Dissertations, Thesis, Project works in Education

  Dissertation in Education (M.Ed. Dissertation)

Prepared by

Sabarish P

(M.Sc Physics, M.Ed, NET)

Introduction

                 This article has been created for postgraduate (M.Ed.) students in thinking through the many aspects of crafting, implementing and writing a thesis or dissertation in areas related to the discipline of Education. It has been my purpose to share with my friends and fore comers some of the many ideas that have surfaced over the past few months that definitely make the task of finishing a post graduate degree.

                Usually an article of this nature focuses on the actual implementation of the research. This is not the intention of this one!. Instead of examining such aspects as identifying appropriate sample size, field testing the instrument and selecting appropriate statistical tests, this article looks at many of the common aspects of the process. Such topics as how to select a good and practical Topic for Dissertation by identifying research gaps, making a compelling presentation of your research outcomes and strategies for actually getting the frame of Thesis are discussed.

              Of course, many of the ideas that are presented can be used successfully by other post-graduate students studying different disciplines. However, the use of this article carries no guarantee - implied or otherwise. When in doubt check with your guide/other experts available. 

              Probably the best advice to start with is the idea of not trying to do your research entirely by yourself autocratically!. Do it in conjunction with the advise of your guide and other experts at each and every important steps. Seek out their input and assistance. Stay in touch with them so that both of you know what's happening. There's a much better chance of getting to the end of your project and with a smile on your face. With this in mind, enjoy their guidance. I hope it will help you finish your post graduate degree in good shape. 

             

Good luck and good researching!

The “Thinking About Problem”, a real problem Stage!

              The "thinking about topic/problem stage" is when you are finally faced with the reality of completing your degree. These next steps are more and more defined by you and your thoughts

1) Be inclusive with your thinking. 

Don't try to eliminate ideas too quickly. Build on your ideas and see how many different research projects you can identify. Give yourself the luxury of being expansive in your thinking at this stage -- you won't be able to do this later on. Try and be creative. Just go through various  Dissertations, journals, articles, 
E-resources, Thesis, and books on Educational research. Dont get worried about unfamiliar terms used in them. You are going to be automatically convenient with that terms. Just understand the frame, practicability, scope, related areas and the context.

2) Write down your ideas. 

This will allow you to revisit an idea later on. Or, you can modify and change an idea with the help of your Guide/teachers. If you don't write your ideas they tend to be in a continual state of change and you will probably have the feeling that you're not going anywhere. Also consider that our brain has maximum threshold at some times which can produce the required spark.

What a great feeling it is to be able to sit down and scan the many ideas you have been thinking about, if they're written down.

4) Try not to be overly influenced at this time by what you feel others expect from you 
   (your colleagues, your profession, your academic department, etc.). 

You have a much better chance of selecting a topic that will be really of interest to you if it is your topic. This will be one of the few opportunities you may have in your professional life to focus in on a research topic that is really of your own choosing.

5) Don't begin your thinking by assuming that your research draw international attention to you!! 

Instead, be realistic in setting your goal. Make sure your expectations are tempered by:

... the realization that you are fulfilling an academic requirement,

... the fact that the process of conducting the research may be just as important (or more important) than the outcomes and 'royality of topic' of the research, and

... the idea that first and foremost the whole research project should be a learning experience for you.

 ... the fact that this is only a PG Dissertation which aims to make you familiar with the various stages of research.                                                            

If you can keep these ideas in mind while you're thinking through your research you stand an excellent chance of having your research project turn out well.

6) Be realistic about the time that you are willing/allowed to commit to your research project. 

If it's a 10 year project that you're thinking about admit it at the beginning and then decide whether or not you have 10 years to give to it. If the project you'd like to do is going to demand more time than you're willing to commit then you have a problem. I know it's still early in your thinking but it's never too early to create a draft of a timeline.

Try using the 6 Stages and put a start and a finish time for each. 

Stage 1 - Thinking About It

Stage 2 - Preparing the Proposal

Stage 3- Conducting the Research

Stage 4- Writing the Research Paper

Stage 5- Sharing the Research Outcomes with Others

Stage 6- Revising the Research Paper

Post your timeline in a conspicuous place (above your computer monitor? or mobile/Tab notes) so that it continually reminds you how you're doing. Periodically update your timeline with new dates as needed.

