This presentation will outline the process
of researching and writing a dissertation.
It is aimed at Masters students, but the principles
may be helpful to students who have to write
dissertations as part of their undergraduate
degrees.
Before doing any planning or writing, it is
important to find the answers to some questions.
With a big piece of work like a dissertation,
you can save yourself a lot of time by asking
these questions at an early stage.
Who is my dissertation supervisor?
When is the final deadline?
What is the dissertation word limit?
Choosing a topic can be daunting.
It is important to select something that will
sustain your interest.
The topic should also be manageable. Avoid
choosing a problem that researchers have spent
many years trying to solve. You are aiming
to produce a brief research project in a short
timescale, rather than a PhD thesis or a life’s
work.
Start by thinking about the modules on your
course. Is there an area of research that
raised some interesting questions or that
you really enjoyed studying?
Once you have thought of something, jot down
some possible research questions. Try to make
these look like essay titles. Eg. To what
extent are the Government offering support
to the children of substance mis-users?
Play about with a range of titles until you
have found a couple of options that you think
might work.
You are likely to have around 6 months to
complete your dissertation, but you may be
writing it alongside other commitments.
It is important to be realistic about what
you can achieve in the available time.
Make sure you have considered the following:
Can I achieve my goals before the deadline?
Are there any costs associated with the research
and can I meet these?
Will I need to travel to the research site
and is this feasible?
Can I get access to the research site?
Your supervisor is likely to be a very useful
source of support throughout the dissertation
process.
He/she is likely to be very knowledgeable
about your topic.
He/she will have supervised many students,
and can offer helpful advice.
At your first meeting, take along your proposed
research questions. Don’t worry if these
seem basic or not very impressive. They will
act as a starting point for discussion, and
will help your supervisor to see where your
interests lie.
Ask whether your question is workable and
whether it can be improved. Ask for some ideas
about where to start with the reading.
Write down what your supervisor says so that
you can remember the advice later.
Keep in touch with your supervisor throughout
the dissertation process. Supervisors are
very keen to help students who take specific
questions to meetings and who can show evidence
of having thought carefully about the issues.
Organisation is the key to producing your
dissertation on time, and without unnecessary
stress.
Some initial planning should help you to remain
motivated and to see that the task is manageable.
Work out how many chapters you need to write.
Count the number of weeks between now and
the deadline.
Work out how many weeks you will spend on
each chapter - both researching and writing.
Leave enough time at the end for proof-reading
and writing.
Try to look at the dissertation as a series
of short pieces of work, rather than as a
10,000 word whole.
Breaking the task down into chunks should
help you to do this.
Make a ‘To Do’ list for each chapter
Break the tasks right down. Eg. ‘Read and
make notes on Jones and Thomas article’,
rather than ‘write chapter’.
Plot these tasks onto a weekly planner, and
then onto a daily planner. You can collect
planners from the AccessAbility Centre.
Tick tasks off the list as you achieve them.
You will be able to see that you are making
progress.
The structure of the dissertation depends
on the sort of research that you are carrying
out.
There are two main types of dissertation.
A project that involves an element of primary
research. Primary research is research which
involves gathering data of your own, perhaps
via interviews or questionnaires that you
have designed.
OR
2) A project that is based on an extended
literature review or theoretical research.
This sort of project relies on data that has
been collected by other researchers. It is
useful when the topic you are studying is
very sensitive, or the data very difficult
to collect.
There is a set format for the structure of
your dissertation. Always check your course
handbook for exact details.
The broad structure of a primary research
project is outlined in the box on the right.
More detail about each chapter will be outlined
later in the presentation.
The suggested word count for each chapter
is based on an 8 - 10,000 word dissertation.
The dissertation could be set out in the following
way.
Introduction (800-1,000 words)
Literature Review (1,200-2,000 words)
Methodology (1,500 - 2,000 words)
Research process (800 - 1,000 words)
(School of Social Work only)
Data Analysis (2,000 - 2,200 words)
Research Findings (1,000 - 1,200 words)
Conclusion (800 - 1,000 words)
The broad structure of an extended literature
review or theoretical research is outlined
in the box on the right.
