2023_24
Educational guide 
Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology
A A A 
english 
Health Psychology (2014)
 Subjects
  MASTER'S THESIS
   Specific action plan / execution
  Description
Introductory activities This is a meeting called by the TFM coordination in which all students are informed of the aims of the TFM, the procedure for assigning a tutor, the preparation of the proposal and the calendar. The calendar must specify the dates on which the established phases must be carried out: deadline for submitting proposals, decision on the acceptance of proposals, awarding of the contract between the tutor and the student, development of the TFM, deadline for submitting the TFM, and presentation and defense of the TFM.
Mechanisms for coordinating and monitoring the bachelor’s degree/master’s degree thesis The tutoring tasks during the elaboration of the TFM are divided into three stages:
a) Initial phase, of origin and establishment of the work system.
b) Development and follow-up phase.
c) Final phase, evaluation and improvement.

In each of the phases, the functions and tasks that the tutor has to develop are different, although guidance, supervision and evaluation are transversal tasks that must be taken into account during the whole process.  

Functions of the tutor:  
Is the person in charge of dynamizing and facilitating the learning process. The tutor provides guidance, monitors the project and assesses the student in each of the phases of the dissertation: conceptualization, presentation, methodology, writing of the results, presentation and defense. He also offers, when necessary, guidance for the documentary research and the bibliographical review; he collaborates in the planning of the research and in the specification of the structure of the project (most relevant aspects to be dealt with, distribution of the information of each section of the work, etc.), and helps in the planning of the time and the gradual revision of the report (content and form).  

On certain occasions, the intervention of other professionals (co-tutors), who contribute to the tutoring process, is recommended. The tutors are responsible for authorizing the completion of the work, assessing the student throughout the process and evaluating the results obtained.  
It is important to agree with the teacher on regular tutorials and to establish a schedule with results sections, drafting of essays, etc. in order to finish the process in a timely manner.  
The tutor must prepare and send to the TFM coordination a report with a justified evaluation on the student's compliance during the development of the project. This report is essential in order to present and defend the TFM.
Drafting of the bachelor’s degree/master’s degree thesis STRUCTURE AND WRITING GUIDELINES

The structure of the report varies according to its orientation, whether applied or research.

Practical and applied reports must include a description of cases worked on during the internship. The student must agree on the details of this report with the tutor before submitting it. The report must include the description of three cases worked, i.e., cases in which the student has been present during the internship. The simple description of the cases is not enough:a report must be presented for each case, which must include the following sections:

1. Cover page: name and surname of the author and academic tutor, title of the work, etc. In this section, as in the rest of the paper, the URV regulations must be followed. In this case, anunified model of title page is proposed.

2. Theoretical explanation of the problem or problems presented for each case.  

3. Presentation/description of the case (description of the functional analysis whenever possible).  

4. Explanation and justification of the evaluation techniques applied and of the pretest data (whenever possible).

5. Diagnostic hypothesis, maintenance hypothesis and hypothesis of origin of the problem. 

6. Definition of action objectives (treatment).  

7. Explanation and justification of the treatment techniques used.  

8. Presentation of post-treatment data: results achieved.
  
9. Discussion of the results obtained.  

10. Follow-up: results.  

11. Analysis of the limitations of the work.  

12. Critical conclusions on what has been learned and possible changes that should be made in the future. 
 
13. Updated and specific bibliography in APA format.  

When it has not been possible to complete the clinical follow-up work (i.e., to conclude the entire intervention process, since the duration has gone beyond the student's internship period) or there is no follow-up information, the student must make a therapeutic proposal and strategies to facilitate adherence and compliance with the treatment/follow-up and the derived instructions, which must be conveniently justified. Finally, the description of the cases is conditioned to the type of experience during the internship period. internship period.  

The report must have a maximum of 60 pages (including bibliographical references) and must be written in Verdana font, size 11, double spacing, justified paragraphs and numbered pages.

The works oriented to research in general health psychology must have the same structure as any other scientific report:

0. Cover page: author's name and surnames, title of the work, tutor's name and surnames, etc.; in this section, as in the rest, it is necessary to follow the URV regulations, which in this case propose a unified model for the cover page.  

1. Abstract: maximum length of 250 words.  

2. Introduction: a clear and concise explanation of the purpose of the work, where the objective and the starting hypotheses are stated . In addition, the interest in the subject and the justification of the work in relation to the needs detected, as well as the needs detected, making clear its relevance. In short, it is a question of presenting the controversy to be solved and how it is related to the project presented.

3. Method: clear description and justification of the methodology undertaken: identify the sample, the variables of interest, justify the techniques chosen to obtain data, describe the procedures and instruments used, and specify the statistical analysis used.

4. Results: includes presenting the results obtained in the research.

5. Discussion/Conclusions: it must contain the argumentation of the results (not only the description) and, if necessary, proposals for practical applications. It explains how the results are related to the available bibliography and how it contributes to what is known about the subject. It also includes the limitations of the research and presents proposals for future research.
 
6. Acknowledgements: this section should appear after the discussion and before the references; it includes the sources of funding for the work (if any) and acknowledgements to individuals or institutions for their collaboration.

7. References: all the bibliography mentioned in the paper must be cited, in APA format (in the most recent version).

8. Annexes: if there are any, they will include data and additional information that helps to evaluate the work.  

The research-oriented report can be written in English (in this case it is positively valued and can add up to a maximum of two more points to the final grade), with a font size of 11 points, and presented in an unjustified document, double-spaced and with the pages of the report.

The maximum length of the report is 7,000 words (including acknowledgments and bibliographical references).  
Selecting/assigning the master’s degree thesis Regarding the research modality, the most common is that the master's professors offer research proposals to carry out the TFM and that the students choose one of them. In the event that two students choose the same proposal, the professor who has proposed the research topic will decide whether he or she can tutor more than one student or, if not, will choose from among the interested students. To do so, it may request additional information from the students (e.g. curriculum vitae, personal interview, etc.). If there is no research proposal that interests them, they can choose to elaborate the work in the clinical and applied modality or propose a specific research topic and a tutor to assess the feasibility of this proposal.

In the case that the student has neither topic nor tutor and has doubts about what to do, the coordination of the TFM is responsible for orienting him/her and providing a meeting with the potential tutor. Likewise, the TFM coordination proposes alternatives of topic and tutor that correspond to the student's interests
Presentation and defence of the bachelor’s degree/master’s degree thesis Before the submission and defense of the TFM, the student will register the data corresponding to his or her work in the space provided for this purpose. This is a prerequisite for the evaluation of the work.

The work will be defended publicly and in person in front of an examining board organized by the coordinator of the TFM. The panel will be made up of at least two people: a president and a secretary. No member of the examining board can be the tutor of the student's work.

The student must deliver a copy of his/her work to each member of the panel before the established deadline. The student must contact the members of the examining board to ask them how and when they want the document to be delivered. In general (unless otherwise indicated by the members of the examining board), the work must be delivered both in paper and digital format.
On the other hand, all students must upload the report to the Moodle space created for this purpose.

The exposition and public defense of the TFM is carried out during the month of June (1st call) and/or September (2nd call). The public defense of the work requires the express authorization of the academic tutor, who must send to the TFM coordination an evaluation report of the final work with the authorization for the public defense. Without this authorization report it is not possible to defend the TFM.

The oral presentation lasts between 15 and 20 minutes, and in no case should it exceed 30 minutes between the student's presentation and the questions from the members of the examining board.