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© Department of Computer Science and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology

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Computer English

For Computer Major Master Candidates

Department of Computer Science and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology

Dr. Peng Xinguang

E-mail: [email protected]

Sep. 11, 2007


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How to Write a Thesis (Research Paper) for the

Master Candidates

Unit 8Unit 8


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Thesis Writing Background

1. What is a thesis? • A thesis is essentially a research report. • It addresses a very specific issue and describes

what is known about that issue, what work the student has done to investigate or resolve it, and how that issue may play out in the future.

• It is the thesis writer’s responsibility to familiarize herself with the history of the issue and the different points of view that exist.


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What is a thesis?

• The thesis writer works with a mentor who is an expert in the field that the thesis concerns, but not necessarily an expert on that exact topic.

• Usually thesis topics are so specific that very few people in the world except the thesis writer herself could be considered an expert on them.


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What is a thesis?

• Your thesis writing will make a contribution to the field about which you are writing, and in a larger sense, to all of human knowledge.

• A thesis is distinctively different from an undergraduate research report because it has somewhat contributions.


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2. How Specific Should My Thesis Get?• When writing a thesis, you should get extremely

specific. • The intended readers of your thesis are only:• (1) your advisor;• (2) future researchers in the field you are studying.• Thesis writing is not for the common man.


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• Therefore, there is virtually no limit to how involved you can get in the subject matter.

• In fact, besides the writing in the body of your thesis, it will also be necessary to include diagrams, charts, tables, and images to illustrate your results and data.


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3. How Should I Write My Thesis? • Like any good piece of writing, your thesis should

be well organized, have a clear thesis paragraph, and be written in a simple, clear active voice.

• Naturally, you will have to use an abundance of field-specific terms and, in fact, it is easier for other researchers to read scientific terms than it will be for them to read oversimplified words.


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• As thesis writers come from a multitude of regions, slang or jargon should not be used.

• Choose formality over informality when writing your thesis, but do not be wordy or ungrammatical.


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Thesis Writing Background4. How Should My Thesis Look?• In general, worry more about the substance and

writing of your thesis than about its presentation.• Diagrams may be neatly hand-drawn instead of

created in a graphics program if the results are easier to read that way.

• Other than that, standard academic form should be used. 12 point, Times New Roman, margins, double-spaced type will do.

• Follow the guidelines given by your advisor on title pages, tables of contents, and other parts of the thesis.


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How Should My Thesis Look?

• You must write your thesis in clear, concise, and correct language (or English).

• Grammatical errors and mistakes in spelling or punctuation are unacceptable and might cause your advisor or academic committee to reject your completed manuscript.


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How Should My Thesis Look?

• Before you submit a draft to your advisor, run a spell check so that s/he does not waste time on those.

• If you have any characteristic grammatical failings, check for them.

• All graduate students are urged to polish their final work.


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Thesis Writing Background5. How Will Thesis Writing Affect My Life?• During the couple of months before your deadline, a

good part of your time should be devoted to thesis writing.

• Writing a thesis is a consuming endeavor. • However, the work you put into it is at least

equivalent to the satisfaction of having finished your thesis and obtained your degree.

• Anyone that was ever involved in the writing of a thesis remembers the experience for the rest of their life.


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Before You Begin Writing Your Thesis

• Before undertaking the task of thesis writing, it is necessary to clear you mind.

• Do not think about the fact that you have nothing done yet, and fifty pages left to be written.

• Take the project in small steps. The challenge is similar to that of a five-mile run.

• As you are taking your first steps, you can’t picture how you will feel an hour later when, panting, you complete that fifth mile.


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Before You Begin Writing Your Thesis

• But you always finish.

• I assure you that when you are twenty pages into writing your thesis, you will feel far less intimidated.

• Like the run, there is indeed a “stride” one gets into when thesis writing.

• And when it is all over, the satisfaction you feel will be immense.