It can be most helpful at this early stage to try a very simple preliminary research study to test out some of your ideas to help you gain further confidence in what you'd like to do. 

Preparing the Proposal

Assuming you've done a good job of "thinking about" your research project, you're ready to actually prepare the proposal. A word of caution - those students who tend to have a problem in coming up with a viable proposal often are the ones that have tried to rush through the "thinking about it" part and move too quickly to trying to write the proposal. Here's a final check.

 Do each of these statements describe you?

If they do you're ready to prepare your research proposal.

I am familiar with other research that has been conducted in areas related to my

research project.

(___Yes,)

( ___No, )

I have a clear understanding of the steps that I will use in conducting my research.

(___Yes, )

( ___No, )

I feel that I have the ability to get through each of the steps necessary to complete my

research project.

(___Yes,)

( ___No, )

I know that I am motivated and have the drive to get through all of the steps in the

research project.

(___Yes, )

( ___No, )

Okay, you're ready to write your research proposal. Here are some ideas to help with the task:

1) Read through someone else's research proposal!!!.....
 Seems to be silly isnt it......? Very often a real stumbling block is that we don't have an image in our mind of what the finished research proposal should look like. How has the other proposal been organized? What are the headings that have been used? Does the other proposal seem clear? Does it seem to suggest that the

writer knows the subject area? Can I model my proposal after one of the ones that I've seen? If you can't readily find a proposal or two to look at, ask your adviser to see some.

2) Make sure your proposal has a comprehensive review of the literature included.

 Now this idea, at first thought, may not seem to make sense. I have heard many of my friends tell me that "This is only the proposal. I'll do a complete literature search for the dissertation. I don't want to waste the time now." But, this is the time to do it. The rationale behind the literature review consists of an argument with two lines of analysis: 
                  1) This research is needed, and 
                  2)  the methodology I have chosen is most appropriate for the question that is being asked. 
Now, why would you want to wait? Now is the time to get informed and to learn from others who have preceded you! If you wait until you are writing the dissertation it is too late. You've got to do it some time so you might as well get on with it and do it now. Plus, you will probably want to add to the literature review when you're writing the final dissertation.

3). With the ready availability of photocopy machines you should be able to bypass many of the hardships that previous dissertation researchers had to deal with in developing

their literature review!!. When you read something that is important to your study, photocopy the relevant article or section.(or take a small image in ur mobile camera !!) Keep your photocopies organized according to categories and sections. And, most importantly, photocopy the bibliographic citation so

that you can easily reference the material in your bibliography. Then, when you decide to sit down and actually write the literature review, bring out your photocopied sections, put them into logical and sequential order, and then begin your writing.

What is a proposal anyway? 

A good proposal should consist of the first three

chapters of the dissertation. It should begin with a statement of the

problem/background information (typically Chapter I of the dissertation), then move on to

a review of the literature (Chapter 2), and conclude with a defining of the research

methodology (Chapter 3). Of course, it should be written in a future tense since it is a

proposal. To turn a good proposal into the first three chapters of the dissertation consists

of changing the tense from future tense to past tense (from "This is what I would like to

do" to "This is what I did") and making any changes based on the way you actually carried

out the research when compared to how you proposed to do it. Often the intentions we

state in our proposal turn out different in reality and we then have to make appropriate

editorial changes to move it from proposal to dissertation.

 

Focus your research very specifically. Don't try to have your research cover too

broad an area. Now you may think that this will distort what you want to do. This may

be the case, but you will be able to do the project if it is narrowly defined. Usually a

broadly defined project is not do-able. By defining too broadly it may sound better to you,

but there is a great chance that it will be unmanageable as a research project. When you

complete your research project it is important that you have something specific and

definitive to say. This can be accommodated and enhanced by narrowly defining your

project. Otherwise you may have only broadly based things to say about large areas that

really provide little guidance to others that may follow you. Often the researcher finds

that what he/she originally thought to be a good research project turns out to really be a

group of research projects. Do one project for your dissertation and save the other

projects for later in your career. Don't try to solve all of the problems in this one research

project.

