Doing Your Master’s

Dissertation
Inger Furseth and
Euris Larry Everett
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© Inger Furseth and Euris Larry Everett 2013

First published 2013

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012947684

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ISBN 978-1-4462-6398-3
ISBN 978-1-4462-6399-0 (pbk)
Contents

List of figures viii

About the authors ix
Preface x
Introduction xi

1 Help! How do I find a research topic? 1

1.1 Finding a topic 2
1.2 Developing a topic 5
1.3 Research ethics 10
1.4 Writing a research proposal 11
1.5 Project planning 13
1.6 Summary 14
1.7 Action plan
16

2 Overcoming barriers and getting started 17

2.1 Writing blocks 18

2.2 Processing information and making decisions 20

2.3 The motivation to write 21

2.4 Getting started 23
2.5 Summary 25
2.6 Action plan 25

3 Basic rules of writing 27

3.1 Some rules for good writing 27

3.2 Writing styles 30
3.3 Structure 31
3.4 Tricks to continue writing 35
3.5 Summary 36
3.6 Action plan 37

4 Who can help you? Establishing support networks 39

4.1 Social media 39

4.2 Students 40
4.3 The advisor 42
4.4 The responsibilities of advisors and students 42
4.5 Summary 46

4.6 Action plan 46

5 A guide for searching the literature 47

5.1 Why search the literature? 47
5.2 How to use the literature in your thesis 48
5.3 Where to begin and what to include 50

5.4 Surf on top or dive into the deep Web? 51

5.5 Methods for searching literature 51

5.6 Bibliographic databases 54

5.7 Different types of literature 58

5.8 Identifying useful books and articles 66

5.9 How to keep a search log 68

5.10 A few useful websites 69

71
5.11 Summary
72
5.12 Action plan
6 Reviewing research literature 73

6.1 Coherence 73

6.2 Reviewing the literature 75

6.3 Critical analysis – questions and critique 77

6.4 Critical analysis – discussing the literature 82
6.5 Evaluating arguments 86
6.6 Summary 87
6.7 Action plan 88

7 How do I formulate research questions? 89

7.1 Research questions in quantitative and qualitative theses 90

7.2 Overall research questions 92

7.3 The rationale of the questions 96

7.4 Specified questions 98
7.5 Adjustments during the research process 100
7.6 Summary 101
7.7 Action plan 101

8 Easier said than done – choosing a suitable 102

research design and method

8.1 What is a research method? 103
8.2 Useful strategies for designing a master’s thesis 104
8.3 Practical and ethical considerations when collecting data 106
8.4 Writing the methods chapter 111
8.5 Summary 117
 8.6 Action plan 118

9 The art of keeping a steady course – structuring 119

the analysis
9.1 Organizing and preparing the data for analysis 120
9.2 Describing and interpreting the data 122
9.3 Critical analysis of the data – developing the argument 125
9.4 Structure 128
9.5 Coherence 129
9.6 Inclusive and bias-free writing 129
9.7 Summary 130
9.8 Action plan 131

10 Beginning and end – introduction and conclusion 132

10.1 The introduction 132
10.2 The conclusions chapter 133
10.3 Summary 134
10.4 Action plan 135

11 Chaos and order – editing and referencing 136

11.1 A classic thesis structure 136

11.2 Quotations 138

11.3 Notes 139

11.4 References 139

11.5 Referencing in the text 141
11.6 Referencing electronic sources 142
11.7 List of references 143
11.8 Summary 143
11.9 Action plan 144

12 When is it finished? Checklist summary 145

12.1 Reading the thesis with a critical eye 145

12.2 Comments and approval from your advisors 148

12.3 Work in progress 148
References 150
Index 153
List of figures

Figure
Initial mind map
1.1
Figure Concepts from initial mind map developed into a more
1.2 specific study
Figure Gantt chart for the first semester of doing a master’s
1.3 thesis
Figure
Model for decision making
2.1
About the authors

Inger Furseth, Dr. polit, is a sociologist and professor at the

University of Oslo, Norway and research associate at
University of Southern California. She has written several
articles and books, such as From Quest for Truth to Being
Yourself: Religious Change in Life Stories (2006), and co-
authored An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion:
Classical and Contemporary Perspectives (2006). She has
developed and taught several courses on research design and
writing for students and faculty at the University of Oslo and
other Norwegian universities and colleges.
Euris L. Everett, MA, has a BA with a major in teaching and
an MA in organizational management. Since 1977 he has
developed classes and taught in the US and Norway on
motivation, decision making, planning and writing. He is the
director of the Career Design Institute in Santa Maria,
California.
Preface

The topic of this book is how to write a master’s thesis. It is a

brief handbook written for the individual student. The
objective is to give the social science student at a master’s
degree level practical advice on how to do your master’s thesis
from start to finish. It is directed at the student who is going to
write a thesis for the first time, even if we think that students
on other levels will find it useful.
This book is a co-authored effort. The idea of writing a book
on doing a master’s thesis came as a result of lectures and
courses the authors have given, and several years of teaching
and advising many master’s theses. It therefore owes a great
deal to those students and to other students whose theses are
readily available online. Special thanks to Sally Nash, Lois Lee
and Leon Moosavi who let us use their theses. An earlier
version of this book was published in Norwegian in 1997
(Universitetsforlaget), updated in 2004 and revised in 2012.
This version, which is translated by Inger Furseth and
proofread by Euris Larry Everett, has been updated and
adapted for a British audience.
We also want to thank the anonymous reviewers and our
editor at Sage, Katie Metzler, for their constructive feedback
and suggestions for changes. Special thanks go to Mark Janes,
Social Sciences Subject Consultant, Bodleian Libraries,
University of Oxford, and Ragnhild Sundsbak, Subject
Librarian of Political Science at University of Oslo Library,
who have helped to edit and update the information in
Chapter 5 about search methods, bibliographic databases,
types of publications and keeping a search log.
Oslo and Santa Maria, August 2012
Inger Furseth
Euris Larry Everett
Introduction

It is a well-known fact that the master’s thesis functions as a

bottleneck for many students. It is not so difficult to attend
classes and take exams, but when it is time to start the thesis,
students often feel overwhelmed. The truth is that you as a
student face several new academic and personal challenges.
This book addresses and discusses both aspects of the writing
process.
Writing a thesis requires certain skills. It seems that it is
expected that master’s-level students either have these skills
or that they are able to develop them on their own. After
teaching research design and writing at master’s level for
several years, we believe that many students face some of the
same challenges during this phase. Writing a thesis has some
personal and social challenges in addition to the academic
ones. For example, many students experience a fear of writing
and struggle with motivation and decision making. These
issues are seldom addressed in class or in books on writing
theses. We want to try to help you deal with some of these
problems. What do you do when you are not motivated to
write? Or when you feel that you lack the necessary skills to
write an entire thesis? What are the basic rules of writing?
How do you get started? And keep going? When you are
working on your thesis, you need to establish an academic
network. How do you actually go about doing this? What if the
relationship with your advisor does not work? This book
describes problems that many students face during the
different stages of writing a thesis, and it provides practical
suggestions for how to resolve them.
 We have set aside a whole chapter to searching for research
literature. The growth in online resources has changed and
will continue to change when it comes to the amount and type
of information available, and the methods used to access them.
The problem for you as a student is that searching the
literature quickly can give you the feeling of being an
inexperienced globetrotter in a jungle. What types of
publications should you look at first? What is available? What
can librarians help you to find, and what can you find on the
Internet yourself? How do you identify useful books and
articles? This chapter discusses the difference between using
search engines for finding information and using the deep
Web. It gives an overview of various written and online
sources, how to find them and evaluate their usefulness. Since
this area is constantly changing, this book gives references to
different electronic databases and websites.
We also describe and discuss the different parts of a thesis.
How do you find a topic? How do you conduct a critical
analysis of the research literature? How do you formulate
research questions? Which issues should you consider when
you are going to design your research and decide on the
appropriate method? How do you actually construct a critical
analysis of your data? We walk you through the different parts
of the thesis and point out how to write them. We have tried to
be as specific as possible. You will find information on what an
argument is, what the introduction and conclusion should
include, and how you should write notes and references. We
also look at editing the thesis, finishing the work and
submitting it. The text is filled with examples from completed
master’s theses from British and Norwegian universities.
These examples demonstrate how other master’s students
have addressed the various challenges. The theses are taken
from different disciplines in the social sciences, and most of
them are available online.
Each chapter ends with a summary and an action plan. The
summary points out important issues to remember during the
phase that each chapter describes. The action plan is a
resource section that features exercises and
reflection/discussion questions designed to help you apply the
information and work through the thesis.
 Throughout the book we have attempted to point out how
you can complete a master’s thesis within the limitations you
face as a student. Even if the social science disciplines vary as
it relates to thesis requirements, there are some similarities.
Our aim is not to present a single recipe for writing a thesis.
We do not believe such a recipe exists. However, we want to
inspire effective work with the thesis. Our hope is that the
book will address many of the challenges you will face during
the writing process and show you what you need to do to finish
the thesis.
The book begins by addressing issues students face during
the early phase of writing a thesis: deciding what to research
and planning the work. Many students have to submit
research proposals, and we outline the main content of such a
proposal and how to write it. Since many students are writing
a thesis for the first time and feel overwhelmed by the idea, we
have chosen to address these issues in Chapter 2. We discuss
how to deal with emotional blocks, motivation and decision
making, to ways of identifying your strengths and weaknesses.
A master’s thesis represents a relatively large research project
for a student, so we offer a few reminders of the basic rules of
writing in Chapter 3 and how to improve your writing skills.
Chapter 4 addresses the social aspects of the writing process,
such as choosing and working with an advisor, using social
media, and forming student work groups for added help and
inspiration. In Chapter 5 we give advice and information about
searching for literature. We present various sources of
literature that can be used, how to find them and keep a search
log. In Chapter 6, we proceed by focusing on different aspects
of the thesis itself, doing a critical analysis of the literature and
constructing the argument, before we show you how to
formulate research questions in Chapter 7. This chapter is
closely related to Chapter 1 on finding a topic. Many students
mistakenly think that once they have found a topic, they have
also formulated the research questions. Research questions
constitute the main beam of the thesis and they need to be
developed and specified. It is therefore a good idea to read
Chapters 1 and 7 together. Since the research questions should
guide the research design and methods, we have chosen to
discuss these issues in Chapter 8. Thereafter, we outline the
different aspects of a good analysis, how to describe the data,
the importance of interpretation and how to critically analyse
the data. Towards the end, we deal with the introduction and
the conclusions chapter, editing, notes and references. Finally,
Chapter 12 focuses on the process of finishing the work.
Throughout the book, ethical issues are addressed.
It is important to know that you do not have to read this
book from beginning to end to write a master’s thesis.
Students tend to begin at very different ends when they start
to work on their theses. Each chapter is written in such a way
that you can go back and forth in the text to find relevant
information without having to read the entire book. We want
you to use this book as a toolbox, where you find the
information that is relevant for you. Feel free to go back and
forth and use it according to your needs. All the references
that are used in the text are, as usual, placed in the reference
list at the end, with the exception of the many examples of
literature in Chapter 5.
The book is directed at the social science student who is
writing a thesis for the first time. We believe, however, that
students at other levels as well as faculty and advisors will also
find it useful.
1
Help! How do I find a
research topic?

When you begin working on your master’s thesis you will soon face
a number of new challenges. You may ask yourself: ‘How do I find
a topic? How do I find a good advisor? Do I have the necessary
skills for academic writing? Should I take an additional writing
course? What kind of literature should I read?’. Most importantly,
‘What should I do first?’. It might seem as if all of these challenges
need to be solved immediately. Indeed, you should work on several
aspects of your thesis simultaneously. However, you must decide
and initiate a first step. We will begin by discussing a commonly
accepted first step: finding the topic for your research.
Students face a variety of issues when they try to find a research
topic. Some have difficulties in finding a topic because of the
seeming wealth of possible research topics. This feeling is common
during the early phase. Fortunately, you will quickly find that some
topics appear to be more interesting than others on your list. Some
students don’t have difficulties finding a topic that can be
developed into a research topic because they focus on an issue they
feel strongly about and they want to use the thesis to confirm their
beliefs rather than acquire new knowledge. Although it is a
common strategy in research to pose questions on the basis of
existing knowledge, this approach has an important premise,
namely that the scientist is willing to be proven wrong. You must
distance yourself enough from a topic to be able to consider that
your research may prove you wrong. If this is difficult for you,
consider tackling another topic. Always keep an open mind as it
relates to the result of your research.
Some students look at the thesis as their ‘life project’ which will
define their identities and future professional opportunities. Most
likely, you will conduct several projects during your career, so this
is not your sole opportunity to write. It is more helpful to look at
the master’s thesis as a project that will give you the opportunity to
learn how to do research and write about it rather than seeing it as
an ‘identity’ project.
And then there are the students who do not have a great interest
in research. They are not driven by curiosity, but look instead at
the thesis as a necessity to finish their degree. It is difficult to write
a thesis with this attitude. If this is a description that fits you, try to
look at the thesis as a source of new learning and insight. You
might be surprised.
Every student has a different point of departure when it comes
to finding a research topic. It is impossible to provide a detailed
guide of how to go about it, but we will offer some ideas and advice
that hopefully will be useful during this phase.