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Looking at Successful Theses

• To make sure that you gain a wider understanding of a possible structures for your thesis, you might:

• look at successful theses that have been produced within your discipline;

• talk with your supervisor;• look at theses that have used similar research

designs or models or methodologies to the ones you want to use, whatever discipline they might be from.


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Step One: Making an Outline

1. How to Think of an Outline for Your Thesis

• If you’ve played with the idea of writing your thesis straight and organizing it into chapters and sections.

• Afterwards, I’d like you to give yourself a good shaking and accept the fact that it will be necessary to produce an outline.


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Making an Outline

• Writing a thesis without an outline would take the average student approximately twice as long as writing a thesis with an outline.

• The advantage of making an outline is that the project can be seen in terms of smaller parts rather than one daunting whole.


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Step One: Making an Outline

2. How to Make Your Outline

• An outline should have chapter names, subheadings, and indications of graphs and figures.

• If organizing your thesis seems difficult, think of it just as you are thinking of writing your thesis: baby steps.


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Making an Outline

• Start with your chapters, change their order a bit, and when you feel relatively satisfied with the chapters you’ve chosen, go chapter by chapter and make headings.

• Repeat the process with subheadings. • Doing so will make organizing your thesis,

and your thesis writing as a whole, far easier.


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How to Make Your Outline

• Different universities employ different methods of outlining chapters for your thesis.

• For each chapter, decide which findings you will report, which graphs you will use, and which results you will chart.

• Create a sensible order for these figures and list them on a sheet of paper.


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Make Your Outline

• Then you may relate to a colleague how you found your results or came to your conclusions.

• Make note of the important parts, or keywords, of your discussion.

• These keywords will serve as the headings and subheadings of your thesis outline.


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Step One: Making an Outline3. When You Think You’re Finished • When you have a rough outline, let a sit overnight.

Come to it the next day with a fresh attitude and make revisions. Don’t be afraid to spend up to a week making an outline.

• Naturally, as you write your thesis, new headings and subheadings may pop up.

• In fact, your initial thesis outline will rarely look exactly like your final thesis outline. But that shouldn’t motivate you to allow your outline to remain incomplete.


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When You Think You’re Finished

• Try for a perfect outline! • It will only help uproot writer’s block later on. • Recommend beginning with the chapters of

literature review, methodology, design, analysis of data and experiment validation, for they are the easiest to outline.

• Simply record what you used and what you did.


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When You Think You’re Finished

• Once your outline is completed, you have come to an important milestone in your thesis writing.

• But don’t rejoice yet; proceed directly to your advisor to find out if you’re on the right track.

• Speaking to your advisor will not only assuage your worries, it will show them that you are making progress with your thesis writing.

• Once your outline is accepted, hand over a copy to your advisor for reference as he or she reads your thesis chapters.


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A Typical Outline• Title page

• Abstract (with 3~5 keywords)

• Table of contents

• List of tables

• List of figures

• Abbreviations

• Statement of original authorship


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A Typical Outline• A typical outline will be of the form: Chapter 1: Introduction1.1 Background to the research1.2 Research problem and hypotheses1.3 Signification for the research1.4 Methodology1.5 Outline of the thesis1.6 Definitions1.7 Conclusion


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A Typical Outline• Chapter 2: Literature review 2.1 Introduction…research problem, claimed contributions, and

substantiation.2.4 Conclusion• Chapter 3: Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Signification for methodology3.3 (Research procedures)3.4 Conclusion


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A Typical Outline

• Chapter 4: Analysis of data

• 4.1 Introduction• 4.2 Subjects• 4.3 (Patterns of data for each research question

or hypothesis)• 4.4 Conclusion


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A Typical Outline• Chapter 5: Conclusions and implications

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Conclusions about each hypothesis

5.3 Conclusions about the each research problem

5.4 Implications for theory (policy or practice)

5.5 Limitations

5.6 Further research

Reference

Appendices

Acknowledgments


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Step Two: Preparing to Write Your Thesis

1. Organize Your Thesis Using Electronic Folders • In preparing yourself for weeks or months of

thesis writing, your computer will come in handy.• Make a folder for your thesis, a subfolder for each

chapter, an additional folder for your references, and a final folder just for general notes.

