Process and Supervision

Supervision is provided on an ongoing basis throughout the spring and fall semesters. During the semester, the “Forensic Psychology” seminar is held weekly to guide students through the process of their master’s project and thesis. This includes reviewing the current state of research, formulating the research question and hypotheses, collecting and analyzing data, as well as interpreting the results and contextualizing them within the research framework. During the colloquium, students have two opportunities to present their progress and receive peer feedback.

The Research Proposal

The research proposal serves as the foundation for your master’s thesis and is developed during the spring semester (content: working title and topic of the master’s thesis, outline of the theoretical background and research gaps, research questions/hypotheses, structure and methodology, timeline; length: max. 5 pages). The research proposal defines the content and methodological aspects of the master’s thesis.

Structure of the Master’s Thesis

• Thorough and independent review of the state
  • (Systematic) literature review
  • Identification of research gaps and formulation of a research question
• Selection of an appropriate method to answer the research question
• Proper preparation and statistical analysis of the data
  • Preparation for data collection
  • Selection and implementation of statistical analysis, preferably using R
• Discussion and critical reflection on the results; reference to theoretical background and established hypotheses
  • Critical reflection on the study and the results (limitations)
  • Outlook for future research and practice

Registration process

• Registration and spot allocation are handled via Mastermatch

Writing the master’s thesis

• Templates available at: https://psychologie.unibas.ch/de/studium/masterstudium/dokumente/
• Citation guidelines: APA 7th Edition
• Length: max. 60 pages excluding the bibliography
• The appendix should consist of: Supplementary materials (e.g., tables, graphs, etc.) Code (e.g., R code) 

Submission of the Master's Thesis

• Spring semester: April 1
• In the fall semester: October 15
• Submit the master’s thesis as a PDF file via email to studiendekanat-psychologie@clutterunibas.ch.
• The Dean of Studies will forward it to the first and second reviewers.

Evaluation of the master’s thesis

• Grading is performed by the first and second supervisor and follows a standardized evaluation scheme.