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Researching and Writing
Dissertations
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Researching and Writing
Dissertations
How can I manage my time and
complete on time
WEEK 5
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Reading
Recommended text:
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Horn, R
CIPD: London
2nd Edition, 2012
ISBN: 978 184398 302 6
Chapter 5: How Can I Manage My Time and
Complete on Time, page 59.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Lecture outline
How long your dissertation will take to
complete.
l How the project life cycle can help you to
be successful.
l What work breakdown structures are and
how you can use them to manage the
dissertation.
l How to use time effectively.
l How to manage bibliographical data.
l What the main barriers are to completing
Roy Horn
on
time.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
l
Learning objectives
l
l
l
Understand the time frame in which
dissertations are completed.
Understand how the project life
cycle, work breakdown charts and
Gantt charts can assist you in
completing on time.
Understand the importance of
maintaining bibliography data.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Activity
Sketch out the tasks you think
must be completed when
undertaking a dissertation.
This is an initial experience
exercise so that you can
compare your initial thoughts to
a typical time scale.
20 minutes
prep
3 minutes
feedback
Feedback to the group
– ‘I need to complete
these things for my
dissertation’
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Estimate of hours and duration of
the ‘typical’ M level dissertation
Activity
Study Hours
Duration
General research to find a suitable topic 18‒24 hours
3‒4 weeks
Prepare research proposal
8‒12 hours
1‒2
weeks
Gain ethics approval (if required)
6‒10 hours
5‒10 weeks
Research and develop a critical literature review (1 st iteration)
30‒40 hours
4‒6 weeks
Research and develop an appropriate methodology (1st iteration)
15‒22 hours
2‒4 weeks
Further develop the literature review (2nd Iteration)
15‒25 hours
3‒5
weeks
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Estimate of hours and duration of
the ‘typical’ M level dissertation
Activity
Study Hours
Duration
Further develop the methodology (2nd iteration)
10‒15 hours
2‒3 weeks
Pilot the research instrument, questionnaire or qualitative method
8‒16 hours
2‒3 weeks
18‒30 hours
3‒6
Gather data using a questionnaire*
weeks
Gather data using a qualitative process**30‒40 hours
4‒8 weeks
Transcription of qualitative data***(if required)
40‒60 hours
3‒5 weeks
Analysis of data (1st iteration)
18‒24 hours
3‒5 weeks
Further development of the literature review in the light of data
16‒22 hours
2‒4 weeks
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Estimate of hours and duration of
the ‘typical’ M level dissertation
Activity
Study Hours
Final development of data analysis (2nd iteration)
12‒24 hours
Developing conclusions and recommendations
8‒16 hours
Writing up the full dissertation (1st draft)
25‒40
weeks
Writing up the full dissertation (2nd draft)15‒30 hours
Proof reading and final development
8‒10 hours
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Duration
2‒4weeks
3‒4 weeks
hours
3‒6
2‒4 weeks
2‒4 weeks
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Disse rtation Life Cycle
Level of Effort
1000
0
Conceptual
Creative
Critical
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Action
Analytic
Roy Horn
Dissertation phases
Conceptual
Critical
Action
Analytic
Creative
Dissertation
Theory
Data is
Data is
Research
topic is
and
collected
analysed
outcomes
mentally
method
and
and
are
organised
are
organised
findings
selected
critiqued
are
and
and
generated
solutions
evaluated
and
recommend
ations are
created
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Task planning
Like most projects, dissertations are made up
of tasks, and when all the tasks are
complete, the project or dissertation is
complete.
There are many good reasons for investing
time in the planning of the dissertation.
Your dissertation proposal would normally
contain an estimate of the time required to
complete.
The old saying about planning is that ‘failing
to plan is planning to fail’.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Task planning
The main advantages of carefully
planning your dissertation are:
l Planning creates a proactive approach
that can replace the more common
reactive approach.
l It allows you to initiate and influence
outcomes in your favour.
l It enables you to meet deadlines.
l It lowers academic stress.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Task planning
The main advantages of carefully
planning your dissertation are:
l It encourages the adoption of a
systematic approach.
l It improves your control of the project.
l It permits the setting of ‘milestones’ to
assist in controlling the project.
l It highlights the areas in the
dissertation where planned assistance
will be needed such as data-gathering
and proof reading.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Example of an excerpt of a Work Breakdown Structure – table
WBS
Task Description
No
Est
Who
Hours
3.1
Develop pilot questionnaire
12
Me
3.2
Arrange for supervisor to
1
Super
check the pilot questionnaire
3.3
Resources/comments
Arrange 3 focus groups
Arrange meeting for Thur 20th Feb
-visor
3
Me
meeting for the 4, 5, 6 of
Invitation letter in the main work
file
March
3.4
Carryout the focus groups and 6
Me
record responses
and
ANO needs payment for assisting
ANO
3.5
Send thank you letters
1.5
Sec
3.6
Carry out analysis of the
6
Me
Remember to keep a reflective
records, looking for
journal exploring the thoughts
improvements to the
behind the changes
questionnaire
3.7
Send improved questionnaire
0.5
Me
Check for feedback after 5 days
to supervisor for comment
and feedback
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Activity
Set out the steps you need
to take in the next two
months to further the
completion of your
dissertation.
