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Structuring your dissertation
Unlocking the mystique of writing dissertations
Dr Cheryl Lange
Review
• What was relevant to you from last week’s session?
• Who has started their research already?
• Who has started writing already?
• Reminder: Your early reading is a way of helping you
– define your topic – what’s the aim of your research?– limit its scope– develop a tentative hypothesis/research question– think about your data collection method(s)
Evans, D & Gruba, P 2002 (2nd ed.) How to write a better thesis, Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, pp. 13-15
Common thesis structure
1. Dissertation introduction
• Outline problem or background to area you want to investigate
• State aim – one aim
• Limit the scope
• Provide overview of dissertation
Outcome: Clarity about the purpose of your research
2. Background
• Position your study in terms of
– what has gone before– what is currently taking place– how research is being/has been conducted
• Consider including e.g.
– a brief historical review– a description of your study location
• Include
– a review of current theory/practice (literature review)
3. Your work
• State research question(s) or hypotheses
• Explain/describe the design of your experiments, surveys, questionnaires etc used to
– test your hypotheses– answer the questions posed in the background chapter.
• State why you choose these methods
• Discuss and analyse the results of your work.
4. Synthesis
Discuss
• the implications of your results
• your contribution to knowledge
Examine
• your results in comparison with earlier work
Evaluate
• model, method, experiment
Conclude by tying all of the above together –
Make sure your conclusions
– follow from your discussion and evaluation – correspond to your aim as stated in your introduction
General tips
Writing dissertation is a cyclical process
• Write early but
• review previously written work from time to time and
• make the necessary changes
Structuring chapters
• Begin each chapter with a introduction showing relevance to overall dissertation.
• Develop with logical elaborations, explanations and examples following on from stated aim.
• Finish with a conclusion which follows from argument in body of chapter and is congruent with stated aim of chapter.
Different disciplines, different structure?
• Despite dissertations from different disciplines requiring different procedures, often the structure is similar
Evans, D & Gruba, P 2002 (2nd ed.) How to write a better thesis, Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, p.16
Writing a hypothesis
Distinguish
• your aim – what you are trying to achieve – put in the Introduction
from
• your hypothesis – a proposition that can be tested - put in Own work section
• Your hypothesis needs to be grounded in the research literature
Research question v hypothesis
A hypothesis derives from your research question e.g.
Question
• “What is the relationship between test anxiety and performance on complex cognitive tasks?” (what you want to find out)
Hypothesis
• Performance on complex cognitive tasks will be an inverted U-shaped function of the level of anxiety (a proposition that can be tested)
Hypothesis checklist
• Does it suggest the relationship between two variables?
• Does it specify the nature of the relationship?
• Does it imply the research design to be used to study the relationship?
• Does it indicate the population to be studied?
• Is if free of mention of specific measures/statistical tests?
• Is it free of unnecessary methodological detail?
Cone, JD, Foster, SL, 1996 Dissertations and theses from start to finish: Psychology and related fields,
Washington, American Psychological Association, p. 41
Searching for answers?
What are your questions?
•Drop in 1pm - 2pm during semester teaching weeks Reid Library Mon, Wed, Thurs & Science Library Tues & Fri
•Individual consultations – make your appointment and submit your draft at least 2 days prior to when you want your consultation.
•Lunch time workshops
Contact detailsPhone: 6488 2423 - Student Support Reception [email protected]@uwa.edu.au