Writing the detail Dr Desmond Thomas, University of Essex.

What will you write? Abstract & table of Contents Introduction with aims, methods etc Background/context chapters Literature review sections/chapters Exploration of key concepts, theories etc Data reporting & analysis Conclusions Bibliography & appendices

Introduction Chapter “The Introduction is a very important element in the thesis. It is here that you set out your stall and say to potential readers – including examiners – ‘look, I have something very interesting to say here’ “ (Brewer 2007:133-4) When should the Introduction Chapter be written? Before you write other chapters? After? Or a bit of both?

Another purpose of the introduction … “The initial writing of the Introduction often serves wonderfully well to force upon you the need to clarify your thinking about a number of important aspects of your research” (Brewer 2007) In other words: it helps the writer as well as the reader to make things clear.

What does an Introduction contain? Shorter version: brief description of context and research aims (6-8 pages) Longer version: more detailed description of context, research aims, research questions and hypotheses, overview of methodology, overview of thesis structure (15-20 pages). WHICH SUITS YOU BEST?

Literature review chapter(s) 1.Introduce the LR and explain its structure. Explain also how you will relate it to your research questions 2.Organize the chapter according to important themes or issues related to research aims, questions or claims 3.Add a concluding section in which you pull all the different themes together (See ‘Literature Review’ PP slides)

Methodology (Research Methods) Chapter “The Research Methods Chapter provides an account of the way the research process has been structured and the research methods employed. It provides an indication of the research paradigm involved which will reflect your basic beliefs about the world and determine the research design you are likely to use, how your data will be collected and analysed” (Brewer 2007:141)

Examples of research paradigms Positivist: Objectivist Phenomenological Humanistic Interpretivist Social constructivist

Reporting your findings “The Results chapter needs to present clearly the findings that you have established. This is more difficult to do than it may sound, and prior planning of the chapter and in particular the order in which the results are to be presented is necessary.” (Brewer 2007:144-5) How do findings relate to research questions or hypotheses? How do findings help advance main arguments?

Ways of reporting and analysing 1.Organized by data collection method: first the questionnaires, then the interviews … 2.Quantitative followed by qualitative data 3.Organized with reference to research questions or hypotheses 4.Organized according to data analysis categories (qualitative research) 5.Organized according to key themes emerging from the findings

Integrating analysis Report the data, summarize and then analyse. (This is what I found. Now let’s decide what it all means ….) Report the data and include ongoing analysis (The first finding was …. Let’s look at that more closely and try to decide what it really means ….) DECIDE: Will my ‘results’ chapter include analysis? Or will I leave that till later?

The Conclusion “Both the Introduction and the Conclusion are vital elements in attracting the attention of the reader to the thesis and in proclaiming that this is a study which has something to say and is worth reading. Their importance is such that some examiners will read the Introduction and then the Conclusion before turning to the rest of the thesis” (Brewer 2007:149)

The Conclusion: approaches The Conclusion as a ‘mirror image’ of the Introduction Looking back and linking all the previous chapters: pulling the ideas together Looking at limitations of the study and implications for future research Looking at the significance of the main findings (So what …?)