Zotero offers numerous advantages for managing literature and knowledge:

A detailed guide to managing literature with Zotero can be found in the training materials from the library.

For Ohm staff, the texts are available in full text via VPN.

To access the OPAC, you need to be on the university network or – if you are off-campus – establish a VPN connection.

Frequently Asked Questions

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What does research actually mean in this context?

In this context, research aims to gather existing knowledge on a specific topic and integrate it into your own research process. A thorough search allows you to close your own knowledge gaps, identify research gaps, and place your work within the context of existing studies.

To navigate the landscape of information with confidence, it is important to identify and define your own information needs. These are shaped by the aspects of the question you aim to answer.

The definition of your research question in the context of searching literature involves:

• a structured collection of search terms
• and their meaningful combination into search queries.

Next, the goal is to find and gain access to the required information in the form of scientific literature.

A central starting point for this is the library: It provides access to over 200,000 printed books, more than 400,000 e-media resources, and several million academic articles.

What is the OPAC?

The first point of contact in any research process is the library catalogue (OPAC). It contains the library’s entire collection at the title level. This means it provides information about which books, e-books, journals, and newspapers are available through the library.

The OPAC is therefore suitable for searching for foundational literature and for checking whether a specific journal or issue is available.

Why use academic databases?

In the next step, academic databases come into play. They enable targeted searches for individual articles from scientific journals.

An overview of the most relevant databases for each faculty is available on the library website.

The databases differ in topic – ranging from highly specialised subject databases to interdisciplinary databases covering a wide range of topics.

In addition, they differ in terms of availability of the literature they index: Full-text databases provide the entire text for each entry, whereas bibliographic databases only refer to the existence of the article.

Thanks to the internet, it is usually possible to check availability with just a few clicks and, if necessary, place an interlibrary loan request.

You can find a detailed script about searching for literature for your specific degree program in the library’s training materials.

Frequently asked questions

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The usual research

While working with sources, you usually need to search databases, browse through journals, or request an interlibrary loan. Sometimes you also need to obtain literature from the university library in Erlangen or Nuremberg. If you need support with literature research or acquisition, our library will gladly assist you.

Also refer to our articles Effective research: Tips and tools for beginners and Starting your research.

Exceptions for citing secondary sources

If your efforts do not succeed, or if obtaining the literature would involve an unreasonable amount of effort, you may exceptionally refer to knowledge gained from secondary sources with the note “quoted in” (abbreviated as “qtd. in”), or “as cited in”. In this case, you take the relevant quotation that you do not have access to from the publication that is available to you. It can look like this:

Example: Solution-oriented short-term therapy is based on the insight that “major therapies without a time limit usually drag on until the patient realizes that the treatment could last a lifetime, and gives it up” (Watzlawick et al., 2001, p. 137, qtd. in Berklin, 2010, p. 56).

In the reference list, only “Berklin, 2010” is included – in other words, only the work you have consulted. Under no circumstances should you quote Watzlawick without mentioning Berklin if you have not personally examined Watzlawick’s work.

You should only use this approach in an emergency, as the quote from the work you have may appear in a completely different context in the original.

Frequently asked questions

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Definition

Plagiarism refers to the use of texts, ideas, or research results without proper citation. It is considered plagiarism if you incorporate a thought or idea (content plagiarism) or even exact wording (verbatim plagiarism) in an academic text without citing the authors (Commission “Selbstkontrolle in der Wissenschaft” of the University of Bayreuth, 2011, p. 14).

Consequences of plagiarism

Plagiarism can result in a fail. It does not matter whether the plagiarism was intentional or accidental.

“Always ensure, when using ideas and formulations, that you properly document the source of quotations and distinguish between verbatim and paraphrased content.”

– Ingo Palsherm

Most plagiarism happens unintentionally and unconsciously.

But: “Ignorance is no excuse!” So, work carefully from the very beginning!

See also the article Avoiding Plagiarism When Using AI Writing Tools.

Frequently asked questions

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Present your results clearly. Either summarize them or categorize the most important results logically. In empirical works, results are usually presented in a separate chapter. In qualitative research, however, results and your interpretation (discussion) are often closely linked, so it may be useful to present them together.

Discussion of results

Ensure that the reader can follow your argument by critically reflecting on your own results, considering possible objections, and discussing them.

