How-to-Write-a-Better-Thesis

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Dotting the ‘i’s and Crossing the ‘t’s 131 • Acknowledgments recognize help received in the execution of the research and in the preparation of the report or thesis. • If you are fortunate to have received financial assistance, don’t forget to acknowledge the organization that granted you a scholarship or other funding. Declaration • Most universities require certification that the work in the thesis is your original work, and has not been used for the award of any other degree. • If you have published work from your thesis in journals before making a final submission, you must list complete references to such articles. You need to do this to avoid possible accusations of ‘self-plagiarism’ or submitting work that is not entirely original, and you will need to clearly identify the extent to which the papers are your own work as distinct from that of your co-authors. The Main Text • If you have been following the methods I advocated in the preceding chapters, everything appearing in this checklist should already have been done. But do check. If you have just picked this book up and have not been following my suggestions, I strongly urge you to use this checklist. If you find any of the suggestions puzzling, go back and read the chapter concerned. Aim and Scope • Can the aim be located in the table of contents? • Is the reason for doing the work outlined? • Does the aim follow clearly from this problem statement or rationale? • Are constraints stated that limit the scope of the investigation? • Is the aim followed by a brief outline of the way you intend to go about achieving it? (This refers not only to the experiments, surveys or investigations that you will design yourself but to the whole of the project, including reviews of theory and so on). • Do the conclusions you draw in the last chapter relate clearly to your aim? Background • Do the introductions to chapters and sections clearly state their purpose? • Is there any material in the background chapters that does not contribute directly to the later development of the report or thesis? (If there is such material, it should be relegated to appendices, or omitted altogether).
132 11 Before You Submit • Do the background chapters justify the formulation of the hypotheses or research questions? • If you are using a case-study approach, does the reason for selecting the case study, and a description of it, appear among the background chapters? (It should not, as it is part of your research method, and such material should not be described until you have selected your method). Design of Your Own Work • Do your hypotheses or research questions spring logically from your reviews of theory or practice, or from your preliminary surveys or experiments? • Do you discuss the possible methods for enabling you to test your hypotheses or answer your questions? • Do you explicitly select a particular method or methods, and justify your selection through your review of possible methods? • Do you explicitly design experiments or other research programs to implement the selected method or methods? • Are tests for your hypotheses or ways of investigating your questions unequivocally built into your research programs? • If you have decided on a case-study approach, have you justified this decision adequately? • Have you justified the selection of your case-study activity or area in terms of its representativeness or typicality or other appropriate criteria? • Unless offset by a colon and designated as such, does the name of the case study appear in the title or aim of your thesis? (It should not. If it does, you still have not sorted out the difference between a study of something in its own right, and the use of a case study to investigate something else). Results • Are the results of your experiments or surveys or other own work clearly presented and explained? • Are displays, such as graphs, tables and figures uniform in style and numbered? • Are the major trends or findings outlined? (You should not be discussing the implications of them while you are reporting them. For a short paper this might be appropriate, but for a thesis you should keep them separate). Discussion • Do you discuss your own findings in terms of their implications for one of the four areas of possible contribution, particularly with respect to modifying or extending existing theory or practice?
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How to Write a Better Thesis
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David Evans † University of Melbo
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Preface to the Third Edition When I
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Introduction Thesis writing can be
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Contents 1 What Is a Thesis? ......
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Contents xiii 8 Outcomes and Result
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Chapter 1 What Is a Thesis? Simply
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Types of Thesis 3 These questions
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Examiners’ Reports 5 layout. See
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Summary of Chapter 1: What Is a The
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10 2 Thesis Structure Research is u
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12 2 Thesis Structure Some of these
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14 2 Thesis Structure are ‘finish
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16 2 Thesis Structure 2. Background
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18 3 Mechanics of Writing that even
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20 3 Mechanics of Writing have oddi
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22 3 Mechanics of Writing I recomme
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24 3 Mechanics of Writing • Frequ
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26 3 Mechanics of Writing There is
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28 3 Mechanics of Writing The agric
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30 3 Mechanics of Writing wrong. Th
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32 3 Mechanics of Writing • Long
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34 3 Mechanics of Writing might giv
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36 3 Mechanics of Writing thesis. Y
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Chapter 4 Making a Strong Start In
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Creating a Structure 41 are trying
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Initial Efforts 43 of it in detail
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Starting, and Starting Again 45 ad
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The Creative Process 47 you must a
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Writing an Individual Chapter 49 H
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Literature 51 From ‘Chapter Five
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Styles of Working 53 And don’t f
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Working with Your Supervisor 55 Th
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Working with Your Supervisor 57 pa
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Summary of Chapter 4: Making a Stro
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62 5 The Introductory Chapter at th
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64 5 The Introductory Chapter curre
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66 5 The Introductory Chapter From
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68 5 The Introductory Chapter resea
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70 5 The Introductory Chapter the f
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72 5 The Introductory Chapter 3. Ai
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74 6 Background Chapters Developing
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76 6 Background Chapters Establishi
Page 88 and 89: 78 6 Background Chapters Throughout
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Page 94 and 95: 84 7 Establishing Your Contribution
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Page 108 and 109: From Data to Results 99 Jackie’s
Page 110 and 111: Presentation 101 Presentation In t
Page 112 and 113: Analysis 103 haste, and overconfid
Page 114 and 115: Quantitative or Qualitative, Revisi
Page 116 and 117: Reflection 107 in his thesis, wher
Page 118 and 119: Illustrations 109 interpreted, and
Page 120 and 121: Illustrations 111 they can read an
Page 122 and 123: Chapter 9 The Discussion or Interpr
Page 124 and 125: Structuring the Discussion 115 can
Page 126 and 127: Writing with Authority 117 criteri
Page 128 and 129: Summary of Chapter 9: The Discussio
Page 130 and 131: 122 10 The Conclusion One way that
Page 132 and 133: Chapter 11 Before You Submit You ha
Page 134 and 135: From First to Second Draft 127 abo
Page 136 and 137: Dotting the ‘i’s and Crossing t
Page 144 and 145: Chapter 12 Beyond the Thesis Studen
Page 146 and 147: Kinds of Dissemination 139 Feedbac
Page 148 and 149: Dissemination Plans 141 • Primar
Page 150 and 151: Seminar and Conference Presentation
Page 152 and 153: Being a Graduate Student 145 more
Page 154 and 155: The Arc of a Research Degree 147 t
Page 156 and 157: Summary of Chapter 12: Beyond the T
Page 158 and 159: Appendix Afterword The creation of
Page 160 and 161: Appendix 153 Appendix: Analysis of
Page 162 and 163: Appendix 155 • The text is unnece
Page 164 and 165: 158 Notes on Further Resources Phil
Page 166 and 167: 160 Index Books, writing, 25 Bracke
Page 168 and 169: 162 Index H Harvard reference syste
Page 170 and 171: 164 Index Proper names, 20 Punctuat
Page 172 and 173: 166 Index discussion of results, 12
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