Ross Woods, rev. 2018-20, 22, 23
Undergraduates are not actually required to support their conclusions beyond reasonable doubt. However, the conclusion must at least be plausible. Basically, try your best to prove your point.
The conclusion for which your project argues must solve the problem raised in the introduction.
You should acknowledge data that cannot be explained using the terms of reference developed in the project. This unexplained data is sometimes called "residue". Choose an appropriate place in the project.
If it is relevant, identify any new issues arising from your investigation. But be careful not to speculate on them. Just point them out in enough detail so readers can understand them clearly.
If you are a graduate student, your project needs to show considerable originality, and the potential to be published in a professional journal, probably with minor revision. Aside from writing technique, it needs to show merit in initiative, innovation, insight, or creativity.
Your conclusion must be well supported, not just plausible. This requires you to use a sufficiently broad information base to bolster conclusions, and to accurately identify enough key issues to maintain your conclusion. (Good papers can be seriously weakened by omissions.)
Express yourself is such a way that there is little likelihood of others refuting your conclusion on the basis of existing evidence or mistakes in logic. In fact, the number of logical inconsistencies and gaps really needs to be negligible, and should not invalidate the thesis for which you argue.
Needless to say, the conclusion for which the project argues should solve the problem raised in the introduction.
Don't forget to acknowledge data that cannot be explained using the terms of reference developed in the project (called "residue"). Choose an appropriate place in the project.
If it is relevant (and at graduate level it probably will be), identify any new issues arising from your investigation.
Essays and theses are different. Essays are shorter compositions done as part of coursework. For the comparison below, "dissertation" and "thesis" have overlapping meanings.
| Essay | Thesis | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | Essays are shorter | A thesis is at least 10,000 words (about 40 or 50 pages). |
| Topic | Essay topics or areas are normally assigned by the lecturer. | Students usually need to demonstrate that they can choose and propose a suitable topic, although many supervisors help significantly. |
| Submission | Essays may often be submitted electronically, as long as the student meets authenticity requirements. | The supervisor can provisionally approve an electronic submission, but many instititutions require that students submit the final work on paper. (In these cases, they might require bound copies, although some have their own binderies.) Some online institutions need only soft copies in pdf format. |
| Toleration of mistakes | Mistakes are part of the learning process, and essays are primarily a learning exercise for the student. | Students are responsible to eliminate mistakes as much as possible before submission. The document must have near-perfect style, layout, punctuation and spelling. The assessment is based on the student's ability to explore. |
| Role in studies program | Essays are usually written as part of a unit. | A thesis program is usually at least a separate unit and more likely a substantial part of the program. In some higher degrees by research, a major thesis is the only requirement for the qualification other than admission requirements. |
| Stage in program | Essays are usually written throughout many units in the program. | Theses are usually written at the end of the program. |
| Assessment | Traditionally tends toward a letter or number grade. | Theses are often simply assessed as pass or fail. Other possible outcomes are: passed subject to corrections, recommended for a lower award, passed with honors. |
| Circulation | Usually only the student and lecturer read it. | The thesis is normally a public document, although confidentiality provisions apply in some cases (e.g. commercial in confidence, public security risk). |
| Publishability | Essays are seldom publishable. | Certain chapters may be suitable for publication as journal articles, and a summarized version of the whole might also make a good article. Some longer theses make good books (called monographs). |
| Permanence | No copy is kept permanently. | The thesis is a permanent document of the institution. |
| Presentation | Layout is relatively simple. | Presentation is similar to a manuscript for an academic book.* |
*Thesis layout requirements tend to follow publishing conventions. Publishers tend to more progressive, while academia tends to be more conservative.
"Dissertation" and "thesis" have overlapping meanings. "Dissertation" refers only to the major work in a doctoral degree, but "thesis" can refer either to a doctoral dissertation or a significant research work at a lower level. For example, many Master degrees require a thesis.
A doctoral research dissertation is different from a Master's thesis in several ways:
Having said that, some universities require a standard for Masters theses (especially Masters by research only) that exceed the minimum requirements of some research doctorates.
In some US universities, the Master thesis is a review of research, and the Ph.D. is the student's first attempt at original research. Consequently, the dissertation requirements are less ambitious and dissertations are often shorter. Dissertations are still rigorously done and comprise an original contribution to knowledge in their fields, but the contribution might not be required to be significant.
