Chapter 1: the Introduction to the Dissertation.
Discovery
Before starting any action research process it's important that everybody in your work/study team have a solid knowledge of what is involved in the chapter they are about to write. I recommend that everyone should have a model dissertation or two, from your University and or about your topic, on hand. As your group moves into writing this chapter it makes sense that you would start by reading examples from a number of published documents. Markup what you like, and what you find it awkward in the writing. Bring back the questions that you may have to the group and then engage in a discussion of what you all think makes for a great Chapter One. Remember, the purpose of this chapter is to set the stage for your topic, context, and methodology. The entire proposal should be written as though you are speaking as an expert, not as a student repeating what others have said. It is helpful if your group is critical of the works that you are reviewing and that you build together a list of the attributes you aim for as you write.
Measurable Actions
Week 1: The discussion of what you have found about what constitutes a solid version of chapter one will take up the first week's meeting of your group. You can measure your success in analyzing what needs to be in this chapter will be seen in a comparison between what your group decides, and what the authors in the books offering dissertation help that you are using also suggest is important.
The next eight weeks are written in two weeks cycles because in each you will take on a certain section of this chapter, analyze it, then write a draft, and discuss it with your group, and finally go back and rewrite it adding your groups expert comments and ideas. Be sure to write the re-draft sections in red so that everyone can understand what has been added when you come back at the end to discuss the new additions. The generally recognized headings for Chapter 1 include:
- Introduction to Chapter
- Context for the Study (local, theoretical, and methodological each of subheading)
- Methodological Design (for quantitative studies: problem statement, hypothesis, null hypothesis, and general discussion of data collection and analysis -- for qualitative studies: purpose, scope, research questions, data collection and analysis-- also a subheading)
- Definition of Terms
- Limitations and Assumptions
- Significance (or contribution of your study to your field)
- Summary
Always be sure to do two things: first, double-check any headings you use and the order of these headings against your University guidelines and standards. Different universities make small changes in the overall flow of these documents and while you may add to the list you must not read organize or delete from their standard headings. Second, always write in the future tense. The documents that you are reading have been published because the study is over. Therefore, everything is written in the past tense but you must change it to the future because your study has not yet begun. When you are finished writing chapters 4 and 5 and are ready for graduation you will change all the future tenses to the past.
Your group may of course divide the writing of the different sections anyway you want. What follows are guidelines based upon experience as to which sections take the longest to write but they can easily be rearranged to fit the needs of your group.
Weeks 2 & 3: Start by writing the introduction to the chapter, and the three contexts for this study: local, theoretical, and methodological. Come to the group meeting with your headings set up. Then spend some time reading and discussing these parts in various published dissertations that you are using as models. What do you like and dislike about each of the sections you read? Did the author speak in their own voice or talk like a student repeating what others say? What are the best techniques for claiming your own voice in writing? Come to some common analysis points and understanding as to the goals you are setting for your own writing style. Then discuss what content you think you will put in each section.
In between weeks two and three you write your first drafts of the sections, coming back in weeks three for critical discussion of that work. Think in terms of two to three paragraphs each. Week three is dedicated to reading each others work and critically comparing it to both the dissertation models in the expert opinions in the books you have chosen to use this guidelines. In between weeks three and four you make your final changes to your first draft of those sections as you prepare to move on to the next portion of writing.
Weeks 4 & 5: First drafts of Chapter One often have overly extensive writing in place for the context for the study. This is perhaps because this is the first time you have written extensively about your topic, why it's important, and how the ideas you are focused on add up to be a justification for research. Therefore, a critical discussion of how others have led him to their methodological design through a discussion of the local, theoretical, and methodological context for their study is important if you want to avoid wasting good time writing extraneous material. As with the discussion in week two, your group should look over what others have done, and discuss what you intend to write.
In the space between weeks four and five draft this section. During the week five meeting your group act as critical friends making suggestions for improvements in order to have everyone reach the standards of the published materials you are using models. Between weeks five and six you rewrite what you had originally written, making all changes in red for future discussion.
Weeks 6 & 7: Writing your first overview of the methodological design is both a daunting task the first time through and also likely to change as you get deeper and deeper into the challenge of dissertation research. Therefore, it is helpful if you look at your first draft of this section as an exercise rather than a final project. Do the best you can, include all of the required parts, and if you need help on understanding general methods frameworks, and use research language, I recommend Creswell (2009), Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, third edition. His writing is direct, to the point, and generally doctoral students find it very helpful.
As with the previous segments of writing, in week four you look at how others have done it, and in between weeks you write your first draft. In week five you critically review each others works making suggestions for editing. Such as that of
You will of course be in discussion with other people who ideas will add to what you write. These include your University advisers, and perhaps other researchers who have done similar work. There is no harm in adopting another persons research model more or less if it fits your topic area, because adjustments will have to be made to help it meet the requirements of your local context, timing, etc. and in that process you may get yours
Weeks 8 & 9: The work in these last two weeks of writing is to finish the rest of the chapter through completing a smaller sections of Definition of Terms, Limitations and Assumptions, Significance, and Summary. Following the routine set up in previous weeks, your group starts by doing an overview of what goes in each section and discussing what works best. In between weeks you make your draft which is then discussed in week nine. You make your final rewrites and put all of the sections together for a final review in week 10.
Week 10: Your work/study group should celebrate in week 10 as you critically analyze your full first draft of Chapter One.
There is no doubt that because of your work/study group your writing is stronger and more problem free and it could have ever been had you been working on your own. It is also likely that you have had a chance to enjoy each other, find fellowship, etc. Your study/writing group will greatly increase the likelihood that you enjoy the dissertation writing process. It is wise to take a break and then move on to writing either Chapters Two or Three, which will be the topic of other articles.
very nice post..thank u for sharing
ReplyDeletetop VPN for torrenting