Three pitfalls to avoid when starting your thesis

Starting your thesis journey can be a daunting task. It is, after all, a long and extensive piece of independent, academic work. It thus requires use of a wide range of skills. From project management to critiquing literature, and from designing a study and fieldwork, to developing findings and conclusions. The potential, therefore, is high for things to go wrong on your thesis journey, particularly at the beginning.

With a good guide to hand research can be an easy, and even enjoyable. experience. Thesis Upgrade has recently published a book, Doing Your Thesis – A Practical Guide, to help students navigate through the thesis process. Here are the pitfalls to watch out for early in the journey (and tips to help you avoid them) from the guide.

Pitfall #1 – overlooking your research proposal

The first potential pitfall is overlooking your research proposal. During your thesis, you study a single topic, in great depth, over a predetermined and defined time. Preplanning is particularly important, which is why we recommend that you start your journey with a map. In other words, a research proposal that sketches out the route you will take. Why? Because it will help you visualise your journey in a holistic way. A research proposal involves answering a series of questions. For instance: why (the problem or issue); where (your research questions or hypotheses; what (topic); how and when (your research plan); and who (stakeholders). Most colleges and supervisors ask you for a proposal, but even if they do not request one, it is worthwhile asking and answering these questions yourself. The questions assure you, and other stakeholders, that you understand the key components of a thesis and have adopted a project mindset.

Pitfall #2 – failing to do a thorough literature search

Secondly, students may fail to carry out an in-depth literature search. One of the pet peeves of any thesis supervisor is to be asked: “How many references should I have”? This shows a lack of understanding about why you should do a literature search. The aim is not just to skim read over what others have written to get an idea of the topic. It is to help you to find out the key things that are already known about your topic. So, begin by determining your purpose and specific objectives, and invest time in building your search skills. Furthermore, find out what sources are available and suited to your research, where those sources are located, what information is available, who the key authors are. By conducting your search in an organised manner, you learn more about your subject matter, the methodologies used in previous studies and the findings from these inquiries. This adds to the credibility of your research.

Pitfall #3 – reviewing, but not critiquing, your sourced material

Thirdly, a thorough literature search may have been conducted, but it is not followed up by a critique. A well organised literature search will identify important information, but a critique takes things a step further. A critique analyses (not just identifies) what is already known about your topic. This involves establishing the gaps to research in the existing body of knowledge, indicating what the gap is, why it exists and how you intend to address. This approach helps you to build a scaffold, or framework, to support the main arguments of your study.

There are many pitfalls that can trip up, and trap, the unwary student at the beginning of their research journey. We have highlighted the more common ones we have come across over the past decade of supervising and examining thousands of dissertations. To help you overcome these pitfalls, we have written Doing Your Thesis – A Practical Guide. This invaluable downloadable digital publication contains 90 pages of easy-to-understand information and straightforward explanations to help you research and write a compelling thesis. Buy now for immediate use.

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