A research work is an effort to create new knowledge. There is no definitive definition of new knowledge
and it varies according to the field of study. It can refer to a scientific experiment based on an issue that is either not yet known or about which there are contrasting, unresolved views. It can also be a test of existing knowledge, or application in a different context. In other cases, it refers to an fresh analysis and critical review of literature in order to reach a new conclusion.
A project is a task that demonstrates expertise that significantly contributes to professional practice. It needs to be ambitious enough to match the degree level. Projects always have a beginning and an end, even if the end is to bring it to stability so that it can continue on afterwards. An evaluation is essential. In education, projects might be the establishment of an innovative new program, or to teach a university subject.
To some extent, these overlap. When a study is applied or implementational, it might be classified as either as applied research or as a professional project.
If you're writing your research as a formal paper, it will probably follow the outline below:
The preliminaries are written last of all and comprise:
This is the longest section of the paper.
If you used a questionnaire or need permission letters, this is the place to put them. Some of your raw data will need to be put in appendices. It is usually boring reading and distracts the readers' attention if put in the text, but you need to make it available to readers so they can see what you interpreted. Appendices are placed before the bibliography, because they can include references to sources that need to be included in the bibliography.
The bibliography includes not only books and journal articles, but formal interviews, website materials, and details of unpublished materials.
If you're doing a thesis with field data, your research will probably follow the outline below:
The preliminaries are written last of all and comprise:
The chapters are the longest section of the thesis:
Appendices are placed before the bibliography, because they can include references to sources that are included in the bibliography.
The bibliography includes not only the books and journal articles, but formal interviews, website materials, and details of unpublished materials.
Blank page inside rear cover.
Abstract Students may be required to submit separately an abstract, which is like a summary that states in a limited number of words what the research covered and its conclusions. The abstract will include the student's name, the title and length of the thesis, the year, the award for which it is submitted, and the name of the institution.
Index Students ask about indexes. They are not submitted with theses, although, if subsequently published as a monograph, the published form might include an index.
Projects involve developing a new kind of program for a specific need and trying it out, or taking a familiar kind of program and adapting it for a completely different context.
Stage one: Determine the overall purpose of the kind of program you want to create. You will be expected to have a clear idea of what you want to do and why. Expect to show that it is feasible. The main trick here is to envisage all the following stages to know what will work and what won't.
Stage two: Use what is already known and being done as a basis.
Stage three: Design the new program
Stage four: Implement the program:
Stage five: Review the program and draw conclusions on how successful it was. Consider the program goals, results and processes, and suggest improvements. You will probably find that many project management criteria are applicable.
Review methods are many. It might be simply description and interview, or a full stakeholder program evaluation, or a means-ends evaluation. A quality audit might be helpful.
Your research is then finished, but your project, if it is good, should continue. The cycle then starts again, incorporating the improvements.
Caution: Reviewing goals is tricky because people tend to constantly re-interpret their experiences, so defining purposes is a hermeneutic exercise, that is, drawing out more and more meaning.
Here's another trap. Description is not the same as prescription. That is, you might describe your program very well, but it might not give the right kind information for someone else to create a similar program in a similar environment.
Some researchers describe a program, draw descriptive conclusions on the principles that made it work, then suggest that those principles will make other programs work. It might be true that those principles will produce good programs, but it isn't necessarily true. You can't simply assume that descriptive principles will work prescriptively to create similarly effective programs.
If you're doing a project in the field, you will probably be required to follow the outline below:
Preliminaries
The preliminaries are written last of all and comprise:
The chapters are the longest section of the project:
Appendices are placed before the bibliography, because they can include references to sources that are included in the bibliography.
The bibliography includes not only the books and journal articles, but formal interviews, website materials, and details of unpublished materials.
Blank page inside rear cover.
In some graduate programs, students are required to teach an undergraduate course and write it up using a layout that is similar to a thesis or major project. A senior person supervises them and observes them teaching. Students go through the following stages, getting approval at each stage in order to progress:
In some qualifications, the dissertation is not required to have any research value but required to demonstrate professional expertise. In these cases, students can take on a difficult unit and create an innovative improvement. The format is much the same, but the purpose is to show that the student has skills commensurate with the degree level. A teaching project can be very appropriate for replacing course-work units when mastery of content is important but the project has little research value.
