An On-Line Guide To Writing An MSC Dissertation

2/22/2015
AnonlineguidetowritinganMScdissertation
AnonlineguidetowritinganMSc
dissertation
1. Thefirsthalfofthisebookworksthroughadissertation,fromitsIntroductiontoits
Conclusion.Thishalfconsidersstructurebyusingexampletextsfrompreviousstudents.
Readthroughthishalfchapterbychapter.
2. Thesecondhalfisaseriesofpracticaltipsonwriting.Althoughthesetipsaregrouped
togethertoformbookchapters,youcandipintothemdependingonyourneeds.
Startreadingthefirstchapter:Ahelpinghand.
Note
Thisisabook'underconstruction'.Sopleasereturnperiodicallytoseeifthereisnewmaterial.
Andforgivemeifyouopenachapterinhope,onlytofinda"...stillbeingwritten"notice!
However,evenifthefinalchapterversionmaynotbeready,Ihaveusuallyincludedsomeofits
contents.
Site:
Moodle@Warwick
Course:
AcademicWriting
Book:
Printedby: TarekSayedSuleiman
Date:
Sunday,22February2015,1:55PM
http://moodle.warwick.ac.uk/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=112959
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2/22/2015
Tableofcontents
1Whatthisbookisabout
2Ahelpinghand
3Researchoutlines
4Introductions
5LiteratureReviews
6Writingamethodology
7Resultsandanalysis
8Tellingthewholestory
9Conclusions
10Dissertationchecklists
11Exampledissertations
12Referencing
13Criticalthinking
14Writingstructures
15Academicwritingstyle
16Referencesinthisbook
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1Whatthisbookisabout
1. Thefirsthalfofthisebookworksthroughadissertation,fromitsIntroductiontoits
Conclusion.Thishalfconsidersstructurebyusingexampletextsfrompreviousstudents.
Readthroughthishalfchapterbychapter.
2. Thesecondhalfisaseriesofpracticaltipsonwriting.Althoughthesetipsaregrouped
togethertoformbookchapters,youcandipintothemdependingonyourneeds.
Nowstartreadingthefirstchapter:Ahelpinghand.
Thisisabook'underconstruction',sopleasereturnperiodicallytoseeifthereisnew
material.Andforgivemeifyouopenachapterinhope,onlytofinda"...stillbeingwritten"
notice!However,evenifthefinalchapterversionmaynotbeready,Ihaveusuallyincluded
someofitscontents.
Whataboutotherbooks?
Ofcoursethisonlinebookisnottheonlybookyoushouldread!Whilemany
booksondissertationsfocusonhowtoanalysetheliteratureandconductyour
research,JohnBiggam'sstepbystephandbookSucceedingwithyour
Master'sDissertationcontainslotsofadviceonwriting.Thebookisaimedat
studentsinbusiness,humanitiesandthesocialsciences,andhisexample
dissertationmethodologyislongerthanisnormallyrequiredinWMG.Youcan
readthewholebookasaLibraryebook.
AnotherebookavailablefromtheLibraryisResearchMethodsforBusiness
StudentsbySaunders,LewisandThornhill(2012).Thisbookdoesn'thaveasmuchonwriting
asBiggam'sasitfocusesmoreonmethodology,butthereisusefulmaterialinchapter14.
BooksonwritingaregroupedintheLibraryinmanyplacesandtheremayalsobematerial
underyourparticularsubjectarea.Usethelinksbelowtobrowsetherelevantcategoriesand
classmarksintheLibrary.Beaware,however,thateresourcesmaynothaveclassmarks,so
youwillnotfindthembybrowsingthelibraryshelvesorbyusingtheclassmarksearchesbelow!
Youneedacombinationofphysicalandecataloguesearching.
Searchusingcategories.Filtersearchresultsforprintbooks,ebooksoreresources.
Studyskills
AcademicwritingandAcademicwritinghandbooks
Academicdissertations
Technicalreportwritingandreportwriting
Englishlanguageforforeignspeakers
Essaytechnique
Essayauthorship
Searchusingclassmarks.
