Theses

The thesis is an essential part of a university degree at all three cycles: a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and a doctoral degree. This site contains guidelines for bachelor’s and master's theses. Instructions for doctoral studies and dissertations can be found in the section on doctoral studies.

Check also graduation.

Guidelines for AI use in the thesis process in LUT University

Artificial intelligence can be a helpful tutor and a useful support tool during various stages of the thesis process.
This guideline provides tips for using AI, instructions for reporting its use, and the restrictions of AI use. These guidelines apply to all theses at LUT University, but the university's schools may complement these instructions with field-specific guidelines that they publish in the eLUT website or on the Moodle platform.

The entire thesis, or any complete sections of it, must not be done using an AI application. AI tools may only serve as support and assistance throughout the thesis process. The student’s own contribution and the extent of AI use must be clearly verifiable. When using AI applications, the starting point must always be the student’s own work.

The student is responsible for ensuring that, even if one uses AI tools during the thesis process, one would still be able to complete the same process without AI and achieve the objectives set for the thesis:

After completing the Bachelor’s thesis, students will:

be familiar with the basic concepts and methods of scientific research
be able to organise their own work and set their own goals and schedules
be able to search for, critically evaluate, utilise and interpret sources
define a research problem
report on their research according to scientific practice and the practices of their own field.

After completing the Master's thesis, students will:

know the principles, methods and analysis techniques related to scientific research in their field, and be able to apply them independently
identify essential development targets related to the topic area, and be able to define and delimit a related research problem for the thesis
be able to assess critically and utilise prior research
be able to manage their own work: e.g. set targets and a schedule and implement them
be able to analyse research results and report on the work coherently, credibly and in accordance with good scientific practices in the field in question.

The student must discuss the possibility of using AI with their primary supervisor and with a possible external party if the thesis is done in cooperation with, for example, a company.

The student is responsible for the responsible use of AI throughout the entire thesis process: if necessary, the student must confirm with the supervisor whether the planned use of AI is permitted. The student must also be able to report any use of AI during the whole process if asked.

Accuracy of information

The student is always fully responsiblefor the content of this thesis. All content produced by AI must be critically evaluated, including any sources it provides: the information may be inaccurate, and the cited sources may be incorrect or do not exist. AI applications can uncritically produce also biased information.

An AI application or the material it produces cannot be used as a scientific source. Any information produced by AI must always be verified using reliable sources. The rules of academic writing are followed. References and sources are marked correctly. Students must respect copyright.

Use of AI applications in the maturity thesis is not allowed, as the student demonstrates in the maturity thesis, in accordance with the Degree Regulation, knowledge of the field of study and language skills. From 1.1.2025 onwards, the maturity examination will take place in a thesis seminar or similar, as determined by the teacher in advance in the course description.

Possibilities for using AI applications in the thesis process

AI applications can serve as a helpful tutor during the thesis process. If a student uses AI applications, the starting point must always be the student’s own work. For example, the student can choose to input their own text into an AI application and ask for feedback on the structure of the text.

Topic selection and delimitation

Suggesting research topics based on your interests and field of study.
Searching for current and relevant topics.
Narrowing down the topic.
AI can only assist in this stage by supporting ideation and helping to get started, but the AI application must not do the work on behalf of the student. The student must independently review the literature, identify the research gap, and construct the theoretical framework.

Background work and research plan

Mapping previous research. AI applications can be used as one source—but not the only source—when searching for research related to the topic. The existence of sources suggested by AI applications must be verified, just like any other information produced by AI.
Refining research questions.
Creating an overall picture.

Research and writing process

Organizing and grouping ideas.
Drafting the structure.
Summarizing and explaining complex studies.
Identifying useful and relevant research.
Formulating text, checking language, and improving clarity.
When interpreting and analyzing research results, the student may ask AI for feedback on their own interpretation and analysis.

Managing sources and references

Assisting with referencing style.
Creating reference lists and checking the accuracy of citations.

Review and finalization

Checking grammar and spelling, as well as assisting with language editing.
AI is only a tool and a research assistant. Using AI for language refinement does not mean translating the entire thesis, or any complete sections of it, from one language to another; it refers to short checks for correct wording and phrasing.
Providing feedback on structure and the logical flow of arguments.
Assisting in preparing the abstract and presentation materials based on the student’s own draft.

Reporting

The student must indicate in the thesis if they have used AI during the thesis process and explain how it was used. The student must not present text or images generated by AI applications as their own work.
The student must retain all conversations with AI applications (e.g., Copilot) related to the thesis process. The student is obligated to provide these conversations to the thesis supervisor upon request.
If AI is used, this must be stated in the Declarations-section of the thesis in accordance with the new reporting guideline*, using the following wording:

AI usage

The author of this thesis, Firstname Lastname, did not use any AI tools during the preparation of the thesis.

The author of the thesis, Firstname Lastname, used the following AI-tools during the preparation of the thesis:

AI tool name A
1. Purpose of use:
2. Explanation of the use of the tool:
AI tool name B
1. Purpose of use:
2. Explanation of the use of the tool:

Note! Record all the AI tools you have used in the same way.

Responsibility

The author, Firstname Lastname, takes full responsibility for the content of this thesis and has reviewed and edited the content generated by the possible use of AI tools.

*You can find the reporting guidelines (template) on the pages for Bachelor's thesis or Master's thesis.

Data protection

If your thesis material includes research data, note that personal data must not be entered into AI applications. Research participants must be informed about how AI will be used in data analysis. Participants must always be informed if their personal data or research material is processed with the help of AI.
Always confirm with your thesis supervisor whether there are any parts or information in your work that must not be entered into an AI application.

References

Tips for theses

Get your thesis done -videos

The study psychologists of LUT and LAB created a 3-part video series to ease your thesis journey. Each video is about 15 minutes and there are tips and exercises that help you with your individual process and covers topics like planning, setting realistic goals and beating procrastination. You can use the videos for any kind of thesis work.

More information

Bachelor's thesis

Master's thesis