1.1 Finding a topic

Interest
What do you do if you are unable to come up with any ideas?
Clearly, you are unlikely to achieve much success if you pick a topic
that does not interest you. Which topic would you consider
working on for a year or more? Are there questions to which you do
not know the answer? Curiosity and the ability to constantly ask
questions are useful qualities in finding and developing a research
topic. Furthermore, the reader of your research is unlikely to find
your thesis appealing if you, the author, do not find the topic
interesting.

Problems, issues or conflicts

One possible strategy to find a research topic is to focus on specific
problems, issues or conflicts that evoke your curiosity. By taking a
look at different topics that dominate debates within the sciences,
you will often find that good science has been inspired by social
events (see section 7.2). One example is the scholarly interest
during the 1940s and 1950s as to why some people became Nazis
during the Second World War. Biologists, sociologists, political
scientists, psychologists and historians conducted several studies
to address this question from different perspectives. Another
example is the interest in religious extremism and violence among
political scientists, sociologists, historians and scholars of religion
that appeared after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New
York on September 11, 2001 and the bombings in London on July 7,
2005. It is also reasonable to believe that the terror attacks in Oslo
on July 22, 2011 will result in new research. These examples show
that science is closely related to the societies in which we live,
which is also reflected in the topics chosen by scholars and
students. An illustrative example is a master’s thesis on electric car
cultures. This student did an ethnographic study of the everyday
use of electric vehicles in the UK (Brady, 2010). It would have been
impossible to do this study only a few years ago. Many students
find the topic for their thesis by taking a closer look at events,
conflicts and problems in society.

Personal interests and experiences

Some students draw from personal interest during the process of
finding a research topic. One example is a student with an interest
in football. He used his master’s thesis in social anthropology to
study local Liverpool fans and their experiences of the commercial
changes in the industry (Gustavsen, 2010). Another example is a
student in North American studies who was interested in African
American blues and hip hop. Her thesis explored the expression of
dissent and social protest within these genres of music (Hansen,
2007).
It is also possible to begin by using your personal experiences to
find and develop a research topic. One example is a student in
social anthropology who grew up in an impoverished suburb of
Buenos Aires, Argentina. She used her background and
experiences with socioeconomic inequality to write a thesis that
focused on the local responses to neo-liberal politics in a
Uruguayan rural locality where a pulp mill had been installed
(Salinas, 2010).
Not every personal experience is suitable for a research topic. If
the topic becomes too personal and emotional, it might be difficult
to create the necessary distance to write a good thesis. In some
instances, fan studies, written by students who are fans of music,
literature, film, football and other sports, tend to be implicit and
positive, and often fail to ask difficult questions and raise critique
of those who they admire. It is important to have a certain degree
of distance so that perceptions are not clouded.

Profession or workplace
Some students find topics that are related to their own profession
or workplace. Many students in nursing, social work and teaching
write master’s theses based on their work experiences. One
example is a student who used to work as a secondary
schoolteacher in London. She wrote a thesis on teaching methods
developed for those working in caring professions (Nash, 2010).
Another example is a student who conceived the idea for his thesis
from his experiences both as a pupil and as a teacher in
comprehensive schools in the north-east of England. His thesis
focuses on pupil resistance to authority and its implications for
pedagogic practices (Fortune, 2010). The advantages of this
approach are that the student harbours knowledge of the field and
has local access and trust. There are, however, some disadvantages
to this approach as well. Students may lack critical distance and
adopt the perspectives of the actors. They may also be tempted to
consider colleagues and leaders to such an extent that scientific
norms of truth and independence are sacrificed.

Research literature
Another way to find a topic is to take a closer look at the research
literature. Is there a book or an article that impressed you? Does
the literature discuss topics you find interesting? Is this something
you will consider spending more time researching? Perhaps you
think the author was limited in the way she or he addressed the
topic? You should ask several types of questions to research
literature (see section 6.3). Did the author leave out questions you
think should be included? Or should the author have offered
different interpretations?
A common strategy is to address gaps in current research (see
section 8.2). Try to find phenomena that have received little or no
attention by scholars. One student found that aspects of secular
culture in Britain were neglected by sociological research. She used
this gap as a reason to study the experiences of irreligion in
individual lives (Lee, 2006).
 Another strategy is to study the same phenomenon at different
points in time. One example is a student in political science who
analysed five American presidential elections between 1992 and
2008. By comparing different points in time, he explored the role
that foreign policy issues played in these elections (Lian, 2010). A
similar strategy is to study the same phenomenon in different
contexts or in different key figures. For example, a student
compared affirmative action in two different contexts, the US and
the UK (Herron, 2010). Another example is a student who
compared speeches delivered by two major politicians, Tony Blair
and George W. Bush, during the same time period, from
September 11, 2001 to the end of 2005 (Stenbakken, 2007). She
was able to detect their different rhetorical styles by comparing
their ideologies, rhetorical devices and modalities. Indeed, the use
of comparisons, contrasts and differences are useful strategies
when formulating research questions (see sections 7.1 and 7.2).
There are also different ways to use the literature to find a
research topic. A common approach is to study two or more books
or articles about a particular topic that interests you and to ask
how they differ and why (see Chapter 7). Do they pose different
questions? Do they use various types of data? Do they use
alternative interpretations or modes of explanations? Do they
define or use key concepts in different ways?
It is a good idea to study encyclopaedias, handbooks,
companions and dictionaries to see if the review articles give you
ideas (see section 5.7). At this early stage, skim reading is a must in
order to avoid wasting time on topics you will not pursue. If you
spend too much time studying the research literature before you
have decided on a topic, you may risk becoming too dependent on
the reading you have done. It is easy to be trapped into forming an
opinion too readily on the basis of your reading. Many students
overestimate the amount of knowledge needed to get started. Read
some of the literature thoroughly and skim the rest. But read
enough to be relatively well informed. You do not want to select a
topic, only to discover that others have gone over the same ground
before.

Classes and seminars

A good start in finding a topic is to make use of classes and
seminars and talk with the professors (see section 4.3). Most of
them are helpful in finding a topic. Some direct large research
programmes and invite students to do a thesis within the frame of
the programme. Others form research groups, where several
students do their theses within the same or related fields.

Talk about it
Finally, it is helpful to discuss your ideas with other students. ‘To
talk about it’ actually helps. Ask the other students about their
topics and outline your own ideas (see section 4.2). Use social
media and blogs by master’s-level students to find more
information about possible topics and discuss your ideas (see
section 4.1). Later, use the social media and the blogs to present
the findings from your study. When you have clarified your
interests, paid attention to public debates, discussed with students
and professors, studied literature and participated actively in class,
you will find that these activities assist you in finding a research
topic. This phase may take some time and it has its frustrations.
Generally, students hope that good ideas will just appear out of the
blue, but this is not how it works. Good ideas come when you
search for new information and ask critical questions (see section
6.3).

1.2 Developing a topic

After you have found a topic that’s caught your interest, it must be
specified and developed further. The process of developing a topic
will eventually lead to the formulation of research questions (see
Chapter 7). During the early phase of this process, it is a good idea
to work with several topics or several aspects of one topic. This will
expand your ideas to include related topics. Eventually, you will
find a topic you want to pursue. The aim here is to present a few
useful techniques for developing topics.

Brainstorming
One method that will help you to find new ideas is brainstorming.
This is a technique that will help you to find different ideas. Later,
you go back and evaluate the suggestions you found. What you
actually do is to sit down at your computer and write ideas without
stopping. It does not matter whether you believe the ideas are good
or bad, the issue for now is just to write them down. Before you
start, make a decision to write, for example, for a period of five to
ten minutes. When the time is over, go back and evaluate what
you’ve written. Delete the ideas you do not like and keep the ones
you believe can be developed further. With these new ideas in
mind, repeat the process.
A common mistake among students is trying to be creative and
judging new ideas simultaneously. You cannot come up with new
ideas and label them as good or bad at the same time. This
approach tends to limit creativity. Remember that finding ideas
and evaluating them are two different processes. By letting yourself
write down your ideas without stopping, and then going back and
selecting the good from the bad, you are allowing yourself to be
creative. This is the central structure in creative writing (see
section 3.2).

Analogies
Another method for developing a topic is the use of analogies.
Models that are proven to be useful in one field of study can
sometimes be transferred to other fields. An example of the use of
analogies is when theories about negotiations between political
parties are applied to interpretations of negotiations between
partners in the area of domestic work and childcare. Another
example is when theories of decision making on the economic
market are applied to other areas of decision making, such as
participation in social movements. The method of using analogies
requires familiarity with the literature in the field. You need
theoretical knowledge to develop this application. Before you make
serious efforts to use this method, ask your advisor if this is a good
approach, otherwise, you may risk losing valuable time studying
the wrong type of literature.

Mind map
Further, you can develop a topic by making a mind map. A mind
map consists of mapping key concepts that are related to each
other. In order to come up with ideas for relevant concepts, use the
brainstorming method described above. You will find electronic
tools for mind maps, brainstorming and planning for groups and
individuals on Web 2.0 sites, and several are open source and free
(e.g. see https://bubbl.us/). Some even provide opportunities for a
group of students to share a mind map and work on it together to
develop ideas. Let us say, for example, that the topic of your
interest is ‘social inequality’ as shown in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 Initial mind map

This mind map gives you an overview of possible topics for a

thesis (it is possible to add more ideas than shown). Develop the
mind map further by selecting some concepts you think are related,
and group them (see section 7.1). This group of ideas will, perhaps,
create a conceptual starting point for a thesis. Draw arrows
between the concepts you think constitute causal relationships.
When you have completed your groupings, find one key concept
and then repeat the process.
In our example, we have selected the concepts of income,
education, ethnicity, age, gender and profession. These concepts
can be the beginning of a study of educational performance among
high-school students, as shown in Figure 1.2.
The method of drawing mind maps, as demonstrated in Figures
1.1 and 1.2, will help you to choose topics that can be developed
further. By selecting some concepts and omitting others, you are
specifying your research topic (see section 7.4). You may not
readily understand why one concept is more developable than the
other or why you have selected it. At this point, it is not important.
The important issue is that you have begun. Defining your research
questions will come later.
Figure 1.2 Concepts from initial mind map developed into a more specific
study

Asking open-ended questions

Finally, develop your topic by asking a few open-ended questions
(see section 6.3). The different questions suggested below will, in
some cases, indicate what type of methodological approach you
will have to use in order to answer them (Barnes, 2005). These
questions will vary somewhat within different fields of study:

 What is going on? (Surveys, evaluations, documentation, facts)

 Is this true? (Hypothesis testing, critique of sources)
 What happens if? (Trials, experiments, new methodology)
 What is the solution? (Problem solving)
 How can something be improved? (Evaluation, action research,
applied research)
 Why is this happening? (Explanatory, analytical). (Barnes 2005: 108)

In some instances, a thesis will consist of one of these questions,

and in other instances, a combination of two or more questions
(see section 7.4). For example, if you want to answer the question
‘What is going on?’ you will search for documentation. To follow
our example, we would like to map educational performance
among high-school students. This might provide a basis for
questions such as:

 ‘Is this true?’ (Is it true that children of well-educated parents get
better grades than other students?)
 ‘Why is this happening?’ (Why do children of well-educated parents
get better grades than other students?)
  ‘What is the solution?’ (What is needed to improve the grades of
children whose parents have lower levels of education?)