Education:378.17943
English:PE1408andPE1479
Writing:PN146
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2Ahelpinghand
Beforeyoubeginwritingeitheryourprojectoutlineordissertation,youneedsomekeypieces
oftext.Theseare:
1. Aresearchtopicandquestion
2. Aresearchgapthatyoursupervisorhassignedoffasrelevantandachievable
3. Astatementofwhyyouseeansweringthisresearchquestionasvaluable
4. Ahandfulofobjectivesthatsplitthequestionintothingsyouneedtodiscover
5. Someinitialideasfromwhereorfromwhomyoucancollectdata.
ThisfivepointsarediscussedinAhelpinghand.ThisisaPDFfilethatcanbereadonlineor
downloaded.
Ifyouattendedthelecturethatcoveredthese5keytexts,youmaywanttolookatthe
presentation:
Slidesfromthelectureonwritingoutlines
Uneditedvideoofthepresentationon10thFebruary,2015
Writer'sblock
Youmaysufferfromwriter'sblock.Youstareatablankscreenanddon'tknowhowtostart.
Therearetwocommonmythsofwritingandthisadditionalnotegivessomeguidanceon
overcomingwriter'sblock.
KeepCalmandWriteOn
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3Researchoutlines
Beforeyoucanbeginresearchyouneedtowritearesearchoutlineorproposal.Thiswill
clarifyyourthinkingandactasaplanofaction.Yoursupervisorwillwanttosignthisoff
beforeyouproceedfurther.
Inthelastchapterwedevelopedfiveessentialthings.Ifyouhavethese,youalreadyhavemost
ofyourproposal.(YoualsohavemostofyourdissertationsIntroductionasthat,too,isaplan
forthereader.Butmoreonthisinthenextchapter.)
Sorejoice:thischapterisshort.
ForthischapterIfollowaresearchproposalsubmittedbyastudentIwillcallBianca.Isuggest
youprintthisoutsoyoucanrefertoitasyoureadthesenotes.Youshouldalsoprintout
WMGsguidelinesonwritingaresearchoutline.
1. Chapteronresearchoutlines
2. Bianca'ssampleresearchoutline
3. WMGsguidelinesonwritingaresearchoutline
Ifyouattendedthelecturethatcoveredresearchoutlines,youmaywanttolookatthe
presentation:
Slidesfromthelectureonwritingoutlines
Uneditedvideooflecturegivenon10February2015
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4Introductions
ReadersoftenlookattheIntroductionandConclusionofadissertationfirstastheywantto
mapoutthejourneybeforetheybegin.Theywanttotapthestartandfinishpointsintotheir
DissertationSatNavtogetafeelforwheretheyarebeingtaken!Theywillsetoffina
doubtfulmoodiftheyfindanIntroductionthatoffersonlyavaguedirectionorpurposefor
theirjourney,oriftheyreadaweakConclusionthatdoesnotansweranyofthequestions
raisedorwrapuptheargument.
YourIntroductionis,therefore,averyimportantpartofyourdissertation.Getthisright,and
yourreaderwillbegintheirjourneyisapositivemood!
ThischapterlooksatdissertationIntroductionsingeneralandthenreviewsanexamplebya
studentIwillcallNadira.BothfilesarePDFsthatcanbereadonlineordownloaded.
1. ChapterondissertationIntroductions
2. Nadira'sIntroduction
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5LiteratureReviews
Atypicaldissertationislikeahingewithtwohalves:aLiteratureReviewandthenempirical
researchandanalysis.Theypivotaroundachapteronmethodology.ALiteratureReview
providesthecontextorbackgroundfornewempiricalresearch,ithighlightstheresearchstillto
bedoneandperhapsprovidesthetoolsorframeworkstofillinthemissingbits.
InthischapterIlookfirstattheprinciplesbehindwritingaliteraturereview,aboutmakingan
argumentandchoosingastructure.ThenIreturntoNadirasdissertationandreviewhowshe
tacklesthetask.
1. ChapteronLiteratureReviews
2. ExampleLiteratureReviewfromNadira
Exampledissertations
Ialsosuggestyoulookattheliteraturereviewchaptersinotherexampledissertations.Oneof
thesemaybeneareryourownsubjectorstructure.However,lookatthearguments(givenfor
eachdissertationasasummarypage)soyoucanseehowtheLiteratureReviewplaysakey
roleinsettingthecontextforfurtherresearch.
