Guidelines for Writing Academic Papers
at the Chair of Business Environmental Economics and Sustainability
These guidelines contain the specific requirements for academic papers at the Chair of Business Administration – Business Environmental Economics and Sustainability (BUÖN). They serve as a supplement to the template for theses and seminar papers provided by our chair (WORD | PDF). The study and examination regulations of the degree programs, in their currently applicable versions, are authoritative for preparing an academic paper at the Chair of Business Administration – BUÖN.
Please inform yourself IN ADVANCE about the respective requirements (including processing time, page limits, presentation, etc.). If anything is unclear, please contact the BWL – BUÖN team.
i) Purpose and Structure of Academic Papers
Purpose
- Academic papers focus on a problem, pose a specific research question, address an objective, and are characterized by a solution-oriented approach.
- These should be briefly explained at the beginning of the paper.
- The goal is to examine the research question in depth, comprehensively, and reflectively using appropriate scientific methodology.
- Relevant aspects of the research question should be considered as a guiding thread and developed into coherent, intersubjectively comprehensible lines of argument.
- You are writing your paper at the Chair of Business Administration – Business Environmental Economics and Sustainability.
- Please clarify the term sustainability/sustainable development/development towards sustainability and establish a clear link to your research question or topic.
Sustainability addresses a value-based understanding in dealing with resources, people, animals, plants and nature, as well as cycles in the present and the future. The development towards sustainability involves a value stance regarding an equal weighting of ecological, social and economic principles and goals. The principles of sustainable development include shaping human systems while taking into account ecological and social carrying-capacity limits and scientific principles. The Earth’s ecosystems must remain intact in their assimilation, buffering and regenerative capacity in order to enable life and human economic activity in the long term. This also includes shaping socially resilient structures and economically more robust systems. Sustainability-oriented value creation must produce quality, be geared towards long life and use phases, and bring about a rethink in consumption. This simultaneously requires a readjustment of fundamental economic principles.
Business administration should outline new visions for a more sustainable world.
Scientific Quality Criteria
Use the quality criteria of scientific work as a guide (e.g., Flick, 2010):
- Appropriateness to the subject matter: Appropriate selection and adequate presentation of data collection, sampling, and selection methods
- Intersubjective traceability: Transparency regarding the research project, the design, and the application of methods – i.e., across the entire research process
- Consensual validation: Researchers’ own opinions should always be avoided in the choice and application of methods as well as in the presentation of results
- Scope: Determining the theoretical relevance of the research, which generalizations are made, and to what extent these are free of contradictions
Structure
Academic papers are generally structured into:
- Introduction
- Main part (content, theory, methodology, results, discussion, reflection, etc.)
- Conclusion
The approach to solving the problem should be mentioned in the introduction and described in the methodology section/subsection.
There should always be at least two subsections on the lower level (e.g., 1.1., 1.2., etc.). Each subsection should contain at least ¾ of a page of text.
The review of existing literature and theories should be kept brief. It is essential to reflect extensively on assumptions, constructs, theory and concepts, as well as results. The discussion and reflection subsections should be longer (in terms of page count) than the literature review.
Sources
- Depending on the topic and the degree of innovation of the paper, sources must be considered in an appropriate manner.
- Rule of thumb: two new sources per page and at least 15 current sources (this year and last year).
- For theoretical models and concepts, cite both the primary source and current extensions of the theory.
- In principle, up-to-date sources are required (current year minus 2 years) from valid publications (avoidance of fake publications, false AI-generated publications, as well as predatory journals/publishing).
- Printed sources must be listed separately from internet sources in the references/bibliography.
- All sources must be submitted as bundled PDFs (separate appendix).
Length
- The length depends on the type of paper and the relevant study/examination regulations. Please refer to your respective study and examination regulations. If there is flexibility, 13–18 pages of text (excluding lists of contents) are to be submitted for a seminar paper.
ii) Methodology: Literature Review and Empirical Research
Use a wide variety of sources on academic work and read literature on the procedure!
Literature Review
Systematic literature work links existing findings of a research field with the aim of meaningfully connecting and integrating these findings and the state of the art. Systematic literature analysis enables:
(a) an overview of the development and the current state of research,
(b) a connection between different research fields as well as identifying points of contact and conceptual differences,
(c) identifying inconsistencies or inadequate scientific work in previous studies,
(d) evaluating existing theories, concepts, methods, etc. based on criteria and generating new insights,
(e) developing new models and concepts to connect and extend what already exists,
(f) formulating existing research gaps and the need for future research, etc.
The work should always be theory-driven – and primarily use the following theories and concepts: systemic or evolutionary approaches, New Institutional Economics, approaches from behavioral business administration, etc. To assess sustainability, the sustainability criteria should be applied.
