Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Researching and Writing Dissertations

Roy Horn Researching and Writing Dissertations How can I manage my time and complete on time WEEK 5

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Reading Recommended text: Researching and Writing Dissertations Horn, R CIPD: London 2 nd Edition, 2012 ISBN: Chapter 5: How Can I Manage My Time and Complete on Time, page 59.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Lecture outline l How long your dissertation will take to complete. l How the project life cycle can help you to be successful. l What work breakdown structures are and how you can use them to manage the dissertation. l How to use time effectively. l How to manage bibliographical data. l What the main barriers are to completing on time.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Learning objectives l Understand the time frame in which dissertations are completed. l Understand how the project life cycle, work breakdown charts and Gantt charts can assist you in completing on time. l Understand the importance of maintaining bibliography data.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy HornActivity Sketch out the tasks you think must be completed when undertaking a dissertation. This is an initial experience exercise so that you can compare your initial thoughts to a typical time scale. Work alone 20 minutes prep 3 minutes feedback Feedback to the group – ‘I need to complete these things for my dissertation’

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn ActivityStudy HoursDuration General research to find a suitable topic18 ‒ 24 hours3 ‒ 4 weeks Prepare research proposal8 ‒ 12 hours1 ‒ 2 weeks Gain ethics approval (if required)6 ‒ 10 hours5 ‒ 10 weeks Research and develop a critical literature review (1 st iteration) 30 ‒ 40 hours4 ‒ 6 weeks Research and develop an appropriate methodology (1 st iteration) 15 ‒ 22 hours2 ‒ 4 weeks Further develop the literature review (2 nd Iteration) 15 ‒ 25 hours3 ‒ 5 weeks Estimate of hours and duration of the ‘typical’ M level dissertation

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn ActivityStudy HoursDuration Further develop the methodology (2 nd iteration) 10 ‒ 15 hours2 ‒ 3 weeks Pilot the research instrument, questionnaire or qualitative method 8 ‒ 16 hours2 ‒ 3 weeks Gather data using a questionnaire*18 ‒ 30 hours3 ‒ 6 weeks Gather data using a qualitative process**30 ‒ 40 hours4 ‒ 8 weeks Transcription of qualitative data***(if required) 40 ‒ 60 hours3 ‒ 5 weeks Analysis of data (1 st iteration)18 ‒ 24 hours3 ‒ 5 weeks Further development of the literature review in the light of data 16 ‒ 22 hours2 ‒ 4 weeks Estimate of hours and duration of the ‘typical’ M level dissertation

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn ActivityStudy HoursDuration Final development of data analysis (2 nd iteration) 12 ‒ 24 hours2 ‒ 4weeks Developing conclusions and recommendations 8 ‒ 16 hours3 ‒ 4 weeks Writing up the full dissertation (1 st draft) 25 ‒ 40 hours 3 ‒ 6 weeks Writing up the full dissertation (2 nd draft)15 ‒ 30 hours2 ‒ 4 weeks Proof reading and final development8 ‒ 10 hours2 ‒ 4 weeks Estimate of hours and duration of the ‘typical’ M level dissertation

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Conceptual Critical Action Analytic Creative

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Dissertation phases

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Task planning Like most projects, dissertations are made up of tasks, and when all the tasks are complete, the project or dissertation is complete. There are many good reasons for investing time in the planning of the dissertation. Your dissertation proposal would normally contain an estimate of the time required to complete. The old saying about planning is that ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Task planning The main advantages of carefully planning your dissertation are: l Planning creates a proactive approach that can replace the more common reactive approach. l It allows you to initiate and influence outcomes in your favour. l It enables you to meet deadlines. l It lowers academic stress.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Task planning The main advantages of carefully planning your dissertation are: l It encourages the adoption of a systematic approach. l It improves your control of the project. l It permits the setting of ‘milestones’ to assist in controlling the project. l It highlights the areas in the dissertation where planned assistance will be needed such as data-gathering and proof reading.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy HornActivity Set out the steps you need to take in the next two months to further the completion of your dissertation. Use the Work Breakdown Structure provided. Work alone 15 minutes prep 3 minutes feedback Feedback to the group – ‘My WBS chart...’

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy HornActivity Using your WBS chart produce a spreadsheet with a progress meter. This can then be extended to cover all the tasks required to complete the dissertation. Work alone 60 minutes 3 minutes feedback Feedback to the group – ‘My WBS chart’

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Bibliographic data Bibliographical data starts to accumulate in a dissertation from the very first moment of a topic’s birth. Realising this and planning a method to trap, record, access and display this data is essential, or a very large and difficult-to-solve problem will become apparent later in the dissertation – when most students are already very busy with the tasks of analysing data and writing up the research. Early planning will avoid this problem.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Bibliographic data Store bibliographic data in one of the following ways: l Alphabetical list in a word document. l Excel spreadsheet. l Database. l Specialist bibliographic software.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Using a Word document Many thousands of dissertations are written each year and the bibliography data is stored as an alphabetical list in a Microsoft Word document. l The author adds new references manually into the correct alphabetical space as the work proceeds. Any small errors or entries in the wrong place are manually corrected. l This approach is simple, cheap and easy to understand. l However, it is not very flexible, is time- consuming and contains only the basic reference data.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Using a Word document Later versions of Word from 2007 contain features that allow for the development of a bibliography as the work progresses. l As you write, you add citations (references) in the text; this is linked to a source, and the bibliography is automatically produced as and when you require it. l In most versions you are able to choose your reference system and change it dynamically. l It is also easy to find a source you have previously used with the ‘find source’ command.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Barriers to on time completion There is remarkably very little research concerning the barriers to completing on time and the rates of completion of UK dissertations. An American survey (Rivera, Levine and Wright 2005) of 138 medicine residents successfully completing projects on time discovered the following themes for success: l Start early. l Set aside adequate time. l Adhere to a timeline.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Barriers to on time completion l Work with a strong mentor (or supervisor, in the UK system). l Choose a research topic that genuinely interests you. l Keep the project simple yet innovative. Residents’ suggestions about how their programmes could more effectively facilitate scholarly activity were: l Provide adequate amounts of protected time. l Improve the technical resources available to residents. l Enhance or establish a research curriculum. l Match trainees with appropriate mentors.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy HornActivity Case Study Carry out the case study ‘Sam and Alex’ considering the three areas suggested. Work in groups of three 60 minutes 10 minutes feedback Feedback using three PowerPoint slides

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Preparation activity for next week Theory and literature Prepare two slides of PowerPoint presentation setting out: 1. The main theory and literature of my dissertation is… 2. Give a short critique of this theory. Work alone Prepare for next week’s workshop

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Conclusion Consider how long your dissertation will take to complete by thinking about: l How much time I can set aside for the dissertation each week. l The likely tasks that must be completed. l How long each task will take. l Can I get help to complete some of the tasks. l Create a detailed WBS chart. l Unforeseen distractions and delays.

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Next Week l The importance of the literature review. l How your exploration fits into the known theory. l Sources of theory and literature. l How to evaluate sources. l Displaying the key skills in a literature review. l The academic funnel. l How much literature do I need?

Researching and Writing Dissertations Roy Horn Researching and Writing Dissertations The End