Changes along the way

By developing your topic the way we have described here, changes
will take place (see section 7.5). Perhaps you end up with a
different topic than the one you initially found. Or perhaps you
choose to focus upon issues you had not considered before. If you
use this approach of specifying your topic several times, you will
eventually develop a research topic.
Once you have an idea for a topic, be careful to avoid two
common mistakes. One is selecting a topic that is too broad to be
researchable: two examples are ‘The role of the family in post-
industrial society’ or ‘The significance of Islam in the Western
world’. Be aware, though, that both topics can be developed further
into research topics (see section 7). The other mistake is to select
an ‘overpopulated’ topic: two examples are ‘New analyses of the
classical sociology of Max Weber’ or ‘The development and
meaning of the concept “identity”’. There are topics within every
field that have been researched to the extent that it is nearly
impossible to present new and valuable information.
At this point, you should begin to consider if relevant data are
available or if you must produce the data (Chapter 8). Ideally, a
topic may be researchable even if it is impossible to collect relevant
data. For example, it is theoretically possible to study the process
of lobbying members of parliament, even if it is highly unlikely that
you will collect a complete set of data.
When you have found one or more topics you would like to
develop further, it is time to talk to your professor. She or he will
help you to specify and develop your topics even further (see
Chapter 4).
Finally, once you have selected a research topic and your
professor agrees that it is viable, try to stick to your decision,
unless you have good reasons to switch to another topic. It will
help you avoid wasting time. It is difficult to write a thesis, and you
will make it even more difficult for yourself if you change an
agreed-upon topic (see section 7.5).

1.3 Research ethics

All research, including student research, is regulated by ethical
norms and standards. Ethical concerns are relevant in several
phases of your thesis. We will discuss these issues throughout the
book. In the social sciences, several decisions are made which have
an ethical dimension, including: the collection of data (section 8.3),
writing (section 9.6), referencing different sources of information
(section 11.4), and the student-advisor relationship (section 4.4).

Ethics during the research process and for

the consequences of research
Research ethics relate to norms for behaviour during the research
process and the responsibility of researchers for the consequences
of their research (Hart, 2008a: 277–311). First and foremost you
must have a fundamental respect for the people you are
researching. Respect for people is relevant when you are deciding
on a topic, during the research process and in communicating the
research results.
When you are searching for a topic, consider the possible ethical
issues involved. If you plan to use people as sources of information,
you must know the laws and regulations that guarantee the right of
privacy. The research process must demonstrate respect for
individual liberty and autonomy, which means that you cannot
begin data collection before you have the consent of the people
involved. The research participants shall not be exposed for
injuries or pain because they participate in your study. You must
provide participants with all the necessary information to get a
reasonable understanding of your project in order to give their
informed consent to participation. They also have the right to
withdraw their participation at any time without facing any form of
negative consequences. Finally, you have an obligation to make the
results of your research known by communicating them (e.g. by
publishing them) in an understandable way.

Responsibility towards society

As a researcher, you also have a responsibility towards society,
meaning that your study somehow should benefit society, either
directly or indirectly. Based on the premise that research implies a
search for new and better knowledge, research should not be
affected by the interests of those who initiate the study. The
funding institution should always be known to the public. As a
master’s student, you must adhere to the same ethical rules,
regulations and reflections that established scholars do.
Ethics is not left to the individual. Therefore, several
professional organizations have outlined formal codes of conduct
so that all researchers, including students, can be aware of what is
acceptable and what is unacceptable. Below are a few examples of
ethical principles and codes of conduct for various groups of social
scientists, as defined by some British and American organizations:

American Marketing Association:

www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/Statement%20of%20Ethics.asp
x
American Political Science Association: www.apsanet.org/pubs/ethics.cfm
Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and the Commonwealth:
www.theasa.org/ethics/Ethical_guidelines.pdf
The British Psychological society: www.bps.org.uk/what-we-do/ethics-
standards/ethics-standards
The British Sociological Association:
www.britsoc.co.uk/media/27107/StatementofEthicalPractice.pdf

Before you begin working on your thesis, get to know the ethical
principles and codes of conduct that are relevant for you.

1.4 Writing a research proposal

Writing a research proposal is essential for all research. Often
advisors and research committees require that you write a proposal
for your work. If you want someone to fund your research, which is
typically the case for any researcher, the research funding bodies
require an excellent proposal in order to do so.
A research proposal is a plan for your work (for more
information, see Hart, 2008a: 365–405). It is a map that outlines
what you want to do, why you want to do it, how you want to do it,
what you expect to find, and a plan that shows your ability to
deliver what you promise. Remember to discuss your proposal with
other students and, most importantly, with your advisor (see
section 4). Your advisor knows what a research proposal should
look like and will be able to guide you. If you have never written a
proposal before, try to get the advice of someone who has been
successful and ask if you can see a copy of their proposal. Also look
at the Economic and Social Research Council’s website (see
www.esrc.ac.uk), which gives advice on ‘How to write a good
research proposal’. All of this will help you to understand what you
are about to do, and save you time and effort.
Your research proposal will be a guide for your work, based on
your design for your thesis (Chapter 8). This research design is
related to the definition of your topic and your research questions
(Chapters 1 and 7), a search and tentative description of the
research literature (Chapters 5 and 6), your research methods
(Chapter 8), plan for the analysis (Chapter 9), and ethical issues
(sections 1.3, 8.3, 9.6 and 11.4).
You may ask why we discuss writing a research proposal here
and not later in the book. It takes time to prepare and draft a
research proposal because you will have to consider all aspects of
the thesis. First, you need to know what the requirements for such
a proposal are at your university. Then, you need to know
something about a possible topic, the research literature, research
methodology, research ethics and analysis before you begin your
proposal. In order to find information that might help you, you can
use this book actively by going back and forth. Finally, as you begin
to work on your proposal, drafting and editing several times, you
will begin to develop an outline of the work that lies ahead. This
will help you in the planning process. There is also a certain
excitement in anticipating what you might find and envisioning
your work, accomplishment and future success (see Chapter 2). As
you see, there are several reasons why it is a good idea to start the
process of writing a research proposal early.
The main elements of a typical research proposal are outlined
below. We have included references to where you will find relevant
information in this book. In many ways, the structure of a research
proposal is similar to a classic thesis structure (see section 11.1).
One important difference is the length of the research proposal.
The question of how long it should be depends on the
requirements of your university, so do check this. A typical
research proposal varies between 6 to 20 pages, which means that
you have very little space to explain what you are going to do.
While keeping spatial limits in mind, do not worry if your first
drafts are too long; you will go back later and edit several times
before you submit your proposal (see section 3.4 and Chapter 11).
 Title and author: Give a short title with a more specified subtitle.
The title should describe what your research is about using as few
words as possible. The title can be a working title, which you might
want to change later; be aware that a change of title may have to be
approved by your advisor or research committee.
 Introduction: A brief presentation of the thesis topic. Give a broad
presentation of the theme and the narrative you are going to tell in the
thesis. What is known about this topic, what you want to find out, and
what are you going to do? How is your thesis different from that which
is already known (see section 10.1)?
 Aims and objectives: What is the purpose of your research? Is there
a particular problem in society that needs more knowledge, so your
aim is to fill gaps in current research? Or do you think that previous
research is mistaken and you want to propose an alternative approach?
Perhaps you operate with a combination of several aims and objectives
(see section 8.2).
 Topic justification: Why does this matter? Explain why this study is
important. Will your work only have theoretical significance or will it
have some sort of practical significance, such as to bring about some
form of change (see section 7.3)?
 Scope and limitations: Due to very real limitations concerning time
and money, you have to define the scope your research. Specify clearly
the limitations of your thesis regarding theme, sample, geographical
location and timeframe (see sections 7 and 8.2).
 Literature review: Give a brief overview of the relevant research
literature. Search the literature and give an outline of the current
research in the area, key concepts and debates (see section 5). What
are the major issues and who represent the different positions? State
the names of authors and their publications. How does the literature
provide a frame for your thesis (see section 6)? Many students tend to
give lengthy outlines of the research literature, and only add a few
sentences when it comes to methods and practical issues regarding
data collection. Unless you are writing a thesis where theory is the
main issue, this is usually a mistake. The overview here is only meant
to frame your thesis within current research.
 Research questions: Give a more detailed presentation of your
overall research questions and all the specified questions your thesis
will attempt to answer (see section 7).
 Methods: Present the methods you are going to use and the reasons
for using them, based on the research questions. If you are going to
use surveys or study specific groups of people or organizations, give
 detailed information about access. Have you gained permission to use
the survey? Have people agreed to talk with you? It is time consuming
to find out if you will be able to access the data you need, but this
information is crucial. The more specific and realistic information you
provide here, the more likely your advisor will think that you have the
ability to conduct your thesis within your given timeframe.
 Ethical considerations: Include brief statements on how you intend
to conform to ethical guidelines, and give detailed information about
the different types of ethical issues and dilemmas you will need to deal
with in your research (see sections 1.3 and 8.3).
 Analytical approach: Present briefly an outline of how you will
analyse your data. If you write a quantitative study, somewhat detailed
descriptions of the data and the statistical methods of analysis are
required. Qualitative studies also require an outline of analytical
approach (e.g. content, discourse, category, etc.) (see section 9).
 Schedule: Include a timetable for your work where you estimate the
time it will take to complete your thesis. The timetable should be a
realistic estimate of the time the work will take you (see section 1.5
and the summary below).
 References: Provide an alphabetical list of references that occur in
the proposal (see section 11.7).

1.5 Project planning

As soon as you get started, make a plan for your work. Perhaps you
will object and say that making a plan is a waste of time because
you will never stick to it anyway. The purpose of a plan is not
necessarily to stick to it for the sake of doing it: the purpose is to
give you an overview and help you structure the work you are
about to take on.
When you start making your plan, write a detailed list of all the
things you need to do to finish your thesis. Include everything you
remember, from finding a research topic to reviewing the research
literature and contacting people. Then, structure your list
according to deadlines. What do you need to do first, and what can
wait? Organize the various tasks according to each semester you
plan to use on your thesis. What are the things that need to be
done each semester? Organize the first semester month by month.
When the first semester is over, make a monthly plan for the next
semester. You might find that you spend more time than you
planned to do, but this is not a valid reason for avoiding to plan the
next semester. During the last few months and weeks before you
submit the thesis, careful planning is a must (see section 12).
It is a good idea to go over your plans at the end of every month.
What did you do and what remains to be done? If you did not
accomplish all the things you planned, what were the reasons? Did
you make unrealistic deadlines for yourself? Did some of the work
take more time than you thought? Or were there other factors
outside your control that delayed your work? Equally important,
are there areas where you spent too much time? Your original plan
will be adjusted on a regular basis. Some things will, perhaps, be
moved. Others will be taken out, and some new things will be
added. By setting deadlines for your work, you put pressure on
yourself to finish. You may need this pressure, especially when you
are going through a difficult phase.

1.6 Summary
Remember that this phase offers a number of frustrations, as well as new
1 discoveries.

You need to find a research topic. You can search several places:
2

ºyour own interests

ºproblems, issues or conflicts in society
ºpersonal experiences and interests
ºprofession or workplace
ºprevious research
ºclasses and seminars
ºtalk with other students and use social media
talk with your professor, so that you know that the topic you select is a
good research topic – she or he has the skills, abilities and professional
º
mandate to help you see whether a topic has the potential to be
developed into a research topic.

Once you have found a topic, it must be specified and developed further.
3 Use the following techniques to develop a topic:

ºbrainstorming
ºanalogies
ºmind-mapping
ºasking open-ended questions.

All research is regulated by ethical norms and standards. Ethics is not left
4 to the individual, but there are formal codes of ethics for social science
researchers and students. It is your responsibility to get to know them.
These are some of the ethical norms that should guide your research:

ºthe people involved must give their consent

the participants must receive all the necessary information about your
º
project to
ºgive their consent
the participants shall not be exposed to injuries or pain because they
º
participate
ºpeople have the right to withdraw their participation at any time
ºyou must make the results of your research known
it is your responsibility that your research should somehow be of benefit
º
to society.
Remember that the student-advisor relationship is also guided by ethical
codes and standards.

Begin your work with the research proposal early, as this is time
consuming. A research proposal is a very brief map for your work, which
5
includes:

ºtitle and author name

ºintroduction
ºaims and objectives
ºtopic justification
ºscope and limitations
ºliterature review
ºresearch questions
ºmethods
ºethical considerations
ºanalytical approach
ºschedule
ºreferences

As soon as you get started, make a plan for your work. The Gantt chart is
a standard form for project work. It is used to give an overview of the
time schedule and all the activities involved. Several different computer
6 programs can be used to draw these charts electronically, where some are
open source and free and some must be purchased. It is possible to make
a simple chart in Microsoft Word, which we have done in Figure 1.3.
Figure 1.3 Gantt chart for the first semester of doing a master’s thesis

1.7 Action plan

Select two or three topics that interest you. Develop them by using an
1 electronic mind map:

º Fill in a key concept taken from one of the topics.

º Fill in related concepts.
º Select some concepts and group them.
If you think there are causal relationships between some concepts, draw
º
arrows between them.
º Repeat the process.

Select one of the topics you were working with above:

2

º Ask all the questions listed on pages 8–9.

º Which questions do you find relevant?
º Which combinations of questions are useful?