A tabular preparation of the literature search by databases, years/time periods, media, topics, hits, etc. is recommended. Clear transparency is required regarding the inclusion and delimitation/exclusion of literature (including language). Only then does the scope of your analysis become clear. See also here and here.
Empirical Research
Describe your scientific procedure clearly and present all steps transparently (place, time, participants, case selection, etc.). Describe your chosen research design, data collection techniques, and analysis procedures clearly and based on the scientific quality criteria outlined above. Use tables – as shown illustratively below.
| Qualitative | Mixed | Quantitative |
|---|---|---|
| Research Designs | ||
| Single-case analysis | Document analysis |
Experiment (aiming at causal analysis, control/experimental groups) |
| Field research | Action research | Survey research |
| Grounded Theory | Evaluation research | Correlation study |
| Data Collection Techniques | ||
| Narrative interview | Observation | Counting |
| Focus group discussion | Questionnaire | Measurement |
| Semi-structured interviews | ||
| Analysis Procedures | ||
| Objective hermeneutics | Coding | Univariate and multivariate descriptive statistics |
| Grounded Theory | Qualitative content analysis | Inferential statistics |
Always coordinate your cover letter, your questionnaire, and your empirical procedure with your supervisor BEFORE starting data collection!
For academic surveys you must conduct a pre-test and include a GDPR-compliant reference to (templates can be requested from the chair) and review the Rules of Procedure of the Ethics Committee.
Discussion and Reflection
- Always discuss and reflect on systemic effects and potential rebound effects in the context of your topic.
- Always discuss and reflect on the quality criteria in light of your chosen methodology and clearly indicate limitations.
iii) Design of Format and Layout
Font
- Font type: Times New Roman, Arial (or a similar proportional font)
- Please choose one font for body text, figures, headers and footers, as well as for footnotes and footnote markers, etc.
- Font size in body text: 11 or 12 pt; in footnotes always two pt smaller.
Spacing
- Line spacing in body text: 1.5 lines, in footnotes single-spaced
- Page margins left: 2.5
Tenses
- Common tenses are present, simple past, present perfect, and future
- As an example for the use of the different tenses, you can refer to the linked article: Wagner, D. (2020): What is ethical competence and how can it be promoted among students at business universities?
Citation
- Citation style must be consistent (either American or German citation, but consistent throughout).
- When citing, the page number must be provided for every quotation, whether direct or indirect; this is mandatory.
- Footnotes are numbered consecutively.
Principles of Good Academic Practice
- The principles of good academic practice apply.
- Correct citation and marking the intellectual property of others, as well as correct academic work, are key performance criteria for academic papers.
- Mark text blocks created by AI (Artificial Intelligence, e.g., ChatGPT, etc.) and verify these statements. Protect yourself and your work from misinformation.
- All papers are checked for plagiarism. If plagiarism is present, neither independent academic work nor the performance criteria for good academic practice are met and the paper is graded as failed (the presence of plagiarism or false and missing citations is a knock-out criterion).
Figures and Tables
- Create 3 to 4 figures and/or tables INDEPENDENTLY (source: own illustration).
- All figures and tables must be labeled.
- Third-party figures must always include source references.
- Separate lists must be created for figures and tables.
- The contents of figures and tables should be referenced in the body text.
Gender & Diversity
- Explicitly address gender and diversity in your paper (no reductionist wording!).
- Based on the recommendations of the German Federal Conference of Women’s and Equal Opportunities Officers at Universities (BuKoF), we recommend using the gender asterisk (source).
- In addition, use the following information: Gender- and diversity-sensitive communication in language and images
Data Protection/Cover Page
Please provide only your student ID number on the cover page with regard to your personal data.
Please indicate the second examiner on the cover page of theses.
Number of Copies
- Seminar papers are submitted as a PDF.
- The number of printed copies to be submitted for theses depends on the respective examination regulations.
- Theses (Bachelor/Master/Diploma) are submitted bound AND with a digital version (PDF or Word format on an enclosed CD or USB stick) to the Examination Office. Please also send us a PDF.
- Print double-sided (this saves paper).
- An affidavit must be enclosed with each printed copy of the academic paper (form for all degree programs at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration).
References
Flick, U. (2010). Quality criteria for qualitative research. In: Mey, G. & Mruck, K. (eds.). Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, pp. 391-403.
Müller, M. & Haeger, K. S. (2010). Qualitative Social Research. Study module for the continuing education online-based degree program Business Administration in small and medium-sized enterprises. Oldenburg: n.p.
Voss, R. (current edition). Academic Writing. UKV Verlag.
Library e-learnings: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/ub/kurse-und-e-learning/elearning/studierende/ikonline.html & https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/ub/kurse-und-e-learning/elearning/schueler/lena/
