Writing Your Master’s Thesisor PhD Dissertation

The best thesis is a finished thesis.

Selecting a supervisor

Whom to look for?• Someone with Similar or, at least, Compatible

Interests• Scholars: Renowned Researchers• Someone You Can Respect; honest vs nice

Acquiring information about potential adviser/ supervisor

• Getting Started: consult with the faculty and post-doctoral staff and / or with the faculty who teach courses in the areas that most interest you.

• Correspond with Potential Advisers: Corresponding with a few potential advisers can be very helpful, after you are familiar with their work. In your initial letter be sure to describe your background, training, grade point average, research experience, and your interest in the researcher's work.

• Talk with Graduate Students: call the students at their homes where they are most likely to have a private telephone. Items to ask about include determining: what proportion of this professor's advisees earn the Ph.D., how much time is typically required to earn the Ph.D.

• Face-to-Face Interaction with Your Prospective Adviser: meeting potential advisers may be scary; but you must develop strong, positive, self-presentation skills if you are to succeed.

• When the Search is Not Over: The adviser-graduate student relationship is much like a marriage. It is important, for example, to consider carefully whether there is a good match between your personalities, and the expected pace of work. Some marriages, of course, sour. Accordingly, you always have the right to change advisers. Once you have started a research project, however, no other professor may feel qualified to supervise your work.

Why is it so hard to write a thesis/dissertation?

• It is a completely new experience.

• It marks a major transition in your professional life and thus can cause significant stress.

• It is a very large, independent project.

Also…many graduate students have never actually read a thesis/dissertation. Check out related websites; talk to your advisor, other faculty members, and colleagues in your department to find good examples.

About your thesis/dissertation advisor…

1. If you are given the opportunity to select your thesis advisor or advisory committee, do it wisely. Don’t focus only on content experts. Make sure you have selected committee members who are supportive of you .

2. Your thesis/dissertation advisor is your ally. Your thesis advisor wants you to succeed, so be sure to think of this person as something of a “teammate.” Spend time talking with your advisor so that he or she really understands your goals. Don’t be afraid to talk with your advisor; it is part of this person’s job to help you, and most faculty members take this responsibility very seriously.

3. Your thesis advisor cannot read your mind. If you have questions or concerns about your project, or if you are struggling for any reason at all, you cannot expect your advisor to know this automatically. One of your primary responsibilities is to keep the lines of communication open, so don’t wait for your advisor to come to you. Talk to your advisor when things are going well and when things are not.

4. Be Professional With Advisor/Committee Members:• Let your advisor know that you value his / her time. Get to your

scheduled meetings on time. Don't panic it if your advisor is late. Be prepared with an agenda for your regularly scheduled meetings-- prepare questions ahead of time.

• Call and cancel if you will not be able to make your scheduled meeting.• Send a follow-up email confirming any items and resolutions that were

discussed during the meeting.• Prepare a coversheet with an outline of your document indicating the

type of feedback you are looking for.• Don't get frustrated if they ask for another copy of the latest draft of

your document even if you haven't made any changes since you gave it to them last week.

• Always bring a hard copy of the chapter to be discussed with you.• Takes notes at all meetings; you won't remember everything once you

leave the office.

5. Understanding Your Advisor The best academic advisor does not have the time to hold your hand throughout your academic career. His/her main commitment is to supervise your research project. He/she will not be your friend, therapist, financial aid counselor, or marital advisor.

6. Seeking Feedback And Advice From Your Advisor If you are having problems getting timely written or oral feedback from your advisor there are many things that you can do to move this process along. Your advisor is a busy person, consequently, you must make the best use of his/her time.

Master’s theses have many parts:

AbstractIntroduction

Literature ReviewMethodology

ResultsDiscussionReferencesAppendices

Writing the results• Provides results of data analyses and findings of the study.

(Please note that Chapter 4 is limited to reporting findings and results, and is not the proper place for conclusions or discussion of the findings.)

