The dissertation
Daniel Gerrard
daniel.gerrard@cjv.muni.cz
What is a dissertation?
Structuring a dissertation
(Glasman-Deal 2010)
(Swales and Feak 2012)
Traditional vs. topic-based dissertation
Compare the examples of a traditional and topic-based dissertation.
̶ How are they similar/different in terms of structure?
̶ Which do you think is most common in your discipline?
̶ Which would most suit your dissertation? Why?
(If neither, suggest an alternative structure)
Other sections to include
̶ Title page
̶ Abstract
̶ Acknowledgements
̶ Table of contents
̶ Introduction
̶ Literature review
̶ Methodology
̶ Results
̶ Discussion/Conclusion
̶ References
̶ Appendices
Task 1:
Analyse a master’s dissertation:
̶ What type of dissertation is it? (Traditional? Topic-based? Other?)
̶ How many sections is it divided into? What are the sections called?
̶ Is a numbering system used for sections and subsections? How
many levels does it have? (e.g. 1.5.2 = three levels)
̶ Which sections are included before the introduction? How are these
separate from the main dissertation?
̶ How does the writer create links between different sections of the
dissertation?
Literature review
Writing a literature review
Discuss in pairs/small groups:
̶ What is the purpose of a literature review?
̶ What should be included in it?
̶ How are a bachelor’s and master’s literature review different?
̶ How can a literature review be organised?
̶ What background information do we need about previous
research?
̶ What are the steps/stages in doing a literature review?
Purpose of a literature review (1)
Your literature review should:
̶ situate your research focus within the context of the wider
academic community in your field
̶ report your critical review of the relevant literature
̶ identify a gap within the literature that your research will aim to
address
(University of Leicester 2009)
Purpose of a literature review (2)
In other words, your literature review should answer readers’
questions such as:
̶ What research questions are you asking? Why?
̶ Has anyone else done anything similar?
̶ Is your research relevant to research/practice/theory in your
field? How?
̶ What is already known or understood about this topic?
̶ How might your research add to this understanding, or
challenge existing theories and beliefs?
(University of Leicester 2009)
What should I include?
̶ the key issues which underlie the research project
̶ the major findings on the research topic, by whom and when
̶ the main points of view and controversies that surround the
issue being investigated
̶ a critical evaluation of these views, indicating
strengths/weaknesses of previous studies on the topic
̶ general conclusions about the state of the art at the time of
writing, including what research still needs to be done; the
gap in the research that the study will aim to fill
(Paltridge and Starfield 2007)
Bachelor’s vs. master’s literature review
(Paltridge and Starfield 2007)
How do I organise it?
̶ chronologically; although be careful not just to list items; you need to
write critically, not just descriptively
̶ by theme; this is useful if there are several strands within your topic
that can logically be considered separately before being brought
together
̶ by sector e.g. political background, methodological background,
geographical background, literary background
̶ by development of ideas; this could be useful if there are identifiable
stages of idea development that can be looked at in turn
̶ by some combination of the above, or another structure
(University of Leicester 2009)
Task 2:
Look at the literature review in the dissertation you found.
̶ How is it organised?
Example:
Burke’s (1986) survey of the experiences of overseas
undergraduate students carried out at The University of
New South Wales discovered that the most common
difficulty identified by these students was an inability to
speak out in classroom discussions.
(Paltridge and Starfield 2007)
Providing background information
Information we need from the literature review about previous
research:
̶ Who carried out the research?
̶ Who were the subjects of the research?
̶ Why was it carried out?
̶ Where was it carried out?
̶ How was it carried out?
̶ When was the research published?
̶ What was the result of the research?
(Paltridge and Starfield 2007)
Task 3:
Look at the literature review in a dissertation. Find one example of
reference to previous research which answers all these background
information questions:
̶ Who carried out the research?
̶ Who were the subjects of the research?
̶ Why was it carried out?
̶ Where was it carried out?
̶ How was it carried out?
̶ When was the research published?
̶ What was the result of the research?
How do I ‘do’ a literature review?
What would you do at each stage?
1. Locate relevant literature
2. Critically read the literature
3. Prepare to write
4. Write the literature review
(Paltridge and Starfield 2007)
Using a reading/synthesis matrix (1)
Using a reading/synthesis matrix (2)
Homework
Writing an abstract (2)
̶ Think of an academic text/talk you have written/given (or are
expected to write/give) and write its abstract (max. 250 words)
̶ Include a title and keywords
̶ Consider my feedback on your ‘Marshmallow abstracts’
̶ Upload your abstract to the Peer Review Application by:
DEADLINE: midnight Wednesday 20 November