Advice on Writing a Dissertation or Thesis

Advice on Writing a Dissertation or Thesis Expert Advice on How to Write a Dissertation or Thesis It has been shown in research that a lot of students are often uncertain about what is expected of them when they start the process of writing a thesis or a dissertation. The following writing tips and strategies have been compiled by university experts and they are designed to show students how to manage these tasks effectively. This guide also includes advice from three newly graduated students who successfully completed theses or dissertations in recent times. Begin as early as possible Irrespective of whether it is a thesis or dissertation you are writing, it is best to begin planning the project as soon as you possibly can. A good starting point is to carry a notebook with you at all times and write down ideas when they occur to you. Join any courses where the subject matter and the instructor’s interests match yours. Where possible, pick writing projects that you can use as a foundation for your thesis or dissertation or ones that are compatible with your goals. A little strategic planning is a great way of developing a research â€Å"stream.† Any past research papers you have written are also a good way of helping to define areas of interest and you may be able to extend your previous work into a possible topic for a dissertation. Be Prudent in Your Choice of Advisors The experts who helped us write this guide suggest your first consideration should be people who are known to help students succeed. To find such people, you could ask more advanced-level students about university staff who are reputed to be â€Å"high achievers† or those who are known to have a positive attitude towards higher education and student achievement. Find out which faculty members are known to be helpful to students and those who are less so. Secondly, you need an advisor who is attentive to your degree requirements, your dissertation or thesis project, to meeting deadlines, and to your needs as a student. Choose someone who fully understands the thesis or dissertation process, is a good communicator, and who is discerning but fair. Lastly, the advisor you choose should be experienced so this means you may want to avoid new faculty members. The best advisors are likely to be those members who have previously served on dissertation committees. Be Prudent in Your Choice of Supervisory Committee Generally speaking, a dissertation supervision committee is made up of three or maybe four extra faculty staff. You should again consider those who have a good reputation for helping students prepare for graduation and who enjoy good levels of cooperation with fellow faculty members. One student who completed a sociology thesis for a Master’s degree recently claims that the process is made a lot easier when a supervisory committee is thoughtfully-designed and complements the student’s abilities and skills. So, what is the process for identifying these people? Get acquainted with your college professors. Go to research seminars to better understand the fields they work in. Enrol in classes and talk to the lecturers and professors. Read any work they have written. Speak to advanced-level students. However, the best strategy of all is to take your advisor’s advice when selecting a committee. Be Prudent in Your Choice of Topic When it comes to choosing a topic for a dissertation, there is one important word to remember, and that is ‘focus!’ This word can save you a lot of time, energy and effort when it comes to limiting your research question or problem. It is also advisable to select a topic that is manageable. It is most likely your dissertation will be quite big, but it should not be a lifelong work. Enlist the help of your advisor to whittle the topic down so that it does not take you two decades to graduate! Lastly, our university experts recommend choosing a topic you have a love-hate relationship with. This, they say, is because no matter what subject you choose, you will come to hate it in time. If a topic is not interesting or inspiring, it will eventually become easy to find reasons not to work on it. However, this should not happen with subject matter you like. Meet Regularly with Your Dissertation Adviser Maintain close contact with your dissertation adviser and continually ask for their advice. This person will have a broad perspective on your topic and their views should help you retain your focus. Plan meetings in advance to ensure these are of maximum benefit to you both. Have a list of questions or topics ready prior to every meeting so that you do not forget any discussion points. Put simply, this means preparing a meeting agenda. Make copious notes. After meetings with your adviser, sum-up your discussion and email it to him or her. Most likely, your adviser will be mentoring other students so it is not realistic to expect them to precisely recall your discussions at different meetings. However, sending a summary by email helps ensure you are both â€Å"singing from the same hymn sheet!† Keep a Copy of Every Single Thing Stories abound about students who store copies of important college papers in their fridge in case of a house fire. While this might be excessive, it is advisable to keep copies of different chapters in various places such as in an email folder, on an external drive, or on a flash drive. Another recently graduated student explained why it is important to keep an adviser’s feedback. This student says that a) advisers sometimes expect to see their feedback and/or comments worked into later or final papers, b) it is wise to keep copies of earlier drafts in case a tutor wants something put back in, and c) earlier drafts can be useful for seeing how ideas alter/develop with time. Do not be Afraid to Seek Help It may be that writing is not your strongest point. If so, our third recently graduated student recommends using college writing centers. He says that, a) these are free and the assistants are graduates with many having written dissertations themselves so they understand every stage of the process, and b) writing centers can keep up motivation, not least because students have to write something before their next tutor-student meeting. Another mechanism for helping maintain focus is organized college support groups. These groups can give feedback on writing and critical thinking skills, and generally offer encouragement. It can be especially useful to have other people to talk to when you have writer’s block or encounter various problems of the professional or personal variety. In many cases, colleges have a counsellor if you really run into difficulties. It must be Done So Do It! It all boils down to one thing at the end. Established routines are an effective way of achieving critical goals. So, write! For some students, this means scheduling specific times for writing – especially making optimum use of their most productive times. Some treat dissertation writing in a similar way to a part-time job with certain hours a week devoted to it. Setting a clear timeline – a backward-looking calendar – for completing an important writing project is also a good strategy. Build in critical milestones such as a timeline for collecting data, analyzing this, setting a schedule for different chapters, and so on. However, make sure your goals are realistic!