• As you proceed with writing your thesis, you should include notes and reminders in each folder as well as your general notes folder.


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2. Back Up Your Thesis Files Every Day • Errors, viruses, and computer crashes do happen. I

do not need to describe the horror of a scenario where your thesis is lost.

• To back up your files, recommend copying your files onto a CD and putting that CD in a safe location.

• You might also try uploading the files to the Internet in case the CD gets lost.

• Lastly, flash memory or portable hard drives are quick, reliable means of backing up files.


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3. Organize Your Thesis Using Physical Folders • You should also print out your progress and keep

it in physical folders. • As much as we have all grown to trust technology,

paper is a surer bet. • Physical folders can also be used for notes, scraps,

scribblings, and other artifacts of your thesis writing experience.

• Place all of your folders in a fireproof filing cabinet with at least one full draw reserved just for thesis materials.


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Organize Your Thesis Using Physical Folders

• Now that you’re organized, you don’t want to go mixing up your precious thesis writing notes with other papers.

• You might also want to make a second copy of all your chapters, notes, and findings, and store it in a different place that you visit from time to time.


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4. Take Care of Thesis Paperwork • When writing a thesis, there is always some

university paperwork to deal with. • At the very least, your thesis must be filed with the

department and examiners must be nominated. • There is no reason that you should have to

experience bureaucratic delays at the end of the thesis writing process when you should be celebrating.


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Step Three: Make a Schedule

• Deadlines are the mother of invention. You and your advisor should discuss a reasonable schedule for producing chapters and ultimately, finishing your thesis.

• Make a schedule that is broken down into chapters. Depending on who your advisor is, these schedules indicate when certain chapters are due or strict timetables, taking them seriously.

• As each deadline passes and another chapter is stamped “complete” you will be getting closer and closer to the finish line.


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Step Four: Start Writing Your Thesis

• Thesis writing is like any other difficult task in that it can be tempting to procrastinate(耽搁 ).

• As a result, you must make sure that you get something finished each time you sit down to write.

• Do not discard your work even if it seems far from final draft material.


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Start Writing Your Thesis

• You will be surprised how your scratch work is often laden with inspiration for future thesis work.

• Also, don’t worry about handing in draft work to your advisor. He or she will not be expecting you to be a perfect thesis writer.

• Nobody produces perfect work on the first try.


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• But before you submit a draft to your advisor, run a spell check so that s/he does not waste time on those. If you have any characteristic grammatical failings, check for them.

• The first time you get a chapter back from your advisor, be prepared to see a great deal of corrections because his/her reputation as well as yours is affected.


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• Most students learn from experience. You will be proud to see how few corrections are made to the final chapter of your thesis as compared to the first.

• Keep in mind that your scratch work is not being evaluated; only the final thesis version will receive a grade.


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How to Structure Your Thesis

• The sections below apply to most, but not all, thesis projects.

• Your own thesis will use many of them, or some combination. Depending on your university and advisor’s policies, you will either be given a list of sections to use in your thesis writing or decide on your own.

• Regardless, here is a description of what is generally expected for the most common thesis sections.


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General Structure• Remember that theses of all types have a title page, a

table of contents and a bibliography or reference list. • Where necessary, a thesis also has a list of figures,

tables or diagrams. • An acknowledgments page is not essential but is

also a common inclusion in theses of all types. • For more information about these more formal parts

of a thesis, see your university(faculty) for information or look at examples of other theses in your discipline.


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1. Title Page

• The format of your Title Page is specific to your university.

• You will always need to put your name, the date, the name of your university, and the title of your thesis.


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2. Abstract

• The abstract is a short section that describes the issue or problem you are approaching, your results and conclusions, and the larger significance of your work.

• Your abstract should be written once you have completed your thesis writing.


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• The role of the abstract is to tell readers:WHAT the research is—what question the

research is attempting to answerWHY the research was doneHOW the research was done—what

methodology was usedWHAT the results of the research areWHAT the results mean.

