Thesis Workshop

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Thesis Workshop

• Presented by
• Nancy Effinger Wilson

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Choosing a Research Topic

• Choosing a topic is like choosing a mate pick
  one youre willing to live with for a good while.

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Choosing a Research Topic

• Whether you start from scratch or have a project
  well in mind, your journey begins with a search
  of the literature.
• Look for gaps in the body of knowledge and errors
  of omission as well as commission.
• Work from the general to the specific by starting
  with generic ideas that fall within the ballpark
  of your interests and gradually narrow the field.
  
• Read copies of theses/dissertations accepted in
  your department.
• Look at the conclusions and suggestions for
  further research in recent dissertations and
  publications

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Choosing a Research Topic

• Pick a topic in which your results will be
  regarded as significant if they either confirm or
  disconfirm the hypothesis.
• Ensure that you will have access to the kind of
  information you need to answer your research
  question
• Take into consideration your dissertation-committe
  e members when choosing a topic.
• Phrase your research question as a hypothesis
  rather than a prediction to ensure objectivity.

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Criteria for Choosing a Topic

• Is it manageable?
• Is it within the range of your competence?
• Is the data source reliable?
• Does it make a significant and original
  contribution?
• Is it controversial?
• Is it interesting?

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Narrowing a Topic

• Theories of Education
• Thomas Deweys Reflective Theory and Concept
  Formation among Gifted Fourth Graders
• Protecting the Environment
• Natural Burn Policies and the management of Our
  National Park System Yellowstone, a Case in
  Point
• The Classical Humanists
• Classical Humanistic Values and the Reality of
  Anti-Semitism in the United States in the 1980s

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Types of Research

• Replication Study
• In what way could I change a published studys
  method a bit so as to produce an interesting
  variation on its results?
• Explanatory Theory
• Can I suggest a reasonable and apparently new
  explanation of the authors results that is
  different from the authors explanation?
• From Thomas and Brubakers (2001) Avoiding Thesis
  and Dissertation Pitfalls

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Types of Research

• Typology
• Can I suggest a reasonable and apparently new
  typology for categorizing research results thats
  different from the ones available in the
  professional literature?
• Ethnographic Case Study
• How can I accurately describe the events that
  transpire in the society that I study so as to
  make clear the roles people play and the
  influence that the physical environment, the
  societys traditions, and the individuals
  interactions exert on individuals behavior and
  the groups outcome?
• From Thomas and Brubakers (2001) Avoiding Thesis
  and Dissertation Pitfalls

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Topic-seeking Behaviors

• The Expedient Approach you select a research
  topic out of expediency rather than thinking it
  through.
• The Procedure-First Approach you fall in love
  with a procedure and then set about finding ways
  to employ it. Instead, you must determine the
  problem first and then design the methodology to
  fit it.
• The Theory-Based/Problem-Oriented Approach you
  employ theory to test, understand, and explain
  patterns (relations among variables) instead of
  trying to explain each separate event in
  isolation.

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Choosing a Committee

• The single most important relationship you will
  ever made as a doctoral student is the one with
  your dissertation chair.

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Strategies for Finding the Chair You Want

• Take a class from the prof under consideration
• Consult the study grapevine
• Ask faculty about faculty

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Your Chair, Your Committee, and You

• Your chair must be someone with whom you can
  communicate, who is knowledgeable in your area,
  who is politically astute, and who has enough
  interest in you to see you through the process.

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What do you wish youd known when you began the
thesis process?

• Do not approach potential committee members
  empty-handed.
• Expect to sell yourself to your chair and
  committee members.
• Dont worry about the possibility of change in
  focus
• Realize the importance of self-management
• From Peggy Hawleys Being Bright Is Not Enough

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Professors to Avoid

• Autocrats
• Judge and Jury
• Opportunist
• Sexist
• Seducer or Seductress

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The Ph.D. Candidate The Advisor

• Have a clear research question and focus of your
  dissertation

• Help refine YOUR ideas

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The Ph.D. Candidate The Advisor

• Have performed extensive literature review on
  your topic. You should know your topic better
  than your advisor. Communication should be at the
  level where you tell your advisor about
  literature NOT where you advisor finds literature
  for you.

