RESEARCH GUIDELINES



Lector dr. Adriana L

Metodologia cercet

Dissertation or thesis?
both
a thesis:
- comes from Greek, carrying with it the meaning
of position
- the formal presentation of a specific position or
argument on a given topic or issue
a dissertation:
- comes from Latin, carrying with it the
meaning of discourse or discussion
- a formal discussion or presentation of a given
topic or subject

What is the major difference between the two?

A dissertation

judged on the
thoroughness of the
topic exploration

an academic paper presenting a

particular scholarly subject or issue
judged upon the originality of the students
thoughts and position on the topic

The process, however, begins with

another document: the thesis statement

A thesis
Three to seven
pages in length

hypothesis on a topic =
statement of expected
results
presents an original viewpoint or
approach to an issue or subject

A dissertation is an
extended presentation of the
thesis and the evidence or
logic used to reach the
position stated in the thesis

lays the foundational work for the

production of a full dissertation later

provides sufficient information for the topic

to be judged by its merits and potential
viability as a dissertation subject

Preparing a thesis proposal

3 very important steps:

The thesis topic is significant to some facet of the students discipline

The student has an idea of how the data related to the topic will be
collected or obtained
The student has appropriately defined the methodology for analyzing the
collected data

The Structure of a Thesis Proposal

A thesis proposal follows a specific structure similar to that of a dissertation. A
typical proposal will be three to seven pages and follow this structure:
descriptive, self-explanatory
title for the proposed project

Title Page

the name of the author,

the institution,
the department

the name of the research mentor,

the mentors institution
proposed date of delivery

Abstract

a summary of the thesis proposal, which runs 175 to 250 words

contains a brief explanation of the issue
and includes the thesis statement

contains a brief description of how the issue is to be addressed

and what implications the research might have once completed

The Structure of a Thesis Proposal

Table of Contents

a list of all headings

subheadings

with the corresponding

page numbers

indented to indicate their

inclusion in the section covered
by the associated main heading

Introduction

establishes the context for the thesis proposal

starting from a broad overview of the environment in question,
the writer should work down to the level of the thesis itself

known pre-existing information on the topic should be

mentioned and citations of relevant sources noted

The Structure of a Thesis Proposal

Thesis Statement

a sentence or two, stating the hypothesis or

position to be established by the work to follow

the methods and materials that will be used

how the data will be gathered and analyzed

Approach/
Methods

calculations
procedures
equipment and calibration
factors involved

explanations of
anticipated limitations
assumptions made regarding
what might be found

Preliminary Results and Discussion

the range of
anticipated validity

any pre-existing results

the discussion of how they fit into the thesis

The Structure of a Thesis Proposal

Work Plan Including Time Table

describes the steps and anticipated

timetable of the project
any anticipated challenges
should be discussed as well

Implications of Research

What is expected to be the

outcome of the proposed project?
What new knowledge is anticipated
and why is it worth knowing?

How will this affect the

discipline and our world?

List of References

list all sources used, reviewed, or anticipated to

be used in the preparation of the final document

Dissertation Research Guide

Analysis of the Assignment

the purpose of the assignment

the length required by the instructor
the scope of the assignment

the point-of-view or position which is going

to be used in approaching the assignment
Purpose of the Assignment
effectively organize the
research results and thoughts

Selecting a Topic
too broad a topic - much
information which takes a
lot of time to gather
textbook
class discussions

the ability to use appropriate

research methods
to communicate those results and thoughts
in an effective manner to peers in your
academic and professional discipline.
too narrow a topic - hard to locate enough
information to write an effective paper

surfing on the Internet

writers notebook where ideas
ideas
can be recorded as they occur
current news stories

Dissertation Research Guide

Establishing the Scope

More is better collecting

more information than
anticipated prevents you
from having to repeat the
research process if you
find you do not have
enough information on a
given aspect of your
paper.

the depth of information and argument

you wish to establish with your paper

when gathering
the resources
for the paper

background
information

Never dismiss a resource

even an article in a
popular, non-scholarly
magazine may have
significant value.

key
terminology

the names of
one or more
experts in the
field for followup research

Dissertation Research Guide

Establishing the Point-of-View

newspapers
an opinion-based topic approach

Is the dissertation

magazines

grey-area Internet resources

impartial topic approach

scholarly sources
authoritative Internet resources

Dissertation Research Guide

The Six Questions
WHO

Who have been the key researchers involved in the topic?

Whose work contributed to your topic and/or view on the topic?
Whom does the topic matter affect?
Who will the readers of the dissertation be?

WHAT

What events, results or long-term conditions have occurred or can be

anticipated from the research?
What procedures or circumstances have been necessary to perform the
research?

WHEN

When were the sources of information published?

When did you do your own research?

Dissertation Research Guide

The Six Questions
WHERE

Where did the research take place?

Where did events affecting the topic occur?

WHY

Why is the resource significant to your topic?

Why is your topic significant to your academic discipline?

HOW

How have you performed the research?

How was the original research performed?

