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Guidelines and Thoughts about Your Thesis

 

Sources, adapted and modified by Dr. Jonathan Cooley:

Structure of the Thesis, Ajou University Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwick5LDo5PRAhUCzGMKHZbrB3AQFgghMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgsis.ajou.ac.kr%2F_resources%2Fgsis%2Fetc%2FThesis_Writing_Presentation.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFpT7fEOUTbCWARCw0DWrZpetUdEg&sig2=xdFLJVeG6Sg9aRWFwXlD9w

Thesis Statement https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

 

 

Overview

General things to keep in mind

1. 1. 1. Pick  a  general  subject  you  care  about,  one  you  want  to  explore  in  your  major field.
      2. CRITICAL! Narrow your topic to a manageable size. This is possibly the MOST important tip!
      3. Study  the  areas  directly  and  indirectly  related  to  the topic.
      4. Make  sure  you  actually  have  a  thesis concept,  that  is,  a  central  argument  or hypothesis.
      5. Compare  your  argument  with  other authors and articles  and  show  why  yours  is  better  in  theories,  analytical   methods,  empirical  findings  and  policyimplications.
      6. Frame your thesis in several coherent sections with smooth transitions.
      7. If  you  use  Case Studies (e.g. Harvard Business Cases),  explain  why  you  have  chosen  these  particular cases and how they apply.
      8. Explain the limits of any generalizations you develop or test in answering the following questions:
         • ①What are your research questions?
         • ②Why are they important?
         • ③What are the existing answers?
         • ④What are your answers?
         • ⑤ How  can  you  show  that  you  are  right  and  others  are  wrong?
      9. Write and rewrite clearly and  succinctly  in  the  active  voice.  Use  plain  English  (or your own language) with  quotations where appropriate; however, avoid too many quotes or long quotes.
      10. Using ChatGPT or other AI tools…see my BLOG on how to use these in academic writing at www.drjoncooley.com .

 

Guidelines for Your Thesis Proposal

 

1. Introduction

Writing  a  thesis  is  your  way  of  combining  all  the  academic  skills  you  have  learned, and out of this, writing a very  substantial  work  to  be  read  by  fellow  students,  your professors, academics,  and other researchers. 

Writing a thesis  is  an  opportunity  to  use  your  knowledge  and  your  learning  from  your  years  in college or on a business topic  or experience that  is  of  special  interest  to  you.  Thesis writing is challenging.  Thesis  writing  goes  through  different  stages,  evolving  from your initial choice of subject, finding your  resources,  a creative  and  thinking  stage,  an organizational stage, and then comes the hard  work of writing  your  final thesis  and an oral defense. 

At the end, you will have written a solid academic document, and you will have earned a personal and professional achievement.  Writing a thesis requires specific academic skills. These  are  skills  and  advice  are outlined  over  the  next  fewpages.

 

 

2. Preparation forThesis Writing

Hopefully, you  will  already  have  an  idea  of  the  kind  of  topic  you  would like to focus on. A thesis allows you to look at  a  topic  in  greater  depth , and  you  have  a  degree  of  flexibility with this choice. The choice is yours,  but  it  is  always  a  good  idea  to  choose  a  topic  that  includes  the  following  questions  toconsider:

• 1. Topic:Ask  yourself  if  the  topic  you  are  thinking  of  choosing  is  a  topic  you  have  already  been  taught  or a topic you have presented in class. What marks or grades did you get? Can you imagine yourself writing on this topic for several weeks? 
     • • • • What are your interests in this topic?  Keep  asking  yourself  if  you will  be  interested  in  this  topic  this  time  next  year?  How can you judge that? Believe me, if you don’t like the topic, it will be very hard to stay focused and interested to the end of your thesis.
           • I always ask students, “What are your hobbies? What do you do when you relax?” These answers often lead to a thesis topic that students believe are not “academic enough” for a thesis. The truth is…EVERYTHING can be academic enough!
  2. Research: Have a look at some basic resources in the library and on the internet.  Do  some  initial  research, read articles, and books,  get  to  know  some  key  books  and  authors  in  the  field. Here are some software and online resources:
• Article Research: Familiarity  with  key texts and writers even at this  stage  will  give  you  confidence  and  save  time  later  on.  Assess  what  resources  are  available,  and  ask  yourself  if  you  can  see  problems  accessing  information   lateron.
  • • • • • • Foxtale Library
            • Google Scholar   www.scholar.google.com
            • Publish or Perish (free software) http://www.harzing.com/resources/publish-or-perish
          • Bibliography Management:
            • Zotero Firefox Online https://www.zotero.org/download/
            • Zotero Standalone (free software) https://www.zotero.org/download/

 

 

Preparation for Thesis writing (continued)

 

• • • • • Thesis and APA Writing Guides
          • Lipson, C. (2005). How to write a BA thesis: A practical guide from your first ideas to your finished paper (eBook). The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London. ISBN: 0-226-48125-5 (cloth) ISBN: 0-226-48126-3 (paper).
          • Purdue Owl https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

 

1. 3. When  you  have  decided  you  want  to  do  a  Thesis then:
      1. Meet and make contact with your supervisor.
      2. Begin to make  a  preliminary  list  of  books  and  references  that  you  have  read  during your courses, books you are  reading  and  references  you  think  you  might  want  to consider. Remember whenever you find a reference make a note of the author, title of book or article, page numbers and publishers; Zotero is very good for this.  This  will  save  a  lot  of  time  and  anxiety later  on  and  it  is  good  practice  for  students who will do a graduate, MBA, or PhD thesis.

