Designing and writing a qualitative dissertation methodology chapter can be done! Qualitative Dissertation Methodology: A Guide for Research Design and Methods functions as a dissertation advisor to help students construct and write a qualitative methodological framework for their research. Drawing from the challenges author Nathan Durdella has experienced while supervising students, the book breaks down producing the dissertation chapter into smaller pieces and goes through each portion of the methodology process step by step. With a warm and supportive tone, he walks students through the process from the very start, from choosing chairs and developing qualitative support networks to outlining the qualitative chapter and delving into the writing. By the end of the book, students will have completed the most challenging chapter of a qualitative dissertation and laid a strong foundation for the rest of their dissertation work.
A doctoral dissertation is arguably the most important journey that students will embark upon in their professional careers, so smart travelers will want E. Alana James and Tracesea H. Slater’s Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation or Thesis Faster: A Proven Map to Success at their fingertips. James and Slater identify the key places and challenges that create extra stress during the dissertation process, and offer effective strategies and tools to address those challenges and ensure academic success. Their map walks readers through each step of the process, including: • determining the research topic, • choosing appropriate methods, • turning a hypothesis into a study, • completing a literature review, • writing and defending a proposal, • collecting and analyzing data, • writing up the study, and • ultimately defending the dissertation. Building on years of experience with doctoral students, the authors provide a comprehensive, yet easy-to-use tool that encourages student reflection; includes student stories, hints, and writing tips; and provides end-of-chapter checklists and ideas for incorporating social media. With the proven techniques and guidance of this indispensable book, doctoral students will finish their thesis or dissertation—faster!
Addressing one of the key challenges facing doctoral students, Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation by Linda Dale Bloomberg and Marie Volpe fills a gap in qualitative literature by offering comprehensive guidance and practical tools for navigating each step in the qualitative dissertation journey, including the planning, research, and writing phases. Blending the conceptual, theoretical, and practical, the book becomes a dissertation in action—a logical and cohesive explanation and illustration of content and process. The Third Edition maintains key features that distinguish its unique approach and has been thoroughly updated and expanded throughout to reflect and address recent developments in the field.
All the tips, ideas and advice given to, and requested by, MA students in Media and Communications, are brought together in an easy-to-use accessible guide to help students study most effectively. Based upon many years of teaching study skills and hundreds of lecture slides and handouts this introduction covers a range of general and generic skills that the author relates specifically towards media and communications studies. As well as the mechanics of writing and presentations, the book also shows how students can work on and engage with the critical and contemplative elements of their degrees whilst retaining motivation and refining timekeeping skills. Of course the nuts and bolts of reading, writing, listening, seminars and the dreaded dissertation and essays are covered too. In addition advice on referencing, citation and academic style is offered for those with concerns over English grammar and expression. Aimed primarily at postgraduate students, there is significant crossover with undergraduate work, so this book will also prove of use to upper level undergraduate readers whether using English as a first or second language.
This is a research book with a difference. It tells the truth about the research process. Each phase of a research project is addressed in the simultaneous order in which researchers often undertake them. Importantly, the book recognizes that writing up a research project is rarely organized in the form in which the dissertation is finally presented. Readers are given guidelines to help them assess the kind of researcher they are and the all important question of how to chose a research project is answered. The book is easy to read and covers: An explanation of what lies behind the requirements that need to be met by a research proposal What readers should expect from their supervisors and what the researched organisation might expect from readers Support for the confused and anxious student. This book will guide the student through a challenging time, giving quick and realistic support to enable a stress-free completion of their final dissertation and project write up. SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips, resources and videos on study success!
This engaging and highly regarded book takes readers through the key stages of their PhD research journey, from the initial ideas through to successful completion and publication. It gives helpful guidance on forming research questions, organising ideas, pulling together a final draft, handling the viva and getting published. Each chapter contains a wealth of practical suggestions and tips for readers to try out and adapt to their own research needs and disciplinary style. This text will be essential reading for PhD students and their supervisors in humanities, arts, social sciences, business, law, health and related disciplines.
