Report Guidelines Working Group

Guidelines

2009

Abstract

Date of presentation of thesis

Degree programme

AuthorsIndicate here the authors, one after the other. Place the first name before the surname, and list the names in alphabetical order by surname.

GroupX

The title of your thesisPlace here the title of your thesis. If your title has two parts, place it on two rows as shown below:Open communications during a publicity crisisCase study: The Finnish Ski Association

Number of pages and appendices27 + 1

SupervisorsIndicate here the names of your thesis supervisor/s, one after the other. Give the first name before the surname. Place the primary su-pervisor first.

These guidelines show you how to prepare a coherent thesis, and gives instructions on the layout. The layout of this page is that of the thesis abstract form. The remaining pages follow the layout to be used for the other parts of the thesis, so use this document as your thesis template.

HAAGA-HELIA students are to prepare their theses using these guidelines, which are to be followed by students in all degree pro-grammes. These guidelines replace previous guidelines in force at HAAGA-HELIA, the Haaga Institute and the Helsinki Business Poly-technic (HELIA).

The thesis abstract is to present key topics/findings in such a way that the reader gets a good understanding of what the thesis con-tains. In addition to presenting key facts, the abstract is to briefly present the background context for the thesis, as well as objectives, scope, implementation, methods (if applicable), timeframe of re-search (if applicable), and also analysis, results and conclusions.

The abstract is not to be longer than one page. Use standard English, and be concise and objective so that all target readers will under-stand what your thesis is about. Use complete clauses and sentences. Partition your text into paragraphs and separate them with an extra line break. Start a new paragraph for each new topic. The abstract must not contain source references. Never use the first person singu-lar.

Abstract

Date of presentation of thesis

Degree programme

Key wordsThe abstract ends with a list of key words, i.e. 3-6 words that best de-scribe the contents of your thesis. Place the words in order of import-ance and make effort to formulate them so that your thesis will be found if a key word is entered as a search term in a library database.

Table of contents

1 Introduction............................................................................11.1 Writing your thesis is good practice for life after graduation

11.2 The thesis – research-oriented or project-oriented?.......2

2 Thesis structure and contents................................................42.1 The cover.........................................................................42.2 Abstract............................................................................52.3 Table of contents..............................................................52.4 Introduction.....................................................................62.5 The presentation..............................................................62.6 Summary and conclusion.................................................72.7 Bibliography.....................................................................8

2.7.1 Source criticism......................................................82.7.2 References..............................................................82.7.3 Footnotes..............................................................152.7.4 Bibliography..........................................................16

2.8 Attachments...................................................................183 Layout...................................................................................19

3.1 The cover.......................................................................193.2 Abstract..........................................................................203.3 Table of contents............................................................203.4 Headings........................................................................213.5 Text................................................................................213.6 Tables and figures..........................................................213.7 Lists................................................................................233.8 Bibliography...................................................................233.9 Attachments...................................................................23

Bibliography.............................................................................25Appendices...............................................................................28

Appendix 1. The structure of the thesis report....................28

1 Introduction

As a HAAGA-HELIA student, you are to prepare your thesis using these guidelines. This is required of students in all degree programmes. These guidelines replace previous guidelines in force at HAAGA-HELIA, the Haaga Institute and the Helsinki Business Polytechnic (HELIA).

These guidelines show you how to compile a well-structured thesis, in-cluding instructions on the layout. This document follows the layout to be used in your thesis, so use the document as your thesis template. Familiarise yourself also with further advice and resources made avail-able on the HAAGA-HELIA website. These guidelines also provide in-formation about the kind of style and language you should use to en-sure that your text serves its purpose and the needs of the reader. Here you will also find tips on how to use Microsoft Word when writing your thesis.

These guidelines are based on the guidelines that were previously in use at HAAGA and HELIA. The guidelines have been prepared by the Report Guidelines Working Group, whose members were Tommi Im-monen, Juha Lindstedt, Sirke Lohtaja, Helena Mansio, Pirjo Nuotio and Elizabeth San Miguel. Other participants were Irina Hokkonen, Kristiina Huff, Saija Laitinen, Raisa-Liisa Moilanen, Helena Mustonen, Raija Niemelä, Anja Rosenström, Kati Selvenius, Vuokko Vanhala, Kaija Varjola-Vahvelainen and Timo Vuorimaa.

1.1 Writing your thesis is good practice for life after graduation

Thesis work provides students with lots of practice in skills required from all people in business management and professional jobs. These include, for example, information retrieval skills, information analysis skills, creative problem solving skills, as well as the ability to act on the basis of reliable information.

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The thesis is a mandatory part of studies in universities of applied sci-ences in Finland, as given in the decree on studies in universities of ap-plied sciences (Decree on Polytechnics 352/2003). At HAAGA-HELIA, the thesis covers 15 ECTS, which covers independent study, and parti-cipation in methodology counselling and a thesis seminar.“The purpose of the thesis is to build and indicate the student’s ability to apply his or her knowledge and skills in a practical task relating to the student’s professional studies” (Decree on Polytechnics 352/2003). Planning, writing and presenting the thesis familiarises the student with how knowledge is produced in the student’s chosen field of expert-ise.

