FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY

TITLE (MASTER’S THESIS/ BACHELOR’S

THESIS)

Author’s name

DEGREE PROGRAMME

Master’s thesis / Bachelor’s thesis

Month Year (e.g. August 2016)

FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY

TITLE (MASTER’S THESIS/ BACHELOR’S T…)

Author’s name

Supervisor(s): N. N.

DEGREE PROGRAMME

Master’s thesis / Bachelor’s thesis

Month Year (e.g. August 2016)

ABSTRACTFOR THESIS University of Oulu Faculty of TechnologyDegree Programme (Bachelor's Thesis, Master’s Thesis)

Major Subject (Licentiate Thesis)

Author Thesis Supervisor

Title of Thesis

Major Subject Type of Thesis Submission Date Number of Pages

AbstractAbstract is a compact (200-400 words) presentation where the aims, methods and results of the thesis are described. The word amount is not strict if all important things are abstracted in less than 200 words.The abstract must be an independent text and it should not include any citations to the actual thesis or any references therein. On the other hand, the abstract must not contain any information which has not been discussed in the actual thesis. The style of the abstract text is “Tiivistelmä”. The style's font is Times New Roman and the font size is 9 pt.

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO FILL IN A THESIS ABSTRACT FORM

Degree Programme (Bachelor's Thesis, Master’s Thesis): Fill in the name of the Degree Programme in full. If you are graduating in a special Master’s Degree Programme, fill in the full name of the Master’s programme.Major Subject (Licentiate Thesis): In the Abstract of a Licentiate Thesis, you should fill in the Major Subject.

Author: The family name of the author(s) comes first and the given name last. For example, “Doe, John”. Thesis Supervisor: The name of the teacher/researcher who supervised your thesis at the University; surname first, then the first letter of his/her given name, followed by his/her title (Professor etc.). Title of Thesis: The title of the thesis. If the thesis is written in Finnish the title is translated to English in the abstract.Major Subject: In this field, fill in the major subject (study option) / specialization you have studied in your degree programme. The degree programme can give you additional instructions if necessary. Type of Thesis: Write "Bachelor's Thesis" or "Master's Thesis" or "Licentiate Thesis". Submission Date: Write the submission date of the thesis month and year, e.g. "May 2013". Submission date means the date the thesis is uploaded to “Laturi”.Number of Pages: Number of pages in the thesis and the number of appendices. For example: …179 p., 5 App.

Abstract: The form of the abstract is free, but the language should be clear and concise. The abstract must be written so that it fits into the space provided in this abstract form (the whole abstract in one page). Discuss the following matters in your abstract: aims and goals of your thesis and the research question,- what it is you are trying to find out in your thesis,- your research methods,- your most important findings, and- how the results are to be used, their applicability and generalizability.

Additional InformationAdditional Information: You can leave this field blank if you do not have anything special to add.

TIIVISTELMÄ (Abstract in Finnish – Optional)OPINNÄYTETYÖSTÄ Oulun yliopisto Teknillinen tiedekuntaKoulutusohjelma (kandidaatintyö, diplomityö) Pääaineopintojen ala (lisensiaatintyö)

Tekijä Työn ohjaaja yliopistolla

Työn nimi

Opintosuunta Työn laji Aika Sivumäärä

TiivistelmäTiivistelmä on suppea (200 - 400 sanan pituinen) esitys, jossa kootaan työn tavoitteet, suoritus ja tulokset. Sanamäärä voi olla myös alle 200, jos tiivistelmässä on kerrottu kaikki oleellinen vähemmällä sanamäärällä. Tiivistelmän tulee olla itsenäinen teksti, eikä siinä saa viitata varsinaiseen työhön eikä lähteisiin. Toisaalta tiivistelmään ei saa kirjoittaa mitään sellaista, mitä ei ole esitetty työn varsinaisessa tekstiosassa. Tiivistelmän tekstiosan tyyli on Tiivistelmäteksti. Tyylin fontti on Times New Roman ja fonttikoko on 9 pt.

TIIVISTELMÄLOMAKKEEN TÄYTTÖOHJE

Koulutusohjelma (kandidaatintyö, diplomityö): Merkitään työn tekijän koulutusohjelman nimi täydellisenä (esim. ”Ympäristötekniikan koulutusohjelma”). Mikäli opinnäytetyö on tehty erilliseen maisteriohjelmaan, merkitään maisteriohjelman nimi. Pääaineopintojen ala (lisensiaatintyö): Lisensiaatintyön tiivistelmään merkitään pääaineopintojen ala.