In empirical works, you should show how the results relate to each other and which principles can be identified. Address exceptions and consider how they should be interpreted. In all instances, you should show how your results differ from or confirm the findings of others.

The readers are first to notice whether texts “work”. Go to a writing consultation, ask your fellow students, or join a writing group to get feedback on your text. Discussing your results with others will make it easier to discuss them in your paper.

The discussion of your results is a mandatory part of the structure of a scientific paper.

Frequently asked questions

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Therefore, it is not only legitimate to review and cite the relevant literature, but you are explicitly encouraged to do so.

Frequently asked questions

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In most cases, this means you will need to prepare a large amount of data graphically and/or in tables, as well as statistically. In addition, you must also put the results into words.

It is not necessary to discuss every single value in detail. The text is intended rather to summarize what can be seen in the figures and tables. Extensive tables and figures should be placed in an appendix.

“Your results section should still be correct in fifty years. Your discussion, on the other hand, may be completely different in fifty years because you will have different, new information that casts your results in a new light.”

– Prof. Dr. Ronald Schmidt-Vollus

In development work, the focus is often on testing. Depending on the work, however, an (additional) results chapter can also be helpful.

The results section is a mandatory part of The Structure of a Thesis in Engineering and Natural Sciences.

Frequently asked questions

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Present the state of the art in detail using the following sources: scholarly articles, patents, competitor analyses, standards, guidelines.

This is where your literature review comes in.

You can describe related work that answers the research question in a different way or examines similar questions in the same way. If, due to your topic, you work with specific devices or systems, you should explain how they function.

If predecessors of your research question or task have already been addressed in previous theses, and your work builds on that knowledge, it makes sense to describe the connection to these works. Such works do not necessarily have to be completed; they may also be ongoing in parallel.

The state of the art is a mandatory part of The Structure of a Thesis in Engineering and Natural Sciences.

Frequently asked questions

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Steps in writing a thesis

The following tasks are typically involved in writing a thesis:

1. Develop a topic
2. Create an outline
3. Research academic literature
4. Prepare and conduct the research or development
5. Record and analyze results
6. Write
7. Revise and submit the text

In practice, these tasks are usually not completed one after the other, but overlap or occur multiple times during the process.

This list is therefore not to be understood as a linear sequence that you can simply tick off. However, you can use it as a guide. The structure of this guide largely follows this sequence.

Conducting research

For projects involving research, the following activities are typically necessary:

• Design an research-specific application of the methods
• Determine the parameters that need to be measured, observed, or calculated
• Collect data: work in the laboratory, measurements, simulations or calculations on the computer, or evaluation of academic literature

Take into account the procedures and methods from VDI2221 and VDI2206 where applicable.

You should also keep the following in mind:

• Allow enough time – especially for data collection – to be able to compensate for unforeseen difficulties
• Check which materials, equipment, and facilities you need and can use, as well as their availability
• Clarify whether external persons, laboratories, or workshops are necessary and available
• Consider delivery or waiting times in your planning
• Find out about opening hours and rules for workshops, laboratories, and research facilities
• Include in your planning the time and appointments needed for training and familiarization, e.g. for facilities, software tools etc.

Developing a system

For projects that involve developing a system, the following is typically required:

• Requirements management
• Selection of environment, frameworks, tools
• Implementation or development
• Create tests to validate results

Working methods and goals

During the practical work, you should document interim results, failures, newly raised questions, and ideas immediately, even if you might not use them later.

If these records are missing when you want to address them in the writing phase, it is often very time-consuming to reconstruct the corresponding processes.

It is not the end of the world if you do not achieve the goal of your thesis. In technical theses, something is often built, developed, simulated, or calculated. Since these are usually new, previously unexamined questions, unforeseen problems can arise. However, the time available for the thesis is limited, so it may not be possible to fully address all problems within the timeframe, or the goal of the work may not be achieved at all. This is not important for the evaluation of a thesis!

You will be evaluated on your working method and how you deal with the problems that arise, not on whether the original goal was achieved.

What matters is that these problems, attempted solutions, and gained insights are documented. They can form an important basis for subsequent work. Every scientific work has a summary, and many also have a conclusion. Especially when things did not work out, this reflection at the end of the work is important for future similar projects.

Helpful tips for efficient work

Frequently asked questions

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