Deserts, glaciers and climate

Deserts, glaciers and climate Geological features have historically provided dramatic and enchanting views for people. Some examples include mountain peaks, desert surfaces and coastal cliffs. Despite providing magnificent sceneries, the potentially harmful nature of some of these features provides hazards to the society.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Deserts, glaciers and climate specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Landslides and volcanic eruptions have always been cataclysmic, leading in loss of lives. These features have been used in scientific research studies while others serve as tourist attractions. The features display some similarities and differences depending on whether they are in desserts or glaciers. Desert landscapes cover slightly over one third of the land surface on earth (Hallmann Steinberg, 2000). They are usually dry, receiving extremely minimal rainfall, thus supporting a small number of life forms. The vicinity frequently e xperiences harsh climatic conditions typified by either exceptionally hot or extremely cold. There are diverse forms of deserts classified depending on the quantity of rainfall received and its location. The contrast between the desert and glacial landscape is the extreme weather conditions and landforms dotted across the surface. The desert landscape is characterized by kilometers of dunes and stone surfaces. Stones of unlike solidity and constitution erode at singular rates to fabricate the splendid wilderness imagery. Several features including playas and blowouts make up the desert landscape (Ryan, 2008). Glaciers also face displacement and erosion, similar to deserts, which result in the formation of landforms. The glacier rubs out substances underneath it as it shifts leaving matter on rocks (Ryan, 2008). The glacier accumulates the material which it eventually deposits elsewhere, giving evidence to their direction of movement. The resulting landform of the desert landscapes i s characterized by its configuration through wind actions and weathering. When the globe heats up, warm air, which is less heavy, physically ascends to the summit headed for the poles while cold air settles down. This breeze process is though affected by the revolving of the world thus fashions a sidetracking energy on the current of air. The rotational speeds of the wind depend on the distance from the equator (Ryan, 2008). The speed of rotation is frequently zero and the poles and gradually increases towards the equator.Advertising Looking for essay on geology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Glaciers are formed when it is cold enough for ice not to melt during winter snow. This climate is normally experienced in elevated areas around the polar. Huge accumulations of snow must exist in a gently sloping rocky area which will prevent its loss (Hallmann Steinberg, 2000). Molecules in the ice are reorganized without c hange of physical structure, forming new crystals. Even though it is presently being amplified by the media, climatic changes have historically being there. The year of climatic change can be determined through scientific research in ocean sediments and tree rings. Volcanic upsurges around the terrain and changes in path directions are some of the causes of weather modifications. Some of the effects of this change were ice ages and interglacial periods when the planet was warming. Natural sources like volcanoes result in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (Ryan, 2008). The presence of the gases adds to the chilling and temperate occurrences. The earth may begin to cool due to adjustments in its orbit. More CO2 thus dissolves in the oceans hence making the planet much cooler (Hallmann Steinberg, 2000). Wild forest fires and other sources of heat radiation make the earth warmer. The oceans receive less CO2 hence gets warmer. There was a small cooling event around the 16th centur y caused a slight cooling of the earth. The earth experienced warming during the medieval times across different regions such as Europe. The beginning of the industrial age is however the time when the earth started experiencing continuous warming. This results from the production of greenhouse gases through industries, automobiles and manufacturing activities. Climatic change has resulted in overall heat increase. Patterns of rainfall have changed in various regions, exemplified by more rainfall in certain regions and occasionally in others. Aquatic levels have been progressively expanding, increasing by more than ten centimeters. In the 21st century, temperatures will rise; hence the thawing of glaciers will escalate. There would be extreme weather changes due to the increase in temperatures. The rise of sea levels would interfere with coastlines and activities on beaches. There would be increased erosion and the subsidence of land would thus considerably reduce. The effect on des erts would also be tragic. Life forms, which depend on the little precipitation, would not have any water from streams, which would undoubtedly have dried up. Most deserts on earth are fed by glaciers. Melting of the glaciers due to climate change will impair their water services to the deserts, which will become more arid and incapable of sustaining life.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Deserts, glaciers and climate specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They will become hotter and much drier. The soil becomes further degraded through wearing away and compaction (Hallmann Steinberg, 2000). Extreme desertification will lead to more migration and end up overcrowding some areas. There would be further wearing down of the ice resulting in more intense liquefaction. An estimated 1/3 of all glaciers will disappear in less than 100 years. The distribution of river flow and water supply would decrease thus impacting agriculture and production of electricity. Hydrological changes would change navigation systems of rivers, which may provide benefits for shipping industries, which could previously not navigate some areas. Life forms on earth would be threatened if climatic changes exaggerate. Unfortunately, these effects will not be equally distributed across the earth. Some regions will be more adversely affected while some will experience the benefits of the weather changes. Some of its impacts will be irreversible depending on their rate and magnitude. References Hallmann, M. Steinberg, M. (2000). Greenhouse gas carbon dioxide mitigation: Science and technology. Florida: CRC Press. Ryan, J. (2008). Desert and glacial landscapes. Technology: science. November 20, 2008. Web.

