Robert Blake

1
EFFECTIVE LEARNING PROGRAMME

• Robert Blake
• Student Learning Development Centre, CELT
• February 2006

2

DISSERTATION WRITING OUTLINE

• What is a dissertation?
• Planning your study generating a research
  question background reading methods
• Planning a research schedule
• Structuring your dissertation
• Working with your supervisor

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WHAT IS A DISSERTATION

• Depends on your department
• Extended lab/field report with conclusions
• Extended essay/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- plan for the dissertation

• 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 how you will analyse
  it
• Initial bibliography i.e. review of key studies
• progress report science

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GENERATING A RESEARCH QUESTION

• Start with expected outcome or hunches
• Develop researchable questions (Laws200397)or
  a hypothesis
• Research question well specified critical
  question rather than description of what aspect
  you want to find an answer to.
• 2 stages 1) What am I interested in?
  2) What questions can I make about this topic
  that could lead to an investigation?

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GENERATING 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 1981184 in Bell 200532
• 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 develops

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DECIDING ON RESEARCH METHODS

• What data will you collect?
• How will you collect this data?
  
• interviews, questionnaires, case study
  
• lab or field work
• analysis of library web sources-(MetaLib) but
  are they peer reviewed?
  primary sources such as original
  documents (e.g. historical, legal) sources vs.
  secondary sources
• designing a model or hardware.
• writing code and trialling software.
• simulating/testing

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ANALYSING DATA

• How will you analyse this data?
• theory or framework?
• quantitative or qualitative analysis?
• quantitative e.g larger scale, numbers i.e.
  statistically based.
• qualitative e.g. small scale, detailed
  description
• Tools using software for analysis e.g. SPSS,
  Excel
• Time consuming! So how much data can you deal
  with in time allotted?

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READING BACKGROUND THEORY OR LITERATURE REVIEW

• Read efficiently using SQ3R
• SQ3R Survey, Question, Read, Recall, Review
• http//www2.ntu.ac.uk/sss/studysupport/Infor
  mation/Reading/SQ3R/SQ3R.htm
• Read critically- see Toronto Unis
  http//www.utoronto.ca/writing/critrdg.html
• Conduct database searches see subject librarian
  use Metalib (read journals online)
• Keep a careful record of reading where its
  used in your dissertation own form as in slide
  10 or Endnote.

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THIS PART-
BIBLIOGRAPHIC
DETAILS.
TOPIC KEYWORDS
RESEARCH QUESTION.
YOUR NOTES FROM READING
YOUR COMMENTS ON READING..
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SCHEDULING YOUR DISSERTATION WORK

• Make a timetable or wall chart e.g. Gantt Chart
• Identify best work times 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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SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

• 3 key questions
• Do I have the skills knowledge to carry out
  this research?
• How long do I have?
• What do I have time to learn within my schedule?
  e.g.
• learning/improving knowledge of statistics
• learning software Excel SPSS,
• learning new skills techniques

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MAKING A DISSERTATION TIMETABLE

• How many words do I have to write?
• How long do I need for practical work analysis?
• 2 ways of timetabling dissertations
• Whole dissertation timetable examples 14 15
• Weekly timetable as in slide 20
• Break down dissertation into a series of
  realistic weekly tasks to make it more
  achievable.
• Look at the 2 examples of dissertation
  timetables.
• What level of detail would work best for you?
• Examples 1 3 are from Strathclyde University's
  Centre for
• Academic Practice web pages on Dissertation
  writing, see http//www.strath.ac.uk/Departments/
  CAPLE/dissertation/example.html

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MAKING A DISSERTATION TIMETABLE (i)
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MAKING A DISSERTATION TIMETABLE (ii)
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MAKING A DISSERTATION TIMETABLE

• For many writers its helpful and more manageable
  to plan work on a weekly basis (slide 17). This
  can help you to
• focus on individual tasks
• tick off completed tasks (morale boosting!)
• see progress on a day by day basis
• not be overwhelmed by totality
• know exactly where you are or should be

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MAKING A WEEKLY DISSERTATION TIMETABLE
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WHAT DOES A DISSERTATION LOOK LIKE?

• Dissertation structure can vary significantly
  from one department to another whether its
  based on
• an empirical study based on a research
  experiment extended report structure.
• analysis of literature. Here the structure will
  that of an extended essay with a number of
  sections or chapters.

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WHAT DOES A DISSERTATION LOOK LIKE?

• Empirically based dissertations are usually based
  on a scientific report structure used in the
  sciences some social sciences (IMRaDC)
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusions

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AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTERS INTRODUCTION

• This sets the scene, by
• introducing the issue that you are researching
• reviewing relevant previous studies
• highlighting the gap in research to be filled
• explaining your research questions/hypotheses
• brief signposting of dissertation structure
• NB In some dissertations, the background
  information is in a separate chapter called the
  Literature Review

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METHODS

• Explains the 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 often used
  e.g. Twenty five interviews were
  conducted..
• No methods section in literature based
  dissertations

22

RESULTS

• Presents the data or findings collected from
  the methods you used
• does not include analysis of these results
• May use a series of tables and figures to
  present the results more effectively
• Talks the reader through the series of results
  when referring to figures
  Figure 4.2 shows that the
  incidence of x rises when
• Highlights key patterns in the data
• NB Some writers combine the Results Discussion
  headings organise them by topic

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DISCUSSION

• This is where you interpreting the results i.e.
  explaining to the reader what they mean
• Broadens from discussion of your results to how
  they can be compared with the results of others
  whove done similar research
• Refers to the previous studies you introduced
  earlier
• Discusses any problems with results
• Doesnt include tables figures, except when
  comparing your results with others

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CONCLUSIONS

• A short, succinctly written summary
• Must addresses the research question or
  hypotheses presented in the introduction
• May include limitations of your study and
  suggestions for further work

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OTHER BITS

• FRONT
• Title page
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• List of figures
• Glossary

• AT THE END
• References/Bibliography ?
• Appendices

if your study requires this
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EXTENDED ESSAY DISSERTATIONS

• Have a look at the contents pages of the 2
  examples
• Labelling GM foods (Law) Proteolysis (Biology)
• How does each dissertation differ from the
  IMRaDC structure outlined earlier?

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COMPARING THE STRUCTURE OF LIT REVIEW AND
EXTENDED ESSAY DISSERTATIONS

• Now compare the structures of the 2 extended
  essay/literature review dissertations youve just
  looked at with the 2 empirically/report based
  dissertations.
• How does the structure differ?
• Can you find an ImRaDC structure?

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WORKING WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR

• What can my supervisor?
• What wont my supervisor do?
• Will they approve the research proposal/research
  questions?
• Will they read with drafts of work if so, how
  much?
• 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

• 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 problemspersonal with your data
  collection
• Set plenty of editing rewriting time
• Get a critical friend to read through drafts
  feed them!

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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 abstract last, when you
  know what youve found
• Introduce and conclude chapters. Guide the reader
  through with signposting cross referencing
• Dont just write for your supervisor