Interested in writing your thesis with us?
If you are going to write your thesis at our chair during the summer term 2023 you have to participate in our course "Finding and Developing your Research Project" (for BA click here & for MA click here).
The core week will take place from 27.03. - 31.03.2023
Please save these dates!
Think ahead and exploit a unique opportunity
Your thesis offers the unique opportunity to find and carry out your first research project. Finding a good research project is not simple and carrying out this project requires skills that you may still need to acquire. This is why you should contact us as soon as possible ideally at least 3 semesters before you intend to start writing. We will then plan the necessary steps with you, so that your research project will hopefully become a success. A good starting point to help you find your research project is the course "Finding Your Research Topic."
If you are interested and you have further questions, please contact us: ManEc@wiwi.uni-paderborn.de.
Three research methods
Any research project answers a question. For example, you may ask: What explains why people eat crisps although they do not really want to? In this case, the aim of your thesis is to explain some observed behavior. This is done by providing conditions (a little model) under which you are likely to see the behavior in question. In other words, you provide a theory when the behavior occurs. Your thesis is theoretical.
You may also ask: Is it true that paying people reduces their motivation to help voluntarily? There are two ways of answering this question. You can use data that other people have collected (and if you have lots of time you can even collect your own data) or you can conduct an experiment. In this case, your thesis is empirical. More specifically, your thesis is econometrical if you use observed data and experimental if you run your own experiment*.
These are the three research methods that we use in our own work and that we feel capable of supervising.
*Master students should use the experimental approach.
Application
If you are interested in writing a thesis with us, please contact us and apply via "Zentrale Vergabeverfahren".
More information
The course Finding Your Research Project (Bachelor) or Finding your Research Project (Master) helps you to create a research proposal/research project plan.
There are some examples of research projects from members of the chair and students who successfully completed their thesis at the chair.
The course Managerial Economics teaches Bachelor students how to link models to reality
The course Strategic Management teaches Master students how to apply models to reality
The course Topics in Management and Economics teaches Master students about current research projects in the departments Management and Economics.
The course Ideas in Management and Economics offers an opportunity for Master and PhD students to discuss research projects in their early stages (It requires that you have already written a research proposal before-for example, in Finding your Research Topic).