Tekijä: Merkitään ensin tekijän sukunimi ja sitten etunimi, esimerkiksi: Teekkari, Tommi. Työn ohjaaja yliopistolla: Merkitään yliopistolla työtä ohjanneen opettajan/tutkijan nimi; ensin sukunimi ja sitten etunimen ensimmäinen kirjain sekä opettajan tehtävänimike, esim. Mattila M, lehtori. Työn nimi: Merkitään työn nimi. Englanninkielinen nimi merkitään vain, mikäli työ on kirjoitettu englanniksi. Opintosuunta: Merkitään opintosuunta, johon opinnäytetyö on tehty (esim. ”Vesi- ja yhdyskuntatekniikka”). Koulutusohjelma voi tarvittaessa antaa omat tarkentavat ohjeet. Työn laji: Merkitään "Kandidaatintyö", "Diplomityö" tai "Lisensiaatintyö". Aika: Merkitään työn jättöaika kuukauden tarkkuudella (esim. "Toukokuu 2013"). Jättöajalla tarkoitetaan sitä päivämäärää, jolloin työ ladataan Laturiin.Sivumäärä: Merkitään juokseva sivunumerointi ja liitteet (lukumäärä), esim. "179 s., 5 liitettä"

Tiivistelmä: Laaditaan vapaamuotoisesti, siten että tiivistelmä mahtuu sille varattuun tilaan tässä lomakkeessa (koko tiivistelmä yhdelle sivulle). Selväsanaisesti, lyhyin lauserakentein. Tiivistelmää laadittaessa tulee ottaa huomioon seuraavat seikat: - työn tavoitteet ja ongelman asettelu,- mitä työssä pyritään selvittämään, - käytetyt tutkimusmenetelmät ja metodit, - tärkeimmät tulokset, sekä - tulosten käyttö, hyödyntäminen ja tulosten yleistettävyys.

Muita tietojaMuita tietoja: Voidaan jättää täyttämättä ellei ole mitään erityistä mainittavaa.

PREFACE

The purpose of preface is to briefly define the primary significance of the thesis. The

time period of the thesis is also noted. Nevertheless, it is recommended that unnecessary

overlapping to Introduction section is avoided. Preface is not mandatory, especially in

terms of Bachelor’s theses. Preface can however be utilised for including such

information that cannot be naturally included elsewhere in the thesis.

For example, the author can describe the roles of the supervisors and describe any other

external support such as advice received, or received funding, etc. Customary is also to

show gratitude to supervisor/s, reviewer/s, and any other people who have significantly

influenced the thesis. Also family and friends can be mentioned. The author includes the

date, place and their own name at the end of the preface.

This Master’s thesis template by the Faculty of Technology of the University of Oulu is

prepared by using MS Word software. All the mentioned settings and rules have been

applied in this document. This template is based on earlier guidelines by the Faculty of

technology. This particular version is an English translation of the “Opinnäytetyöpohja

2014 (version that has been updated on 7.3.2016). Master’s students can apply this

document as a template as is by saving the template and replacing the text by their own

text.

Oulu, 22.8.2016 Mr John Doe

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Updating contents: Take your mouse cursor over the list of contents, right click – select update field – select either update page numbers only of update entire field. Table of contents will include all titles and title numberings that have been created by using heading styles. Please note that Abstract, Preface, Table of Contents, and abbreviations and definitions are prepared without page numbers.) Please remove the red text here in the final version of your thesis!

ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................

TIIVISTELMÄ (Abstract in Finnish – Optional)..................................................................

PREFACE..............................................................................................................................

TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................................

ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS............................................................................

1 THESIS STRUCTURE AND CONTENTS........................................................................

1.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................

1.2 Literature review..........................................................................................................

1.3 Research realisation......................................................................................................

1.4 Assessing the results.....................................................................................................

1.5 Conclusions and recommendations..............................................................................

1.6 Summary......................................................................................................................

1.7 References..................................................................................................................

1.8 Thesis appendices.......................................................................................................

2 CITATIONS AMONGST THE TEXT.............................................................................

2.1 Examples of citations.................................................................................................

3 Layout................................................................................................................................

3.1 Main title....................................................................................................................

3.2 Sub-heading................................................................................................................

3.3 Sub-heading for the sub-heading................................................................................

3.4 Page numbering..........................................................................................................

3.5 Linguistic viewpoints.................................................................................................

3.6 Formulas.....................................................................................................................

3.7 Figures and tables.......................................................................................................

