Carrie Winstanley

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-30-2024

Writing a dissertation shouldn’t mean panicking. If you plan ahead and know how to structure your work, you’ll achieve fantastic results. And guess what? You might even enjoy yourself; writing a dissertation can be a highly rewarding experience. Follow this guide to producing the best possible dissertation.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

It’s a good idea to have the contact details of the people in this list very handy when you’re writing your dissertation so you can call on them to help you out when necessary. Your tutor (or supervisor) Your course administration office people Any university or course support people The university library Any networks of fellow students or ‘academic’ friends who can help with work questions Your good mates with whom you can share reciprocal shoulder-crying, late night stressing and comfort sessions!

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Keep yourself on the straight and narrow when writing your dissertation, not only because illegal practices can land you and your university or college in trouble, but also because you’re likely to get found out and marked down. You must keep your university regulations to hand as well as any course materials from your tutors about exact requirements. You must have ethical clearance for your work (where necessary). You must make sure that your work does not plagiarise any other works. Always check whether a piece is copyrighted before you use it. Make sure to reference quotes and any information you borrow.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

The quality and clarity of your writing has a significant impact on how your dissertation is marked. Make sure that it packs a punch, and reflects the hard work you’ve put into your project. Here are some top tips. Contact your support services if you know you struggle with writing. Explain the nature of the difficulty to your supervisor (also suggest what you can do to help yourself). Get help from the university support services if you don’t fully understand what is meant by ‘good English’ and find samples of good writing to help you improve your writing style. Proofread your writing – you can pick up on mistakes that you or even your computer’s spellchecker may have made. Avoid cliché, colloquialisms and a chatty style, but also beware of sounding too formal and stuffy. You need a clear, academic, unfussy style. Keep paragraphs and sentences short and straightforward. Never use words you don’t fully understand.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Different working patterns work for different people. You need to find the balance that’s right for you while writing your dissertation. It’s a good idea to make sure you are: Working in a study space that is well-laid out. Being honest with yourself and the people around you about how you are getting on. Working and referring to a clear plan for the overall project (with extra time included for anything unforeseen that may pop up). Eating well, and keeping your alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and sugar intakes under control. Getting sufficient sleep and exercise. Balancing your work sensibly, seeing friends and having reasonable relaxation breaks.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Settling on a research question might take some time, and you may find that you refine it slightly as you begin researching. A workable question should: Link clearly to your field of study. Be possible to summarise in two sentences. Have been agreed with and signed off by your supervisor. Still pique your interest.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

A dissertation is just an important sounding name for a long essay – based on your own research. Writing a dissertation is an exciting, challenging, rewarding and often wonderful experience. At the same time it can be exhausting, time-consuming, frustrating and exasperating. The main parts of your dissertation Most dissertations follow the same basic structure and are made up of five parts: an abstract, introduction, methods and discussion, conclusions and references. Although the exact detail of each part can vary (such as the numbers of words allowed in the abstract), the inclusion of each part is standard and fixed. I like to compare the structure of a dissertation with the composition of an orchestral work – broadly your dissertation having a prelude, main movements and a finale. A great musician gets an encore too – and so does a great dissertation. Research – Pick up your information! If you’ve settled on your research topic – well done! Now you need to turn detective – searching for and gathering all the information you can to support and prove your theories. Now is the time for collecting together and examining the literature in your field of study; information from far and wide – as well as on your doorstep. Getting to grips with the bewildering range of resources is quite a task in itself as there are different kinds of information available. By hotfooting it to your university library to going online and surfing the World Wide Web, you may well find all the information you need. Then writing up a non-empirical dissertation is likely to be a rewarding experience. A non-empirical, or theoretical, dissertation doesn’t have any data you’ve generated at all. You won’t have interviews, questionnaires or observations to present but you do need to manage the structure and flow of argument effectively so that the conclusion is logical and the finished piece is coherent and clear. Examiners want to be able to follow up any reference in your work by simply flipping to the bibliography and seeing all the information you’ve used in a clear and recognisable format. Students often get into a spin about bibliographies and referencing. But creating a good bibliography is a pretty easy way to gain points. A well-crafted list of sources is an expectation and prerequisite for getting a decent grade. Not attending to the bibliography and references is a really pointless way to work and you’d be foolish not to spend time on this task. Here are ten things to check before you bind your dissertation: Watch your spelling and grammar Get the pagination right Spell your supervisor’s name correctly Proofread your bibliography painstakingly Avoid last-minute changes Thank everyone who helped Make your material anonymous Make your section titles clear Double-check the binding and submission details Work out your journey to the submission place

