Why are you here?
Think about what you want to know.
Write down 3 questions you have about:
• thesis writing and/or
• structuring your literature review.
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Presentation outline
• The general idea of a thesis
• Academic identity
• Structuring your thesis
• Signposting the structure
• The story line of your thesis.
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The work of the scholar
‘becomes consequential
only as it is understood by
others’
Boyer, E.L. (1990) Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. Princeton: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, p.23.
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What does the word ‘thesis’ mean?
• Thesis: from ancient Greek originally meant ‘laying down’
• In modern usage this ‘laying down’ has become a ‘fixing in place’
• Therefore to have a thesis means taking a position: putting something forward.
• A thesis can be thought of as a single encompassing idea.
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What does RMIT say a thesis is?
• All HDR candidates from RMIT should be able to demonstrate competence in:
– reviewing the literature relevant to the thesis– designing an investigation, and gathering and analysing information – presenting information in a manner consistent with publication in the
relevant discipline – critical appraisal of his/her own work relative to that of others– the ability to carry out supervised research in the field.
PhD candidates also need to demonstrate:– a significant and original contribution to knowledge of fact and/or
theory – independent and critical thought
– the capacity to work independently of supervision
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Thesis types
Broadly speaking there are three types of thesis produced at RMIT:
The “Big Book” model: usually an extended written argument with supporting evidence.
The “Bunch of papers” model: a collection of articles which are tied together by a set of interlacing problems or themes.
The “Creative Exegesis”: a written / aural / visual / tactile accompaniment to a set of creative works.
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Doing Academic Identity Work
• You don’t start out being an expert – you become one. Expertise is informed by:
–Various social and material practices of scholarship–Disciplinary modes of knowing (and knowledge production)
• Most of ‘academic identity’ work happens through writing but also in professional gatherings and day to day work.
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Constraint is the mother of invention….
• A PhD (or Masters degree) is both bigger and smaller than you would think
• Getting the scale of the endeavour right takes time
• There may well be an obvious ‘gap’ – but it might be there for a reason
• A thesis has to have a spark of creativity, some element of ‘charisma’, to have purchase in the ‘attention economy’ of academia
• Ask yourself: what is your thesis not going to do?
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Independent and critical thought
A thesis is a demonstration of yourself as a potential colleague.
Whether or not you come across as the ‘right sort’ depends to a large extent on your authorial ‘voice’.
The problems you choose say something about you as a researcher.
As well as being critical of others, you need to be critical of yourself and challenge your assumptions.
Research thinking involves creativity as much as criticality.
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Broad thesis structure
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I think perhaps a raincoat won't go amiss. I think perhaps a raincoat won't go amiss.
Say everything three times (x 3):
The thesis as a Within each Within each whole: chapter or section: paragraph:
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What the thesis will say (Introduction)
Details of the research(Body)
What the thesis said(Conclusion)
What this Chapter/Section says(Introduction/Signposting)
Details(Body)
What the Chapter/Section said(Summary)
One idea linked from previous sentence (Topic sentence)
Further information, evidence, examples, etc(Supporting sentences)
Conclusion to the idea (sometimes)(linking to next sentence)
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Macro-, middle- and micro-structures:
Macro Middle Micro(Chapters) (Headings/Subheadings) (Topic sentences of
paragraphs)
These provide the conceptual framework
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Your thesis tells the story of your research
What questions do you need to answer in order to tell your research story?
What is the research about?What is already known?How did I go about my research?
What did I find?What do the results/findings mean?So What!! What is the significance
and what are the contributions?What should happen now?
Introduction
Literature review
Research design/methodology
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Recommendations
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Does this mean that theses should be structured in this way?
ie:
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Recommendations
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No, but... ...your thesis must have unity
– an overall integrity:
What’s already known about an issue determines your research question or problem.
Your research question or problem determines your methodology.
Your methodology determines the data and results.
Your results define what you can discuss.
Your discussion determines your conclusion and recommendations .
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Identify some possible variations in the way these elements could be combined:
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Now identify each of these elements in each sample thesis contents page:
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
RecommendationsDiscuss:
What are some variations?Why are there variations? (eg Why not just the ‘traditional’ thesis?)
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Signposting the structure:
Reader directions (metadiscourse)
- Forecastingeg: In this chapter, the results from the qualitative analysis
are analysed.
- Recapitualisationeg: The preceding section outlined the literature relating to
the value of the doctoral degree; this section discusses diversity within doctoral candidates.
- Overvieweg: Before the analysis of results from this instrument, it is
important to discuss the theoretical basis of this.
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Signpost at various levels:
The whole thesis The focus of this thesis is...
Another chapter The physical properties are presented and analysed in Chapter 5.
The current chapter The remainder of this chapter discusses...
Another section In the previous section, it was demonstrated that...
The current section The following experiment shows...
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The aim of this chapter is to provide, through selective reference to some of the literature, a clearer understanding of the different microbiological, chemical and physical processes that occur within trickling filters. Experimental observations of various trickling filter phenomena are reviewed, and there is discussion of the sometimes conflicting conclusions about the mechanisms of trickling filtration that have been drawn from the empirical evidence.
The chapter is divided into two parts. The subject of the first is the biological film which is the site of the biological oxidation of organic matter from the wastewater, and is thus the heart of the process of trickling filtration. The formation and structure of the biofilm (or slime layer) is outlined, and the different processes which occur within it are discussed. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to a consideration of the operating variables which determine trickling filter performance.
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While writing, keep in mind your
research questions
or problems
aims and objectives
These underpin your thesis.
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The big checklist:
What are your research questions?What are your answers to these?
What problems did you set out to solve?What are your solutions to these?
What were your aims?How have you met them?
What were your objectives?How have you met them?
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Other big things to think about:
Is the argument and purpose clear throughout the thesis?
Does your introduction provide a clear context, rationale and research questions/aims/objectives?
Is your transition between and within chapters clear throughout the thesis?
Is there enough evidence and analysis for your major points?
Are your conclusions and recommendations strong and based on theevidence?
Are your introduction, body and conclusion aligned? That is, is there a logic in your responses to:
‘This is what I set out to do’‘This is what I did’‘This is what I found’ ?
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