how to write a thesis

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THESIS WRITING 論文の書き方講座 Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University Charith Fernando (Ph.D.), Chihiro Sato (Ph.D.) [email protected], [email protected]

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Page 1: How to Write a Thesis

THESIS WRITING論文の書き方講座

Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University

Charith Fernando (Ph.D.), Chihiro Sato (Ph.D.)[email protected], [email protected]

Page 2: How to Write a Thesis

Overview¨ What is a Thesis¨ Structure of a Thesis¨ Thesis Categories

¤ Science / Engineering¤ Social Science / Humanities¤ Action Research¤ Design

¨ Thesis writing process¤ Writing Tools

n Tex / Word Template

¤ Critical Writing Skillsn Planning, Clarity, Brevity, Simplicity, Copyrights

Page 3: How to Write a Thesis

What is a Thesis ?

Reference: Yvonne N. Bui, How to Write a Master’s Thesis (2013)

A research study that is an original piece of work of your own,based on data produced by experiment or observation

Term Paper ThesisJust a summary of what other people

researched and done related to your topicfrom books, journals,

or articles…

Develop a research question,conduct literature review,

collect original data, analyze what you found

to state your claim

Follow the 5 chapter Structure

Form your research

claim

Choose the suited

category

Page 4: How to Write a Thesis

What you need ?¨ Writing a thesis involves

¤ Passion¤ Advisors and Areas¤ Problem, Question, Purpose and Claims Originality and

Replication¤ Reviewing the Literature¤ Argument¤ Style and Form in Writing the Proposal

Page 5: How to Write a Thesis

Structure of a Thesis

Reference: Stephen E. Toulmin, The Uses of Argument (2003)

Forming your own research claim and the argument (thesis core)

Claim Data

Warrant

states your position on the issue you have chosen to write

about

the evidence which you cite

to support your claim

interprets the data and shows how it

supports your claim

Page 6: How to Write a Thesis

5 Chapter Structure of a Thesis

Literature ReviewIntroduction

Establish the statement of the

problem and research questions

Reference: Yvonne N. Bui, How to Write a Master’s Thesis (2013)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

The traditional format to structure your thesis thoroughly

Chapter 5

Proving concept & Results

Concept& Methods

Discussion

Provide justification of your study by

Identifying the most relevant and

significant research

Propose the concept and explain the

research method you use

Present the finding from

data collection process and

method

Discuss the results and draw

conclusions related to your

statement

Page 7: How to Write a Thesis

Accepted Thesis Categories

¨ Categories¤ Science / Engineering Thesis¤ Social Science / Humanities Thesis¤ Action Research Thesis¤ Design Thesis

Page 8: How to Write a Thesis

Design Thesis• A Design thesis is oriented towards

1. What is the designed artifact(s) and what user experience it provides

2. What designing process you took and its rationale for the selection of methods employed can be reproduced

3. Prove your concept (the set of artifact and the user experience) and show extensibility

Reference: J. Zimmerman, “Research through Design as a method for interaction design in HCI”(2007)

Designing Process

Designed Artifact User Study Show

Extensibility

Page 9: How to Write a Thesis

Design Thesis

You

Designed Artifact

Design Process

UsersRelationshipExperience

Concept

User StudyObservation

Situation

Extensibility

Other Users

Why does the user need the artifact?How does the artifact effect the user?

Page 10: How to Write a Thesis

Design Thesis

Reference: J. Zimmerman, “Research through Design as a method for interaction design in HCI”(2007)

Designing Process

Designed Artifact User Study Show

Extensibility

Chapter 3

Concept& Methods

Chapter 4

Proving concept & Results

Chapter 5

Discussion

Page 11: How to Write a Thesis

Action Research Thesis• An Action Research thesis is oriented towards

1. The inquiry research done by or with insiders to an organization or community

2. Whom is the research is conducted towards? (cannot be to or on themselves)

3. What action cycles process that organizational or community members have taken, taking, or wish to take

Reference: Kathryn Herr and Gary L. Anderson, The Action Research Dissertation (2005)

Develop a plan of action cycles

Act to implement the plan

Observe effects in the context

Reflect effects for further planning

Page 12: How to Write a Thesis

Action Research Thesis

You

Organization/Community A

part of

ActionCycles

Acting ProcessObserve

Reflect

Organization/Community B

Concept

Page 13: How to Write a Thesis

Action Research Thesis

Reference: Kathryn Herr and Gary L. Anderson, The Action Research Dissertation (2005)

Develop a plan of action

cycles

Act to implement the

plan

Observe effects in the

context

Reflect effects for further planning

Chapter 3

Concept& Methods

Chapter 4

Proving concept & Results

Chapter 5

Discussion

Page 14: How to Write a Thesis

Science / Engineering Thesis• A Science / Engineering thesis is oriented towards

1. What is the question / problem about the world that needs to be answered or solved ?

2. Why previous answers / solutions to this question or problem inadequate or unsatisfactory?

3. What is your answer or solution ?4. How good is your answer or solution compare to previous

answers or solutions? What are its benefits and drawbacks?