APPENDICES:

APPENDIX 1. Figure Phases relevant to Master’s thesis

ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS

COD chemical oxygen demand

ci component’s i concertation

K hydraulic conductivity

k specific hydraulic conductivity

m mass

R resultant of external forces

α viscosity

µ dynamic viscosity

τw specific weight

ρ density

Abbreviations and definitions are presented in alphabetical order. When necessary the

list includes definitions for mathematical and other signs, followed by symbols so that

Latin, Greek, and other symbols are presented in their own groups. Small letters come

after the capital letters in the list. Abbreviations and symbols are opened up upon the

first use in the text. Line spacing in this list can be reduced by altering the line spacing

options and reducing the space after to 0 pt.

The abbreviations should not hinder the reading experience unnecessary. It is

recommended that abbreviations are utilised more than twice. The title in this section

can be either “Abbreviations and Definitions”, “Abbreviations and Symbols”, or just

“Abbreviations”, depending on the type of the thesis.

This section is not needed in case only few abbreviations are used in the thesis.

7

1 THESIS STRUCTURE AND CONTENTS

1.1 Introduction

The topic of the thesis is introduced in the Introduction. You can also describe why the

topic has been selected. The aim of the thesis is also presented as well as how the thesis

has been outlined. The Introduction section answers the questions of what is being

studied, why it is being studied, how it is being studied and what are the expected

results. The intention of this section is to raise the readers’ interest!

Introduction can present earlier studies on the topic. Simultaneously you describe why

the research presented in the thesis is necessary. After introducing the topic and the

research task, you generally describe those means the research problem is being

approached. Introduction often present the most important concepts utilised in the

thesis.

You may wish to consider carefully at which point of your research you have adequate

enough understanding to write a good introduction!

1.2 Literature review

Literature review is a very important part of your thesis. The theoretic background of

your thesis is presented thoroughly enough to the readers. Simultaneously you must be

careful of not making this section overly broad.

After writing the literature review the author should have a strong theoretical

background for realising the rest of the thesis. The literature review clarifies the

prevailing situation surrounding the topical area, and positions one’s research in the

scientific field.

1.3 Research realisation

Research realisation can be divided into three sub-sections:

- compiling materials,

8- applying research methods, and

- results.

The literature review and the research realisation must always have a clear connection.

Depending on the thesis, this section can be utilised for analysing/contemplating for

example laboratory results, simulations, mathematical modelling, or projects alternative

realisations.

Research materials, methods, and arrangements are described in such a detail that

another researcher in the same field could repeat the research/tests. In case the thesis

utilises broadly well-known methods, a narrow description and just mentioning the

method may be adequate in some cases. The descriptions can also include precise

descriptions of equipment, test arrangements, analyses, and other procedures before and

after the test run, test, modelling.

The research results are also presented in this section without commenting them.

Results can be presented with complementary tables and other graphical

representations. In case the results are excessive, and they are too much to present in

tables or listed among the text, then use of appendices is advised.

1.4 Assessing the results

The reliability and validity of the results is important to be contemplated. The results are

compared to earlier results and the differences are attempted to explain. Also the

significance of the results is assessed.

1.5 Conclusions and recommendations

Conclusions arise from test results, hence their link to concrete research results must be

clearly marked. In general, later studies often refer to this section when citing your

work.

Recommendations are based on conclusions, and can entail for example new ideas and

improvement recommendations for a particular product, company, sector, or the

research problem under study.

91.6 Summary

Thesis summary describes the whole created by the study, in a manner of revision,

starting from the topic and ending with final conclusions. The summary can

contemplate challenges linked to the study and outline continuity for taking the topic

further. References are no longer utilised in the summary.

Summary differs from the abstract as abstract is written for a reader who do not

necessary know the entire thesis, while summary is written as a revision to someone

who already has read the text. The author must remember that quite often only the

abstract and the summary are read!

10

1.7 References

List of references is the final part of the thesis before appendices. A citation has two

parts, of which one part is among the text (the citation), and the other, the exact, detailed

reference in the reference list.

All those references that are cited among the text are listed in the list of references.

Also, all the references listed must be cited at least once amongst the text. The reader

must be able to find the cited publications based on the details listed in the reference

list. For example, all the author names must be included with the reference, regardless

of how many they are. The list of references must be written in a uniform style.

Bournemouth University’s BU Guide to Citation and Referencing in the Harvard Style

is utilised as a guideline for preparing references (i.e. the “name, year” system is

utilised). The guide can be found in the faculty webpage on the Finnish section

”Diplomityö ja Valmistuminen”. Harvard citation style is widely used in scientific

writing.

