This presentation describes on the various steps that should be taken in planning a dissertation

1. www.drtbalu.co.in How to plan a dissertation Dr. T. Balasubramanian M.S. D.L.O.

2. Introduction www.drtbalu.co.in All PG degree course students must write a dissertation It trains the student on research methodology and thesis writing It also trains the student to critically review a thesis material A dissertation is an inquiry into some aspect of physical, natural or social world Before attempting to write a dissertation a student should assume that his / her work will be subjected to public scrutiny Conclusions if any should be based on meticulous analysis of the results

3. www.drtbalu.co.in Bear in mind Dissertation is only one of the hurdles in the pursuit of your course You have been selected to undergo this course because we consider you to be a passing material Non submission of dissertation should be considered to be worse than exam failure as this would reflect badly on the reputation of your faculty Dissertation is a compromise between what is desirable and what is possible You need to maintain the delicate balance between academics / clinical duties / dissertation / family

5. Always write down ideas in your log book

6. Don’t be excessively influenced by other’s research

7. Be realistic with your goal setting

8. Set feasible time lines

10. www.drtbalu.co.in Problems faced by older students They are seniors & hence more egoistic They find it difficult to adjust with youngsters They are more mature & hence can handle problems in a better way Wisdom & motivation always comes with age

11. www.drtbalu.co.in Assessing oneself Are you motivated and committed ? Can you cope with the demands of the course and family ? Is your reading & writing skills up to the mark ? How to you respond to deadlines ? Do you like to work alone ?

12. Planning & scheduling www.drtbalu.co.in What is the exact date of submission ? Are there any intermediate dead lines to meet ? What is the nature of support available ? Library facilities (Play a vital role). Review of previous year’s student dissertation

13. www.drtbalu.co.in Choosing a subject Always start with a detailed title and plan of work Choose a topic in which you are really interested in Choose a topic in which the institution has the facilities and expertise to handle Feasibility of the title should also be assessed. Don’t take more than what you can chew Always choose from a list of titles with the help of your faculty

15. Can you afford the expenditure?

16. Can you find the relevant literature?

17. Will the topic be relevant till the project is completed?

18. What type of support your college can provide you with?

20. Getting the proposal ready www.drtbalu.co.in Always read other proposals Always prepare a comprehensive literature review Photocopy all relevant materials Add first three chapters of dissertation to the proposal Include a title for your project

21. Realistic planning www.drtbalu.co.in Allot time for illness Allot time for family problems Take into account holidays Give allowance for computer failures Take into account typing / binding manuscript delays Be prepared for rejection of manuscript

22. www.drtbalu.co.in Computing skills Friendliness with word processors / typing skills will save time and money If not skilled always allocate 10 extra days / money for typing jobs Always keep backups of your work Keep your completed work in a cd rom so that printouts can be taken whenever necessary.

23. Time allocation www.drtbalu.co.in Introduction – 5% Review of literature – 35% Research methodology – 10% Data collection – 20% Analysis – 15% Conclusions – 10% Bibliography – 5%

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25. Gross blue print www.drtbalu.co.in What do you want to know? How are you going to find the answers? What are you going to do with the answers?

26. Possible aims of a dissertation www.drtbalu.co.in To develop a theory To verify a hypothesis To evaluate critically a practice To increase the understanding of a topic If possible to recommend policies

27. Importance of Hypothesis www.drtbalu.co.in Forms a kernel in most of the dissertations Usually it is based on observation a premise actually Effort should be made either to prove / disprove it It is possible to do a dissertation without a hypothesis (very rare)

28. Which one is a valid hypothesis www.drtbalu.co.in Asphyxia is the common cause of cerebral palsy Hybrid animals liver longer than pure bred ones Consuming too much sugar predisposes to DM

30. Interpretive / subjective work – Uses explanation & interpretation

32. Have you chosen / refined / focused the subject

33. Feasibility

34. Selection of a tentative title

35. Arrived at a time schedule

37. Task plan www.drtbalu.co.in

38. Dissertation proposal www.drtbalu.co.in Draft title (can be changed later if necessary) Aim of the research Style / technique Theoretical basis for the study (include references if any)

39. When to start writing? www.drtbalu.co.in The best time to start writing a chapter is as soon as material collection is ready. Each chapter should be read / reread corrections made. Written material and corrections should be meticulously catalogued This is the time for you to use your typing skills if you possess one A typed manuscript is easier to read and edit

40. Time table www.drtbalu.co.in Reading / note taking / planning / writing introduction – 3 months Writing review of literature – 2 months Writing of research methodology – 1 month Carrying out work / recording findings – 1 month Data analysis – 1 month Preparing conclusions / Bibliography – 1 month Typing / proof reading / corrections / binding – 1 month Grace time – 2 months

41. Titles likely to be rejected www.drtbalu.co.in Study of JNA – Too broad & vague Survey of ASOM – Vague & nonspecific Study of interesting cases – Not dissertation at all Study of discharging ear – Too vague to pursue

42. Data analysis www.drtbalu.co.in Checked for reliability – Would the same procedure / experiment if carried out again produce the same result Validity Generalizability – How can your work be used by general public / others

43. Variables www.drtbalu.co.in Beware of variables – This could easily invalidate your dissertation All true variables should be identified and documented otherwise the whole research project would have no validity One important variable while you are researching for occurrence of domestic fires would be the level of family stress

44. Role of variables in experimental research www.drtbalu.co.in Two variables can be distinguished in purely experimental research – Independent variable & dependent variable Independent variables are manipulated by the researcher Dependent variables are those variables that occur as a result of the manipulation by the researcher