Concept Hypothesis Proofing Evaluation

Page 15: How to Write a Thesis

Science / Engineering Thesis

New Concept ? Proof of Concept

Design & Implementation

Identify Problem

Related Works

Proofing

Hypothesis

Page 16: How to Write a Thesis

Science / Engineering Thesis

Concept Hypothesis Proofing Evaluation

Chapter 3

ConceptHypothesis

Design

Chapter 4

ImplementationTechnical Evaluation

Chapter 5

Obj /Sub EvaluationDiscussion

Page 17: How to Write a Thesis

Summary of Thesis Categories

Category Claim Data (Evidence) Warrant

Science / Engineering Concept

HypothesisImplementation

EvaluationDiscussionConclusion

Social Science / Humanities

ClaimObservationInterviewing

ArchivalAssurance

Action Research Action CycleAct

ObservationsReflect EffectsDiscussion, Plan

Design ArtifactDesign

User StudyDiscussion

Extensibility

Page 18: How to Write a Thesis

How to find & manage related research

¨ Use keywords to search similar research to your work

¨ List them up or manage a bibliography

¨ Read and categorize them based on how they are related

https://scholar.google.com

http://bibdesk.sourceforge.net/

https://www.mendeley.com/

Page 19: How to Write a Thesis

Writing Tools

¨ Formatting a Long document is troublesome¤ Latex, Microsoft Word

Latex (Texshop / Eclipse) Microsoft Word

Page 20: How to Write a Thesis

Writing Tools

¨ Online Editors (Troublefree Setting up)

https://www.overleaf.com/

Page 21: How to Write a Thesis

Thesis Structure¨ Writing Styles

¤ Chicago Manual of Style¤ APA (American Psychological Association) Style¤ MLA (Modern Language Association) Style¤ CSE (Council of Science Editors) Style¤ Others (any other styles specified by the academic societies

related your research field.)

Page 22: How to Write a Thesis

Critical Writing Skills

¨ The fundamental purpose of thesis is not the mere presentation of information and thought but rather it’s actual communication

§ George Gopen and Judith Swan

The Science of Scientific Writing

Page 23: How to Write a Thesis

Process of Thesis Writing¨ Good writing doesn’t happen overnight

¤ planning, drafting (first draft, revised draft, final draft), rereading, revising, and editing

¨ Learning and improvement requires¤ self-review, peer-review, subject-matter expert feedback, and practice

¨ Good writing is a habit that takes time¤ There are no shortcuts

Page 24: How to Write a Thesis

Thesis Writing: Best Practice

Planning /

Rethinking

Writing

Revising

• Planning• Clarity• Brevity• Simplicity• Copyrights

Page 25: How to Write a Thesis

Planning¨ Plan before you begin writing

¤ Understand your audience, thesis type, Claim, Evidence and Warrant

¤ Organize your thoughts and materials

¤ Define Deadlines

Page 26: How to Write a Thesis

Clarity¨ Avoid Jargons

¤ Abbreviations, Slang

n If needs to abbreviate, define the term in its first occurrence.

n Ex: Keio Media Design (KMD)

¨ Citation and Quotation

¤ Cite the work of others to strengthen your arguments

¤ Quote properly when Copying someone else's explanation

¤ Acknowledge the source

Page 27: How to Write a Thesis

Clarity

¨ Use audience familiarity words

¤ Ex: The materials friction coefficient seems adequate for the outer design. (Design Thesis)

¨ Avoid too long sentences

Page 28: How to Write a Thesis

Brevity¨ Most Important First

¤ Place key information in the main clause

¨ Less Is More¤ Pare your language down to the essential message you want to get

across to your readers

¨ Use words efficiently & Remove Redundancy¤ Never use two words when one word will do¤ Combine overlapping sentences when possible

Page 29: How to Write a Thesis

Simplicity

¨ Use details wisely¤ Specific details are desirable ,but be careful to

balance detail with audience needs for clarity¤ significance is more important

• Language: Active Voice¤ Communicate as efficiently and more straightforward

Page 30: How to Write a Thesis

Simplicity

¨ Language: Complexity¤ Avoid too complex words

Category SubstitutesNouns Utilization (use)

Verbs Finalize (end)

Adjectives Individualized (individual)

Adverbs Firstly (first)

Page 31: How to Write a Thesis

Simplicity

¨ Language: Abstraction¤ Avoid too many abstract words

n (Already) existingn At (the) present (time)n (Completely) eliminaten (Empty) spacen Mix (together)

Page 32: How to Write a Thesis

Simplicity

¨ Language: ¤ Avoid excess words

n Made arrangements for → Arrangedn Made the decision → Decidedn Perform the development of → Developed

Page 33: How to Write a Thesis

Plagiarism & Copyrights

¨ Images, Sentences, Quotes that are not your originals, needs to acknowledge the author

¤ Contact author directly

¤ Add appropriate Copyright text

n Ex: Photo © author

Page 34: How to Write a Thesis

Tips & Tricks1. Decide when to start

2. Decide when to stop

3. Set Milestones (deadlines for each chapter)

4. Set easy targets for each day

5. Create a comfortable, distraction free environment

6. Only turn on the computer when you know exactly what you’re going to write

7. Check email only after you’ve done at least 2 hours work

8. Work for 25 minutes at a time (5min break)

9. Get away from the computer when you aren’t working

10. Look after yourself

Page 35: How to Write a Thesis

Q&A