Dissertations: Refining your Topic

Writing Development Centre
University Library
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@ncl_wdc
Dr Helen Webster
On behalf of the Writing Development Centre
Robinson Library
For Starters:
Refining your research topic
and first steps
For enquiries about workshops, please email wdc@ncl.ac.uk

University Library
@ncl_wdc
Who and where are we?
 Undergraduate or postgraduate?
 HASS, SAgE or FMS?
 Just starting dissertation, somewhere
in the middle, or near the end?

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March 3, 2015

University Library
@ncl_wdc
Writing to find or refine your
research question
 Freewriting: Write for 10 minutes, without
stopping or editing, to explore and develop
your ideas. Highlight anything useful.
 Brainstorm all the questions you can think
of.
 Arrange them in a hierarchy
 Prioritise them
 Identify which are linked

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Knowledge
Understanding
Application
Analysis
Evaluation
Synthesis
ideas
connections
extensions
Critical hierarchy: Bloom’s taxonomy

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University Library
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Reading to find or refine your
research question
 Don’t read whole texts in depth at this stage! You
may need to read texts more than once for
different reasons
 Read titles, abstracts, introductions, conclusions
 Look for
 Research questions (abstract and introduction)
 Debates and critiques in the literature review
(introduction)
 Further research needed (conclusion)

University Library
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Refining your research
 What is your dissertation about?
 What are you going to do?
 What question will you answer?
 What problem does it solve?
 What might your answer look like?

University Library
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Refining a question or problem
 ‘Public transport in Scotland’
 Examination of the influence of public transport links on
new housing development in
Western Scotland’
 ‘Investigation of the relationship between public transport
links and the development of new areas of housing in
Western Scotland: a comparison of local plans and
building development since 1990’
 What is the relationship, and how does it work?
March 3, 2015

University Library
@ncl_wdc
What makes a good research
question?
 Analytical, not just descriptive (what and
why/how?)
 Valid, not containing false assumptions
 Focussed, objective and precise
 Answerable – a clear method or approach, a
hypothesis
 Appropriate – for your subject and level of
study
 Achievable – time, wordcount, resources
 Interesting and purposeful – to you, to others

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Other things to consider:
• Is there suitable supervision expertise?
• Existing scholarship – too much or too little?
• Is the scholarship available to you?
• Is the topic insignificant, outdated or
unfashionable?
• Do you need specialist skills, do you have
time to acquire them?
• Do you have access to any data you need?

University Library
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Next steps
 In order to answer your research question, what other
questions might you need to answer?
This helps with:
 Distinguishing nice-to-know from need-to-know
 Focussing and narrowing (prioritise them)
 Creating a project plan
 Focussing your literature search and review
 Creating structure (which order should they be answered in?)

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Breaking it down
 How do young people make educational and career decisions at the
end of compulsory schooling?
 Do young people make decisions in similar ways at later points in their
educational careers?
 What sources of information do they use to help their decision making?
 What counts as ‘young people’?
 Which individuals are influential in shaping their choices?
 How do decisions made at this point affect their future career trajectories?
 What does ‘career decision’ mean?
 What factors do young people consider when making their choices?
 How do they evaluate and rank sources of advice?
Adapted from Patrick White: Developing research questions: a guide for social
scientists

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Creating a project plan
 Break down your questions into tasks. What would
you need to do to answer them? Make these
steps
 SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant,
Timebound
 How long might each task take?
 How many words might each constitute in your
dissertation?
 What resources or input do you need to make a start on
each?

University Library
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The process of writing a
dissertation
Decide stuff
Find/Read
stuff
Write stuff
Check and
Hand stuff
in
March 3, 2015
Writing
Thinking
Research

University Library
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Expect the Unexpected
• “You’re confused about what you’re supposed to be
researching and not sure how to go about things.
• Your research is changing emphasis because you’ve found a
new area of interest or your data/reading is leading you to
new ways of thinking about your topic.
• Your dissertation topic isn’t manageable in the way you
originally expected and is morphing into a more practical
project.
• You’re no longer interested in what you started off doing and
have got sidetracked by following what really interests you
rather than sticking to your original plan.”
 Carrie Winstanley, 2009. Writing a Dissertation for Dummies
March 3, 2015

University Library
@ncl_wdc
Tuesday 12-12.30 For Starters: Refining your research topic
and first steps
Wednesday: 12-12.30 Getting Critical: the Literature Review and
Beyond
Thursday: 12-12.30 Whetting Appetites: Introductions and
Conclusions
Friday: 12-12.30 Keeping Going: Managing your Time,
Tasks and Motivation
1.30-2:00 The Last Course: Managing the Final
Stages
Writers groups:
Wednesday 2-3 Friday 10-11

University Library
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The Writing Development Centre
 Understanding assignment types, questions, instructions and marking
criteria
 Critical thinking, critiquing and reviewing literature
 Note-taking from lectures and reading
 Planning and structuring writing (incl. paragraphing)
 Academic writing style (incl. fundamentals of grammar)
 Understanding and using feedback to improve your work
 Referencing, citing and avoiding plagiarism
 Managing time, work and writing (incl. writers block and
procrastination)
 Exams and Revision
 Managing research projects, dissertations and theses
 Presentations and posters
 Learning effectively in lectures, seminars, classes, labs etc

University Library
@ncl_wdc
The Writing Development Centre
Level 2, Robinson Library
Our team offers:
- One-to-one tutorials on study
skills and all stages and types of
academic writing
- A programme of workshops on aspects
of study and academic writing
- Online resources
You can book appointments and workshops with us
online: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/wdc/

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