Exposée

The written synopsis is at the end of the orientation and planning phase when writing a scientific paper, so that it can be assessed whether the project in the intended form is realistic or still requires substantial modifications. The reader of an exposé should learn what the question is, how the work is structured, which sources are available on the chosen topic, which theses are being pursued, how the theoretical approach is to be applied and which methods of answering the question should be applied. The synopsis therefore provides a useful basis for any consultations. Furthermore, writing an synopsis is a good way of getting clarity about your own goals and possibilities, and it should help to identify weaknesses in the planned work or to find dead ends and wrong turns avoid. The scope of the synopsis for a bachelor’s thesis should be around 3-5 A4 pages. The purpose of an exposé … is to develop the question of the work on the one hand and on the other hand to outline the framework of the work. An exposé should only define the framework of the topic and roughly outline the sample, design, variables and evaluation steps, especially in empirical studies. Under no circumstances is it necessary that the theoretical part of the planned work has already been completed.
Problem

Every scientific work starts with an idea and preliminary considerations on a topic. You should state in your synopsis that your work is devoted to a “worthwhile” topic or a question relevant to discourse. Explain why the problem addressed is worth investigating scientifically! Starting points could be, for example, a personally relevant problem situation, observations in practice or a question dealt with in the literature.

Key question and logical framework

What should your work find out? Formulate your question as precisely as possible! Your key question can then be further differentiated into detailed questions or theses in your planned work. In your concept, you explain what your work is about, what the state of research looks like, what goals you pursue with your work, how you will proceed (structure) and which method (s) you want to use. If you have your own hypotheses, explain them briefly. Depending on the question, restrictions can also be made. For the reader of the synopsis, it must be clear what you want to find out with your question. Sometimes it can make sense to develop a first rough outline that can serve as a logical framework for the work. The structure should make clear the theoretical building blocks, but also the objectives of your work. The structure of your work should be derived from the structure.

State of research and source

Be sure to go into the (scientific) state of discussion on the topic of your work! To do this, you get a first overview of relevant literature (e.g. monographs, anthologies, specialist journals) and any other sources (e.g. documents, data records, internet sources). Be sure to move on (knowledge of your work in an already developed research area, you should definitely refer to theories, hypotheses, results, … Investigation approach or research method How do you intend to work on your topic? Try to describe as precisely as possible the ways in which you collect knowledge (data) and which (evaluation) methods should be used! Who or what are your examination objects and which examination period do you want to consider? The methodical procedure is essentially derived from the objective of your work. Depending on the type of scientific work (bachelor thesis, master thesis, etc.), various scientific methods are used. These can be literature-summarizing or comparative, qualitative (interviews, text analysis, …) or quantitative (statistical methods etc.). To this end, it is of fundamental importance that you “operationalize” your research question or question, i. H. They explain how you want to use your chosen method to answer the question and why it is suitable. Results Even if the results of your work will only be available at the end, it is sometimes advisable to consider what might come out in the end. Since you are pursuing a research interest and therefore have an assumption, it is quite legitimate to make assumptions as to how the results could be presented. The formation of hypotheses is a necessity, particularly in quantitative hypothesis-testing research. Overall, by formulating assumptions, you can achieve that you have a clearer view of your goal and do not get lost in “minor matters”. Usually you have a limited time budget for your work, so use it economically! Set up a project plan that roughly outlines the individual work steps and also has the time required for this. In any case, your synopsis should show that the planned work steps are feasible with your available resources.

preliminary list of literature

Be sure to include a list of previously identified sources in your synopsis. The aim of your literature research should (at the beginning) be a preliminary list of literature for your interest in knowledge or your research question. Try to find important keywords and authors for your topic. Concentrate on references that are cited again and again. It is advisable to also access English-language literature, since the vast majority of research results are currently published in this language.


Writing an EXPOSÉ Structure (suggestions)

1. Problem, question and reason for the choice of topic
Here you should clearly outline the actual problem and your general question on which the work is based and present it as a context of interest to science. You should also express the most important aspects of the work and also outline it: from the horizon of possibilities to an achievable goal. Connections with individual, educational, social situations should also be shown. A mistake that is often made is not to distinguish your own solutions from problems.


2. Overview of the research situation
A short (positive as well as negative) appreciation of the relevant research literature should be reproduced here. Which scientific location is assumed? (Indication of your own scientific self-image – your own position.) What is (already) known to you about this topic – literature, research, general knowledge, …?

3. Discourse relevance
In relation to a critical overview of the research situation, it should be expressed here in which aspects the treatment of the topic will make a significant contribution to research and development. Is there a practical reference? – Curriculum, institution, people, training, model, recommendation, project, course … Who are the addressees of the work? Who are you writing for? Which question should be answered? Which assumption will be investigated, proven or refuted? 4. Preparatory work Show here that you have already familiarized yourself with the topic. List your specific examination questions or hypotheses and, if necessary, a well-founded concept for your examination. Possibly. A preliminary table of contents can also be helpful, as it already provides the desired written work with a certain structure. 5. Choice of methods In this section, the chosen methodology should be mentioned with regard to the object of investigation and the topic (e.g. literature work, hermeneutic work, qualitative study, quantitative study). So clarify which scientific method (s) will be used to gain knowledge.

6. Schedule and work steps
This is about a realistic and manageable structuring of your individual work steps.
You should also sometimes consider that the process does not always (from You) is controlled yourself, but other influencing factors also need to be taken into account (e.g. access to various research fields, unpredictable events, etc.)

7. Bibliography
In your (provisional) bibliography or bibliography, already compiled relevant primary and secondary titles listed. Read (with order details);works still to be read and thematic priorities (still to be set);

Literature
Pyerin, B. (2001). Creative scientific writing. Weinheim / Munich: Juventa publishing house.
Seibold, G. (2009). The perfect synopsis for a dissertation (4th edition). Norderstedt: Books on Demand. Studieren.at (2018). Expose. (2018, September 29). Available under
href = “https://www.studieren.at/infos/uni-abc/expose/”> https://www.studieren.at/infos/uni-abc/expose/
Werder von, L. (1993). Textbook of creative writing. Berlin / Milow

Source: http://www.phdl.at/fileadmin/user_upload/Verfassen_eines_Exposes.pdf