 

 

3. Thesis ProposalStage

1. A  thesis  requires  a  research question(s) and hypothesis for each concept. You will then need to write some research questions such as how, why, what, where , and  when  questions in order to break down your thesis into manageable parts and  basics  for  your  chapter  outlines. Have a look at previous Masters theses in the online reference library to get an idea what kind of questions are asked.
2. A Thesis requires a title.  Make the title clear, no more than 15 words.  The  title  should  be  catchy  and  stand  out,  but  within  academic  protocol.  A general statement then a specific statement is often good.  For  example,  ‘Critically  assessing  global  politics:  a  Case  Study  of…’.
3. A Thesis has to be framed and written around a central argument or proposition.  This is your Central Question that your thesis will show and make an argument for or against.  This  is the central concept of  your  thesis  and  around  which  your  entire  work  will  be  organized. So spend a lot of time on the Central Question, the Detailed Research Questions, and Hypotheses. 
   1. As  your  work  progresses  you  should  be  able to summarize the key argument/hypothesis  of  your  thesis  in  three  sentences.  You  should  be able to explain to  someone  who  doesn’t  know  the  thesis  topic  what  your  thesis  is  in  a  concise  and  understandable way.
   2. At this stage, before the proposal is finalized, do not worry if your hypothesis changes or you change your mind. In fact, this  is  a  sign  that  your  thought  processes  are  working  well.  But  at  some  time  you  will  have  to  come  down  on  one  side  of  the  argument.  Going through the thought process and being aware of different arguments this will make your thesis defense much stronger. Remember that thesis writing is often akin to a legal case; you are stating a problem,  identifying  ways  to  approach  the  problem  or  issue  and  defending  yourcase.
4. Your thesis proposal will also require an abstract and a literature review. 
   1. An abstract is a summary of your main argument, usually about 200 words and will be written at the BEGINNING to summarize your thesis and modified at the END to reflect your key findings and conclusions.
   2. The purpose of a literature review, is to help you  find  a  gap  in  the  literature and it  is  a  dynamic  process  of  reflection  and  rethinking.  This gap depends on the kind of thesis you are writing.  There  are  several  types  of  thesis  which  are  not  mutuallyexclusive:

 

 

Thesis ProposalStage (continued)

 

Select the type of thesis you will be writing:

 

1. 1. 1. Quantitative:Primary research  thesis  which  is  filling  a  quantitative  data gap. Applying empirical examples of theories.
      2. Qualitative:Assessing a particular academic debate, interviewing and documenting discussions with people representative of one or all parts of the debate, placing your thesis within  this  debate  and  taking  the debate  further. Applying  empirical  examples  of theories
      3. Theoretical: Identifying a theoretical or conceptual gap in the literature – this is NOT acceptable for a field research thesis.
      4. Literature Review:Identifying the major articles and thought leaders in the literature for a topic – this is NOT acceptable for a field research thesis.

 

Decide how you will collect your research data. There are also different ways to collect your data:

1. Primary Data Collection – this approach requires developing a research approach and conducting the research (e.g., survey, interviews, tests, etc.) which create unique new data.
2. Secondary Data Collection – in this approach, the researcher uses data collected by other researchers. No new data is created.

 

 

Thesis ProposalStage (continued)

 

5. Your thesis proposal needs a short introduction of the topic, whyyou want to study the topic and how you place your thesis within the literature.
   1. You then need to  write  a  chapter  outline  and  briefly  write  a  couple  of  sentences  as  to  what  each  chapter  is  to  include  and  discuss.  Your thesis will have  the  following  structure:

Title sheet (nonumbering) – SUBMIT WITH PROPOSAL

Abstract (1 page, 1 paragraph, keywords, nopage number) – –SUBMIT WITH PROPOSAL

• This will be the FIRST thing you do and the LAST thing you do AFTER your paper is done.
• Summarizes the reason for the research and results. See samples in each of the articles you find during your literature research.

Acknowledgements (1 to 3 paragraphs done AFTER the proposal and at the

                END of thesis)

Table of contents (page numbers e.g. as 1, 2, 3…)– SUBMIT WITH PROPOSAL

List of Tables and Figures

Chapter 1: Introduction (normal page numbering startinghere)– SUBMIT WITH PROPOSAL

Chapter 2: Literature Review– SUBMIT WITH PROPOSAL

Chapter 3: Methodology– SUBMIT WITH PROPOSAL

Chapter 4: Results

Chapter 5: Conclusions and Discussion

References– SUBMIT WITH PROPOSAL

Appendices (if any)

 

Remember: Create a DRAFT and then EDIT, EDIT, EDIT. It’s much easier to have something written that can be changed than to wait for the perfect moment.