The suggested word count for each chapter
is based on an 8 - 10,000 word dissertation.
The dissertation could be set out in the following
way:
Introduction (800-1,000 words)
Methodology (1,500 - 2,000 words)
Specific issues or debates
This should include 2 or 3 chapters, each
devoted to specific issues in the literature
(4,000-5,000 words)
Key themes
This should draw together key themes from
the above chapters, relating them to your
research question (1,000-2,000 words)
Conclusion (800 1,000 words)
Some departments require students to produce
a dissertation plan or proposal before they
start writing.
Producing a plan or proposal is a good idea,
even if it is not a course requirement.
It will help you to identify where you are
going with the project.
The research proposal could be organised in
the following way:
This project will consider...
The project aims to...
The data will be gathered by...
These methods were chosen because...
Potential problems with the project are...
Expected outcomes are...
Once you have produced this and shown it to
your supervisor, you may be ready to start
your research.
The next section will describe the purpose
of each dissertation chapter, and what you
need to do before you start writing.
The purpose of the introductory chapter is
to set out the scope of your research project,
and to explain how you will go about answering
your research questions.
This chapter should be between 800 and 1,000
words.
The Introduction should:
Describe your topic and introduce the research
questions.
Explain the significance or importance of
the topic and why you have chosen it.
Explain the structure of your dissertation
by briefly describing the purpose of each
chapter.
For a lot of students, the Introduction will
be the last chapter that they write.
The purpose of the introductory chapter is
to set out the scope of your research project,
and to explain how you will go about answering
your research questions.
This chapter should be between 800 and 1,000
words.
The Introduction should:
Describe your topic and introduce the research
questions.
Explain the significance or importance of
the topic and why you have chosen it.
Explain the structure of your dissertation
by briefly describing the purpose of each
chapter.
For a lot of students, the Introduction will
be the last chapter that they write.
A lot of people write the Literature Review
chapter first.
This is a chapter that you can write without
having gathered any primary data.
Students carrying out an extended literature
review will need 2 or 3 literature review
chapters.
The function of the Literature Review chapter
is:
To identify the key debates in your research
area which includes the theories or ideas
of researchers in the field.
To evaluate these ideas. Can you see any flaws
in the arguments presented?
To analyse the assumptions of other researchers.
The process of collecting data only applies
to students who are carrying out a primary
research project.
Students who are carrying out an extended
literature review will produce two or three
‘literature review’ chapters that present
what other researchers have found.
The data collection for primary researchers
can be time consuming. It needs to be well
thought out to avoid collecting more data
than you can use.
Ask your supervisor for guidance on data collection
Leave enough time to negotiate access to the
research site
When interviewing people, make sure you are
well-prepared for the meeting
Think about how you will record any information
that you collect
Set up a system for analysing and storing
your data
The Methodology chapter is another chapter
that can be written early in the process.
You can start on this as soon as you have
decided on your data collection methods.
The purpose of the Methodology is to allow
you to justify your chosen research methods
.
In this chapter you should:
State your research question and how it relates
to existing literature
Describe how you will investigate your research
questions (interview? questionnaire?)
Explain why these methods are suitable in
helping you to answer your research questions.
Why these and not other methods?
What are the limitations of your chosen approaches?
Are there any ethical issues you need to consider?
It’s expected that your Methodology chapter
will include references
There are a number of books in the library
that cover the strengths and weaknesses of
different research methods and you should
refer to some
of these in relation to the methods that you
have chosen.
The research process chapter is only required
of School of Social Work students.
It allows you to explain how your research
changed over the course of the project.
This chapter needs to be between 800 and 1,000
words.
Most people find that they have to adapt their
research methods in some way after the project
has started.
This chapter should:
Highlight the way the research has developed
over time
Highlight any key issues to do with the research
process that the reader needs to know about
The purpose of the data analysis chapter is
for you to outline the results of your data
collection.
If you have interview data or written survey
responses, you may want to select some quotations
that help you to answer your research questions.
This chapter might be 2,000-2,200 words
Explain the results of your research and link
the findings to your original research questions.
What is your data saying?
Link this information to what other researchers
have said about your research area. Refer
back to your Literature Review.
