Topic outline

  • BASICS

    Thesis guide is the bible which covers all the basic requirements of the thesis. Read it, reflect upon it and do as is instructed.

    Thesis plan explained. This is a video lecture by Turkka Keinonen. Here are the contents as a PDF, that you can refer to after watching the video. The slides are not designed to work on their own.

    Thesis plan evaluation form. This form is used in the MA programmes to evaluate and give feedback to you. It is helpful when building thesis plan.

    Contract template for thesis in/with a company. Should you plan to do thesis for a company, here's a helpful contract template. Remember that it is not only you who promises stuff but that also the company needs to promise support to you.

    Copyright and personal data explained. This is a video lecture by Mari Pesola. Here are the slides of the talk.

    Information retrieval explained. This is a video lecture by Marika Sarvilahti. Here are the slides of the talk.

    Thesis submission and presentation timetable can be found in Design Joint Studies website.

    Key dates of graduation (request for degree certificate & graduation ceremony). This info can be found in your MA programme's Into-site > Graduation.

    RESOURCES FOR WRITING

    Academic English materials by Maurice Forget at the Language Centre:

    Language Tips for Thesis Writers
    Plagiarism
    Avoiding Plagiarism (Questions)
    Strategies for Citation integration

    Lyhyt opas viittaamiseen (in Finnish) explains in an economic manner why, when and how to write correct references in an academic text.

    In English helpful is instructions to Harvard referencing because (Author, date) format is commonly used in the Department. Remember, though, that ARTS or Aalto does not have recommended referencing system so you can use whatever system you feel is most appropriate. Key principle is simple: your text must be as easy as possible to read and evaluate. Use your UCD-skills to achieve that. In general, academic readers tend to prefer seeing sources in the text while commercial writers typically have endnotes.

    (PDF) Newport, C. (2007). How to become a straight-A student. Chapter about how to write college level 30-50 pages research paper. New York: Broadway Books.
    Even though this is not specifically about writing the thesis, the example of "Mindy's Art History Research Paper" fits very well with how to construct and write an excellent thesis.

    (PDFWebster, J., & Watson, R. T. (2002). Analyzing the past to prepare for the future. Writing a literature review. MIS Quarterly26(2), xiii-xxiii.
    This is an informative and comforting article written by the editors of MIS Quarterly to help their contributors to write good quality literature reviews.

    Couple of  handbooks that are useful if writing does not come easily:
    Becker, H. S. (1986). Writing for social scientists. How to start and finish your thesis, book, or article. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 
    Graff, G., & Birkenstein, C. (2007). “They say/I say”. The moves that matter in persuasive writing. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 

    Professional writers tend to write either with basic text editor (such as TextEdit) or full blown manuscript composer (such as Scrivener or Ulysses), accompanied with a reference manager (such as Zotero or Bookends). Word processors (such as MS Word) are ok for those who do not plan to write long manuscripts after the thesis.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    An evolving map of design practice and design research by Liz Sanders. This was mentioned in class in Laura Euro's presentation. This article appears in website of Dubberly Design Office. There are lots of other articles, of which some may offer food for thought. Notice, though, that the articles are not peer-reviewed, and shouldn't be used to back an argument in the thesis.

    Assorted selection of design literature below. Especially Routledge handbook of design research is highly recommended -- not to be read fully (it's a door stopper monster), but pick such chapters that interest you. Most can be found online through Finna.

    Clark, H., & Brody, D. (Eds.). (2009). Design studies. A reader. London: Bloomsbury.
    Crilly, N. (2010). The structure of design revolutions: Kuhnian paradigm shifts in creative problem solving. Design issues26(1), 54-66.
    Fallan, K. (2010). Design history. Understanding theory and method. Oxford: Berg. 
    Gorman, C. (Ed.). (2003). The industrial design reader. New York: Allworth Press.
    Gunn, W., Otto, T., & Smith, R. C. (Eds.). (2013). Design anthropology. Theory and practice. London: Bloomsbury.
    Hohti, P. (Ed.). (2011). Rajaton muotoilu. Näkökulmia suomalaiseen taideteollisuuteen. Helsinki: Avain ja Ornamo.
    Julier, G. (2014). The culture of design. 3rd edition. Los Angeles: Sage. 
    Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., Redström, J., & Wensveen, S. (2012). Design research through practice. From the lab, field, and showroom. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 
    Lawson, B., & Dorst, K. (2013). Design expertise. London: Taylor & Francis. 
    Lees-Maffei, G., & Houze, R. (Eds.). (2010). The design history reader. Oxford: Berg.
    Manzini, E. (2015). Design, when everybody designs. An introduction to design for social innovation. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. 
    Michl, J. (2014). Taking Down the Bauhaus Wall: Towards Living Design History as a Tool for Better Design. Design Journal17(3), 445-453.
    Rodgers, P. A., & Yee, J. (Eds.). (2015). The Routledge companion to design research. London: Routledge.
    Simonsen, J., & Robertson, T. (Eds.). (2013). Routledge international handbook of participatory design. London: Routledge.
    Sparke, P. (2013). An introduction to design and culture, 1900 to the present. Third edition. London: Routledge.