Reverseanalysis
ReverseAnalysisisatechniqueformarkinguptextinordertoassessthebalancebetween
informationandanalysis.ThedangerinwritingaLiteratureReviewliesinbeingtoo
descriptive.Thistechniquehelpsyoutocheckyourwork.
1. ExplanationofReverseAnalysis
2. Exampleofreverseanalysis
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6Writingamethodology
Notyetavailablesorry!
Nomethodologychapteristhesameasanyother,butthesenotessuggestapossiblestructure
andcontents.
Structureofamethodologychapter
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7Resultsandanalysis
Chartsuggestionsfordissertationresults
SomesuggestionsproducedbyAbela(2006)tohelpyouchoosethemostappropriatechart
type.
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8Tellingthewholestory
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9Conclusions
TheConclusiontoadissertationisoftenwritteninahurry.Thesubmissiondateisjustaround
thecorner,ifnotlateronthesameday!Thetemptationistowritesomethingquickly
anythingsolongasitlooksbackwards,asthatiswhatconclusionsaresupposedtodo.
ButthisisadangeroustemptationasyourConclusionchapterisvery,veryimportant.Itsums
uptheendofyourresearchjourneyandgivesitmeaning.Andthereisaneasywaytowritea
dissertationConclusion:baseitaroundtheoriginalresearchquestionandobjectives.
1. ChapteronwritingConclusions
2. Nadira'sConclusion
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10Dissertationchecklists
Inthelastfewdaysbeforesubmittingyourmasterpiece,thingscangethectic.Andsoitiseasy
tooverlookimportantthings.Fromflyingaplanetoperformingbrainsurgery,professionalsrely
onchecklists.Itisnotthattheydon'tknowwhattheyshoulddo,buttheyrealisetheycanforget
whenunderpressure.
ThispagelinkstodownloadablechecklistsasPDFs.Thereisoneforeverysectionofa
dissertation.Theselistsarecompiled,adaptedandextendedfromWMGnotes,John
Biggam'sSucceedingwithYourMaster'sDissertation:AStepbyStepHandbook(2011),David
Gray'sDoingResearchintheRealWorld(2013)andMarkSaunders'sResearchMethodsfor
BusinessStudents(2012).
Thesechecklistsarenotexhaustivetherewillbeitemsmissing.PleasenotifyVernonifyou
knowofanitemthatshouldbeincluded.Butthelistsshouldcoverthemostcommonitems.
However,aseachdissertationisunique,theyarenevereverasubstituteforguidanceand
feedbackfromyoursupervisor!
General
Abstractandprelims
Introduction
LiteratureReview
Methodology
Results
Analysisanddiscussion
Conclusion
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11Exampledissertations
Thissectiongivesextractsfrom5dissertationsalongwithasinglepagesummariesoftheir
arguments.Allthesedissertationswereawardeddistinctions,thoughfromtheextractsyouwill
notbeabletojudgethequalityoftheresearchitselfbutonlythewriting.
Alldissertationextractshavebeenchangedtosinglelinespacingforeasierreading.Allnowuse
pseudonymsandarecopyrightWMG(variousdates).
Nadira
NadirasdissertationconcernsthesecurityregulationsimposedbyVisaandMasterCardfore
commercesitesreferredtoasPCIDSSforPaymentCardIndustryDataSecurityStandards.
NadiraisinterestedinknowingwhetherUKbusinessesareawareoftheseregulationsand
whethertheyareeffective.
Dissertation
Argument
Mark
Marksdissertationconcernsthemeasurementofsuccessinusingsocialmediainsmall
businesses.Hewantstoknowwhatthebestmetricsaretocreateaframeworkormeasuring
system.
Dissertation
Argument
Alexa
AlexasdissertationconcernseauctionsasafavouredprocurementoptioninB2Btransactions.
However,theseauctionscomewithrisksandthepurposeofherresearchistoexplorerisk
mitigation.
Dissertation
Argument
Matt
Mattsdissertationconcernsnewproductdevelopmentinmanufacturingcompanies.Mattsclaim
isthatthereislittleresearchonhowNPDandmanufacturingstrategycanbeintegrated,thereby
formingacoherentframeworkforinnovationinthemanufacturingindustry.
