be creative & follow rules
Before embarking on extensive research and writing, the goals of the thesis and methodology must be clarified. As part of your studies, you are required to enroll in the thesis in the winter semester of the 2nd year of the bachelor's, or 1st year of the subsequent master's studies. For this, you need to attend a personal consultation, come with an interesting idea, and demonstrate that you are genuinely interested in the topic and have already studied some material in advance. At the first meeting, we will agree on the rough outlines of the topic and set up the assignment in the UIS (University Information System), or alternatively, we will conclude that mutual cooperation will not work, and you will find a different supervisor.
The assignment in the UIS is a formality so that the supervisor can count on you and the student administration knows that you are properly fulfilling your duties. The final assignment is subject to approval by the head of the department and the dean of the faculty. The assignment in the UIS must be approved by the end of October (check the formal regulations of the faculty just to be sure), so we will deal with it right at the beginning of the semester. However, by then, the results of the work must be completed (i.e., .
From the time the topic is registered in the UIS, you have more than a year to transform the rough outlines into an exemplary final thesis that brings new scientific knowledge in a correct and further usable form. A common student mistake is postponing the work, only to start again in the next winter semester. In this case, however, you will not receive credit and will not submit the thesis. There are usually a total of 3 credits, the first for the assignment (i.e., those rough outlines) and two subsequent for progress in achieving the agreed results. The thesis is usually submitted in March, and the time between Christmas and the submission deadline is for final tuning of the results, graphic layout, and typesetting. This implies that you have one summer semester (credit), summer holidays, and another winter semester (credit) to prepare the almost final version of your thesis. To do this, procedures must be continuously consulted. In the initial phase of the solution (summer semester and summer holidays), consultation every 1-2 months is usually sufficient, while in the concluding phase (winter semester), consultation once every 1-2 weeks is necessary. To consult, you must study the topic, or start processing the data. You must come to the consultation prepared and have considered the next steps, including research questions and any uncertainties.
Before each agreed consultation (i.e., we all have it in the calendar), it is necessary to send the version of the thesis you want to consult, as agreed. Send the thesis for consultation as a link to a live document on an online repository (OneDrive, Google Drive), do not send documents as attachments. For document sharing, I need to have the possibility of editing or revisions. Reading the work and preparing for the consultation will take me 1-2 weeks, so it is necessary to send the document well in advance. It is essential that errors do not accumulate. So, if you receive a comment on a systematic error (e.g., wrong citation format, inappropriate methodological step), this error cannot appear in the next version of the thesis. It is also necessary to address all comments and recommendations that the supervisor leaves in your work. Only comments requiring further discussion may remain. If an error that has already been commented on occurs in the next version, I will not comment on it further. Always communicate with the supervisor exclusively via your school email.
The selection of adequate specialized literature is the cornerstone of success and a pivotal aspect of the entire thesis. Therefore, pay increased attention to the sources from which you draw ideas. Within the CULS Library, as students, you have access, among other things, to licensed databases of specialized literature sources (e-sources). There are a number of scientific journal publishers, some of which provide their databases via open access and others through subscriptions. The subscription for most prestigious publishers is provided by the Library, and you have access to them through your school accounts. Through e-sources, you have access, among other things, to the Web of Science database, which is a valuable source of scientific publications. The Library provides, in addition to lending books and journals, access to a number of electronic books through the e-books module. Scientific studies are the basic source in a final thesis; however, a specialized book can also be effectively used as a primary source.
A very good search engine for specialized literature is Google Scholar, which can be used freely. However, access to the publications found may then be conditional on, for example, the mentioned subscription (which you mostly access through e-sources). Pay attention when searching for sources in web search engines. You can use the information found to organize your thoughts and knowledge, but never use such sources (typically websites) for citation.
Also, avoid citing gray literature and academic publications such as textbooks, scripts, or other final theses. Remember that the text undergoes plagiarism control and that opponents are usually quite well-read and often detect similarity themselves. Even if the similarity is acceptable, it is inappropriate to use such literature as a source in a final thesis. Again, gray literature can be used to study the problem, but it cannot be considered a scientific source.
