Besides traditional research-based and practice-bases reports, also other structure models for theses have been developed recently. A thesis can also be implemented as a so-called diary-based thesis.
A diary-based thesis is also often a practice-based work. Diary-based theses have been written for example when a student is already in working-life and the thesis topic is connected to their work. The topic and the problem or the development task is connected to the student’s own work. The aim of a diary-based thesis is to enhance the student’s preparedness for independent professional development also after graduating (Lagerstedt & Kotila 2015).
In a diary-based thesis the student observes a certain issue at the place of work for some weeks and documents it in diary writing format, through which previously set questions can be answered. A diary-based thesis has to be analytical, critical and it will be assessed the same way as other theses.
A theoretical framework is needed also in a diary-based thesis. Only giving an account of events or describing the situation is not enough, but demonstrating professional expertise through the thesis requires usage of sources, defining concepts and arguing for choices and decisions.
The structure of a diary-based thesis is often the following:
1. Introduction
2. Description of the starting point
3. Diary reporting
4. Discussion and conclusions
When writing a diary-based report the usage of the first-person pronoun works better than the passive voice, just as in a practice-based thesis. However, it is important to keep in mind that the aim of the thesis is to produce new information that can be generalized and not only to give an account of personal subjective experiences and observations. The diary-part can most easily be connected to a larger context and to the theoretical framework in the discussion and conclusions.
Lagerstedt A.& Kotila H. 2015. Päiväkirjamuotoinen opinnäytetyö vauhdittaa valmistumista. In Kotila, H. & Mäki, K. 2015. 21 tapaa tehostaa korkeakouluopintoja. Helsinki: Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu.