Research Title
What interests you? Start with an area of interest because you will be working on it for possibly up to a year.
Is there a gap, problem or issue? Finding a gap in research or an ongoing issue makes the research current. Find the gap by widely reading the subject area. If the area you are researching is ancient history, think about the reasons someone may want to look at it again, for example are there new developments or interests?
Are you developing a hypothesis or a research question? Do you believe something to be true and would like to prove or disprove it, or are you posing a more open question to find out the answer?
Research Type
Firstly, you will need to decide whether you are conducting primary or secondary research. Primary research data comes from original sources, such as people or companies, and secondary research comes from literature (literature review). The decision may be made due to what resources are available. For example, a literature review may be completed if you wanted to research the techniques used in Incan architecture and it was too expensive and laborious a task to visit Peru.
Once you have decided on your general approach, you will need to be more specific: if choosing primary research, are you using qualitative or quantitative approaches, or a mix of the two? See Writing your Methodology for more information on different approaches.
What next?
After you have decided on your topic and your approach, you will then look at writing your research proposal.
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Perfect for graduate students as well as behavioural and social scientists who supervise and conduct research! In the fully updated Fourth Edition of their best-selling guide, Surviving Your Dissertation, Rudestam and Newton answer questions concerning every stage of the dissertation process, including: selecting a suitable topic conducting a literature review developing a research question understanding the role of theory selecting an appropriate methodology and research design analysing data interpreting and presenting results. In addition, this must-have guide covers topics that other dissertation guides often miss, such as the many types of quantitative and qualitative research models available, the principles of good scholarly writing, how to work with committees, how to meet IRB and ethical standards, and how to overcome task and emotional blocks. With plenty of current examples, the new edition features an expanded discussion of online research, data collection and analysis, and the use of data archives, as well as expanded coverage of qualitative methods and added information on mixed methods.
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This book is not a technical manual to help doctoral students through the minutiae of conducting in-depth qualitative or quantitative research. Instead, this how-to manual will focus on the practical aspects of writing and organizing a dissertation, in particular, the psychological and social hurdles that are involved. The author uses a conversational and encouraging tone along with plenty of graphics, quotes, illustrations, and sample forms to guide doctoral students through the process of preparing, writing, and defending their dissertations. Features }} checklists, organizing graphics, in-depth list of resources for further inquiry, quotations, illustrations, and other user-friendly elements }} full of easily accessible, practical advice that is administered in small bites. }} conversational, warm, and personal writing style unique to this genre.
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Fully updated since first publication in 2007, and with extended and revised sections in key areas such as Plagiarism & Copyright, Ethics in research, and Citing & Referencing, How to write Dissertations & Research Projects will allow a student to assess and address their particular weaknesses in researching and writing dissertations and longer pieces of coursework and delivers detailed tips, techniques and strategies to enable them to significantly improve their abilities and performance in time to make a difference.
