GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE GRADUATION THESIS

IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-2015

(translation from Romanian language by dr. Adrian Stan)
PREAMBLE
This guide has two key objectives: to determine the structure of the graduation thesis 1 and to
describe the main elements required to develop its content. The graduation thesis shall be
presented as described in the Appendix: thesis electronic file.
The structure and content of a graduation thesis are as follows:
Abstract (a maximum of 200 words)
The abstract describes the scientific purpose of the thesis and summarizes the main results
obtained.
Keywords (a maximum of 5 keywords)
Indicate keywords (or keyphrases) that capture the essence of the thesis.
JEL code/s (a maximum of 3 codes)
Indicate one or several JEL codes for the field of interest in which the thesis may be included
in terms of the chosen topic. The list of codes can be found at:
https://www.aeaweb.org/econlit/jelCodes.php?view=jel
1. Introduction (a maximum of 1,700 words!)
The content should answer the following questions:
- What is the theoretical and/or applied problem addressed in the thesis and which is its
relevance to the field of study considered?
- What are the theoretical and/or practical elements addressed in the thesis?
- What is the authors contribution of theoretical and/or applied nature?
- What is the structure of the thesis?
2. Literature Review (a maximum of 2,800 words!)
The content should answer the following questions:
- What are the relevant theoretical main results in the literature in the field? (e.g., in the
text reference is made as follows: As identified by Fischer (2006, p 2), these may be
or/and Principles are very important (Mueller, 2011, p)....)
- What are the possible differences of opinion regarding the existing theories?
- What are the empirical results derived from the theories considered?
- Based on the theoretical and empirical contributions identified, what are the expected
results of the thesis?

Dam, L. (2012). Suggested Structure and Structuring of an Empirical Master s Thesis in Finance, Working
Paper, University of Groningen, and Cochrane, J. (2005). Writing Tips for Ph. D. Students, Working Paper,
University of Chicago, respectively.
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p - represents the page number.

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3. Case Study and Results (a maximum of 10,000 words!)

The content should answer the following questions:
- What are the main stages of the case study (description included)?
- What are the data used (years, countries, companies etc.), with their description and
sources?
- What are the main results obtained (it is recommended to use tables, charts, figures
etc. - Appendix: thesis electronic file)?
- What are the interpretations of the results obtained?
4. Conclusions (a maximum of 1,200 words!)
The content should answer the following questions:
- What are the similarities and differences between the personal results and the ones
listed in the literature?
- How do the obtained results accommodate to the theory and results listed in the
professional literature?
- What are the limits of the research (data, methodology)?
- What are the implications related to the economic-social policy (micro and/or
macroeconomic level) of the thesis?
- What are the possible new research directions?
References (a maximum of 1,700 words!)
All references used throughout the thesis are included in alphabetical order, using the
structure3 (the designations Books, Chapters or articles in edited books, Translated
materials etc. are listed in the section):
Books
Example:
Duncan, G.J., Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.). (1997). Consequences of Growing Up Poor. New
York, N.Y: Russell Sage Foundation.
Chapters or articles in edited books
Example:
Gombrich, E.H., 'The early Medici as patrons of art' in EF Jacob (ed.), Italian Renaissance
Studies, Faber and Faber, London, 1960, pp. 279-311.
Translated materials
Example:
Laplace, P.S. (1951). A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities. (F.W. Truscott & F.L. Emory,
Trans.). New York, N.Y.: Dover. (Original work published in 1814).
Articles
Example:
Wegener, D.T., Petty, R.E. (1994). Mood Management Across affective States: The Hedonic
Contingency Hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 1034-1048.
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According to the APA (American Psychological Association) style:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

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Newspaper- type articles

Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls Made to Strengthen State Energy Policies. The
Country Today, pp. 1A, 2A.
Bodies and organisations
Example:
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Patients
with Eating Disorders (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Movies, videos and radio and TV programs
Example:
Scott, D. (Producer). (2007, January 5). The community college classroom [Episode 7].
Adventures in Education. Watched/listened at http://www.adveeducation.com
Internet
Example:
Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderland, L., & Brizee, A.
(2010, May 5). Overall format. Seen at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Electronic articles from indexed databases (working paper)
Example:
Biswas, S. (2008). Dopamine D3 receptor: A neuroprotective treatment target in Parkinson's
disease. ProQuest Digital dissertations. (AAT 3295214)
Appendices (a maximum of 2,800 words!)
Here may be inserted tables, charts, figures, examples, mathematical formulas etc. supporting
the research process, all of which should be obligatorily cited in the thesis (e. g., as shown in
Table 1 of the Appendices or see Table 1 in the Appendices).
NOTE
Theses shall be submitted in a standardized format, according to the Appendix: thesis
electronic file. Transparent covers shall be used.

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