Doctoral education services
We support doctoral students, supervising professors, thesis advisors and doctoral programme directors in matters related to doctoral studies.
Key terms of the research – guidelines for doctoral students
It is highly recommended that all doctoral students ensure that the key terminology of their doctoral thesis (typically 2-3 key terms) is also available in Finnish and/or Swedish. Existing definitions should be checked and if absent, the terms should be translated and added to a relevant term bank. These key terms should be made available during their doctoral studies, and no later than the start of the pre-examination.
This recommendation is currently in a testing period. We hope that you will follow the instructions below, test, and provide feedback on the instructions during the testing period. For more information or any questions, please contact the Doctoral education services (udes[at]aalto.fi).
This recommendation is currently in a testing period. We hope that you will follow the instructions below, test, and provide feedback on the instructions during the testing period. For more information or any questions, please contact the Doctoral education services (udes[at]aalto.fi).
Please see the quick guide:
- It id recommended that the doctoral student defines the key terms (typically 2-3 key terms/thesis) of their research together with the supervising professor and advisors. Please note that the key terms of the research are not necessarily the same as the key words of the research.
- Check if the key terms have already been defined in Finnish and/or Swedish. If not, they need to be translated into Finnish or Swedish and added to a term bank that is commonly used in your research field.
- More detailed instructions are available below.
This recommendation is based on Aalto university’s new language policy that reflects the Academic Affairs Committee’s decision. This Term Bank guidance is the first measure the doctoral education services have taken to implement the new policy. These key terms should be made available during their doctoral studies, and no later than the start of the pre-examination. The terms should be added primarily to the .
Defining the central terminology of the research (typically 2-3 key terms) is a crucial part of the doctoral thesis work. Additionally, working on the terminology in the national languages of Finland provides international doctoral students with an opportunity to demonstrate their professional competence in these languages, potentially enhancing their employment prospects after graduation.
In introducing the multilingual terminology practice, Aalto University is cooperating with the Helsinki Term Bank for the Arts and Sciences (HTB). HTB aims to facilitate the scientific terms in the national languages of Finland to be used in scientific research, by the media, and in the society. It supports transparency, multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, facilitating multilingualism by offering terms in various languages and developing the national languages as languages of science. By adding your own terminology to a term bank and using your doctoral thesis as a reference for the term, you increase the visibility of your results.
See further instructions
Add your terms, their definitions, and explanations to the Term Bank. See more information below.
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Define your key terms, their definition and explanation based on your key words.
Discuss with your supervising professor and theses advisors which the key terms of your doctoral thesis are and also the definition and explanation of them. Your key terms are not necessarily the same as the key words of the research. Make sure that you have defined them in your thesis, in the language of your thesis.
Example:
Key term: milk
Definition: white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals (the definition cannot include the word milk)
Explanation: Milk is an emulsion of fat in a water-based fluid that is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest solid food. Milk contains many nutrients, including calcium and protein, as well as lactose and saturated fat. (scientific explanation) -
Check whether the terms, their definitions and translations can be found in , or in another existing term bank in Finnish and/or in Swedish (see ). If your key terms can be found in Finnish and/or Swedish in a term bank that is commonly used in your research field, you do not need to add them to HTB. The key terms (with their definition and explanation) must be added primarily to the Helsinki Term Bank for the Arts and Sciences in case the research field does not use another term bank.
NB: How to see if some disciplines already have your terms included at the HTB? When you have typed one of your key terms in the search box (please see for further instructions), click on the “expand” option next to the text “Do you want to create a concept page for [XYZ].” If you want to see all the matches of the term in question at the HTB, click on the “advanced” option below the search box.
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If your key terms and their definitions are not already in one of the term banks or listings, you should translate your terms and their definitions and explanations to Finnish and/or Swedish. Please note that you can also add your term(s) as a related concept to an existing concept page or the subject page of “Aalto-yliopiston tutkimusalat” (Aalto University research fields).
Once you have typed one of your key terms in the search box (please see for further instructions), and if the search indicates “no results found”, click on the “expand” option below the search box and choose which field you would like to add your term.
- Discuss the terms and their translations with your peers, your supervising professor, theses advisors and other skilled professionals. Finally, ask for approval from your supervising professor.
- Go to the HTB website at . If you want to change the language into English on the website, please note that the selection is made from the menu under the settings icon ()and not from the MediaWiki language list.
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Register on the . See the for registering (in Finnish). Briefly in English: To register as a user, click the link “create account” (“luo tunnus”) at the top of any page at the HTB.
You must register with your own name in the HTB. The username will be your first name and last name. E.g., Susan Smith (as it would appear in an official document, i.e., with initial capital letters & space in between). You will also need to create a password for your account.
- To edit concept pages to be able to add your key terms, you must be a member of the expert group to which the concept to be added belongs to. For access to the expert group, please contact the administrator (tieteentermipankki-info@helsinki.fi). If your field does not exist yet or if you want to manage the rights through the administrator, send an email to tieteentermipankki-info@helsinki.fi. In the email, please indicate the subject area (your field) for which you wish to become an expert member.
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Once you have become a member of the expert group of your field, add your key terms, their definition and explanation in Finnish and/or Swedish.
In the term bank, multiple definitions and explanations can be provided on the same concept page for the same term (see ). In this case, you can add your specific research direction, field, or context before or after the numbered definitions. For example, (1) before the definition, mentioning the research direction, field or context and adding a colon; or (2) after the definition in parentheses.
- Please check the guideline video for further steps:
- In Finnish:
- Subtitled in English:
If you need help with...
- the terms, their definitions and explanations, or their translations, please contact your supervising professor;
- how to add them in your doctoral thesis, please contact your doctoral programme;
- how to add them to the Term Bank, please contact tieteentermipankki-info@helsinki.fi
Doctoral page index
Index of all aalto.fi pages about doctoral education