Finding a suitable definition for a term in a bachelor's thesis, master's thesis or dissertation is often tedious, but absolutely necessary. Otherwise, you start from scratch. There are often many definitions for the same term...

What definition do I use? Fortunately, there are proven methods for searching and formulating definitions. This will help you get a grip on the terms. Let's go!

What is a definition?

A definition always leads a term back to a generic term. In an academic paper, such as a Bachelor's thesis, Master's Thesis or dissertation, the definitions MUST come from recognized sources. But sometimes there aren’t any scientific sources for a research subject, which is especially true when exploring a new field. At that point, you have to formulate a definition yourself.

Three cases can be distinguished with regard to the definition of terms:

  1. Accepted term - Case 1
  2. New inconsistent concept - case 2
  3. New, largely unexplored term (YOUR focus) - Case 3.

Let's go through the cases in order.

Case 1: Definition of an accepted term

The term has been known for a long time and is frequently used in scientific sources. The definitions in different sources are relatively consistent. This can be seen from the fact that the same source references appear repeatedly in definitions.

Examples of such terms are attitudes, motivation, incentives, learning disabilities or controlling.

Such terms are hardly ever discussed anymore. They are simply implied by the definition. Nevertheless, there may be new variations of definitions. However, they are usually for a very specific term and therefore not relevant for your text.

A quick way to get started in defining these terms:

  1. Be sure to use the correct spelling of the term. Distinguish singular and plural.
    Search the term in Google.
  2. Go to Wikipedia and look up the references inside the term article. Focus on scientific sources like books or papers. (Of course you can also do this without a wiki!)
  3. Locate these sources and gather them. Search at the beginning of the chapter or book for possible definitions. Usually several authors are cited. This is followed by a proposal for a definition, as it is subsequently used in the textbook.
  4. Adopt this definition, but refer to the original source if it came from another source.
  5. Write the definition into your text, with the full reference.

IMPORTANT: Do not use Google, Wikipedia, other pure online sources or encyclopedias as a source reference for definitions of recognized terms. It signals carelessness, if not laziness... The only possible sources for the definition of terms are

  1. textbooks or reference books
  2. scientific articles (paper)
  3. lists of standards like DIN, ISO, Law Codices...

By the way, the best sources are standards like DIN and ISO or laws of all kinds. These legal definitions are the best.

Case 2: Definition of still inconsistent term

A characteristic of this type of term is the existence of several definitions by different authors. Ultimately, each definition focuses on specific characteristics. That is why it is often not "either-or", but "both-also".

This is reminiscent of the example with the elephant, which six blind people examine by touch and then describe. The person who touches the trunk says it is a snake. The one sitting on his back says, "That's a mountain." Whoever touches the legs says it is a tree trunk, the ears are ferns, the ivory teeth are field cliffs, etc.

This situation is typical for relatively new subject areas where there is still a lot to discover. New is of course relative and depends on the subject. If there are only five to ten articles on a subject area, this indicates a need for research.

Examples of such terms are social media, trust, mediation.

Proceed as follows when defining these terms for the dissertation:

  1. Search for the relevant authors on the subject area.
  2. Search in their scientific articles for the definitions used.
  3. Make an overview of these definitions. Literally and with reference!!
  4. Filter out the substance from the respective definitions, the central words and the generic term.
  5. Check which of these definitions fits your approach.
  6. Use the appropriate definition or combine several definitions.
  7. Reconsider and justify your decision. Further work depends on this.
  8. Ask experts in the field, authors of papers.
  9. Agree upon the definition with the supervisor of the dissertation.

Case 3: Definition of new, still largely unexplored terms = focus of a dissertation

In this case it is a completely new concept. So far, there are only definitions of experts with experience in the subject area. These have themselves formulated a definition, but it has not been recognized officially. In any case, there are no recognized scientific sources on the field of research to date. But you need a clear definition for your text.

IMPORTANT: Please think very carefully if you really want to work on this topic. The lack of scientifically formulated definitions suggests that this could be an extremely tedious project. You practically have to explore the field without any orientation in the literature. Maybe you are the first to build a model. It could be heroic, but I'm sure it's a lot of work.

This is how you should proceed with new terms in the dissertation:

  1. Collect all available publications with information on this topic.
  2. Sort the publications found according to their quality, substance and scientific quality. Use only the best sources (data sources must be traceable and trustworthy)
  3. Make a comprehensive word cloud of relevant terms and variants.
  4. Collect the characteristics for the object or terms.
  5. Think carefully about which other terms are related to the term.
  6. Filter the ideas and arguments from texts that describe characteristics and are heading towards a definition.
  7. Make a list of these attributes. These are candidates for the definition.
  8. Search for generic terms for the term in appropriate documents.
  9. Make a list.

If you have collected enough sources or five days have passed (whichever happens first):

  1. Formulate YOUR first definition.
  2. Leave it for a day or two.
  3. Check, revise, iterate, collect the evidence, share the definition with others.
  4. Formulate the working definition for your text. It may be refined along the way.
  5. Discuss the draft of your definition with the supervisor or even with experts as soon as you are sure you have something to show.

IMPORTANT: Include the reference for each quote.

Now formulate the preliminary working definition that you will use during your research for the dissertation. Refine it if necessary.

Good luck writing your text!

Silvio and the Aristolo Team

PS: Check out the Thesis-ABC and the Thesis Guide for writing a bachelor's or master's thesis in 31 days.

Thesis-Banner-English-1