Writing Dissertations & Theses
Writing Dissertations & Theses
What you should know but no one tells you
About the Book
“Writing Dissertations & Theses” is an e-book aimed at students (mainly Undergraduate and Masters but also Doctoral) that covers aspects that are little explored in other books about the topic. Thus, the book works as a complement rather than a replacement to existing books.
Adopting often a ‘reverse engineering’ strategy, the e-book identifies good and not-so-good practice and uses it to explain the principles behind a well written dissertation. These principles are set out in the form of simple yet effective ‘Tips & Tools’. The ‘Tips & Tools’ are explained in relation to the “6 C’s of Academic Writing Excellence’, which is a useful template for students to self-evaluate their dissertation. The e-book is written is a very student friendly way (students who have seen it say so!), with examples from past dissertations given throughout the book.
Major content areas include:
- The 6 C’s of Academic Writing Excellence;
- The three pillars of research which is a framework that helps students to design their research topic and maintain focus throughout their work;
- A number of tips & tool related to some of the most important characteristics of good academic writing, including language and vocabulary, argumentation and writing assumptions;
- A number of tips & tools about each of the sections of the dissertation or thesis: the introduction, literature review, methodology, results and discussion/conclusion.
What students say:
I found the e-book to be very helpful. Using examples, particularly from other students, made it easier to not only understand how good it was what I was writing but also to find ways of improving it. The 6 C’s were also useful as a mental check after writing a point or paragraph. I think other students will find the e-book as helpful as I did.
Katherine, Undergraduate student
I found the e-book very useful and really helped me to improve my dissertation. I was able to improve many of my sections, for example literature review and quantitative data analysis. The chapter about the literature review was particular useful as it highlights what is expected from us and how it should be written and structured.
Sebastian, Undergraduate student
“Writing Dissertations & Theses” can be purchased at https://leanpub.com/dissertations. Purchasers of the e-book will have access to the latest available version as well as access to updates in content: new tips & tools, examples and activities that will be added frequently. The e-book costs $7.99, though the buyer can pay as low as $5.99 - the buyer decides the exact price (s)he is willing pay as long as it is above $5.99. VAT applies to those living in the European Union.
You are invited to like this Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/yacopublishingltd if you want to keep informed about updates to this and other e-books that will be launched in the future.
Table of Contents
- RECENT CHANGES IN THE CONTENT OF THE BOOK
- COPYRIGHT
- HELP!
- DEDICATION
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- PREFACE
- 1. INTRODUCTION
-
2. THE 6 Cs OF ACADEMIC WRITING EXCELLENCE
- 2.1 Confined (to the aim and objectives of the study)
- 2.2 Corroborated (by evidence)
- 2.3 Critical (Actively engages with, rather than passively accepts, information)
- 2.4 Coherent (Logical and consistent)
- 2.5 Concise (Written in a brief, but comprehensive way)
- 2.6 Captivating (Able to capture and hold the attention of the reader)
-
3. THE RESEARCH PILLARS: Process, Content, Context
- 3.1 Process
- 3.2 Content
- 3.3 Context
- 3.4 Contribution to knowledge
- 3.5 Implications for your research
- 3.6 Zooming (in and out)
-
4. GENERIC WRITING SKILLS
- 4.1 Structure of an Argument
- 4.2 Multi-level Arguments
- 4.3 Short Sentences, Long Paragraphs
- 4.4 List of Expressions
- 4.5 Your Writing Assumptions
-
5. THE INTRODUCTION
- 5.1 Purpose
- 5.2 Order of themes
- 5.3 Writing objectives
- 5.4 Explain independent variables
- 5.5 Definitions
- 5.6 Writing tips
-
6. LITERATURE REVIEW
- 6.1 Purpose
- 6.2 Types of literature review
- 6.3 Stages of the literature review
- 6.4 Intellectual depth ladder
- 6.5 Using summary tables
- 6.6 Reviewing results or the characteristics of the research?
- 6.7 Writing tips
-
7. METHODOLOGY
- 7.1 Process, Process, Process!
- 7.2 The research process as a trip
- 7.3 Explaining methodological choices
- 7.4 Staged approach to data collection: quantitative vs. qualitative research
- 7.5 Designing questionnaires
- 7.6 Question design
- 7.7 Learning how to analyse quantitative data
- 7.8 Explaining quantitative data analysis
- 7.9 Explaining qualitative data analysis
- 7.10 Characteristics of the sample
- 7.11 How to deal with research mistakes and limitations
- 7.12 Writing tips
-
8. RESULTS
- 8.1 What data should be included in the results chapter?
- 8.2 Quantitative results
- 8.3 Qualitative results
-
9. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
- 9.1 Purpose
- 9.2 Where to place the discussion
- 9.3 Structuring the conclusion chapter
- 9.4 Being fair to the results
- 9.5 Reflect on your learning
-
ACTIVITIES
- ACTIVITY 3.1: No-context test
- ACTIVITY 4.1: The structure of an argument in practice
- ACTIVITY 4.2: Multi-level arguments in practice
- ACTIVITY 5.1: Analysing the structure of an introduction
- ACTIVITY 5.2: Process and End objectives
-
ACTIVITIES EXPLAINED
- ACTIVITY 3.1: No-context test
- ACTIVITY 4.1: The structure of an argument in practice
- ACTIVITY 4.2: Multi-level arguments in practice
- ACTIVITY 5.2: Process and End objectives
- REFERENCES
About the Publisher
This book is published on Leanpub by YACO Publishing
YACOPublishing publishes academic ebooks on Study & Research Skills and on the Management & Marketing of Experiential Services (Events, Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality).MissionTo publish existing high quality academic content that often goes unpublished To produce high quality academic content and publish it in a timely manner
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