Advice to Prospective Master’s Students on Dissertation Writing

Introduction

Writing your master’s dissertation is a challenging process. It is so because a Master’s degree dissertation completely rests on the student’s ability to do in-depth research. The final step the student must take before receiving a Master’s degree is a dissertation. As you are needed to do an in-depth investigation into the nature of the issue, it is typically the longest and most difficult phase of the study. This article will guide prospective master’s students on dissertation writing.

What is the importance of dissertation writing in a Master’s degree?

Dissertation writing has crucial importance in a Master’s degree. If you are considering doing a Master’s in your respective field, you should start preparing yourself for research. A Master’s degree is an advanced degree and a step up that requires advanced research and analytical skills. The dissertation writing process evaluates your ability to conduct independent research and engage with the discourse critically. During your Master’s, your supervisor expects you to write outstanding research that adds value to the literature. Master’s research builds the foundations for research at the PhD level, and researchers extend it further for publications. So, it is imperative to get familiar with research and writing. You must develop a research aptitude and refine your analytical and logical skills.

What steps are important in dissertation writing at the Master’s level?

Step 1: Choosing your topic carefully

The first step is to choose your topic wisely because otherwise, you will not be able to write your dissertation. Topic selection is the most crucial step and must not be taken lightly. You must select an appropriate topic that fills the gap in the literature and matches your interests. Doing some preliminary research to find a unique topic for your dissertation is imperative. You must read the latest and trending research papers from reputable journals about your subject area. Read the recommendations section of the research papers, and you will get an idea about further research in your area of interest.

Scope of Research

It is important to define your area of interest in your subject to narrow down the scope of your research. Initially, you will start at a broad level, and eventually, you will narrow the scope of your research. The best practice to narrow down the research’s scope is to do some brainstorming. Brainstorming helps you dissect the subject into different aspects and themes. Pick a theme and further dissect it into one or two major aspects. Your initial research will help you find the existing gaps in the literature and choose your topic. Remember to choose a topic on which you can easily find the data, whether it is primary or secondary data. It is understandable to feel overwhelmed with the task of finding the right topic for your research, and many students do not know where to start. You can always take help from cheap dissertation writing services to assist you in the dissertation writing process.

Step 2: Define a Research Problem and Questions

Research problem or problem statement is the most crucial step in writing a dissertation. A strong coherent research problem is the central idea of research around which the entire narrative revolves. It hooks the ideas together and provides cohesion and structure to the entire dissertation. A strong research statement determines the tone and voice of the entire research. So, writing a logically connected and strong research statement is imperative.

Research Statement

A research statement is your stance on the issue, but it is not an opinionated statement. It is an arguable claim that researchers support or refute with the help of evidence. A research statement must not be vague and incoherent. Research questions naturally follow the research problem and must be straightforward and concise. You collect primary and secondary data to answer the research questions. So, it is important to write straightforward research questions that help you navigate the research process easier.

Step 3: Conduct Literature Review

A literature review is the cornerstone of your dissertation. It is the most important part of your research. A literature review is not a summary of what other scholars have done in your field. On the other hand, a literature review is a comprehensive and critical analysis of the existing studies. A researcher identifies the gaps in the studies and justifies his or her research problem in the context of identified gaps. The researcher informs the readers how his or her research will fill the existing gaps in the studies. An excellent literature review depends upon the researcher’s ability to engage with the discourse critically and evaluate the sources to provide a comparative perspective. We understand that writing an extensive literature review is a daunting task. However, there is nothing to worry about because you can always reach out to experts at Dissertation writing services UK to assist you in the writing process.

Step 4: Define a Research Methodology

Research methodology defines the steps you will take to answer the research questions. You can either choose a quantitative or qualitative methodology. It also requires a justification of the chosen research methods and their significance in answering the research questions. Research methodology defines the practical steps you will take for data collection and analysis. It requires specifying the sample size, inclusion, and exclusion criteria, and how will you ensure data reliability and validity of the findings.

Step 5: Data collection

Once you define the methodology, the dissertation writing process entails data collection. You must start collecting the data as soon as possible. To collect data, you can use surveys, questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions. It is important to devise plans for data management and analysis. You must keep an eye out for outliers in the data and develop mechanisms to deal with any challenges. Data collection and analysis are difficult, and many prospective Master’s students do not know how to do it. However, there is nothing to worry about because there are various experts that offer top-quality dissertation help and assist you in writing an outstanding dissertation.

Conclusion

Dissertation writing is a recursive process, and being a prospective Master’s student, you must learn the skill of multi-tasking. The research process involves multiple steps and requires good time management skills. You must create a timeline and prioritise tasks to complete your dissertation on time.