Guidelines for master’s thesis

A master’s thesis is a degree thesis written by a student of second-cycle (graduate) studies, which corresponds to the profile of a graduate as specified in the teaching standards and in the curriculum of the following courses: “International Trade Relations” and “Tourism.”

  1. Content-related requirements
  1. The subject and content of a master’s thesis should correspond to the field of study.
  2. A master’s thesis may have the form of:
  • a systematic study – the presentation and discussion of economic views or of a part of practical reality,
  • a project – proposing new solutions or practical improvements,
  • a research study - the analysis and in-depth interpretation of empirical research results, discovering new relationships or new aspects of economic phenomena and processes.
  1. The thesis should include:
  • the specification of the problem,
  • the reasons for which the research was undertaken,
  • supporting the main line of argument with the existing body of literature,
  • the specification of research methods and analytical tools applied,
  • the summary of results and the formulation of conclusions.
  1. As a result of the process of the preparation of a Bachelor’s thesis, a student should be able to:
  • evaluate and use theoretical achievements and research results related to the issue under study,
  • expand their knowledge through efficient use of all available Polish and foreign source materials,
  • diagnose, formulate and evaluate the problem in the business entity under study,
  • design new solutions or modify the existing ones,
  • apply research methodology, including scientific methods,
  • identify the analysed phenomena and draw conclusions,
  • use accurate (clear and precise) language while presenting their line of argument.
  1. Formal requirements regarding the layout of the thesis
  1. Title page (standard layout of the title page attached).
  2. Student’s declaration of authorship of the thesis included directly after the title page (attached)
  3. List of contents
  4. Introduction including: an outline of the general background of the study, the reasons behind the choice of subject, the specification of the aim and scope of the thesis, the indication of research methods, general information about the contents of each chapter, a brief description of the literature on the subject and source materials.
  5. Chapters including the main text of the thesis.

Two-, three- and four-digit NUMBERS should be writtentogether (e.g. 1234). In English we usually use commas to separate each group of three digits when representing large numbers (five digits and more). In Polish, however, for numbers of five and more digits, space should be used every three digits, starting from the right (e.g. 12345). In Polish we place a comma, not a point, before decimals (e.g. 2,53).

TABLES should be placed in the text or at the end of your thesis as an appendix. The title should be placed above the table, while the source – below it (see example in attachment 1).

FIGURES – the caption and source should be placed below the figure (see example in attachment 1).

  1. Conclusion including the description of the results of the study, statements regarding proposed solutions to the problem under study (or the lack of such solutions), and, optionally, the indication of the possibility of future solutions.
  2. List of cited works in alphabetical order in accordance with the system of referencing as specified in the Attachment to the Instruction No. 39/2011 of the President of the Poznań University of Economics of July 25, 2011 regarding the principles for creating bibliographic notes and end-of-work bibliography at the PUE (see attachment 2).
  3. List of cited legislative acts (in justified cases).
  4. List of Internet sources (with date of publication or access).
  5. List of tables.
  6. List of figures (diagrams, maps, etc.).
  7. List of attachments.
  8. Recommended length of the thesis: 60-80 pages.
  1. Editorial requirements

The typescript of the thesis should meet the following requirements:

  1. Paper size: A4 (text on both sides of the paper, except for the title page and the declaration of authorship).
  2. Font: Times New Roman (Arial).
  3. Font size: 12 pts.
  4. One-and-a-half line spacing shall be used.
  5. Margins:top – 2.5 cm

bottom – 2.5 cm

left-hand – 3,5 cm

right-hand – 1.6 cm.

  1. Use justification (making the text align with both the left and right margin).
  2. Each new paragraph should be indented by 0.5 cm.
  3. All pages of the thesis should be numbered, and the number should be placed at the bottom of the page.
  4. Bibliographic notes should be provided in the Harvard system of referencing as specified in the Attachment to the Instruction No. 39/2011 of the President of the Poznań University of Economics of July 25, 2011 (see attachment 2).
  5. All three submitted copies of the thesis, printed on both sides and soft bound (transparent front cover), should also include an attached data storage device, prepared in the following manner:

a)delivered on a CD, which should include the text of the thesis recorded in PDF format with the title beginning with the author’s name, followed directly (no space) by digits constituting the number of the author’s student record book, then followed directly (no space) by the abbreviated designation of the type of work, i.e. lic.(BA), mgr (MA), e.g. kowalski22136mgr,

b)the CD with the file described above should also include a catalogue named “reserve,” in which the same file should be recorded again.

The CD should be put into a paper envelope, which should be attached (glued) to the verso of the title page of one of the copies of the thesis (it will be regarded as a backup copy. The visible side of the attached envelope should feature the author’s first name and surname, faculty, course and specialisation of studies, year of graduation and the thesis supervisor’s name.

Attachment 1

The example of a table

Table 1.The involvement of Personnel Directors in the formulation of strategies of multinational companies in selected European countries (%)

Country / Form of involvement
From the beginning of the process of strategy formulation / Advisory role / Strategy implementation / No consultation / I don’t know
Denmark / 55 / 19 / 6 / 8 / 13
France / 50 / 22 / 12 / 2 / 13
Spain / 46 / 21 / 8 / 2 / 23
Netherlands / 48 / 31 / 8 / 3 / 12
Germany / 55 / 19 / 6 / 8 / 13
Norway / 54 / 24 / 6 / 4 / 11
Switzerland / 48 / 20 / 6 / 14 / 12
United Kingdom / 43 / 27 / 8 / 7 / 15
Italy / 32 / 23 / 17 / 3 / 25

Source: Based on: Goss 1994, p. 176.

The example of a figure

Appointing the team responsible for the selection process (e.g. a manager from headquarters, a manager from an overseas branch, a Personnel employee)
Specifying the motive for overseas appointment:
  • filling a vacancy
  • the development of managerial staff
  • the development of an organization

Establishing proper selection criteria, which will consider the level of cultural differentiation and the degree of candidate’s interaction with the overseas environment.
Establishing a pool of potential candidates.
Selecting the most effective methods of candidate selection.
Performing a preliminary selection.
Conducting an interview with the selected candidate and his/her spouse (only 1-2 candidates reach this stage of selection).
Submitting a proposal to assume the overseas post.
Sending the selected candidate to participate in training programs and preparing him/her to assume the overseas post.
Fig. 7. The process of selecting candidates for overseas jobs.
Source: Author’s own work.