DISSERTATION/THESIS

PREPARATION
PREPARATION OF DISSERTATIONS
AND THESIS
• The word dissertation has its root from the Latin word ‘dissertare’
meaning to continue to discuss i.e. to examine and discuss.

• The word thesis originally comes from a Latin word that means to
place a proposition which comes itself from the Greek word ‘tithenai’
which means to place.
• The aim of the dissertation or thesis is to produce an original piece of
research work on a clearly defined topic.

• Usually a dissertation is the most substantial piece of independent

work in the undergraduate programme, while a thesis is usually
associated with master's degrees, although these terms can be
interchangeable and may vary between countries and universities.
• A dissertation or thesis is likely to be the longest and most difficult piece
of work a student has ever completed.

• However, it can also be a very rewarding piece of work since, unlike

essays and other assignments, the student is able to pick a topic of
special interest and work on their own initiative.

• Writing a dissertation requires a range of planning and research skills

that will be of great value in your future career and within
organizations.
• Theses and dissertations are an often overlooked source of
information for research.

• Benefits
• Just like journal articles, conference proceedings, and other forms of
literature, they present original research. Recently completed theses can
provide "sneak previews" of ideas and findings that have yet to reach the
public via other publication formats.
• They may be the only publicly-available work by authors who do
not otherwise publish for general audiences or through
commercial publishers.
• They contain extensive bibliographies.
• They provide inspiration for the formatting and presentation of
ideas, graphs, charts, and other components of a document.
• They provide insight into the early work of a particular person and
have value for historical and biographical purposes.
• Dissertation topics and questions should be sufficiently focused that
all the necessary data can be collected within a relatively short time-
frame, usually about six weeks for undergraduate programmes.

• You should also choose a topic that you already know something
about so that you already have a frame of reference for your
literature search and some understanding and interest in the theory
behind your topic.
General Structure

• Like an academic paper for journal publication, dissertations generally

follow a fairly standard structure in the order below:
• Research Proposal

• Introduction

• Literature Review

• Methodology

• Results and Discussion

• Conclusion and Extra Sections

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

• A research proposal is a document in which one outlines the case for

undertaking a research project, your dissertation or thesis, and also
one’s plans for carrying out the work.

• It is needed to persuade supervisors, funders and other stakeholders

of the value of the research and the likelihood that it will successfully
be able to answer the research question(s).
A typical research proposal contains:

• A title.

• An introduction outlining the topic and questions for investigation, as

well as a brief literature review and theoretical framework.

• A detailed strategy explaining what the research methods are, what

data will be collected and how access to data sources will be
obtained.
• A realistic timetable for completion, showing key milestones and
when they will be accomplished. (working with deadlines).

• Discussion of logistical and ethical considerations.

• Limitations of the proposed research.

• An indicative bibliography of references consulted to date on the

topic.
• In addition, when a research proposal is made to a funding body or
when plans for communication are not implicit in the project (e.g.,
when the research is undertaken for a dissertation), then it is usual to
include a detailed budget and a description of the communication
plans in the proposal.
Identifying your Topic

• The first step in any research is to identify the topic of interest. Think about which
areas have most interested you in your studies to date, and what you would most like
to explore.

• Then start to read around those subjects to narrow down the field of interest. Now is
a good time to identify a possible supervisor and talk to them about whether they
would be prepared to supervise you and help you narrow down your research topic.

Note!!! it is better to research a narrow topic in more detail than a broad one in very
little detail.
Defining your Research Questions

• Once you have identified your field of interest, you can then start to
identify one or more research questions to answer. (Again, a narrow
question that you can research in detail is better than a broad one
that you will not be able to cover in full).

• Your research question(s) should be ones that have not been fully
answered in previous research so that you are adding to the
literature.
• However, you want your literature review to have at least something
to report, so an area where there is already plenty of research is
better than a completely new topic.
• Thinking about your research topic????????

• Ask yourself ….is that what you actually want to find out?

• Frame it as a question that you could ask somebody: good research

questions often begin with asking words like who, what, when, where,
why, how, and how much.
• Once you have brainstormed several questions related to your topic,
look at each one individually against the following checklist of
considerations.
• Is the question interesting?

• Is the scope of the question specific enough that you would realistically be
able to answer it within the limits (time and cost) of the project you are going
to undertake? If not, you may need to narrow down the focus even further.
• Does the question suggest the kind of information you would need to answer
it, and how you would go about getting that information?

• Would it be feasible to get the information necessary to answer the question?

• By the time you have finished developing your research question(s),

they should be carefully defined, including a clear idea of the sector
or area of study, study population, and what someone will know after
reading your research.
Choosing a Title

• Once you have a topic, and research question(s), then you can decide
on a title, which should broadly cover your research question(s) and
summarise what you are going to do.