Different type of publications are listed differently in the list of references, depending

on whether they are journals, standards, patents, regulations, map, electronic

publications, or unpublished material such as an email.

The references are listed in an alphabetical order. The title references is NOT

numbered, even if other titles had numbers. The reference list is also started from the

beginning of a blank page, the same way as a main title. Book editions do not need to be

noted when only one edition exists (1st edition).

Often publications are missing the editor’s name. In case the publication is result of

work by multiple authors, or it has been published by a certain instance (e.g. UO,

University of Oulu etc.). In this type of cases it is possible to use the term “Anonymous

(Anon.)”, or the publisher (UO 2016) (see p. 13). The following shows what details

must be presented when using the most typical sources.

11

Books

Lastname, INITIALS (of given names)., year of publication. Book title. Edition (if

multiple). Place of publication: Publisher, (Total number of pages) p. ISBN-number

Nykänen, O., 2002. Toimivaa tekstiä – Opas tekniikasta kirjoittaville. Helsinki:

Tekniikan Akateemisten Liitto TEK, 212 s. ISBN 952-5005-64-X

Each initial must be followed by a full stop. If the title has two parts (on separate lines),

“–” is utilised to separate the lines (as in the above example).

- Multiple authors:

Lastname, INITIALS (of given names)., Lastname, INITIALS (of given names)., &

Lastname, INITIALS (of given names)., year of publication. Book title. Edition (if

multiple). Place of publication: Publisher, (Total number of pages) p. ISBN-number

Hirsjärvi S., Remes P. & Sajavaara P., 2007. Tutki ja kirjoita. 13 painos. Helsinki:

Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi, 448 s. ISBN 978-951-26-5635-6

- Edited book:

Lastname, INITIALS (of given names). (ed.), year of publication. Book title. Edition (if

multiple). Place of publication: Publisher, (Total number of pages) s. ISBN-number

Paukkeri A., Pongrácz E. & Ylä-Mella J. (toim.), 2009. Energy research at the

University of Oulu, Proceedings of the EnePro conference. Oulu: University of Oulu,

144 s. ISBN 978-951-42-9154-8

ISBN (International Standard Book Number)-code at the end helps in localising the

publication.

12When citing a book, the total number of pages must be included in the reference,

whereas the citation amongst the text must include the page numbers where the citation

originates.

Parts of an edited book

An edited title, for example a book, article or conference publication, one that

constitutes of parts written by separate authors. In this type of cases, only the name of

the part where the cited information is found is written. This is followed by text “In

ed.:”, followed by the details of the entire title. Please see an example below:

Last name of the author of the part, INITIALS (of given names)., year of publication.

Name of the part. In ed.:”, Last name of the title editor, INITIALS (of given names).

(ed.) Title (name of the entire title). Edition (if multiple). Place of publication:

Publisher, P. (page numbers where the part is presented). ISBN-number

Narasimhan T. N., 2009. Hydrological Cycle and Water Budgets. In ed.: Likens G. E.

(ed..) Encyclopedia of Inland Waters - River Ecosystem ecology. New York: The

Institute of Ecosystem Studies, P. 16-22. ISBN 978-0-12-370626-3

Serial publication (incl. Universities/ Companies serial publications, report series’)

ISSN (International Standard Serial Number)- code can be found for example in

companies serial publications, annual reports, report series’, and other magazines.

Nevertheless it is not commonly included in the reference list. The following provides

some examples:

Series editor’s lastname, INITIALS (of given names)., year of publication. Title,

Volume number (part number). Place of publication: Publisher, Serial publisher (e.g.

Acta), (total number of pages) s.

Below example of a serial publication is also a book, a reason why ISBN-code is

included. ISSN-code is not included.

13Basile A., 2013. Handbook of membrane reactors, Volume 1: Fundamental materials

science, design and optimisation, Woodhead publishing series in energy, number 55.

United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing Limited, 663 s. ISBN 978-0-85709-414-8

Journal article

When citing a journal article, or any other seasonal publications, both volume and

number are important. The list of references includes:

Lastname, INITIALS (of given names)., year of publication. Article title. Journal name,

Volume (Vol.) Number (No.), page numbers.

Elsner, J., 2008. Hurricanes and Climate Change. Bulletin of the American

Meteorological Society, 89 (5), p. 677-679.

Electronic publication

Different types of electronic publications follow a variety of citation patterns. However,

in principle they have similarities to books, conference publications and journals. The

following characteristics are distinct to electronic publications:

- The reference includes the presentation format [website] (In case of www-pages

and Internet based separate files), [online journal], [disk] tai [email] and

- [date of access] and ”available at: website”, must be included if the web-based

information is prone to changes. This is however not included in case of web-

based books (Nykänen 2002, p. 100; Bournemouth University).