Abstract


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When Writing Abstract

• In effect, the abstract sums up the research and the separate sections of the thesis: the introduction, the methods section, the results section and the discussion and conclusion sections.

• Because its function is to provide an outline of the whole thesis, notice that it’s one section that you can only finalize after you have completed writing up the rest of your thesis.


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Verb Tense Choices in Abstracts

• Tense choice in abstracts varies depending on whether results are being presented or the implications of the research are being discussed.

• Only present tense is used when talking about how things currently are.

• The past tense is used when talking about what happened.


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3. Table of Contents

• The table of contents is a neat list of chapters, headings, and subheadings, along with the page numbers where each begins.


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How to Structure Your Thesis4. Introduction• The thesis introduction should explain why

you have chosen to write about the particular issue or problem you are addressing.

• What significance does it have in the realm of science, engineering or humanity?

• Try to write from a teacher’s point of view, not a specialist who is speaking to another specialist.


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Introduction

• Although technical language is necessary and proper, people in related realms might read your thesis one day and you want your language to be somewhat user-friendly.

• You should also do your best to arouse the interest of your readers; this may be the only time during your thesis writing when you are permitted to employ a bit of creativity.


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Purpose of Introduction

• The purpose of an introductory chapter is to introduce your research and your thesis.

• However, the scope of the introduction can vary significantly according to the nature of your study and your discipline area.

• Here we look only at the function and staging of the introductory chapter.


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Purpose of Introduction

• Traditionally the introductory chapter functions to introduce the research in detail and establish the validity of the research by showing that the previous research in the field contains a ‘gap’ in knowledge that will be filled by your research.


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Introduction Stages

• The stages within an introduction to: establish the field of your research summarise or review the previous research in the

field prepare for your research by showing a gap in the

previous research or raising questions based on previous research

introduce your research in detail and state the purpose or aim of your research

outline the whole thesis.


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These stages are not necessarily discrete sections but are movements within the text that provide a

logical progression of information from the general to the specific.

Establish field

Summarise previous works

Prepare present research

General

Specific

More specific


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Definitions and Terminology

• Each technical term used in a thesis must be defined either by a reference to a previously published definition or by a precise, unambiguous definition that appears before the term is used. (New terms only, make the definitions precise, concise, and unambiguous.)

• Each term should be used in one and only one way throughout the thesis.

• The introductory chapter can give the informal definitions of terms provided they are defined more precisely later.


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How to Structure Your Thesis5. Literature Review • This section addresses what is known about the issue.• You should write about the background, from where

the problem arose, and how others have attempted to resolve the problem.

• It is normal to consult between 30 and 50 sources. Much of this information will come from the research you have done over the past couple of months and throughout the course of your graduate studies.

• The literature review section is the easiest part of the thesis writing process because it focuses on what you have been studying for the past three years.


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6. The Body Of Your Thesis• When writing the body of your thesis, you must use

more detail than you have ever used in any other writing, be it a conference paper or a journal article.

• Not only should you explain your findings more thoroughly, but you should describe exactly how you performed each experiment.

• Thesis writing can be challenging if one is not exceptionally organized and detail-oriented.


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The Body of Your Thesis

• How exactly you organize the body of your thesis writing depends upon the logic of your progression of thought as well as your own preferences.

• You might have to build upon a hypothesis, describing how you tested it and what your results were, concluding with some kind of solution that you have devised yourself.


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• For scientific and engineering types of thesis writing, you might use the following headings: Theory (Foundation) , First Problem, Second Problem, Methods, Possible Solutions, Experiment (Data, Tools), Conclusion.

• Other types of thesis writing might require you to discuss various methods in subsequent chapters instead of one Method and Experiment section.


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The Body Of Your Thesis7. Theory• When deciding upon which pre-established theory to

include in your thesis writing, note that not all researchers will be familiar with your theories unless they are quite famous.

• Do not present multiple pages of mathematical proofs or the like, and do not forget to summarize even semi-well known theories.