• Discuss where your literature review may have
  gaps.

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The Ph.D. Candidate The Advisor

• Link your literature review clearly to
  hypotheses. Explain to the advisor how each
  variable you use in your analysis is derived from
  previous literature and what your expected
  relationships are.

• Help in organizing your presentation more clearly.

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The Ph.D. Candidate The Advisor

• Develop your measures based on measures used in
  previous studies, logic, content validity. Be
  able to defend what variable you have included in
  each index and why you have included them.

• After you have selected the variables, the
  advisor may be able to help you cull or add
  others.

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The Ph.D. Candidate The Advisor

• Develop your measures/indexes using standard
  methodological techniques. For example, be able
  to explain the results of factor analysis and
  what items you selected for inclusion in your
  index based on factor analysis.

• After you have made your decisions about how to
  measure particular concepts (e.g. after you have
  completed your factor analysis and explained
  results to your advisor), the advisor may be able
  to give you suggestions for further improvement
  of measures.

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The Ph.D. Candidate The Advisor

• Decide what statistical techniques you need to
  use.

• Consult on whether or not these are appropriate.

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The Ph.D. Candidate The Advisor

• If you do not know the particular technique,
  learn it and perform it. Tutoring and
  consultation are available. Do not expect faculty
  to have the time to tutor you on techniques you
  should have learned on your own. Tell the advisor
  the results of your analysis.

• The advisor can suggest modifications on your
  analyses, adding new variables, testing for
  relationships you may not have thought about.

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The Ph.D. Candidate The Advisor

• Be able to write up your analyses in the style of
  a professional. See journal articles and other
  dissertations for guidelines.

• The advisor can help refine your writing style.

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The Ph.D. Candidate The Advisor

• Be able to link the results of your analyses to
  your hypotheses and theory.

• The advisor can help strengthen these links.

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Sources

• Hawley, Peggy. Being Bright Is Not Enough. 2nd
  edition. Springfield, IL Charles C. Thomas, 2003.

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Writing the Thesis/Dissertation Proposal

• Its just a proposal, a hoop to jump through.

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Proposals

• Cover Page
• Title
• Abstract
• The Problem (Chapter 1)
• Review of the Literature (Chapter 2)
• Method (Chapter 3)

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Proposals

• Title
• A Study of the Efficacy of Vocational Interest
  Inventories Versus Personality Inventories Using
  Multivariate Analysis in the Prediction of Job
  Satisfaction for Adults, Aged 18-24 in Their
  First Year of Employment

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Proposals

• Abstract hit all of the major parts of your
  thesis/dissertation (IMRAD).
• For examples, look at published articles. They
  usually have abstracts before the main article.

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Proposals

• The Research Problem (2-8 pages)
• A well-developed statement of the problem or
  research question is a result of sifting through
  a mountain other peoples findings to extract
  those few question which you want to address.
• Example There is a significant relationship
  between bilingualism and self concept. A) do
  college students who are fluent in a language
  other than English achieve higher scores on the
  Tennessee Self Concept Scales than those who
  speak only English B) Is there a significant
  difference in scores on the Tennessee Self
  Concept Scales among people whose second language
  is Spanish, French, or German?

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Literature Review

• Each cited source should help locate your study
  among similar published studies
• Identify strengths and limitations of those
  studies
• Demonstrate what contribution your study can make
  to that domain of knowledge

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Writing the Thesis/Dissertation

• Get organizedearly!

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Patricia Shields Step by Step

• Things-To-Do List
• Calendar
• Sources to Find
• Miscellaneous Useful Information
• Bibliography
• Article and Chapter Notes
• Organizing Ideas The Integrated Outline
• Class Handouts
• Early Drafts of the Paper
• Source Documents (copies of papers, etc.)