For organizing literature sources, use citation managers exclusively. There are many, an established one is the bibliographic library Mendeley, and Zotero has also been widely used recently. This is usually a desktop application with optional web browser extensions that allows you to conveniently download sources while browsing the web, and, most importantly, manage all sources. The citation manager requires a small effort to learn to use, but it does a lot of work for you. Citations in the text become interactive elements that can be changed, supplemented, and most importantly, automatically batch-formatted at any time. Please keep in mind that correct citation and listing of all sources is the cornerstone of the final thesis.
There are many citation styles, and scientific journals often have their own citation requirements. Choose the citation regime in accordance with the methodological guideline; if it is not explicitly stated, choose a more restrained variant. You cite directly in the text after the adopted idea; the list of literature with complete details about the scientific study is then at the end of the work. One chosen style must be maintained throughout the work, which the citation manager will do for you, otherwise you would have to manually rewrite dozens of citations.
A common way of writing a literature review, especially in bachelor's theses, is writing paragraphs based on one read source (i.e., paragraph (citation), another paragraph (citation), etc.). However, the review cannot be written in this way. A literature review is a synthesis of read sources and the writing of a coherent text with easy readability and high informational value. One paragraph may contain many citations; the essential thing is to write a comprehensive part of the text (a paragraph or several consecutive paragraphs) to comprehensively describe one main idea/issue/topic.
A citation is always part of a sentence (meaning the period is after the reference, which not even a citation manager will do for you). Adequately choose the year of publication of the cited publication – if you are describing information with a given time validity, you must select a time-relevant study. Apart from generally valid facts (e.g., chlorophyll is a green pigment), always cite every adopted idea, study results, forecasts, statements, etc. The number of primary sources of specialized scientific literature should be at least 30–60 publications, depending on the type of work and topic.
More tips for writing and organizing your work can be found on the Library's website. A consultation and search service is also provided, which can be requested during your studies.
At the beginning of the thesis, you usually define the mandatory chapters (so you don't forget some during writing), and as the number of read sources increases and text accumulates, you create the future structure of the work. The thesis must be logically structured, chapters must follow each other, and the text must gradually develop and create a story – from general to specific and back to general.
Excessive text fragmentation does not look good, disrupts the fluidity of reading, and raises questions. Insufficient structure can lead to misunderstanding, misinterpretations, and even the loss of the reader's interest. Text structure must be understood at two levels – the structure of individual chapters and the number of paragraphs within a chapter. Chapters represent the umbrella for a coherent set of ideas. The chapter level differs according to significance, or the breadth of the topic. Chapters can be divided into orders – the 1st order chapter is the highest (general) level, typically chapters like Introduction, Objectives, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion. These main chapters can be further divided into other orders. The second order, e.g., in the methodology, will be chapters like Area of Interest, Materials (data), Methods, Evaluation, etc. A 3rd order chapter can probably only be used in the review part of the thesis; higher than the 3rd order is not considered. A period is written after the chapter number of the I. order, but not for other orders, see the example below. The I. order chapter always starts on a new page. Instructions for defining your own multi-level list style in MS Word are, for example, here. It is necessary to use styles so that chapter links become interactive and can be navigated in the electronic version of the document.
Choose a moderate serif font for the text, consistent throughout the work. Changes can only occur in size – larger for chapter titles, smaller for table and figure captions; changing the size of other parts of the text is not permissible. Approach other graphic modifications of the text very cautiously; with few exceptions (typically italics for function names), they are practically not permissible.
The format of the text and page, or macro-typography (text layout), is equally important. The thesis is formatted for single-sided printing, justified to the block. A common phenomenon due to poor page format are parts of a paragraph (typically 2-4 sentences) at the beginning of the next or end of the previous page; such formatting is not permissible. Never construct paragraphs from a single sentence. Fixed spaces are required for all prepositions and conjunctions. Justification often leaves prepositions and conjunctions at the ends of lines – prepositions and conjunctions must always be close to the word they are associated with (hence the need for fixed spaces).
