Blair Writing a Graduate Thesis or Dissertation

1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-94-6300-426-8
Verlag: SensePublishers
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 146 Seiten

Reihe: Teaching Writing

The Teaching Writing series publishes user-friendly writing guides penned by authors with publishing records in their subject matter. Blair’s practical book gives graduate students the tools they need to successfully plan, write, and defend their thesis or dissertation. Each chapter addresses a rite of passage common to most graduate programs: selecting a methodology, conducting a literature search, carrying out research, analyzing data, and preparing for a thesis defense. Combining years of supervisory experience with up-to-date research, Blair addresses issues important to graduate students that are often left out of these guides, including how to navigate the ethics review process and avoid problems related to academic integrity, such as plagiarism, how to select and prepare for a productive meeting with a supervisor, and how to establish an academic track record by presenting research at conferences and publishing in academic journals. Writing a Graduate Thesis or Dissertationoffers much more than its title suggests. It is a thorough and succinct guide to succeeding in graduate school, appropriate for thesis and research methods courses, and a must-read for graduate students across the disciplines.

“Like a series of productive meetings with a trusted advisor, each chapter of this text provides practical information and sound insight, thoughtfully organized and generously shared.” – Christine Marmé Thompson, Professor of Art Education, School of Visual Arts, Pennsylvania State University

“This will become a ‘must-have’ volume for every graduate student’s book shelf, with advice for every step of the thesis journey.” – Anne Lavack, Professor of Marketing, School of Business and Economics, Thompson Rivers University

“More than simply comprehensive, this work includes information and considerations that are rarely addressed in other guides, including information related to selecting supervisors and alternative forms of research methodologies and format styles.” – Adrienne Boulton-Funke, Assistant Professor, Art and Design, Missouri State University