• This chapter begins with an introduction (as do all chapters), which delineates the major sections to be included in the chapter, and may include a restatement of the research problem (and may include accompanying hypotheses or research questions) and a summary (Optional)

• While there is no one "correct" format for dividing Chapter 4, information regarding response rate and respondent demographics (when relevant) is usually reported first, followed by reporting of results of data analysis for each hypothesis/research question.

• General format. In general, data are reported in tabular (tables) or graphic (figures) form accompanied by text describing the salient information contained in each table or figure.

• a table is generally limited to columns of numbers with appropriate column headings. Figures usually contain graphics such as graphs, diagrams, or photographs.

• It is recommended that extremely long tables/figures or very detailed information not be included within Chapter 4. Due to space requirements (and questionable interest to most readers), it is better to place this information in an Appendix and note in Chapter 4 where the detailed information is located in the Appendix.

**(Note: Avoid breaking tables and figures onto two or more pages whenever possible – it is difficult for the reader to have to flip back and forth to cover all of the information contained in the table.)

• Tables and figures are separated from text by two double spaces – above and below the table/figure, and table/figures usually follow as directly as possible the accompanying narrative

• Statistical symbols. When reporting statistical results of data analyses (particularly inferential statistics) it is appropriate to include sufficient information in the table and accompanying text to permit the reader to corroborate the results of the analyses. Therefore, appropriate statistical symbols should be utilized to report these results.

• Within dissertations (and other manuscripts) statistical symbols are italicized. Words, rather than symbols, should be used in the narrative, while symbols may be used in tables and inside of parentheses within the narrative. For example, “The mean of 3.25 for boys was higher than the mean of 3.00 for girls in the sample.” But, “The boys in the sample scored higher overall (M = 3.25) than the girls (M = 3.00).”

• Among the more commonly used statistical symbols are the following:

M = mean df = degrees of freedom SD = standard deviation t = t statistic (t tests) f = frequency F = Fisher’s statistic (ANOVA) p = probability r = correlation coefficient

(Pearson) N , n = number X2 = Chi-square statistic

It is also helpful for the reader if some basic information accompanies the statistical results presented in the text.

Information usually includes such data as degrees of freedom or sample size.

The following examples demonstrate how commonly used statistics would be reported in the narrative.

• 1. Results of the t test for independent samples indicated a significant difference in mean scores for the boys (M = 3.75) and girls (M = 3.00), t(50) = 2.54, p = .024.

• 2. Results of the chi-square test indicated a significant association between gender and mathematics achievement, X2(3, N = 48) = 12.54, p < .05.

• 3. Results of the one-way analysis of variance indicated a significant difference in test scores based upon students’ grade levels, F(2, 124) = 4.24, p = .036.

Discussion

 you have an opportunity to develop the story you found in the data, making connections between the results of your analysis and existing theory and research and some interpretation of the findings that makes these connections.Research questionIn your discussion you must draw together your research question and your own research results. If your research is testing a hypothesis, you need to answer these questions:•Do your research findings support your initial hypothesis? Why and how?•Do your findings only support the hypothesis in part? Why and how?•Do your findings disprove your hypothesis? Why and how? What else do your findings tell you, over and above what you

initially set out to investigate?

Relation to other research• Since one of the requirements of a doctorate is to

make a contribution to knowledge, it is essential to show how your results fit in with other work that has been done in your field.

• Point out the agreements and disagreements between your data and that of others.

• In presenting your own interpretation of the results, consider the strengths and weaknesses of alternative interpretations from the literature.

Writing your discussion

The skill in writing a successful discussion is in moving backwards and forwards between others' research and your own research, making it clear• which has been done by other people• which has been done by you and • how they complement each other.

How do you differentiate your own research from previous research?

• You might use the first person to describe your findings, e.g. 'My data shows...';

• You might need to consistently refer to your own research as 'This study..' 'The findings of this research...' and referring to previous research as by name, place or time: 'Smith and Geva found that...'; A previous study in Belgrade...'; or by reference to similarities or differences in approach or findings 'Similar research carried out in the 1980s showed that...'.

