Transcript Dissertations

Dissertation introduction
Dissertation introduction
• What do you expect to get out of doing a dissertation?
• How do you think it relates to life after a degree?
Research is the World’s biggest industry
Dissertation introduction
MMR panic doctor 'was dishonest in research'
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Last Updated: 2:05AM BST 18 Jul 2007
Dissertation introduction
Aim of the workshops
• to guide you through the complexities of organising and
writing a dissertation that poses a significant question
and offers a convincing argument
Dissertation introduction
What is research?
• Addresses a significant question
• Real research loops back and forth: moving forward a
step or two, going back and moving ahead again
• Consists of many tasks which will compete for your time
Dissertation introduction
Dissertation introduction
Objectives
• How to turn a vague interest into a problem worth posing
and solving
• How to build an argument that motivates readers to
accept your claim
• How to anticipate the reservations of thoughtful but
critical readers and then respond appropriately
• How to create an introduction and conclusion that
answer the toughest of questions- so what?
• How to read your own writing as others may, and
thereby learn when and how to revise it
Dissertation introduction
Critically looking at dissertations
• Presentation- pictures, way
the introductory pages are set
out, i.e. chapters and page
numbers etc
• Bibliography- extensive- text
books or primary
literature/articles etc?
• Structure- clearly defined
chapters?
Dissertation introduction
Planning
• You have 1 year from now!....
This term you need to develop your research design
or plan
Dissertation introduction
The question- an essential step
• How to turn a vague interest into a problem worth posing
and solving
• You all have topics
• Ask a question within that topic
• But it needs to be original
• It needs to be significant
• And it needs to be answerable: what kind of
data/evidence will be required and can you access it
Dissertation introduction
Wider significance
• Why should this question also grab my readers?
• What makes it worth asking?
– I am studying x because I want to find out what, when, how
– In order to help my reader understand…
Dissertation introduction
Hypothesis
A specific statement or proposition, stated in a
testable (researchable) form
• Amino acid racemisation is the best method
for ageing skeletons
• Hunter gatherers lived healthier lives than
farmers
BUT: It needn’t always be framed in an explicitly
scientific way; it may be about testing the
applicability of a particular theory to a dataset,
for example.
Dissertation introduction
Aim
E.g.
The Beaker period in the British Isles
(not very self explanatory)
To re-evaluate Beaker Chronology in
the British Isles
To examine the evidence for
disarticulation in the Mesolithic
burial record
To investigate the increase in fish
consumption in Britain around
1000 AD
Dissertation introduction
Objectives
Your objectives are the places you have to visit in order to
reach your destination, in other words the specific pieces
of work you have to do to address your research question
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produce an inventory of sites with Beaker pottery
evaluate the attributes of Beaker typology
examine the associations with other artefacts
produce a calibrated radiocarbon chronology of Beaker
sites
• compare with the chronologies of continental Europe
Dissertation introduction
Ideally, your objectives should then map onto your chapter
headings
Dissertation introduction
A re-evaluation of Beaker Chronology in the British Isles
Aim:
• To provide a re-evaluation of Beaker chronology in the British Isles
Objectives:
• To produce an inventory of sites with Beaker pottery
• To evaluate the attributes of Beaker typology
• To examine the associations with other artefacts
• To produce a calibrated radiocarbon chronology of Beaker sites
• To compare with the chronologies of continental Europe
Chapters:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Sites in the British Isles with Beaker pottery
Chapter 3: The attributes of Beakers and their associations with other
artefacts
Chapter 4: Radiocarbon chronology of Beaker sites
Chapter 5: Discussion and conclusion
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Methods and materials
Aims and objectives
Methods = HOW am I going to do this?
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Data gathering and organisation
• Data from primary literature
• Using ADS or other databases
• Collating your results Database: ACCESS, EXCEL,
familiarise yourself
• Where to start- be methodical, perhaps work
geographically or temporally
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How would you go about planning fieldwork?
• Planning- strategy of where to start, how to carry it out,
what is needed
• Risk assessment
• Equipment
• Travel
• Permissions
• Help (team of fieldwalkers, surveying)
Dissertation introduction
Dissertation introduction
Timetable
• http://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/ug
rad/courses.yrk/diss/menu.html
Dissertation introduction
My expectations
• Turn up to workshops
• Attend meetings with supervisors
• Work consistently through the year
• Ask if you need help!
Dissertation introduction
Agreement document……
IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ARRANGE MEETINGS
WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR