How to Write a Master's Thesis / Edition 3

by Yvonne N. Bui

Overview

The Third Edition of How to Write a Master's Thesis is a comprehensive manual on how to plan and write a five-chapter master’s thesis, and a great resource for graduate students looking for concrete, applied guidance on how to successfully complete their master's degrees. While research methods and statistics courses may teach students the basic information on how to conduct research, putting it all together into a single project and document can be a challenge. Author Yvonne Bui demystifies this process by integrating the language learned in prerequisite methods and statistics courses into a step-by-step guide for developing a student's own thesis or project.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506336091
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	09/05/2019
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	580,876
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Yvonne N. Bui (Ph D, Special Education, Learning Disabilities, University of Kansas) is Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Learning and Instruction, School of Education at the University of San Francisco. She teaches master’s- and doctoral-level courses in Special Education, Research Methods, Master’s Thesis, Statistics, Grant Writing, and Dissertation Proposal Development. She serves as the chairperson and committee member for students’ theses and dissertations within the School of Education. She is the coeditor of Exceptional Children in Today’s Schools: What Teachers Need to Know. Her research interests include developing curriculum for students with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and international special education. Her personal interests include reading, writing, hiking, backpacking, camping, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Table of Contents

List of Students' Master's Theses xv

Preface xvii

About the Author xxi

Chapter 1 Overview of the Master's Degree and Thesis 1

The Master's Degree 2

What Is a Master's Thesis? 3

The Benefits of Writing a Master's Thesis 4

The Difference Between a Master's Thesis and a Term Paper 4

The Difference Between a Master's Thesis and a Doctoral Dissertation 5

Selecting a Thesis Chairperson and Committee 6

How to Read and Use This Book 7

Components of a Master's Thesis 8

Chapter 1 Introduction 9

Chapter 2 Literature Review 9

Chapter 3 Methods 10

Chapter 4 Results and Findings 11

Chapter 5 Discussion 11

Quantitative, Qualitative, or Mixed Methods Research? 12

Quantitative Research 12

Qualitative Research 14

Mixed Methods Research 15

Style Form 16

Summary 17

Resources 18

Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 18

Reflection/Discussion Questions 18

Try It Exercises 18

Key Terms 20

Suggested Readings 20

Web Links 21

Chapter 2 Selecting a Research Topic 23

Important Factors to Consider When Selecting a Topic 24

Personal Significance 24

Critical Issues in the Field 25

Existing Research Literature 26

Search Engines 27

Electronic Databases 30

Ethical Considerations 30

How to Narrow and Refocus Your Topic 31

Feasibility 32

Accessibility 33

Time and Resources 34

Developing Answerable Research Questions 35

Answerable Questions 35

Defining Terms 36

Creating a Realistic Timeline 38

Time Management 41

Reserving Time 41

Chunking Method 42

Summary 43

Resources 44

Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 44

Reflection/Discussion Questions 44

Try It Exercises 45

Key Terms 46

Suggested Readings 46

Web Links 46

Chapter 3 Using the Literature to Research Your Problem 47

Benefits of Conducting a Literature Review 48

Meeting With a Reference Librarian 49

Sources of Data: Primary Versus Secondary 50

Primary Sources 50

Secondary Sources 51

Selecting Keywords 52

Conducting Searches in Electronic Databases 54

Basic Search 57

Search Modes 57

Limiters 60

Expanders 61

Advanced Search 63

Using Subject Terms (Thesaurus) 63

Conducting Searches on the Internet 66

Different Types of Articles 67

Refereed Versus Non-Refereed 67

Staying Organized 68

Summary 70

Resources 71

Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 71

Reflection/Discussion Questions 71

Try It Exercises 72

Key Terms 73

Suggested Readings 73

Web Links 74

Chapter 4 Conducting Ethical Research 75

Legal Regulations and Ethical Standards 76

Institutional Review Board (IRB) 80

IR8 Protocol Review Process 81

Ethical Behavior 83

Plagiarism and Paraphrasing 84

Summary 86

Resources 87

Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 87

Reflection/Discussion Question 88

Try It Exercises 88

Key Terms 89

Suggested Readings 89

Web Links 90

Chapter 5 How to Write Chapter One, Introduction 91

Writing Style 92

Chapter One Sections 93

Introduction 94

Statement of the Problem 99

Background and Need 102

Three Parallel Ladders Strategy 102

Purpose of the Study 106

Research Questions 108

Significance to the Field 109

Definitions 110

Limitations 111

Ethical Considerations 111

Summary 112

Resources 113

Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 113

Reflection/Discussion Questions 113

