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Introduction
What is research?“A focused and systematic enquiry that goes
beyond generally available knowledge to acquire specialised and detailed information, providing a basis for analysis and elucidatory comment on the topic of enquiry”
- Johnson (1994).
Introduction
What is research?Research is the systematic process of
collecting and analyzing information to increase our understanding of the phenomenon under study.
It is the function of the researcher to contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon and to communicate that understanding to others
- Prentice Hall
What is research?
Key issues of research:1. Research should be focused, not general2. Research should take a systematic approach
to a problem – structured and organised3. Add to present knowledge4. Provide a reasoned account to support your
case5. It’s about finding out things in a structured way
Introduction
What is a dissertation?Provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate academic
skillsCharacteristics of a dissertationAn independent piece of workShows detailed knowledge and understandingNeeds organisation and planningShows critical and analytical thinking Illustrates the context of existing knowledgeHas a high standard of communication and presentationDemonstrates research and has an academic approach
Stages involved in preparing a thesisStage 1: Area of interest – what am I interested in? Is there something I would like to study?
Stage 2: Select a topic – Do a literature search; Generate and develop ideas
Stage 3: Topic refined
Stage 4: Proposal written
Stage 5: Collection of data and information
Stage 6: Analyse and interpret the collected data
Stage 7: Writing up the drafts
SUBMIT THESIS/ DISSERTATION
Structure of a thesis
Common format – 5 Chapters Title, Abstract & Preliminary pages Chapter 1 – Introduction Chapter 2 – Literature Review Chapter 3 – Methodology Chapter 4 – Analysis and Results Chapter 5 – Conclusion and Discussion References Appendices
What should you have in a thesis
1. Introduction
This is a general introduction to what the thesis is all about -- it is not just a description of the contents of each section. Briefly summarisethe question (you will be stating the question in detail later), some of the reasons why it is a worthwhile question, and perhaps give an overview of your main results. This is a birds-eye view of the answers to the main questions answered in the thesis
What should you have in a thesis
2. Background Information
A brief section giving background information may be necessary, especially if your work spans two or more traditional fields. That means that your readers may not have any experience with some of the material needed to follow your thesis, so you need to give it to them.
What should you have in a thesis
3. Review of the State of the Art
Here you review the state of the art relevant to your thesis. The idea is to present the major ideas in the state of the art right up to, but not including, your own personal brilliant ideas. You organize this section by idea, and not by author or by publication.
What should you have in a thesis
4. Research Question(s) or Problem Statement(s)
A concise statement(s) of the question that your thesis tackles
What should you have in a thesis
5. Describing How You Solved the Problem or Answered the Question
This part of the thesis is to demonstrate that you answered the question or solved the problem that you set for yourself in Section 4. Show what you did that is relevant to answering the question or solving the problem.
What should you have in a thesis
6. Conclusions
You generally cover three things in the Conclusions section, and each of these usually merits a separate subsection:
1. Conclusions 2. Summary of Contributions3. Future Research
All conclusions should be directly related to the research question stated in Section 4.
What should you have in a thesis
7. References
The list of references is closely tied to the review of the state of the art given in section 3. All references given must be referred to in the main body of the thesis. Organise the list of references alphabetically by author surname (preferred), as required by IPS.
What should you have in a thesis
8. Appendices
What goes in the appendices? Any material which is important to justify the results of a thesis. Examples include additional screenshots of graphics, more data tables, surveys and questionnaire samples, interview samples, etc.
Writing a proposal
Why are proposals important? A proposal starts of the research project and gives the
researcher something to think about carefully. It outlines the research project It makes the researcher think carefully about the
organisation of the dissertation and the key stages of progress
Provides confidence and a blueprint of the research procedures
Writing a proposal
Characteristics of a good proposal: Name and Course Title of the dissertation. It can be a working title for
now, as it will be finalised at the end of your dissertation, but it should reflect the idea of the research investigation.
For example, “A study of students’ perceptions to multimedia courseware”, “Comparing motivation levels between adults and children in the use of technology: A case study in websites”, etc…
Writing a proposal
Characteristics of a good proposal:3. Aims – Identify the questions that your research
intends to answer. For example, “What is the current motivation levels of
adults to the use of technology? What can be done to enhance that level?”
4. What is the relationship of your research to previous literature. There must be some existing research in this field from which you will draw upon. If you have references, you should cite them properly.
Writing a proposal
Characteristics of a good proposal:5. Methodology –How do you propose to collect data? Surveys,
questionnaires, focus groups, etc.? Who will be your sample group?
How will you analyse your data? What analysis will you be giving? What type of statistics will you be presenting? Descriptive? Correlations? Analysis or variances?
