F E W T I P S A N D A D V I C E S T O H E L P Y O U G O T H R O U G H I T

HOW TO WRITE A MASTER THESIS IN NEUROSCIENCE

By Aurore Perrault, PhD Student

PLAN

•  Master thesis 1.01 •  Plan of Action •  Academic Form •  General Outline •  Administrative Stuff to Do •  Oral presentation •  Evaluation •  Tips from PhD students

WHAT IS A THESIS? HOW SHOULD IT LOOK LIKE?

•  A master thesis is, basically, a research report on your experiment.

•  The content should •  Address a specific issue •  Describe what is already known about this issue •  Describe what you’ve done during these two years of

research and its purpose. •  Be enough original to make a contribution to the field.

•  The form should •  Be well organized with a clear

outline •  Be written in a simple voice •  Understood, not only by

expert in your field, but should be accessible to non-specialist

PLAN OF ACTION

•  Writing a thesis is a long-lasting process! •  Sit and think on how you want to proceed before jumping into

the action •  Set a time-frame •  Literature processing •  Idea processing and proposal/improvement by your adviser •  Pure research: experiment, collection of data, analysis •  Thesis writing

•  Literature and methods (can be written pretty early during your master) •  Results and discussion •  Conclusion, introduction and abstract

•  Re-write until final version •  First draft should be done and send to your adviser 2 months

before deadline •  Edition •  Triple-check your spelling! •  Do not skip the formatting part (at least 1-2days) •  Ask at least 2 non-specialist persons to read your work (spelling?

global comprehension? outline?... )

ACADEMIC FORM

•  45-80 pages - A4 •  Font •  12 point font: Time New Roman •  1,5 line space – 2,5cm margins •  Whole text should be justify •  First line of each paragraph should be moved forward

•  Number each pages (except flyleaf, abstract & appendices) •  Print only one sided •  Bind your thesis but do no use staples. •  M-Print-shop(http://www.migrosprintshop.ch/) •  UniCopy (http://www.unicopy.ch/)

GENERAL OUTLINE

•  Flyleaf •  Abstract •  Acknowledgments •  Table of Contents •  List of Abbreviations •  Review of Literature •  Methodology •  Results •  Discussion •  Conclusion •  References •  Appendices

GENERAL OUTLINE

•  Flyleaf •  Abstract •  Acknowledgments •  Table of Contents •  List of Abbreviations •  Review of Literature •  Methodology •  Results •  Discussion •  Conclusion •  References •  Appendices

ABSTRACT

•  1 page max. •  MAJOR part of your thesis!

•  Should contain •  A short introductory sentence: from general theme to your

particular research field •  Quick method (techniques, design, conditions, groups of

subjects) •  Highlight your best results •  Conclusion on these results/your research

•  Ask several persons to read it!

GENERAL OUTLINE

•  Flyleaf •  Abstract •  Acknowledgments •  Table of Contents •  List of Abbreviations •  Review of Literature •  Methodology •  Results •  Discussion •  Conclusion •  References •  Appendices

•  One page max. •  Can also be the list of

contributions (help from others lab-members…)

GENERAL OUTLINE

•  Flyleaf •  Abstract •  Acknowledgments •  Table of Contents •  List of Abbreviations •  Review of Literature •  Methodology •  Results •  Discussion •  Conclusion •  References •  Appendices

•  1-2 pages •  Very precise BUT no

more than 3 subtitles •  Use Word «!styles!»

GENERAL OUTLINE

•  Flyleaf •  Abstract •  Acknowledgments •  Table of Contents •  List of Abbreviations •  Review of Literature •  Methodology •  Results •  Discussion •  Conclusion •  References •  Appendices

•  1page •  In alphabetical order or

in order of appearance •  Don’t use too many

abbreviation: only if the word/phrase is use >5 times in your thesis

GENERAL OUTLINE

•  Flyleaf •  Abstract •  Acknowledgments •  Table of Contents •  List of Abbreviations •  Review of Literature •  Methodology •  Results •  Discussion •  Conclusion •  References •  Appendices

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

•  10-30 pages •  !«Funnel!» theory •  Review of literature should guide the reader from a general theme

to your particular field of research •  Present background of this field •  Introduce idea/concept that the reader will need later to

understand your work •  Possible structure •  Brief introduction on your field of research •  An organized explanation of the different theories/concepts/brain

areas/cells… •  Logical links from the theoretical background to your research •  Question/Objectives/Hypothesis of your research

•  Each concept need to be link to your research and well-explained by several references •  Provide non-specialist with a clear understanding of the field •  NO PLAGIARISM ! Be very careful in how you retranslate others’

ideas/results

•  5 - 10 pages

•  How did you perform your experiments? What kind of material/methods did you use? What population/cells…?

•  Should contains •  Subjects/Groups/Cells… •  Experimental techniques used (staining, patch-clamp, fMRI, EEG,

behavioral measures…) •  Experimental design/paradigm •  Data analysis •  Statistical analysis

•  No results, only methods

Always anonymize your human subjects!

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS

•  10 -20 pages •  Organized and logical presentation of your results •  Do not analyze your results here •  Comment/interpret all your results in the discussion section

•  Entitle and comment all your figures, graph, table… •  For statistical results, always specify if it is significant and

add the F value (or t, chi2…) and its p value.

33

A conjunction analysis of all the conditions (Figure 3.5) revealed a widely

distributed fronto-parietal cortical areas, importance of the superior frontal gyrus,

bilateral sensorimotor cortices, the ACC, frontal and temporal opercular areas,

occipital areas and superior ipsilateral cerebellum.

Figure 3.2 – FULL condition related activities in controls.

