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Researching & planning a dissertation

Researching & planning a dissertation. Dr Rebekah Higgitt R.Higgitt@kent.ac.uk. What should a dissertation do?. Make an argument Demonstrate your mastery of primary and secondary sources Demonstrate some originality. Y our research question.

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Researching & planning a dissertation

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  1. Researching & planning a dissertation Dr Rebekah Higgitt R.Higgitt@kent.ac.uk

  2. What should a dissertation do? • Make an argument • Demonstrate your mastery of primary and secondary sources • Demonstrate some originality

  3. Your research question • Does answering it allow you to present a clear argument? • Is it answerable from the primary sources you’ve looked at? • How will you answer it? • With themes? • With case studies? • Approach these with ‘w’ questions: who, what, why, when, where, how?

  4. Using sources • Find sources that can (help) to answer your questions • If sources suggest another question think hard about whether you should adjust to include it or should decide it’s not relevant • Respect the integrity of the source • Show that you understand the context and therefore limits/opportunities of primary sources • Show awareness of author’s perspective when using secondary sources

  5. Reading and taking notes • Notes taken on a computer can be searched • Note down full reference for everything you read, and page numbers (especially for quotes) • You might not read whole books, but do read intro/conclusion first to make sure you understand argument and perspective • Identify debates/disagreements in the literature: which side (or neither) do your sources support?

  6. Research: an iterative process

  7. Planning • Plan visually: chapters, sections, paragraphs • Expect this to change as research continues • Separate sheets for each section • Write parts as you go along

  8. Sources and questions • Be prepared to be flexible: you may need to change your question or revise your hypothesis • Imagine different answers to your question and think about what sources might reveal different views – your thesis can include that difference • As you build up your picture, or develop a new angle, go back to earlier sources and notes • Shift your ideas, evidence, sources, sections around as needed

  9. Tips • Talk about your dissertation! • If you use images treat them as proper primary sources: details of where they’re from; think about who produced them, why, where they were seen etc; what do they add to your story and argument? • Make sure you are not simply narrating facts and being descriptive: question, analyse, compare and convince the reader of your interpretation.

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