 

 

Tips and Tricks

 

1. Writing  - speed and accuracy:
   1. START RIGHT. Set up the proper margins, font, and spacing and title styles at the beginning! Then everything will be in the right school and APA format all the time. See the Document Template provided.
   2. ALWAYS use spellcheck and grammar check before turning in a draft or final paper.
   3. Learn to Use keyboard shortcuts to speed your writing process. Here are a few (sorry, these are only Windows shortcuts, I don’t use an Apple PC):
      1. [alt]TAB - to switch between screens and documents. Very handy when cross checking your references and your paper.
      2. [ctrl]F - this is the fastest way to find something in your paper. It also brings up your navigation screen which is very useful.
      3. [ctrl]A - this highlights everything in a Word document so you can copy and paste it into your Draft Thesis.
      4. [ctrl] TAB – this will automatically move your cursor to the next word
      5. [ctrl] C – this will automatically copy your selected word(s)
      6. [ctrl] Z – this will eliminate whatever you just did.
      7. [ctrl] B – this will turn ON or OFF, bold like you see here
2. Writing – avoiding accidental plagiarism. NEVER copy paste from an article or online resource into your actual thesis draft document. It is too easy to forget. ALWAYS copy past into a separate Word document, do your editing there, then copy the final and paste the FINAL into your thesis draft document.
   1. TIP: I often keep several articles pasted into a Word doc with the author’s name and specific link so I can find it again if I need it. Then, when I have enough, I use this to draft my own words and thoughts. AFTER that, I copy my FINAL into my thesis document.
3. Research –finding thought leaders: Use Publish or Perish (PubP) https://harzing.com/resources/publish-or-perish/ .Type in the topics you want to find. It will then provide a long list of articles along with how often the articles were cited by other academic authors.
   1. TIP: PubP will sort the articles by how many other people have cited the author or article as a reference. Usually those with the MOST citations are the thought leaders. Check them out first.
   2. TIP: If you want to only see articles from the last 10 or 20 years (for example), you can limit the PubP search criteria to only provide those.
4. Research - speed: It’s usually faster to search for relevant articles using Google Scholar first. When you find something you want to review, THEN go to the online research sources from the University.
5. Research - speed: When searching for articles just look at the DETAIL information on an article and read the ABSTRACT. This usually tells you if the article relates information you can use.
6. Research - speed: After reading the ABSTRACT and downloading an article, reread the ABSTRACT then read the CONCLUSIONS. Do they tell you something valuable? If not, don’t bother to read the whole article.
7. Research - speed: Once inside an article, use [ctrl]F to search the document for the specific term you are looking for. This really can save time from reading the whole article. If you find what you want, read the details. If you don’t find what you want, maybe this is not a good article for you.
   1. TIP: Remember, some PDF and other articles cannot be searched properly.
8. Bibliography (Your References):
   1. Learn to use Zotero early. It makes managing your references much easier. Later, it will be too late to do that.
   2. If you don’t learn Zotero, keep a separate Word file with your references in alphabetical order. Each time you find something, add it in the proper place. When checking which ones you use in your paper, just highlight the first author’s name in Yellow. This makes it easy to keep track of which ones you have used.
   3. ALWAYS Double-check any references, since sometimes cite fast or Zotero or other resources list editors as authors, use the wrong APA format, and other minor issues.
   4. Citation Generator: Automatically generate bibliographies, references and title pages in APA.www.citefast.com
   5. Citation Generator:Another way to get citations, is to use Amazon to track down an ISBN number and then go to http://www.citefast.com/ and enter that ISBN and voila! The citation magically appears.
      1. TIP: I just go to Amazon and find the book in question, then I click the icon that appears in the URL line to add the book to Zotero. This usually (but not always) pulls down a close-to-APA formatted reference.
      2. TIP: Zotero must be installed and open on your computer for this to work. Zotero is a free download and web add-on for Chrome or Mozilla
   6. Remember: Wikipedia and Investopedia are NOT academic resources.
9. Don’t lose your work! ALWAYS use Dropbox, Google Drive or other online/cloud resource to keep a cloud copy of all your thesis resources, drafts, etc. This way you can access all your drafts and information anywhere, anytime. I have known too many doctoral students who lost their work when a computer failed, was lost, or was dropped! Saving to an external drive is also a good idea, but these too can fail, get broken or get lost!!!
   1. 1. TIP: Don’t rely on these to automatically back up your work. Manually save your work often (e.g., every 15 minutes) and check Dropbox/Google Drive to make sure your current work is getting there.

Do you have some Tips & Tricks to add?

Please let me know what you find useful !!

 

PS: HAHAHA – I’ve used spellcheck and Grammarly and STILL there are errors I didn’t find!