• It’s fine to change your title later on, or at least to twist it, so consider
this a working title for now.
Using your Supervisor
• You can and should use your dissertation supervisor as a sounding board as you
develop your thinking, although beware of bombarding them with enthusiastic
and/or panicky emails.
• Keep a note of ideas and questions, and then send a single email to your
supervisor requesting an appointment, and setting out your broad thinking,
preferably with your outline research questions.
• Your supervisor will soon make clear whether they think your ideas are too
broad for study and will hopefully help you to narrow them down.
Outline Methodology

• Once you have defined your research questions, you need to set out broadly
what you plan to do to answer them, and why.

Your outline methodology should explain:

• The broad approach that you plan to take and why……whether qualitative,
quantitative, or a mixture of both

• Some idea of what exactly you plan to do within that approach: your study
population, the experimental techniques that you’ll use, such as questionnaires,
interviews, or both, again with good academic reasons for your choice;
• Any weaknesses in your planned approach, and how you plan to
overcome them;

• How what you plan to do links back to your research questions and
will help you to answer them;

• How you will analyse the results, with good academic reasons for your
selections.
Ethical Approval

• Any study involving human or animal subjects will need ethical

approval, which will usually be from the university’s ethics committee.

• There is likely to be a standard form to complete, which you may need

to submit as part of your research proposal. Check the university’s
requirements, and if necessary consult your supervisor about what to
include.
An example ethical committee approval form may include questions
such as:

1. Will research participants include any of the following groups?

• Children under 18

• Children in care

• Individuals with a learning disability

• Individuals suffering from dementia

• Prisoners
• Young offenders (16-21 years old)

• Individuals in Care Homes

• Elderly persons

• Individuals without legal capacity to consent

• Other Vulnerable Groups

• Specific Ethnic Groups

2. Approximately how many participants are to be recruited, how will

they be selected, and how will they be invited to participate in the study?
3. Are there any links with the investigator (client, friend, etc.)? If there is a link,

detail what safeguards to preserve objectivity and to prevent conflicts of

interest are in place?

4. Describe briefly what will happen to the participants (e.g., interviews,

questionnaires, the anticipated nature or duration of each). Give examples of

the sort of questions you intend to ask.

………………………………..and so on…….
A Word on Word Count(Stick to the instruction)

• If you are submitting a grant application, or research proposal to a

university, you will probably have a maximum word count or be given
an acceptable word count range.

• It’s important to stick to the word count. If the maximum is 2000

words, and you’ve written 500, you probably haven’t provided
enough detail. On the other hand, if you’ve written twice as much as
expected, then you’ll need to cut it down considerably.
A Final Word

• Always check your university or grant-awarding body’s guidelines to

make sure that you’ve included all the necessary information, and
that this is in the required format.

• It is extremely annoying to have something rejected, or have to

rewrite it because of a formality like the font size.
INTRODUCTION
• The introduction to your dissertation or thesis may be the last part
that you complete, except perhaps the abstract. However, it should
not be the last part that you think about.

• You should write a draft of your introduction very early on, perhaps as
early as when you submit your research proposal, to set out a broad
outline of your ideas, why you want to study this area, and what you
hope to explore and/or establish.
• You can, and should, update your introduction several times as your

ideas develop. Keeping the introduction in mind will help you to

ensure that your research stays on track.

• The introduction provides the rationale for your dissertation, thesis

or other research project: what you are trying to answer and why it

is important to do this research.

• Your introduction should contain a clear statement of the research

question and the aims of the research (closely related to the question).

• It should also introduce and briefly review the literature on your topic to

show what is already known and explain the theoretical framework. If

there are theoretical debates in the literature, then the introduction is a

good place for the researcher to give his or her own perspective in

conjunction with the literature review section of the dissertation.

The introduction needs to set the scene for the later work and give a
broad idea of the arguments and/or research that preceded yours. It
should give some idea of why you chose to study this area, giving a
flavor of the literature, and what you hoped to find out.

WARNING….!!!!!!!

• Don’t include too many citations in your introduction: this is your

summary of why you want to study this area, and what questions you
hope to address.
• This means that your introduction can be much clearer about what
exactly you chose to investigate and the precise scope of your work.

• Remember, whenever you actually write it, that, for the reader, the
introduction is the start of the journey through your work.

• Although you can give a flavor of the outcomes of your research, you
should not include any detailed results or conclusions.
• Some good ideas for making your introduction strong include:
• An interesting opening sentence that will hold the attention of your reader.

• Don’t try to say everything in the introduction, but do outline the broad
thrust of your work and argument.
• Make sure that you don’t promise anything that can’t be delivered later.

• Keep the language straightforward. Although you should do this throughout,

it is especially important for the introduction.
• Your introduction is the reader’s ‘door’ into your thesis or
dissertation. It therefore needs to make sense to the non-expert. Ask
a friend to read it for you, and see if they can understand it easily.