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THE MACRO-STRUCURE OF THE THESIS
Patrick Dunleavy
M5A2: Authoring a PhD and Developing as a Researcher
© P. Dunleavy 2009
STRUCTURE influences growth.
Credit:www.fourbees.com
Structure for this talk
Chapter sequencing in ‘big book’ theses
Checks and logistical issues Patterns of explanation How text sequencing shapes
research development
THE CHAPTER SEQUENCE IN ‘BIG BOOK’ THESES
CHOOSING A DESIGNED SEQUENCE
The most common (and awful) structure is RECORD OF WORK DONE, followed by PURE CONVENTIONAL STRUCTURE in
technical disciplinesThree basic designs are feasible:
FOCUS DOWN MODEL• Perhaps 90% of work done uses the focus
down model? OPENING OUT MODEL - physical sciences COMPROMISE MODEL
THE FOCUS-DOWN MODEL
CORE
MOREREVIEW
ANALYSIS
BIGLITERA- TUREREVIEW
OPENING-OUT MODEL
ANALYSIS +LITERATURE
DISCUSSION RELITERATURE
CORE
SET-UP
COMPROMISE MODEL
ANALYSIS
DISCUSSION
CORE
FOCUSEDLITERATUREREVIEW
CHECKS AND LOGISTICAL ISSUES
LENGTH ‘Big book’ thesis may be your longest
writing across your whole career Also true for ‘papers model’ theses LSE maximum length is 100,000 words
(330+ pages) all-inclusive Aim for at most 80% of this = 80K words Huge risk of over-writing material, which
makes it unpublishable Short theses may raise issues for
examiners – Is this an M.Phil really?
DIVIDING INTO CHAPTERS
CHAPTERS MUST EVENLY DIVIDE THE TEXT – regularity best manages readers’ expectations
Ideal is 8 chapters, (because ‘7 is a magic number +or - 2’) so structure = 8 x 10K
Longer chapters become impenetrable and unpublishable, so maximum = 12,000 words
Short chapters disappoint readers, so minimum size = 8,000 words. Merge anything less substantial.
ASSURING THE CORE REALISTICALLY IDENTIFY THE THESIS
CORE - clear value-added materials – discovering new facts or showing independent critical power
PRE-CORE MATERIALSlead-in, throat clearing - minimum 1
chapter POST-CORE MATERIALS - also 1 min.
set core in context/analyse/lead out CORE MUST BE OVER 3/5 OF TOTAL
e.g. 50,000 WORDS OUT OF 80,000
MORE ASSURING THE CORE
COUNT PAGES TO THE CORE some front-loading is preferableone chapter lead-in is ideal; 2 chapter lead-
in may be OK; 3 lead-in chapters is bad DON’T END-LOAD THE THESIS CUE AND BRAND THE CORE
in your TITLEin your ABSTRACTin HEADINGS and ORGANIZERSin your ROLLING SYNOPSIS
Chapter conclusions
INTEGRATING THEMES
TITLE, ABSTRACT, CONTENTS PAGE
2
Theme ACH.1
CH.8
Theme B Theme C Theme D
A DCB
43
5 6 7
OPENING OUT, FUTURE DIRECTIONS
‘Body’ chapters
PATTERNS OF EXPLANATION
•DESCRIPTIVE
•ANALYTIC
• ARGUMENTATIVE
• MATRIX PATTERNS
DESCRIPTIVE APPROACH
STRUCTURE IS SET OUTSIDE YOUguidebook/institutional patternshierarchy of forces in the outside worldthis is what I did in my thesis, at the start..,
in the middle…., at the end..chronologies or other narratives
OK AT THESIS OR BOOK LENGTHdespite the heavy fact loaddoesn’t personalize the information much
ANALYTIC APPROACH
AUTHOR COMPARTMENTALIZESnecessary or sufficient causesperiodization/long-run or short-run influencesconventional categories
(social/political/econ)tracing out an algorithm..
GOOD WITH ROBUST CATEGORIESselects more, structures morekey danger is formalism/fruit cocktailingnarratives become more complex this way
ARGUMENTATIVE APPROACH FOCUSES ON CONTROVERSY AND
CONFLICTING SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTexplicitly multi-theoreticalbut not just literature review sequences
DIFFICULT TO DO WHEREsupervisor/department takes a strong,
closed viewcapturing overall arguments entails having
a sophisticated, holistic view
MATRIX MODEL Generates more complex structures by
combining two of the previous approaches
Three main variantsanalytic (first) plus descriptive (second)descriptive (eg narrative) plus analyticargumentative plus analytic
MATRIX STRUCTURE (Argument primary)
LIBERAL MARXIST
economic
political
cultural
LIBERAL MARXIST
economic
political
cultural
MATRIX STRUCTURE (Analytic primary)
The macro structure of your thesis - shapes the time you have for different research stages
- which determines when and how far you develop your ideas and understand your evidence
MAIN STAGES OF PhD RESEARCH AND THEIR CHARACTER
Beginning – defining topic and treatment. Period of intense pre-thinking, lots of contact with supervisor: key review
Mid-term slump –accumulating materials. Much more solitary stages
Finishing – integrating materials into a whole, getting an overall message clearer Lots of draft inter-changes with supervisor and back at home-base
STARTING A PhD First year review process – by May you
need synopsis, chapter plan, methods/data plan, first chapter
Protracted literature review customary and meets dept’s and supervisor’s needs
Fits with ‘collecting instinct’ and postpones hard thinking and the onset of real research
THE PhD MID-TERM-Fieldwork, archives, data piles/ analysis- Disconnect from peer group and supervisors- Destruction of theorycapital; intractability ofexplanation; the lure ofcommonplace accounts- Accumulating materials but not writing up as yougo, creating a thinkingand writing overhang
THE END GAME Love and loathing syndrome by now Timelines tend to telescope together Disturbing for many people to face up
to what they’ve done (rather than planned)
and to reappraise/ reformulate themes
Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2003ISBN 1-4039-05484-3
For more on macro-structure, see Chapter 3.