Dissertation
Argument
Paula
Paulasdissertationconcernstheusabilityofecommercesites,andinparticulartheneedto
identifyfactorsthatinfluencetheimplementationofusabilityengineering.Sheisconcernedas
muchwithmanagementassitedesign.
Dissertation
Argument
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12Referencing
ifyouareunsurewhenyoushouldreference,checkoutPlagiarism.orgfordetailsonavoiding
plagiarismandoncitingsources.Examplesofgoodreferencingwillbeaddedhereasthebook
isdeveloped.
Referencesystems
There'smorethanonewaytodoreferencing,withthemaindifferencebeingbetweensystems
thatusenumberstorefertonotesattheendofpageorchapterandthosethatwritetheauthor
anddateinparenthesesandplacethereferenceinalistattheendofthedocument.
Thesecondapproach,calledHarvardreferencingortheNameDatesystem,isusually
preferredasitiseasiertouse.IthasvariantssuchasMLA(ModernLanguageAssociationof
America)andAPA(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation).
TherearesmalldifferencesbetweenpureHarvardandAPA,themaintwobeingthatthedatesin
aHarvardreferencelistattheendofyourdissertationarenotinparentheses(whereasinAPA
theyare)andintextcitationswithpagenumbersuseacolon(e.g.Smith,2001:118)whileAPA
usesp.orpp.(e.g.Smith,2001,p.118).AccordingtotheUniversityofAuckland,"theHarvard
systemstandardizestheorderandcontentofreferenceinformation,butnottheformatorpage
layout.Variationsinlayout,capitalizationandpunctuationareacceptableprovidedtheyareused
consistentlywithinthedocument."
Beware,then,thatyouwillfindsmallinconsistenciesinguidesthatyouread!Checkwithyour
supervisortoensureyou(andanysoftwaretoolsyouemploy)areusingthepreferredvariant.
Aboveallbeconsistent.ManyprefertouseAPA(nowinits6thedition)ascomprehensive
guidesareavailableontheInternet.
WarwickUniversityLibrarynotesonreferencing
WMGnotesonreferencing
HarvardguidefromAngliaRuskinUniversity
APAguidefromtheUniversityofHuddersfield
Ifyouwouldliketoexplorethedifferencesintheavailableschemes,visit:
UniversityofAuckland
UmeaUniversityLibrary
OxbridgeWriters
Resources
Resourcesforcrackingreferencing
Sortingoutthereferencesforyoursourcescanbefiddlyandcertainlyboring.Gettingitwrong
canloseyoumarks.Usesomeofthemanysoftwaretoolstoensureaccuracy.
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13Criticalthinking
Youwillgetmarksforthinkingandwritingcritically.Criticalthinkingisthe
stepbeyondsimplyunderstandingwhatyouhaveread(secondarydata)andfoundinyourown
research(primarydata).Thesearticlescovergiveanintroductiontothinkingcritically.
Criticalthinking
Anoverviewofwhatitmeanstothinkandwritecritically
Exampleofacriticalreviewofasource
ThisexampletakesanarticlefoundontheInternetandshowsacriticalawarenessofits
valueforadissertation.
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14Writingstructures
Thestructureofwhatyouwriteisveryimportant.Younotonlyhavetoprovidegood,critical
content,butalsoguideyourreadertothatcontent.Structure,suchaschapterintroductionsand
conclusions,providetheframeworkforyourmessage.
Thefollowingshortarticlescoverthemainissues.
Mindmaps
Amindmapisagraphicalapproachtostructuringyourcontent.Seealsothenoteson
mindmappingfromtheStudySkillscourse.Youwillfindlinkstomindmapping
softwareintheResourcesareaofthissite.
Writingframeworksand'argument'
Theselectionofyourmaterial,theorderinwhichyoupresentit,theviewpointyoutake,
alltheseformtheframeworkthatisuniquetoyourdissertation.
Signpostsindissertations
Signpoststhatguidethereaderareparticularlyimportantinlongdocumentssuchas
dissertations.
Chapterconclusionsindissertations
Everychapterinadissertationshouldhaveaconclusion.Attheendofthedissertation
shouldbeafinalConclusionchapterthatrespondstoeachresearchobjectiveandthe
overallresearchquestion.