The date of access shows when the publications has been available online. Taking an

electronic copy of the publication may be wise to avoid difficulties if the publication

disappears from the web.

Further details on citing an electronic source can be found form a national standard on

citing electronic sources SFS 5989:2012, one that is based on an international ISO

standard ISO 690: 2010.

14

15Webpage

Lastname, INITIALS (of given names)., year of publication. Main page’s title, sub-

pages title [online document]. Place of publication: Publisher (This information may be

available in contact details, contact us etc.) Available: Web-address (remove hyperlink)

[cited].

In below example, the authors are not known, hence the exception to the above

guideline. Also, the year of publication of the OYY reference is unknown, therefore the

year of citation is utilised (the current year).

University of Oulu, 2016. Urkund, Opiskelija [online document]. Oulu: University of

Oulu. Available: http://www.oulu.fi/urkund/opiskelija [cited 9.7.2016].

OYY, 2014. Plagiointi ja lunttaaminen, Opiskelun etiikka [online document]. Oulu:

OYY. Available: http://www.oyy.fi/opiskelijalle/opiskelijana-yliopistolla/plagiointi-ja-

lunttaaminen/ [cited 9.7.2016].

Report available online

Author, year of publication. Report title [online document]. Place of publication:

Publisher. Report number (if available). Available: website [cited]. (Total number of

pages) p.

Bournemouth University, 2013. BU Guide to Citation and Referencing in the Harvard

Style [online document]. Bournemouth: Bournemouth University. Available:

http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/local-assets/how-to/docs/citing-references.pdf

[cited 19.8.2016]. 13 p.

Kosonen K, 2006. Diplomityöohje [online document]. Oulu: University of Oulu. 47 p.

Online based edited document

Latname of the editor, INITIALS (of given names). (ed.), year. Document title [online

document]. Place of publication: Publisher. Available: website [cited]. (Total number of

pages) p.

16Klöve B. & Vahala R. (ed.), 2014. Suomen vesiohjelma – Kansallisaarteesta elämän

lähteeksi [online document]. Available: http://www.mmm.fi/attachments/vesivarat/

5wpnZ2sbT/Suomen_vesiohjelma_www.pdf [cited 18.8.2016]. 36 p.

The above citation does not have a clear publisher, hence the publisher and the place of

publication are left out of the reference.

Email

Senders last name, INITIALS (of given names)., year. Message title [private email].

Recipient: Name. Sent xx.xx.xxxx time. xx.xx (GMT +0200)

Standard

Standards abbreviation -number, year of publication. Standard name. Edition (if

multiple). Place of publication: Publisher, total number of pages + appendices pages p.

SFS-ISO 14001, 2004. Environmental management systems, requirements and

guidelines for their application. Finnish standards association SFS: 81+ 50 p.

1.8 Thesis appendices

Material that is not wanted in the main thesis, or cannot be reasonably fit as a part of the

main manuscript can be included as appendices. Generally appendices contain such

background information that can support reading the thesis and are necessary to

understand the content (e.g. code listings), or such material that does not fit in the main

manuscript (e.g. large tables and figures). Also, tables that are cited in several sections

may be best included as appendices.

Each appendix must be cited at least once in the text. The appendices are numbered in

the same order as they are cited in the text. On the other hand, the appendices should be

understandable independently; each appendix will be given a title, and if tables and

figures are included, also they are named as would be amongst the main text. Appendix

1 is provided as an example of the above described. The appendix present phases

relevant for a master’s thesis.

17Appendices title that also shows in the contents is either selected APPENDIX or

APPENDICES depending on whether they are one or multiple. The table of contents

will not include page numbers for the appendices. The appendix title will appear after

title. Appendices are numbered separately, meaning that the text page numbering does

not continue across the appendices. In case the appendix has multiple pages, the pages

are numbered manually at the upper corner: Appendix 1 (1), Appendix 1 (2) etc.

18

2 CITATIONS AMONGST THE TEXT

University of Oulu has started to utilise plagiarism prevention program (Urkund) to

check that text by others has not been used without adequate citations (OYY 2014).

Plagiarism is a scientific crime that may result in failing a thesis, or even more severe

consequences. Hence, if there is any uncertainty regarding citations, please check with

your supervisor or other university staff.

