How To Make a Thesis Less Painful and More Satisfying

First, a thesis is supposed to demonstrate that you can take a project and bring it to a genuine conclusion – very different from the usual undergraduate term paper that is not revised after the teacher sees it and that is usually done during the last week before it is due. A thesis provides, then, a new kind of work and frequently a new kind of skill.
Pick a topic that will help you professionally. Employers will sometimes ask about your thesis or even want to see it – especially if you go into some branch of education. Your choice of thesis can help you get a job or hold one.
Pick a topic that you are happy to talk about at a cocktail party. People will often ask you, in making conversation, “What is your thesis about?” A good test of your wisdom in picking a topic is the amount of pleasure you get in answering. Here's why: A thesis project involves some frustrating times; your personal interest in your topic is your best help in getting through that frustration.
A thesis should be useful. You'll be happier about doing a thesis if you feel that somebody will use it. And you'll want to do a better job if you feel that somebody will read and use your thesis. It is even better if the thesis is useful not just at the moment of completion, but also later. It should not be a snapshot of information that immediately becomes dated; the thesis should ideally be something with information you can talk about and that people can use for years.
If you are going into any branch of education, try to make your thesis something that can become a journal article; such articles look very good on resumes.

A FEW TIPS
You can find out what is expected of you by reading theses – especially those chaired by the person who will chair your thesis. And you get ideas for procedures to follow both from theses and from other research projects.
In checking abstracts (Journalism Abstracts and Dissertation Abstracts) go back at least to 1965, and look under several key terms – and not just in the “Mass Communication” section. You'll find lots of television references, for instance, under “Education” and “Psychology.” Do your thesis carefully; you never know when a prospective employer will see it. And certainly, you are finding out how critical future graduate students can be of theses that have been done before. You are also finding out how much these future students will depend on your thesis.
These are the “big six” journals that should not be omitted from your literature research: Journal of Broadcasting, Journal of Communication, Journalism Quarterly, Human Communication Research, Public Opinion Quarterly, Communication Research. There are many others, of course, that may – for an individual thesis – be even more important.
You will find many opportunities to help your fellow graduate students. I hope you will do so. You will need help at some point.

Outline for Empirical Master's Theses

PROPOSAL. The following topics usually will be included. In addition to definitions in II.B., define other terms where first used. Do use subheads throughout.

Chapter I. INTRODUCTION.
A. Broad introduction to thesis topic and method. Page or two. Write after remainder of proposal is completed.
B. Research problem. State broadly, in question form. Give sub-questions. Explain carefully. In one sense, usually the problem is to expand the body of knowledge examined in the literature review.
C. Need for the research. Who will benefit? Discuss applied and scientific contributions.
D. Nominal definitions. Define central terms.
E. Context. Add further info to clarify the research problem.

Chapter II. THEORY. Literature review. Organize by idea; avoid stringing together abstracts of articles.
A. Overview. Theoretical foundations.
B. Literature. Group articles by ideas. For a given idea, first discuss common strands in the literature, then departures.
C. Model. Of a process, usually. Based on the lit reviewed.
D. Hypotheses (in broad sense of the term; also called Propositions). For each, give brief restatement of justification tied to earlier sections; explain derivation and implications. Include assumptions. Explicitly state plausible rival hypotheses (explanations of process) of a substantive nature.
E. Scope of the study. Theoretical assumptions; discuss limitations they impose.

Chapter III. METHODS. Outline in a few pages.
A. Introduction. General description of method and design.
B. Design. Experiment, quasi-experiment, survey, and so forth. Detailed description.
C. Sample. Universe, population, element, sample design, tolerance, probability.
D. Measurement. Operational definitions. Include, as applicable, detailed discussion of indexes/ scales. Specify methods used to assess validity and reliability.
E. Analysis. Techniques to be used; justification. Nature of relationships expected (e.g., asymmetrical, symmetrical, reciprocal; linear, monotonic, other curvilinear; necessary, sufficient, necessary and sufficient). Include dummy tables and worked examples of statistics.
F. Validity. Design: Internal and external, with relevant subtypes.
G. Methodological assumptions. Discuss limitations they impose.

APPENDICES.
A. Schedule. In Gantt Chart form.
B. Facilities. Faculty and staff expertise, library and computer resources, other special facilities contributing to a successful study.
C. Budget.
D. Bibliographic essay. Sources searched (indexes, abstracts, bibliographies, etc.). Strengths and weaknesses of literature.

THESIS.

Chapters I-III. As in proposal, re-written and most likely expanded.

Chapter IV. FINDINGS.
A. Brief overview.
B. Results of application of method; any unusual situations encountered. Nature of sample.
C. Descriptive analysis. One-way frequency distributions on central variables.
D. Validity/reliability analysis.
E. Tests of hypotheses. ANOVAs, crosstabulations, correlations, and such, depending on techniques used; give in same order as hypotheses.

Chapter V. DISCUSSION. When discussing implications, deal with both the theoretical and the practical. Present only interpretations of the findings, not opinion.
A. Brief overview.
B. Discussion of results of application of method. Implications.
C. Discussion of descriptive analysis. Implications.
D. Discussion of tests of hypothesis. Implications.
E. Post-hoc analysis. Implications.

Chapter VI. CONCLUSION. May include writer's opinion.
A. Summary of entire thesis in a few pages.
B. Conclusions. Refer to lit review.
C. Implications. Speculate about broadest possible consequences, both theoretical and practical. Label speculation clearly.
D. Limitations. Theory, method.
E. Suggestions for future research.
APPENDICES. Bibliographic essay. Questionnaire and coding manual, if any. Raw data.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Include all relevant sources examined, whether cited or not.

