Your Dissertation in Education / Edition 2

by Scott Buckler, Nicholas Stephen Robert Walliman

Overview

Are you struggling with your dissertation? Have you started too late and now you're panicking?

Help is here! Your Dissertation in Education is a straight-forward, plain English guide to doing and writing your project. It will take you from start to finish, with practical and friendly advice on every page. This second edition includes:

- A new Foundations section with the concepts and tools you need to get started

- An expanded guide to methodology and writing about methods

- A new chapter on mixed methods

An essential companion on your dissertation journey, this book is ideal for students across education, including teacher training, early childhood and education studies.

The Student Success series are essential guides for students of all levels. From how to think critically and write great essays to planning your dream career, the Student Success series helps you study smarter and get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips and resources for study success!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473907485
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	04/18/2016
Series:	Student Success
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Scott Buckler has been involved in education since the 1990s, fluctuating between primary teaching, secondary teaching (science, computing, psychology), and universities (education, sport, psychology). From teaching research methods across the expanse of education (from the primary years through to doctorates), Scott has been an advocate of high quality research, through facilitating an open mind while maintaining academic integrity.

His research has encompassed many areas, often with the theme of personal and professional growth, through the lens of transpersonal psychology. His Ph D thesis was interdisciplinary, combining anthropology and psychology to explore the way that the martial arts lead to personal transformation. Professionally, Scott’s research is predominantly in applied educational psychology, inclusive education, and research methods.

Scott is a Chartered Teacher and Chartered Psychologist.

Dr Nicholas Walliman is a qualified architect and Associate Lecturer in the School of the Built Environment at Oxford Brookes University and is a former research associate in the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development. He has been engaged on a series of nationally and internationally funded research projects on aspects of building technology and has published many research papers. He has also supervised and examined numerous Ph D, MPhil and Masters students. He has published a number of books on doing research and writing papers, dissertations and theses.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: What is a dissertation?
Chapter 3: What is educational research?
Chapter 4: What’s all this about ethics?
Chapter 5: What will it be about?
Chapter 6: How do I get started?
Chapter 7: How do I write a proposal?
Chapter 8: How do I write an introduction?
Chapter 9: Where do I get hold of all the necessary background information
Chapter 10: How can I manage all the notes?
Chapter 11: What about referencing?
Chapter 12: How do I argue my point effectively?
Chapter 13: How do I write a literature review?
Chapter 14: Methodology and methods: what’s the difference?
Chapter 15: What is meant by mixing methodologies?
Chapter 16: What sorts of data will I find and how much do I need?
Chapter 17: Methods: How do I conduct effective interviews?
Chapter 18: Methods: How do I structure effective questionnaires?
Chapter 19: Methods: How do I undertake effective observations?
Chapter 20: Methods: How do I conduct documentary analysis?
Chapter 21: Why is reliability and validity so important?
Chapter 22: How do I write a methodology chapter?
Chapter 23: How do I analyse qualitative data?
Chapter 24: How do I analyse quantitative data?
Chapter 25: How do I combine different data sets?
Chapter 26: How do I write a discussion chapter?
Chapter 27: How can I work effectively with my supervisor?
Chapter 28: What about working and planning my time?
Chapter 29: How can I manage a long piece of writing?
Chapter 30: Who else might be interested in my writing?

Editorial Reviews

The great achievement of this book is the way in which it combines readability and rigour. Scott Buckler and Nicholas Wallman are to be congratulated on the very thorough yet accessible approach they have taken to the topic of dissertation writing, offering advice on each and every aspect of the process, clearly drawing on a wide range of experience and referring to some of the latest literature to support their advice. I am sure that many hard-pressed and potentially anxious colleagues undertaking writing of a sustained kind, perhaps for the first time, will gain enormous reassurance and support from this book. And they may even find some amusement, given the authors' sense of humour!

Ian Menter

Aimed primarily at undergraduate students on teacher education degrees, this book deserves a much wider audience. Written in an engaging style, it provides clear explanations of complex ideas and is an excellent ‘step-by-step’ guide to planning and writing a dissertation. Highly recommended.

Dr Nigel Skinner

From constructing a question to presenting the findings, this welcome second edition should be the first read for students undertaking a dissertation in education. It makes complex methodological and procedural issues accessible, while fostering students’ confidence and proficiency in undertaking an independent research project.

Alan Thomson