For copyright reasons, a student must give a permission for the thesis to be sent to

Urkund as the thesis will remain in the system as reference material. Student may also

choose an option that other universities will not be able to see the thesis, yet the system

still utilises the thesis as reference. In this type of cases the thesis can only be opened

when comparing theses from the University of Oulu. If the student is not willing to give

a permission for Urkund check, then the supervisor will check the thesis (University of

Oulu 2014)

As a rule of thumb, all text that is not author original must have a citation. This means

that the text will always include a citation when the information is from a source.

General information and knowledge that is generally taken for granted does not need a

reference.

In a thesis, citation includes author name, year of publication, and page number. The

citation will include the page numbers form where the information originates. However,

the page numbers may not be necessary for all the citations, as for example is a very

short article is cited.

Citation includes the authors’ last names when they are no more than two (e.g.

Mottonen and matikainen 2014). When there are three or more authors, the first author’s

last name is included with the additional marking “et al.” (e.g. Hirsjärvi et al. 2007).

First names or initials are not included in the citation.

In case the same authors have published more than once during the same year, alphabets

are used to make a distinction between citations (e.g. Vuorinen 1990a). If the author is

not known either title or the owner of the website is used e.g. (University of Oulu).

19When the citation is based on multiple sources they are separated by using a semi-colon,

e.g. (Niskanen 1983; Outinen & Salmi 2004).

Citation must be done so that the reader does not have to wonder whether the text is

based on a reference or whether it is author’s original. The citations must be possible to

check and the author must know the references. Original sources are preferred, not

secondary sources that comment on the original source. However, if there is a need to

use secondary sources, also the original source must be indicated. (See examples in the

next section).

Citation is typically placed in brackets amongst text that is linked to the source. If the

citation only covers one sentence, the citation is placed before the full stop ending the

sentence, e.g. (Hirsjärvi et al. 2007, p. 338). If the citation covers multiple sentences, or

the entire paragraph, the citation is places after the full stop. (Kosonen 2006, p. 21) For

the readability and fluency of the text it is recommended to use variable ways of citing.

2.1 Examples of citations

When citing a book, also the page/s are included aside the author and the year. If the

citation covers more than one page, all the necessary pages, or the number of the section

is noted. Only exception is when the author is citing the entire piece of work. The same

citing practice is followed when citing compilations, conference publications and other

theses (licentiate or doctoral). Example:

Plagiarism is a scientific felony where other person’s ideas, research results or wordings are

used as one’s own (Hirsjärvi et al. 2007, p. 118).

According to Hirsjärvi et al. (2007, p. 118), common sense can be used to consider what is

general knowledge for those in the same field, and what must be cited. For example, if the same

information is repeated in multiple sources without a citation, then it can be considered as

general knowledge.

If secondary sources are used, it must also be clear from the citation. The following

examples use Beckham’s report from 1993 as an original source, while the source used

by the author is Milhouse’s article from 1995. According to Nykänen (2002, p. 84), the

following way of citing would be correct in this type of case:

20The final breakthrough was Beckham’s study (1993) where insulants sulphur content and joints

tendency to errors was first proven by practical tests (see e.g. Milhouse 1995, p. 16).

or:

The final breakthrough was a study where insulants sulphur content and joints tendency to

errors was first proven by practical tests (Beckham 1993, According to Milhouse 1995, p. 16).

The nature of research involves the author commenting the used source. If commenting

a source, it must be absolutely clear what is borrowed and what is authors original text.

Example below:

According to Nykänen (2002, p. 123), the use of photos in documents has become quite common

due to scanners and digital cameras. The author believes that…

Journal articles and electronic sources are cited the same way as books, meaning that

authors, year and possible page numbers are indicated. Example:

Designing the control system for distillation columns is rather complex task from the designers

perspective according to Remberg (1994, p. 212), and hence obtaining a general understanding

on the matter can be challenging.

21

3 LAYOUT

Line spacing of 1.5 is used in master’s theses, whilst the font can be either Times New

Roman or Arial. Font size in normal text is 12 or equivalent. Margins are 4.0 cm on left

and 2.0 cm on right. Top and bottom margins are 2.0 cm. The line spacing for all titles

is 1.0. All titles are presented in bold.

One empty line is left between paragraphs and paragraphs are justified form both sides.

Please avoid paragraphs dividing between pages so that only few lines are left for the

next page.

Text can be highlighted by using bold, italic, or the small print (font 10), tight line spacing

(e.g. in direct quotations), etc. If wishing to visualise text, it must be logical, but not

excessive. Underlining however should be avoided.

