https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/P_MTHARBOIn general, finishing your master's thesis will help you acquire experience in setting up, conducting, and reporting research in Organizational Psychology within the department's themes or matching the themes of an internship. After submitting your master's thesis (M-thesis), you: (1) Have a demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the way research is set up, conducted, and reported within work and organizational psychology; (2) Are able to apply knowledge and insight in the field of work and organizational psychology in order to analyze psychological questions and to set up, conduct, and report either a laboratory or field research at an advanced level; (3) Are able to critically reflect on research using psychological knowledge and to come to conclusions based on scientific findings; additionally, you will be able to implement these findings into practical recommendations for organizations or governmental institutions; (4) Are able to report scientific findings and recommendations to both a scientific as well as a practically oriented audience and able to present and defend scientifically founded conclusions and recommendations in front of a critical audience; (5) You are able to independently find and study both scientific as well as practically oriented literature, and to integrate these insights in the M-thesis. Each M-thesis is written in the form of a manuscript, in line with the American Psychological Association (APA) rules and the guidelines presented in the course manual. Importantly, each master's thesis should be based on strong quantitative fundament which requires data collection and statistical analysis. As this is one-year master's track, it is expected that you submit your M-thesis and obtain a final grade within one academic year. Important deadlines will be communicated via a Canvas course.Your research will take place at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam or in the field and will focus on a topic related to work and organizational psychology. In the case of field research, it is advised to combine the internship and the master's thesis. The master's thesis project involves an in-depth literature review, designing a research study, collecting data, and reporting the research findings. The project results in a written report of the empirical research and will be presented at a symposium. A general meeting in September/October will introduce more information. During a Q&A session, you will have an opportunity to ask questions. Information about the meeting will be shared via a Canvas course.Your M-thesis will be supervised by one of the department members. In September/October, you will get a list of master's thesis topics. Then, you will talk with your potential supervisor. It is important for us to match you with a supervisor who offers a topic of your interest and can supervise your project in a way that fits both your needs. Information regarding the topics and meetings with potential supervisors will be distributed via a Canvas course. Each thesis must be written in English.Before writing a M-thesis, you are obliged to prepare a research proposal and present it at a symposium. Your M-thesis will be evaluated by your individual supervisor or the first assessor and the second assessor.Every student must follow the guidelines provided in the course manual and comply with the APA guidelines. (1) American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). (2) Other references depend on the topic of the M-thesis.You need to sign up for this course via VUweb and get access to a Canvas course at the start of the academic year, preferably no later than the first week of September. Contact this course coordinator to obtain more information.It is only possible to start a M-thesis after obtaining a bachelor's degree.Our students should have intermediate knowledge of quantitative research methodology (cross-sectional and experimental studies) and statistical analysis (ANOVA, regression analysis, mediation and moderation). As an essential element of a research proposal, students must be able to perform a power analysis (i.e., calculate the required minimal sample size). Importantly, if you want to update or improve your knowledge, you can attend Advanced Organizational Research Skills as an additional course. This course will help you to dive into advanced methods and statistics. If you would like to obtain more information, you can contact the course coordinator.Remember to join a relevant Canvas course. Canvas will be used to disseminate critical information regarding the processes of working on the M-thesis.