Guidelines for project theses

Timetable

The work on the project thesis is scheduled over 12 weeks, divided into three writing periods. The course on Knowledge Management, which is included in the course MED5095, is in addition to this.

What can I write about?

The project thesis is written under supervision; however, you choose your own topic based on a medical subject area that interests you. Your research question should preferably be prepared in consultation with your supervisor.

• Teaching subjects in medicine
• Literature review/scoping review
• Clinical study/clinical project
• Qualitative study
• Epidemiological studies and surveys
• Experimental study
• Other types of theses (development projects, e-learning projects, podcasts and similar)
• Available project theses
• Previous project theses in medicine (temporarily unavailable due to transition to the Norwegian Research Information Repository (NVA))

Guidance

You are personally responsible for obtaining a supervisor. The supervisor must have scientific expertise at a doctoral or equivalent level. All supervisors shall be approved by the head of studies in the relevant subject area. At least one supervisor must be employed by the UiO Faculty of Medicine.

• Rights and duties for supervisors and students
• Ethical guidelines for supervision relationships at UiO

Project outline

The project outline must be submitted by 1 October (as of the H22/V23 cohort)

• Online form for submitting a project outline
• When two students write the thesis together, both are required to submit a project outline

Formal requirements for the thesis

The project thesis is a scientific work and must meet certain standards and requirements. It is your responsibility to ensure that your thesis meets these requirements.

• Font size 12, Times New Roman, line spacing 1.5
• Approximately 25¨C30 pages, excluding the table of contents and bibliography ¨C the scope of the thesis may vary depending on the research question, materials, and method used
• The project thesis should have the following structure: Cover page, summary of approximately 250 words in English, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references
• We recommend using the Vancouver Style citation format
• A maximum of two students may write the thesis together (co-write). In the case of co-writing, a written account must be submitted of how the work has been distributed in the execution of the project work and the writing of the thesis. A more comprehensive thesis will be expected; however, the scope will vary depending on the research question, materials and method used
• The thesis may be written in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, or English
• You may submit an article that you have already published or will be publishing soon. There are no requirements concerning the order in which the co-authors are listed; however, the scope of the work shall reflect the time allotted to the project thesis
• In addition to the article, a cover article of approximately 10 pages must also be written: Cover article template
• Upon submission of the article, the supervisor must write an account of the student¡¯s role and contribution
• The article may not subsequently be used in a doctoral degree, cf. Section 10-2 of the Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo
• Cover page template for the project thesis
• Use of sources and references
• What may be considered cheating?

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) ¨C requirements for independent work

Writing and editing your own text is important for developing an understanding of the subject matter, independent thinking, and writing skills. Although you use existing research and literature as a basis for your arguments and conclusions, you are to use your own words to describe, explain, discuss, and argue your findings and results.

• When using AI as an aid, you shall account for such use in a separate paragraph of the methods chapter. The paragraph must include information on which tools were used and to what extent, such as brainstorming, extensive language editing, image generation, analysis tools, etc. It shall also specify which prompts were used to generate responses
• Such use shall be in accordance with the applicable regulations on cheating and the use of sources and citations
• Specific guidelines have been drawn up for handling the use of sources and citations with AI in APA Style. We recommend using this method to refer to AI also when using other citation styles. We mainly recommended using UiO¡¯s implementation of ChatGPT, as this platform adequately safeguards privacy considerations
• You are responsible for all content in your project thesis. Language models produced using AI are not a source of quality-assured factual knowledge; rather, they generate text based on statistical patterns
• AI at UiO

Receive assistance in the writing process

• Project thesis clinic for medical students
• Academic Writing Centre
• Search & Write

Privacy policy

• Approvals and permissions for the project thesis

Submission

Familiarise yourself with the rules for submitting your project thesis in advance of the submission deadline.

• The thesis shall be submitted in Inspera
• The submission deadline is Monday at 10.00 a.m. after the final writing period
• The thesis, including all appendices, shall be compiled into a single file
• Submit in Inspera
• Deadline extension: An extension of up to two weeks beyond the standard submission deadline may be granted. Applications shall be sent to postmottak@medisin.uio.no. If there is a need for further extensions, the submission deadline will be moved to the next semester¡¯s standard submission deadline
• The project thesis must be submitted and passed before students can sit for the examination for module 8
• Applications for deferred submission on the basis of exchange visits or parental leave during the allocated writing periods shall be sent to postmottak@medisin.uio.no?

Examination result

• The supervisor obtains an external examiner and reports it via https://nettskjema.no/a/382129
• The project thesis is assessed by your supervisor and the external examiner (not affiliated with UiO)
• The project thesis is assessed as pass/fail
• If the candidate does not pass, they will normally be given three weeks to revise the thesis
• The written component must be passed before you can take the oral examination
• As a general rule, oral examinations shall be scheduled within six weeks of submitting the thesis. Examinations are held digitally
• The supervisor schedules a time for conducting the examination in consultation with the candidate and the external examiner
• The oral examination lasts approximately 45 minutes and consists of two parts. See detailed assessment criteria and information about the oral examination.
• Assessment criteria for project theses ¨C Faculty of Medicine

The Medical Student Research Program

• Research programme students shall submit a project thesis in the medical programme in the same manner as other students

Exchanges

• If you will be travelling abroad in connection with your project thesis, organised on your own or via your supervisor, you may receive travel support from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (L?nekassen), provided the stay lasts at least 4 weeks
• For documentation of such a stay to L?nekassen, please contact the Coordinator for outgoing exchange students in the Faculty of Medicine

Exemption

• It is possible to be exempted from the project thesis if you already have an approved thesis that meets the following criteria:
• The thesis must be at the Master¡¯s level and must correspond to a minimum of 20 credits
• There must be fewer than five years between the date the thesis was approved and the date you were admitted to the medical programme
• The thesis must address a topic and be within a subject area that is also relevant to the programme of professional study in medicine
• Applications for exemption shall be sent to postmottak@medisin.uio.no
• The Section for Student Affairs at the faculty processes applications. The Pro-Dean of Studies makes the final decision on whether to grant an exemption

Contacts

• Rune Enger - academic inquiries
• Anna K. O. Eriksen ¨C administrative inquiries ¨C spring cohort
• Merete Thomte ¨C administrative inquiries ¨C autumn cohort