Changes: Dissertation

Latest revision as of 17:24, 17 December 2011

WHAT IS THIS PAGE FOR?

To share questions and ideas on dissertations[]

Let's try creating an open space for all of David's tutees to ask questions, give ideas and air problems in relation to the Dissertation. I haven't tried something like this before, but I think it might be a useful experiment. Many people find it quite difficult to get started with a topic and research question, and it takes time to digest all the material we have just given you in relation to the Dissertation.

This will be a place where you can ask questions, test out your ideas, comment on other people's ideas and generally vent your frustration if you need to!

I will check the pages regularly and comment. (I'm not very familiar with this type of technology, so any suggestions always welcome -see International_Development:About). I will also use this page as a Front Page where to place announcements or general guidance -so check it regularly.

If people wish to, we can also develop this site beyond just the Dissertation, put links to useful resources and other topics, etc. EVERYONE who registers (just follow the very simple instructions in the Main_Page) - and I hope all my tutees will do so - will be able to edit and add to the site as they wish ...

OK, let's get started. Please go to the Discussion tab aboveTalk:Dissertation:

dissertation help

dissertation proposal

uk dissertation

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 Let's try creating an open space for all of David's tutees to ask questions, give ideas and air problems in relation to the Dissertation. I haven't tried something like this before, but I think it might be a useful experiment. Many people find it quite difficult to get started with a topic and research question, and it takes time to digest all the material we have just given you in relation to the Dissertation.
 This will be a place where you can ask questions, test out your ideas, comment on other people's ideas and generally vent your frustration if you need to!
 I will check the pages regularly and comment. (I'm not very familiar with this type of technology, so any suggestions always welcome -see [[International_Development:About]]). I will also use this page as a Front Page where to place announcements or general guidance -so check it regularly.
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
-OK, let's get started. Here is an example that you can also see in the Discussion tab above[[Talk:Dissertation]]:
+OK, let's get started. Please go to the Discussion tab above[[Talk:Dissertation]]:
+[http://www.dissertationinn.co.uk/ dissertation help]
-Q. What is a 'research question' (RQ) and why is it so important?
+[http://www.dissertationinn.co.uk/dissertation-proposal/ dissertation proposal]
-A. (David) After selecting your dissertation topic, the RQ is the most important part of your dissertation in terms of getting started, and then guiding your progress throughout researching and writing the dissertation. You can think of it as the 'engine' that drives the dissertation - it determines the type of literature you will review, the type of data you will analyse, the introduction that you write, and the conclusion that you reach. It is the reason you write the dissertation -  to find out the answer to this question. The RQ takes you on a journey - that journey is the dissertation! When you start, you should not know the final destination.
+[http://www.dissertationinn.co.uk/uk-dissertation/ uk dissertation]
-'''OK, over to you guys!'''
-Research question is one of the most important part of a dissertation.
-Q. But what are the characteristics of a good research question. What should one keep in mind while framing a good research question?  It will be of great help if someone can share his or her ideas on the above question. (Nilanjan)
-A. OK Nilanjan, thanks so much for getting involved on the page!
-The first thing that makes a good research question is that it is 'researchable' and clear. So for example, 'Under what circumstances can civil society influence poverty reduction policy?' provides the means to analyse data from past cases, both successful and unsuccessful, in order to find out what happens under different types of conditions.
-The second is that a good research question is 'open' and has more than one possible answer: so this question might result in an answer that says there are many different circumstances, or alternatively that there are only a very few. Or even none at all.
-The third is that it should not be normative in tone. e.g. 'Can ...?' Rather than 'How can ...?'
-And finally - for now - a good RQ is 'past-oriented' rather than 'future-oriented'. So for example 'How can NGOs affect policy in India?' is not a good RQ because it is trying to research something that may not have actually happened. This would more correctly be in the recommendations part of a dissertation, not the RQ. A better RQ would be 'What lessons can be learned from NGO efforts to influence policy in India?' since this gives you actual concrete data to analyse based on what real organisations have done or tried to do. There may be useful lessons, there may not. (David)