Do you remember doing your dissertation?
I'm just starting to plan mine out mine and wondered if anyone had any good "lessons learned" from doing theirs. I imagine that, despite the topics being very different, there are a lot of general lessons, perhaps project management lessons (?), which apply to all disserations.
Most dissertations follow quite a predictable pattern:
1. This is the question I want to address and why it is a sensible and useful question to deal with.
2. This is what is already known ( lit review which is recursive with the question - so you read, refine the question, read more etc)
3.Given what I want to find out, and what is already known this is how I'm going to investigate the issue. And, this is why this is a sensible and effective way to do so.
4. This is what I found.
5. (Often combined with 4) And, this is what it means - with appropriate links back to the lit review where you can confirm / contradict / extend the review literature with your findings.
6. So, the answer to the question is......... (Plus a few caveats, limitations, reflections and suggestions)
Write for clarity not pomposity, reference clearly and methodically, remember the Tell, Tell, Tell rule. Enjoy it.
3Also - compile a vigilant database of references used as you go along ... saves much heartache at the end of the journey. - Best of luck on your exciting journey Helene ! Isa.C.
Great post by Alistair ! Having just graduated with I would like to add a few practical tips, that may make life easier.
1. Think carefully about what your research question - ( eg. has it been answered already)? Is it feasible to research this in the timescale you have - good dissertations are usually very specific/narrow and deep !
2. Its worth thinking about the data gathering process as this is often a challenge - How will you access it - is it freely/widely available? Will you need to buy any industry reports -
Especially if you are trying to analyse financial or sensitive corporate information - can be difficult to access - for privately held companies.
3. I would use a referencing tool like Mendeley or Endnote which will allow you to compile your references and then import them with ease into your document as per your University's referencing format requirements.
4. This will also allow you to make notes on your Lit review electronically and keep track to minimize searches. You could also keep a key word search spread sheet - to stop you repeating search terms.
5. Its worth using Google Scholar as an initial search tool for your literature searches- it helps you keep on top of your searches, it also provides you with the number of times a particular article has been cited - giving you a great indication of the importance and value of reading a particular journal article.
6. Time is precious - be critical in your reading ! Read the abstracts first and then consider the conclusions - if they are relevant then read the whole paper - nothing worse then going through a whole article and realising that it has no real relevance to your work (even though it may have been of general interest)!
Hope that helps Helen - and good luck - enjoy it!
12) Either investigate symptoms to root cause or root cause to potential solution. Doing both is a doctoral thesis and you won't have enough words to do it justice in your masters thesis.
3) Gain extra marks by using a second data gathering technique which supports your model. It doesn't need to be as wide as the primary mechanism and shows that your results can withstand further testing.
4) Read, Read, Read. Having 2012 (even 2013) articles will be a bonus. Set up google scholar to capture these last release articles and fit them into your lit review.
1 - Plan...Plan...Execution is a key to success.
2 - Imagine as if you are working on a Project for your employer.
3 - Co-ordinate with your guide regularly and sink thought process.
4 - Have open mind to evaluate different methodologies and select best suited one.
There's one thing I would add - time...Whilst I agree wholeheartedly about treating it like a project, I would build in some slack time. Everything will take longer than you think it will at the start. Your interviews will overrun, or someone important will be off sick when you planned to meet them. Analysing your data will take longer than you expect. Writing up will take longer than you thought...much longer...
There may be stages when you are tempted to give up - but please don't. Keep ploughing on. The end result is well worth all the frustration.
Good luck.
Mark
I'm planning to study an aspect of client-facing knowledge management in UK law firms - don't suppose anyone has already done this?!