Locate a scholarly article describing an applied or mixed-methods Essay

Locate a scholarly article describing an applied or mixed-methods approach to research, preferably a research article where this - Essay Example and (2) what are the internal and external factors which seem to impact new product success and failure? (Wei & Morgan 377)1. On the other hand, for the quantitative strand, the research questions focused on the following hypotheses: (1) A firm’s market orientation is associated positively with its new product performance; (2) The supportiveness of a firm’s organization climate is associate positively with its market orientation; and (3) The supportiveness of a firm’s organizational climate is associated positively with its new product performance (Wei & Morgan 378, 379)2. The study adapted a mixed-methodology called sequential exploratory mixed-methods research design. As explained in Hesse-Biber, in this type of mixed-methods design, â€Å"the qualitative component is primary and is used to generate theory or specific theoretical constructs† (71). In this study, the qualitative strand was utilized in theory development and the quantitative strand was use d in the testing of three hypotheses.

GROUP DYNAMICS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

GROUP DYNAMICS - Essay Example ligence from other members of other groups, obtain skills in life, prepare themselves mentally for future teamwork, enjoy the fruitful success of the group outcome from its activities and eventually realize affluence of the entire affiliation as a whole (Kemper and Royce 2002). This is the fact since a group is the most fundamental microcosm of the profile of the entire organization that the members are working for. The group can be a school study group; discussion group, project group; research group or an investigatory team of people who work together towards achieving a common set goal or goals within a given scope of time. Groups are a very potent learning tool as it combines the thinking of different minds to a common pool and laying the bare for critical analysis and further fact finding regarding the given data at hand. Therefore, the group is a very effective tool in research work, a powerful discussion tool and a good approach where a given number of people are willing to arrive at a common thinking destination (Levi 2010). Insight is a very important aspect in group/teamwork. Members with adequate insight/knowledge are adept top solve a given riddle from the combination of the different insights to deliver favorable answers that serve are apparently credible. Participation in a group is a very important virtue in group work. Members who participate in terms of giving ideas, speculation, insight and their own findings regarding the topic under discussion make the team/group affluent and fruitful in its endeavors. Conversely, lazy or unwilling members who do not contribute in the group deliberatio ns make it to lag behind and dwindle in its endeavors. Therefore, the aspect of teamwork and participation gives an affluent group its characteristic success. This involvement, profound concentration on the group and giving out your viewpoints is very influential on the group success rather than passiveness which is a vice (Davies and Sinfield 2000). Factors that

Why Are Proteins Important Essay Example for Free

Why Are Proteins Important Essay Proteins can easily be addressed as one of the most important molecules in animal cells. There are many varieties of protein molecules which allow a vast range of biological activities in the cell.( Williams, G.(2000))’Proteins are big compound with large molecular masses’’(Williams, G.(2000)) whose main chemical constituents are hydrogen, carbon ,oxygen and nitrogen. A protein structure consists of a specific sequence of amino acids called the primary structure, this particular sequence determines the secondary structure of the protein which can be ÃŽ ±-helix or ÃŽ ²-pleated sheet. This then further folds to form the tertiary structure . The primary structure determines the eventual shape of the protein and thus its function. ‘’Different proteins can appear very different and perform diverse functions’’ (S-COOL. Biology A-level: Biological Molecules and Enzymes-URL: http://www.s-cool.co.uk/alevel/biology/biological-molecules-and-enzymes/carbohydrates.html (accessed 11/11/2010)). Some of the diverse range of functions provided by proteins are transport , for example haemoglobin, which allows oxygen to be transferred throughout the body. Defence, primarily by immunoglobulin, i.e. antibodies. Structure, such as collagen and elastin that form tissue. For hormones e.g. insulin and glucagon are important for controlling blood sugar. All enzymes are proteins, enzymes control most of the reactions found in living organisms, they also transfer substrate molecules. They have a specific shape due to a specific primary structure. They are therefore specific in the reactions that they catalyse. They have an active site which is a unique shape so any one type of substrate will fit in it. (S-COOL. Biology A-level: Biological Molecules and Enzymes- [online] )