Your thesis indicates your ability to successfully complete a large-scale assignment on your own, including familiarisation with your topic and a command of your chosen methods. The overall objective is that you learn to successfully search for information, process this information independently, present the results clearly and logically, and assess your work as well as the work of fellow students. Your thesis shows your ability to engage in independent and critical thinking, as well as your ability to organise your findings in a clear and logical manner. In your thesis work, you also gain valuable practice in seeking for and making successful use of information relevant to your thesis topic. You also gain valuable practice in organising your thoughts and completing the actual job of writing a comprehensive report with a predetermined scope.

When completing your thesis, you gain practice in producing informa-tion for professional use. At universities of applied sciences, emphasis is placed on the practical nature of the thesis and its applicability to practical problem-solving situations. In addition to promoting your pro-fessional growth, the aim is that you can make use of your thesis in job search or in your future job.

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All completed theses are made available to the public and stored in the library. The thesis includes the thesis grade, which means that the grade is also public information. The thesis supervisor attaches his or her assessment (grade) to the thesis before the thesis is bound. Mater-ial that involves business or professional secrets is placed aside as background material (not made available to the public), and is not as-sessed. Please familiarise yourself with more detailed guidelines in this regard, which you can find on our Extranet under Studies >Thesis.

1.2 The thesis – research-oriented or project-oriented?

A thesis at HAAGA-HELIA can be a research study, a product develop-ment assignment, or an event, training, planning or development pro-ject. In other words, the thesis can be either research-oriented or pro-ject-oriented. In a research-oriented thesis, the student investigates a chosen topic and writes a report on the findings. In a project-oriented thesis, the student produces and achieves an outcome, and describes the outcome in a report. The length of a standard thesis is 40–60 pages, exclusive of appendices. The length of theses completed in pairs or groups is 60–100 pages. The minimum length of a project-oriented thesis (report) is 20 pages. The thesis structure is presented in ap-pendix 1.

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2 Thesis structure and contents

The thesis always contains a written part (report part), including an introduction, a theoretical framework, a process description and a con-cluding analysis. The thesis and other HAAGA-HELIA reports are al-ways to include an abstract. The thesis always begins with an introduc-tion and ends with a concluding analysis, the perusal of which will give the reader a clear understanding of what were the objectives and con-clusions. For people in working life, the information provided in the ab-stract and conclusion is often sufficient, and for this reason it is import-ant to write these with special care. The thesis is divided into main chapters and sections (also called as subchapters), the contents of which are determined by the topic chosen and methodology employed. Organise your thesis logically, and divide your text into paragraphs. Make references to your sources, and indicate these using the proper reference format.

This chapter shows you how to prepare a well-structured thesis, which serves its key target audiences, i.e. students, teachers and business community representatives.

2.1 The cover

Supply your thesis with a cover page. The thesis cover differs some-what from the covers of other reports. The thesis cover should include:

the school logo the thesis title the author/s: First name Last name the document type, i.e. thesis the degree programme the year of completion.

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You can edit your thesis title also after you have completed your work to ensure that the title matches the contents. The template file for the cover page is on the Extranet (Studies >Thesis).

2.2 Abstract

The thesis must always contain an abstract. The abstract is one-page long, and is placed after the cover page and before the table of con-tents. The abstract will be the most often read part of your thesis, and therefore it is important that you write it with care. The abstract provides a clear overview of your thesis, and as such describes the key contents of your thesis. The abstract must not contain source refer-ences. Never use the first person singular.

The abstract presents in brief:

the background or points of departure for the topic the scope and objectives of the thesis the thesis implementation and methodology employed the timeframe for the study the results and conclusions.

The abstract ends with a list of key words, usually 3–6 words, that best describe the thesis topic and contents. Use commonly used reference or search terms as your key words. Place the words in order of import-ance. All theses should include an abstract in English. Following the English abstract, your thesis can include an abstract in Finnish or in a language used by the company that commissioned the thesis. The tem-plate file for the abstract is on the Extranet.

2.3 Table of contents

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Your thesis is also to include a table of contents, which is to be placed after the abstract. The page is to have the heading “Table of contents”. The table of contents provides a quick overview of the structure of the work, as well as the relationships between its parts. In other words, it shows the order in which topics are discussed, as well as the relation-ships between the chapters, sections and subsections.

Enumerate your chapters, sections and subsections. Chapters start from the left margin, and the sections and subsections are indented. Each section at a higher hierarchical level is always to have at least two subsections at a lower level. For example, if you wish to establish sections for chapter 2, you should have at least two of them, i.e. sec-tions 2.1 and 2.2. Please remember, however, that too many divisions into subsections (e.g. section 2.1.1.4) can become confusing. To ensure that the structure of your work remains as easy to comprehend as pos-sible, strive to enumerate all headings in your work. The table of con-tents should only include headings that have been enumerated.

