Your interest in your research questions will help you maintain focus on the dissertation process. The work you do may become the starting place for future research work and the next step in your career. Choose a topic that interests you and will help you advance your career. However, your choice of topic will depend on the requirements of your university. Review any documents or handbooks that outline the requirements and expectations.

Strategies:

• Examine the requirements, expectations, and methods used by your department, program, and advisor.
• Review completed dissertations in your field, those done by students in your program, with your advisor, and on similar topics.
• Set up a system for organizing your search results, citations, PDFs, primary sources, notes etc. using citation management tools (e.g. Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote) or other strategies. You can use these tools to create "in-text" citations and bibliographies or works cited lists as you write.
• Do a preliminary study of the literature related to your topics to understand previous research, key themes, issues, variables, methodologies, limitations, terminology, controversies, and gaps in the current research. Identify significant researchers and scholars working in the area. Consult a variety of sources such as websites, research blogs, books, journal articles, conferences, organizations, and other sources.
• Narrow your ideas to 2 or 3 possible research questions. Evaluate your question using criteria like feasibility, scope (too narrow or too broad), your level of interest, and future benefit to your career.
• The Library has many print and ebooks on the process of writing dissertations. Search for: dissertations, academic; academic writing dissertations and report writing dissertations.

The research design is the strategy or blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of your data. Generally, the design is the overall logical structure for your project and the methodology refers to the detailed steps for data collection and analysis. The type of design and method used is determined by the nature of your research question. Certain research designs and methods are core to specific fields of study or programs. Your design needs to be consistent with the requirements and expectations of your advisor, committee, and program.

Strategies:

1. Understand that your choice of design and methods will influence the niche you develop for yourself within your department, your discipline, and the wider academic community.
2. Read and review information about design and methodology (e.g such as books on methodology) and study examples of how these strategies have been applied in research similar to yours (e.g. other dissertations, articles, etc.).
3. Consider any philosophical and practical factors. Identify the theoretical approaches inherent in your design and methods.

Tips from the Library:

• Search Library for books and articles on research theory, design, methods, and analysis.
• Read about specific statistical techniques and software packages, for example, SPSS or SAS. For example, Lynda.com offers online tutorials.
• Review dissertations with similar designs and methods to learn about what worked well and what obstacles occurred.

Proposals generally include the title of your project, an introduction, a literature review, and a description of the research design and methodology for your proposed dissertation. This is often used as the foundation for the first three chapters of the completed dissertation. Be sure to read other successful proposals as examples to guide your work. Check with your advisor, mentors, or department for examples.

Strategies:

1. Introduction-Use the introduction to establish the context of the research being conducted and to summarize the current and historical understanding about the topic, your rationale, theoretical perspective, and proposed design and methodology. Explain the significance of your question and potential outcomes.
2. Review the literature to support your question and explain how your research will fit into the existing literature. Review the literature in your field to:
   • Develop an in-depth understanding of your topic and clarify why your research is significant
   • Ensure that your research is a unique contribution.
   • Explore important methodologies, controversies, and research issues.
   • Identify the names of key researchers, core journals, other research centres, possible sources of funding.
   • Explain your rationale for the research design and methodology and your plan to use and describe why it is appropriate for your research.
   • The written literature review is selective and does not include every article or source you find on your topic.
3. Build a workflow or system so you can keep track of sources (e.g. citation, PDF, etc.) including notes/rationale for sources you are using and for those you choose not to include (with your rationale for excluding them in case your advisor or committee have questions later).

Tips:

• Meet with your Faculty librarians to learn about useful library databases, keywords, citation tools, and specialized services for researchers.
• Go to workshops or watch recorded workshops.
• Use the Student Writing Support resources, especially for graduate writers resources.
• Review other dissertations both for ideas on how the literature review can be organized and for useful articles and other sources.
• Review what you already have written and presented for your course work and other projects.
• Search article databases outside your discipline. Explore interdisciplinary databases such as Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus etc.
• Browse and search in the core journals in your field.

After your proposal is approved, the next step is to implement your research plan by gathering and analysing your data. Before you begin there are more steps to consider if you have not completed these.

Strategies:

• Obtain any needed human subject or animal care approval from the University of Wollongong.
• Create a strategy to organize your files, contacts, observations, field notes, and bibliographic information.
• Implement a small pilot study before proceeding with the full data collection. This will help you to test your approach to ensure you are collecting data that reflects your research question. Document details such as time involved and issues in the study for either you or the participants. Determine if any modifications to your study need to occur before proceeding.
• Identify and test a strategy for transforming and analysing the data (e.g., coding data, transcribing interviews, running statistics, etc.).
• Test your analysis method with the small pilot study or sample of your data.
• Create graphs, tables, images, and other outputs that illustrate your results.
• Meet regularly with your supervisor to discuss and resolve any questions.

