Successful Dissertations and Theses

Revised and updated to cover the increasing uses of computers in research and writing, this guide to dissertations and theses provides a practical resource for thesis writers in all fields of study, including the liberal arts, social and behavioural sciences, and natural sciences.

Autorentext

David Madsen is the author of three novels: Black Plume: The Suppressed Memoirs of Edgar Allan Poe, that imagines Poe's life as the inspiration for his dark tales; U.S.S.A. an alternative history detective story set in American-occupied Russia; and Vodoun, a mystery that blends the political drama of present day Haiti with the Haitian revolution against Napoleon's France. He is a produced screenwriter, with credits that include Copycat, the Warner Brothers thriller starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter He is writing a new mystery set in San Francisco during the turbulent 1970s, and he often visits a display case in the SF library to pay his respects to Dashiell Hammett's typewriter.

Klappentext

"Should save graduate students years, pain, and money." "Madsen's book should be welcome both to graduate students about to undertake dissertations and to faculty needing to learn the role of thesis adviser. . . . Here one learns about long-term planning, avoiding self-defeating strategies, and negotiating with advisers. Model papers, shown at various stages of planning and development, clarify the steps. Madsen tells how to propose, outline, write, defend, and possibly publish a dissertation, information which should save graduate students years, pain, and money."
--Library Journal Revised and updated to cover the increasing use of computers in research and writing, this start-to-finish guide to dissertations and theses is available for the first time in paperback. Drawing on more than twenty-five years of experience in advising graduate students, David Madsen provides a practical resource for thesis writers in all fields of study, including the liberal arts, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences. Offering a comprehensive source of assistance, Madsen goes beyond other thesis guides--from topic selection and proposal, through the research and writing processes to the defense and subsequent presentation to professional audiences. With the help of many detailed examples, the author shows how each step can be confronted and completed efficiently and in good time. And he explains how to avoid the pitfalls of endless--and often needless--research and how to devise and adhere to a realistic timetable for completion.

Inhalt

1. Starting and Completing the Dissertation. 2. Working with the Research Adviser and Advisory Committee. 3. Selecting and Shaping the Research Topic. 4. Preparing the Research Proposal. 5. Employing Basic Research Sources and Techniques. 6. Using the Library and Locating Essential Resources. 7. Organizing, Outlining, and Writing. 8. DefAnding the Thesis. 9. Adapting the Thesis for Publication and Presentation. Resources: Sample Proposals and Manuscript Pages A. Sample Proposal: Historical Approach B. Sample Proposal: Experimental Approach C. Sample Pages.