Plan your thesis by drawing a Gantt chart where you fill out all the
activities for the thesis in the left column. Make different charts on the
3
basis of a year, semester and month.

Go over the charts at the end of every period:

4

º What did you accomplish?

º What remains to be done?
º If you were unsuccessful in sticking to your plan, why was this so?
º What can you improve?
2
Overcoming barriers and
getting started

Some students struggle with the writing process and have

difficulties getting started. Other students think that the writing
itself goes fairly well, but they are unable to manage time and have
few routines for the writing process. We would like to address
some aspects of the psychology of writing that we think are
relevant for many master’s-level students. Our hope is that this
chapter will help you to identify and overcome barriers that
prevent you from writing.
It is generally taken for granted that every graduate student has
good writing skills. However, many advisors know that this is far
from the truth. Like any other skill, the ability to write varies from
person to person. There are several reasons for this. One
explanation lies in the educational methods and priorities when
you first learned how to write: if the essential skills were spelling
and grammar, and you had little choice in selecting topics for your
writing projects, you may feel that writing is mechanical and has
little connection with your own thoughts. Other explanations are
related to individuals. The joys and sorrows of your own past
experiences with writing influence your current emotions and
behaviour. Further, individual motivation, regular practice and
habits all impact on the development of your writing skills. These
are factors you can control and change. We believe that every
graduate student can become a competent writer in spite of
inadequate teachers, underdeveloped skills and poor habits. This is,
of course, dependent upon personal commitment to work towards
desired improvement.
 When you are going to write a master’s thesis, you must learn
the required style for this genre. We all know that a good poet does
not necessarily make a good novelist, or that a good novelist does
not necessarily make a good scientist. The reason is that each genre
has its own style. Whether it is an essay or a term paper, you must
be familiar with the genre in question. When you are going to write
a master’s thesis, learn the scientific genre with its requirements
concerning writing style, composition and argumentation.
It is impossible in a book like this to deal with every personal
aspect of writing (for more information, see Rudestam and Newton,
2007). Here we will outline some of the most common challenges
facing students who want to improve their writing and how to
handle them. The overview is meant as a guidance that points to
issues that need further study and work. Our hope is that the
information will assist you in overcoming barriers, accessing
coping skills and growing as a writer.

2.1 Writing blocks

Many advisors experience that students need more help than
technical supervision and consultation to complete their thesis.
Writing a thesis for the first time seems to trigger emotional issues
and create blows to self-esteem. In addition to the common
questions and doubts of topic or method, many students feel
frustrated when doing an independent work of this size, and the
task at hand can seem overwhelming. Some experience writing
blocks as soon as they start work. Writing blocks haunt the best of
writers, sometimes for extended periods. However, most writers
develop strategies they employ to make sure they continue to write.

Emotional and cognitive blocks

Writing blocks can be emotional, cognitive or behavioural, or a
combination. When beginning to work on a thesis, students often
have to face deeply felt beliefs about their own incompetence. They
think that they are not as intellectually capable as other students
and unable to complete such a task. Some think that they do not
deserve a good grade or that the thesis will never be completed or
accepted. Often such beliefs stand in the way of progress of the
thesis. By exploring these feelings and talking with others about
them, many students find that they can identify coping skills and
make use of them to overcome their own barriers.
 Another source of writing blocks can stem from previous writing
experiences. When the authors of this book were children, spelling,
grammar and penmanship were highly valued qualities, and we
often had to write on topics selected by the teachers. Contemporary
students have experienced more emphasis on creative writing and
freedom in selecting topics. Based on previous experiences with
writing, many people have learned to distance themselves from
writing. They feel that writing is not an activity that is related to
issues they feel strongly about. By selecting a topic of interest,
many students discover that they can use writing to give
themselves a voice on important issues.
Some people have also learned that writing is boring. Boredom
is a state of mind usually related to a disconnection with the topic
or a lack of interest. If writing seems boring, the chances are you
have selected a topic that does not interest you. Boredom is also a
common result if you feel that writing implies expressing someone
else’s thoughts. Do not fall victim to the excuse that you are bored
because you have a difficult task at hand. This may become a self-
imposed barrier. Try to look at writing as a tool to develop and
express your own ideas.
Others have developed low self-esteem when it comes to writing.
It is difficult to get started if previous responses to your written
work have been along the lines of: ‘You write very poorly. You do
not know the first thing about grammar. You must throw it away
and start over.’ Any pleasures in writing that the student may have
felt initially are diluted, and many students end up being afraid of
writing. Further below we will discuss in more detail strategies that
you can use to overcome these obstacles. A vague response like
‘This looks OK’ also creates problems. The student is often left with
a number of questions: ‘Was my work good or bad? Did the advisor
actually read it? Was the advisor trying to be nice? What should I
do to improve the text?’ Demand clarity from your advisor. Ask
questions and expect answers that will help you to develop your
skills.

Task blocks
Some forms of writing blocks stem from behaviour. They are not
related to emotional issues or past experiences, but are connected
to tasks that must be done. Many students do not know what to
write because they lack the necessary knowledge to do so. If you do
not know much about a topic, you have little to say. The problem is
that you have not acquired the prerequisites for writing. The ability
to write academic texts requires some preliminary work. If you do
not write because you have gaps in your knowledge, read about the
topic and do your research.
Many students do not write because they have developed poor
habits. Some decide to write when they are inspired, which means
that they constantly postpone it. They do not write regularly, but
only when they have a deadline to meet. They do not have a
specific place where they write, but they write a little bit here and
there, often in places where they are disturbed by noise.
It takes time to change behavioural patterns. This is especially
true when the patterns are based on previous negative experiences.
Established writers have learned to deal with these issues and they
have developed techniques to handle pressures and negative
critique. For the less experienced writer, such as the graduate
student, these problems can exacerbate their self-doubts and they
will struggle to keep writing. Therefore, we will discuss these issues
in more detail.

2.2 Processing information and making

decisions
In this section, we will attempt to explain how some emotional and
cognitive writing blocks are formed. We will do so by outlining how
you process new information, react to it and make decisions. Many
tasks you do in relation to the thesis are based on your decision-
making skills. For this reason, it is important to know about
positive and negative factors that might affect the decisions you
make.
The issues discussed here can be applied to several areas of your
life, not just writing. Our hope is that this information will help you
to reach your goal and finish the thesis. More specifically, we will
examine the effects of negative response and critique upon your
self-image, and how this affects your decision making (Bolton,
1986).

Decision making
Some decisions appear to require little or no thought. You make
them without having to think. They are learned behaviour patterns
or habits. For example, you may have a number of writing habits
you have never considered. Other decisions require conscious
reflections. When you sign up for a class or apply for a job, you
carefully assess benefits and costs. If you decide to improve your
writing skills, this decision will hopefully be the result of careful
reflections (see Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1 Model for decision making

Previous experiences and confirming

information
Let us imagine that you received a response to your writing along
the lines we mentioned above. We are not talking about
constructive critique that outlines how to improve your writing,
but negative and limiting statements such as ‘You cannot write!’. If
this is the response you get, you will ask yourself ‘Have I heard or
experienced this before?’. You will seek to confirm the information
with previous experiences. If you have heard similar statements
before, you may be receptive to believing the negative statements
you are now hearing.

Associations, emotions and self-image

Critique is expressed in words. Words cue associations and
emotions that are rooted in previous experiences. Emotions will
often manifest themselves as embarrassment and frustration. They
will have a tendency to affect your attitude, which is important
when you are going to make decisions about further actions. If the
images and emotions are pleasant, you will have a positive attitude.
If they are negative, they are often followed by negative self-talk:
‘They are right. I always make mistakes. I am not a good writer. I
never was.’ This form of self-talk will reinforce your self-image in a
negative direction. As a result, your tendency will be to question
your ability to write.

2.3 The motivation to write

So far, we have discussed how negative patterning can result in de-
motivation and impair attempts to improve your writing skills.
Here, we will point out alternative ways to react and function,
given the same point of departure. You must decide what it is you
want. Then you must determine what is necessary to achieve these
goals. Do you want to get a good grade on your thesis? Have you
seriously considered a PhD? Do you want to be a respected writer?
If so, understand that this is possible if you analyse your
behavioural patterns, modify your habits and make a conscious
decision to improve your writing. This demands commitment and
time.

Re-evaluate your self-image

Belief systems about who we are as people can be empowering or
limiting. When did you first decide to go to university? Was it
expected in your family? Belief systems colour your self-image and
affect your expectations about your own achievements. Which
professional goals can you see in the future? Which limitations do
you have for how far you can go? Upon what premise have you
taken this position? Is it because of a lack of skills or uncertainty in
your abilities? Ask yourself: Have others ever been wrong about
what is possible for you? Have you been wrong in underestimating
your skills and abilities? If the answer is ‘yes’, focus on achieving
more control over your life. Could you achieve more, if you take full
accountability for what you think is personally attainable?
One effective method to affect the self-image is to confirm who
you are through self-talk: ‘This is me. I can learn to become a good
writer. I can see myself submitting a master’s thesis.’ Every time
you make such a statement, you are affirming who you are and who
you want to become. Change does not come overnight, but this
method helps you to adjust and therefore affects your self-image.
This sounds simple, but in the final analysis it actually is more
important who you want to become rather than who you are today.

Visualization
Another method to impact change is visualization. It is possible to
simulate positive experiences. By visualizing an experience and its
positive outcome, you will positively impact your belief system.
Visualization can help you to change your self-image and rid
yourself of the fears that keep you from trying (Brennan, 1990: 93–
94). Think of your first time behind the wheel learning to drive.
You had to believe it was possible for you to learn it. You needed to
trust the driving instructor (sometimes we all need heroes, experts
and wizards). Next, you placed the visual image of yourself, the
perfect driver, in your mind. If your instructor was a positive
person who encouraged you, you tried again and again, no matter
what the outcome was of the first attempts. Small successful steps
are the key, and becoming a little better is crucial. Did you learn
how to drive? The nucleus for change and growth is desire. Often
the only thing standing in the way of what you want to achieve is
yourself. By working to remove your own barriers, you will help
yourself to increase your level of achievement.

Success and failure

It is important to have success. Sometimes, it is equally important
to fail. Why? Because failure teaches you new wisdom and takes
you in a different direction. When confronted with failure or a
negative result, you must analyse the situation and structure a plan
to redirect your efforts. Perhaps this means that you need to get
help. After you have grappled with the problem and sought help, it
is time to put it away for some time. This is called creative
distancing. When you acquiesce, you may find that the solution
comes to you as if from out of the blue. Successful students are
successful in spite of failures and difficulties. This is not necessarily
due to intellect (even if this helps), but primarily as a result of
beliefs, redirected efforts and perseverance.

2.4 Getting started

Even if many students struggle with some of the issues we
mentioned above, most find that regular writing is extremely
important. Indeed, good routines are prerequisites for developing
writing skills. All skills require regular practice and most of us
impose discipline in our lives and set aside time to do the things
that are important to us. We describe below some strategies that
you can use to get started and develop routines for writing.

Space
Arrange a space that is set aside for writing and studying. It does
not need to be a separate room; it can be a desk in the corner of
your bedroom or living room. What you need is privacy and a place
that is free from distractions. Make this place sacrosanct, so that
you associate it with writing and studying. Once you sit down, your
mind will turn to the writing process. Talk with the people in your
life to respect the time you are working at your desk.

Schedule
Establish a regular weekly schedule that allows for several hours of
concentrated time to work on your thesis. Some students work well
early in the morning. Others like to write late in the evening. Some
prefer reserving a few hours every day, whereas others like to work
two or more full days. Whatever you prefer, you need to know your
best work time. Your schedule will also be affected by other
commitments in your life. The important issue is to reserve regular
blocks of thesis time. A firm schedule will help you when you do
not feel like writing or when obstacles arise. If writing at regular
hours is new to you, perhaps you should begin with 1–2 hours per
day for 3–4 days a week. It is important to take your work as a
student seriously enough to organize your life so that your writing
time is as important as the time you reserve for other activities. If
you want to improve your writing and get the thesis finished, it is
essential to make writing a regular activity.

Divide the tasks into manageable pieces

Considering the thesis as a whole, it can seem fairly overwhelming.
Deal with the thesis one step at a time by dividing the tasks into
manageable pieces. A good place to begin is to make a list of all the
things you need to do, from finding a topic to reviewing the
literature and researching the data situation (see section 1.5 about
project planning). By prioritizing the things on your list you are
structuring your writing project, which will help to get you started.

Formulate thoughts into sentences

Get your thoughts formulated into written sentences. If you write
only one paragraph, you have started. A good idea is to focus on
finding a topic for your thesis and developing it. We have already
mentioned brainstorming and mind maps as methods to find and
develop ideas (section 1.2). Later, we will suggest more tricks to
keep you writing (see section 3.4).