Some teaching projects are suitable for professional or applied research if they aim to find out something new, that is, they centre upon a topic that is experimental or pioneering in some way. (In this sense, professional or applied research means improvement of practice, which is quite different from pure research.) For example:
Michael developed and delivered an innovative training program especially for nationals to do community work in a major resistant ethnic group, and his trainees made moderate progress. It followed a program development methodology and was the basis for a successful doctoral dissertation.
Jeff was required to carry out a professional project. As a college teacher, he developed and taught a college course. It was written up and used as credit for a higher degree.
The methodology is a variation of program development although assessors will normally look more closely at the research component and give not much more than passing reference to the routine teaching skills that don't impact on the research component.
Students can expect to fail if they use teaching projects where theoretical research is required. Ph.D. dissertations must normally contribute to the theory of the topic. For example:
Nathan was enrolled in a research degree and developed a pioneering program. He could not show how his training achieved any contribution to theory so he was awarded a lower professional degree rather than a research degree.
In all cases, the final paper follows the same typing, layout, and presentation rules as a thesis or major project:
A formal research report for an employer or for government is quite similar, but has a few obvious differences. It is relevant in education when students apply for advanced credit based on their existing research, and when universities commercialize their activities and need an appropriate research format for a corporate audience.
The preliminaries are written last of all and comprise:
Most readers only need to see a summary, so it needs to be near the front. It's good practice to put the whole essence of the recommendation or conclusion in either the first or second sentence.
This is the longest section of the paper.
If you used a questionnaire or need permission letters, this is the place to put them. Some of your raw data will need to be put in appendices. It is usually boring reading and distracts the readers' attention if put in the text, but you need to make it available to readers so they can see what you interpreted. Appendices are placed before the bibliography, because they can include references to sources that need to be included in the bibliography.
The bibliography includes not only the books and journal articles, but formal interviews, website materials, and details of unpublished materials.
A substantial part of the thesis or dissertation may be an original work of creative art, and this approach is suited to writing, visual, media, and the performing arts. The original work may be multimedia or digital work, a film, an exhibition, a performance, a musical composition, a novel, a screenplay, a play, or a series of poems. If it is a PhD, the whole must demonstrate a contribution to knowledge. In other words, the artwork must have something new; it may not completely follow an existing template.
If it is a professional degree, the whole must demonstrate that the author has a suitable level of professional expertise.
Some institutions treat the artwork as the core, to which is added an introduction, an exegesis, and a conclusion. In contrast, other institutions treat the art more like an appendix; the text component is rather long and conventional, and not much different from an ordinary dissertation.
______________
Thesis structure options |
The thesis
It is fairly common for a Master's thesis to comprise a critical review of the literature on a specific topic.
A critical review as a kind of PhD dissertation is much less common. If it is permitted, the institution's documentation is more likely to specifically mention it. Such a dissertation needs to be more than a literature review, which only gives an explanation of what is already understood on the topic and the deficiencies of what is written. It must add up to something.
That is, to be a successful PhD dissertation, it must lead to a finding that makes a contribution to knowledge.
It seems to depend on the specific department and discipline. Many departments prefer students to collect fresh data in the field. However, in a field like ancient literature, a critical review might be an ideal approach if it involves a re-evaluation and re-interpretation of primary documents.
In a college for the deaf, students had to do a major project. Some students created training programs for the deaf, and presented their entire projects in sign language as video.
This approach is more common in the hard sciences, especially in Europe and Australia. It is called Thesis as a Series of Papers (TASP). It applies to PhD programs, but it could be varied for professional degrees where articles must meet different criteria.
Each article usually follows the layout of a full independent research (e.g. methodology, data, analysis, conclusions) and may be be co-written with colleagues. Articles may include:
The collection requires an introduction and a conclusion that encompass the whole dissertation in order to bring the articles together as a coherent whole and demonstrate an original contribution to knowledge. Students may use a diagram to show how the chapters link together.
Stephen Kurtzmαn adds other tasks to transform a series of articles into a dissertation:
Institutions usually do not need any policy changes to accept this kind of dissertation. Most institutions allow dissertations to include published research, although usually on condition that is has not been submitted elsewhere for a degree. Moreover, students must already acknowledge the contributions of others and distinguish them clearly from their own work.
