The Art of Thesis Writing

https://www.csapakistan.com/2023/06/06/the-art-of-thesis-writing/ 

The Art of Thesis Writing

ABRAR HUSSAIN

International center for chemical and biological sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi Pakistan.

Email: abrarhussain0307@gmail.com

 

Introduction

Thesis writing is the last step in the academic research which is required for the achievement of university degree. Thesis writing is a steady process which required deep thoughts and full attention [1]. The origin of term thesis come from Greek meaning "something put forth" and was first described by Aristotle. It refers to that documents which is necessary to obtain the university degree after the completion of the author research [2]. It is also considered as long piece of writing on a particular subject.

Dissertation is synonymous for thesis which basically meaning “discussion”, but there are some difference exist in term of reading, purpose, knowledge they contain and the way of its displaying [3][4][2]. Some differences are stated here;

Thesis	Properties	Dissertation
Greek	Origin	Latin
Documents write for claiming of bachelor or master degree	Definition	Documents write for claiming of doctorate (Ph.D.) degree
Mostly 100 or less pages	Length	It is longer as it have more background and have 200-300 pages.
It is mostly written for the explanation and making conclusion about topic.	Topic coverage	It contain new ideas and new conclusion about specific topic.
It show the knowledge about the information what is learn during whole course	Reflection	It show the new knowledge, theories and practices obtained during doctoral degree.
Shorter oral presentation	Oral presentation	Longer oral presentation

 Open mind, good critical thinking ability, confidence, determined, resilient, disciplined, focus, responsibility, good relationship and enjoying the science are some of the properties which are required to be present in the author while writing their thesis [5].

Properties of thesis/dissertation

Parts of thesis:

Generally the thesis have four major sections, these are introduction, literature review, results and discussion or conclusion [3].

 The detailed components of thesis are described as follow;

1-Abstract:

It is a tiny, concise and inclusive summary of the research work which covers all the research package in the envelope of 250 words [6]. During abstract writing the motivation and attention of the reader must be keep in mind  [7].

Parts of abstracts [7][8][6][9]

·         Motivation: it reflect the problem, purpose and the gap of the research

·         Methodology: it show what and how actually the research gap will be fill.

·         Finding: what results were obtained by following the given procedure

·         Summary: it summarize all the materials, implications and benefits etc.

2-Thesis introduction

Thesis introduction can provide the outlined of the research question and the way how to achieve the target  [3]. The contents of introduction include, current observation, views and experiences etc. which reflect the status of the problem. It also provide a scientifically proved evidence for the given problem of the research. This part of thesis can capture the reader attention and put them to understand the importance of the research [7]. During writing clearly state the research hypothesis and follow the rule of ‘General to Specific to General’

3-literture review

A literature review is a critical, analytical, selective and inclusive outline of previous research concerning a specific topic. The details understanding of what is known and what is lifting, can help the researcher to formulate the rationales of their studies [2][7][10]. The part included in literature review are the current knowledge, theories, themes and the lifted area in that specific topic [3][7]. The literature review is strongly influenced weather our research is qualitative or quantitative [10]. 

Why we write Literature review? (Writing purpose) [2][9][10]

The start of the literature review writing is seems very difficult but it is necessary for the following purposes.

·         Familiarity with topic: It help us to know about the chosen topic

·         Theoretical framework: it enhance the theoretical background of the researcher

·         Set rational: it set the rational of the work.

·         Identify the research gap: critical review can accurately identified the research gap

·         Authenticity: it also authenticate the research work by describing the existing method used for the similar work.  

Skills required for literature review

The following skills can enhance the researcher ability to write critical literature review[7]

·         Analytical skills

·         Synthesis skills

·         Comprehension skills

·         Strong knowledge absorbing ability

4- Methodology

It is the detailed of the research steps that is used to support the outcomes and describes the methods and generates a roadmap to reach to the conclusions. It also emphasis on the selection of the method. Proper methodology can reflect the validity and reliability of the research work and also convince the reader by selecting that specific method [7][9].

How to write methodology/ tips for writing [7][9]

·         Very clearly explain the study design and the choice of method

·         Properly explain the population size of the study

·         Explain the sample collection with proper method used

·         State the instrument used and describe the level of the sample

·         Clearly state the demographic and geographic limits of the method

·         Also state the ethical consideration of the research

5- Results or data

In this section the collected data were analyzed to find out the extent of reliability, accuracy, convergence and relationships with variables [7]. It should be present in clear and concise way and usage of different writing style should be avoided [2][9].

Results section Includes

·         simply state the findings, without bias or interpretation, and arranged in a logical sequence [3]

·         Condition in which the data were collected

·         What special instrument were used during data processing [7]

·         Include all results, even if they do not support your hypothesis

Organization of data

·         First explain on what basis the data were analyzed

·         Logically organization of data is mostly recommended

·         Summarize the finding in one or two paragraph

·         Every table or figure must have a proper title which explain their outcome [9].

6- Discussion

In this section discuss each of the finding thoroughly according to the research topic, with proper stating the limitation of the study. Discussion mainly focus on the relatedness or divergence from the finding with the current literature. It is considered the most complex, as it is integrative and critically evaluate the researcher creativity and finding [7][11]. Repetition in the discussion gives very bad impression [12].

