How To Write Dissertations

WRITING WRITING DISSERTATIONDISSERTATION

S S Kuhu Pathak

MBA-Marketing

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EFFECTIVE LEARNING EFFECTIVE LEARNING PROGRAMMEPROGRAMME

DISSERTATION WRITING: OUTLINEDISSERTATION WRITING: OUTLINE

Introduction What is a dissertation? Planning your study: generating a

research question; background reading & method

Planning a research schedule Structuring your dissertation Working with your supervisor

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WHAT IS A DISSERTATION :WHAT IS A DISSERTATION :

Depends on department Extended lab/field report & conclusions Extended study Analysis of case study Project work from company placement Library driven examination of problem Model testing [e.g. Acc & Fin] Metaphor of a journey

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RESEARCH PROPOSALS RESEARCH PROPOSALS i.e. plan for the i.e. plan for the dissertationdissertation

Required by many depts. Example from Linguistics: Area of research Questions you aim to answer Rationale i.e. reasons for researching this area- contribution to understanding & practical use Your background in this area: previous knowledge & gaps Data you will collect How you will collect data and how you will analyse it Initial bibliography i.e. review of key studies

* [progress report/ grant proposal-science]4

GENERATING A RESEARCH QUESTIONGENERATING A RESEARCH QUESTION

Start with expected outcome or hunches Develop research question[s] or hypothesis Research question= well specified critical

question rather than description of what aspect you want to find an answer to.

2 stages: What am I interested in? What questions can I make about this topic that could lead to an investigation?

Examples of RQs in psychology from Oxford http://www.psych.ox.ac.uk/babylab/research.html

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GENERATING A RESEARCH QUESTIONGENERATING A RESEARCH QUESTION

Hypothesis = A tentative proposition which is subject to verification through subsequent verification…. Guide to the researcher depicting & describing the method to be followed in studying the problem. In many cases hypotheses are the hunches that the researcher has about the existence between the variables [Verma and Bear 1981 in Bell 1993]

Forms framework of study: i.e. which literature to investigate, how to select/devise methods; how you discuss results and write conclusions

NB need to modify question as study develops6

DECIDING ON RESEARCH METHODSDECIDING ON RESEARCH METHODS What data will you collect? How will you collect this data?

-interviews, questionnaires, case study -lab or field work -writing code and trialling software designing a model or hardware

-simulating/testing -analysis of primary sources e.g. documents

[original historical, legal sources etc]; -secondary sources-

library & web sources- peer reviewed?7

ANALYSING DATAANALYSING DATA

How will you analyse this data? theory or framework, quantitative or qualitative quantitative e.g larger scale, number/statistically based.

qualitative e.g. small scale, detailed description using software for analysis e.g. SPSS, Excel etcHow much data can you deal with in time allotted?

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READING: BACKGROUND THEORY OR LITERATURE READING: BACKGROUND THEORY OR LITERATURE REVIEW REVIEW

Read efficiently using SQ3RSQ3R SQ3R= Survey, Question, Read, Recall,

Review

http://www2.ntu.ac.uk/sss/studysupport/Information/Reading/SQ3R/SQ3R.htm

Read critically- see Toronto Uni http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/critrdg.html

Library –database searches –see subject librarian

Keep a careful record of reading & where used in your dissertation

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PHD READING RECORD Date of notes/pages

author

title

publ/place/year/ed

topic

keywords

chap/section/rq

notes

comments

YOUR COMMENTS ON READING…..

YOUR NOTES FROM READING

BIBLIOGRAPHIC

THIS PART-

DETAILS. TOPIC & KEYWORDS

RESEARCH QUESTION.

