Theoretical and conceptual frameworks are challenging for many reasons. Indeed, Bloomberg (2023, p.23) describes them as “…one of the most misunderstood pieces in the dissertation puzzle and … a source of anxiety and frustration for many”. Undoubtedly, it takes careful thought and effort to arrive at such a framework while reviewing the research literature …
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Imagine having a wise academic owl who keeps you updated with new articles on the key topics of your literature review. And all this at no cost. In effect, this is what Google Scholar offers you with the ‘Alerts’ feature. It sends you emails with links to new articles on the topics you specify. All you …
Are the results of your study non-significant? If you’ve experienced disappointing non-significant results in your research, you may wish to refer to the excellent statistics note by Altman and Bland (BMJ, 1995; 311: 485) that considers that absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence. In their note, these authors explain that …
Dissertation submission time can be extremely stressful. If you’re about to submit your proposal or dissertation, you’re probably using Word to set up your document and a style guide like APA7, or equivalent, for formatting. Your document needs to be formatted correctly – heading levels 1, 2, 3, and maybe 4 and 5, double line …
Do you know how smart Google Scholar can be? With Google Scholar you can: 1. Do an Advanced Search so you can combine keywords easily. 2. Save your searches in your own library with folders so your sources are well categorized. 3. Do backward searches so you can find articles that have cited other articles. …
5 SMART Ways to Raise the Level of Your Literature Review. 1. Update your references to show that you’re informed of current research in your field. At least three-quarters of your references should come from the last five years. 2. Focus on what the authors are saying with references, rather than who is saying it. …
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Doing a thesis or dissertation isn’t easy. Academia may be a new world for you. There are lots of things to learn, lots of work to do and deadlines to meet. You have a supervisor, advisor, or lecturer, but many other students around you also need their attention. So why not stand out? Be an …
Imagine a golden thread that runs through your thesis, from start to finish. It weaves your argument through theory and literature, linking your research questions, your conceptual framework, your methodology and analytic framework, and finally, your skilful answers to the research questions. This is the coveted golden thread of your thesis. Let’s think more about …
In the methodology chapter, the focus of the thesis is different from the previous chapters. In Chapter 1, you described mainly the problem and purpose of your research, the key debates in the associated literature, and the knowledge gap. In Chapter 2, you reviewed the relevant literature and arrived at your conceptual framework. But Chapter …
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Are you using tables in your thesis or dissertation? Here are 10 tips. The first nine are rules or guidelines from the APA 7 manual. The last one is my own. Tip 1: Tables should be aligned with the left margin, rather than centred. Tip 2: The table number and heading should be …