Procedure for documenting the supervisor's approval of the literature basis for projects.

In Communication and Digital Media, the study regulations specify requirements for the minimum number of pages of literature that must be included in the project report—the literature basis for the project report.

The literature basis refers to the literature listed in the project report's reference or bibliography. This means it includes literature that is utilized in some way in the project report and that the group members are therefore expected to be familiar with during the exam.

The requirement for the literature basis is described for each semester in the study regulations and varies from module to module.

The definition of a standard page, as outlined in the study regulations, also applies to the literature basis.

The purpose of specifying the requirements for the extent of the literature basis is to facilitate alignment of expectations between students, supervisors, examiners, and external assessors.

The supervisor must approve the literature basis—it is a prerequisite for being allowed to take the project exam. Simply selecting, for example, 1,000 pages is not sufficient; the pages must also be of adequate quality and relevant to the exam objectives described in the study regulations.

It should be emphasized that supervisor-approved literature is not a guarantee that the project report will receive a good grade or even pass. The approval indicates that the supervisor assesses that, based on the proposed literature basis, passing is possible. However, your or your group's reading and processing of the literature, the problem-based project work, and the oral exam remain critical for the final evaluation.

Since the literature used in teaching is aligned with the module's theme and learning objectives, literature from the project module's coursework—or equivalent—should always be approvable as part of the literature basis, often forming a significant portion. However, students are also expected to supplement the coursework literature with research literature addressing the project's specific problem area.

When approving literature that falls outside the project module's recommended readings or other semester module literature, the supervisor ensures it qualifies as research literature. Research literature may include journal articles or books from academic publishers that have undergone peer review or are otherwise recognized and widely used within the academic community.

Books, articles, or other sources aimed at a general audience, even if they convey research, cannot be approved as part of the literature basis. However, such sources may still serve as data or examples of work practices or methodologies.

Since the literature basis must be approved well in advance of project submission, students are permitted to add more literature in the project's final phase—even if the total volume on the final bibliography exceeds 100 pages per ECTS. Literature already approved for inclusion can only be removed with the supervisor's approval (potentially alongside the addition of new literature).

It is also worth noting that the literature basis may include qualified exclusions. If the group, during its literature review, examines and documents literature that is ultimately not used further in the project, these exclusions still count as part of the literature basis.

The procedure for approving the literature basis should be organized in such a way that it best protects the legal rights of the students and provides reasonable working conditions for the supervisors. This means that the supervisors must have sufficient time for approval, and you should have reasonable time to revise the literature basis if it is not approved.

The literature basis should be an important part of the supervision from the very beginning of the project work. As students, you should strive to provide the best possible basis for approval of the literature basis on the first attempt so that the approval process does not take more supervision time than absolutely necessary.

If you have not received approval for the literature basis in the form of an approved literature list or literature review, you cannot submit your project report.

The supervisor approves the literature basis by sending an email to the student(s) in which the approval is indicated.

When the supervisor has approved the literature basis, this must be documented as part of the formal requirements for the project.

The email sent by the supervisor to the student(s) in which the literature basis is approved, as well as the literature basis itself, must be attached as an appendix when the project is uploaded to Digital Exam.

If the student(s) have not had the project’s literature basis approved, the project cannot be approved, as the formal requirements are not met. During the review of submissions after the deadline, the study administration may also reject the project if a literature approval is not attached.

If the project cannot be approved, it will count as a used exam attempt for the student(s), and they will receive the grade "Not assessed." This still allows the student(s) to participate in a resit exam.