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Tips and tricks 4: Master thesis @ KU Leuven
Karel JoosStudy Advice ServiceNovember 18th 2013
introduction
• General approach o Not : Regulations in facultyo Reduction in 1 hour?o Focus on : how to organise thesis worko Focus on 1 year mastero This session : sometimes to general
Overview of session• Goal• Long term planning
• choice of topic • brainstorm• library research• temporary table of content (!)• (labo) research• analysis of results• writing • rewriting • finishing touch
• Role of promotor
Goal of master thesis• proof you can
o summarize large amount of information, o conduct scientific research,o write in academic styleo independent working (limited coaching of promotor)
• not :o world shocking new scientific discoverieso super intelligent insights
Long term planning• Okt-Nov :
o choice of topic o brainstormo library researcho temporary table of content : word document that is growing
• Dec : o writing first draft chapter 1 : literature
• Jan - Feb : o (labo) researcho (statistical) analysis of results
• March - April: o writing : o rewriting literature part
• Mai : o rewritingo finishing touch
Choice of topic• Facultary organisation• How to decide? • Information about other facultary rules
o How many pageso Criteriao Regulations about style :
• academic reporting• quotes and references• tables• formal aspects (front page, …)• …
o Deadlines
Brainstorm• About :
o Where to look for information?• Relevant aspects (broader scope)• Library (search engines)• Other thesis, phd research• ….
o How to conduct your research?o Hypotheses o …
Library research
• Takes time
• Copy and marko Avoid reading everything twiceo Elements of reference list
• author(s)• name of book, journal• year of publication• publisher• ? quoting from website ?
Library research• Composing references :
o ‘Reference manager’o ‘End note’
• Library : search engineso http://bib.kuleuven.be/english/ub/searchingo Limo, Eric, Web of Science, …
Temporary table of content• Heart of the matter!
• Difficulty :o Large amount of information
• ?trying to have the whole content of your thesis in mind?
o Unstructuredo Uncertain (results?)
• The very problem for most students in individual coaching!!!
Temporary table of content • preface• table of content• introduction
• Chptr 1 : overview of literature• Chptr 2 : research plan
o hypotheses, methodology, …
• Chptr 3 : research o implementation, results,…
• Chptr 4 : conclusions and suggestions for further researcho Comparison : hypotheses - results
• list of tabels, figures• bibliography – reference list• annexes
Temporary table of content
• From chaos to structure????
• Initial data :
?
Temporary table of content• How to structure unstructered info:
o there’s no structure that perfectly fits the datao structure = tool to communicate with the reader
• Decide yourself what structure should beo Example 1 : “house” : structure according to :
• different rooms
• different looks from the outside
• different phases in which it was built (first basement,…)
• different sorts of material used
o Example 2 : thesis
Temporary table of content• Word document
o With key words on different levelso Easy to change structureo Write down everything you think of
• Concepts, formulas, remarks, quotes, theories, articles,…
• Suggestions
• Things to do??
• = One overview (working paper)o Later on : start from this document to write the same in full sentences
Temporary table of content
• Exercice :o Try to structure the ‘streets of Leuven’
Temporary table of content• Structure = communication with reader
o Who is reader (to focus on)• Not professor• Interested, intelligent human being with not to much knowledge
about your topico Difficulty : “this is too obvious to write”
• Always an exception on structureo House-rooms : what with a ‘terrace’ or car port, is it a
room or not?• This will be the “remarks”
Research
• Labo, interview, experiments,
• Takes lots of time
• Prepare in advance o Appointments for an interview : 3 weeks before?
(Statistical) analysis
• Confrontation with quality of datao Risk to postpone confrontation
• Also a ‘negative’ result is a result.
Writing
• Final tabel of contento Will be read by almost anyoneo Text itself will not always be read from a to z
• Text o Starting from temporary table of contento 1 page per day
Writing
• Comprehensibleo Tell story to someone
• Academico Objective :
• verifyible facts• verifyible sources
o Clear difference between personal opinion and facts
Writing• Meta language :
o Language about the languageo Say what you’re going to say
• “to summarize”
• “on the contrary”
• “I will focus on ….”
o Explicitation of links• from paragraph to paragraph
• “the same result was found in…”• “on a more general level, the results of …”
• from part to part
Writing• Quotes and references
o Lots of discussion within K.U.Leuven(!)o Within text + in reference listo Facultary regulationso Plagiarism :
• http://www.kuleuven.be/plagiarism/o What in case of :
• Paraphrasing• Summarizing only the idea of an author• Common sense
Rewriting
Finishing touch
What to expect from promotor
• Differences between promotors
• Promotor :o Initial indicationo Suggestions on content, researcho Reading texto +/- 4 appointments
• Expects you to work independently
Contact
o Study Advice Service
Naamsestraat 80
3000 Leuven
016/32 43 11
www.kuleuven.be/studyadvice
Succes