Teaching Philosophy Statement :: Education Educational Educating Essays

Teaching Philosophy Statement Every year I have had a teacher who has always went that extra mile to make sure I thoroughly understood each and every lesson. For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a teacher; I want to be like all those teachers who helped me through the years. One particular teacher who seems to stick out in my mind, is Mr. Scott Vargo. He taught 10th grade Biology and 12th grade Anatomy and Physiology, both of which I took. I have to say I've never met a teacher like him; his teaching style was extremely unique. Every student, who has ever walked through the door of his classroom, has walked out with a wonderful feeling of accomplishment because they walked away with knowledge. Every student Mr. Vargo has ever taught, has bragged on his enthusiasm and devotion to the subjects he teaches. One reason students call him enthusiastic is because, instead of giving tests, he gives "Celebrations of Success." While passing out the test, he plays the song, "Celebrate!" Everyone down the hall knows when Mr. Vargo is giving a "Celebration of Success" because they hear the music echo throughout the classrooms. Mr. Vargo does not see his tests as a test of one's knowledge, but as a celebration for successfully learning new material. I have to agree with his viewpoint because not only is it a great way to look at tests, but it also takes the edge off the students by celebration rather than testing. Even though I did not come out of that class with a perfect grade, the knowledge I gained was far more satisfying. By example and experience, Mr. Vargo showed me what it is like to be a great teacher and love doing so. He gave me the determination to be a humorous, compassionate, and well-educated teacher. After reading about the direct teaching method, I thought that would be a great method to use. In my former high school, this method is used quite often; however, I continued reading about the other methods, and I had recalled these methods also being used.

Motorcycle helmet law essay Essay

Michigan Motorcycle helmet lawHello, I am here today to talk to you about the Michigan Motorcycle Helmet Law. -This law permits anyone that is 21 years of age or older that has at least 20,000 dollars in heath insurance and has passed a safety course in the past 2 years to ride a motorcycle without a helmet. I am also here to persuade you that this law doesn’t have a person’s safety as the top priority. Just recently I have witnessed a motorcycle crash happen right before my eyes. My stepmother was taking a turn at only 30 mph when she locked up her breaks and crashed over the handle bars. She has been in the hospital for a little over two weeks and it is a miracle that she is in the condition that she is in, recovering from a skull fracture and bruising on the brain, She has been riding for twelve years, no other vehicles were involved, and she was wearing a helmet, if she was not wearing her helmet, I know that we wouldn’t have her with us anymore. We were hoping she would be home for the forth of July, but the medical staff still haven’t given us a go home date as of today. Studies from the National Highway administration in 2008 showed that motorcyclists who do not use helmets are three times more likely to suffer a disturbing brain injury in a crash than those who are wearing helmets. The regulations to this law are also very insufficient. 21 years of age is when adults are just allowed to start drinking. Many people that turn 21 haven’t quite learned yet how to handle alcohol or how much is too much when it comes to drinking and driving, or in this case drinking and riding. Also 20,000 dollars worth of health insurance is not nearly enough to cover medical bills caused by accidents with a helmet, let alone to be able to cover the costs of the injuries sustained without a helmet, I can’t help but think this is going to raise everyone’s insurance premiums eventually. Even if you still think not wearing a helmet is cool, take a minute to think of this, the only way for over worked understaffed police have to check if you have the proper health insurance coverage is to pull you over, this gives the police probable cause, which in turn takes up your time and the cops time. With this law in effect, death rates and injury rates have skyrocketed up to a new high. The Michigan helmet law is more about ‘freedom’ than about safety. If you want to feel the wind in your hair stand in front of a fan. If you want to get home safe wear a helmet. All in all the Michigan Motorcycle Helmet Law has caused far more bad than good. In the end, I hope that what I have told you today will persuade you to tell a friend, family member, stranger, or even to tell yourself that it is far safer to wear a helmet, than it is to go without one. Please think twice before you decide to ride without a helmet. Guarino, M. (2012, April 13). Retrieved from http://www. csmonitor. com/USA/Politics/2012/0413/Look-ma-no-helmet! -Michigan-repeals-helmet-law.