THE MACRO-STRUCURE OF THE THESIS

Patrick Dunleavy

M5A2: Authoring a PhD and Developing as a Researcher

© P. Dunleavy 2009

STRUCTURE influences growth.

Credit:www.fourbees.com

Structure for this talk

Chapter sequencing in ‘big book’ theses

Checks and logistical issues Patterns of explanation How text sequencing shapes

research development

THE CHAPTER SEQUENCE IN ‘BIG BOOK’ THESES

CHOOSING A DESIGNED SEQUENCE

The most common (and awful) structure is RECORD OF WORK DONE, followed by PURE CONVENTIONAL STRUCTURE in

technical disciplinesThree basic designs are feasible:

FOCUS DOWN MODEL• Perhaps 90% of work done uses the focus

down model? OPENING OUT MODEL - physical sciences COMPROMISE MODEL

THE FOCUS-DOWN MODEL

CORE

MOREREVIEW

ANALYSIS

BIGLITERA- TUREREVIEW

OPENING-OUT MODEL

ANALYSIS +LITERATURE

DISCUSSION RELITERATURE

CORE

SET-UP

COMPROMISE MODEL

ANALYSIS

DISCUSSION

CORE

FOCUSEDLITERATUREREVIEW

CHECKS AND LOGISTICAL ISSUES

LENGTH ‘Big book’ thesis may be your longest

writing across your whole career Also true for ‘papers model’ theses LSE maximum length is 100,000 words

(330+ pages) all-inclusive Aim for at most 80% of this = 80K words Huge risk of over-writing material, which

makes it unpublishable Short theses may raise issues for

examiners – Is this an M.Phil really?

DIVIDING INTO CHAPTERS

CHAPTERS MUST EVENLY DIVIDE THE TEXT – regularity best manages readers’ expectations

Ideal is 8 chapters, (because ‘7 is a magic number +or - 2’) so structure = 8 x 10K

Longer chapters become impenetrable and unpublishable, so maximum = 12,000 words

Short chapters disappoint readers, so minimum size = 8,000 words. Merge anything less substantial.

ASSURING THE CORE REALISTICALLY IDENTIFY THE THESIS

CORE - clear value-added materials – discovering new facts or showing independent critical power

PRE-CORE MATERIALSlead-in, throat clearing - minimum 1

chapter POST-CORE MATERIALS - also 1 min.

set core in context/analyse/lead out CORE MUST BE OVER 3/5 OF TOTAL

e.g. 50,000 WORDS OUT OF 80,000

MORE ASSURING THE CORE

COUNT PAGES TO THE CORE some front-loading is preferableone chapter lead-in is ideal; 2 chapter lead-

in may be OK; 3 lead-in chapters is bad DON’T END-LOAD THE THESIS CUE AND BRAND THE CORE

in your TITLEin your ABSTRACTin HEADINGS and ORGANIZERSin your ROLLING SYNOPSIS

Chapter conclusions

INTEGRATING THEMES

TITLE, ABSTRACT, CONTENTS PAGE

2

Theme ACH.1

CH.8

Theme B Theme C Theme D

A DCB

43

5 6 7

OPENING OUT, FUTURE DIRECTIONS

‘Body’ chapters

PATTERNS OF EXPLANATION

•DESCRIPTIVE

•ANALYTIC

• ARGUMENTATIVE

• MATRIX PATTERNS

DESCRIPTIVE APPROACH

STRUCTURE IS SET OUTSIDE YOUguidebook/institutional patternshierarchy of forces in the outside worldthis is what I did in my thesis, at the start..,

in the middle…., at the end..chronologies or other narratives

OK AT THESIS OR BOOK LENGTHdespite the heavy fact loaddoesn’t personalize the information much

ANALYTIC APPROACH

AUTHOR COMPARTMENTALIZESnecessary or sufficient causesperiodization/long-run or short-run influencesconventional categories

(social/political/econ)tracing out an algorithm..

GOOD WITH ROBUST CATEGORIESselects more, structures morekey danger is formalism/fruit cocktailingnarratives become more complex this way

ARGUMENTATIVE APPROACH FOCUSES ON CONTROVERSY AND

CONFLICTING SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTexplicitly multi-theoreticalbut not just literature review sequences

DIFFICULT TO DO WHEREsupervisor/department takes a strong,

closed viewcapturing overall arguments entails having

a sophisticated, holistic view

MATRIX MODEL Generates more complex structures by

combining two of the previous approaches

Three main variantsanalytic (first) plus descriptive (second)descriptive (eg narrative) plus analyticargumentative plus analytic

MATRIX STRUCTURE (Argument primary)

LIBERAL MARXIST

economic

political

cultural

LIBERAL MARXIST

economic

political

cultural

MATRIX STRUCTURE (Analytic primary)

The macro structure of your thesis - shapes the time you have for different research stages

- which determines when and how far you develop your ideas and understand your evidence

MAIN STAGES OF PhD RESEARCH AND THEIR CHARACTER

Beginning – defining topic and treatment. Period of intense pre-thinking, lots of contact with supervisor: key review

Mid-term slump –accumulating materials. Much more solitary stages

Finishing – integrating materials into a whole, getting an overall message clearer Lots of draft inter-changes with supervisor and back at home-base

STARTING A PhD First year review process – by May you

need synopsis, chapter plan, methods/data plan, first chapter

Protracted literature review customary and meets dept’s and supervisor’s needs

Fits with ‘collecting instinct’ and postpones hard thinking and the onset of real research

THE PhD MID-TERM-Fieldwork, archives, data piles/ analysis- Disconnect from peer group and supervisors- Destruction of theorycapital; intractability ofexplanation; the lure ofcommonplace accounts- Accumulating materials but not writing up as yougo, creating a thinkingand writing overhang

THE END GAME Love and loathing syndrome by now Timelines tend to telescope together Disturbing for many people to face up

to what they’ve done (rather than planned)

and to reappraise/ reformulate themes

Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2003ISBN 1-4039-05484-3

For more on macro-structure, see Chapter 3.