How to Write Your Undergraduate Dissertation

by Bryan Greetham

Overview

This practical guide takes undergraduate students step-by-step through the process of completing a dissertation, from the initial stages of generating original ideas and planning the project through to writing their first draft and critically reviewing their own work. It shows students how to choose the most appropriate methods for collecting and analysing their data and how to then integrate this research into their dissertation. Students will learn how to develop consistent and persuasive arguments and write up their research in a clear and concise style.

This book is an essential resource for undergraduates of all disciplines who are required to write a dissertation as part of their degree.

New to this Edition:
- Includes expanded material on research ethics
- Contains two new chapters on presenting research posters and delivering oral presentations

Accompanying online resources for this title can be found at bloomsburyonlineresources.com/how-to-write-your-undergraduate-dissertation. These resources are designed to support teaching and learning when using this textbook and are available at no extra cost.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781352005226
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/19/2019
Series:	Bloomsbury Study Skills , #108
Edition description:	3rd ed. 2019
Pages:	366
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Bryan Greetham is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Durham, UK, and has previously taught at University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. He is the author of How to Write Your Undergraduate Dissertation, Smart Thinking and How to Write Your Literature Review.
Bryan Greetham was educated at the universities of Kent and Sussex, UK. He holds a PhD in moral philosophy from the University of Newcastle, Australia. He is currently engaged in research into moral thinking and the Holocaust, and teaches philosophy at the University of Maryland. He is the author of How to Write Better Essays, Thinking Skills for Professionals and Philosophy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
PART I: EXAMINERS AND SUPERVISORS
1. Examiners – What Are They Looking For?
2. Working With Your Supervisor
PART II: GENERATING AND DEVELOPING ORIGINAL IDEAS
3. What Activities Suit You Best?
4. Types of Research
5. What Interests You Most?
6. Generating Your Own Ideas 1: Using Trigger Questions
7. Generating Your Own Ideas 2: Perspectives and Levels
8. Developing Your Ideas 1: Causal Relations
9. Developing Your Ideas 2: Conceptual Relations
10. Original Questions and Hypotheses 1: Using Analogies
11. Original Questions and Hypotheses 2: Working With Your Structures
PART III: DECIDING ON YOUR PROJECT
12. Searching the Literature 1: Knowing What to Look For
13. Searching the Literature 2: How to Search
14. Choosing the Topic 1: Feasibility
15. Choosing the Topic 2: Ethical Issues
PART IV: ORGANISING YOUR WORK
16. Planning Your Research
17. Managing Your Time
18. Your Retrieval System
19. Reading
20. Note-taking
PART V: DOING YOUR RESEARCH
21. Qualitative and Quantitative Research
22. Secondary Sources
23. Primary Sources 1: Quantitative Research
24. Primary Sources 2: Designing and Distributing Your Questionnaire
25. Primary Sources 3: Qualitative Research – Interviews and Focus Groups
26. Primary Sources 4: Qualitative Research – Case Studies and Observations
PART VI: PLANNING YOUR DISSERTATION
27. The Main Components and Introduction
28. The Literature Review
29. Research Methods, Findings, Conclusions and Appendices
PART VII: ORGANISING YOUR THINKING
30. Developing Consistent Arguments 1: The Components
31. Developing Consistent Arguments 2: The Connections
32. Using Evidence 1: Describing It
33. Using Evidence 2: Drawing Inferences
34. Using Evidence 3: Creating Causal Connections
35. Using Language 1: Clarity Jargon
36. Using Language 2: Clarity Manipulative Words
37. Using Language 3: Consistency
PART VIII: WRITING YOUR DISSERTATION
38. The First Draft
39. Style 1: Finding Your Own Voice
40. Style 2: Simplicity and Economy
PART IX: PLAGIARISM, REFERENCING AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES
41. Plagiarism
42. Referencing and Bibliographies
PART X: EDITING
43. Revision 1: The Structure
44. Revision 2: The Content
PART XI: PRESENTING YOUR WORK
45. Oral Presentations
46. Poster Presentations
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Key strengths are its use of language which is easy to understand and clear exercises. This is a great book and I advise my students to buy it.' - L Hibberd, Leeds Metropolitan University, UK

'I like the straightforwardness of the book: 'it does what is says on the tin' – and I think undergraduate students appreciate this, especially if they are somewhat intimidated by the task of having to design their own article-length piece of original research.' - S Rossbach, University of Kent, UK

Amazon customer reviews -

'Step by step guidance just what you need in your final year. Great tips to help you in your major project.'

'This is a very good book for those undertaking a dissertation for the first time. It reads well and is not too jargonistic!'

Editorial Reviews

'It is written fluently and engagingly. Explanations, broader discussions and directions never out-stay their welcome. The book keeps moving on. There is also a very good sense of how much information the reader can absorb in a sentence, a paragraph and a section.' - John Peck, former Reader at Cardiff University, UK

'I admire the general, well-written, refreshingly presented, focus on 'thinking'. The market is huge and ever-expanding. There are a number of volumes on 'how to write a dissertation', but not with a focus on clarity of language and building arguments.' - Jonathan Grix, Senior Lecturer in German Studies and Research Methodology, University of Birmingham

From the Publisher