Kate Williams - Planning Your Dissertation

PLANNING YOUR DISSERTATION POCKET STUDY SKILLS Series Editor: Kate Williams, Oxford Brookes University, UK Illustrations by Sallie Godwin For the time-pushed student, the Pocket Study Skills pack a lot of advice into a little book. Each guide focuses on a single crucial aspect of study giving you step-by-step guidance, handy tips and clear advice on how to approach the important areas which will continually be at the core of your studies. Published 14 Days to Exam Success (2nd edn) Analyzing a Case Study Brilliant Writing Tips for Students Completing Your PhD Doing Research (2nd edn) Getting Critical (2nd edn) Managing Stress Planning Your Dissertation (2nd edn) Planning Your Essay (2nd edn) Planning Your PhD Posters and Presentations Reading and Making Notes (2nd edn) Referencing and Understanding Plagiarism (2nd edn) Reflective Writing Report Writing (2nd edn) Science Study Skills Studying with Dyslexia (2nd edn) Success in Groupwork Time Management Wheres Your Argument? Writing for University (2nd edn) PLANNING YOUR DISSERTATION SECOND EDITION POCKET STUDY SKILLS Kate Williams Kate Williams, under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2018 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First edition 2013 This edition first published 2018 by RED GLOBE PRESS Red Globe Press in the UK is an imprint of Springer Nature Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW. Red Globe Press is a registered trademark in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 9781352003208 paperback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Contents Acknowledgements Many people have contributed to this guide and I would like to thank them all. First, my thanks to the students who have discussed their dissertations with me over the years. Without the works in progress and outlines of completed studies this book would not be what it is: a special thank you to the students from Brookes and elsewhere whose work appears here. Thanks to colleagues at Oxford Brookes University, UK and elsewhere who so gener-ously contributed thoughts for the first edition, from inception to critical review. Thanks also to reviewers who offered generous feedback and advice for this new edition and to Jane Penty (University of the Arts) and Clare Parfitt (University of Chichester) for their advice on new content.

Finally, thanks to Sallie Godwin for her inventive and astute illustrations, and to Helen Caunce, Suzannah Burywood and colleagues in the editing and production teams at Red Globe Press who have been endlessly supportive and creative in making this book happen. Introduction This book is designed as a guide for students undertaking an extended piece of research at the end of their undergraduate course of study, or as an introduction to independent research for Masters students. These projects are described in different ways in different institutions, subject disciplines and countries around the world. Whats in a name? dissertationresearch projectthesisextended essayresearch paper They all require independent research at the end of a taught programme of study. In this book, this independent research is most frequently referred to as a dissertation (a UK term) or research project. Whatever the language, the prospect of setting out on independent research after a taught programme of study can feel like a step into the unknown: This book is designed as a guide on your research journey.

It focuses on looking ahead at each stage so that, by anticipating what comes next, you are better prepared for it. About this book Planning Your Dissertation is organised in the order in which you carry out each stage of the work for your dissertation or research project. This is shown as The journey of your dissertation on pp. xiixiii . This, as you will see, is quite different to the order in which you finally present the story of your research in the completed project you hand in. Part 2 Planning your research ends with an outline of a research plan, and considers the research and project planning that goes into it. Part 3 Planning your literature review is about the thinking, searching, reading, (thinking more) and planning that goes into a literature review. Part 4 Thinking about methodology is about the how of research: the thinking and planning you need to do to get the outcomes you are looking for. Part 5 Whats in a dissertation? At the heart of the book, this mini dissertation library outlines the structure and content of 12 dissertations. Part 5 Whats in a dissertation? At the heart of the book, this mini dissertation library outlines the structure and content of 12 dissertations.

It gives a flavour of the range of formats and structures of dissertations across the disciplines. Part 6 Writing and argument takes a look at the structures, style and language for writing persuasively. Part 7 Planning your endgame is about how to showcase your work: how to write a conclusion and introduction and turn your script into a polished finished product. PART 1 GETTING STARTED Part 1 outlines the first phase of your journey. invites you to stand back and take a strategic overview of what is involved and why you are doing it. You are not alone on this journey. You are not alone on this journey.

You will have a supervisor to advise you. is about clarifying this relationship so you can make best use of this guidance. That said, you are embarking on an independent study, and you are both the researcher and the project manager. of this project.