Oriol Amat, full academician of the Royal European Academy of Doctors-Barcelona 1914 (RAED), professor at the Barcelona School of Management of the Pompeu Fabra University and president of the Catalan Association of Accounting and Management, has made with Alfredo Rocafort, president of the Governing Board of the RAED and professor at the University of Barcelona, ​​the study “La tesis de máster. Claves para completarla con éxito” (The master’s thesis. Keys to complete it successfully).

Wide knowledgeable of the practice and the didactic of the scientific works, Amat and Rocafort indicate of clear and concise form what supposes a thesis of master, its basic differences with respect to other academic researches like the work of Baccalaureate, the work of end of degree and the doctoral thesis, and the organization and systematization of its parts. Likewise, both academicians point out the objectives that a master’s thesis must fulfil, the process that must be followed to initiate and complete it, the skills that the author must develop and the skills that must be explored when defending it.

“Among the most relevant stages there is the review of the literature, the formulation of the research question, the theoretical framework, the formulation of the hypotheses and the design of the research. Once the research is designed, the chosen method can be applied. And afterwards, when we have the data, we must analyse them and validate the hypothesis. Once the research has been completed, the master’s thesis must be written and, normally, it will be presented in public. If the evaluation is favourable, the student has passed the master’s degree and, therefore, he can already propose other objectives for his professional or academic career”, Amat and Rocafort summarize the steps involved in preparing and presenting the work.

The academicians stress the importance of having an increasingly extended degree, since according to the World Bank, 8% of the world population now has a master’s degree or is taking it. Although, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, between 20% and 40% of those enrolled, depending on the country, fail to successfully complete it.