Thesis discussion section include

·         Briefly explain the finding of the study and its validation from the literature.

·         Relationship of the data with the research question, support or not the question.

7- Conclusion 

Conclusion is the comprehensive form of the thesis which is considered as the last words of the researcher’s finding. It cover very briefly the relationship between research gap and the data obtained during research work [7]. It never state the finding again, just answer the questions [9][11]

Thesis conclusion section include

·         How the findings have helped to solve a problem and contributed to the knowledge in the field of research.

·         An explanation of how the findings have contributed to a gap in knowledge

·         How the findings fall within existing theories or assumptions in our field of research.

·         A discussion on the limitations of the study

·         Recommendations for practical applications of the findings and future investigations

Steps to writing a thesis conclusion section

·         Restate and answer the thesis question

·         Summarize the findings.

·         Explain or suggest the reasons for your thesis findings.

·         Explain the contributions of your study to the field.

·         Explain the limitations of your study.

·         Mention recommendations for practical applications and further research

8- Referencing  

Every journal has their own reference style. Wrong format can reflect the researcher less attention. Generally the reference is in the order of; list of author, year of publication, article title, journal name, volume and page number [11]. Double and cross checking of references are very good practice and make the writer to adopt one steady style [9]. During referencing;

·         Cite all source which is not your own

·         In references all text cited materials must be present

·         Single author are cited by their surname followed by (in brackets) the date of publication. e.g. ……according to Ali (2021)…..

• For two author the surname of both authors followed by publication year is listed like  Ali and Hasan (2021)

·         More than two author cite the last name of first author followed by et al and the date of publication as, Rahman et al. (2021)

9- Appendices [13]

This section is placed at the end of the thesis and consists of supplementary materials which is not the part of internal text but can give additional information like figures, tables, raw data and additional questions etc.[9]. Each topic is considered as a separate appendices and have an explanatory title.  

Contents of appendices

The appendix section include, raw materials, charts, pictures, emails, latters, survey questions, and observation reports and data sheet.

Referring to an Appendix In-Text

Must refer to each appendix in the main body of dissertation at least once to justify its inclusion; otherwise, the question arises as to whether they are really needed.

Ways of referring appendix in the text.

The appendix materials are referred by three ways;

1-      It is referred after a specific table or figure within the text like,
“As shown in Table 2 of Appendix A, there is little correlation between X and Y”.

2-      Parentheses is used to specify a specific table or figure. e.g.
“The results (refer to Table 2 of Appendix A) show that there is little correlation between X and Y”.

3-      The complete appendix is referred. for example: “The output data can be found in Appendix A”

Selected References

[1]      O. H. Ylijoki, “Master’s Thesis Writing from a Narrative Approach,” Stud. High. Educ., vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 21–34, 2001, doi: 10.1080/03075070020030698.

[2]      M. El-Serafy, “How to write a thesis,” Arab J. Gastroenterol., vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 73–77, 2009, doi: 10.1016/j.ajg.2009.07.200.

[3]      B. Paltridge, “Thesis and dissertation writing: An examination of published advice and actual practice,” English Specif. Purp., vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 125–143, 2002, doi: 10.1016/S0889-4906(00)00025-9.

[4]      O. Zuber-Skerritt and C. Perry, “Action research within organisations and university thesis writing,” Learn. Organ., vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 171–179, 2002, doi: 10.1108/09696470210428895.

[5]      N. Brennan, “100 PhD rules of the game to successfully complete a doctoral dissertation,” Accounting, Audit. Account. J., vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 364–376, 2019, doi: 10.1108/AAAJ-01-2019-030.

[6]      A. Drury et al., “How to Write a Comprehensive and Informative Research Abstract,” Semin. Oncol. Nurs., vol. 39, pp. 0–4, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.soncn.2023.151395.

[7]      H. J. Nenty, “Writing a Quantitative Research Thesis,” Int. J. Educ. Sci., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 19–32, 2009, doi: 10.1080/09751122.2009.11889972.

[8]      C. A. Mack, “How to write a good scientific paper: title, abstract, and keywords,” J. Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, MOEMS, vol. 11, no. 2, p. 020101, 2012, doi: 10.1117/1.jmm.11.2.020101.

[9]      S. J. Cunningham, “Features section: How to write a thesis,” J. Orthod., vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 144–148, 2004, doi: 10.1179/146531204225020445.

[10]    A. S. Denney and R. Tewksbury, “How to Write a Literature Review,” J. Crim. Justice Educ., vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 218–234, 2013, doi: 10.1080/10511253.2012.730617.

[11]    F. A. Maiorana and H. F. Mayer, “How to avoid common errors in writing scientific manuscripts,” Eur. J. Plast. Surg., vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 489–494, 2018, doi: 10.1007/s00238-018-1418-z.

[12]    K. Pushparajah and S. A. Qureshi, “How to write a good scientific research paper and get it published,” Indian J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 10–13, 2013, doi: 10.1007/s12055-013-0194-4.

[13]      https://www.discoverphds.com/blog/thesis-and-dissertation-appendix