How To Actually Complete a Thesis:

First, pick something that interests you deeply. Your interest is what carries you through the long days and nights of concentrated effort. So you've picked an interesting topic. What can you do now to improve your chances of finishing the thesis in a timely fashion?
Find a special place to write. Make it a place where you can spread out papers and get messy. Get everybody to agree that you don't have to clean it up until the thesis is done. Then, use three techniques that have helped generations of students: segmenting, scheduling, and rewarding. Segment the whole thesis into small chunks. Tackle just one at a time. Avoid fixating on doing the entire thesis all at once. Instead, focus clearly on just one small piece at a time.
One way to begin to segment is to write a detailed subject outline of the thesis. Get right down to the subsection level – the part that takes only a page or two. First make a topic outline for the entire work. Then make a thesis outline; tell what your thesis (argument) will be for each subsection. Don't worry now about being totally and perfectly accurate in the outline. Certainly the structure will change a bit as you move along through the thesis. But having the detailed outline will prove a great help to finishing the thesis – especially when combined with scheduling and rewarding.
Schedule your thesis writing for three days a week. (The days don't have to be consecutive.) Plan on completing one small subsection each day. After finishing the writing each day, research those nagging minor points that cropped up while you were writing – find the exact spelling of a name, for example, when it's been cited differently by your sources, or check out the correct pages numbers for an article.
On the fourth day of the week, rewrite the three sections you finished most recently. Make sure that you have polished each chapter to a shimmering brilliance before copying it for supervisory committee members.
On the fifth day, deliver thesis chapters to committee members, make appointments for consultation with experts whose help you need, and take care of all those other time-consuming chores.
Now comes the crucial technique. To many thesis writers, the actual writing looms as the hardest part. Such students may be able to breeze through a newspaper article or TV script with no problem, but a hundred-page manuscript blocks them like a ten-foot granite wall across the path. You can make that wall crumble in front of your eyes – by rewarding yourself.
Find something that gives you pleasure. Make it small, easy, inexpensive. Then, at the end of each day's writing, treat yourself! Tell yourself that you've done well! Acknowledge your progress to yourself! Feel good about it all!
Some treats: M&M candies. Soaking in the tub. A phone chat with a friend. A donut. A five-mile run.
Find something you enjoy. It'll help.

The Title of Proposal/Thesis or Dissertation

CHOOSING A TOPIC:
Choosing a topic is often the most difficult part of the dissertation or thesis writing process.
Try to:
1. Develop a topic that has interested you throughout your graduate or undergraduate career.
2. Think about the top three issues you want to study, and then turn them into questions.
3. Review papers you have written for classes, looking for a pattern of interest.
4. Look at class notes; faculty members may have pointed out potential research topics or commented on unanswered questions in the field.
5. Talk with faculty members or advisors about possible topics.
6. Conduct research on a broad topic to discover gaps in the literature.
7. Keep the following cautions in mind:
A. Get feedback on a potential topic from your advisor; your topic may not interest others in the field as much as it interests you.
B. Do an extensive search to discover why your topic has not been studied before.
Is it original? Or may be there is something wrong with your rationale.

Thesis/Dissertation Title:
Remember that the title will be read by hundreds or thousands of readers while only few will read the abstract or the full text of the thesis/dissertation. It is the title that will appear in abstracting or indexing publications the most. Thus, every word in the title is to be properly chosen and written in the correct syntax and order. A good title contains the fewest number of words that adequately describe the content of the thesis/dissertation. The words to be chosen are those that are both understandable and retrievable.

The following basic rules need to be observed when writing your thesis/dissertation title:
1. Use specific, familiar and short words.
2. Make your title as understandable and as retrievable as possible.
3. Use correct syntax (word order) to avoid misunderstanding.
4. Avoid the use of unnecessary words that do not add anything to the title.
5. Do not include abbreviations, or chemical formulas in your title.
6. Let your title be concise and descriptive.
7. Think of an informative but catchy title.

Differences between the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Theses

The differences between the undergraduate and postgraduate theses is one of degree2 rather than kind. They share a common structure and need for logical rigour. It is only in the substance and the emphasis placed on it that the differences arise. Specifically, UWA requires that:
A PhD thesis shall be a substantial and original contribution to scholarship, for example, through the discovery of knowledge, the formulation of theories or the innovative re-interpretation of known data and established ideas [2].
An undergraduate thesis is, at present, graded on the quality of research, the significance of the contributions and the style of presentation. Thus, the undergraduate thesis is judged on a similar basis to the postgraduate one. Indeed, the three most commonly cited qualities that earn an undergraduate thesis the first class grade are originality, independence, and mastery [3].
Candidates writing a higher degree thesis—and the PhD thesis in particular—are required to present their research in the context of existing knowledge. This means a thorough and critical review of the literature, not necessarily limited to the narrow topic of research, but covering the general area. The PhD candidate should also show clearly what original contributions she or he has made [2]. Although neither of these requirements
applies strictly to undergraduate work, the candidate should demonstrate familiarity with previous relevant work in his or her thesis.
In short, a thesis—whether undergraduate or postgraduate—is evidence of the candidate’s capacity to carry out independent research under the guidance of a supervisor, and to analyse and communicate the significant results of that work. The candidate for higher degrees must demonstrate, in addition, mastery of the literature and indicate clearly which is his or her original work, and why it is significant3.