Number pages at the bottom right, visibly from the Introduction chapter (hidden until then).
Be restrained regarding the graphic design of the text; do not use any text effects. The entire work is written in black font on a white background; a different text color is not permissible. Also, use other common text modifications (underline, italics, bold font) very cautiously; never combine multiple modifications together.
Accompanying graphics (pictures, graphs, maps, etc.) must be adequate to the text.
Images from author publications or images from the web are often placed in the literature review without stating the author. The use of an image from a published study must have a significant reason (with the necessity of correct citation). Images from the web can be used for easier understanding of the explained topic. However, the ideal is to create your own author graphics that you can use to demonstrate, for example, the methodological procedure or its parts.
It is necessary to state the source for images. For adopted works, the author and year are stated in the image caption; a complete reference including details must then be provided in the references. Adopted images can be modified (typically, e.g., translated from the original language), in such a case, the expression modified is added after the citation. In the case of your own author graphics, the source is stated as own in the image caption without the need to state the year. In the Results chapter, only your own graphics are considered, so there is no need to cite them.
It is necessary to use only graphics in print quality (min. 150, preferably 300 DPI). Problems usually arise with adopted graphics, where low-resolution images are often used. Unless it is a completely essential graphic that cannot be replaced, the use of low-resolution images is inappropriate.
Care must also be given to table formatting. Tables are a suitable form of presenting some parts of the thesis, typically Methodology and Results. Their format must be restrained, without graphic effects. In the table, a smaller font size is permissible compared to the rest of the text, or the use of, e.g., bold font (usually, e.g., to distinguish significant results).
The image caption is always below the image; the table caption is always above the table. Each element is numbered separately, always in a continuously ascending sequence. It is necessary to use cross-references (in electronic form, the links will be interactive). A smaller font size is permissible (max. by 1-2 points). All images and tables must have (cross-)references in the text, meaning it is not possible to insert a table with results without the text describing them and referencing the table.
If map outputs are part of the work, study the cartographic principles yourself, e.g., here. Author images are just as important as the text around them; they cannot be neglected.
All valid CULS logotypes can be found here. Study the faculty's graphic manual; use the correct logotypes in the correct places.
Flowery, complex sentences can be harmful. If you are not strong in sentence construction, avoid complex sentences with more than 1 subordinate clause. A common problem (besides the reader getting lost while reading the sentence) are misplaced commas, which can thus change the meaning of the sentence. Stylistic editing of the text is important for the reader's understanding and maintaining their attention. Sentences must follow each other; each subsequent sentence develops the story or brings further details.
Be careful about deictic words, i.e., those whose semantics relate to the context or situation. These are typically words of textual connection (endophora) such as "this," "that," "this one," or full-value naming (exophora) such as "this one," "that one," etc. Their use is permissible, but the understanding of their meaning must be clear and unambiguous.
Absolutely correct grammar throughout the work is a matter of course. Any transgression is unacceptable. Typically, these are errors in subject-verb agreement, writing prefixes, prepositions, or conjunctions. You can make a mistake when writing text. It also happens that after a while, you stop seeing the error yourself. A foreign reader (e.g., someone from the family) can help you. It is not necessary for such a reader to necessarily understand the topic, but to focus (only) on stylistics and grammar. Checking by a foreign reader is usually necessary, at least before the final editing.
The frequently used word software is indeclinable. Do not use variants like "softwarů," "softwarech," etc.
Introduction is a general chapter where you explain the importance of the topic, summarize what has already been done in the area, and how your work stands out, what its benefits are, and where its novelty lies. It is not necessary to cite in the introduction. These are general statements without citing the conclusions of other studies. The chapter should be approximately 2-3 pages in length.
Objectives of the thesis are not a copy of the objectives from the assignment. These are a detailed definition of the achievable goals of your research. The objectives must be formulated so that they fully reflect the content of the thesis and their achievement can be stated. The chapter also includes the formulation of several partial research questions. If the formulation of hypotheses is included, it is necessary to comment on the hypotheses in the conclusions of the thesis. The objectives take up 0.5-1 page.