Tips from the Library:

• Investigate your Research Method to learn more about design and implementation.
• Search the Library for books and articles on data visualization, data mining, data processing, methods, and analysis.
• Try Lynda.com for online tutorials on data visualization, Excel, charts, graphs, etc.

Results Section:

The results section of your dissertation is the place to report your findings based on the data you gathered. This section should appear in a logical sequence based on your methodology. State your findings without interpretation.

• Use non-text objects to illustrate your results including tables, figures, images and visualizations. Illustrative objects should be placed either within the dissertation text or at the end of your dissertation.
• Summarize all your results whether they are statistically significant or not.
• Put raw data, survey instruments, and release forms, etc. into appendices if appropriate and required.

Discussion Section:

The discussion section is often considered the core of your dissertation. It gives context to your research, explains what your results mean, and the relevance. As part of the discussion, incorporate elements of your literature review and describe the significance and implications of what you found.

• Include your research questions identified in the introduction. Describe how you have moved the field forward. Explain how your research enhances or fills a gap in existing research. Identify any unexpected or contradictory findings.
• Explain how your results relate to existing literature and if they are consistent with previous research.
• Describe how your results can be applied. This could take a variety of forms such as real world application, best practices or recommendations.

Update the Introduction and Literature Review.

• Review and update your introduction and literature review sections to ensure that they are accurate and current.

Write the Conclusion.

• Share the conclusion you have reached because of your research.
• Explain limitations in your research and possibilities for future research on your topic.

Tips from the Library:

• Meet with a Faculty Librarian to do precise searching if you need to find additional sources.
• Meet with Learning Development for support with your writing process.

Although editing and revising occurs throughout the writing process, budget sufficient time to return to your draft for full-scale revision. Seeking feedback, reviewing, and editing your document helps you to:

• See your text from a reader's perspective.
• Examine the overall organisation and identify what is no longer relevant and what sections need further development. Bring together parts written at different times to create a coherent, connected whole.
• Make your ideas clear to others, which in turn, will result in better reader comments.
• Make changes to your presentation based on your reflections. Think of questions the audience might ask and prepare some answers.
• Plan and negotiate your progress in consultation with your advisor and committee members.

Strategies:

1. Separate large-scale revision from small-scale editing and proofreading, making sure to make large changes in organisation and content first rather than spending hours smoothing out a sentence you will end up cutting.
2. Ask colleagues and others for specific types of feedback to guide the comments. Connect with your dissertation support network and members of your committee to receive constructive feedback.
   • Help your readers help you by giving them a direction, for example in a cover letter, in which you explain what you want to accomplish in the draft and list your specific questions and concerns.
   • Identify potential readers' expertise and skills when deciding which parts of your dissertation you want them to review. For example, perhaps only people working in your lab can constructively comment on your "methods," while friends in other disciplines would give useful feedback on the "introduction."
   • Respond to all comments even though you may decide to not incorporate a suggestion.
   • Negotiate with your advisor and committee members to establish a process for submitting drafts for their feedback.
3. Check all calculations, visual details, and citations for accuracy and validity and remove sources you are no longer citing or add new ones.
4. Prepare the bibliography, appendix, title page, and acknowledgements.
5. Be sure you are formatting your document to meet the University requirements.

Prepare for defence:

Your defence is your final opportunity to present your dissertation as a coherent, intelligent product to the committee members who will read and evaluate it. Moreover, although the defence is a challenging prospect, remember it is your chance to share your work with interested colleagues, who will give you valuable feedback.

• You may or may not be expected to give a brief presentation at the beginning.
• Focus on the needs of your primary audience (your advisor and committee), either by consulting them directly or considering their feedback to your initial draft.
• Review your notes and rationale for making the decisions you made in your draft for example, including or excluding certain seminal theories, authors, and research methodologies.
• Remind yourself that at this point you are now the "expert" on your research and the goal of the defence is to present and share your expertise and seek feedback from interested readers.

Note: Check deadlines for commencement and submission of the dissertation.

Make sure you include all parts of your assessment when you submit it. There are no second chances!

Your dissertation defence committee will have informed you that you passed your defence, or passed with minor revisions needed. In some cases, substantial revisions are needed before the committee members agree to pass the dissertation. The procedures, requirements, and timelines for completing the dissertation process may vary depending on the department with which you are affiliated and the type of doctorate you will receive. Once any needed revisions have been completed and approved, you are ready to finish the dissertation and submit the final version to the Graduate School.

Tips from the Library:

• When submitting your dissertation consider your rights as an author. For example, you may want to retain your legal rights to the copyright for your work.

CONGRATULATIONS you have completed your dissertation!