45. Dissertation some conventions www.drtbalu.co.in Use white A4 paper for dissertation typing All main texts to be typed in double space Single spacing can be used for quotations Use plain standard fonts Margins – 1.5 inches in the left and 1 inch on other sides

46. Types of research projects www.drtbalu.co.in Action research Surveys Experimental methods Ethnographic research Case studies Historical research Correlational research Evaluative research

47. Action research www.drtbalu.co.in Also known as participatory research The researcher tackles a real problem, intervenes, makes changes and monitors results Subjects participate and implement the changes “Real life problem solving” This research methodology will be carefully scrutinized by the ethical committee

48. Surveys www.drtbalu.co.in Attempts to gather information from a group It may reveal unsuspected facts / May reinforce known facts Information can be gathered through a questionnaire, interviews Questionnaire design is vital for a good survey Results may be invalidated by poor sampling / lack of cooperation from the participant community Participants may hesitate sharing personal data / may lie

49. Experimental method www.drtbalu.co.in Commonly used in physical sciences Can be used to test / refute a theory (Hypothesis) Data measurements should be made with extreme precision Ethical issues should be addressed before setting up an experiment Any experiment should have two groups a study group and a control group Beware of Hawthrone effect – behavior of a subject alters if he / she knows about participation in an experiment

50. Ethnographic research www.drtbalu.co.in This is a qualitative & descriptive research style The study group is integrated into the society and the researcher studies the behavior & customs of that group This is really time consuming & hence may not be advisable for a dissertation style

51. Case studies www.drtbalu.co.in Commonest approach used Frequently abused also May be qualitative / quantitative Always resist the temptation to formulate universal theory out of trivia

52. Historical research www.drtbalu.co.in Acceptability of this method must be checked Documentary sources should be clearly identified All the documents used in the research should be closely checked for veracity Statistical variables should be accounted for

53. Correlational research www.drtbalu.co.in This research is a study of variables Attempt should be made to study the variables for a possible relationship without manipulating them Mathematical tools should be used to study the possible relationships among variables

54. Evaluative research www.drtbalu.co.in This research method deals with a possible set of questions The work needs to be highly structured While attempting to answer the specific set of questions the researcher should guard against personal vagaries / variables

56. Be polite / professional with contacts

57. Dress formally during field visits

58. All communications should be processed to a high standard

59. Be very formal while talking to subjects. Avoid being over chatty

61. Types of sampling www.drtbalu.co.in Stratified sampling Matched sampling Clustered sampling Systemic sampling

62. Stratified sampling www.drtbalu.co.in A sample layer is selected There is some uniformity between the samples i.e. selecting all 50 year olds for a study This is useful when performing finer drug trials

63. Matched samples www.drtbalu.co.in In this type two groups are matched one against the other. In this type of matched sampling strict inclusion & exclusion criteria should be formulated. One of the said group can be a study group and the other one can be a control group. The main consideration is that both group should be alike in all respects

64. Clustered sampling www.drtbalu.co.in These are groups defined by area / environment Random sampling can also be applied to the clusters Environmental disorders can be studied using clustered samples

65. Introduction www.drtbalu.co.in In your introduction try answering these questions: What is going to be done? Why are you doing it? Who is likely to be interested in your work? What is the hypothesis / problem you are attempting to test? What is the use of performing this study? What is the focus / location of your study? Writing an introduction chapter helps you to break ice

66. Review of literature www.drtbalu.co.in Should include what others have written on your topic Discussion on the theories used to illuminate your topic Literature relationship with your research questions Considerable time should be spent compiling this chapter This shows you have read widely the subject You acknowledge work of others here

67. Methodology www.drtbalu.co.in You will have to narrate what procedure you intend to follow in your research A detailed discussion of the style and technique chosen for your research should be enumerated with proper justification The tests you intend to perform, inclusion & exclusion criteria if any, a discussion on data observation and recording should find a place under this head

68. Data analysis www.drtbalu.co.in Data recording Interpretation of the recorded data A discussion on whether the collected data proves or refutes a hypothesis

69. Conclusion www.drtbalu.co.in Should contain a summary of the complete work It should contain a discussion on the results of your study Recommendations if any you make after the study should be incorporated here

70. Bibliography www.drtbalu.co.in This is nothing but a list of journals, reference materials, text book materials and other resources you relied on to complete your work. Don’t include references which are more than 5 years old. It is ideal to index and number them for easy reference.

71. Appendix www.drtbalu.co.in Tables, master chart and additional material if any should be incorporated under this heading

73. Record the material you have read pertaining to your dissertation meticulously

74. Handle each material once only. You can consult your log book repeatedly in case of doubt if the recording is meticulous

75. Record the volume number / page number of journals used as reference

77. Questionnaire design www.drtbalu.co.in It must be in simple language The questions should be appropriate and crisp Be ruthless while editing the questions Always relate each question on a questionnaire to your research question Devise a scoring system for each answer provided by the participant Don’t attempt to collect unnecessary personal data Closed end questionnaire is easy to design and administer because the answer is either a yes or no Questions should not be leading in nature

78. Data analysis www.drtbalu.co.in Nominal scales – Yes / No scale Ordinal scales – Data is placed in a descending order. Number codes are given i.e. 1 (strongly agree), 5 (strongly disagree) Interval scales – More like ordinal scale but some points on the scale are equal Ratio scales – Used for measuring lengths, weights etc

79. www.drtbalu.co.in Thank you