• Thesis writing has no place for cliffhangers: be clear about what you are claiming so that your readers can keep it in mind as they peruse(细读 ) your work.


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The Body Of Your Thesis8. The Experiment and Methods Section • While many theses have a Experiment and Methods

section, humanities theses may not. • If you are writing a scientific or engineering thesis,

however, you will need to describe the ways in which you performed your experiments. This should be simple thesis writing for you; all it takes is a literal description of what was done.

• Make sure you are as comprehensive and adept as possible in detailing your techniques, for it is very likely that other people will test your experiment in the future.


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Experiment Section Functions

• The experiment and methods chapter tells your reader how you carried out the research that was needed to answer your research questions.

• In the traditional thesis structure it may take up a whole chapter.


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Experiment Section Functions

• The Experiment sections/chapter functions to explain:

• WHEN the experiment was carried out• WHERE the experiment was carried out• WHAT materials, techniques, samples, data,

approaches, theoretical frameworks were used in the experiment, and

• HOW the experiment was carried out , or• WHAT procedures were used.


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Science and Engineering Disciplines• The experiment section is very important in

Science and Engineering disciplines. • In these disciplines, detailed description of the

methods used in the research allows the research to be replicated by other researchers.

• The detailed description presented in some theses of the trial and error of particular methodologies used in the research design also provides the rationale for the final choice of methodology or method of experimentation.


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Verb Tense Choices in Methodology Sections

• The methodology chapter is usually written using past tense, eg “data were examined …” The reason for this is that the data examination was carried out before it was written up in the thesis.

• Notice that is written in the passive voice as well: this is used so that focus falls on what was examined and not on who did the examining.


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9. Results and Discussion

• While these sections could easily be separated, it is common to combine them in your thesis writing, as their content tends to be interrelated.

• You may further break down this section into chapters based on subject.


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• This is the section that tells your reader what you found, or what the results of your research were.

• The results are normally written up using complete paragraphs but are often supported by tables and graphs.

• The choices you make about how to present your results depend on the conventions used in your topic.


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No Interpretation in Results

• Results sections should be organized so that they reflect:

the aims or research questions outlined in the Introduction;

the methods outlined in the methodology chapter; Results sections should present only the

results/findings and should not include interpretations of the results.

Interpretation belongs only in a discussion section.


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Verb Tense in Results Sections

• The results chapter or section of your thesis typically uses past tense verbs, for example: “The false positive of anomaly detection accounted for 0.001% ”.

• Occasionally, however, present tense is used when describing a table or graph or figure, or when comparing results, for example: “Table 1 gives the detection rate of anomaly detection model”; “the data obtained in our study show higher detection rate when compared with the reference 2”.


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Results and Discussion

• Be sure to discuss the premises of your experiment before listing the results.

• You should also mention the variables of the experiment, the value of standard deviations, and other applicable background information.

• Tables and charts will be very useful in illustrating your results.


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Discussion Section• The function of a discussion section is to: interpret the results presented in the results

section; and discuss them in relation to your research question

and to the results of previous research in the field.• Of course, to present any discussion about results

from previous research, you must already have introduced this research in your literature review.

• Discussion section also often includes sub-sections on issues arising from the study.


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Verb Tense in Discussion

• Discussion sections or chapters use a range of tenses depending on whether results are being discussed, or whether claims based on the results are being made.

• Present tense is used when making statements about how things are.

• While past tense is used when making statements about what was found.


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The Body of Your Thesis10. The Conclusion • The conclusion section is less detailed than the rest

of your thesis, and requires a more literary sort of thesis writing.

• Remember that you have already told readers the conclusion of your research at the very beginning of your thesis, in the abstract.

• The difference between that description and the one in the conclusion section is that here you will be more specific, and also get into the possible limitations of your results.


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The Conclusion

• Keep in mind that ideal conclusions are not always the best for your work.

• Examiners will always have further questions;

• they will want to know which problems still exist, and which other problems arose from your investigation of the issue.