2.4 Introduction

Start the text proper with an introduction. The introduction has two primary tasks: to raise the reader’s interest and to provide the reader with background information about your topic. Make your introduction interesting and concise. Your introduction has been successful if it provides a good understanding of what your thesis is about.

The introduction begins with some background information about your topic in such a way that the reader will get an idea of the larger frame-work and relationships of the work. In order to raise interest, the intro-duction can also call into question an old belief or understanding about your topic. You can also inform the reader about why your topic is im-portant, of current interest or otherwise interesting.

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If your thesis is a project-based one, your introduction is also to explain the main objectives and secondary objectives of the project, and if your thesis is a research-based one, it should explain the main research and secondary research questions, as well as the scope of the work and the methodology employed. Furthermore, the introduction can present the commissioning party and the key concepts employed, as well as provide a description of key factors affecting the work’s structure. A descrip-tion of the work's structure should not be a mere repetition of the table of contents, but rather provide a deeper explanation of the headings.

It is best that you finalise your introduction only after you have com-pleted the remainder of your thesis, and know the results of your in-quiry (even if you decide not to give the results this early in the work). Nevertheless, it is good to write a tentative introduction when you start writing your thesis, as this helps you to get an overall understanding of your topic. A good introduction is short; for a thesis 2-4 pages.

2.5 The presentation

After the introduction comes the presentation, which consists of a the-oretical part and an empirical part. The theoretical part provides the theoretical background of your thesis. It is based on reference literat-ure and earlier research, and places your thesis within a more general context (e.g. phenomenon studied). If you have not presented and defined your key concepts in the introduction, you should do this as early as possible in the presentation. The concepts are to be defined within a conceptual scheme that is known, established and accepted by experts. This ensures, for example, that concepts like "business idea" and "professional competence" are understood in the conventional way. The theory or theories you employ must always be presented with suffi-cient detail, and you must also indicate how the theory relates to the empirical part.

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The theoretical part is followed by the empirical part, which presents the findings of your own research. In research-based theses, the empir-ical part is further divided into four parts: collection and handling of data, presentation of methods, description of results, and interpretation of results. Similarly, a project-based thesis is divided into project plan, project implementation, results and assessment. Present your results in the order that the research questions were presented. Each part should be described with the level of detail required, i.e. that the reader un-derstands what you did, how you did it, and what the result was. A pro-ject-based thesis should be precise enough that the reader would be able to reproduce the results achieved on the basis of the information provided.

2.6 Summary and conclusion

The readers of your thesis, especially if they are the commissioning party, are interested in your summary and conclusion. This section re-views the key results, and the conclusions that can be made from them. It also discusses the significance and reliability of the results, and their value with regard to both theory and practice. The section proceeds from the presentation of the results to a general discussion.(See also appendix 1.)

It is good to begin the summary and conclusion with a review of the work’s primary objective and purpose, followed by a review of the key results. The summary and conclusion should indicate how successfully the thesis questions were solved. This can include mention of any para-doxes or similar that you have discovered during the course of your work.

In the summary and conclusion, it is also advisable to mention if there were any limitations in your research method, and if so, what they were and how they could be further improved upon in further research. In addition, the summary and conclusion should make note of how your

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thesis contributed to the topic under study, and the extent to which your results can be generalised. This section also often makes recom-mendations and gives examples of how your findings can be utilised in practice. And finally, it is advisable to give any recommendations or suggestions for further research.

2.7 Bibliography

The theoretical part of your thesis, i.e. the research framework, is based on your references. These include research studies, books, art-icles, interviews, the Internet, professional seminars, lectures, as well as reports produced by companies, associations or the public sector. You are to indicate all your sources both in the text proper and in the bibliography, which is to be placed at the end of your thesis. This al-lows the reader to check from where you have obtained the information you present. In addition, your sources allow the reader to determine the quality and reliability of your work.

2.7.1 Source criticism

One of the thesis objectives set for your work by HAAGA-HELIA is to provide you with good practice in learning to use source materials com-mon in your field, as well as practice in assessing their value and reli-ability with regard to your work. Good indicators of reliability are the recognition and expertise of the author. It is also advisable to assess the reliability and objectivity of a source on the basis of the work’s in-tention. Thus, for example, a company advertisement or other market-ing materials do not meet the criteria of objectivity set for a research study. A reliable source is up-to-date (i.e. relatively new), even though you cannot always assess the value of a source solely on the basis of when it was written. All fields have their classics, which have retained their value from one decade, or even century, to the next.

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2.7.2 References

By indicating your sources, you indicate when you refer to other texts and when you borrow from them. In other words, by indicating your sources, you separate your own information and opinions from the in-formation and opinions of your source materials. If you present the ideas or text of others as your own, you are guilty of plagiarism, i.e. lit-erary theft. You will find more information on plagiarism, as well as other wrongful practices, in separate guidelines on HAAGA-HELIA’s Extranet under Studies >Thesis. Indicating your sources is also an issue of trust: They provide the reader with a means to verify that the information provided is correct and that this information has been presented in a proper context. In addition, source references allow the reader to judge the value of any claims made in the text.