 

Include a title on your proposal. I'm amazed at how often the title is left for the

end of the student's writing and then somehow forgotten when the proposal is prepared

for the committee. A good proposal has a good title and it is the first thing to help the

reader begin to understand the nature of your work. Use it wisely! Work on your title

early in the process and revisit it often. It's easy for a reader to identify those proposals

where the title has been focused upon by the student. Preparing a good title means:

...having the most important words appear toward the beginning of your title,

...limiting the use of ambiguous or confusing words,

...breaking your title up into a title and subtitle when you have too many words,

and

...including key words that will help researchers in the future find your work.

 

14. It's important that your research proposal be organized around a set of

questions that will guide your research. When selecting these guiding questions try to

write them so that they frame your research and put it into perspective with other

research. These questions must serve to establish the link between your research and

other research that has preceded you. Your research questions should clearly show the

relationship of your research to your field of study. Don't be carried away at this point

and make your questions too narrow. You must start with broad relational questions.

 

A good question:

 

Do adult learners in a rural adult education setting have characteristics that are

similar to adult learners in general ?

A poor question:

 

What are the characteristics of rural adult learners in an adult education

program? (too narrow)

A poor question:

How can the XYZ Agency better serve rural adult learners? (not generalizable)

15. Now here are a few more ideas regarding the defining of your research project

through your proposal.

Make sure that you will be benefitting those who are participating in the

research. Don't only see the subjects as sources of data for you to analyze. Make

sure you treat them as participants in the research. They have the right to

understand what you are doing and you have a responsibility to share the findings

with them for their reaction. Your research should not only empower you with

new understandings but it should also empower those who are participating with

you.

 

Choose your methodology wisely. Don't be too quick in running away from

using a quantitative methodology because you fear the use of statistics. A

qualitative approach to research can yield new and exciting understandings, but it

should not be undertaken because of a fear of quantitative research. A well

designed quantitative research study can often be accomplished in very clear and

direct ways. A similar study of a qualitative nature usually requires considerably

more time and a tremendous burden to create new paths for analysis where

previously no path had existed. Choose your methodology wisely!

 

Sometimes a combined methodology makes the most sense. You can

combine a qualitative preliminary study (to define your population more clearly, to

develop your instrumentation more specifically or to establish hypotheses for

investigation) with a quantitative main study to yield a research project that works

well.

 

Deciding on where you will conduct the research is a major decision. If

you are from another area of the country or a different country there is often an

expectation that you will return to your "home" to conduct the research. This may

yield more meaningful results, but it will also most likely create a situation whereby

you are expected to fulfill other obligations while you are home. For many

students the opportunity to conduct a research project away from home is an

important one since they are able to better control many of the intervening

variables that they can not control at home. Think carefully regarding your own

situation before you make your decision.

 

What if you have the opportunity for conducting your research in

conjunction with another agency or project that is working in related areas.

Should you do it? Sometimes this works well, but most often the dissertation

researcher gives up valuable freedom to conduct the research project in

conjunction with something else. Make sure the trade-offs are in your favor. It

can be very disastrous to have the other project suddenly get off schedule and to

find your own research project temporarily delayed. Or, you had tripled the size of

your sample since the agency was willing to pay the cost of postage. They paid for

the postage for the pre-questionnaire. Now they are unable to assist with postage

for the post-questionnaire. What happens to your research? I usually find that the

cost of conducting dissertation research is not prohibitive and the trade-offs to

work in conjunction with another agency are not in favor of the researcher. Think

twice before altering your project to accommodate someone else. Enjoy the

power and the freedom to make your own decisions (and mistakes!) -- this is the

way we learn!

Selecting and preparing your advisory committee to respond to your proposal

should not be taken lightly. If you do your "homework" well your advisory committee

can be most helpful to you. Try these ideas:

If you are given the opportunity to select your dissertation committee do it

wisely. Don't only focus on content experts. Make sure you have selected

faculty for your committee who are supportive of you and are willing to assist

you in successfully completing your research. You want a committee that you can

ask for help and know that they will provide it for you. Don't forget, you can

always access content experts who are not on your committee at any time during

your research project.

