Basically, the Bachelor thesis should be organized like a short article in an international first-class journal. Please read a selection of articles about any topics in the Journal of Economic History, Explorations in Economic History and the European Review of Economic History. You might not understand everything, but just focus on the most important aspects.
Pay attention to how the authors proceed:
a clear research question
some pages about which relationships other studies found on the subject and what you would theoretically expect
at least one page on which you convincingly argue that your study is important
a list of literature references
a background chapter on historical and other facts (Optimally, you should make clear how the main points relate to your analysis.)
meaningful figures and tables (especially regression tables), which are discussed in the text as detailed as necessary
a brief conclusion including the main research questions, the performance and the results
a description of the data set, in particular, the strengths and weaknesses (such as measurement errors, biases, and perhaps arguments why they do not weaken your analysis)
In addition to the journal articles, it is a good idea to read some of our papers (available to download on our website). Please study how the regression tables are organized (often several models, different combinations of explanatory variables. Not just “raw” Stata-Output).
About the process
We accept students to write their Bachelor thesis at the department the whole term. The writing period start with announcing the topic at the beginning of every odd month (January, March, May, July, September, November).
We will provide you with a continuous supervision. In addition to your visits during office hours (3 times), you are supposed to prepare a short presentation (10-15 minutes) which summarizes your research and your most important results . The presentation has to be given in our Bachelor Seminar. After that, you will have at least one week to include suggestions and hints.
The writing period is 10 weeks. You have to submit a printed version. Please note therefore our hints about the formalities and our checklist.