3.1 Main title

The title must describe the main content of the section it is used for. The title should be

concise and succinct. Main title can be written completely in capital letters, or so that

only the first letter is in capital. If using capital letters in main title, the author must

ensure that the list of content also has capital letters for the same, if not change

manually.

Line spacing 1 is used for the titles, whereas other test uses line spacing of 1.5. The

titles must have uniform style and be otherwise equivalent. (For example if sentences –

all titles must be sentences)

Style ”Normal” is used for regular text, main title uses style HEADING 1 (font 16).

This template will have correct line changes above and below the title once the correct

style is used. In case if you are not using this template, you must ensure the correct line

changes manually.

22A new main title must always start from a new page. Section numbering must be clear

and logical. One should not divide the text into overly small increments; a separate

section should therefore be at least half a page. Nevertheless, there should not be too

many main titles (9-10 may already be too many), instead utilise suitable sub-headings

to divide text into larger wholes.

3.2 Sub-heading

Aside the main heading, two or three level sub-headings can be used, e.g. 2.1 and 2.1.1.

More than three level sub-headings are not recommended, besides there should be at

least two sub-headings under the main heading. In case there is enough material only for

one sub-heading, or it forms a unite whole, it may as well remain under the main

heading.

After the last paragraph before a new sub-heading, please change line and select

Heading 2 as the style (font 14). This will assure the correct line changes. A sub-

heading starts with a capital letter.

3.3 Sub-heading for the sub-heading

Sub-heading’s sub-heading must be at least two as otherwise new level sub-headings

will be unnecessary. After the last paragraph before a new sub-heading, please change

line and select Heading 3 (font 12). Sub-heading’s sub-heading starts with a capital

letter.

3.4 Page numbering

Page numbering is started from the second page, from the title page, which is numbered

as 1. However page numbering is made visible only from the Introduction onwards,

which can be numbered for example as 10. Page numbers will be located in top right

corner. This template has page numbering set to start automatically from the

introduction.

233.5 Linguistic viewpoints

Thesis is written in clear English that is adequately error free and grammatically correct.

In case English is not your primary language proofreading may be required. Also,

please use either British English or American English, but do not mix these two.

Different means of visualising, such as listings (bulleted points, numbered listings and

such) can be utilised when carefully considered. If using bulleted points the format must

be uniform throughout. These can include complete sentences with a capital letter in the

beginning and full stop in the end, or consist of single words that start with a small letter

and end with a comma, except the last word that should however end with a full stop.

Please avoid overly excessive listing and consecutive listings to ensure better readability

for the text. Also please note that longer listings may be better suited as an appendix.

When discussing matters and phenomena active form is recommended, but human

factor would always entail passive form. The tense used in the text can be chosen freely

as long as the use is logical and follows the linguistic rules.

3.6 Formulas

All the calculations are not generally necessary to present, but it should be clear enough

how the calculations have been done (examples). Also the accuracy of the results must

be estimated.

Variable equations are utilised in science and technology, where letters signify variables

or numerical value equations. There is always a space between unit of measurement and

the value, while the unit and the value are presented on the same line (e.g. 1 m ja 5 oC).

Variable equations are recommended as they are not dependent on the measure the same

as the numerical value equations. Algebra rules apply while symbols usually have only

one letter.

Footer style (font 12) is used in writing formulas. It indents the formula at 2.5 cm from

the edge of the paragraph. Symbol list will be indented manually to the same level.

“Symbollilista” style is used for symbol listings (font 12 and line spacing 0 pt after

the text).

24Each equation must be a part of a complete sentence. No empty lines are left before or

after equations, but after symbol listing one empty line is left. Equations are numbered

in a running order throughout the manuscript. The number is placed in brackets in the

right side of the page. The equations are cited in the text by using the number in

brackets.

Example: water conductivity is studied by using formula (1) and variables have been

presented by using a list:

K=kτ wμ , (2)

where K is water conductivity [m/s],

k is specific water conductivity [kg/m2s2],

τ w is water’s specific weight [kg/m2s2] and

μ is water’s dynamic viscosity [Pas].

The same equation is for water conductivity is presented by utilising the verbal

presentation for the variables (2):

K=kτ wμ , (2)

Where variable K refers to water conductivity [m/s], whereas k is specific water

conductivity [kg/m2s2], τ w is water’s specific weight [kg/m2s2] andμ v is water’s

dynamic viscosity [Pas].

Variables are listed by using the word ”is”, while constants are listed by using ”=”.

Using x instead of multiplication sign should be avoided in equations. In case an

equation does not fit on a single line, line change should be done immediately after “=”

sign, but if not possible then after a punctuation mark.