• You might need to consistently refer to your own research in the present tense and other research in the past, e.g. 'This study shows a prevalence rate of 2.5 which is greater than that found by Smith and Geva in their Belgrade study...' (Alternatively you might use the present perfect to highlight the recent relevance of your research in comparison with earlier research which would then be placed in the simple past, eg: 'This study has shown a prevalence rate of 2.5 which is greater than that found by Smith and Geva in their Belgrade study...' )

Conclusions

• This section presents conclusions drawn from the findings and results of the data analysis

• Frequently, conclusions provide answers to hypotheses or research questions posed in Chapter 1

• conclusions may be written in narrative form or listed one at a time, however, listing them one at a time is generally easier for readers to follow and helps maintain clarity of focus for each conclusion.

• Conclusions are not the same as findings and should not simply be restatements of findings from Chapter 4. A conclusion should be broader and more encompassing than a specific finding, and several findings may be incorporated into one conclusion. It is also possible that one finding might give rise to several conclusions (although this is somewhat less common).

• Generally, while specific findings are stated in the past tense (e.g., students expressed greatest satisfaction with university instructors), conclusions are stated in the present tense (e.g., students are most satisfied with university instructors).

Recommendations

Recommendations are of two distinct types; • recommendations for action or practice (based

on the study's findings and conclusions, and sometimes headed Recommendations from the Study or Recommendations for Practice), and

• Recommendations for Further Study. Frequently a separate section is included for each set of recommendations – each with an appropriate section heading.

References

Figure out what citation style you’re going to use in your thesis/dissertation.

APA Style

Include a References page at the end of your document. Your References page includes all the citations for the research you included in your report.

Appropriately format all entries according to the citation style used by professionals in your discipline.

Appendices

In one or more appendices, include materials that are not essential parts of your thesis but that provide useful information to readers seeking more detail.

Typical materials included in appendices include: • Detailed explanations too technical or involved to be included in the

main text • Additional diagrams • Additional tables summarizing data • Long lists • Experimental protocols or survey questions • Computations directly relevant to discussions in the main body

Common Writing Problems

When you use an abbreviation, even if it’s a very common one in your field, spell out the entire term or phrase the first time you use it, and place the abbreviation in parentheses. From this point on, use the abbreviation and only the abbreviation in your text. Don’t switch back and forth.

Common Problem: Abbreviations

Common Problem: Starting Sentences Incorrectly

Do not start sentences with:

numerals

variables

abbreviations that require a period at the end (except for titles, such as Dr.)

Common Problem: Incorrect labeling of graphics

Figure captions go BELOW the figure.

Table titles go ABOVE the table.

Common Problem: Ambiguous Language

It’s very easy for writers to lapse into ambiguous prose that can confuse the reader.

Strategy: Check your document for sentences that start like this:

It is (or was)… This is… That is…This is…These are…

Whenever you see a sentence like this, figure out what you’re really talking about, and then replace ambiguous pronouns with more specific nouns.

Common Problem: Ambiguous Terminology

Each technical term used in a thesis must be defined either by a reference to a previously published definition (for standard terms with their usual meaning) or by a precise, unambiguous definition that appears when the term is first used (for a new term or a standard term used in an unusual way).

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

Common Problem: Verb Tense

Work that hasn’t been done yet………………………….future tenseActions, observations, and procedures that have already taken place ……………..….…..….past tenseThings that are always or generally true…....................present tense

You will use future, past, and present tense in your thesis.

But… when you refer to figures, tables, or graphs, you should use the present tense.

Example:Figure 6 charts the relationship between x and y.Table 4 demonstrates the rate of change of z.

Passive vs. Active Voice

Although scientific writing has a long history of using passive voice, many professional journals in science and engineering now encourage, or at least accept, active constructions.

You should follow the conventions of your discipline and the advice of your advisor. But do not think that one way is automatically correct and one way is automatically wrong. You should use passive and active constructions deliberately, to help your reader to understand better what it is that you’re writing about.