The practices for indicating references vary between fields. Neverthe-less, whatever the field, sources are to be indicated in such a way that the reader clearly understands when a portion of text is based on an outside source and when such a portion is based on the writer’s own points of view. A source reference in the text proper should always be as short as possible so that it does not hinder reading, but nevertheless contains sufficient detail to make it easy to locate the source in your bibliography. A source reference in your text must always find its match in your bibliography, with the sources listed in the bibliography in alphabetical order, either starting with the author or publisher.

In HAAGA-HELIA theses and other reports, sources are always to be indicated in the text proper (i.e. footnotes are not to be used). Indicate your sources in parentheses following the Harvard system, i.e. the title and the year of publication. Indicate the page number/s of your source always if you are not making reference to the entire work. Separate the year from the page number/s with a comma. You should always indicate

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your source whenever you make either a direct or indirect reference. Below are listed the most common examples (they are included for the sake of clarity).

Example 1. Reference to a sentenceIf you refer to your source by means of a sentence, indicate your source in parentheses before the period.

Even though research studies indicate that mood has only a relatively small impact on satisfaction, this impact should still be taken into account in customer satisfaction surveys (Grönroos 2001, 112-113).

Example 2. Reference to several sentencesIf your reference to a source runs for longer than one sentence, indic-ate your source after the period of the final sentence, i.e. place a period after the sentence and inside the parenthesis of the reference informa-tion.

Companies that adapt their operations too much to accom-modate customer wishes will, sooner or later, be at the mercy of their customers. This means that the company will end up in situation set by the customers, without having a will of its own. (Storbacka & Lehtinen 1997, 17.)

Example 3. Direct quotationIt is advisable to use direct quotes sparsely so that they will retain their impact. Direct quotes should not be removed from their context. A short direct quote should always be placed in quotation marks “---”. A direct quote is considered short if it is at most three lines long. A direct quote must always be exactly as it was in the original text. If your quote is long, i.e. more than three lines, indent it (one tab) and use a smaller font size (10). The indentation shows that you have made a dir-

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ect quote, and therefore you do not need to place the text inside quota-tion marks.

To sum up, a text must always indicate what is the author’s “own”, and what has been borrowed from other sources, whether this be a direct quote, an abbreviation or a paraphrase (i.e. saying it in your own words). It is quite common for inexperienced writers to place a source reference, or possibly even a string of references, at the end of paragraph, without indicating which part of the paragraph is based on which source and which part reflects the author's own views. Such a practice does not meet the accuracy and reliability requirements of academic or scientific writing. (Hirsjärvi, Remes & Sajavaara 2004, 322.)

Example 4. One authorPlace in parenthesis the author’s surname, the year of publication of the work, and the page numbers where the information referenced can be found.

(Lotti 2001, 65.)(Kauppinen 2002, 38.)

Example 5. Two authorsIf you refer to a text that has two authors, always indicate both in your source reference. If you do this in your text proper, combine the names with the and conjunction. Inside parenthesis the names are combined with the & symbol. Write the names in the same order that they are given in your source, even if they are not in alphabetical order.

(Aula & Heinonen 2002, 31.) According to Aula and Heinonen (2002, 31), …

Example 6. Three or more authorsIf there are 3–5 authors, list them all when you refer to the source for the first time.

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(Hirsjärvi, Remes & Sajavaara 2001, 322.)

In later references, list only the first author followed by the abbrevi-ation et al.

(Hirsjärvi et al. 2001, 322.)

If there are more than six authors, use the abbreviated version also in the first reference (the full list is to be provided in your bibliography).

(Lonka et al. 2001, 15.)

Example 7. Referring to more than one sourceYou can also refer to more than one source in any given portion of text. In such a case, place your sources in parenthesis in alphabetical order. Separate the publications by means of a semi-colon.

(Grönroos 2001, 112; Sillanpää 2002, 156.)

Example 8. Two publications by the same authorIf the same author has two publications published in the same year, differentiate between the them by using a letter in lower case as shown below.

(Kauppinen 2003a, 48; Kauppinen 2003b, 118.)

Example 9. The source is written with non-Latin or non-Scand-inavian lettersIf you are using sources which are written with non-Latin or non-Scandinavian letters, transliterate the author's name (or other refer-ence as in example 10) and refer to it in a standard way.

(Arseneva 2007) original: Арсеньева 2007

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Example 10. Reference when the author is unknownIf the author of your source is not known, indicate the name of the pub-lication or publisher.

(Wine Digest 5/2005, 9.)(Chamber of Commerce 2007, 12.)

Example 11. Reference to a text that refers to a third textAlways strive to get your information from the original source. How-ever, if you cannot locate the original source, you need to take recourse to a secondary source, i.e. a source that refers to the original. In such a case, you should indicate the secondary source as your reference.

Naukkarinen’s research showed that the student loan is not a popular alternative… (Virtanen 2005, 123.)Naukkarinen (2004, in Virtanen 2005, 234) argues that the popularity of student loans can be increased in many ways. Firstly …

Example 12. Reference to a websiteWhen referring to Internet sources, follow the same principles as for printed materials: Indicate the author and publisher’s name or the title of the publication and publication year, if available.