Lorrie Blair is a Professor of Art Education at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. With over 25 years post-secondary teaching experience, she has held positions at universities in the United States and Canada. She is active as a supervisor of MA and Ph.D. thesis students and was a recent recipient of the Faculty of Fine Arts Distinguished Teaching Award.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Blair, Lorrie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;TABLE OF CONTENTS;12
2;ACKNOWLEDGMENTS;16
3;INTRODUCTION;18
3.1;OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS;20
4;CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS A THESIS?;22
4.1;THESIS FORMATS;22
4.1.1;Monographs;22
4.1.2;Thesis by Publication;23
4.1.3;Professional Doctorates;24
4.1.4;Thesis and a Creative Project;25
4.1.5;Alternative Forms;26
5;CHAPTER 2: FINDING THE RIGHT SUPERVISOR;28
5.1;INTRODUCTION;28
5.1.1;Who Are Supervisors?;29
5.1.2;Student Needs;30
5.1.3;Qualities to Look for in a Supervisor;32
5.2;THE INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT OF SUPERVISION;32
5.2.1;Cultural Diversity;35
5.3;FINDING THE “JUST RIGHT” SUPERVISOR;38
5.3.1;Supervisors to Avoid;40
5.3.2;Co-Supervision;40
5.3.3;The Thesis Committee;41
5.4;NOTE;42
6;CHAPTER 3: WRITING THE PROPOSAL;43
6.1;INTRODUCTION;43
6.1.1;Overcoming Fear;44
6.1.2;Working Independently;45
6.1.3;Developing or Joining a Community of Practice (CoP);46
6.1.4;Working with the Supervisor;47
6.1.5;Finding a Thesis Topic and Formulating a Research Question;48
6.1.6;Finding a Research Topic and Methodology;48
6.1.7;Components of the Proposal;50
7;CHAPTER 4: CONDUCTING AND WRITING LITERATURE REVIEWS;51
7.1;INTRODUCTION;51
7.1.1;Types of Literature Reviews;51
7.1.2;Locating and Evaluating Research;54
7.1.3;But Is It Research?;55
7.1.4;Where to Start and When to Stop;57
7.1.5;Writing the Review;59
7.1.6;Common Mistakes Made in Literature Reviews;59
7.1.7;Stringing and Dumping;61
8;CHAPTER 5: MAINTAINING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY;63
8.1;INTRODUCTION;63
8.1.1;How Can Plagiarism Be Prevented?;65
8.1.2;What Happens If You Are Charged with Plagiarism?;66
8.2;NOTE;67
9;CHAPTER 6: CHOOSING A METHODOLOGY;68
9.1;INTRODUCTION;68
9.1.1;Epistemology;69
9.1.2;The Methodology;70
9.1.3;Method;70
9.2;QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH;71
9.2.1;Experimental Research;71
9.2.2;Quasi-Experimental Research;72
9.2.3;Nonexperimental Research;73
9.2.4;Criteria for Judgment for Quantitative Research;75
9.3;QUALITATIVE RESEARCH;75
9.3.1;Ethnography;76
9.3.2;Phenomenology;77
9.3.3;Narrative Research;77
9.3.4;Grounded Theory;78
9.3.5;Case Study;79
9.3.6;Choosing among the Methods;80
9.3.7;Criteria for Judgment for Qualitative Research;80
9.3.8;Student Challenges;81
9.4;ACTION RESEARCH;81
9.4.1;Student Challenges;83
9.4.2;Why Do Action Research?;85
9.5;ARTS METHODOLOGIES AND METHODS;85
9.5.1;As Art Therapy;86
9.5.2;As Social Science Research;86
9.5.3;As Studio Art Practice;87
9.5.4;How Does One Judge the Quality of Arts Research?;88
9.5.5;Why Conduct Art Research;89
9.6;WRITING THE METHODOLOGY SECTION OR CHAPTER;90
10;CHAPTER 7: CONDUCTING ETHICAL RESEARCH;92
10.1;INTRODUCTION;92
10.1.1;Who and What Govern the Ethics Policies and Procedures?;93
10.1.2;What Power Do Research Ethics Boards Have?;94
10.1.3;Navigating Human Subjects Research Protocol Forms;94
10.1.4;Consent Forms;96
10.1.5;Multi-Jurisdiction Research;97
10.2;METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS;97
10.2.1;Action Research;97
10.2.2;Ethics and Self-Reflective Research;98
10.3;INTERNET RESEARCH;99
10.3.1;Online Surveys;101
10.4;ETHICAL CONSIDERATION FOR CREATIVE RESEARCH PRACTICES;101
11;CHAPTER 8: COLLECTING AND ANALYZING DATA;104
11.1;COLLECTING DATA;104
11.1.1;Recruiting and Retaining Participants;104
11.1.2;Dealing with Unanticipated Ethical Issues;105
11.1.3;Losing the Data;107
11.1.4;Faulty Data;109
11.1.5;Conclusion;109
11.2;DATA ANALYSIS;110
11.2.1;Starting Points;111
11.2.2;Coding the Data;111
11.2.3;Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS);113
11.2.4;Interpreting the Data;114
12;CHAPTER 9: ESTABLISHING AN ACADEMIC TRACK RECORD;116
12.1;PRESENTING AT CONFERENCES;116
12.1.1;Before Submitting a Proposal;117
12.1.2;How to Write a Conference Proposal;118
12.1.3;How to Make a Conference Presentation;120
12.1.4;How to Attend Presentations and Network;121
12.2;HOW TO PUBLISH A JOURNAL ARTICLE;122
12.2.1;Selecting the Appropriate Journal;122
12.2.2;Understanding the Peer-Review Process;123
12.2.3;What Is an Author?;125
12.2.4;The Order of Authors;126
12.2.5;How to Submit a Paper;128
12.2.6;How to Deal with Reviewers’ Comments;129
12.2.7;Why Papers Are Rejected;129
13;CHAPTER 10: FINDING SUPPORT FOR WRITING THE THESIS;131
13.1;INTRODUCTION;131
13.1.1;Time;131
13.1.2;Writing Support;133
13.1.3;How to Meet with a Supervisor;134
13.1.4;How to Ensure Good Feedback;136
13.1.5;Conclusion;138
14;CHAPTER 11: DEALING WITH STUDENT-SUPERVISOR PROBLEMS;139
14.1;INTRODUCTION;139
14.1.1;Addressing Problems with Your Supervisor;139
14.1.2;Getting Effective Feedback from Your Supervisor;140
14.1.3;Making a Formal Complaint;141
14.1.4;Changing Supervisors;141
14.1.5;Sexual Harassment, Racism, Homophobia, and Discrimination;143
14.2;NOTE;144
15;CHAPTER 12: DEFENDING THE THESIS;145
15.1;INTRODUCTION;145
15.1.1;What Is the “Good Enough” Thesis?;146
15.1.2;What Does an Oral Examination Entail?;147
16;REFERENCES;152
17;ABOUT THE AUTHOR;162