Remerciez-le!

Remerciez @Admin pour avoir partagé cet document gratuitement, de la manière la plus simple, en partageant sur les réseaux sociaux.

Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation S. Joseph Levine, Ph.D. Mich

Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation S. Joseph Levine, Ph.D. Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan USA (levine@msu.edu) (Last Updated: 11/12/2014 04:39:57) Become a Fan Introduction This guide has been created to assist my graduate students in thinking through the many aspects of crafting, implementing and defending a thesis or dissertation. It is my attempt to share some of the many ideas that have surfaced over the past few years that definitely make the task of finishing a graduate degree so much easier. (This Guide is a companion to the Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal.) Usually a guide of this nature focuses on the actual implementation of the research. This is not the focus of this guide. Instead of examining such aspects as identifying appropriate sample size, field testing the instrument and selecting appropriate statistical tests, this guide looks at many of the quasi-political aspects of the process. Such topics as how to select a supportive committee, making a compelling presentation of your research outcomes and strategies for actually getting the paper written are discussed. Of course, many of the ideas that are presented can be used successfully by other graduate students studying under the guidance of other advisers and from many different disciplines. However, the use of this guide carries no guarantee - implied or otherwise. When in doubt check with your adviser. Probably the best advice to start with is the idea of not trying to do your research entirely by yourself. Do it in conjunction with your adviser. Seek out his/her input and assistance. Stay in touch with your adviser so that both of you know what's happening. There's a much better chance of getting to the end of your project and with a smile on your face. With this in mind, enjoy the guide. I hope it will help you finish your graduate degree in good shape. Good luck and good researching! In conjunction with the accompanying Facebook page I have been writing and posting Notes for my "Fans" every week or two. These short Notes/Essays deal with a variety of topics often brought up by readers working on their thesis or dissertation. Recently the Facebook page has been acting very temperamental and I've not been very successful in having them posted. So, I have decided to also include them here. Just click here to go to the Facebook Notes Archive. I think you will find a variety of ideas Journal Publication Call for research paper 2014 Publish Your Paper in TOP Journal! that will be helpful to you as you work toward the completion of your thesis or dissertation. (NOTE: Periodically I receive requests for information on how to prepare a "thesis statement" rather than actually writing a thesis/dissertation. How To Write a Thesis Statement is an excellent website that clearly sets forth what a "thesis statement" is and how to actually prepare one.) Summary of Key Ideas in this Guide The Thinking About It Stage 1. Be inclusive with your thinking. 2. Write down your ideas. 3. Don't be overly influenced by others-it's your research. 4. Try and set a realistic goal. 5. Set appropriate time lines. 6. Take a leave of absence when it will do the most good. 7. Try a preliminary study to help clarify your research. Preparing The Proposal 8. Read other proposals. 9. Prepare a comprehensive review of the literature. 10. Photocopy relevant articles. 11. Proposal should be first 3 chapters of dissertation. 12. Focus your research. 13. Include a title on your proposal. 14. Organize around a set of questions. 15. Some considerations for designing your research: a. Design your research so the subjects benefit. b. Choose your methodology wisely. c. Consider combining methodologies. d. Carefully select location for your research. e. Avoid conducting research in conjunction with another agency. 16. Use your advisory committee well. a. Select faculty who will support you. b. Your major professor is your ally. c. Provide committee with well written proposal. d. Plan the proposal meeting well. Writing The Thesis Or Dissertation 17. Begin writing with sections you know the best. 18. Rewrite your proposal into dissertation sections. 19. Use real names/places in early drafts of dissertation. 20. Print each draft on a different color paper. 21. Use hand drawings of graphics/tables for early drafts. 22. Make your writing clear and unambiguous. 23. Review other dissertations before you begin to write. 24. Introduce tables in the text, present the table and then describe it. 25. Use similar or parallel wording whenever possible. 26. Let your Table of Contents help you improve your manuscript. 27. Write real conclusions and implications - don't restate your findings. 28. Make your Suggestions for Further Research meaningful. 29. Chapter One should be written last. The Thesis/Dissertation Defense 30. Attend some defenses before it's your turn. 31. Discuss your research with others. 32. Don't circulate chapters to committee. 33. The defense should be team effort - you and adviser. 34. Don't be defensive at your defense. 35. Organize your defense as an educational presentation. 36. Consider tape recording your defense. 37. Prepare an article on the outcomes of your research. THE "THINKING ABOUT IT" STAGE The "thinking about it stage" is when you are finally faced with the reality of completing your degree. Usually the early phases of a graduate program proceed in clear and very structured ways. The beginning phases of a graduate program proceed in much the same manner as an undergraduate degree program. There are clear requirements and expectations, and the graduate student moves along, step by step, getting ever closer to the completion of the program. One day, however, the clear structure begins to diminish and now you're approaching the thesis/dissertation stage. This is a new and different time. These next steps are more and more defined by you and not your adviser, the program, or the department. 1. Be inclusive with your thinking.Don't try to eliminate ideas too quickly. Build on your ideas and see how many different research projects you can identify. Give yourself the luxury of being expansive in your thinking at this stage -- you won't be able to do this later on. Try and be creative. 2. Write down your ideas. This will allow you to revisit an idea later on. Or, you can modify and change an idea. If you don't write your ideas they tend to be in a continual state of change and you will probably have the feeling that you're not going anywhere. What a great feeling it is to be able to sit down and scan the many ideas you have been thinking about, if they're written down. 3. Try not to be overly influenced at this time by what you feel others expect from you (your colleagues, your profession, your academic department, etc.). You have a much better chance of selecting a topic that will be really of interest to you if it is your topic. This will be one of the few opportunities you may have in your professional life to focus in on a research topic that is really of your own choosing. 4. Don't begin your thinking by assuming that your research will draw international attention to you!! Instead, be realistic in setting your goal. Make sure your expectations are tempered by: ... the realization that you are fulfilling an academic requirement, ... the fact that the process of conducting the research may be just as important (or more important) than the outcomes of the research, and ... the idea that first and foremost the whole research project should be a learning experience for you. If you can keep these ideas in mind while you're thinking through your research you stand an excellent chance of having your research project turn out well. 5. Be realistic about the time that you're willing to commit to your research project. If it's a 10 year project that you're thinking about admit it at the beginning and then decide whether or not you have 10 years to give to it. If the project you'd like to do is going to demand more time than you're willing to commit then you have a problem. I know it's still early in your thinking but it's never too early to create a draft of a timeline. Try using the 6 Stages (see the next item) and put a start and a finish time for each. Post your timeline in a conspicuous place (above your computer monitor?) so that it continually reminds you how you're doing. Periodically update your timeline with new dates as needed. (Thanks to a website visitor from Philadelphia for sharing this idea.) 6. If you're going to ask for a leave of absence from your job while you're working on your research this isn't a good time to do it. Chances are you can do the "thinking about it" stage without a leave of absence. Assuming that there are six major phases that you will have during your research project, probably the uploads/Ingenierie_Lourd/ dissertation-thesis-guide.pdf