Writing a proposal
1. What is the area you are going to do your research in?2. What is the current state of the area?3. What is an issue or problem in this area that you would
like to study? Ask a question to highlight that problem area? Eg. What is the
perception of MMU students about using technology is classes?
4. How are you proposing to collect information to find out more about this topic?
5. What do you think the contributions of this research will be when you have analysed the information collected?
Writing a proposal
1. What is the area you are going to do your research in?2. What is your research title3. What is the current state of the area?4. What is an issue or problem in this area that you would
like to study? What is your aim of this research?5. How are you proposing to collect information to find
out more about this topic?6. What do you think the contributions of this research
will be when you have analysed the information collected?
The Abstract
An abstract usually contains the following basic components:
1) Motivation/problem statement: Why do we care about the problem? What practical, scientific, theoretical or artistic gap is your research trying to do?
2) Methods/procedure/approach: What did you actually do to get your results? (e.g. analyzed 3 novels, completed a series of 5 oil paintings, interviewed 17 students)
3) Results/findings/product: As a result of completing the above procedure, what did you find?
4) Conclusion/implications: What are the larger implications of your findings, with regards to the problem statement you identified in step 1?
Skills needed
Library and information retrieval – access to informationWriting and note-taking skillsResearch skills – approach and methods
taken are important as the material you collectPersonal skills – self-motivation, self-
discipline, time management, the ability to plan and organize.
The Research Process – choosing and developing your topic
Am I genuinely interested in this topic?Do I already know a lot about this topic? Is it a popular topic?Are resources (eg time, facilities,money,
equipment) available?Availability of information Is it appropriate to my degree/area/major?
The Research Process – generating thesis ideas
Reading the literature on the areaAs yourself, “I’d like to know more about
that”.Current events and using the mediaWork-related experience
The Research Process – generating thesis ideas
Reading the literature on the areaAs yourself, “I’d like to know more about
that”.Current events and using the mediaWork-related experience
The Research Process – Techniques
Generate a series of research questions, such as “What do I want to find out?”, “What research methods would be the best to use?”, “How can this topic be further investigated?”
Brainstorm Do an initial literature search to identify how much
information is available. Brainstorm – write down ALL ideas Talk to people who have done research in the area or
who are in the area – are there any issues that they would like to see addressed?
Ask, “Who? What? Why? When? Where? How?” Start with general questions about the topic, “What are
the current trends, patterns, issues surrounding this area?
The Research Process -- Tips
1. Think of an experiment that no-one else has done, and do it. (The emphasis here is on doing something because it can be done, not because you actually understand the implications.)
2. The different packaging of something unoriginal. 3. Read. How to read: read the title, skim the abstract,
look at the pictures and maybe the tables, and if there's anything interesting, then consult the text, looking for that specific point. Can I improve the experiment? Can I improve the theory? Can I refine the definition?
The Research Process
Problem-solving process 1. need to identify a problem / issue that needs further
investigation2. Read up about the area to see if the area is worth doing
within your constraints3. Researchers then collect and analyse data to provide
answers4. Analysis – the appropriate interpretation of the data with
regards to the problem statement / thesis issue The research questions drive the collection and analysis of data,
not vice versa Researcher looks for systematic trends, patterns and
convergence within their data Results will provide a defensible / supportable solution to the
problem / outcome
The Research Process
Types of outcomes
Validity of the research – Are the outcomes accurate and grounded in the data?
Reliability of the research – Are there sufficient data to ensure that the outcomes are dependable and consistent? Can the data be replicated?
The Research Process Thesis chapters Chapter 1: Introduction
State clearly the aim and plan of the research. Why you chose your topic, what the main research issues are, what aspects you investigated and how you investigated them
Chapter 2: Literature Review Show how your work relates to what other researchers have
done. Must relate theory to practice Chapter 3: Methodology
Describe how you studied your topic and what instruments you used to collect your data. Provide detail description of how the investigation was carried out
Chapter 4: Analysis Describes all the results obtained in Chapter 3. Provide full analysis of
the how you intepreted the data and include any tables, charts and figures to explain your results
Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion This section answers the research questions stated in Chapter 1.
Interpret the research findings and see if they agree with the aims and proposals of your research and provide recommendations, if any.
Writing an abstract
An abstract is a short summary of your completed research. If done well, it makes the reader want to learn more about your research.
Writing an abstract
An abstract usually contains the following basic components:
1) Motivation/problem statement: Why do we care about the problem? What practical, scientific, theoretical or artistic gap is your research trying to do?
2) Methods/procedure/approach: What did you actually do to get your results? (e.g. analyzed 3 novels, completed a series of 5 oil paintings, interviewed 17 students)
3) Results/findings/product: As a result of completing the above procedure, what did you find?
4) Conclusion/implications: What are the larger implications of your findings, with regards to the problem statement you identified in step 1?