MSc Thesis Initial Concept
Guidance for developing your one-page concept at UNA
The one-page research concept is normally developed after an initial discussion with a potential supervisor. You do not need to arrive at the first meeting with a fully developed project.
There are several ways to get started:
- You have your own idea: do some initial reading and send the potential supervisor a short description when asking for a meeting.
- You are interested in one of our advertised topics: contact the named supervisor. The advertised topic is a starting point; you will refine the specific research question and approach together.
- You are not yet sure about a topic: contact us with your broad interests, methods you would like to learn, or types of data you would like to work with. We can discuss possible projects with you.
Following the initial meeting, develop the idea into a one-page concept and share a draft with your supervisor. The concept is not a contract. Your research question, data or methods may change as the thesis develops. Its purpose is to show that you have a clear, relevant and feasible starting point.
A good concept is more than a description of a topic. It should show a clear line of reasoning:
motivation/context and gap → research question → research design → expected contribution
Before writing the concept, you should be able to state four things clearly:
- The motivation: Why is this topic or problem important, and why is it worth studying?
- The gap: What is missing, unclear or unresolved in existing research, and why does it matter?
- Your proposed contribution: What will your study add to what is already known?
- What is new: What is different about your study, for example the data, method, study area, application or combination?
For an MSc thesis, the contribution does not need to be a major breakthrough. It may come from applying an existing method to a new problem, using a new dataset, studying a different place or period, making a new comparison, or providing new empirical evidence.
Suggested structure
| Section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Working title | A concise and specific description of the project. It can change later. |
| Context and background | Explain why the topic matters and what is already known. Synthesize the most relevant academic and/or policy literature rather than listing individual studies. The background should build a clear narrative that leads directly to the problem or gap you will address. Include around 5–8 key, credible references that you have read and checked. |
| Problem statement / gap | Identify what remains unknown, unresolved or insufficiently studied, and briefly explain why this matters. |
| Research question(s) | State one main research question, or at most two closely related questions, that follow directly from the gap. A good research question should be specific, researchable and feasible; these elements will be refined further once you start working on your thesis. The question will later be broken down into more detailed analytical objectives. For example, a broad topic such as "Low-traffic neighbourhoods and air pollution" could lead to the research question: "Have low-traffic neighbourhoods changed air pollution within and around the schemes in the City of Zurich?" |
| Research design | Explain how you plan to answer the question, including the study area or population, time period, named datasets, data access, and broad analytical approach. Your question, data and methods should be developed together. At this stage, you do not need a fully developed research design, but you should establish that there is a feasible way to answer the question. Be concrete about the data: name the dataset, check that it contains the information you need, and say whether you already have access. If access is uncertain, identify a realistic alternative. |
| Expected contribution | State briefly what the thesis is expected to add to research and/or practice. |
Keep the project feasible. A focused question that can be answered convincingly is usually stronger than an ambitious project with several loosely connected aims.
Ethics and data protection
Identify any important ethical or data-protection issues at an early stage, particularly for personal, mobility, location, scraped or human-participant data. Discuss these with your supervisor before collecting new data or accessing personal or sensitive data.
Before submitting
Check that:
- the motivation, gap and research question are clear and logically connected;
- the question is feasible within an MSc thesis;
- the proposed data are specific and accessible, or there is a realistic plan for obtaining them;
- the data and broad analytical approach can answer the question;
- important ethical or feasibility issues have been identified; and
- you have shared a draft with your supervisor.
It is often a good idea to keep a longer working note with additional literature, data details and ideas for the extended concept.