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Main Function of Conclusion• The conclusion might begin by reiterating the aims of the research the results of the research the implications of the results.• Its main function is to:• make generalizations arising from the discussion of the

results• look at the implications of the findings for practice,

accepted models or paradigms and indicate the overall importance of the research to the field

• in some theses, make recommendations for future practice, or future research.


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Acknowledgments

• Most thesis authors put in a page of thanks to those who have helped them in thesis matters, and also indirectly by providing such essentials as education, money, help, advice, friendship etc.

• If any of your work is collaborative, you should make it quite clear who did which sections.


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References• The list of references is closely tied to the literature

review of the state of the art given in the review section.

• Most examiners scan your list of references looking for the important works in the field, so make sure they are listed and referred to in literature review section.

• All references given must be referred to in the main body of the thesis. Organize the list of references by order of citation in the thesis.


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References

• Should you reference web sites and, if so, how?

• A web site may disappear, and it may have been updated or changed completely.

• So references to the web are usually less satisfactory.

• Nevertheless, there are some very useful and authoritative sources.


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References

• If the rules of your institution permit it, it may be appropriate to cite web sites.

• Be cautious, and don't overuse such citations.

• In particular, don't use a web citation where you could reasonably use a "hard" citation.

• You should give the URL and also the date you downloaded it.


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Use Recognized Format

• For an article: you must include the author's name, the article title, the journal name, the volume and edition, the year of publication and the page numbers.

• For a monograph or book: you must include the author's name, the book title, the publishers name and town of publication, the year of publication and the page numbers of the cited resources.

• Most examiners will search your references looking for if recognized format is used.


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Appendices

• If there is material that should be in the thesis but which would break up the flow or bore the reader unbearably, include it as an appendix.

• Some things which are typically included in appendices are:

important and original computer programs, data files that are too large to be represented simply in the results chapters

pictures or diagrams of results which are not important enough to keep in the main text.


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Suggested Order for Writing

• Begin by writing the chapters that describe your literature review, and then your research problems, methodology and experiment.

• Collect terms as they arise and keep a definition for each.

• Define each technical term, even if you use it in a conventional manner.


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Suggested Order for Writing

• Make the definitions precise and formal.• Read literature review chapter to verify that each use

of a technical term adheres to its definition. • After reading the middle chapters to verify

terminology, write the results, discussion and conclusions.

• Write the introduction next. Finally, complete an abstract.

• Suggested order: literature review--research problems--methodology--experiment -- results -- discussion -- conclusion -- introduction– abstract.


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Style in Thesis Writing

• Formal

• Impersonal

• Concise

• Technical

• Logical

• Cohesive


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A Note on Computer Programs and

Other Prototypes • The purpose of your thesis is to clearly document a

contribution to knowledge. • You may develop computer programs, prototypes, or

other tools as a means of proving your points, but remember, the thesis is not about the tool, it is about the contribution to knowledge.

• Tools such as computer programs are fine and useful products, but you can't get an advanced degree just for programming.

• You must use the programs or tool to demonstrate that you have made a contribution to knowledge.


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Physical and Mental Health

• In the ideal situation, you will have to spend a majority of your time writing your thesis.

• This may be bad for your physical and mental health.

• Do not forget to eat, drink, exercise and take a dose!

• You are nearly there! You should not collapse at this critical time.


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Master and PhD Thesis

• There are different expectations for Master's theses and for Doctoral theses.

• This difference is not in format but in the significance and level of contributions

• A Doctoral thesis necessarily requires a more difficult problem to be solved, and consequently more substantial or original contributions.


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Master and PhD Thesis

• The contribution to knowledge of a Master thesis can be in the nature of an incremental improvement in an area of knowledge, or the application of known techniques in a new area.

• The Ph.D. must be a substantial and innovative contribution to knowledge.


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Key to Success

• By the way, there is a key to success: that is practice.

• No one ever learned to write by reading tutorials like this. Instead, you need to practice, practice, and practice once again every day.


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Be honest, disciplined, persistent, and hard working... and you WILL be THERE !

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