Your major professor/adviser/chairperson is your lord !  When you go to

the committee for reactions to your proposal make sure your major professor is

fully supportive of you. Spend time with him/her before the meeting so that your

plans are clear and you know you have full support. The proposal meeting should

be seen as an opportunity for you and your major professor to seek the advice of

the committee. Don't ever go into the proposal meeting with the feeling that it is

you against them!

Provide the committee members with a well-written proposal well in

advance of the meeting. Make sure they have ample time to read the proposal.

 

Plan the proposal meeting well. If graphic presentations are necessary to

help the committee with understandings make sure you prepare them so they look

good. A well planned meeting will help your committee understand that you are

prepared to move forward with well planned research. Your presentation style at

the meeting should not belittle your committee members (make it sound like you

know they have read your proposal) but you should not assume too much (go

through each of the details with an assumption that maybe one of the members

skipped over that section).

 

Writing the Thesis or Dissertation

 

Now this is the part we've been waiting for. I must assume that you have come up with a good

idea for research, had your proposal approved, collected the data, conducted your analyses and

now you're about to start writing the dissertation. If you've done the first steps well this part

shouldn't be too bad. In fact it might even be enjoyable!

The major myth in writing a dissertation is that you start writing at Chapter One

and then finish your writing at Chapter Five. This is seldom the case. The most

productive approach in writing the dissertation is to begin writing those parts of the

dissertation that you are most comfortable with. Then move about in your writing by

completing various sections as you think of them. At some point you will be able to

spread out in front of you all of the sections that you have written. You will be able to

sequence them in the best order and then see what is missing and should be added to the

dissertation. This way seems to make sense and builds on those aspects of your study that

are of most interest to you at any particular time. Go with what interests you, start your

writing there, and then keep building!

(David Kraenzel - North Dakota State University - wrote in describing the "A to Z Method". Look at the

first section of your paper. When you are ready go ahead and write it. If you are not ready, move

section-by-section through your paper until you find a section where you have some input to make. Make

your input and continue moving through the entire paper - from A to Z - writing and adding to those

sections for which you have some input. Each time you work on your paper follow the same A to Z

process. This will help you visualize the end product of your efforts from very early in your writing and

each time you work on your paper you will be building the entire paper - from A to Z.

 

If you prepared a comprehensive proposal you will now be rewarded! Pull out the

proposal and begin by checking your proposed research methodology. Change the tense

from future tense to past tense and then make any additions or changes so that the

methodology section truly reflects what you did. You have now been able to change

sections from the proposal to sections for the dissertation. Move on to the Statement

of the Problem and the Literature Review in the same manner.

 

I must assume you're using some form of word processing on a computer to write

your dissertation. (if you aren't, you've missed a major part of your doctoral preparation!)

If your study has specific names of people, institutions and places that must be changed to

provide anonymity don't do it too soon. Go ahead and write your dissertation using the

real names. Then at the end of the writing stage you can easily have the computer make

all of the appropriate name substitutions. If you make these substitutions too early it can

really confuse your writing.

 

As you get involved in the actual writing of your dissertation you will find that

conservation of paper will begin to fade away as a concern. Just as soon as you print a

draft of a chapter there will appear a variety of needed changes and before you know it

another draft will be printed. And, it seems almost impossible to throw away any of the

drafts! After awhile it will become extremely difficult to remember which draft of your

chapter you may be looking at. Print each draft of your dissertation on a different

color paper. With the different colors of paper it will be easy to see which is the latest

draft and you can quickly see which draft a committee member might be reading. (Thanks

to Michelle O'Malley at University of Florida for sharing this idea.)

The one area where I would caution you about using a word processor is in the

creation of elaborate graphs or tables. I've seen too many students spend too many hours

in trying to use their word processor to create a graph that could have been done by hand

in 15 minutes. So, the simple rule is to use hand drawing for elaborate tables and

graphs for the draft of your dissertation. Make sure your committee can clearly

understand your graph, but don't waste the time trying to make it perfect. After you

defend your dissertation is the time to prepare the "perfect" looking graphs and tables.

 Dissertation-style writing is not designed to be entertaining. Dissertation writing

should be clear and unambiguous. To do this well you should prepare a list of key

words that are important to your research and then your writing should use this set of key

words throughout. There is nothing so frustrating to a reader as a manuscript that keeps

using alternate words to mean the same thing. If you've decided that a key phrase for your

research is "educational workshop", then do not try substituting other phrases like

"in-service program", "learning workshop", "educational institute", or "educational

program." Always stay with the same phrase - "educational workshop." It will be very

clear to the reader exactly what you are referring to.