The color code (right) represents the Z-score associated with activated voxels. FULL condition activates the IPL, ACC, M1, SMA, S1-M1, DLPFC and cerebellum.

Figure 3.3 – FREE condition related activities in controls.

The color code (right) represents the Z-score associated with activated voxels. FREE condition activities are localized in the IPL, SMA, S1-M1 and DLPFC.

6.2

2.3

6.3

2.3

Z =

Z =

DISCUSSION

•  5 -15 pages •  Interpretation of your results and how you include them

in your field of research (link to background part) •  Possible structure

•  Recall your project •  Summarize and analyse results presented •  Possible interpretation and comparison with others’ theories •  Consistant with others’ results? Why or why not? •  Support or contradict theories?

•  Strenghts and limits •  Place your findings into a bigger perspective •  How your experiment could be improved •  Direction for future studies on the subject •  Possible clinical application…

GENERAL OUTLINE

•  Flyleaf •  Abstract •  Acknowledgments •  Table of Contents •  List of Abbreviations •  Review of Literature •  Methodology •  Results •  Discussion •  Conclusion •  References •  Appendices

•  1-2 pages •  Recall of your research,

results obtained and possible interpretation

GENERAL OUTLINE

•  Flyleaf •  Abstract •  Acknowledgments •  Table of Contents •  List of Abbreviations •  Review of Literature •  Methodology •  Results •  Discussion •  Conclusion •  References •  Appendices

REFERENCES

•  Minimum 50 references – There is never too much references!

•  No outdated research sources! •  Use the most up-to-date research/articles/authors… •  Except if seen as a basic

•  Alphabetical order or order of appearance •  In the text: (Neurogod et al., 2013) •  APA format •  NEUROGOD, A., BIOGODDESS, B. & PSYCHOGIRL, C. D. (2013). How to

write a thesis. Journal of Important NeuroStuff, 7 (45), 314-356 •  http://citationmachine.net

GENERAL OUTLINE

•  Flyleaf •  Abstract •  Acknowledgments •  Table of Contents •  List of Abbreviations •  Review of Literature •  Methodology •  Results •  Discussion •  Conclusion •  References •  Appendices

•  Not numbered •  Can be: •  List of participants (age,

sexe, condition…)/Type of cells…

•  Details on the procedure/technique/conditions…

•  Complete table of your statistical analysis

ADMINISTRATIVE BORING STUFF TO DO (I)

•  When you and your adviser decide that you’re ready to graduate: •  Find 2 jury members (ask your adviser) •  One must be a UNIGE faculty member (professor, assistant,

MER…) •  They should represent at least 2 institutions: Faculty of medicine

(HUG, CMU, Belle-Idée), faculty of psychology and/or sciences.

•  Fix a date for your oral presentation •  At least 2 weeks after all the jury members receive your thesis •  Book a room for the oral presentation (Unimail, CMU or Sciences)

•  Make sure you fulfill all the requirement to graduate •  Acquisition of mandatory and optional credits (30ECT) •  Complete seminar sheet •  Supplementary internship •  Presentation of your project/data at a LabMeeting

ADMINISTRATIVE BORING STUFF TO DO (II)

•  Send an email to your faculty and Mona when you’re ready to graduate and ask them about their protocol

•  Mandatory documents •  Official report of your master thesis •  Attestation for the supplementary internship •  Seminar sheet (12)

•  Each faculty has a different protocol to validate your master •  Psych: go directly to the faculty desk and give: official report of

your master thesis (+attestations), attestation of research, attestation of the library (psych intranet), flyleaf of the thesis, digital version of your thesis (CD-ROM)

•  Science: give directly to Mona Spiridon the 3 mandatory documents + copy of your thesis binded

ORAL PRESENTATION

•  Your adviser + 2 jury •  30min presentation + 30min

of questions •  Brief PowerPoint with an

emphasis on your results and interpretation

•  Send your final version of your thesis at least 2 weeks before the presentation

•  Can be in English or in French (ask your adviser)

•  Do not forget to bring the official report of your thesis!

EVALUATION

•  Characteristics of evaluation •  Clarity of the research question and goals •  Scientific knowledge and insight on the field of research

•  Justified methods •  Precision of the data analysis and controllability of the data •  Discussion argumentation •  Data fit in the discussion

•  Care given to the presentation and language •  Appropriate layout •  No grammatical, structural or spelling errors •  Coherency, organization, comprehension

•  If the jury think that your thesis doesn’t reach these criteria (grade <4), you’ll have 1-2 weeks to re-write

•  In master thesis, they won’t judge you on your results but on the knowledge and insight you have on your research!

MASTER THESIS TIPS FROM PHD STUDENTS (I)

•  No plagiarism! •  Read a LOT of articles •  Take notes and references for every articles

•  Do not wait the last months to write your review…

•  Manage your time •  Should be understand by non-specialist reader. Explain

any scientific jargon that is not common knowledge (ex: calcium dye, BOLD signal…)

•  Articles in your field can help you organized your thesis but also write the methods section…

•  Keep track of everything you do/your results/material you use in a labnotebook

•  All results must be explained and linked to theories in your field

MASTER THESIS TIPS FROM PHD STUDENTS (II)

•  Think about the way you will be read! What do you want them to keep from your thesis? Is it clear?

•  Rule out what is not necessary/ambiguous •  Be careful with long sentence… sometimes short is better! •  All your figures/graph/tables should have a title and

explained •  Don’t forget about the scale for fMRI scans…

•  Plan ahead your outline and time-frame! •  Don’t get lost in all your data/articles/ideas… Don’t be a mess!

•  Don’t play solo: ask for help when needed, take everyone’s comment into account, talk with your adviser regularly

•  Do not wait until the last minute!

QUESTIONS?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

& GOOD LUCK!