Taking stock and moving on

Dissertation workshop

Friday 28th November, 2008

Taking stock

How would you assess your progress to date? Think about progress on your

Research question (manageable project?) Literature Review (started? finished?) Methodology (is it working? Should I change it?)

What do you need to change/develop in order to further your progress?

Moving On? Breakdown the big task into smaller ones – set yourself

deadlines Make a time-line – counting backwards from the deadline [the

deadline is May 5th – 22weeks and one day away,,,,] Have you left enough time for….

Research tasks Practical matters, e.g. meeting participants/repondents, time for

transcription Time to read Time for analysis

Writing tasks Words per chapter or section Time for revision or re-drafting

Ethics forms

Due today!!! No empirical research should be started until the

completed form has been submitted You will not be allowed to submit your dissertation if

we haven’t received your completed ethics form.

From the Dissertation Guidelines booklet

‘Students must not commence any field-work until this form has been submitted, and penalties at the usual daily rate may be imposed if ethics forms are not submitted by the deadline.’

What does a dissertation look like?

Look at the sample dissertations in Jane C’s office

Read the dissertation guidelines Consult this dissertation resource:

http://www.socscidiss.bham.ac.uk/ Look at the marking criteria for assessed

work

Dissertation structure

Table of contents Abstract Introduction Literature review Methodology Findings / discussion Conclusion Bibliography Appendix

Dissertation structure

Introduction Field of study Research question (and why this is important /

interesting) Summary of contents – signposts for the reader

Dissertation structure

Literature review To demonstrate wide reading

Define the broader academic context of your study

To prove rationale for the research question Enable you to build on work already conducted

Dissertation structure

Literature review Write as if you are answering the essay title: ‘how

does my research fit with existing work in this area’

At some point, you need to stop reading and start writing! You can always find more to read, but your literature review is only part of the dissertation.

Dissertation structure

Methodology 'why I chose the methods I chose to answer my

particular question’ the strengths and weaknesses of that approach

as a tool for generating knowledge how I actually did it – and why.

Include a discussion of ethics (reference ethical guidelines – e.g. BSA)

Dissertation structure

Findings / discussion Findings – the analytical presentation of what you

have found in your research, e.g. stats tables, verbatim quotes - organised by themes or key concepts.

Analyse; don’t just describe. Discussion – linking the findings back to the

literature discussed in the literature review.

Dissertation structure

Conclusion Don’t introduce new material. Review your work as a whole; identify key points Point out limitations of the study and possible

further avenues for research Demonstrate how you have addressed your

research question

Finishing your dissertation Prepare drafts well in advance if you want your

supervisor to read them. From the guidelines…‘Supervisors may read early drafts of chapters (up to 50% of the dissertation) and suggest improvements, but they will not normally read draft work after the end of the Spring term and they will not read the final draft of your dissertation’

Ensure that your argument is developed through your writing (sentence to sentence; paragraph to paragraph).

Is your ‘signposting’ accurate? Check that the title matches the argument

Finishing your dissertation

Check that the bibliography reflects the texts cited in your dissertation

Pay attention to rules on plagiarism (careful note-taking now is a good protection)

Back-up repeatedly and in multiple locations Read the submission guidelines on

presentation Your dissertation needs to be bound You need to submit TWO copies