 

Review two or three well organized and presented dissertations. Examine their

use of headings, overall style, typeface and organization. Use them as a model for the

preparation of your own dissertation. In this way you will have an idea at the beginning of

your writing what your finished dissertation will look like. A most helpful perspective!

 

A simple rule - if you are presenting information in the form of a table or graph

make sure you introduce the table or graph in your text. And then, following the

insertion of the table/graph, make sure you discuss it. If there is nothing to discuss then

you may want to question even inserting it.

 

Another simple rule - if you have a whole series of very similar tables try to use

similar words in describing each. Don't try and be creative and entertaining with your

writing. If each introduction and discussion of the similar tables uses very similar wording

then the reader can easily spot the differences in each table.

 

We are all familiar with how helpful the Table of Contents is to the reader. What

we sometimes don't realize is that it is also invaluable to the writer. Use the Table of

Contents to help you improve your manuscript. Use it to see if you've left something

out, if you are presenting your sections in the most logical order, or if you need to make

your wording a bit more clear. Thanks to the miracle of computer technology, you can

easily copy/paste each of your headings from throughout your writing into the Table of

Contents. Then sit back and see if the Table of Contents is clear and will make good sense

to the reader. You will be amazed at how easy it will be to see areas that may need some

more attention. Don't wait until the end to do your Table of Contents. Do it early enough

so you can benefit from the information it will provide to you.

If you are including a Conclusions/Implications section in your dissertation make

sure you really present conclusions and implications. Often the writer uses the

conclusions/implications section to merely restate the research findings. Don't waste my

time. I've already read the findings and now, at the Conclusion/Implication section, I want

you to help me understand what it all means. This is a key section of the dissertation and

is sometimes best done after you've had a few days to step away from your research and

allow yourself to put your research into perspective. If you do this you will no doubt be

able to draw a variety of insights that help link your research to other areas. I usually

think of conclusions/implications as the "So what" statements. In other words, what are

the key ideas that we can draw from your study to apply to my areas of concern.

 

Potentially the silliest part of the dissertation is the Suggestions for Further

Research section. This section is usually written at the very end of your writing project

and little energy is left to make it very meaningful. The biggest problem with this section

is that the suggestions are often ones that could have been made prior to you conducting

your research. Read and reread this section until you are sure that you have made

suggestions that emanate from your experiences in conducting the research and the

findings that you have evolved. Make sure that your suggestions for further research

serve to link your project with other projects in the future and provide a further

opportunity for the reader to better understand what you have done.

 

Now it's time to write the last chapter. But what chapter is the last one? My

perception is that the last chapter should be the first chapter. I don't really mean this in

the literal sense. Certainly you wrote Chapter One at the beginning of this whole process.

Now, at the end, it's time to "rewrite" Chapter One. After you've had a chance to write

your dissertation all the way to the end, the last thing you should do is turn back to

Chapter One. Reread Chapter One carefully with the insight you now have from having

completed Chapter Five. Does Chapter One clearly help the reader move in the direction

of Chapter Five? Are important concepts that will be necessary for understanding Chapter

Five presented in Chapter One?

 

The Thesis/Dissertation Defense

 

What a terrible name - a dissertation defense. It seems to suggest some sort of war that you're trying to win. And, of course, with four or five of them and only one of you it sounds like theymay have won the war before the first battle is held. I wish they had called it a dissertationseminar or professional symposium. I think the name would have brought forward a much betterpicture of what should be expected at this meeting.

Regardless of what the meeting is called, try to remember

1) Be confident

2) Have a clear idea of your objectives, hypothesis, methodology, findings and conclusion.

3) Be polite, humble and resourceful.

4) you have to be the master of your area of study!

5) You have to give answers to the board for the questions, but dont try to argue with them or underestimate them.

6) Try to clear your findings, accept suggestions, accept mistakes with a smile.

7) Don't make any words or deeds that provoke the panel!

8) Above all consider this as an academic activity not a life changing game !

Best wishes