Indicate also the page number/s, if you are referring to a PDF file or similar. If you make several references to the same publication or pub-lisher, differentiate between the references by using a small letter.

(Lehtinen 2006.)(Finnair Oyj 2007a.)(Finnair Oyj 2007b.)

Example 13. Reference to an article on the Internet

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If an Internet article has the same format as a printed article, and if it also has an ISBN or ISSN number, refer to it in the same way as a prin-ted article. If you don’t know the author, refer to the publisher.

Indicate in your bibliography the URL (web address) that as such leads to your source.

http://www.kka.fi/julkaisut_tkteksti.lasso?id=1056http://www.kka.fi/pdf/julkaisut/KKA_207.pdf

Do not indicate in your bibliography a URL (web address) that leads to your source only through a specified address. Such addresses are usu-ally very long and might include special characters.

When referring to a database, indicate in your bibliography only the domain name, i.e. the top level address.

Not like this: https://helka.linneanet.fi/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon-.cgi? LANGUAGE=Finnish&SL=None&CNT=50& Search%5FArg=rantanen &Search%5FCode=NAME%5F&PID=7205&BROWSE =2&HC=1&SID=1But like this: https://helka.linneanet.fi

Example 14. LegislationRefer to legislation in such a way that the text can be found, e.g. on the online website of Finnish legislation (Finlex). For acts, always indicate the number and year, e.g. Act on Mediation in Labour Disputes (420/1962). If an act has been amended after its formulation, refer to the amended text (and indicate the date of amendment). References to acts are to include the following information in the order given:

The name of the act, e.g. Marriage Act 13 June 1929 (MA) (Note: Indicate the abbreviation if it is in general use.)

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The date the act was ratified, e.g. 13 June 1929/234 or 1929/234The Chapter, e.g. 2:The Section, e.g. 1The paragraph if the section contains more than one.The date of amendment and the amendment number in par-enthesis.

For example, if you refer to Chapter 2, Section 1, Paragraph 1 of the Marriage Act, which was amended on 16 April 1987 with Act number 411, refer to the text using the short or long format as follows:

MA 2:1.1 (16.4.1987/411), Si 201 MA Chapter 2, Section 1, Paragraph 1 (16 April 1987/411), Si 201.

Si 201 indicates the section in Suomen Laki I-II, a commercial publica-tion of Finnish statutes, in which the act is located. In the publication, acts covering the same topic are grouped together under the same signum, e.g. civil law, corporate law or criminal law. For example, in the case above Si refers to the civil law section in which acts and de-crees on marriage have been compiled together. Furthermore, 201 in-dicates that the Marriage Act is the first act in the section. You can verify the location of the act from Suomen Laki I-II. In your biblio-graphy, indicate the act as follows: Marriage Act 13 June 1929/234.

If you cite the act on measures for the reduction of smoking, indicate your source using the short or long format as follows:

Act on Measures for the Reduction of Smoking, Chapter 5, Section 13c (21 July 2006/700), So 610.Act on Measures for the Reduction of Smoking 5:13c (21.7.2006/700), So 610.

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In your bibliography, indicate the act as follows: Act on Measures for the Reduction of Smoking (693/76). You should cite the original date of the act if you refer to the act in general, and cite the date of amend-ment if you refer to an amended portion of the text.

In your text proper, your citation will look as follows:

An instrument used in the making of a crime can be seized by the state if the criminal act was intentional (Penal Code 2:16.1, Ri 101) or (Penal Code, Chapter 2, Section 16, Para-graph 1, Ri 101).

The shareholders of a limited liability company are not per-sonally liable for the company’s obligations (Finnish Com-panies Act 1:1.2, Yr 103) or (Finnish Companies Act Chapter 1, Section 1, Paragraph 2, Yr 103).

In your bibliography, the two acts above would be indicated as follows: Penal Code 19.12.1889 and Finnish Companies Act 734/78.

Example 15. Decrees and committee reportsYou can cite committee reports, for example, when you make reference to justifications from a societal point of view.

The thesis is also a part of studies leading to a graduate de-gree (Decree on Polytechnics (352/2003) Chapter 3, Section 4, Paragraph 1). In your bibliography, indicate your source as follows: Decree on Polytechnics 352/2003.

If kitchen employees have an inflamed wound on their hand, they cannot handle unpacked food (Regulation on the Hy-giene of Foodstuffs 852/2004/EC).

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According to the Committee Report on the Development of Teacher Education (1989, 26), …

Example 16. Interviews and information directly obtained from a personRefer to interviews or other information directly obtained from a per-son by means of the surname, the first letter of the first name, as well as a date that is as accurate as possible. For example, the format for letters, telephone interviews, lecture notes, e-mail or discussions is as follows:

(Laakso-Manninen, R. 14.3.2009.)

2.7.3 Footnotes

Footnotes can be used to provide additional information that is not re-quired for the clarification of a matter as such, but nevertheless shed light on some detail or otherwise provide useful additional info. Your text proper, however, must be able to stand on its own, i.e. be under-standable without footnotes.