Make sure you provide enough evidence to allow
your reader to evaluate whether your conclusions
are valid.
Explain any problems you encountered with
the data.
The purpose of the research findings chapter
is for you to link your data to your research
questions and the views of other researchers
in the field.
The chapter should be 1,000 to 1,200 words.
The research findings chapter should:
Explain the specific outcomes of your research
project
Refer back to your research questions and
show how the project outcomes address the
original questions
If there are aspects of the question that
have been difficult to answer, explain the
reasons.
The Conclusion should aim to take an overview
of the whole project and draw some broad conclusions.
This chapter should be between 800 and 1,200
words.
The following questions may help you to write
your Conclusion.
How has the research project extended our
knowledge and understanding of the topic?
What key themes have emerged from the project?
What are the limitations to the research?
What direction for future research?
A dissertation should include a full list
of all the sources that have been referred
to.
Each department has their own referencing
conventions. Check your departmental handbook
to make sure that you present your references
correctly.
Some general guidance might be to:
Check spellings of author names throughout
your writing.
Check that every reference in the text is
in your references list
Each department has specific guidelines on
the format of references. Make sure you follow
these.
There are a few elements to a dissertation
that are not needed for essays. These are
pages for contents, an abstract, acknowledgements
and appendices.
These are short pieces to write, but you need
to devote some time to them once the main
chapters are written.
The abstract is placed after your title page.
This should summarise what you set out to
achieve and your main findings.
Acknowledgements are placed after the contents
page. This is where you thank people who have
helped you with the research project.
Appendices go at the back of the dissertation.
Aim to keep these to a minimum. You might
include your interview schedule, but not full
transcripts.
You will also need a contents page.
The next section will offer some general advice
about writing the dissertation.
Dissertations that score highly will have
a well developed argument.
This means that there is a clear a sense of
direction in the piece.
The arguments of other researchers and your
own data will be drawn in to lend credibility
to your developing argument
Here are some ways to develop an argument:
You could Agree with or reject the point of
view of another researcher or researchers.
Eg. Smith suggests that....However, his argument
does not take account of ...
You could Develop an existing point of view.
Eg, If Bernstein’s ideas about ‘framing’
are applied to this problem, it is possible
to see that....
You could Come up with a new perspective on
a problem or issue - perhaps by applying a
new theory, or introducing new information.
Eg, In
view of the Government’s new policy on...,
the problem can now been redefined as..
Developing an argument does involve stating
your opinion. The marker is interested in
your opinion, and wants to hear your thoughts
on the research question.
However, there are conventions for expressing
your opinion in academic writing.
Avoid saying ‘I think’ or ‘I believe’
There are a number of ways of making your
opinion clear, but presenting this opinion
in a more balanced way. For example,
It seems clear from the evidence that.
On balance, the evidence suggests that.
It is not certain that..
It is easier to develop an argument if you
have some linking words that you can use.
These words might also be called ‘signposting
words’, because they indicate to the reader
an alternative point of view or a change of
direction. The tables to the right show some
examples.
Words for adding to or developing:
In addition: Adding a further point
Furthermore: Moving the argument along
Moreover: Beyond what has been said
Therefore: For that reason
Hence: From this time onwards
Words for considering other views or evidence:
Alternatively: A different approach is.
Nevertheless: In spite of what has gone before
Even so: Despite what has gone before
However: Despite what has gone before
You may find the following books helpful if
you are interested in doing some further reading.
‘Essays and Dissertations’ by Chris Mounsey
‘Doing Your Research Project’ by Judith
Bell
You may find the following books helpful if
you are interested in doing some further reading.
‘Essays and Dissertations’ by Chris Mounsey
‘Doing Your Research Project’ by Judith
Bell
For more information, make an appointment
to see a Study Adviser in the AccessAbility
Centre.
Telephone 0116 252 5002
Email accessable@le.ac.uk
Drop In
The AccessAbility Centre is on the ground
floor of the David Wilson Library.
For more information, make an appointment
to see a Study Adviser in the AccessAbility
Centre.
Telephone 0116 252 5002
Email accessable@le.ac.uk
Drop In
The AccessAbility Centre is on the ground
floor of the David Wilson Library.
