Dissertations: what exactly do I have to do?
You need to find out:
- How it will be assessed?
The handbook may tell you much more than how it’s assessed, and suggest a structure, or section headings
- Do I have a viable research question?
- What sort of research do I need to do?
How extensive should your reading / literature review be? Which 3 texts / articles should you start with? Do you need to do primary / first hand research? How (when and where?) will you do this?
- The practicalities?
How many words? Deadlines for the proposal, drafts and final submission? Format and layout – font, font size, heading structure etc
and … - your supervisor's preferences . . . most important :-)
What sections do they want? Do they like a few main headings (and extended writing in each section) or a lot of subheadings (with short written numbered sections)