You can, for example, place the original language of a translation or a mathematical equation in a footnote. You can also place numerical in-formation that otherwise would lower the readability of your text. Fur-thermore, you can describe or provide your evaluation of a source in a footnote, if you feel it is somehow significantly out of the ordinary, or otherwise of special interest. Aside from the above, please remember that HAAGA-HELIA policy is that footnotes are not to be used as source references.

2.7.4 Bibliography

The bibliography provides the reader with accurate information about your sources. The reader can use this information to seek further in-

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formation, and also to verify that the information is valid and assess the quality of your thesis.

Place the bibliography at the end of your thesis, before any attach-ments. The page is to have the heading “Bibliography”. Arrange your sources alphabetically according to the first word of each source. Do not provide separate sections for printed and non-printed sources. The bibliography is to include only sources that have been cited in the text.

The order of bibliography items for a book is:

the author or authors the publication year the title of the book the edition, if not the first the title of the publication series, if the book is a part of such a series the publisher and the publisher’s domicile.

The order of bibliography items for an article is:

the author or authors the year of publication the title (headline) the name of the magazine/periodical/newspaper the volume of the magazine/periodical/newspaper (i.e. the number of

years it has been published) the issue of the magazine/periodical/newspaper (i.e. the number for

the magazine for that year); for newspapers the section and date. the page number/s.

The order of bibliography items for an electronic publication is:

the name of the author (or publisher or publication) the publication date or update date

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the headline of the page you are referring to The URL (address) of the page the date of your reference, i.e. the date that you accessed the inform-

ation.

For collected works, i.e. books with a collection of articles, you are to indicate the author of the article, the year of publication, the title of the article, the editor/s of the collection, the name of the collection, the page/s, the publisher and publisher’s domicile.

For interviews, including information obtained directly from persons, you are to indicate the name of the interviewee, the date of the inter-view, the interviewee’s position in the organisation, the name of the organisation, location of the interview.

For sources which are originally written with non-Latin or non-Scand-inavian letters, you are to transliterate the author's name the name of the publication, letter by letter, into Latin-letter equivalents. After the transliterated names, indicate the author's name the name of the pub-lication in their original writing form.

For electronic sources, indicate the search term, publication year (if mentioned), headline or title of article, (name of publication, volume and number), as well as Internet address and date. It is always advis-able to keep a copy of any Internet source you use. Do not underline the Internet address in the bibliography.

For EC regulations, indicate the source information as provided in the Official Journal of the European Communities (Official Journal of the European Communities, number, date of publication and page number/s).

2.8 Attachments

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Place your attachments at the end of your thesis. This is where you loc-ate all material that you refer to in your text but do not to present in the text as such. An attachment can be, for example, a questionnaire used for gathering information, the covering letter sent with such a questionnaire, a document, an agreement or a large table or figure. Re-member that an attachment cannot stand on its own; it must always be referred to in your text.

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3 Layout

The layout of your thesis (and other reports) should follow the models provided in these guidelines. The basic layout is as follows:

top margin 2 cm, bottom margin 2 cm left margin 2 cm + binding space 2 cm, right margin 1.5 cm line spacing 1.5 identification info from top of page 1 cm font for chapter headings Garamond 15 pt, lower case, bold An empty line below chapter headings font for other headlines Garamond 12 pt, lower case, bold text font Garamond 12 pt.

Start your text from the left margin. Always use hyphenation and do not justify your text on the right side. Place the page number on the bottom centre of the page. The page numbering begins from the first page of the introduction and continues until the end of the work.

If in a project-oriented thesis the product is a text, the layout can fol-low, for example, the case company’s graphical guidelines which are appropriate for the target audience.

3.1 The cover

Use the cover of these guidelines as your template. The basic layout is as follows:

the thesis title: 15 pt bold, 9 cm from top the author/s: First name followed by last name (surname), in alpha-

betical order by surname; 12 pt, 11.5 cm from top the document type, i.e. thesis 12 pt, 25 cm from top, 9.2 cm from left

margin degree programme: 12 pt, 25.7 cm from top, 9.2 cm from left margin

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the year of completion: 12 pt, 26.5 cm from top, 9.2 cm from left margin.

Figure 1. Model cover for thesis

3.2 Abstract

Use the abstract form provided in these guidelines as your template.

3.3 Table of contents

Use the table of contents of this document as your template. The page is to have the heading “Table of contents”. Start the heading from the left margin, at 4.7 cm from the top of the page. Capitalise the first let-ter, then use lower case, bold, 15 pt. Do not give a number to this head-line. This document has an automatic table of contents.

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3.4 Headings

Headings communicate topics covered underneath them. In addition to main headings, use subheadings for the benefit of readers and those browsing through your thesis. Use at most two hierarchical levels for your headings, and do not make headings longer than one row. Num-ber your headings and place text under each heading. Start all head-ings from the left margin. Start every new chapter on a new page.