What is Passive Voice?Passive voice is a grammatical construction in which the object of an action

becomes the subject of the sentence.form of "to be" + past participle* = passive voice

Examples:

Tadpole survival is limited by increased water salinity.

Green roofs have been increasingly enlisted to alleviate urban environmental problems.

* Grammar Review: the past participle is a verb form often, but not always, ending in “-ed.” Some exceptions are words like “paid” and “driven.”

Active vs. Passive Voice

Each of the following sentences is grammatically correct, but they are not exactly equivalent. Each emphasizes a different subject.

The operating system starts the device. (active)

The device is started by the operating system. (passive)

The most important thing is that the subject of your sentence is what the subject is really about. Allow the decision about your subject—what you’re really talking about—to guide your decisions about active vs. passive voice.

Active vs. Passive Voice

Passive voice can be tedious to read if you use it too much. Try to use active constructions that include such verbs as supported, indicated, suggested, corresponded, challenged, yielded, or demonstrated.

Instead of: A number of results are indicated by these data.

Try: These data indicate a number of results.

or Further analysis yielded…(or suggested, or showed…)

Terms and Phrases to Avoid

I will describe... The first person has no place in a formal thesis. Recast your sentence into the third person: “Section 10 describes...”

This thesis will talk about… A thesis can’t talk.

You will read about... The second person (“you”) is inappropriate in your thesis—it is too colloquial.

More Terms and Phrases to Avoid

Different vs. Various

Use different when you mean that something is unlike something else.

Use various when you mean “more than one.”

Phrases indicating ambiguous quantity or quality

Phrases such as: in terms of, lots of, kind of, type of, something like, a number of, and just about are usually too imprecise to useful.

TOO BUSY TO WORK: Strategies for Time Management

Even when you are dedicated to your thesis and have no problems with your topic, advisor, or committee, you can have trouble getting it written.

Simple exhaustion, financial stresses, and family responsibilities can seem to conspire to keep you from doing the work that you need to do.

While you can’t avoid many of these stressors, you can change the way that you deal with these external concerns and minimize their impact on your psyche and productivity.

Plan Your Long-Range Goals

Chart out your long-range goals working backward from commencement.

When do you need to turn in the dissertation to the Office of Graduate Studies?

To do that, when would you need to defend?

To do that, when would you need to get your document to the committee?

To do that, by when would you need to get X chapter(s) written?

Get specific—don’t use “this semester” as a deadline—use actual dates.

Learn to say “NO”

Don't accept every invitation to give a guest lecture, present at a graduate

student forum, or attend a conference. Similarly, try not to agree to drive

every needy friend to the airport, and meet everyone you know at their

convenience. If you find you can work steadily on your thesis while doing

some of these activities, by all means do them—but don't be “guilt tripped”

into doing favors you don't have time to do.

Things to Write When You Don’t Want to Write

Make a list of all the little things you need to do for a given section of the

thesis, no matter how small. Write down everything that you need to do to get

it out the door. Then when you don’t feel like tackling something big, you can

do something else, like work on your acknowledgments, photocopy an article,

or check your citations. You don't have to do everything on the list during the

time you've allotted for thesis work, but tell yourself that you DO have to do

SOMETHING. You’ll be surprised that the habit of getting something done on

the thesis, no matter how small, can be addicting.

Key to Success

There is a key to success: practice. Attending presentations like this one will help you, I hope, but nobody ever learned to write well by attending a presentation. Instead, you need to practice, practice, practice. Every day.

Preparing for the defense

THE THESIS/DISSERTATION DEFENSE

• What a terrible name !!!!!!!• Is it some sort of war that you're trying to

win? • four or five of them and only one of you it • Would it be better to call it a dissertation

seminar or professional symposium?

Regardless of what the meeting is called;• try to remember that the purpose of the meeting is for you to

show everyone how well you have done in the conducting of your research study and the preparation of your dissertation

• there should be a seminar atmosphere where the exchange of ideas is valued.