Assess your writing skills

Make an assessment of your writing skills and become aware of
your strengths and weaknesses (see section 2.6). Usually, a student
will master one area better than another. Some have problems with
spelling, whereas others find it difficult to formulate complete
sentences or compose a coherent text. Some students feel that it is
difficult to argue a point, and there are those who tend to voice
their views without any documentation to support them. By
assessing your writing skills, you will identify your challenges and
know what to work on and develop.

Prioritize the thesis

Completing a master’s thesis is demanding and needs priority. This
means that other activities in life will be put on hold for a period of
time. One reason for delays and why some students never finish
the thesis is because they fall prey to distractions. If you have the
ability to prioritize your time and target your efforts, you will
increase the likelihood of completing your thesis.

Prioritize your personal life

It is also important to prioritize your personal life when writing a
thesis. Many graduate-level students have significant others in
their lives, and it is important to be sensitive to their needs. Find
out how to balance their needs together with the pursuit of your
degree. Talk with them and negotiate about ordinary
responsibilities and time. A partner who is not understanding or
flexible can become a hindrance to progress. However, most
students find that they receive love and support from their families
and friends during this period.

2.5 Summary
1 Emotional and cognitive writing blocks can be related to:

beliefs about your own incompetence previous experiences with

º
writing
ºperceptions of writing as boring
ºlow self-esteem when it comes to writing.

2Some writing blocks stem from behaviour, such as:

ºlittle knowledge of the topic

ºpoor writing routines and habits.

3Decisions are often made based on:

ºinformation
ºprevious experiences
ºconfirmations of information
ºassociations, emotions and self-image.

4Methods you can use to motivate yourself to write:

ºre-evaluate your self-image

ºvisualize the desired experience and positive outcome
ºuse failure to redirect your efforts.

2.6 Action plan

Make an overview of your current writing routines. Then, make a
1 detailed list of new writing routines for this semester:

ºarrange a space where you can write in privacy

ºschedule blocks of time for writing by specifying days and hours.
make it a priority and determine to follow through with the new
º
routines outlined above
discuss your schedule with the people in your life; this will help to win
º
the support you need when working on your thesis.

Make an assessment of your writing skills. Which writing skills are good,
2 and which writing skills do you need to develop?

ºgrammar, spelling
ºwriting complete sentences and a coherent text
ºdeveloping ideas
ºdeveloping arguments
ºbasing your viewpoints on facts and research.
3
Basic rules of writing

A common starting point for every writer is to know the basic rules
and methods for writing. Further, it is helpful to know about different
styles of writing. Think of the styles of writing as tools you employ to
reach your target audience. By becoming familiar with the toolbox
you will know how the different tools function. We will, further,
outline how to create structure in your writing and use paragraphs to
construct an overall argumentation. Finally, we will provide a
practical guide to help you begin writing, and to keep writing on days
when it gets difficult.

3.1 Some rules for good writing

There are some simple, basic rules of writing that must be accepted in
order to write well. These are the same for the beginning writer as for
the accomplished writer. Here we will focus upon three rules that are
related to the target audience, distance to the subject matter and the
purpose of your writing.

The audience
The first rule is to do with defining the target audience. Writing is a
form of communication that involves the writer as well as the
potential reader. No matter what you write, it is important to write
with an awareness of who the readers are so that you can imagine
what they need to know to understand your ideas. Will your writing
be addressing the general public, other graduate students or the
faculty on the thesis committee? What are the professional and the
educational make-up of the potential readers? Asking these types of
questions will enable you to imagine their needs and interpretive
skills. This determines the acceptable style of writing so that you
communicate your ideas in the clearest possible way. When you are
writing a master’s thesis, your target audience is the thesis committee,
which consists of faculty within your field. You will be evaluated by
someone who is well educated and has an interest in your topic, but
who does not necessarily have detailed knowledge of it. Indeed, many
types of writing are directed at the uninformed but interested reader.
Additionally, you will want to show the members on your committee
that you have acquired the craftsmanship of doing a scientific piece of
work.
Since the target audience is the thesis committee, some students
fail to explain important concepts or demonstrate their
understanding of the overall argument. Instead, they believe that a
mere reference to them is sufficient. This form of writing is too
implicit. It is better to explain a concept and an argument too much
than too little. Also, some students explain concepts by referring to
formal definitions. A more fruitful approach is to demonstrate your
understanding of concepts by explaining them in the text.
Any good writer demonstrates respect for the audience. Do not
write above the level of your potential readers, and at the same time
do not underestimate their intelligence. When writing a master’s
thesis, show the professors that you have a broad orientation, which
is evident in the discussion of respected research. In order to be taken
seriously, support your statements with research and avoid
undocumented personal opinions.

Personal investment
This takes us to the second rule. Be aware of your personal
investment in the topic. As mentioned before, choosing a topic that
interests you can facilitate your writing. Being passionate about a
topic can give you energy and creativity. This may be a passionate
desire to find answers to specific questions, or a passionate curiosity
about certain issues or a passion to communicate to the reader
important information you have found through your research. Your
investment in the topic will often make your writing interesting to
others, and it can help you to develop your ‘writing voice’ (Rudestam
and Newton, 2007: 238–242). Sometimes you will find that your
interest in a topic increases as you learn more about it; this can
become an asset when developing your argument. What were your
initial beliefs and ideas pertaining to the topic? How did your reading
and research develop your ideas? A topic that engages you will also
create motivation and determination during difficult periods.
However, choosing topics with high personal investment can
impair your judgement and approach. Are you using the thesis to
support your established views and notions? Sometimes passion
about a topic can make you lean too much to one side or the other
without having enough documentation to support it. An awareness of
your personal investment can help you spot your own biases. Are you
willing to interact with the material and test the ideas and
information found in the research literature against your own
thoughts? Are you open to the possibility that your research can
prove you wrong? Or is the topic so personal that it is difficult to
approach it with a certain degree of objectivity? These are some of the
questions you should consider, because scholarly writing and
research requires the author to go beyond personal passion to reach
conclusions based on collected material. Good authors combine
personal passion with collected information and integrate the two,
while being open that the research process can prove them wrong.
Conventional scholarly writing used to refer to the self as ‘we’ or a
third person and never as ‘I’, in order to create distance and a sense
of objectivity. One example is ‘We find in our data that ...’ when, in
fact, the author is a single person who collected and analysed the data.
Today, this convention is outdated and most academics think that
using ‘we’ in this sense sounds pretentious and pompous. If you are
the person who collected and analysed the data, it is more accurate to
state ‘I found in my data . . .’. The word ‘we’ is used when referring to
a co-authored text, like this book, or when referring to a group of
people like ‘the general public’ or ‘social scientists’. It is also used
when the author wants to include the reader, for example: ‘In this
chapter, we have seen that ...’. Referring to the author as a third
person is still common in scholarly writing. In the example above,
this would be something like ‘The data show that ...’. This form keeps
a focus on the issue and distances the author from personal
engagement. If you prefer to use ‘I’, be consistent but do not overuse
it. It can give the impression of an author who is too engaged in the
subject matter, so that the text seems like a personal confession
rather than an academic-style text. Trying to find the right style can
be difficult. It is a good idea to create some variety by using different
phrases, such as: ‘There is disagreement between ...’ and ‘This view
was opposed by ...’. Study the text of other authors to find alternative
phrases.
The purpose of writing
The third rule relates to awareness of the purpose of the work. Why
are you putting your fingers to the keyboard? Do you write for your
own benefit, or do you hope that it will benefit others in society? In
some instances, the purpose of writing is to work through thoughts
and ideas you are grappling with. In other instances, the purpose is to
enlighten your fellow human beings about issues that concern you.
Most master’s students, however, write with the purpose of finishing
their thesis so that they can graduate.
The purpose of your writing will determine your style, structure
and method. There are completely different rules of writing to a
chronicle in a newspaper than to notes in a diary when it comes to
level of knowledge, argument and linguistic skills. Likewise, there are
specific requirements in a master’s thesis as it relates to linguistic
precision, critical sense, use of scientific methods and well-
documented argumentation. In order for you to reach your goal of
finishing the thesis and graduating, it is essential that you learn the
requirements and skills needed to write a thesis. It is a good idea to
read completed master’s theses, which you will find at the university
library in paper or electronic format.

3.2 Writing styles

Based on the audience for your writing, we will distinguish between
three forms of writing styles: persuasive writing, compulsory writing
and uninvited writing (Elbow, 1981: 200–215).

Persuasive writing
The persuasive form can take the shape of an essay, a master’s thesis
or a piece in the newspaper. Persuasive writing is built upon the
pillars of a strong central argument (Elbow, 1981: 201). First, you
present good arguments for the position you hold. Thereafter, you
put effort into finding arguments that are contrary to yours, which
you attempt to refute. If your goal is to persuade the reader, this is a
good strategy (for more information on critical analysis, see section
6.4). The strength in your argumentation lies in your ability to refute
the opponent’s arguments.
The aim of a persuasive piece is not to convince the reader, but
simply to present the possibility that you are right. If a writer gets the
audience to accept the possibility that an explanation can be true or
that the writer might be correct, the writer has done her or his job.
Likewise, if the audience can be directed to question their ideas and
ask if there is another way of looking at the same facts, nothing more
needs be accomplished. From this point on, the readers will be
examining their ideas and attempting to validate or refute them. A
presentation of mere facts makes for boring reading. The form in
persuasive writing must be simple: present your arguments clearly
and leave complex sentence structures aside. Contrast the pro and
counter arguments and help the reader to consider the possibility
that you may be correct.

Compulsory writing
The best example of compulsive writing is the master’s thesis. This
writing is designed to demonstrate acquired knowledge, critical
thought and reflection, and the ability to conduct a scientific project.
Since the purpose of this form of writing is to pass the exam, you
must adhere to a few requirements and rules set by the institution
where you are a student.

Uninvited writing
Uninvited writing is deemed by most students to be the most fun
form of writing. It is creative and innovative. It is labelled ‘uninvited’
because it is thought to begin without a target audience. This has
proven to be a misconception, as the writer often has an audience in
mind, whether this is the general public or yourself. When you want
to practise writing, use the uninvited writing style to write about
anything you want.

3.3 Structure
Here we will see how you structure sentences and paragraphs
(Barrass, 2002: 30–53). If you do not have structure it is very
difficult to express a point of view or construct a logical argument.

The sentence
The sentence must have a subject and a verb. It can also have
descriptive modifiers in the form of adjectives and adverbs. Try to
place subject and verb early in the sentence, as the text becomes
easier to read. This is an example of a complicated sentence: ‘Based
on a survey of a representative sample of women above 50, a study
was conducted of their smoking habits.’ The message that a study has
been conducted comes towards the end of the sentence, therefore this
sentence should be reformulated. How?
The sentences must be grammatically correct. This means that
you must keep to the same tense of the verb within the same sentence,
and often within the same paragraph. For example, ‘The lectures
were conducted, and the students have received information about
the lesson plan’ should be changed to either ‘The lectures were
conducted, and the students received information about the lesson
plan’ or ‘The lectures have been conducted, and the students have
received information about the lesson plan’.
If you want to write well, you must learn how to use a precise style.
Most issues can be said in simple words, and a complicated sentence
can be simplified without losing its meaning. For example, ‘Within
the frames of the budget of the university, one does not have the
possibility to conduct more hiring this year’ can be simplified to ‘The
university cannot afford to hire more people’. Take a critical look at
your sentences and try to reformulate them. If you truly understand
your own writing, you will express yourself clearly. Also, it is easier to
communicate complicated ideas when using a simplistic writing style.
Some sentences are so general that they are almost meaningless.
Let us give you an example and ask what is wrong with the following
statement: ‘The students at the university are getting educated to
unemployment.’ Here are some of the questions that should be posed
for the sentence to become meaningful:

 Which students are we talking about? Are they students at a particular

university, or are we talking about all university students in a particular
state or country?
 Is the statement true for all students, the majority or just a few?
 What type of unemployment are we talking about?

General sentences raise a number of questions and possibilities of

interpretation. Your language should be so precise that there is no
doubt about what you mean. How can the above statement be
reformulated and improved? What do you suggest?

The topic sentence – a means of structuring the

paragraph
The topic sentence is usually the first in a paragraph. It describes
what is to follow and is a contract with the reader. The topic sentence
states what you will discuss in the paragraph. It might lead to a
question you want to pose afterwards, but it should not be formulated
as a question. The topic sentence contains the controlling idea in the
paragraph. Once you have presented it, do not disappoint the reader
by changing the topic. If you want to change the topic, it should be in
the closing of the paragraph, as a conclusion or the beginning of a
new paragraph.
The topic sentence usually consists of three parts: noun, verb and a
controlling idea (Gallo and Rink, 1991: 3). The noun is, of course,
what the sentence is about, and the verb gives information about the
noun. The controlling idea usually follows these main parts and
describes the noun in one way or another. For example:

J.K. Rowling is a well-read author. Her books about Harry Potter have
sold more than 400 million copies and been adapted into several films.

