Academic Writing
Theses in the Focus Field Finance, Banking & Insurance must meet specific formal and content-related requirements. On this page, you will find all essential information regarding academic writing. We strongly recommend familiarizing yourself with the focus field’s regulations before beginning your thesis. In addition to guidelines and resources on how to prepare an academic paper, you will also find information on the plagiarism policy.
Guidelines for Academic Writing
To support you in preparing your thesis, we have created a set of guidelines for academic writing. The information provided is designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of proper academic work and familiarize you with the requirements. The regulations apply not only to Bachelor’s and Master’s theses but also to seminar papers. We expect you to read the guidelines carefully before you begin writing your paper. If you still have questions after reviewing the guidelines, please clarify them in your first meeting with your supervisor.
Additionally, we provide cover page templates for download. The specific requirements for formatting the cover page are also outlined in the guidelines.
Beyond the formal requirements established by the Focus Field, the Academic Senate of the University of Hamburg has adopted the “Statutes on Ensuring Good Scientific Practice and Avoiding Academic Misconduct at the University of Hamburg”, based on the recommendations of the German Research Foundation (DFG). These statutes apply to all academic work in the Focus Field Finance, Banking & Insurance. You are expected to familiarize yourself with their contents before beginning your thesis.
| Downloads | |
| » Guidelines for Academic Writing (German) | |
| » Cover Page Template for Bachelor’s Theses (German) | DOCX |
| » Cover Page Template for Bachelor’s Theses (English) | DOCX |
| » Cover Page Template for Master’s Theses (German) | DOCX |
| » Cover Page Template for Master’s Theses (English) | DOCX |
Empirical Research: Databases and Statistical Software
For empirical theses, your academic work also includes selecting and processing suitable datasets. The University of Hamburg provides access to commonly used financial and corporate databases. Detailed instructions on how to access these databases are available on the WiSo Library’s website. The university also provides appropriate statistical software through various access options.
A large portion of the licensed databases is available via the Wharton Research Data Service (WRDS) platform. Students generally have access to this platform:
- Bachelor students may use a data terminal located in the WiSo Library.
- Master students can apply for a personal account, which allows them to access WRDS remotely.
For help setting up access, please contact the library staff. Other financial and corporate databases not available via WRDS can be accessed by all students using the data terminal in the library. The library’s website provides a detailed overview of available resources.
For statistical data analysis, we recommend Stata. This software is available to UHH students in the CIP pools and through a campus license acquired by the Regional Computing Center (RRZ). In our Stata Help Desk section, you will find detailed information on access options as well as introductory guidance for working with Stata. We recommend reviewing this material before starting your empirical thesis.
Plagiarism Policy
To ensure the academic quality of submitted theses, every paper is checked for plagiarism using appropriate software. If a thesis is found to be a case of plagiarism, it will be graded “fail” (5.0) after the candidate has been heard.
A thesis constitutes plagiarism if the author uses someone else’s intellectual property without proper citation, thereby presenting it unlawfully as their own work. Examples of misconduct include:
- submitting a paper that has not been authored independently, in whole or in part,
- copying verbatim or paraphrasing without explicit source citation,
- translating content from originals without attribution,
- using sources that are not indicated and thus unverifiable.
The Guidelines for Academic Writing provide detailed rules for correct citation and are intended to prevent such violations. If your thesis complies with these guidelines, it will be considered in line with the principles of good scientific practice.
By submitting a thesis, you acknowledge this plagiarism policy and consent to the examination of your work. Please review your thesis carefully before submission: afterward, it cannot be determined whether unmarked passages were omitted “by mistake” or “deliberately”. Ensuring compliance with academic standards is your responsibility.
Personal Commitment to the Academic “Code of Honor”
All Bachelor of Business Administration students confirm their commitment to honesty and fairness during their first semester, in the lecture “Entrepreneurship & Digital Transformation” and by acknowledging the university’s statutes on good scientific practice. This commitment includes:
- respecting the intellectual property of others (e.g., copyrights, avoiding plagiarism),
- respecting the privacy of others (e.g., no unauthorized recordings),
- complying with data protection requirements,
- demonstrating fairness and honesty toward all members of the university (e.g., exam participation, avoiding cheating).
