Advice for final-year dissertations (how did you approach yours?)

You're not a nerd at all, most departments recommend that you start looking at some preliminary material over the summer between third and fourth year, so really you're doing fine (my supervisor called me in to see him about two weeks after third year exams had finished to discuss the project :eek: )

I did mine in history. The first step after I had chosen my basic topic was to identify the primary sources I was going to consult. Thankfully mine were based in the TCD library so that made things a lot easier :P After that I started to do a little bit of general reading around the topic, finding out the essential background and what had been written about the topic before. I should point out that, while I knew something about my topic I didn't really have a very extensive knowledge, so I needed to do some catch-up. I kept a preliminary bibliography list on my computer of things that I'd found and ploughed through the more interesting/relevant looking ones. Towards the end of the summer then I started looking through my primary sources, which is what I basically did until it was due, mixing it with secondary reading when I stumbled across a point in the primary stuff that I wanted to develop further and needed to know more about.

We had a draft chapter due at Christmas, which helped to focus your reading and writing. My supe asked for a thesis outline a few weeks into term, so that was when I really started narrowing things down and deciding which questions I wanted to answer. In terms of organising it and so on, I could be quite start-stop, in that I'd work on it intensively for a while but when I had another commitment (such as a course essay) it tended to be put on the backburner for a while. I tried to do some work on it every week, even if it was just to do some secondary reading, and not let it go too long without going back to it. My supervisor was quite hands-off in many ways and I only saw him when I had something written, which was a good incentive as it meant I tried to get stuff on a page so as to make a better discussion. If your supervisor is like that, try setting deadlines for yourself, it does make life so much easier.

I can't really think beyond that! If you've any questions feel free to ask, it might help structure my rambling thoughts!

Warning: TL;DR

I think the quality of your thesis ultimately depends on the field of study. In Spanish, for example, a linguistic project will be entirely different than a literary one; the former being a more practical, research-based enterprise, while the latter would generally be a more subjective effort. Both have their own benefits, but you should play to your strengths. Linguistics often requires collection and compilation of data, analysis of said data, interviews, surveys etc, whereas literature will just be you, the book(s), and a host of secondary sources.

I did my dissertation for French this year gone by, and did quite well. It was literature-based, with almost all focus on the works of one author. I'll give you a low-down on some of the things I learnt over the year, most of which I'm sure you know already.

In relation to your chosen topic, it's important your focus isn't too broad or too narrow. I initially chose 5 texts to work with, and quickly realised that 12000 words just didn't give me enough scope to cover each one adequately - I reduced this to 3 texts, which allowed me to give the books a more thorough analysis (although even 3 was pushing it!) On the flip side, if your enquiry is too specific, you'll find yourself spoofing just to flesh out the 15,000 words. Obviously, your supervisor will give you advice in relation to this and let you know how suitable your subject matter is.

Know your primary material. I can't stress this enough, and it's something I could have handled better. I kept having to interrupt my dissertation to re-read various things that I'd overlooked or forgotten. If you know your text(s) pretty well, life is a lot easier. Just in addition to this, make sure you've read the text(s) thoroughly before you even approach any secondary material, as it's harder to form a personal opinion if it's already been informed by another, well-groomed academic.

For your oral, they will ask you questions about your thesis, some of which are worth addressing before you even begin. Why did you choose this topic? What are your objectives? Is this a new area of interest, and can you contribute anything to wider related studies? OK so it's only an undergrad dissertation, you're not going to be breaking any real ground, but if you have a clear idea of what it is you want to achieve, you're halfway there.

I know it is often advised to leave the introduction until last, and maybe this works best for you, but I always do it first. For me, the intro gives me a plan of action - if I tell the reader exactly what I'm intending to investigate and how, I have a starting point. It can always be edited to fit the final product.

So yes, after reading the primary text(s), developing opinions and ideas on how you'd like to advance, begin with the secondary material. Everything. The library (don't forget stacks), JSTOR, ProjectMUSE, Google. I'm not for a second suggesting that you read all of this, but if you're smart about it, you can lift only the relevant material out of the books/articles you need. This is where indices and keywords come in handy. Keep your exact topic in mind at all times, and you'll know when you come across something that works in aiding/contesting your investigation. There is a lot of reading, and it can be painful at times, but always have a notebook or Word Document handy to write down quotes or ideas that you can apply to your own argument. Sometimes secondary texts that you don't really consider, such as biographies and interviews etc, can contain really insightful material.