Each symbol used in the equation must be explained upon the first use. Each symbol is

also presented in the “Abbreviations and symbols” section if a number of symbols have

been utilised.

253.7 Figures and tables

Tables and figures can be used to illustrate aspects that the author wishes the reader to

pay specific attention to. When preparing caption text for tables and figures, one should

assure that they describe the figure so well that readers can understand the figure even if

seen separately from the main text (Nykänen 2002, p. 122). Tables and figures are

centered and numbered, and caption is ended with a full stop. Caption is located at the

left corner below figures (for tables above the table) and the text is justified.

In addition, each table and figure must be referred to and introduced in the text. For

example, in figure X, in table 1, or (Figure x). In case using this file as a template,

caption style is “Figure” (font 12), and “Table” (font 12).

No empty spacing is left between the figure and the caption, see figure 1 as an example

below:

Figure 1. Skyline of an Asian city.

26Table should have the same width as the page (see Table 1). Having to place Figures

sideways should be avoided, or they should be placed alone on an empty page. No

empty line is left before tables and figures, but one empty line is left after them. Also,

no empty line between the table caption and the table.

Table 1. Theoretical and measured flux in Venturi measurement equipment, and their difference at different water levels.

Water level (mm)

Theoretical flux (l/s)

Measured flux (l/s)

Difference between theoretical and measured

flux (l/s)

40

60

80

100

1

2

3

4

0,9

1,85

2,80

3,95

0,1

0,15

0,2

0,05

Figures should not have lines, and there should not be a separate headings for figures,

but caption should contain the necessary details. Figure 2 below shows an example:

0 40 60 80 1000

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5mitattu virtaamateoreettinen virtaama

Water level (mm)

Flux

(m^3

/s)

Figure 2. The relation of measured (blue) and theoretical (red) flux at different water levels in Venturi measurement equipment.

It is recommended that only author original tables and figures would be used in the

thesis. The University of Oulu follows the legal regulations 1 § on copyrights: ”Such

material that is under copyright cannot be used the theses without written permission

27from the original copyright holder”. This means that if there is a need to use tables,

figures, or maps published somewhere else beforehand, a written permission is required.

This permission must also show when re-printing copyrighted material (reprinted with a

permission from…). However, if the figure has been modified by re-drawing and it is

clearly noted in the caption that the figure is retold (retell) together with the original

source, then there might not always be no need for permissions. However, it is

recommended that the author is extremely cautious with the copyright issues. Appendix

A shows an example on how to cite figures. The citation is provided in the caption text

before the full stop.

If drawings are an essential part of the thesis, they should be stored in Laturi as their

own PDF files at the same time as the final thesis is stored. Bachelor’s thesis do not

need to be stored in Laturi. However, the student should ask for further details from the

Laturi customer support before storing drawings (see http://laturi.oulu.fi).

Writing the thesis

Practical/ empirical part - realisation

Familiarising with the theoretical background of the topic

Initial familiarisation with the research problem

Meeting supervisor, planning the thesis

Supervisor obtains the topic

Title pageAbstract(Tiivistelmä – abstract in Finnish)ForewordTable of contentsLiterature review:- Research realisation- Compiling the material- Applying research methodsResultsAssessing the resultsConclusions and recommendationsSummaryReferencesLiitteet

Application for Master’s thesis and Schedule plan (“Diplomityöhakemus”)

Are taken to Faculty study affairs office

Ready thesis for the supervisor to be assessed, discussion with supervisor

Thesis work

Final thesis uploaded to Laturi for supervisors (and Urkund analysis)

Kick off meeting:thesis plan, content, aims, funding,

supervisors and schedule

Unhappy with the grade to be given/ plagiarism cases

Making corrections

Maturity test (Agreed with supervisor)

Documentation to faculty study affairs office at least two weeks before programme committee

meeting(viimeistään kaksi viikkoa ennen koulutusohjelmatoimikunnan-kokousta)

Possible printing

Meetings with supervisors at

suitable interval

6 months

Student obtains the topic

Time

1 month

5 months

Plan for thesis

Supervisor notifies programme committee of any possible changes via faculty study affairs office

Master’s thesis seminar (Mechanical Engineering)

Appendix 1. Phases relevant to Master’s thesis.

Figure 3. Master’s thesis phases from the student’s perspective (retell Kosonen 2006).

-Timing of thesis - Study situation (Going through personal study plan) - Students own wishes

IEM Master’s thesis seminarIEM students can attend from the beginning of

Master’s phase