• you are clearly the most knowledgeable person at this meeting when it comes to your subject

• the members of your committee are there to hear from you and to help you better understand the very research that you have invested so much of yourself in for the past period. Their purpose is to help you finish your degree requirements.

WHAT TO DO?

1. Try to attend one or more defenses prior to yours. 

At the defense try and keep your focus on the interactions that occur. Does the student seem relaxed? What strategies does the student use to keep relaxed? How does the student interact with the faculty? Does the student seem to be able to answer questions well? What would make the situation appear better? What things should you avoid? You can learn a lot from sitting in on such a meeting.

2. Find opportunities to discuss your research with your friends and colleagues. Listen carefully to their questions. See if you are able to present your research in a clear and coherent manner. Are there aspects of your research that are particularly confusing and need further explanation? Are there things that you forgot to say? Could you change the order of the information presented and have it become more understandable?

3. It's important that you have the feeling when entering your defense that you aren't doing it alone. As was mentioned earlier, your major professor should be seen as an ally to you and "in your corner" at the defense. Don't forget, if you embarrass yourself at the defense you will also be embarrassing your supervisor. So, give both of you a chance to guarantee there is no embarrassment. Meet together ahead of time and discuss the strategy you should use at the defense. Identify any possible problems that may occur and discuss ways that they should be dealt with. Try and make the defense more of a team effort.

4. Don't be defensive at your defense You've just spent a considerable amount of time on your research and there is a strong tendency for YOU to want to defend everything you've done. However, the committee members bring a new perspective and may have some very good thoughts to share. Probably the easiest way to deal with new input is to say something like "Thank you so much for your idea. I will be giving it a lot of consideration." There, you've managed to diffuse a potentially explosive situation and not backed yourself or the committee member into a corner. Plus, you've not promised anything. Try and be politically astute at this time. Don't forget that your ultimate goal is to successfully complete your degree.

5. Consider having a friend to record your defense; the questions and comments of the committee members. This helps in two ways:

• the student has documentation to assist in making suggested changes and corrections in the dissertation.

• the student can relax more and listen to what is being said by the committee members.

6. Get busy and prepare an article or paper that shares the outcomes of your research. There will be no better time to do this than now. Directly after your defense is when you know your study the best and you will be in the best position to put your thinking on paper. If you put this writing task off it will probably never get done.

General Instructions

1. Prepare your application for a public defense approximately three to four months before you plan to defend. Book the venue for your defense, and invite your committee and committee chair.

2. Plan your thesis defense by creating an outline from your dissertation that you will follow during the presentation. Pick out the most important points from your introduction, your literature review, your methodology, your data, analysis and your conclusion.

3. Discuss with your classmates and supervisor the progression and planning of your defense. It will be your job to provide all of the details of your thesis to the supervisor and it is his/her job to ensure that you are on the right track, and give you advice on your defense.

4. Prepare your defense and go through all the points you plan to make. Create a speech and time yourself to gauge how long it takes you to get through each point. You may need to narrow or revise your outline.

5. Practice you speech in front of a friend have him time and critique you. Ask your friend to write down or ask any questions he can think of while you are presenting. This will help you prepare for questions posed by your defense committee.

6. Prepare a simple presentation including charts and photographs. Visual aids will help you explain your thesis and present your data to the audience. Visual aids can also help remind you where you are in your speech if you get stuck or lost.

7. Introduce your study and explain why it is important to start off your defense on the big day. Explain the topic in a broad sense first so that the audience feels familiar with the subject when you begin delving into greater detail later on. Some members of your audience may not be familiar with your subject.

8. Explain what you have done as specifically as possible and explain what impact your research and findings have made on your field of study.

9. Conclude your defense by reinforcing your findings. Your ending is meant to prove the work you've done, explain what has changed about your topic, and explain what has remained unchanged.

10. Remain calm and composed during the defense. Be prepared to answer any question. Take your time answering the questions from your committee and ask for clarification if you need it. Never make up an answer if you are unsure. If you cannot answer a question, politely decline, explaining that you do not have the research to make a solid conclusion.