Just a few practical points. Edit/Format as you go. Footnotes, references and bibliography should not be left until the end. Unlike essays, a thesis can have so many of these that leaving them until the end will feel like a mission in and of itself. SAVE On the hard drive, on a USB, in your email, on different computers - I know it's somewhat redundant advice, but someone I know lost two months work because of this. In terms of structure, give it a logical trajectory. Group chapters sensibly, either according to theme/topic/text etc. Revise regularly, paying attention to typos, grammar and vocabulary, particularly if you're quoting in another language.

You're starting early (I changed my chosen topic in late November!), so the workload should definitely be manageable. I think SS Spanish has about 6/7 hours per week, so that's plenty of time for writing/research, with all your other study and assignments included. As a general guideline, I'd give the guts of a month to reading alone (taking legible, relevant notes of course), and then start your writing. Supervisors can be a life-saver, depending on who you get, so make sure you give them your written material often and listen to their feedback.

That's all the basic stuff I can think of for now, but don't worry, it's a lot easier than you're probably anticipating. If you've any questions, feel free. Best of luck

I think I decided on the final wording of my title about 48hrs before submission, but it obviously depends on your topic/department/supervisor. I was doing an engineering thesis for a supervisor who was far too busy to care if I titled my thesis exactly right.
Enjoy :P

languagenerd wrote: »

Thanks so much for that, everyone!

Interesting to see how certain themes have come up in all your posts (things like organising notes and time management) so I'll definitely take those on board. For essays and exams, I've always ended up losing notes or putting stuff into the wrong giant pile of photocopying, so I will have to work on that!

One other question: Did you all start by choosing an exact title or did you wait til later to fix the exact wording of it? I have my topic, obviously, but I haven't worded a title for it.

Gutenberg - it's kind of reassuring to hear that you didn't have an extensive knowledge of your topic before you started, because I don't either. Obviously I have a general knowledge of it, but nowhere near enough to start straight into it. I'm currently reading very general textbooks and articles on the topic before narrowing it down.

Nervous_twitch - thanks for that! I minored in French, so it's good to hear from a language student's perspective! I'm actually going for a more Linguistics-based topic but nothing's set in stone yet, and I might end up grounding it in Literature after all (like picking a novel written in that particular type of Spanish to analyse it).

Thanks again to all four of you, you've all been really helpful If anyone else comes across this thread, feel free to add your experience!

Like devinejay I only decided on the definitive title the day before I got mine bound Of course I knew what my topic was, and the specific questions guiding it, but I didn't come up with the finalised, polished title until ages later, I just had a working title for when people asked.

In terms of organisation, I just got a giant lever arch file and some alphabetical dividers, and just filed my reading by author: it was manageable because it's only an undergrad dissertation and the reading, while large, wasn't insane. Just a suggestion, but like any organisation system you have to try and stay on top of it and resist the temptation to just let piles build up

And yep, like you I knew a good bit about the wider context but the specifics of the institution I was studying I only vaguely knew, so I focused my reading on the general books on it, which were thankfully few! It did mean that as I went on and became more and more specialised, I found that there was very little, if any, secondary material for what I was writing on (:eek:) but it did mean my secondary reading 'to read' list wasn't too crazy. It was scary at times because my supervisor, after the first month or two, knew less than me plus he didn't read the language that my sources were in, so I really was stumbling along as best I could.

Hi,

I'm about to start my 10, 000 word dissertation in International Relations next month. I have my research topic on an International social problem, and I have a decent plan around it sorted, except for methodology. I want to do mixed methods, like content analysis, discourse analysis and empirical data, as I think the more skills I show in methods, the higher the mark I'll get. Obviously, it'll be down to conclusions, goals reached, hypothesis and the overall writing of it as well.
I'm ok on most of it, but my main worry is the methodology. If I do all three methods, would this be confused? Do I have to put in analysis of some sort in every chapter? Or will all three use my word count limit? Could I afford to leave out content analysis altogether, as it seems the word count will be huge. Well over the limit. I've been told by one of my lecturers that I have to find a balance and to make sure the methodology helps me answer my research questions. Thanks so much for any advice in advance