Dissertation Research Guide

Collecting Topic-Related Resources

using an internet search

engine with a suggested
search function.

Ask.com

gives search
suggestions for both
narrowing and
broadening the topic

acts as a digital version of the

free association game

The game starts with someone throwing out a word,

phrase or topic and participants try to throw out
associated words, phrases or topics. It is often said that
in free association there are no wrong answers.

Traditional Research
traditional books

electronic databases
Basic Resource Types

periodicals (including
scholarly journals)

Internet resources

traditional research methods

published reports

periodical
materials

books
necessary for developing
background information or for
accessing comprehensive
coverage of a given topic

more recent research methods

Internet

a wide variety of resources

(particularly on recent
developments and events)

The first rule of research is to keep yourself and the information you gather
organized. This can be done with anything from a set of index cards to a virtual
mind map utilizing the latest software available. The media of collecting the
information is unimportant, keeping the information organized and documenting
its sources is important.

Traditional Research
Types of Sources
Primary sources

Secondary
sources
Tertiary
sources

Time-related
element

materials written during the period or

event as in research and laboratory notes
and reports written by the participants
reviews and event accounts written based
on the contents of primary sources
magazine and other popular publication materials that put
information from primary and secondary sources into
nonprofessional terms for the public to understand, but whose
accuracy and reliability may be clouded
The type of topic dealt with affects the time relationship.
Dissertations on current political issues or topics such as
global warming will need information that is more recent.
Interpreting the effectiveness of military strategies might
call upon a mix of current and historic information.

Traditional Research
The reference
section of the
local library

dictionaries
General Topic Sources

indexes

materials which
are not normally
available for
checkout

encyclopedias
directories

lead to

contain additional leads for

further research to narrow
or broaden the topic

bibliographies (or be bibliographies)

that can lead you to additional materials
on the topic you are researching
Today, many of these resources are available
online through the librarys website.

Traditional Research

Books

Sources of Comprehensive
Coverage
Journals

provide extensive background

and research information on a
particular subject, often
explaining the relationship
between its core topic and
related issues and subjects
provide intensive
coverage on specific
issues and subjects

medical journals - contain a full report on the

effects of a new medication in the treatment of
hepatitis or a new surgical procedure for the
removal of malignant tumors from cancer patients

developments in
cancer research

Traditional Research
the bridge between books
and general periodicals
published on a
continuous basis

Sources of Current
Information and Opinion Periodicals

Serials
take the form of progressive
development reports that are
published on an annual basis
Journals

Magazines

Newspapers

evaluations of the
state of a nation
or society

articles and reports focused on specific

issues and developments on scientific,
academic and industrial topics
journalistic reference
current events

the best traditional

sources of recent, upto-date information on
many topics

updates on the effects

of and/or international
response to global
warming

cite sources and

people involved in the
events and research

published on a daily or weekly basis

excellent sources of information regarding
how an event or situation played out
during the time it was actually happening

excellent source of opinion materials through

their editorials and letters to the editor

Modern Research
An Overview of Internet Resources

wide diversity of Internet resource

personal opinion
blogs and websites

comprehensive corporate,
governmental, scholastic and other
organizational information centers

The Internets primary strength today lays in the AVAILABLE

coverage of issues, events and knowledge that are more current.

Modern Research
Finding Quality Internet Resources
reliable and scholarly materials
When locating quality Internet resources, the student
must ask key questions regarding the potential resource:
Is the resource offered by a trustable, reliable source?
Why is the information being distributed on the Internet?
Is the source properly cited or a report on original, first hand
research?
Caution regarding the Internet - its volatility

materials recently viewed

no longer available

the page was deleted to make the page was moved during
site reorganizations
room for newer materials

the website, itself, has

vanished entirely

Modern Research
Online Scholarly Journals
Today, many scholarly, academic and industry journals are deploying
parallel websites as part of their distribution of knowledge

Some have incorporated

historic archives

A major resource in locating

scholarly journals and resources
online that does not charge any fee

most charge an access fee for their use,

which is frequently $100 or more per year

the Directory of Open Access Journals

(www.doaj.org)

free, full text, quality controlled

scientific and scholarly journals.

Modern Research
Finding Searchable Keywords

scan relevant content

that you already have

words

useful information
through a search engine
or library search

subjects
concepts

use Ask.com as
the search engine

narrow your search

examine materials of the
main subject (or subjects)
of which your dissertation
topic is a subset

they offer search suggestions down one side of the

results page that relate to the search just performed
expand your search

related search
people
popular Q&A

performing the same techniques on

the broader subject might reveal
additional, related materials.

Modern Research
Using Boolean Expressions
In Internet searches, three words can dramatically
affect the quantity and quality of your search results

and

or

forces the search engine

forces search engines
into an exclusive mode,
using Boolean
including websites that
searches to include
have one or the other, but
only those websites
not both words
that contain both the
word preceding the
Often the reported
and and the word
search results include
directly following it
pages that have one or
the other, but not both
http://www.internettutorials.net/boolean.asp

not

causes the
search engine to
include all pages
with the first
word unless
they also
contain the
second word