The University of Bolton (UK) is a little unique, in that it allows this approach for the PhD in all fields it offers. It calls it a PhD by Published Work
and requires a coherent program of published research or involvement in projects of innovative professional or creative practice. Students add a critical commentary that shows how it meets PhD requirements.
This kind of dissertation has some distinct advantages:
______________
UWA reference 1 |
UWA reference 2 |
Thesis by publications: you’re joking, right? February 12, 2014. Thesis Whisperer
Thesis by Publication
Postgraduate Research Degree Regulations 2021-22 University of Bolton, 2021. Link
https://www.quora.com/Why-are-Ph-D-thesis-sometimes-a-hundred-pages-while-established-researchers-submit-20-pages/answer/Stephen-Kurtzman-1?ch=15&oid=22221427&share=74bbe73b&srid=us5D0X&target_type=answer
In some cases, a textbook can make a suitable project, and the main part of the project is a textbook. The project must also contain an introduction and a conclusion, between them demonstrating the innovativeness and educational rationale behind the textbook. Students should also include the results of field-testing to show that the instructional approach is effective.
In higher degrees, the textbook must offer something new that is more than a simple re-expression of existing information.
The final paper follows the same typing, layout, and presentation rules as a thesis or major project:
The University of Bolton grants the PhD to practitioners who do not yet have a portfolio of research. Persons who work in innovative and advanced professional or creative practice create a portfolio and add a critical commentary that shows how it meets PhD requirements.
Postgraduate Research Degree Regulations 2021-22 University of Bolton, 2021. LinkSome institutions do not require a hard copy, and the pdf file is the final product.
A few institutions go a step further. The text is only in soft copy and computer programs dynamically generate graphical representations of data. In some cases, readers can manipulate the material to see a three-dimensional visualization. This is especially valuable when visualizations are essential to the research. (In the past, that kind of material had to be enclosed in the back cover on a disk.)
Students interpret and explore a problem of practice, then plan and implement a practical solution in the field. The approach emphasizes leadership, decision-making, and organizational improvement. It is not distinguishable from some kinds of project, but some parts of academia seem to be starting to differentiate them.
These dissertations do not seem to follow a standard outline but the following is quite practical:
For practitioners, DIP produces more immediate value in applied skills and a problem solved, and it benefits their careers if they are practitioners. For organizations, it has the potential to solve a significant problem in a relatively short time, so they might view it favorably for financial support and cooperation.
It is usually best suited to professional degrees, but could be well suited to fields of study where the implementation of theory in practice poses theoretical questions. For example, in curriculum studies, teachers tend to make substantial changes to a new curriculum during implementation.
A literature search seems to indicate that DIP is presently most common in professional Doctor of Education degrees. The DIP approach is very suitable for doctoral programs accredited by DEAC, which must be applied or implementational, and may not be purely theoretical. Some sources also report that DIP is also useful as a basis for journal articles, which may be included as a separate chapter in the final dissertation.
Ma et al. (2018, p. 20) analyzed twenty-eight Doctor of Education dissertations and came to the following conclusions about Problems of Practice [PoPs]:
As a result of our analysis, we offer four principles for deriving PoPs to assist doctoral students across the nation in framing EdD dissertation studies. These principles include:
1. PoPs are deeply embedded in the students’ professional practice or context.
2. PoPs emanate from felt difficulties and real-world dilemmas students face as they work as educational
practitioners.
3. PoPs align with contemporary, critical issues in education explicated in the literature, such as creating
more equitable schooling experiences for all children.
4. PoPs hold personal significance for the student’s developing professional identity as a practitioner
scholar.
As we found in our analysis of data related to our three research questions, EdD students in our program focused their research on highly contextualized problems of practice that were sometimes addressed with direct action, and sometimes more of an exploration of tensions around abiding dilemmas. The problems, for our students, were very real and very timely, and inextricably linked to their own identities and roles as professionals. These findings are
reflected in the four principles outlined above.
