How to Write a Thesis

THESIS WRITING

PROF. ABD KARIM ALIAS

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Abd Karim Alias@2010 [[email protected]]

What is a Thesis?

“A written work resulting from original research, especially one submitted for higher degree in a university”


Why write a thesis?• Science aims to find pattern, trends,

and structure in the experiment

• Good scientific writing aims to bring forward in the text

• structure

• organization of scientific knowledge


What’s in the thesis?

•Addresses a problem or series of problems

•Describes what was known about the problem(s)

•What you did to solve the problems


What’s in the thesis?

•What you think the results means

•How further progress can be made


Structure of a Thesis


Getting started

•Break the thesis into chapters; list the major sections in each

1. Prepare a thesis outline

2. Discuss with your supervisor

•Assemble all the data, tables, figures

•Organise them into a sensible sequence

3. Prepare a chapter outline


Getting started (cont’)

•Do a section at a time

•Start with something easy

4. Write


Thesis title

•Title reflects content of the thesis

•Use concise but informative title

ExamplePhysicochemical and Functional Properties of Ozone-Oxidized Starch


Thesis title

• Be specific & accurate

• Avoid phrases such as “A study of...”, “An investigation of...”

• Avoid jargon and acronym


Chapter 1 - Introduction "The purpose of the Introduction should be to supply sufficient background information to allow the reader to understand and evaluate the results of the present study without needing to refer to previous publications on the topic. The Introduction should also provide the rationale for the present study. Choose references carefully to provide the most salient background rather than an exhaustive review of the topic." (R.A. DAY)


Chapter 1 - Introduction

• A description of the general problem followed by a statement of the specific problem and the motivation for the study


What to write in the Introduction?•What do we know about the topic?•Provide comprehensive & critical review of the

major findings in the area

•What we don’t know (gap in knowledge)• Identifying what the gaps in our current

understanding of the field are, and why it is important that these gaps be closed

•What we are now showing•A clear statement summarizing what’s known,

what needs to be learned, and what your paper aims to accomplish


Writing Good Introduction

• The first paragraph should provide a brief background in present tense to establish context, relevance, or nature of the problem, question, or purpose (what is known)

• The second paragraph may include the importance of the problem and unclear issues (what is un-known)

• The last paragraph should state the rationale, hypothesis, main objective, or purpose (why the study was done).



... Alkalising agents are important in the

preparation of many traditional starch-based food

products. Examples include the use of lime in the

production of tortillas and kansui (a mixture of sodium and potassium carbonate) in the

preparation of Chinese wheat noodles and waxy

rice dumplings……

Start by giving a general background



…….Despite the age-old usage of alkalising agents, there is still much which is not known concerning

the effects of these reagents on starch properties. Although the ability of aqueous alkali in inducing

starch swelling is common knowledge, most of the work has been centred on NaOH in systems containing relatively low starch concentrations (<25%, w/w) …….

Rational & problem statement



….. The influence of alkalising agents (especially

kansui) on the thermal properties of starches has yet to be studied in any great detail. Therefore, the

specific objectives of the present study were:

•To differentiate the effects of sodium carbonate

on the thermal profiles associated with

gelatinisation of starch;

•To quantify...

•To characterize...

Connecting the problem statement to the objective (reason for undertaking the study)




‘…a systematic…method for

identifying, evaluating and interpreting

the…work produced by researchers,

scholars and practitioners.’

What is literature review?



Literature is about telling a

story…kind of a chain story where

each writer starts with a partial story

created previously by others and

expand on it…the existing literature is

the story so far…


Literature review is…

‘an interpretation and synthesis

of published work’ - Merriam (1988:6)


5

Filtering & sorting the essentials from the irrelevant…


See the wood for the trees…

Image source: http:// sciencebhakta.wordpress.com


Skills for “digesting” the literature Select, differentiate,

break up

Integrate, combine,

formulate, reorganize

Understand, distinguish,

explain

Define, classify, describe

Dissecting data into their constituent part.

Rearranging the elements derived from analysis to identify relationship.

Interpreting & distinguishing between different types of data , theory & argument to describe the substance of an idea

Describing the principles, uses, & function of rules, method, etc.

ANALYSIS

SYNTHESIS

COMPREHENSION

KNOWLEDGE

Adapted from Hart, 1998


Any critical review should incorporate…

An assessment of the strengths & weaknesses

of some of the theories

A clear understanding of the topic

A citing of all key studies in the subject

territory

A clear indication of how the review links to

your research questions


Any critical review should incorporate…

A definition of the boundaries of your

research

A selection & synthesis of existing arguments

to form a new perspective

Through gradual refinement, a clear

demarcation of the research problem


Scope & length of lit. review…

Be selective

State the current state of the theory

How far back?(Master’s ~10 years; PhD –

further back)

Avoid verbosity

Demonstrate ability to synthesise the body of

literature – brief but focused.


Components of lit. review…

Background information

• Introduce topic

• Describe scope & organization

• Review past & present literature

• Clarify purpose



Theory

• All research has a precedent

• Integrate key points & make appropriate

inferences

• Be aware of relationship to your topic



Critical appraisal/synthesis

• Not jus a list of the work of others

• Identify issues highlighted

• Highlight differences & similarities

• Identify consensus

Materials & Methods section

• Provide detailed methodology used to conduct the experiment

• Provide sufficient details but it is not expected to be written like a laboratory manual!

• Describe control used

• Highlight critical steps or precaution


Results section

• It contains all of the data to support (or refute) the hypothesis that was proposed in the introduction section

• It serves to weave a coherent story and must communicate the findings to the reader in a logical, transparent manner.


Results sectionData presentation - Graph or Table?

