DISSERTATION WORKSHOP
Getting down to work
October 10th 2013 Physics Lecture Theatre (PLT)
Alan Bradley
Alan.Bradley@warwick.ac.uk
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
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Where can I get information?
What is a dissertation?
Developing a ‘do-able’ project
What will my dissertation look like?
Writing a Literature Review
Working with your supervisor
Managing your time
Research Ethics
Next workshops
Questions
Where can I get information?
• From the module website
• From Books (see module website for reading
list)
• From your supervisor
• From me
What is a dissertation?
• An independent piece of research
• It reflects your research interests and
capabilities
• Written up into a thesis (maximum of 10,000
words excluding Bibliography)
• It counts as one module at Honours level
What you need to do
• Choose a topic
• Read around that topic to develop research
questions
• Work out how to study it (methods to be
employed)
• Carry out research
• Analyse data
• Write it up
What skills do you need?
• Ability to plan, timetable and set goals
• Ability to produce a project that is both
feasible and intellectually coherent
• Ability to find out relevant information
• Ability to communicate your ideas
See it as a map of an intellectual journey, that
tells us where you have been, where you got
to and how you got there
What makes a project ‘do-able’?
• The topic (not too narrow, not too wide)
• Relevant research questions
• Sources (what is available? do you have
access?)
• Valid methods
• Feasibility
• Manageability (including time-management)
• Plan B?
What will my dissertation look like?
• Usually divided into 5 or 6 chapters
• But may have other formats depending on
topic, methods etc
• Chance to look at previous dissertations in
Term 2
• Guidance from your supervisor
Typical format
• Contents page
• Introduction, explain your choice of topic and
methods
• Literature Review
• Methods
• Data and analysis of findings
• Conclusions
• Bibliography
Literature Review
• Provides an intellectual context to your
project
• Provides analytic resources which you can
apply to your project
• Identify the fields (maybe several) which are
relevant
• Identify the key themes, issues and points of
dispute
• How does this lead to research questions?
Time management – suggested
milestones
• Key literature and methods identified by midterm
• Draft Literature review by week 7 this term – to
be submitted to your supervisor as class work
and returned with feedback by week 10.
• Begin empirical research in Christmas vacation or
early in term 2
• Theoretical project – earlier than this
• Allow I month for writing up and 2 weeks for
revisions
Sample milestones (1)
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Phase 1
- identify relevant fields
- Literature search
- Reading and note taking
- Organise into themes
- Draft (ready for supervisor to read)
Sample milestones (2)
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Phase 2
- Ethics process
- Collect data
- analyse data (multiple readings, coding
data, organise into themes, identify examples,
quotes etc)
• Draft into chapters
• Revise drafts
You and your supervisor
• Important to keep in touch
• Up to five hours teaching time spread across
the year
• Usually term time only, perhaps negotiable.
• Prepare for your supervisions
• Supervisors may read drafts of chapters (up to
30% of the dissertation)
Research ethics
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Central to all research
Discuss with supervisor
If you change – revisit ethics
Ethics forms available online
Do not start research until ethics form signed by
your supervisor? (Your responsibility)
• Read ethical guidelines, discuss with supervisor,
complete form by Friday week 6 and submit to
Jane Cooper
Next workshops
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Workshops will be held this term as follows:
Week 4 Different types of dissertation
Week 6 Careers and postgraduate study
Week 8 Research ethics
Week 10 Problem solving session
All on Thursday from 2-3pm in PLT (Here!)
And finally . . .
•Any questions?