Table Of Content3rd edition
How to Write Your Undergraduate Dissertation
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Critical Thinking and Persuasive Writing for Completing Your PhD
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Dissertations and Project Reports Managing Stress
The Employability Journal Planning Your Dissertation (2nd edn)
Essentials of Essay Writing Planning Your Essay (2nd edn)
The Exam Skills Handbook (2nd edn) Planning Your PhD
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(2nd edn) Referencing and Understanding Plagiarism
How to Begin Studying English Literature (4th edn) (2nd edn)
How to Use Your Reading in Your Essays (3rd edn) Reflective Writing
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How to
Write Your
Undergraduate
Dissertation
Third Edition
Bryan Greetham
© Bryan Greetham, under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2009, 2014, 2019
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this
work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First edition 2009
Second edition 2014
Third edition published 2019 by
RED GLOBE PRESS
Red Globe Press in the UK is an imprint of Springer Nature Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of 4 Crinan Street,
London, N1 9XW.
Red Globe Press® is a registered trademark in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978–1–352–00522–6 paperback
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
To my former supervisor Dr Joe Mintoff, for his thoroughness, attention to detail and
passion for his subject. And to Pat, whose undiminished courage to accept each new
challenge makes our life together so fascinating.
Contents
Acknowledgements x
Introduction xi
Part 1 Examiners and Supervisors 1
1 Examiners: What are they Looking for? 3
2 Working with Your Supervisor 9
Part 2 Generating and Developing Original Ideas 15
3 What Activities Suit You Best? 17
4 Types of Research 24
5 What Interests You Most? 33
6 Generating Your Own Ideas 1: Using Trigger Questions 40
7 Generating Your Own Ideas 2: Perspectives and Levels 47
8 Developing Your Ideas 1: Causal Relations 53
9 Developing Your Ideas 2: Conceptual Relations 61
10 Original Questions and Hypotheses 1: Using Analogies 72
11 Original Questions and Hypotheses 2: Working with
Your Structures 78
Part 3 Deciding on Your Project 87
12 Searching the Literature 1: Knowing What to Look for 89
13 Searching the Literature 2: How to Search 95
14 Choosing the Topic 1: Feasibility 103
15 Choosing the Topic 2: Ethical Issues 107
Part 4 Organising Your Work 117
16 Planning Your Research 119
17 Managing Your Time 129
18 Your Retrieval System 141
19 Reading 148
20 Note-taking 155
vii
viii Contents
Part 5 Doing Your Research 165
21 Qualitative and Quantitative Research 167
22 Secondary Sources 174
23 Primary Sources 1: Quantitative Research 180
24 Primary Sources 2: Designing and Distributing Your
Questionnaire 185
25 Primary Sources 3: Qualitative Research – Interviews
and Focus Groups 193
26 Primary Sources 4: Qualitative Research – Case Studies and
Observations 199
Part 6 Planning Your Dissertation 207
27 The Main Components and Introduction 209
28 The Literature Review 214
29 Research Methods, Findings, Conclusion and Appendices 221
Part 7 Organising Your Thinking 231
30 Developing Consistent Arguments 1: The Components 233
31 Developing Consistent Arguments 2: The Connections 241
32 Using Evidence 1: Describing it 250
33 Using Evidence 2: Drawing Inferences 256
34 Using Evidence 3: Creating Causal Connections 263
35 Using Language 1: Clarity – Jargon 269
36 Using Language 2: Clarity – Manipulative Words 277
37 Using Language 3: Consistency 283
Part 8 Writing Your Dissertation 287
38 The First Draft 289
39 Style 1: Finding Your Own Voice 296
40 Style 2: Simplicity and Economy 300
Part 9 Plagiarism, Referencing and Bibliographies 307
41 Plagiarism 309
42 Referencing and Bibliographies 314
Part 10 Editing 323
43 Revision 1: The Structure 325
44 Revision 2: The Content 332
Contents iixx
Part 11 Presenting Your Dissertation 339
45 Oral Presentations 341
46 Poster Presentations 349
Conclusion 358
Bibliography 359
Index 360
Acknowledgements
As this book is largely the product of my own academic experience, I would like to
acknowledge the debt I owe to all my teachers, whose skills to inspire and motivate
their students were never far from my thoughts. However, this is also the appropriate
place to acknowledge all the gifted teachers working in schools, colleges and
universities. Aldous Huxley once said, ‘Most of one’s life … is one prolonged effort to
prevent oneself thinking’.1 It is not easy to teach students to think; far easier just to
teach them to recycle your ideas. But there are some teachers out there who spend
years teaching their students to embrace the challenge of genuine thinking, rather than
avoid it.
Among these are some of my colleagues. In particular, I owe a considerable debt to
Professor Cliff Hooker at the University of Newcastle in Australia. The subtlety and
complexity of his thought enriched my understanding of the nature of thinking. I am
also grateful to Dr David Dockrill of the University of Newcastle and Shaun Theobald of
the University of Kent for their friendship and support over the years.
As for my students, I owe them a debt that cannot even be measured, let alone
repaid. To all those in Britain, Europe, Australia and the US who have been generous
enough to accept me as their tutor, I thank you. At times I think you have taught me
more than I have taught you.
To Suzannah Burywood, my first editor at Palgrave, and now Helen Caunce, I owe
special debts of gratitude for investing such confidence in me and for their quiet
patience, professionalism and unfailingly sound judgement. I would also like to thank
my reviewers for their kind and encouraging words and for permission to use examples
that one of them offered. I must also thank Springer Nature Customer Service Center
for allowing me to use two figures from Patrick Dunleavy’s book Studying for a Degree in
the Humanities and Social Sciences (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1986).
Finally, I would like to thank my partner, Patricia Rowe, and my dear friend AH for
enriching my life with their optimism and sense of fun and for giving me the stability to
get on with my work.
Note
1 Aldous Huxley, ‘Green Tunnels’, in Mortal Coils (1922; Harmondsworth: Penguin,
1955), p. 114.
x
