Writing Theses and Dissertations

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Choosing a Topic

• Develop a topic that has interested you throughout your graduate or undergraduate career
• Think about the top three issues you want to study, then turn them into questions
• Review papers you have written for classes, looking for a pattern of interest
• Look at class notes; professors may have pointed out potential research topics or commented on unanswered questions in the field
• Talk with professors or advisors about possible topics
• Replicate somebody else's study
• Conduct research on a broad topic to discover gaps in the literature
• Keep the following cautions in mind:
1. Get feedback on a potential topic from your advisor; your topic may not interest others in the field as much as it interests you
2. Do research to discover why your topic has not been studied before

Writing the Proposal

• Identify gaps in the literature
• State your thesis clearly
• Outline the questions you plan to address in the dissertation or thesis
• Establish a strong research design or theoretical framework for your study
• Describe the topics you plan to cover in each chapter of the thesis or dissertation
• Speculate upon potential results of your study
• Discuss the importance of your study to the field

Conducting Research

• Keep a researcher’s notebook  in addition to taking notes on specific sources.  The notebook keeps you in continual dialogue with your sources and your topic.
• Take summary notes as well as specific information notes
• Discuss your ideas with others as you conduct research
• Think about how each source specifically applies to your topic.  The authors of your sources are advancing their argument, not yours.  Therefore, you need to carefully consider which source material you will use.

Writing the Thesis or Dissertation

Maintaining your focus is the key to completing your dissertation or thesis.  Try the following strategies:

• Tape a copy of the proposal to your computer, asking yourself if you have expanded on all of the ideas advanced in the proposal
• Work "within" your proposal, adding key words and concepts and then expanding upon them
• Write your first chapter early in order to make sure that subsequent chapters fulfill promises made in the introduction.  This strategy helps some writers to focus their writing; for others, however, writing the first chapter proves difficult.  See what works for you.
• Know your thesis and let it dictate what you include; refrain from writing everything you know

• Purchase a file cabinet just for the thesis or dissertation; each drawer may contain drafts and research notes for each chapter.  Write explanations of the contents of each file folder and file drawer
• Date drafts to remember the order in which you worked on chapters
• Set deadlines for submitting drafts of each chapter.  Meet your deadlines even if you cannot deliver everything you promised
• List what each chapter or section should cover, including both general ideas and specific examples
• Look at style guides; they may provide an organizational formula for your field
• Use outlining software or the outline tool on you word processor

• Present sections of your thesis or dissertation as conference papers or submit them for publication.  Audience members and editorial boards frequently provide valuable comments
• Meet regularly with committee members to get feedback on your work-in-progress
• Get advice on your work throughout the writing process (while developing and organizing ideas, during the drafting phase, as you revise)
• Form a dissertation or thesis group that focuses on presenting and critiquing work-in-progress
• Bring your dissertation or thesis to a writing center consultant for feedback

Working with Your Committee

• Choose committee members who know your work well and whose feedback has benefited you in the past
• Make sure that the majority of the committee members--especially the chair--have tenure
• Consider whether potential committee members will have strong methodological and/or theoretical conflicts with each other
• Talk to other students who have worked with your potential committee members
• Establish what kind of role each person on the committee will play.  Some committee members may want to see every chapter, while others only want to see a completed draft and others will want to respond informally to your work-in-progress
• Take special care when choosing the chair of your committee.  Some chairs will set regular deadlines for you while others will encourage you to work independently.  Additionally, some chairs will serve as the "final word" when committee members offer conflicting comments.  Others expect the writer to deal with these differences
• Pay attention to your outside reader, making sure to include him or her in the process of feedback and approval
• Analyze your committee's comments before revising your work.  Consider whether the comments take your research in a valid direction

Managing Your Time

• Make the completion of your thesis or dissertation your top priority.  Do not waste time on points or questions outside the scope of your research
• Spend time on your dissertation at least five days a week.  Even if you only have one hour on some days, consistent work will help you to keep ideas and source material fresh in your mind
• Know your personality and choose a working style that goes with it.  For example, if you are a social person, you may want to work in a computer lab instead of at home
• Know your distractions and schedule your work time when distractions are at a low level
• Give yourself time to think; you often will need more time to think than you do to write
• Set aside time for yourself, your partner and your children (negotiate the time together so that you will be available at the same time).  It is important to communicate with those around you
• Try out different schedules, for example, shifting from morning to evening hours.  Sometimes taking a break from particular work habits is helpful

Acknowledgments

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