Having successfully side-stepped the three main pitfalls when starting your research and dodged the four principal hazards while doing your thesis, you now find yourself finalising your work. This blog explores the triad of risks to avoid when nearing the end of a research journey.
Here are some risks to watch out for in the final stages of the thesis or dissertation process. For many students, this can be a time when they can ‘see land’ but are not sure how to reach it. We offer practical tips to help you navigate the choppy waters of the research process and ‘reach dry land safely’.
The first risk is that you do not draw clear conclusions and recommendations and link them back to a clear introduction. It seems to surprise students that the order in which you read a thesis is different to the order in which you write it! When you have discussed and presented your data analysis and findings the logical next stage is to write your conclusions and recommendations, but you must do this at the same time you write your introduction. Both are equally important, and both provide the threads with which you stitch together the entire thesis document. There are numerous things that can trip you up when writing these chapters/sections. For example, given that you are now an expert on your thesis you may not present your research problem, questions or hypotheses in a way that the reader easily understands; you may write about the context and theory in a way that is incomprehensible to your examiners; you may fail to link the purpose of your research sufficiently to your conclusion, summary and recommendations. You may forget to establish your contribution to knowledge or discuss the implications of your contribution. You could possibly forget to describe the limitations and scope for further research, or you may not write up these important sections in an academic style. Topping and tailing your thesis with an excellent introductory section that links fully to your conclusions and recommendations is a key stage in finalising your document.
The second risk arises if you do not leave enough time to finalise your overall thesis. A thesis is a complex tapestry comprised of disparate, yet interrelated, strands that are woven together and held in place by a ‘golden thread’ of substantiated arguments. When finalising your thesis document, you should follow a structured pattern to highlight and stitch these strands into a logical order that creates a coherent whole. This means you need to typically allow a week to verify that all the chapters or sections are linked to each other and tell the same story, review the overall academic integrity of your research (for example, validity and reliability). It is also useful to ensure that your citing and referencing is 100% accurate and there are no duplications. Additionally, check the structure (that is, ensure internal chapter/section integrity and integration between chapters/sections), write an abstracted summary and do final spell- and sense-checks.
The third, and final risk, to avoid is not preparing for your viva. Many institutions expect their students to submit a written document and do a viva voce. This is an oral examination of your extensive piece of independent, academic work. A viva comprises a spoken defence of your research, and thus acts as a verbal counterpart to your written thesis. Achieving a positive outcome to your viva requires you to spend time planning, preparing and practicing, just when you thought you had your research completed!
There are several risks that can trip up and trap the unwary student-researcher on their research journey. This blog has highlighted the more common ones we have encountered over the past decade when supervising and examining thousands of theses.
Try our Finalising Your Overall Thesis for more useful tips on how to successfully complete your research journey. Buy now for immediate use.