It is easy to see that the noun in this topic sentence is the author with
the pseudonym J.K. Rowling. One aspect of her is selected that will be
developed further in the paragraph. The topic sentence limits a larger
topic and describes only aspects of the noun with a controlling idea.
The function of the controlling idea is to focus on certain aspects of
the noun and excludes other aspects. When the topic sentence is
going to be developed into a paragraph, some information or
documentation must be offered to support the proposition expressed
in the controlling idea. The topic sentence must therefore be concise
and followed by indicators that will either support or weaken the
controlling idea.
Take a look at the following sentence and use the criteria
mentioned above to decide if the sentence lends itself to paragraph
development:

Helen is an intelligent and capable student.

This sentence describes a noun with two adjectives: intelligence and

capability. In order to fulfil the contract with the reader, the writer
must offer proof statements of Helen’s intellect and capability. It
might include Helen’s grades, scholarship or her publications.
An important feature of a topic sentence is that it is formulated in
a way that it can be developed further. By ‘developed’, we mean that
more information can be added about the controlling idea. The
controlling idea must be interesting as well. It is the hook you use to
keep the interest of the reader. By learning to write good topic
sentences, structuring and writing a paragraph will be that much
easier.

The paragraph
Constructing paragraphs can be exciting. This is because it is easy to
learn in a relatively short time. In only five to six lines you can
demonstrate your new writing skills. The first sentence indicates your
ability to present an idea and formulate it into an engaging and
provable topic sentence. Your understanding of the idea will be
demonstrated in the second to third sentences. The logic and the
ability to reason are seen in the next two sentences, because this is
where propositions, contrasts and comparisons are placed. The
paragraph is concluded with one to two sentences. Paragraphs
usually have the following structure:

1 Topic sentence, inclusive a controlling idea.

2 Clarifying sentence.
3 Propositions:
º supporting sentences
º contrast and comparisons.
4 Concluding sentence stating findings and conclusions.

Not every element in the paragraph will have the same emphasis.
Below we will take a look at the construction of a paragraph in a
master’s thesis. The topic of the thesis is the role of foreign policy in
American presidential elections, and the student is discussing the
1996 election when Bill Clinton and Bob Dole were running for office
(Lian, 2010). Notice how he presents the controlling idea in the topic
sentence, followed by a brief elaboration of the topic:

The 1996 election is something of a black hole in American elections

studies, especially with respect to the role of foreign policy. The main
reason ... is the general impression that foreign policy played little to no
role in the election as economic issues took the center stage once again
(Alvarez and Nagler, 1998). (Lian, 2010: 28)

Next, he presents a proposition:

 Neither the mainstream media nor the candidates themselves focused
on foreign policy and the differences between the candidates on these
issues were perceived as limited (Bennett and White, 2002: 19–20).
(ibid.: 28)

The proposition is supported and nuanced by documentation:

Pomper (1997: 189) attributes the lack of foreign policy focus to ‘the end
of open international conflicts’ after the Cold War. Wanniski (1999: 113–
129) ... states that this was not a result of a lack of critical foreign policy
issues. According to him, the lack of foreign policy focus in the election
originated from certain characteristics of the candidates. Bob Dole is
described as an old-school conservative from rural Kansas who viewed
the President as the undisputed commander-in-chief and that he should
command public support regardless of what foreign policies he initiated.
Clinton on the other hand came into the White House in 1993 directly
from the position of governor in Arkansas and had at the time little or
no distinct views when it came to foreign policy. He therefore let more
experienced Democrats greatly influence the formation of foreign policy
in his first period. These Democrats had been quite tightly knit to their
Republican counterparts in the last part of the Cold War through the
House and Senate committees on foreign relations and the Council of
Foreign Relations (Wanniski 1999: 113–114). (ibid.: 28)

The last sentence functions as a summary and conclusion to the

paragraph:

Because of this intriguing connection, Clinton’s positions on foreign

policy were situated quite close to the positions of the Republican
establishment. (ibid.: 28)

Once you have begun writing, whether you are writing about the
thesis topic or reviewing the research literature, this is a useful way to
structure the material.

3.4 Tricks to continue writing

You have designated space for writing and scheduled a block of time,
and now you are in front of the screen. Many students say that they
feel empty in this situation. They have little to say. Or perhaps you
wrote well yesterday, but do not know where to begin today. It is easy
to postpone writing in these situations. Fortunately, below is some
practical advice that should be helpful (see also section 2.4).

Write – anything!
If you do not write much, it is important that you practise writing.
You should actually practise writing words and sentences, even if the
topic is trivial. One way of getting started and to keep practising is to
write a dairy. Or you may write something that you like, such as
poetry or an issue that concerns you. Practise writing descriptions.
This is a form of uninvited writing. Another form of practising is to
write a summary with complete sentences based on notes taken
during a lecture. Teach yourself to summarize a topic in a paragraph,
as outlined above. Practice a minimum of 5–10 pages every week:
poetry, short stories, blogs, or pieces to the newspaper. It is
important that you write as precisely as you can, no matter the
purpose of your writing. Even if you perhaps feel that this has little to
do with your thesis, it will actually help you practise writing, which
will be of benefit to the thesis later. The more you write, the better
writer you will become.

Use the brainstorming method

If you have problems knowing what to write on a specific topic, one
idea is to use the brainstorming method (see section 1.2). Choose an
aspect of the topic and write all ideas relating to it that come to your
mind. To get started, put your fingers on the keyboard and write
continually for a limited period, say five minutes. When you are
finished, read what you’ve written. Perhaps one or two sentences are
useful. You can use these as a starting point and repeat the process.

Stop while you have good ideas

Some feel that the problem is not writing in and of itself, once they
get started. The problem is this: starting again. Even if you wrote well
yesterday, the problem is to know how to continue the next day. One
advice is to stop writing while you still have good ideas. Write down
your ideas in whole sentences, so that you will remember them the
next day. You will not have to start your day with an empty mind.
Instead, you can begin with yesterday’s notes.
Begin early with reviewing the research
literature
In order to start writing the thesis itself, a good place to begin is to
review the research literature (see section 6.2). When you are going
to review what other authors have written, you do not have to come
up with and formulate new ideas. You only have to write a summary
of something you have read. Begin with the introduction, because this
is where you find the topics and the questions of the book or the
article. Then concentrate on the conclusion, where you find the
results and the conclusions. It is also a good idea to skim read the
chapters. In the review, structure the material in paragraphs, as
outlined above.
While you are doing this work, make notes of ideas (remember:
complete sentences and not just key words), which you may use later.
Write down questions to the text. Are some questions omitted, which
the author should have posed? These questions and notes can be
useful later when you are going to develop the topic and formulate
your own research questions. Make a rule that whenever you find
literature you think will be useful, write a summary of half a page to
two pages. By now, you have begun writing the thesis. Most likely,
you will end up writing more than you use in the final thesis; save the
rest in a separate file, as you will perhaps use it for something else
later.

Writing as a process
Good writing is primarily a question of practice. Writing is a process,
and you will write several drafts before you have a final product. Once
basic writing skills are learned, they must not be taken for granted.
Just as with other skills, they must be maintained and used. Many
students believe that their writing skills quickly improve if they
attend a writing class. This is not necessarily true. You have to
practise, seek critique, and get used to receiving critique. To be the
student, the writer or the author you want to be, you must work
continually to improve your writing.

3.5 Summary
1 Basic rules of writing are:

º define the target audience

º be aware of your personal investment in the topic
 º define the purpose of your writing.

Based on the audience for your writing, there are three different writing
2
styles to choose from:

º persuasive writing
º compulsory writing
º uninvited writing.

3 The structure of a paragraph:

º topic sentence, inclusive of a controlling idea

º clarifying sentence propositions
º supporting sentences
º contrast and comparisons
º concluding sentence stating findings and conclusions.

4 Tricks to continue writing include:

º practise writing
º use the brainstorming method stop while you have good ideas
º begin early with the research literature review
º look at writing as a process.

Note the importance of studying good examples of a given writing style

when you are attempting to improve your skills. It is a good idea to try to
copy the style of a good author. There is a difference in copying a writing
5 style and copying and stealing ideas from others and presenting them as
your own. If you want to be a good writer, study the style and approach of
those who came before you. If you read and analyse the writing of well-
known authors, you can build on their skills and develop your own.

3.6 Action plan

Write a five-page essay that is going to be sent to a newspaper. It should
1
be persuasive on one of the topics below:
ºimmigration/deportation
ºtaxes
ºthe educational grading system
ºretirement/pension plans
ºglobal warming
ºany topic of interest.

The general public is your audience. The purpose of the essay is to

2
demonstrate your writing skills and your ability to narrow a wide topic to
 a few propositions you can discuss. After you have chosen a topic, use the
following process to write a draft:
ºwrite down one or two concepts that are important for your topic
ºfind documentation about the topic that is based on research
ºnarrow the topic and write at least five sub-topics for your chosen topic.

Organize and group them to the best of your knowledge and according to
3
their relative importance to the overall topic.
ºFormulate one or more propositions you want to discuss.
ºWhat would be the question of a person who supports the proposition?
Which arguments would someone present who sees the world from a
º
different viewpoint?
ºWhat would be your response?
Choose one or more of the propositions and find evidence to support or
º
weaken it.
Go back to your draft and contrast your findings with your propositions.
If you found documentation to support some propositions, expand them
ºfurther. Take out those for which you did not find supporting
documentation. If you found contrary documentation, use it in your
argumentation.
ºSummarize the discussion and present your conclusion.
4
Who can help you?
Establishing support
networks

Doing research is not a solitary activity. Instead, research

usually implies working with a number of people inside and
outside the university campus. Professional and personal
networking is an important aspect of writing a master’s thesis.
During the writing process, your network will primarily
consist of fellow students and the faculty at your university. It
is your responsibility to establish support networks. Some
students feel that this is difficult, as they shy away from
initiating professional contacts. The fact is that you need a
network in order to write a thesis. You must talk with a
professor to have a thesis advisor, and you will undoubtedly
talk with people outside the campus to access data.
Professional and personal networking will also be of great
significance after graduation. Several students establish
friendship networks which they will draw upon throughout
their careers. Many graduates also get jobs as a result of
networking when they were students. Establishing
professional and personal networks is essential while writing
your thesis.

4.1 Social media

We will begin by talking about social media. This does not
mean that we think that social media replaces face-to-face
interactions with students, advisors and others. Nevertheless,
social media plays a major role in establishing and
maintaining personal and professional networks. For example,
many universities have Facebook profiles, which often include
alumni (www.facebook.com). Further, LinkedIn is important
when establishing a professional network (www.linkedin.com).
Academia also serves as a social meeting place in the same way
as Facebook does, but it is directed at academics
(www.academia.edu). Many forms of social media are useful
for more than just finding and maintaining networks; you can
participate in current debates, search for information, follow
the latest research and find job openings.
Many students find social media to be useful during
different phases of writing a master’s thesis. You may ask if
someone has information about books and articles on given
topics. Some students use social media to get in touch with
informants for interviews or a survey. Even if social media is
not ideal for long conversations, you can test ideas or
propositions. By posting your view on an issue, you will
receive many questions and opposing views. When people
from different disciplines participate, the debate will often
develop further as concepts are defined, new knowledge is
acquired and new ideas are presented. You can also
communicate the findings of your research as you go along.
You will be surprised how many people are interested in
research findings. Many students use social media as a
support system, for example when working on the thesis feels
lonely and you are struggling with data collection, structure,
analysis and deadlines. A sigh from a frustrated or tired
student will usually result in ‘Likes’ and words of comfort from
others who struggle with similar issues. It is important to
create a profile and be active in social media in order to draw
from this well of knowledge and support. Use them to
establish and maintain local, national and international
professional networks.
Finally, many students are blogging when they are writing a
master’s thesis. Blogging might help you to establish a support
network where you share experiences and receive information
and tips from readers and other bloggers.