3.5 Text

Place a line break after each heading. Start the text proper from the left margin, aligned to the left margin (do not justify the text). Remem-ber to hyphenate the text. Separate paragraphs with a line break. Start a new paragraph for each new topic. Use typographical effects (e.g. italics and bold) sparsely so that they retain their effect. Do not under-line text.

3.6 Tables and figures

You can support your text with tables and figures. Figures are images, maps, diagrams and charts. Give a heading for each table and figure. Number tables and figures, each in their own series, e.g. Figure 1., Table 1. For tables, place the number and heading above the table; for figures, place the number and heading below the figure. In the text, refer to the table using lower case, and add a period after the number. Do not place a period after a table or figure heading. Start tables and figures at the same place as your text, i.e. on the left margin. If the in-formation provided is not from your own data, indicate the source for the table or figure after the heading. Do not mention any tables or fig-ures in your bibliography. If a table or figure is very large, or if there are many of them, place them in an attachment. Aim at using the same font layout in tables and in graphs as in other text in the thesis. Avoid three dimensional images because they easily distort the information

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contained. Each table or figure you use should also be referred to in the text. Nevertheless, the reader should be able to understand the text without consulting a table or figure provided.

Use the table below as a model.

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Table 1. Overnight stays in Finnish hotels by the four most important nationalities in 2000, 2004 and 2008, and their share of overnight stays by all foreign nationals (Statistics Finland 2009)

2000 2004 2008Overnight stays, (thou-sands)

Share %

Overnight stays, (thou-sands)

Share % Overnight stays, (thou-sands)

Share % 

All foreign-ers 3 511  100,0 3 658  100,0 4 668  100,0

Sweden 493 14,0 435 11,9 414 8,9

Germany 374 10,7 421 11,5 484 10,4

Russia 409 11,6 401 11,0 903 19,3

UK 352 10,0 368 10,1 471 10,1

The text close by a table is to present key facts about the table, for ex-ample as follows: In 2000 and 2004 Russians consistently spent annu-ally about four hundred thousand nights in Finnish, whereas in 2008 the corresponding figure was nine hundred thousand. Overnight stays by people from the UK, on the other hand, increased by 34 per cent over the eight-year period. The share of UK visitors in relation to all foreigners, however, grew by only 0.1 percentage points. This is be-cause total overnight stays have increased by about 1.2 million. (Table 1.)

When preparing figures, use the figure below as a model.

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Figure 2. The differences between female (n = 118) and male (n = 82) opinions about the cleanness and tidiness of the Puhos Shopping MallAs in the case with tables above, the text close by the figure should ex-plain key facts and conclusions about the figure.

3.7 Lists

Place a dash at the point where the text proper begins. Start the text 0.5 cm after the dash If the text of one item in your list runs for more than one line, always justify your text from the same point. Use a dash instead of other markers (e.g. bullet points). Use the lists provided in these guidelines as a model.

3.8 Bibliography

Your bibliography is to have the heading “Bibliography”. Start the heading from the left margin, 4.1 cm from the top of the page. Capital-ise the first letter, then lower case, bold, 15 pt. Do not give a number to this heading. Add an extra row after the heading and after each source reference. Line spacing 1.5.

3.9 Attachments

All reports, including your thesis, can have attachments. Mention the attachments at the end of the bibliography under the subheading “At-tachments”. Name and number the attachments, and write them under the subheading, as shown in the table of contents in these guidelines.

Start each attachment on a separate page and place them at the end of your thesis. If your attachments are in electronic format, supply them with the word Attachment, and the attachment name, number, and

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page number/s. If you are preparing the attachments using Word, add a 2 cm margin for binding, set the left margin to 0–2 cm, and right mar-gin 0–1.5 cm. If your attachments are not available in electronic format, write the word Attachment, and the attachment name, number and page number/s by hand. Supply also the electronic version of your thesis with attachment numbers, and strive to include the attachments within the thesis file proper. The page numbers of your thesis should run until the last page of the last attachment, even if you cannot supply a page number for all attachments due to technical reasons. The at-tachment pages, however, are not included in the total number of pages given for the thesis in the abstract; this page number is the same as the number on the last page of your bibliography. After this, you are to indicate the number of attachment pages after the + symbol.

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Bibliography

Decree on Studies at Universities of Applied Sciences 2003/352.

Below are some examples on how to indicate your sources in your bibli-ography [please note that you can place in brackets your translation of titles/headings of your sources that are in languages other than Eng-lish]:

Chamber of Commerce 2005. Yrityksen perustajan opas 2005 [Guide to starting your own company 2005]. Chamber of Commerce. Helsinki.

Finnair Oyj 1999. Finnair lentänyt tasan 30 vuotta New Yorkiin [Finnair has flown to New York for exactly 30 years]. Press release. URL:http://www.finnair.fi/sisalto/lue/uutiset/tiedotteet/990519.htm. Quoted: 10.4.2006.