Order Step by Step ISBN 158107117-5
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Things-to-Do List

• Helps you plan
• Helps you use time effectively
• Separates the project into manageable parts
• Compels you to do a little each day

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Examples of a Things-to-Do List

• Spend 30 minutes checking library data bases
• Identify and download the best articles
• Check out books
• Work on bibliography (5 references)
• Take notes on Chapter 1 Effinger
• Read Simonds

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Calendar

• Coordinates Things-to-Do list with your real life
• Allows you to get the big picture
• May be integrated into your existing planner

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Sources to Find

• You can hand record sources youre looking for or
  three-hole punch printouts/copies of
  bibliographies.
• The point is to develop a notation system to show
  books/articles youre seeking and to indicate
  those that you have located
• Often the most useful references are the sources
  in related articles, so check out bibliographies
  rather than Googling your topic.

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Sources to Find
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Miscellaneous Useful Information

• This section gives you a place to put those
  miscellaneous pieces of information you locate
  along the way such as contacts, emails, ideas for
  other projects.

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Bibliography

• Work on your bibliography as you go along.

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Worldcat.org

• Enables you to locate sources anywhere in the
  world.
• Enables you to create bibliographical lists.
• Enables you to create your references/works cited
  page using a variety of citation formats.

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Article and Chapter Notes

• Keep the notes on the articles and books read.
  (see handout)

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Notetaking

• Keep good records. When you write/type your
  notes, be sure to include some notation system
  (//) to show page breaks (i.e. Jack Spratt could
  eat no // fat, and his wife could eat no lean
  (Smith 123-24).)
• Double-check all quoted material after youve
  transcribed it.
• Once you begin taking notes from a source, cite
  it in a working bibliography to ensure you have
  all the information required and to avoid that
  last-minute rush to locate/cite sources.

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Quoting

• You can only quote the original source.
• You cannot quote someone quoted in another
  source.
• You do not have to quote public knowledge.
• Dont quote if you can paraphrase/summarize
  without losing impact.
• When taking notes, place quotation marks around
  quoted material and page number. Dont put
  quotation marks around paraphrases, but do note
  page number(s).

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Handouts

• A home for material from your courses and
  conferences

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Drafts

• A home for your drafts.

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Sources

• Place hard copies of your sources here.

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Taking the Plunge

• Drafting

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Drafting Writers Block

• When you begin drafting, be forgiving. Dont
  worry about getting every comma in the right
  place. Premature editing can stifle even the
  most experienced writer.
• Schedule an appointment at the Writing Center to
  discuss your ideas. Clear thinking clear and
  easy writing.

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Drafting Writers Block

• Take self-evaluation to determine the source of
  YOUR blocks
• Work apprehension
• Procrastination
• Writing apprehension
• Impatience
• Perfectionism
• Rules

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Drafting Writers Block

• Using blueprints for organizing material can help
  you get started. Its not so daunting to begin
  writing if you have a basic outline/pattern to
  follow. This doesnt mean you cant deviate from
  the formula, because you may have to do so, but
  you have a place from which to start drafting.

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Institutional Review Board

• You must secure the IRBs approval before
  proceeding with any type of human subject
  research project.
• You will probably have to go through training.
• http//www.txstate.edu/research/irb/

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Online Resources

• Locally
• Tomás Rivera Center writing tutors
• http//www.utsa.edu/trcss
• UTSA Writing Center
• http//www.utsa.edu/twc/
• On the web
• Purdues Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl
• Diana Hackers Research Documentation Online
• http//www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
• How to Organize Your Thesis (Prof. Chennick)
• http//www.sce.carleton.ca/faculty/chinneck/thesis
  .html
• Cleveland State University Writing Center
• http//www.csuohio.edu/writingcenter/writproc.html
  
• UT Learning Center
• http//www.utexas.edu/student/utlc/lrnres/handouts
  /1231.html

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More online resources

• Find a writing resource guide that works for you.
• Examples are Garners Modern Language Usage,
  Strunk White, St. Martins or
  __________________ (something you use?)
• Other online sources include
• http//www.plainenglish.co.uk
• http//www.dianahacker.com
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

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The Big Picture

• This is a thesis/dissertation, not your entire
  lifes work.