4.2 Students
As noted, networking with other students is useful during
several phases of writing a thesis. When you are trying to find
a topic, it is helpful to discuss different options with others.
They can also be a great resource when searching for relevant
research literature. Students often help each other by reading
early outlines and giving critique. This is useful even if you
work on different topics. Perhaps some issues are
underdeveloped and need more work. By letting someone else
read your work, you will get used to receiving critique. Getting
critique and suggestions for improvements are important in all
aspects of academic work. Most students feel that this is
challenging, usually because they are not used to it. Finally,
you will get help in improving your language. Perhaps you
make systematic mistakes, which a good reader will discover
and point out to you.
Many professors observe a certain degree of jealousy among
students. Some hesitate to share information, tips and
experiences in the belief that this will give them a cutting edge
over the others. However, unwillingness to provide
information and help to fellow students will often result in
isolation when other students decline giving you help when
you need it. Also, the student who receives help is not the only
one to reap the benefits; by reading the work of others, you
learn a lot in the process. When you read a text someone else
has written, you will improve the ability to analyse text. This
will be helpful in your own writing.

Assessing the writing of fellow students

Some students have little experience with commenting on the
written work of others. Here, we will give a few ideas. A
common rule is to use examples from the text to illustrate your
critique. Remember to include suggestions for how to improve
the text. It is important that you first outline the positive
aspects of what you have read. This helps the other student to
stay motivated. If you are too negative, the other student will
either lose the desire to write or lose the desire to show you
something later.
Also assess their structure and technique. Relatively simple
issues can be addressed. Are the headings short and easy to
understand? Is the draft paginated? How does the student
reference and use the research literature? Is the reference list
written according to accepted format and style? Is the text
systematic and easy to follow, or is it poorly organized? Assess
the language too. Are many sentences general and lacking
precision? Or are they complicated and pretentious? Are the
sentences too long? What about the punctuation?
Assessing the content is the most challenging part. Your
ability to give good comments depends on your knowledge in
the field. It is difficult to see if all the key issues are addressed
when you know little or nothing about the topic. However,
even if your knowledge is limited, you can assess the
presentation of the content. Is the argumentation convincing?
Can you think of other arguments or issues that should be
included? Is the reasoning logical and consistent?
Finally, conclude with encouragements. Remember that you
want the other students to maintain a desire to write. The
student who lets you read her or his work should end up with a
feeling that this text can be improved. By working closely with
other students, there will always be someone to share your joy
when the writing goes well. You will also have someone to talk
to when the writing seems to go nowhere. Perhaps most
important of all, you can make a difference to someone else’s
life.

4.3 The advisor

Your advisors are important persons during the process of
writing a master’s thesis. In the following we will write about
the advisor in singular, although some students have a co-
advisor in addition to their main advisor. Most universities
have university and course-level guidance and procedures that
students are expected to follow when it comes to the
appointment or selection of the advisor and in case of
difficulties. The practical and ethical responsibilities we
discuss in this chapter are also closely linked to professional
body ethical guidelines (see section 1.3). Read these guidelines
and get to know the ethical principles and codes of conduct
that are relevant for you.
Here, we want to discuss some aspects of the student-
advisor relationship. Before we begin, we would like to remind
you that the final responsibility for the master’s thesis is not
that of your advisor, but yours alone. This means that you
must make sure you have an advisor who works well with you.
This also means that you must take action if you feel that your
relationship with the advisor does not function according to
your expectations.

4.4 The responsibilities of advisors and

students
We will take a look at some areas of responsibility for advisors
and students. Perhaps this will clarify a few potential difficult
areas and help you avoid the most common traps. Let us first
take a look at the advisor before we turn to the responsibilities
of the student.

The advisor’s responsibilities

The faculty at a university has the necessary academic
qualifications to advise students in writing a master’s thesis.
Some students might be concerned and wonder if a given
advisor has detailed expert knowledge within the particular
field they are writing. Strictly speaking this is not necessary, as
most advisors are good generalists within their disciplines.
Nevertheless, when you talk with a potential advisor, she or he
should recognize their ability to advise you and whether you
need to seek further expertise elsewhere. If the advisor lacks
specific knowledge in your particular field, you may be able to
use a co-advisor who does have the required expertise.
All advisors have ethical responsibilities towards students.
Most universities have specified ethical guidelines for faculty
that are available online. Check with your university to see
what they are. Here we will briefly describe some common
ethical guidelines for advisors. First, advisors must
demonstrate respect for the challenges that the advisor role
offers and try to be a role model for their students. Second,
advisors must demonstrate respect for the students’ personal
and professional integrity. This means that advisors must,
through their attitude, language and action, show respect for
the student’s gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, world-
view, disability or intellectual ability. In other words, advisors
have the responsibility to treat students with respect and
equality, and never harass or discriminate against students in
any area.
Furthermore, advisors must be aware of the asymmetry in
the advisor–student relationship. Students are to a certain
degree dependent upon the advisors, and advisors cannot take
advantage of students for their own personal or professional
gain. Advisors should maintain a professional distance from
their students and avoid double relationships that might cause
conflicts of interest, like a romantic relationship or common
economic interests. Advisors should not use the time with the
student to discuss their own problems, but be sensitive to the
student’s own situation. Advisors should also be careful when
talking about a colleague or student, and not cast aspersions.
If advisors want to use student data or research results,
permissions to do so must be obtained from the students.
Advisors must use the same rules of conduct for students as
for fellow academics in referencing and crediting the work of
others. Advisors should not receive any gifts or money from
students apart from the payment from the university, and
should consider carefully the consequences if accepting gifts or
services from students. Finally, advisors should be willing to
involve a second person if the relationship with the student
becomes so difficult that further cooperation seems impossible.
Many popular advisors have little available time. Try to find
an advisor who is available and who is not overloaded with
students. Advisors must make sure they have time to prepare,
which usually means to read your written text and to meet up
with you. Advisors must also give you information about
where and when they can meet. The worst situation for a
student is to have an advisor who does not answer emails and
is unavailable. Avoid such advisors if possible as they only
cause frustrations. Occasionally advisors may be forced to
change their appointment with you. Always check your email
before your appointment to avoid any misunderstandings.
 Advisors have a duty to follow up on your work. More
specifically, the advisor must read your written work and point
out its strengths and weaknesses. The response of a good
advisor is so specific that you know what to do next.
Unfortunately, some advisors are vague, which usually causes
confusion. If this is your experience, ask the advisor to be
specific. Advisors also have a responsibility for the progress of
your thesis. Towards the end of every meeting, make an
agreement on what you should do next, the date you send new
or revised text, as well as the time and place for the next
meeting.

The student’s responsibilities

Our first advice might be unusual, but it is fundamental that
you respect the advisor’s expertise. It is frustrating for the
advisor to give assignments and advice to students who refuse
to follow them. This does not mean that you have to agree with
the advisor in everything. If there is something you do not
understand, let her or him know, so that misunderstandings
are avoided. If you disagree, express your views so that the
communication between you and your advisor becomes a
constructive dialogue.
Good advisors give assignments to their students. Your
advisor might ask you to read specific books or articles before
the next meeting, or perhaps you need to check issues relating
to data collection. If you fail to do these assignments, you are
actually communicating that the professor’s advice is not a
priority and that you have no intention of following them. It is
your job to let the advisor know if the workload is too heavy.
Talk with the advisor and come to an agreement on what is a
reasonable amount of work for you.
Before meeting your advisor, prepare by sending written
text, for example a thesis outline, a chapter or parts of a
chapter. Talk with the advisor and set a deadline, so that the
advisor has time to read it properly before you meet. When
you send the text, you may add questions or topics you want
the advisor to pay attention to and address during the next
meeting. Some students also write down questions they bring
to the meeting and ask in person.
 During the meeting, make sure you listen to what the
advisor says. Let the advisor finish talking without
interruptions, especially interjections like ‘Yes, but ...’. Put all
defensive speech aside. When you are defending yourself, you
are busy thinking about what you are going to say and not
listening to what the advisor is actually saying. Instead, be an
active listener and make notes. After the meeting, reflect
critically on the advice you were given. Even if you do not
follow it in every detail, remember to pay attention to the
advice given. For example, if the advisor tells you that your
discussion lacks substance and points to a particular
paragraph to illustrate, you may disagree regarding this
particular paragraph; nevertheless, ask yourself if the advisor
might be right, and re-read your draft with this critique in
mind.
End the meeting by making an agreement concerning the
assignment for next time. The assignment should be specific,
for example finishing one or more chapters or sections. Make
sure you stick to the agreement. Most professors have little
time, and it is important that you respect the advisor’s time by
communicating if something comes up that prevents you from
doing the assignment or coming to the meeting.
Some students like to write a short summary after the
meeting, which they share with the advisor by sending an
email. They reiterate the critique of the previous assignment,
the new assignment, the deadline for sending it, and the time
and place for the next meeting. This might be of help in
avoiding misunderstandings.

When the advisor-student relationship

encounters difficulties
In some cases, the advisor-student relationship does not work.
There could be many reasons. Sometimes, advisors and
students disagree on substantial issues when it comes to the
thesis itself. In other cases, advisors and students do not
communicate very well. Perhaps the advisor gives superficial
and vague comments, or perhaps the student does not follow
up on what the advisor suggests. If you find yourself in this
situation, it is important that you take action. The question is
what to do. Most universities have guidance and procedures
that students would be expected to follow in the case of
difficulty with their advisor. Find out what they are and follow
them. Here we will try to give you some additional advice, as
there may not be one ‘right’ answer to every situation and the
best outcome might be when the least harm is done to all
involved.
Try to analyse the situation. Why do you have difficulties
with the advisor? Are there more basic academic
disagreements or differences that cause the difficulties? Are
there practical issues that need be addressed? Or are there
fundamental ethical issues involved, such as discrimination or
harassment? The answer to these questions will largely
determine further action. If the latter causes difficulties, it is
important that you follow the university guidance and
procedures. Do not try to resolve these issues on your own.
If you want to talk with the advisor to resolve the situation,
remember that the most effective problem solving happens in
a neutral tone. Try to stay emotionally objective and do not
distribute guilt and blame. If you do, the advisor will most
likely take a defensive stance. A far better approach is to
specify what your needs are. Say, for example, that you need
more specific and detailed comments on your work, and ask if
this is possible. In this way, you direct the attention towards
your own needs rather than the shortcomings of the advisor.
This approach increases your chances of being heard. Look for
solutions that are acceptable for both of you.
In some cases, the differences are more fundamental. If this
is your situation, it might be a good idea to contact your
university for problem-solving advice. If the solution is to find
a new advisor, the university will help you with this process. In
some cases, the solution might be to find a co-advisor, if this is
permitted within institutional rules. In doing so, you do not
address the problems directly, but use the co-advisor as a
main advisor and vice versa.
Finally, there are situations where students want to switch
advisors simply because they found other advisors with more
expert knowledge than their present one. In this case, it should
be relatively uncomplicated to explain the situation to the
present advisor, but contact the university beforehand to see if
it is possible to switch advisors for this reason.
4.5 Summary
Professional and personal networking is an important aspect of
1
writing a thesis.
Being active in social media helps to build local, national and
2
international professional networks.
Networking with other students is useful during several phases
3
of writing a thesis.
Most universities have university and course-level guidance, and
procedures that students are expected to follow when it comes to
4
the appointment or selection of the advisor and in the case of
difficulties. Read these guidelines and follow them.
Advisors have academic and ethical responsibilities towards
5
students.
Students have responsibilities to follow up on their work and
6
communicate with the advisor.
The final responsibility for the thesis is not that of your advisor,
7
it is yours alone.

4.6 Action plan

Create a profile with relevant social media and maintain an
1
active presence.
Make a list of the people you think can be of support when
2 writing your master’s thesis. Talk to people you already know
and ask them to help you.
Find out as much as possible about the people on your list. What
are their research interests? What have they published? Which
3 courses have they taught? Information about the people you
contact is helpful when you talk to them and try to motivate
them to work with you.
Take the initiative to form a student group within a specific topic
4
or field. Create a social agenda around the group.
5 Collect information about potential advisors for your thesis.
Start contacting potential advisors. Perhaps you need to talk to
6 more than one before you find the one(s) who actually end up
being your advisor(s).
5
A guide for searching the
literature1

This chapter outlines different aspects of searching the literature.

We will take a look at why searching the literature is important,
and the different ways in which the research literature is used in a
master’s thesis. It is helpful to be familiar with different types of
literature and how to locate literature at the library and online. You
will also find information about identifying useful books and
articles and making a record of your search.