Use the Work Breakdown
Structure provided.
15 minutes
prep
3 minutes
feedback
Feedback to
the group –
‘My WBS
chart ...’
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
WBS No Task Description
Est Hours
Who
Resources/comments
Progress %
3.1 Develop pilot questionnaire
12
Me
Arrange for supervisor to comment on the
3.2 questionnaire
1
Sup
Arrange meeting for 20th Feb
Arrange three focus group meetings for
3.3 the 4,5,6 March
3
Me
Invitation letter in the main work file
30
Carry out the focus groups and record
3.4 responses
6
Me and ANO
40
3.5 Send Thank You letters
1.5
Carry out analyis of the records, looking
3.6 for areas of improvement
Send improved questionnaire to
3.7 supervisor for comment and note
Researching and Writing Dissertations
85
Sec
100
50
6
Me
Remember to keep a reflective journal
exploring the thoughts and reasoning
behind the changes
0.5
Me
Check for feedback after five days
30
0
Roy Horn
Activity
Using your WBS chart produce
a spreadsheet with a progress
meter.
60 minutes
3 minutes
feedback
This can then be extended to
cover all the tasks required to
complete the dissertation.
Feedback to
the group –
‘My WBS
chart’
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Bibliographic data
Bibliographical data starts to accumulate in a
dissertation from the very first moment of a
topic’s birth. Realising this and planning a
method to trap, record, access and display
this data is essential, or a very large and
difficult-to-solve problem will become
apparent later in the dissertation – when
most students are already very busy with the
tasks of analysing data and writing up the
research.
Early planning will avoid this problem.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Bibliographic data
Store bibliographic data in one of the following
ways:
l
l
l
l
Alphabetical list in a word document.
Excel spreadsheet.
Database.
Specialist bibliographic software.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Using a Word document
Many thousands of dissertations are written each
year and the bibliography data is stored as an
alphabetical list in a Microsoft Word document.
l The author adds new references manually into
the correct alphabetical space as the work
proceeds. Any small errors or entries in the
wrong place are manually corrected.
l This approach is simple, cheap and easy to
understand.
l However, it is not very flexible, is timeconsuming and contains only the basic
reference data.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Using a Word document
Later versions of Word from 2007 contain features
that allow for the development of a bibliography
as the work progresses.
l As you write, you add citations (references) in
the text; this is linked to a source, and the
bibliography is automatically produced as and
when you require it.
l In most versions you are able to choose your
reference system and change it dynamically.
l It is also easy to find a source you have
previously used with the ‘find source’ command.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Barriers to on time
completion
There is remarkably very little research concerning
the barriers to completing on time and the rates
of completion of UK dissertations.
An American survey (Rivera, Levine and Wright
2005) of 138 medicine residents successfully
completing projects on time discovered the
following themes for success:
l Start early.
l Set aside adequate time.
l Adhere to a timeline.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Barriers to on time
completion
Work with a strong mentor (or supervisor, in the
UK system).
l Choose a research topic that genuinely interests
you.
l Keep the project simple yet innovative.
Residents’ suggestions about how their
programmes could more effectively facilitate
scholarly activity were:
l Provide adequate amounts of protected time.
l Improve the technical resources available to
residents.
l Enhance or establish a research curriculum.
l Match trainees with appropriate mentors. Roy Horn
l
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Activity
60 minutes
Case Study
Carry out the case study ‘Sam
and Alex’ considering the
three areas suggested.
10 minutes
feedback
Feedback
using three
PowerPoint
slides
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Preparation activity for next
week
Theory and literature
Prepare two slides of
PowerPoint presentation
setting out:
Prepare
for next
week’s
workshop
1. The main theory and
literature of my dissertation
is…
2. Give a short critique of
this theory.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Conclusion
l
l
l
l
l
l
Consider how long your dissertation will take
to complete by thinking about:
How much time I can set aside for the
dissertation each week.
The likely tasks that must be completed.
How long each task will take.
Can I get help to complete some of the tasks.
Create a detailed WBS chart.
Unforeseen distractions and delays.
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Next Week
l
l
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l
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The importance of the literature review.
How your exploration fits into the known theory.
Sources of theory and literature.
How to evaluate sources.
Displaying the key skills in a literature review.
The academic funnel.
How much literature do I need?
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn
Researching and Writing
Dissertations
The End
Researching and Writing Dissertations
Roy Horn