• Tables can be used to display precise numeric values

• Figures are better for conveying trends or proportions


Results sectionData presentation

Clear, succinct graphs, charts, photographs, and drawings can quickly convey the primary findings of research


Results section

•The figure legends should provide a detailed description of the corresponding figure

• Explain each symbol in the figure (typically arrow heads, arrows, asterisks)

•Label should be clear (e.g., scale bar on SEM)

Data presentation


Results section

•Tables shoud be self-explanatory

•Textual description should summarise & highlight table content (not to repeat)

Data presentation


Results section

•Arrange data in logical manner (in table)

•Cross-check reference to figures/tables in the text

•Give proper credit to figures/tables taken from other sources

•All statistical analyses, where appropriate, should be described

Data presentation


Describe results succintly

...In higher moisture (1:4) systems, the presence

of Na2CO3 appeared to significantly (p<0.05 or better) decrease ΔHG of all of the starches studied

(with the exception of wheat and waxy rice

starches, which showed no significant change in

ΔHG), while NaOH had no effect on ΔHG of most of the starches studied. However, in the less hydrated (2:3) systems, Na2CO3 did not significantly (p >0.05) affect ΔHG except, ...

Describe specific trends, significant effect, similarity/contrast, exception, limitation, etc.


Results section - Common pitfalls

•The same data are presented in figure (graph) and table

•Data presented in the table are simply stated (without describing the trend, making comparison, highlighting anomaly, etc.)

•Unusual trend in data is ignored (not highlighted)


Discussion section

• To communicate the significance of your findings

• To indicate how they support (or refute) the experimental hypothesis

• To describe how these results advance the field of study


How to Discuss?

•Have the main point to emerge from the results been picked for discussion?

•Are there links made to the literature?

• Is there enough evidence in your data to attempt at theory building or reconceptualization of the problems?

How thorough is your discussion & interpretation?


How to Discuss?

•Are there speculations? Are they well grounded (can be substantiated with your own data)?

How thorough is your discussion & interpretation?


Discuss results succintly

…. The significant increases in gelatinisation

transition temperatures in the presence of Na2CO3 or NaOH (Table 1 and Table 2) suggest an

enhancement of starch granule stability, probably

through electrostatic interactions between Na+

ions and hydroxyl groups of starch...



…. The significant increases in gelatinisation

transition temperatures in the presence of Na2CO3 or NaOH (Table 1 and Table 2) suggest an

enhancement of starch granule stability, probably

through electrostatic interactions between Na+

ions and hydroxyl groups of starch...

Give supporting evidence/information from previous works



…. One possible interpretation of the results shown in Figure...include the possibility that...

...The results shown in Figure 5 are in

contradiction to the work of Karim et al. (2000)...

These data suggest that...

In contrast, Williams et al. (1998) reported that...

Use phrases such as...


How to write a conclusion?

•What is the strongest and most important statement that you can make from your observations?

•Refer back to problem posed, and describe the conclusions that you reached from carrying out this investigation

•Summarize new observations, new interpretations, and new insights that have resulted from the present work.

Should include the followings:



• What are the contributions of new knowledge that your thesis makes

• Does your work suggest any interesting further avenues?

• Are there ways in which your work could be improved by future researchers?

• What are the practical (broader) implications of your work?

Should include the followings:



In conclusion, gaseous ozone successfully

oxidized the three types of starches studied, but the oxidation mechanism appeared to differ from

that of chemical oxidation. Ozone oxidation

introduced more carbonyl groups than carboxyl groups in the starch granules. Under identical conditions, the extent of starch oxidation varied

among different types of starch...

Example:



Using ozone as an oxidizing agent offers several advantages over hypochlorite. During

ozone oxidation, starch is oxidized in a dry

state and in the “as is” moisture content condition, whereas hypochlorite oxidation

requires use of organic solvents. The dry

oxidation process using ozone is simpler than

the hypochlorite oxidation process, and it offers 100% product recovery compared to

hypochlorite oxidation.

Example:


Writing and effective abstract

• Identify the major objectives and conclusions

• Identify phrases with keywords in the methods section

• Identify the major results from the discussion or results section

•Assemble the above information into a single paragraph



• State your hypothesis or method used in the first sentence

• Omit background information, literature review, and detailed description of methods

• Remove extra words and phrases

• Revise the paragraph so that the abstract conveys only the essential information



•Check to see if it meets the guidelines

•Make sure no grammar or spelling errors!

•Give the abstract to a colleague (preferably one who is not familiar with your work) and ask him/her whether it makes sense



Start out the Abstract by telling exactly what you did and how you did it. Focus on the rationale and ideas of the study and why it's important in the first two sentences

The effects of oxidation by ozone gas on some physicochemical and functional properties of starch (corn, sago, and tapioca) were investigated. Starch in dry powder form was exposed to ozone for 10 min at different ozone generation times (OGTs).

Example:


Writing and effective abstractIn the next few lines, focus on the materials and methods, and the data generated from the study (results). Tell the reader how the data were collected, compiled, and state statistical significance(s).

Carboxyl and carbonyl contents increased markedly in all starches with increasing OGT. Oxidation significantly decreased the swelling power of oxidized sago and tapioca starches but increased that of oxidized corn starch.

Example:



The end of the Abstract is just as important as the beginning! State the implications of your studies to the field of scholarship in which you are working.

These results show that under similar conditions of ozone treatment, the extent of starch oxidation varies among different types of starch.

Some examples:



State the implications of your studies...

…Binding of water to starch films influences their thermo-mechanical properties

…In general, tortillas prepared with hydrocolloids had a lower tendency for retrogradation than control tortillas; it is important to consider this to obtain tortillas with better texture and lower RS content.

Some examples:


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How to Write a Thesis

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