For seminar papers, study project reports, written assignments in research case studies, etc., the following general information on academic writing and on the design of the external form is provided.

Important information for theses in Business Information Systems can be found under the separate menu item "Thesis Guide".

This regulation applies exclusively to modules offered by Business Information Systems.

Please note the following information on the procedures for study projects and research case studies:

After the topic has been assigned, the group must promptly submit the Consent_Form_Study_Project to the Business Information Systems office (Building H, Room H319, Silke Kruft) or send it by email.

If the respective group needs access to the student assistant rooms, the form Kartenausgabe Elektronisches Schließsystem (Card Issue Electronic Locking System) must also be submitted to the office together with a cash deposit of 10 euros.

The card is issued only once the form Einwilligungserklärung_Studienprojekt (German) completed by all participants has been received.

In addition to basic honesty, other important aspects of academic writing include:

• thorough research,

• methodologically correct work (generally accepted academic methods),

• responsible handling of data,

• correct citation.

All parts of a paper (texts, figures, tables, etc.) that do not originate from the author themselves must be clearly marked. Directly adopted text passages, translations, and paraphrased statements by other authors must be marked accordingly with a source reference. This of course also applies to directly adopted figures as well as figures redrawn or modified from other authors. If these parts are not marked, this does not comply with academic practice and will be considered attempted deception.

Further basic rules of academic writing can be found on the website of the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers in the document "Gute wissenschaftliche Praxis für das Verfassen wissenschaftlicher Qualifikationsarbeiten" (German).

Further general information on this topic can be found in our university's document "Safeguarding Good Research Practice".

The Examination Board for Business Information Systems permits the use of genAI-based tools such as ChatGPT as approved support tool in the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in Business Information Systems and in Business Information Systems and Artificial Intelligence for all written assignments, in particular bachelor's and master’s theses and portfolios in study projects, seminars, and research practica. AI-based tools may also be used for modeling and programming activities. Any differing rules on the use of AI will be communicated to you in writing by your examiner where applicable.

In principle, the requirements of the Declaration of Academic Integrity must be observed (see below under "External Form"). It must be included with the submission. By signing it, you confirm that all genAI-generated text passages are clearly marked and that a list of support tools used, in particular all AI tools used, is included. Violations of these requirements are considered attempted deception under examination regulations.

The generation and adoption of text from genAI on a larger scale (entire chapters or paragraphs) contradicts the requirement to provide an independent academic contribution and is not permitted. Write all texts independently.

You may use genAI to have your own text evaluated or to generate suggestions for improvement. Critically question the feedback and decide consciously in each individual case which changes you want to adopt. Do not carry out blanket improvements to entire paragraphs.

Text improvements made with genAI do not need to be documented by citations or footnotes if they are limited to purely linguistic and formal editing of your own content (e.g., spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, stylistic smoothing) without introducing new subject-specific content.

A source reference in the form of a footnote or citation is always required when genAI adds new content or expands existing content, changes or supplements an academic statement or conclusion, or significantly changes the basic structure of the presentation of content and thus the academic argumentation.

Generative AI can be used in particular for programming. However, the basic structure of the software must be your own contribution and must not be the result of genAI. AI support integrated into programming environments, such as code completion, may be used without marking every individual usage. genAI may be used only for individual, clearly delimited code fragments, modules, or functions, not to create the entire program. Generated program code must be critically questioned and fully understood in detail. Test the program code thoroughly and ensure that code and description are consistent in your academic thesis.

We additionally refer to the handout “Rules for Tools” by Prof. Dr. Spannagel (Heidelberg University of Education) and to the “CEUR-WS Policy on AI-Assisting Tools”. Recommendations for the appropriate use of genAI in academic work can be found in the document "Guide of Business Information Systems to the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Academic Writing".

Your truthful disclosure of genAI use will be checked and documented by the supervisors during supervision meetings or review meetings as well as in final presentations, in the colloquium, or in other formats. Furthermore, the supervisor is entitled to invite you to a review meeting after submission of your written assignments to clarify uncertainties regarding your own contribution and the truthful disclosure of genAI use. Please note that program code submitted as part of the thesis is part of the examination work and is therefore treated under examination law in the same way as submitted text. The above provisions apply accordingly to all materials and documents submitted in connection with the thesis, such as concept presentations, questionnaires, or further appendices.

At our chair, there is no strict requirement for the external form of your written assignment. Nevertheless, a common form of presentation must be used, for example for source references or the labeling of tables and figures.

For guidance, you may consult the document “Leitfaden für wissenschaftliche Arbeiten” (German).

Furthermore, you have the option of using one of our templates. These can be found below under "Templates". There you will also find useful materials for presenting your results.

Please do not forget to include the document “Eigenständigkeitserklärung deutsch” (German) or “Eigenständigkeitserklärung englisch” (English), signed, with your thesis, research practicum paper, seminar paper, or study project report. An example of the required list of AI tools can be found on our website. If no AI was used at all, you must also confirm this in a usage declaration.

LaTeX Template

Writing academic papers with LaTeX is expressly encouraged. We recommend using Overleaf, a cloud-based and collaborative LaTeX platform that enables documents to be created, shared, and edited collaboratively in real time directly in the browser. Overleaf can be used free of charge in a basic version and is ideal for group work.

For alternative offline use, we recommend a combination of "MiKTeX" (Windows) / "MacTeX" (MacOS) and "TeXstudio". As an alternative to "TeXstudio", the plug-in "TeXlipse" for the "Eclipse" development environment can be used, for example. Here you will find instructions on which programs you need, where you can download them, and how to use them: Anleitung-LaTeX.pdf (German).

Please use the following PowerPoint template for presentations in our courses: Vorlage-S_(4-3)_Wirtschaftsinformatik-I.potx.

Further information on the new corporate design of Trier University and all logos for download can be found on the Press Office webpages: Kommunikation & Marketing / Corporate Design / Signet und Schriften (German).