Literature Review is a comprehensive, sequential part that introduces specific topics and facts related to your work. In the literature review, you must prove that you are indeed oriented in the problem. To write the review, it is necessary to read a significant amount of specialized sources, mainly from abroad (depending on the type of work, we are talking about a minimum of approximately 30-60 scientific studies). The goal of the review is to describe in detail what is known about the topic, how colleagues address the issue, and what is not yet fully researched. The review must imply that you are confidently moving within the problem, are aware of the pitfalls, know the competition, and can identify areas that require further scientific research. Citation is key in the review, see above. The length of the literature review should be between 7-10 standard pages of dense text with high informational value; it makes no sense to stretch the review over more pages with empty phrases or general statements.
Materials and Methods describe in detail how you did the work, how you achieved the results. The methodology must be described in such detail that anyone can repeat the described procedure after you. Generally, the methodology can be divided into materials (usually inputs, input data) and methods (input processing, analysis, evaluation). A chapter describing the area of interest is often part of the methodology. Choose the description of the area adequately to the research questions. That is, describe facts that may affect the results of the analysis (typically topography, climate, land cover, etc.)
Results stem from the methodology. You describe what you found. These are bare (objective) facts, clear outputs of the work. Results often include tables and images (graphs, maps, etc.) supplementing the text part. You evaluate the results of the analyses, refraining from justification.
In the Discussion, on the contrary, you describe, or rather justify, the results. The discussion is not a repetition of the results but their explanation. You must consider everything that the achieved results may be due to, i.e., you describe uncertainties (for example, that the results apply in coniferous stands of the Mediterranean climate and cannot be generalized for the rest of the planet). You consider not only the climate, topography, or land cover but also the input data. You also confront your results with the results of other authors, compare what you found and what the competition found (and possibly justify why this is the case).
Conclusion is a general chapter (approx. 2-3 pages) where you should summarize the problem as a whole, mention the contribution of your work, and outline possible future prospects for how the outputs could be further developed. It is a synthesis of what has been achieved, a statement of the results, pointing out the limits of the results, and outlining further possible research directions that your results could elaborate on or extrapolate.
A special chapter is the Abstract. Although the abstract is the first chapter, it is usually written only at the very end of the thesis. It is a chapter where you summarize the introduction, review, methodology, results, and conclusions in 1-3 paragraphs (max. 1 page). It is the most complex part of the text in terms of formulations and language work. After reading the abstract, everyone will very quickly reveal your expressive abilities. It is quite possibly the only part of the work that someone other than just the opponent and the committee will read. Therefore, it is paramount that after reading the abstract, it is clear what you did, how you did it, what you found, and what follows from it. The abstract should briefly introduce the reader to the issue, outline your materials and methods, and emphasize the most interesting and most important results. Do not start the abstract with the phrase "This diploma/bachelor thesis deals with/discusses," the reader knows what they are reading, and the thesis does not actually deal with anything. Start with a general introductory sentence relevant to the topic of the work (Unmanned aerial systems represent a promising way to effectively monitor environmental phenomena) and then elaborate on the topic further.
Mandatory parts of the thesis are also the Table of Contents, Declaration, and List of References. Generate the Table of Contents automatically based on the defined chapters (styles), check line breaks, and unify the font. The current wording of the student's declaration (including the AI utilization declaration) can always be found in the current methodological guidelines and rector/dean's directives. The List of References will be automatically generated by the citation manager according to the chosen citation standard. However, it is necessary to check whether some references are missing mandatory information (can be edited or supplemented in the citation manager environment).
Other possible chapters include Acknowledgments and lists of figures, tables, and abbreviations. Acknowledgments are usually used to mention people who helped you with the work (e.g., consultants). Lists of figures and tables are optional; consider their necessity. The list of abbreviations is also not mandatory and, in most cases, not appropriate. You are required to explain abbreviations at their first occurrence in the text, so further explanation is not necessary.
As part of your studies, you have the opportunity to use university licenses for some software. For the purposes of your final thesis, you can also use, among others, ESRI ArcGIS Pro with all necessary extensions. In the case of processing aerial data, I can provide Drone2Map. Instructions for obtaining an ArcGIS license are here. For more advanced publication and visualization of results, you can also use ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Insight, or ArcGIS Dashboard. Logging into these applications is the same as for ArcGIS, see the instructions above.
If any ESRI product does not work as it should, you can contact the supplier (Arcdata Praha, s.r.o.) e.g., through the hot-line service (paragraph III). The university has a license providing all support from the supplier. Besides ArcGIS applications, any other alternative can, of course, be advantageously used.
If you achieve interesting results, consider publishing them in another form. This can be uploading the data to a simple cloud repository or using online tools for presenting geodata including maps, graphs, or tables (see the mentioned tools above). A link or QR code that will link to the repository or application can then be placed in the thesis. In an extreme case, it is possible to publicly publish interesting results of the thesis in a popular or popular-science form in a journal for the specialized public, e.g., Ochrana přírody magazine, but also others focused on the topic.
Use AI tools. But use them smartly. Continuous text written by ChatGPT will not have much chance with the opponent. However, no one will be surprised if you use general AI for your own research or querying specific facts, but it will not write the work for you. Learn to prompt AI and verify the outputs. For working with scientific literature, use the right tools, e.g., SciSpace and ResearchRabbit. SciSpace searches only in specialized literature and can find relevant studies with correctly posed queries.
You go to the defense (typically May) with two reviews, from the supervisor and the opponent. The supervisor knows you, consulted with you, and saw the gradual development of the work. Their final evaluation will be objective. The supervisor evaluates not only the achieved results and methodology but also, for example, the student's cooperation with the department or the frequency and meaningfulness of consultations. Thus, they can reflect your approach to the work as a whole, both in a positive and negative light.
The opponent generally does not know you, or rather, does not know the development of the work, but only sees and reads the final (submitted) version of the thesis. Therefore, they will focus more on the chosen methods, data evaluation, presentation of results, and their discussion. But they will also evaluate your ability to write a literature review, the overall impression, and formal requirements. It is therefore necessary not to underestimate any aspect of the work. The opponent also submits several (min. 2) questions, which will generally relate to the methodology and results of the thesis. It is necessary to prepare properly for them for the defense.
The defense is public (not a State Final Exam). The presence of the uninitiated public is not expected, but the participation of the supervisor or opponent in the defense is possible. The supervisor, opponent, and anyone from the committee (and possibly the public) can ask additional questions. First, you will be given space to present the thesis. Presenting with MS PowerPoint or PDF is expected. If you plan to use alternative processors (e.g., Libre Office), rather export the output to PDF. The presentation should take (according to the requirements of the student administration) usually 7-10 minutes. Use the time meaningfully. Committee members have your work and reviews available, but they have not read your work; the reviews are presented after your presentation. The goal of the presentation is to engage the committee and explain in a very short time what you have been doing for the last year and a half. This is not an easy task. Therefore, avoid parts of the presentation with a lot of text. Whole paragraphs, or even whole sentences, are unacceptable. Text appears on the presentation usually in bullet points in the form of word associations suitably supplemented by images. Something should interest the listener on every page of the presentation; this can be an image, a value in a table, or even a part of the text. It is essential that you are able to talk about the topic without reading it from the presentation. Therefore, structure the presentation pages so that even under stress, you know what you want to talk about. The presentation helps you to stick to the pre-thought-out storyline and also serves as a visual aid for the listener to better visualize the story you are describing. If you are nervous, practice the presentation at home in a mock run (aloud) and time yourself. The time spent presenting will be realistically different from what you usually think. It is common to be given an exact time slot. If you exceed it, the chairman of the committee may stop you – if you do not manage to reach the conclusion, it can be a problem and can raise doubts and new questions among committee members.