Succeeding with you Master's Dissertation

✍ Scribed by John Biggam

• Publisher: Open University Press
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 280
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Книга Succeeding with you Master's Dissertation Succeeding with you Master's DissertationКниги English литература Автор: John Biggam Год издания: 2008 Формат: pdf Издат.:Open University Press Страниц: 208 Размер: 2,3 ISBN: 0335227198 Язык: Английский0 (голосов: 0) Оценка:How do I plan a dissertation proposal? How do I clarify my research objectives? How do I conduct a literature review? What is essential to focus on while writing my Master’s dissertation? This practical book offers straightforward guidance to help Master’s students to clarify their objectives and structure their work in order to produce a successful dissertation. Using case examples of both good and bad student practice, the handbook takes students through each step of the dissertation process, from their initial research proposal to the final submission. The author uses clear illustrations of what students need to do - or not do - to reach their potential, helping them to avoid the most common pitfalls. This essential handbook covers:Producing focused and relevant research objectives Writing your literature review Citing your sources correctly Clearly explaining your use of research methods Writing up your findings Summarizing your work by linking your conclusions to your initial proposal Understanding marking schemesAimed primarily at Master’s students or students on short postgraduate courses in business, humanities and the social sciences, this book is also key reading for supervisors and undergraduates considering postgraduate study.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Cover......Page 1
Half Title......Page 2
Title Page......Page 4
Copyright Page......Page 5
Dedication Page......Page 6
Contents......Page 8
A Master’s dissertation: what is it?......Page 12
So, what skills do you need to succeed?......Page 15
Watch your words!......Page 21
How to use this book......Page 23
Summary of key points......Page 24
Research focus and overall research aim......Page 26
Research objectives and keywords......Page 31
Research methods......Page 33
Setting a timescale......Page 34
Producing a dissertation template......Page 36
Supervisor meetings......Page 38
Summary of key points......Page 40
The general structure of the Introduction......Page 42
Background......Page 43
Research focus (revisited)......Page 48
Overall research aim and individual research objectives......Page 50
Value of your research......Page 55
A further suggestion......Page 57
Summary of key points......Page 59
Focus on your research objectives......Page 61
Referencing......Page 65
Description vs critical evaluation......Page 75
Learning theory and your dissertation......Page 81
Structuring your Literature Review......Page 84
Summary of key points......Page 89
What’s it all about?......Page 90
Introduction......Page 93
Quantitative vs qualitative research......Page 97
Sampling techniques......Page 99
Positivism and phenomenology......Page 103
Justifying your research strategy......Page 106
The question of reliability (and validity)......Page 110
Preparation, preparation, preparation......Page 112
What and why?......Page 115
Framework for data analysis......Page 124
Limitations and potential problems......Page 132
Summary of key points......Page 138
The general approach......Page 140
The process of description, analysis and synthesis: an example......Page 143
Summary of key points......Page 148
What’s in a Conclusion?......Page 149
Research objectives: summary of findings and conclusions......Page 151
Recommendations......Page 158
Contribution to knowledge......Page 162
Self-reflection......Page 167
Summary of key points......Page 171
What is an abstract?......Page 173
How to write an abstract......Page 174
Abstract template......Page 178
Summary of key points......Page 180
Presenting your work: common mistakes......Page 182
Preparing for a viva......Page 187
The marking scheme......Page 190
Good grammar......Page 194
A word of warning: plagiarism......Page 201
What counts as plagiarism?......Page 202
What if you are accused of plagiarism?......Page 208
Forewarned is forearmed......Page 210
Dissertation writing: summary of good practice to adopt and bad practice to avoid......Page 211
Practical issues: summary of good practice to adopt and bad practice to avoid......Page 214
Appendix A: Sample Introduction......Page 216
Appendix B: Sample chapter outline......Page 224
Appendix C: Sample Literature Review Introduction......Page 226
Appendix D: Sample Literature Review Conclusion......Page 228
Appendix E: Sample Research Methods......Page 230
Appendix F: Sample Questionnaire......Page 252
Appendix G: Sample marking sheet......Page 258
Appendix H: Sample completed marking sheet......Page 260
Appendix I: Comprehensive set of useful verbs......Page 262
Appendix J: List of research objective keywords......Page 266
References......Page 267
index......Page 274
Back Cover......Page 280