Anexampleofachapterintroductionandconclusioninadissertation
Thisgivesanexampleofmotive+mapandmemories+meaning.
Dissertationcontentspage
SimpletipsfortheContentspageofyourdissertation.
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15Academicwritingstyle
Thefollowingshortarticlescoverthemainissues.Youshouldalsolookatthechapteron
CriticalThinking.
Academicwritingstyle
Academicwritingusesaformalstylethatisconciseandimpersonal.Butthisdoesnot
meanthatyoursentencesneedtobecomplicated.
Paragraphs
Paragraphsarethebuildingblocksofanywriting.Withthemyoucanconstructan
impressiveandbeautifuldissertation.
Aworkedexampleofparagraphsasthebuildingblocksofsections
Attheheartofsuccessorfailureinwritingismasteryoftheparagraph.Paragraphsare
thebuildingblocksofanMScdissertation.Youneedtodevelopskillsincreatingthem
andjoiningthemtogethertoformtheargumentyourexaminersexpect.
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16Referencesinthisbook
Alnatheer,M.,Chan,T.,&Nelson,K.(2012).UnderstandingandMeasuringInformation
SecurityCulture.PACIS2012Proceedings.Paper144.
Baker,S.(1990).ThePracticalStylist.Longman.
Biggam,J.(2011).SucceedingwithYourMastersDissertation:AStepbyStepHandbook.
Maidenhead:OpenUniversityPress.
Buckley,H.(1961).TheLittleBoy.SchoolArtsMagazine,Octoberedition.Retrievedfrom
http://home.bresnan.net/~cabreras/theboy.htm.
Cooley,L.,&Lewkowicz,J.(2003).DissertationWritinginPractice:turningideasintotext.
HongKong:HongKongUniversityPress.
Dunleavy,P.(2003).AuthoringaPhD,Basingstoke:PalgraveMacmillan.
Fenyman,R.(1964).Lecture7:SeekingLaws,TheMessengerSeries,MicrosoftResearch.
Retrievedfromhttp://research.microsoft.com/apps/tools/tuva/index.html#data=3|||
and
Graff,G.&Birkenstein,(2010).TheySay/ISay:TheMovesThatMatterinAcademicWriting.
NewYork:W.W.Norton&Co.
Huxley,T.(1870).Biogenesisandabiogenesis,CollectedEssays,Vol.8,p.229.
Johnson,S.(2006).ADictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage:anAnthology(PenguinClassics).
London:PenguinBooks.
Murray,N.&Beglar,D.(2009).InsideTracktoWritingDissertationsandTheses.Harlow:
Longman.
Saunders,M.,Lewis,P.,&Thornhill,A.(2012).ResearchMethodsforBusinessStudents.
Harlow:Pearson.
Swales,J.M.&Feak,C.B.(2012).AcademicWritingforGraduateStudents:EssentialSkills
andTasks.UniversityofMichiganPress.
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Turabian,K.L.(2013).AManualforWritersofResearchPapers,Theses,andDissertations.
Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress.
UniversityofManchester.(2015).AcademicPhrasebank.Retrievedfrom
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/
VisioInsights(2007).Seattle:MicrosoftVisioProductsTeam.Retrievedfrom
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/visio/archive/2007/02/06/introducingthebubblechart.aspx
Furtherpracticalguidelinesonwriting
Bailey,S.(2011).AcademicWriting:AHandbookforInternationalStudents,Abingdon:
Routledge.
Godfrey,J.(2009).Howtouseyourreadinginyouressays,Basingstoke:PalgraveMacmillan.
(Ausefulguideonhowtoreadacademicsourcesalongwithsuggestedphrasesforwriting.)
Godwin,J.(2009).PlanningyourEssay,Basingstoke:PalgraveMacmillan.
(Aninexpensivepocketbookwithpracticaltipsonwriting.)
McCarthy,M.andODell,F.(2008).AcademicVocabularyinUse,Cambridge:Cambridge
UniversityPress.
Paltridge,B.,&Starfield,S.(2007).Thesisanddissertationwritinginasecondlanguage:A
handbookforsupervisors.Routledge.
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