References
Doug Archbald (2010) '“Breaking the Mold” in the Dissertation: Implementing a Problem-Based, Decision-Oriented Thesis Project', The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 58:2, 99-107, DOI: 10.1080/07377361003617368
Ma, Vera & Dana, Nancy & Adams, Alyson & Kennedy, Brianna. (2018). Understanding the Problem of Practice: An Analysis of Professional Practice EdD Dissertations. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice. 3. 10.5195/IE.2018.50.
Students earn the Ph.D. by submitting a portfolio of previously completed published research. This is increasingly common in England, although some institutions restrict admission to their own graduates and might specify a qualifying period after earning their previous degree. The actual research requirements and assessment procedures are the same as existing Ph.D. programs done through a major dissertation. Contents must represent a cohesive body of work, and the way it is presented is also essentially similar.
The advantages of this kind of dissertation are similar to TASP:
Students get more opportunity to improve their writing skills throughout their program.
also learn important skills such as selecting, and writing for, target journals and responding to reviewers’ comments.
Students graduate with published papers on their CV, adding to their competitive advantage in the job market.
The external examiner is presented with work, much of which has already been peer reviewed as being above a certain quality standard.*
The approach is not at all new. British style-universities have long offered various higher doctorates (above the Ph.D., such as the D.Litt.) that are earned this way. The research requirements for higher doctorates are markedly higher than those of the Ph.D. and represent the result of a research career. Consequently, these degrees are usually awarded to senior academics and researchers.
The University of Bolton (UK) is a little unique, in that it allows this approach for the PhD in all fields it offers. It requires a coherent program of published research or involvement in projects of innovative professional or creative practice. Students add a critical commentary that shows how it meets PhD requirements.**
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* Writing a Thesis as a Collection of Papers University of Reading, 2016.
** Postgraduate Research Degree Regulations 2021-22 University of Bolton, 2021. Link
Autoethnography is a form of qualitative research in which an author uses self-reflection and writing to explore anecdotal and personal experience and connect this autobiographical story to wider cultural, political, and social meanings and understandings. Autoethnography is a self-reflective form of writing used across various disciplines such as communication studies, performance studies, education, English literature, anthropology, social work, sociology, history, psychology, theology and religious studies, marketing, business and educational administration, arts education, nursing and physiotherapy.
According to Maréchal (2010), "autoethnography is a form or method of research that involves self-observation and reflexive investigation in the context of ethnographic field work and writing" (p. 43). Ellis (2004) defines it as "research, writing, story, and method that connect the autobiographical and personal to the cultural, social, and political" (p. xix). However, it is not easy to reach a consensus on the term's definition. For instance, in the 1970s, autoethnography was more narrowly defined as "insider ethnography", referring to studies of the (culture of) a group of which the researcher is a member (Hayano, 1979). Nowadays, however, as Ellingson and Ellis (2008) point out, "the meanings and applications of autoethnography have evolved in a manner that makes precise definition difficult" (p. 449).
According to Adams, Jones, and Ellis in Autoethnography: Understanding Qualitative Research, "Autoethnography is a research method that: Uses a researcher's personal experience to describe and critique cultural beliefs, practices, and experiences. Acknowledges and values a researcher's relationships with others.... Shows 'people in the process of figuring out what to do, how to live, and the meaning of their struggles'" (Adams, 2015). "Social life is messy, uncertain, and emotional. If our desire to research social life, then we must embrace a research method that, to the best of its/our ability, acknowledges and accommodates mess and chaos, uncertainty and emotion" (Adams, 2015).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoethnography. (Creative Commons licence.)
As such, autoethnography is substantially similar in method and epistemology to participant observation ethnography, and its validity as a research methodology is based on the same or similar criteria. It also reflects the postmodern lack of sharp distinction between the objective and the subjective.
Chang (pp. 54ff) lists five potential pitfalls:
(1) excessive focus on self in isolation from others
(2) overemphasis on narration rather than cultural interpretation
(3) exclusive reliance on personal memory and recalling as a data source, because it can censor past experiences. Researchers need sources other than their own memories; autoethnography is not simply a personal memoire.
(4) negligence of ethical standards regarding others in self narratives, especially confidentiality of personal information.
(5) inappropriate application of the label "autoethnography," that is, failure to define the particular conception of autoethnography that one employs.
Chang. H. (2008). Chapter 3: Autoethnography. In Autoethnography as method (pp. 43-57). (Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/40010651_Autoethnography_as_Method"