Thesis writing Session 2017 Dr Didier Soopramanien

Why do YOU have to do this, i.e. writing a thesis? [dissertation] What is being evaluated for this element of the programme?

How to find a topic? A topic is not the same as a title of the thesis, the two are, of course, related.

Find something that you find interesting Find something that you feel you are “good” at (Saunders et al (2009)) Of course we expect you to do RESEARCH on something that is related to the degree

How do I find out that I have found something INTERESTING AND NEW for my topic What exactly is a specific NEW AND INTERESTING research question? [NOT AN EASY TASK AT ALL] Perhaps it might be useful to think what is ‘UNINTERESTING” ? Start by looking at what other researchers have done a similar area The danger of claiming something is new when in fact it is not the case. The analogy of a funnel. “big then small” The formulation of a specific research hypothesis

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml Ask yourself the question: if anybody was to read your thesis what would they learn that is new and useful. Perhaps we also need to think who will find this useful. Be careful about trying to do something that is not feasible or achievable, why? Time constraints and data availability. Your supervisor and other people will help you to refine your question as you embark on this “journey”

http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/thesis_def.html

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

Write an abstract or outline of the research purpose and objective Write an abstract or outline of the research purpose and objective. (use of structured abstract) Ask someone to read it, discuss with somebody. Do they understand what you want to do? (if they are not in the field they may not know whether your topic is new so you better check with your supervisor (or discuss with potential supervisors) who will probably know a bit more about the area)

Typical structure of the thesis Introduction (clear statement of research plus some background information about the importance of the problem); it is also good to tell us what each chapter of the thesis will contain. You can, for example, use some secondary to demonstrate why the problem is important A clear statement about your specific research hypothesis. A problem statement

Literature review: This is NOT simply a description of what you have read. You are expected to show what you have found interesting and how these relate to your research. This is an opportunity to show that your research question addresses a new problem worth exploring. [this is not easy either, there is also the issue of finding papers which are relevant to your work, you may also still be doing your literature review towards the end as you may have found something “surprising” in your results and you need to find out whether this is new or whether there is any other previous work that has found something similar)-at the end of the literature review you must make a clear statement of how your research questions is related to the literature and also what makes the research question new) How to search for related work? Perhaps a good idea to have an introduction to each chapter to tell the reader what you are going Emphasis on academic papers in academic journals (not from business magazines or newspapers etc..although you can use these sources elsewhere)

Methodology of research. Data and the methods to analyse the data What do we mean by data? You must justify why the data that you have used is appropriate to attempt to address the research question. You must also describe the various steps and stages to collect data. If your thesis contribution is about new data then you need to pay a bit more attention to this aspect A new variable/data or new cases that tells us something new about the problem Problems with data (sample size)

What about the methodology that you have used to analyse the data? Data (plural) (acknowledgement to Professor Faan Loow) Reminder: Data and how it plays a critical role in shaping the thesis Finding evidence and doing research.

Discussion of the results. Not simply a description of the results but a discussion? What insights have emerged from your analysis? How do the results that you have found relate to previous research? How do the results and INSIGHTS differ to what previous researchers have found.

Conclusions, implications of the research and any limitations Summarise. But a summary of what exactly? So here reiterate briefly the importance of the problem Briefly what are the main insights and the value of the insights (implications of the research, impact of the research) Who benefits from your research? Any limitations and avenues for further research? (good researchers acknowledge the contribution of their research but also to acknowledge that what they have done might not be perfect)

Other issues. Plagiarism How to reference related work Time management Note keeping and database of all “the work” and references Requirements of the University (rules on format etc…) Your responsibilities in that process of writing dissertation.

The thesis process is interactive ( for example, some students tend to say early in the process “I have completed my literature review” No!!!) Please start to write as soon as possible and submit to your supervisor. Writing helps to think and how to organise the thinking in the sense that you have to explain your thinking to other people. The final “product” may look a lot (but not completely) different to the original “sketch” A lot of what you have read and written and analysed will not and should not be included (why???) Google.bfsu.edu.cn

Extended Abstract (example)

Resources I sent you by email (which you probably have ignored!!!) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/thesis-statements/ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/ http://www.reading.ac.uk/library/study-advice/guides/lib-sa-guides.aspx https://google.bfsu.edu.cn/scholar/