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Before you make any decisions about the content of your dissertation, take a good look at your own strengths and weaknesses in the “art” of research. UK research councils have produced guidelines for postgraduate students to help them audit their research skills. The following checklist adapts some of the research councils’ ideas and adds others to make the guidelines relevant to undergraduate students doing dissertations. The exercise is useful for helping you choose a suitable research method and talking your method through with your supervisor. Think about each question and rate yourself from 1 (little knowledge and experience) to 5 (plenty of knowledge and experience) for each point. After finishing this exercise you’re likely to have pinpointed the areas in which you feel confident and areas that need improving. Research skills and techniques: I can recognise problems in my field I can demonstrate original, independent and critical thinking I have the ability to develop theoretical ideas I understand relevant research methodologies I’m able to critically analyse and evaluate research findings I can summarise, document and report my findings I can reflect constructively on my progress Background to research field: I’ve a reasonable grasp of the national and international context in my field I have some knowledge of recent ideas within my field I’ve thought about how people may be affected by my work I’ve considered ethical and health and safety concerns from my research project Managing research: I’m good at setting myself short-term and long-term goals I can prioritise activities effectively I’m good at planning ahead I know where to find appropriate bibliographical sources and archives (in hard copy and electronic format) I’m confident at using IT to manage my work Personal effectiveness: I’m keen to learn new techniques I’m willing to acquire new knowledge I’m good at finding creative solutions to problems I’m flexible and open-minded I have self-awareness I’m well disciplined I’m well motivated I know when to ask for help I’m an independent worker Communication skills: My writing is clear and informative I can write for a target audience I can construct coherent arguments

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

When it comes to writing up your conclusions there are three main types of conclusions to steer clear off at all costs – ‘long and bad’ – ‘short and bad’ – ‘bad and fantastic'. The ‘long and bad’ conclusion is rambling and merely repeating earlier parts of the dissertation without adding anything about what your findings say about the topic being reviewed. The ‘short and bad’ conclusion is a marginal improvement on the ‘long and bad’, wasting slightly less of the reader’s time and energy. The ‘short and bad’ is also inclined to repeat facts without coming to a conclusion, but using less words and as a result leaving out key points, making any attempt at a conclusion a piece of nonsense. In the context of your conclusion ‘fantastic’ means ‘unbelievable’ and ‘implausible’ –definitely not ‘great’! A ‘bad and fantastic’ conclusion can simply be mind-boggling. Fantastic conclusions often make wild, exaggerated claims, unsupported by your research. These absurd conclusions make far-fetched assertions about how the results of a small-scale study should be adopted by governments or high-level policy makers. If your conclusion is a list of unsubstantiated claims you end up undermining your research findings and losing any credit for all your hard work. Poor conclusions often appear pompous and delusional, always overblown and irritating, frequently unintentionally humorous and sometimes just plain silly. Avoid. A successful dissertation conclusion is short and succinct. Restate the aims of your work and show how your original thoughts have been reinforced or changed through your well-planned and carefully executed research, whether your research is theoretical or practical. You then make a few suggestions on how you can improve or extend your work if you have the opportunity. Also say something about the importance of your research question to the field you’re studying. By emphasising the importance of your research question, rather than the importance of your findings, you show that you’re aware of the limitations of your work.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

In writing your dissertation, you’re likely to be taking a practical or a theoretical approach, even though both practical and theoretical considerations are of the utmost importance in social science research. For an undergraduate dissertation, your examiner is going to expect you to choose a largely theoretical or a mainly practical look at your chosen subject. Any useful practical research you carry out requires a sound theoretical basis, and any theoretical study you do needs to link to what’s happening in the world around you. A theoretical study can be mainly abstract with an emphasis on the philosophical, ethical and cultural considerations of the subject, or your subject can be an applied theoretical study with an emphasis on political, social or economic issues, for example. More practical research studies in social science are usually about exploring issues through surveys, action research, observations, case-studies or a review of existing studies. The type of dissertation you end up writing depends on the topic you’re researching. The following table gives a few examples of different ways of approaching a topic just to get you thinking: Examples of Practical and Theoretical Approaches to Writing a Dissertation Concern Method Type of Study Theory/hypothesis Analysis Non-empirical Strategy Analysis Non-empirical with examples Issue Question people Empirical Type of behaviour Observation Empirical Personal viewpoint Reporting / reflection Narrative Empirical dissertations An empirical dissertation involves collecting data. For example, to gather the views of patients at a GP’s surgery, volunteers in a police service, children in a play centre or translators in a refugee centre, you have to find ways of asking the individuals involved what they think or review what they’re doing. You can collect your data in many ways: from questionnaires and observations to interviews and focus groups. Or, you may prefer to collect your data by taking another approach such as looking at and analysing existing data from new angles, making useful comparisons or drawing interesting parallels. Even if the focus of your dissertation is on using data, don’t forget that you’re still going to need a sound theoretical basis for your work. Non-empirical dissertations Making the choice to do a non-empirical dissertation shouldn’t be taken lightly. Sustaining an argument over the length of your whole dissertation is a distinct challenge. If you enjoy spending time in the library, reading, thinking and discussing theory, this is likely to be the right choice for you. If you know that making the university library your home for weeks on end is going to be difficult, you may be better off choosing a more empirical research question to explore. Key theories in your discipline such as feminism or pragmatism can be the basis of an abstract discussion in your dissertation. Subjects such as sociology have this type of theory at their centre and so it’s perfectly valid, for example, to discuss aspects of the theory of pragmatism as your dissertation topic. A dissertation that draws upon major theories, such as in education more often takes an applied route, but can also be exclusively theoretical, for example, some work in the philosophy of education. Narrative dissertations You’re more than likely to choose doing an empirical or a non-empirical dissertation. However, in other disciplines you may come across different methods of producing a dissertation. Dissertations in many science subjects include or even focus around a laboratory report describing all the aspects of setting up, carrying out and analysing a complex experiment. In physical geography, time is spent somewhere wild and windswept collecting data needed for analysis. Laboratory work and field trips are a key part of the student experience of writing a dissertation. It’s possible you may even use a passage from the classics or biography as an illustration or example in your dissertation.