SCHEDULING YOUR DISSERTATION SCHEDULING YOUR DISSERTATION WORKWORK

Make a timetable or wall chart e.g. Gantt Chart

Identify best work times and keep to a daily writing slot

Split your dissertation into bite size-chunks Be realistic about daily targets Include time for input [supervisor & critical

friends] & for drafts & redrafts Familiarise yourself with deadlines* & plan

accordingly

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3 key questions1. Do I have the skills & knowledge to

carry out this research?2. What time is needed? 3. Do I have time within my schedule? E.g. need to learn/improve knowledge

of statistics Learning software: Excel SPSS, Learning new techniques & other skills

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SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIREDSKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

MAKING A DISSERTATION TIMETABLEMAKING A DISSERTATION TIMETABLE

How many words? How much practical work & analysis?2 ways of timetabling dissertations: Whole dissertation timetable: examples 1 & 2 Weekly timetables: example 3Important to break down dissertation into realistic weekly tasks to make it more achievableLook at the 2 examples of dissertation timetablesWhat level of detail would work best for you? [Examples 1 &2 are from Strathclyde University's Centre for Academic practice webs pages on Dissertation writing. See: http://www.strath.ac.uk/Departments/CAP/dissertation/frameset4.html

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B 14


B 15


The next slide shows how the plan for the whole dissertation can be broken into weekly tasks.Allows you see progress at manageable level- focus on individual tasks tick off these tasks not be overwhelmed by totality know exactly where you are or should be

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MAKING A WEEKLY DISSERTATION MAKING A WEEKLY DISSERTATION TIMETABLETIMETABLE

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WHAT DOES A DISSERTATION LOOK LIKE?WHAT DOES A DISSERTATION LOOK LIKE?

Dissertation structure can vary significantly from dept to dept & whether it’s based on an empirical study or analysis of literature.The former are based on a scientific report structure: Introduction Methods Results Discussion Conclusions

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AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTERS: AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTERS: INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

This sets the scene, by introducing: the research area previous studies gap in research to be filled your research questions/hypotheses brief signposting of dissertation structure NB In some dissertations, the background

information is in a separate chapter called Literature Review

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METHODSMETHODS

Explains what methods you used to collect data

Explains how you collected the data Not just a description as it should explain

reasons for various choices made Goal of your explanation is to allow future

student to repeat your study Grammar! Past tense & passive used e.g.

Twenty five interviews were conducted…..

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RESULTS RESULTS Presents the results collected from the method[s] you used But does not analyse these results May use a series of tables and figures to present the results more effectively Talks the reader through the series of results i.e. refers to figures Figure 4.2 shows that the incidence of x rises when… Highlights key patternsNB Some writers combine the Results & Discussion headings and organise by topic

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DISCUSSIONDISCUSSION Interprets the results i.e. explains what

they mean Broadens from discussion of your results to

how they can be compared with the results of others who’ve done similar research

Refers to the previous studies you introduced earlier

Discusses any problems with results Doesn’t include tables & figures, except

when comparing your results with others22

CONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONS

A short, succinctly written summary Must addresses the research

question/hypotheses presented in the introduction

May include limitations of your study and suggestions for further work

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OTHER BITSOTHER BITS

FRONT Title page Acknowledgements Contents List of figures* Glossary*

BACK References Appendices*

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*if your study requires this

WORKING WITH YOUR SUPERVISORWORKING WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR

What can my supervisor? What won’t my supervisor do? Will they approve the research

proposal/research questions? Will they read with drafts of work & if so, to

what extent? Will they advise on methodology & help

with difficulties~~~

NB Make agendas for supervision meetings/ Tape as a record

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SOME DISSERTATION WRITING TIPS [i]SOME DISSERTATION WRITING TIPS [i]

Keep a research journal with you to record ideas

Write a dissertation timetable: whole process & weekly

Start writing early Set a daily writing slot Allow time for problems:personal & with your

data collection Set plenty of editing and rewriting time Get a critical friend to read through drafts and

feed them!26

MORE DISSERTATION WRITING TIPS [ii]MORE DISSERTATION WRITING TIPS [ii]

Read at a couple of past dissertations Compare their structure by tracing through

the research questions from the introduction to conclusion.

Start writing in the middle- methodology or background

Write the introduction and abstract last, when you know what you’ve found

Introduce and conclude chapters. Guide the reader through with signposting & cross referencing

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Thank YouThank You

How To Write Dissertations

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