Planning your Dissertation BSc ‘Top-up’ LEM4001 Planning your Dissertation

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Introduction Module guides; assessments; lecture plan; the ‘Thesis List 2017/8’. Choice of topic and supervision. Validity, cf: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37443204 & http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39357819 Scope. Funding. Partnerships. Skills. Managing Risk. Examples from last few years. Critical comments on dissertations?

Partnerships

‘The Scientific Method’

Making a Start (revision) What are the secrets of the ‘scientific method’ (turning data into evidence)? i. Propose / outline a hypothetical structure for your thesis, suggesting word limits for each section and what should go in them (8,000-10,000 words). Should the structure mirror a typical scientific paper? ii. What general tips do you have for approaching planning work of this magnitude? iii. As most of you undertook a research project last year at level 5, what lessons can be learnt? What didn’t work or what worked well? why? Be prepared to share your ideas.

Terminology Research project vs. thesis vs. dissertation. The ultimate test – the ‘honours’ part of your degree. Topic selection Be original and innovative. Travel. Link to industry. Learn new skills. Become a published author or raise your profile. Examples – DOC, CIEEM etc Primary data collection preferred – quantitative vs qualitative.

The Process of Topic Selection Identify broad area of study Supervisor Agrees Initial selection of topic No Yes Yes Is the research feasible? Can the topic be appropriately refined? No Yes Has the research sufficient ’value’? No Yes Is there sufficient ‘scope’? Yes No Is it ‘valid’? No Yes Acceptable topic Adapted from Sharp et al. 2002

Scheduling the Writing • Work on time management, learning from last year. • Start now. • Plan for unforeseen circumstances. Examples. Manage the risk and also your expectations. Planning the Research Project • Concept map of ideas. • Project management planning – do you need to secure funding, loans of kit, get permissions etc? • Cover basic concepts, then refine. Please use the template

Research Project Structure Guidelines (revision) • Structure informed by the discipline, questions posed, methodology, theoretical framework, issue covered etc. • As you are aware, two broad categories: –Type 1 - experimental quantitative research. –Type 2 - theoretically based qualitative research. Type Two Type One

Abstract • It should provide a complete outline of the thesis (< 200-300 words). • Written at the end and encompasses: WHAT you did; WHERE you did it; WHAT you found. APPLICATIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS. Q. Please critically review the following abstract with this in mind…….!

Public Library of Science

Introduction Establish focus. Summarise and evaluate allied research. Show gaps in research or raise questions (‘literature review’). Refine and validate the aim/s. Do think ‘outside the box’, e.g.: summary tables, concept maps, models. Q. Last year, did you use the literature review to generate key questions - aims – objectives – hypotheses? Again, do you all know the difference?

Methodology (in Type 1 structures) Use this section to outline: WHEN; WHERE; WHAT materials, techniques, samples, data, approaches, theoretical frameworks were used; HOW (rationales for any standardised protocols); WHAT procedures were used (including statistical methods). • Use past tense, e.g. “data were examined …”

Results, Discussion & Conclusion May appear as separate chapters or may be combined in different ways, i.e.: Results = ‘what you found’ – supported by convincing labelled tables, figures and graphs. The results section should be organised so that they reflect: Methods used and the sequence of information presented in the methods section – basic to complicated; Aims / hypotheses stated in the introduction. Written in the past tense.

Discussion The main function of the discussion: To correctly interpret the results; To discuss the ramifications in relation to the key question and to critically compare and challenge results published for prior, allied research. Use a range of tenses. Conclusion The main function of the conclusion is to: Make generalisations arising from the discussion of the results; Evaluate main implications for practice, indicate the overall importance of the research to the field and challenge accepted theoretical models. Watch: http://skillshub.northampton.ac.uk/2013/09/03/dissertation-checklist-video/

The Secret of a Successful Research Project By now you may have a rough idea of the nature of the investigation you want to follow. Share your idea with your neighbour and develop a ‘key question’ (or statement of purpose) to answer. Debate what the major obstacles or constraints will be for your project and how refinement of the idea might generate robust data with minimal risk.

Private Study Week One Review….. University of Northampton Skills Hub: http://skillshub.northampton.ac.uk Learn Higher: http://www.learnhigher.ac.uk/ Ready to Research: http://readytoresearch.ac.uk/ KTP: http://dissertationsforgood.org.uk/ Read….. Chapters 1-3, Robson, C. (2014) How to do a Research Project. 2nd Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Host page: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/researchproject/weblinks.asp