How to Design, Write, and Present a Successful Dissertation Proposal, by Elizabeth A. Wentz, is essential reading for any graduate student entering the dissertation process in the social or behavioral sciences. The book addresses the importance of ethical scientific research, developing your curriculum vitae, effective reading and writing, completing a literature review, conceptualizing your research idea, and translating that idea into a realistic research proposal using research methods. The author also offers insight into oral presentations of the completed proposal, and the final chapter presents ideas for next steps after the proposal has been presented. Taking the view that we “learn by doing,” the author provides Quick Tasks, Action Items, and To Do List activities throughout the text that, when combined, develop each piece of your research proposal. Designed primarily for quantitative or mixed methods research dissertations, this book is a valuable start-to-finish resource.
This updated and revised edition offers a comprehensive overview of key research methods and the main choices available when undertaking research in business and management. New to this edition is a comprehensive, practical guide on how to write your dissertation - invaluable to all. It is a clear, concise and practical guide containing wealth of outstanding examples for each method covered.Central to this edition is the 'methods map' (chapter 4), which sets out a logical process for researchers to articulate their position in relation to five key aspects of their research philosophy. In addition, the editors have developed a free app to accompany the book and this enables novice researchers to quickly develop a comprehensive justification of their particular research design in an interactive way. Taking you through the entire life cycle of a dissertation, the text covers everything from the purposes of research through to chapters on gathering primary and secondary data; using literature; quantitative and qualitative research; managing your research; using data and research ethics. Individual chapters are allied to a powerful critical commentary showing how some of the world's leading scholars have used particular methods in their own research. Carefully constructed to achieve the greatest clarity for the student the text gives the reader: * In-text exercises * End of chapter' review questions with solutions* Exemplar papers identified and discussed for each of the main methods *Directed further reading for developing understanding in key areas It is an essential learning aid for upper level undergraduates and postgraduates across a wide range of business and management courses and it comes with a range of supported learning materials including tutorials, lecture slides and tutor notes.Kevin O'Gorman is Professor of Management and Business History and Head of Business Management in the School of Languages and Management in Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. He trained in Glasgow, Salamanca and Rome as a philosopher, theologian and historian. His research interests have a dual focus: Origins, history and cultural practices of hospitality, and philosophical, ethical and cultural underpinnings of contemporary management practices. Using a wide range of methodological approaches he has published over 80 journal articles, books, chapters, and conference papers in business and management studies.Robert MacIntosh is Professor of Strategy and Head of the School of Management and Languages at Heriot-Watt University. He trained as an engineer and has worked at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. His research on the ways in which top teams develop strategy and on organizational change has been published in a wide range of outlets. He has a long-standing interest in research methods for business and management studies and has published on the relevance of management research using methods that include ethnography and action research. He has consulted extensively with public and private sector organizations and sits on the board of the charity Turning Point Scotland.
Conducting phenomenological research for dissertations can be an involved and challenging process, and writing it up is often the most challenging part. How to Write a Phenomenological Dissertation gives students practical, applied advice on how to structure and develop each chapter of the dissertation specifically for phenomenological research. Phenomenology is about personal experience and personal experience varies from researcher to researcher. However, this variation is a big source of confusion for new researchers in the social, behavioral, or health sciences. This brief text is written in a simple, step-by-step fashion to account for this flexibility and variation while also providing structure necessary for a successful dissertation. Broken up into chapters that follow each chapter of the dissertation, this text logically addresses the various parts of phenomenological research, starting with ensuring phenomenology is the right method for your research, writing the literature review, going through methods and results sections to analysis and discussion. The author, using experience gleaned from supervising phenomenological dissertations for many years, gives time-tested advice on how structure the dissertation to fit into more common frameworks, using checklists and tables throughout. Each chapter includes a list of helpful resources for students to use alongside this book with specific information on methods and research. Unique to this text is a chapter on creating your own phenomenological method which allows students to expand their viewpoints and experiment in future studies after the dissertation.
An Introduction to Fully Integrated Mixed Methods Research by Elizabeth G. Creamer provides the tools needed to design, execute, and evaluate fully integrated mixed methods research studies. A uniting metaphor of the architectural arch helps students understand the benefits of a mixed methods approach as they consider ways to integrate the qualitative and quantitative strands at all stages of design and execution. With use of examples from popular media and published research, this text also includes a detailed discussion of ways to accomplish mixing methods during data collection and analysis and a separate chapter on designing and executing a realistic mixed methods dissertation.
