thesis writing tips

lavender3922

我在学校student learning centre上了5天thesis writing workshop, 觉得里面的一些内容很实用。从定研究题目到最后修改论文都有提到。
我把内容总结了一下（当然抄了handouts的一些内容），特别是我觉得特有用的， 放了上来。 希望对各位读master, PhD的校友有帮助啦~

内容如下：
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From SLC 5-day intensive workshop (15/Nov-19/Nov, 2010)
Monday, 22 November 2010
12:06 p.m.

The characteristics of an outstanding thesis:
·
Original and significant, and also ambitious, brilliant, clear, clever, coherent, compelling, concise, creative,
elegant, engaging, exciting, interesting, insightful, persuasive, sophisticated, surprising and thoughtful
·
Very well written and very well organized
·
Synthetic and interdisciplinary
·
Components are connected in a seamless way
·
Exhibits mature, independent thinking
·
Has a point of view, and a strong, confident, independent and authoritative voice
·
Asks new questions or addresses an important question or problem
·
Clearly states the problem and why it is important
·
Displays a deep understanding of a massive amount of complicated literature
·
Exhibits command and authority over the material
·
Argument is focused, logical, rigorous, and sustained
·
Is theoretically sophisticated and shows a deep understanding of theory
·
Has a brilliant research design
·
Uses or develops new tools, methods, approaches, or new types of analyses
·
Is thoroughly researched
·
Data are rich and come fro multiple sources
·
Analysis is comprehensive, complete, sophisticated and convincing
·
Results are significant
·
Conclusion ties the whole thing together
·
Is publishable in top-tier journals


Fast and effective reading for research:
1.
Scanning -- searching for specific information
2.
Surveying -- gaining a high altitude view of your reading
3.
Skimming -- gaining a low altitude view of your reading
***** Don't keep reading for hours without a break. The slower you read, the more distraction you are likely to get.
***** Create an academic journal and take notes from your reading, including the following sections:
a.
Reference details
b.
Topic of the article
c.
Key words or phrases from the article
d.
Creating a mindmap of the main points of the reading

Different linguistic features employed by discrete sections/chapters:

	Intro n lit review	Methods	Results	Discussion
Present tense	high	low	low	high
Past tense	mid	high	high	mid
Passive voice	low	high	variable	variable

Writing a literature review:
1.
Define your topic and determine its focus and the parameters
2.
Gather relevant information from a variety of sources and paradigms
3.
Make brief notes as you read in your own words. Record your personal reflections, criticisms and any points to follow up or clarify
4.
Structure your lit review sensibly (See the "structure of a lit review" below)
5.
Clearly relate the material you have read to your research topic
5.1. discussing the implications of previous research
5.2. relating this research to important theoretical concepts and to your own insights
5.3. pointing out gaps that exist in current knowledge on the topic
5.4. indicating directions for further study

Structure of a lit review
1.
Chronological or historical
2.
Methodologically or according to paradigms
3.
Conceptually or thematically
4.
According to relevance to your topic
5.
Combination of the above


Choosing and refining a research topic:
-there are a number of questions that you need to ask yourself and find out the answers before deciding

on a research topic:
·
What are you interested in? what excites you?
·
What do you already know?
·
What are the suggestions of those in your department?
·
What paths are there available in your research topic?


·
Who is a potential supervisor?
·
What skills do they have?
·
Are there others who could help?


·
What skills do you have?
·
Do you need to upgrade or improve any of your skills?
·
What skills do you need to acquire?
·
How will you acquire the skills and how long will it take?


·
What resources do you need?
·
Do you have access to the resources you need?
·
What is your budget?
·
What kind of time commitment do you need?

·
What applicability does your topic have?
·
What are your long-term goals?
·
How does your topic market your?

Writing the Discussion and Conclusion section:
1.
(Re)stating aim or intent: summarizing major content and major findings
2.
Reference to past research/literature
Stating significance/contribution to knowledge/practice
Stating implications/application to theory/practice
3.
Indicating present limitations
Posing questions arising from study
4.
Making recommendations for future research/practice
***** Multiple hypotheses: there are usually several possible explanations for results. Be careful to consider all of these rather than simply pushing your favorite one. When you can't eliminate explanations to one, you should give even treatment to the remaining possibilities and try to indicate ways in which future work may lead to their discrimination.
***** Avoid bandwagons.
***** When you address these questions, it is crucial that your discussion rests firmly on the evidence presented in the results section.

Limitation phrases
Limitations of research scope
1.
It should be noted that this study has examined only…
2.
This analysis has concentrated on…
3.
The findings of this study are restricted to..
4.
This study has addressed only the question of…
5.
The limitations of this study are clear…
6.
We would like to point out that we have not…

Limitations in conclusions
1.
However, the findings do not imply…
2.
The results of this study cannot be taken as evidence for…
3.
Unfortunately, we are unable to determine from this data…
4.
The lack of … means that we cannot be certain…

Placement of limitations in opening phrase
1.
Notwithstanding its limitations, this study does suggest…
2.
Despite its preliminary character, the research reported here would seem to indicate…
3.
However, exploratory, this study may offer some insight into…

For more phrases, go to
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/conclusions.htm


Redrafting, editing and proofreading your thesis:
Read the book recommended by the Tutor:
Manalo, E. and Trafoord, J. (2004) Thinking to thesis: A guide to graduate success at all levels. Pearson: Auckland

lavender3922

发现和我在OneNote上做出来的效果不一样耶...
...不过大家还是应该看得懂的吧。。

catchan

1# lavender3922

讚!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

小社大神

加精华加晚了