Finnish Tourist Board 2007a. Foreign visitors in Finland in 2006. Bor-der interview survey. Finnish Tourist Board publication series MEK A:154:2007. Finnish Tourist Board. Helsinki. URL:http://www.mek.fi/web/MekEng/publish.nsf/6fbc23c71ea8ce81c2256a1b0039992c/edef028a2e327a5bc225718c00293c21/$FILE/A154%20Rajahaastattelututkimus_osa%2019_Koko%20vuosi%202006.pdf. Quoted: 29.9.2007.

Finnish Tourist Board 2007b. Travel facts. URL: http://www.mek.fi/web/MekEng/publish.nsf/6fbc23c71ea8ce81c2256a1b0039992c/60a856b5d3ec228cc2256f65003b4311/$FILE/Web%20Edition%20-%20MATKAILUFAKTAT%20-%20Travel%20Facts%202007%20v230207.pdf Quoted: 29.9.2007.

Grönroos, C. 2001. Palveluiden johtaminen ja markkinointi[The market-ing and management of services]. WSOY. Porvoo.

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HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences. Thesis Layout Guidelines. URL: http://www.haaga-helia.fi/en/studies/kuvat-ja-liitetiedostot/thesis-layout-standard.rtf. Quoted: 29.9.2006.

Hirsjärvi, S., Remes, P. & Sajavaara, P. 2004. Tutki ja kirjoita [Research and write]. 10. ed. Tammi. Helsinki.

Laakso-Manninen, R. 14.3.2009a. President. HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences. Interview. Helsinki.

Laakso-Manninen, R. 14.3.2009b. President. HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences. E-mail message.

Lehtonen, J. 1998. Yhteisöt ja julkisuus. Mainonnasta yhteiskunnalliseen keskusteluun [Communities and publicity. From ad-vertising to social dialogue. In Kivikuru, U.-M. & Kunelius, R. (eds.). Vienstinnän jäljillä [In quest of communications]. pp. 119–142. WSOY. Helsinki.

Lotti, L. 2001. Tehokas markkina-analyysi [Effective market analyses]. WSOY. Helsinki.

Ministry of Education 2005. Koulutus ja tutkimus 2003–2008. Kehittämissuunnitelmassa asetettujen vuoden 2008 koulutustarjonnan tavoitteiden väliarviointi [Research and education 2003-2008. Interim review of development objectives set for 2008]. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2005:45 [Ministry of Education com-mittee studies and memorandums]. Koulutus- ja tiedepolitiikan osasto [Department of education and science policy]. Helsinki University Print. Helsinki. URL: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2005/liitteet/tr45.pdf?lang=fi. Quoted: 21.9.2006.

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Mottiar, Z. & Quinn, D. 2004. Couple dynamics in household tourism decision making: Women as the gatekeepers? Journal of Vacation Mar-keting, 10, 2, pp. 149–160.

Opettajankoulutuksen kehittämistoimikunnan mietintö [Memorandum of the vocational teacher education development committee]. Kehittyvä opettajankoulutus [Developing vocational teacher eduation]. Commit-tee memorandum 1989:26. Edita. Helsinki.

Palace Kämp. Hotellit [Hotels]. URL: http://www.palacekamp.fi/index.asp?lang=fi. Quoted: 2.9.2006.

Penal Code 19.12.1889.

Regulation on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs 852/2004/EC. Regulation 852/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the hy-giene of foodstuffs. Official Journal of the European Communities, L226/3, 25.6.2004, pp. 3–21.

Sillanpää, M. 2002. Säännöstelty huvi. Suomalainen ravintola 1900-luvulla [Supervised pleasures. Finnish restaurants in the 1900s]. Biblio-theca Historica 72. SKS. Helsinki.

Statistics Finland 2009. Tourism statistics. URL: http://www.stat.fi/til/matk/index_en.html Quoted 3.6.2009.

Storbacka, K. & Lehtinen, J. 1997. Asiakkuuden ehdoilla vai asiakkaiden armoilla [Abiding to customer terms or at the mercy of cus-tomers]. WSOY. Helsinki.

Taipale, T. 2006. Kiina on jo täällä [China is already here]. Tal-ouselämä, 69, 30, pp. 32–37.

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AppendicesAppendix 1. The structure of the thesis report

RESEARCH-ORIENTED THESISAn empirical study*

PROJECT-ORIENTED THESISA study, an application, an ex-periment, a planning or devel-opment project

CoverOfficial assessment statement

AbstractAbstract in Finnish if instructed in the degree programme

guidelinesTable of contents

1 Introduction- general introduction- objectives, research questions, scope- concepts

1 Introduction- general introduction- goals, definition of assignment (detailed)- concepts

2 Theoretical partprior research

theories and modelsprofessional literature and other sources

3a Empirical part- presentation of target under study- data- methods (data acquisition and analysis)- results-summary

3b Empirical part- presentation of target under study- project plan- project implementation- presentation of results- evaluation

4 Discussion (analysis)assessment (reliability and validity)

conclusions and/or recommendationssuggestions for further research or development

(the discussion can also include an evaluation of the thesis process)Bibliography

Attachments (if any) Attachments: Documentation (the project outcome can be a separate document)

*For a theoretical/philosophical analysis, part 3 is somewhat different.

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