Try It Exercises 114

Key Terms 115

Suggested Readings 115

Web Links 116

Chapter 6 How to Write Chapter Two, Literature Review 117

Preparation and Organization 119

Chapter 2 Sections 122

Introduction 122

Advance Organizer 123

Body of the Review 124

Research Synthesis 124

Section Summary 130

Chapter Summary 131

Summary 132

Resources 133

Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 133

Reflection/Discussion Questions 134

Try It Exercises 134

Key Terms 135

Suggested Readings 135

Web Links 135

Chapter 7 How to Write Chapter Three, Methods 137

Research Designs and Research Methods 138

Preparation and Organization 139

Chapter 3 Sections 140

Introduction 141

Setting 144

Participants 145

Intervention and Materials 147

Measurement Instruments 149

Validity and Reliability 153

Procedure 155

Data Analysis 158

Summary 161

Resources 162

Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 162

Reflection/Discussion Questions 164

Try It Exercises 164

Key Terms 165

Suggested Readings 165

Web Links 166

Chapter 8 How to Write Chapter Four, Results and Findings 167

Preparation and Organization 168

Chapter Four Sections 169

Quantitative Data 169

Descriptive Statistics 171

Measures of Central Tendency 171

Measures of Variability 173

Additional Ways to Report Data Descriptively 176

Inferential Statistics 178

Tests of Significance 178

Independent-Samples t Test 178

Paired-Samples t Test 181

Qualitative Data 183

Major Themes and Patterns 183

Research Questions 186

Validity of Findings 189

Mixed Methods Data 190

Summary 191

Resources 192

Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 192

Reflection/Discussion Questions 192

Try It Exercises 193

Key Terms 194

Suggested Readings 194

Web Links 195

Chapter 9 How to Write Chapter Five, Discussion 197

Preparation and Organization 198

Chapter 5 Sections 199

Introduction 199

Discussion 200

Limitations 204

Recommendations for Future Research 206

Conclusion 207

Summary 211

Resources 212

Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 212

Reflection/Discussion Questions 213

Try It Exercises 213

Suggested Readings 214

Web Links 214

Chapter 10 Wrapping It All Up 215

Preparation and Organization 217

APA Style 217

Levels of Heading 218

Citations in Text 221

Direct Quotes 222

Paraphrasing 222

One Work, One Author 222

One Work, Multiple Authors 223

Two or More Works 223

Reference List 224

Order and Format 224

Tables 226

Tables in Text 229

Placement and Spacing 229

Title 231

Headings and Body 231

Notes 232

Figures 232

Figures in Text 233

Placement, Size, and Font 233

Captions and Legends 233

Graphs 234

Final Formatting 235

Appendixes 235

Appendixes in Text 235

Placement and Cover Pages 235

Front Pages 236

Title Page 236

Signature Page 237

Acknowledgments 237

Abstract 237

Table of Contents 239

Lists of Tables and Figures 239

Final Tips and Checklist 239

Copying and Binding 241

Next Steps: Presenting at Conferences and Getting Published 241

Summary 243

Resources 244

Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 244

Reflection/Discussion Questions 244

Try It Exercises 245

Key Terms 245

Suggested Readings 245

Web Links 246

Appendices 247

Glossary 275

References 282

Author Index 286

Subject Index 288

Editorial Reviews

Yvonne Bui’s How to Write a Master’s Thesis should be mandatory for all thesis track master’s students. It steers students away from the shortcuts students may be tempted to use that would be costly in the long run. The step by step intentional approach is what I like best about this book.

Joel M. Cox

This is the best textbook about writing an M.A. thesis available in the market.

Hsin-I Liu

This is the type of textbook that students keep and refer to after the class.

Elizabeth Tolman

The key strengths are in the book's organization and explanation of how to structure the thesis. The step by step focus in this comprehensive book offers the student an on call 24 hour thesis advisor.

Christine Kerr

This book is great and fills an absolute need!!! I was so happy to find it.

Melissa R. Shyan-Norwalt

I don't use any other books but the Bui book. And yes, I would recommend this book to others. The Bui book is an easy read simply laid out and easy to follow. Students appreciate this book.

Cath Stilwell

Dr. Bui's text is a much appreciated edition. It easily facilitated graduate research in Arts Management, a discipline still determining how to "best" conduct empirical research.

Antonio C. Cuyler

This is thebest book I have read so far on how to write a master's thesis, I love the practical adviceand the conversational writingstyle.

Bible Lee

I just wanted to say what a wonderful guide your book has been through my entire thesis writing experience. I referenced your book through every chapter and as I begin to write the last chapter, I honestly feel that I wouldn't feel as confident with my draft if not for your writing. It has a perfect balance of humor, motivation, realistic expectations, and wonderful examples. I especially appreciated your examples and instructions for the SPSS software interpretations.

Lindy Smart