5.1 Why search the literature?

An essential part of all research is a search of the research
literature. A basic principle for all research, including a master’s
thesis, is that it is a collective enterprise. You need to begin with
the knowledge that other people have acquired. This means that
you must become familiar with your topic. Another important
principle in research is to develop the topic further by contributing
some sort of new knowledge. When a master’s thesis is finished, we
should know something we did not know before you began your
work. Searching the literature is related to both principles.
The research literature on your topic will include different kinds
of material, such as books, articles, theses and research reports.
Searching and reading the literature can be time consuming. It is,
therefore, important to begin searching the literature early (see
sections 1.1 and 3.4). In some master’s theses, the description and
the discussion of the research literature seem disconnected from
the rest of the thesis; the reader is left with the impression that the
literature was read after the analysis was finished. If you start too
late with literature searching and analytical reading, the thesis will
tend to be fragmented. Finding and analysing the literature early in
the writing process has important intellectual and practical value.
A critical analysis of the literature will help you create continuity
between the literature and the rest of the thesis. It will also lead to
new insights and analytical tools that are useful in the empirical
analysis. By searching and reading research literature throughout
the entire thesis process, you will have time and space to
distinguish between relevant and irrelevant literature, and
significant and insignificant literature. This approach will enable
you to draw on the literature in all parts of the thesis.
The purpose of reviewing research literature is twofold. First,
your job is to demonstrate to the reader that you know and
understand how other scholars have approached your topic.
Searching the literature will help you identify research that is
relevant to your thesis. Second, reviewing the literature prevents
you from addressing outdated topics or answering questions that
have already been answered by someone else. If you are not up to
date with current research, you may risk duplicating what someone
else has already done. This is definitely a situation you want to
avoid.

5.2 How to use the literature in your thesis

The purpose of the literature review is to describe and analyse the
knowledge that exists about a problem that concerns you. This
knowledge may have the character of theory, empirical studies or
methods. You need to know the research that has been conducted
on your topic and how it is studied. The research literature will
benefit your thesis by providing new and relevant insight. Here we
will give an outline of how to use it in different parts of your thesis.

To find a topic
When you have selected an area within your discipline that
interests you, reading the research literature will help you to
identify a more specific topic for your thesis (see section 1.1).
Perhaps you find a scholarly debate that catches your attention and
you want to pursue. Or you find neglected areas in previous
research, in the sense that they do not address or explain
phenomena the way you think they should. Sometimes students
find information about international studies they want to replicate
in their own country. Most research literature concludes with
suggestions for further research, and these suggestions might give
you new ideas.

To construct a theoretical framework

A common problem in many master’s theses is that there are few
connections between theory and empirical findings. In order to
create continuity and relevance between theory and the empirical
study, your must place your work within a larger framework. What
have other scholars done on your topic? How have they
approached the topic? Which theoretical frameworks did they use?
A critical analysis and synthesis of existing research often leads to
new knowledge. Use the research literature to construct a
theoretical framework and place your work in the context of
previous research (see section 6.1).
In some instances, it is easy to find theoretical frameworks that
are useful for your topic. This is often the case if you have selected
a topic where some work has already been done. In other instances,
you need to use the lack of theoretical frameworks to create a space
for your work. A critical analysis of previous research might lead
you to conclude that current theoretical frameworks are
insufficient for your research problem. This insight can be used to
revise current theories, propose alternative ones or develop new
ones.

To define key concepts

In some theses, the definition of key concepts is crucial to
understanding the topic. The research literature provides different
definitions of concepts and how they have developed over time. By
defining key concepts, you clarify the meaning of the concepts in
your thesis and define what is included and excluded (see section
1.2).

To frame and specify research questions

Use the literature to define a space that has been neglected by
other researchers. When you describe how other researchers have
approached your topic and how they framed their research
questions, you will be able to find gaps in existing research. If the
literature review is going to have this function, you need to limit
the description and analysis of the research literature to your
research questions. When you describe a theory or an empirical
study, make sure the literature is relevant to the issues you are
discussing. This form of literature review will help you specify your
research questions (see section 7.4).

To give ideas for designing the methodology

The research literature, especially empirical studies, gives insight
into methodological issues. It lets you know how other researchers
have gone about the business of collecting the appropriate data
(see section 8.2). It gives ideas about how to design the
methodology for your project by identifying key issues, samples
and data collecting methods. It will also give an awareness of
possible methodological weaknesses and problems related to your
topic.

To find strategies for analysis

It is always useful to know about and understand how other
researchers have analysed your topic. It does not matter if the
purpose of your thesis is to solve problems, describe a
phenomenon, explain it or test hypotheses. We have mentioned
before that studying good research is an important element in
learning how to write a master’s thesis (see section 3.5). We
remind you again: you will learn how to write an academic text by
studying and copying the approach and the style of a good
researcher.
The research literature will give you ideas of how to go about
writing a thesis. This is also true when it comes to the analysis (see
section 9). In some instances, it is a good idea to use the same
analytical strategies you find in a similar study. In other instances,
use the research literature to find out why you do not want to
analyse your data in a specific way. By using the literature to define
why you do not want to pursue a form of analytical strategy, you
justify an alternative strategy.

5.3 Where to begin and what to include

How much do I need to include in the literature review? Maybe it is
impossible to answer this question, but there are some criteria that
are useful to know. The minimum requirement for a book or article
to be included is that it is relevant and important for your research
questions. Further, it is important to include the most recent works
in the field. This is where you will find the latest research findings.
In some disciplines, it is a requirement that you include the classics
in the discipline. You do this to demonstrate that you are well
oriented in the discipline and its traditions. Classics are often
discussed in current debates, and it is a good idea to reference
these academic debates.
When am I going to start reading and where should I begin? We
suggest that you begin with the secondary literature (i.e. general
and subject encyclopaedias and dictionaries, subject bibliographies,
journal articles, textbooks, research reports, master’s theses and
doctoral dissertations). Some ambitious students want to dive into
the thinker’s original literature. This can be time consuming, and if
you start reading in the wrong place you may risk impeding your
progress. It is a good idea to use the secondary literature when you
begin to read in a new area. Once you have gained an overview of
the secondary literature, it is time to start reading the original
literature. We will give you more information about types of
literature as we go along.

5.4 Surf on top or dive into the deep Web?

Students are used to finding information on the Internet by using
search engines like Google (www.google.com) and the online
encyclopaedia Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org). It is easy to
find information through these and other websites. The problem is,
however, that many students unquestioningly use what they find
on these websites. Accuracy of the data should be cross-checked.
Also it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between relevant and
irrelevant information.
You need to know that Google and other search engines only
show you a small part of all the information available on the
Internet. There is a lot of information you do not access by only
using search engines, for example bibliographic databases (see
section 5.6). When you are going to write a master’s thesis, you are
required to dig deeper and use more sources and more literature
than what you find via search engines. It is not sufficient to
reference information you found on Wikipedia. In this chapter, we
will show you how to locate material and literature that you can
use in a master’s thesis.

5.5 Methods for searching literature

Many students think that searching and locating the relevant
literature is easy. It is true that an electronic search will quickly
give you access to databases as well as a huge number of websites.
However, there is so much information out there that it is easy to
get overwhelmed.
When you are going to begin searching the literature, our first
advice is that you talk with your advisor and fellow students.
People who know you and what you are looking for can give you
good ideas for getting started. At the academic library, there are
specialists within different disciplines – subject librarians. Talk to
them and ask for help. Further, references in articles and textbooks
are important places to start.
We will give you advice about electronic searches. The
information given here is rather introductory, but more
information can be found in other literature (see Hart, 2008b).
First and foremost, when you find books, journals and articles you
think are relevant, you must save the findings electronically or
print them out together with detailed information about where you
found them (see section 5.9). It is sometimes extremely difficult or
almost impossible to go back and locate literature you have found
earlier.

Books for sale

Searching the literature primarily takes place on the Internet and
in the library. Sometimes you will want to buy books rather than
borrow them, so we will begin here. First of all, you need to know
which books are available for purchase. The easiest way to find this
out is to search in an Internet book store. You can look at Amazon
(American and English) and WHSmith (English). If you are
interested in out of print or used books, you can find them through
Internet bookstores that specialize in this type of literature. At
AbeBooks, for example, you can buy books from several stores
(www.abebooks.co.uk). Another way to find books is to search
Google Books, which provides a unique full-text search within the
books (http://books.google.com).
 Information about books for purchase can also be found in
various catalogues that academic book stores and libraries will
have. It is possible to search using the publication’s title or author.
Whitaker’s Books in Print (1988–) published in the UK, or Global
Books in Print (1948–) and Subject Guide to Books in Print (1957–)
published in the US are the most central. Global Books in Print is
also available online (www.globalbooksinprint.com) - find out if
your library subscribes to this resource.
In addition, search the publisher’s website. Most publishers
produce catalogues and give information about present and
forthcoming publications. These catalogues can often be searched
online. Some publishers also include information about books
from other publishers.

The library
Books and articles are the sources of material used by most
researchers. When you search the literature at the library, you need
to know how the library is organized and how to retrieve
information in the catalogues and databases to access the
collections. Since the available amount of data is enormous, you
need help to find what you want and to sort the relevant literature
from the irrelevant. It is a good idea to attend a class arranged by
the library for new users. By getting to know the search engines
and library catalogues, you will have an overview of the available
information and acquire the skills to search on your own. Learning
to use the library’s resources early on helps you to be more
effective, which will save you time and unnecessary frustrations. If
the library is busy, search the literature at times when fewer people
are there, either early in the morning or late in the afternoon or
evening.
On the university library’s website, many subject librarians have
their own pages. Find the librarian within your discipline and visit
their site on a regular basis. There you will find information about
new books, journals and important databases. You will also find
information about classes.
When you want to find out where the books and the journals
within your discipline are located, take a tour of the university
library. In order to do so, you need to know how the books and the
journals are classified. The most popular system of classification in
the UK and many other countries is the international Dewey
Decimal Classification (DDC). In the US, it is the Library of
Congress Classification. The Dewey system organizes books
according to subject content. For example, literature within the
social sciences are placed under 300. The system is further
arranged in a hierarchy according to the principle from general to
specific. This means that the subjects are subdivided on different
levels into specific subject content. The second level of subdivisions
for the 300s is, for example, 320 Political Science, 330 Economics,
340 Law, 350 Public Administration, 360 Social Services and so on.
Be aware that there might be more than one location for a given
subject. For example, the subject ‘children’ has several locations,
dependent upon the relative aspect of this subject. Also, a specific
subject within the social sciences can be located according to
another subject content. One example is Political History 900–909,
930–990, which is placed under 900 Geography, history and
auxiliary disciplines. The printed and electronic registers in the
libraries will show you the location.
By knowing the structure of the classification system and the
form of a subject, you can follow leads and navigate your own way
around a particular subject. The ability to start at one end and
follow leads through is important for finding research literature. If
you have difficulties finding a particular subject, ask the librarians
for help.

Electronic search
Electronic media have created great opportunities in finding an
enormous amount of literature. When you search for books
electronically, you begin with a search of the library Online Public
Access Catalogue (OPAC), an electronic library catalogue. You can
search the OPACs of many libraries on the Internet. At most
university libraries OPACs are very easy to use. You can search in
various ways. You can search by key word, author, title, word in
title or classification number. You can choose different key words
and combine them with other key words when you search. For
example, if you were searching for ‘terrorism’, a key word search
would give results or ‘hits’ for all books that have the word
‘terrorism’ in the title. Many other books might be relevant for
terrorism, but not have the word in the title. This is why it is
important to have a list of key words or phrases that you use when
you search. A good search vocabulary for ‘terrorism’ could, for
example, include the following key words: political violence,
religious violence, terror attack, violent social movements,
extremism, security. Perhaps you can think of additional key words.
Having a good search vocabulary also means to focus. If the key
words are too general, you will get too many hits, which means you
need to narrow the search. If you get hardly any hits, try to use
subject dictionaries, thesauri and encyclopaedias to find useful key
words. A good approach can be to use a general key word in
combinations with synonyms.
An electronic search of the library OPAC has many benefits
compared to a manual search. In a few minutes you will have
references to several sources of information. It is also possible to
search for words in a title and search for abstracts (not all
databases provide abstracts). It is a good idea to print the complete
bibliographic details as you search. If you have many references,
save the search results in MetaLib, a gateway to a range of
electronic resources and databases that are relevant to users of
academic libraries. You will need a user-ID and password to be
able to save your search results. Many university libraries also send
lists of references via email, which does not require login. If a
student wants to get information about new literature within a
field, it is possible to create RSS-feeds so that a permanent search
delivers directly the latest data to your email address. Many
databases described later in this chapter have this facility. Finally,
searching the research literature continues throughout the writing
process and might change based on the information you collect as
your work progresses.
There are some disadvantages to electronic searches of OPACs.
The registration in the databases is inconsistent. Different
databases provide various types of information about the
references. Also, electronic searching has tended to include mostly
recent books. This is changing but, in some instances, you must
search manually to find older literature.

5.6 Bibliographic databases

Most academic libraries access national and international
bibliographic databases that can be used to find books and articles
on your topic. The main sources are the library OPACs and
national and international databases. We will mention some
important databases here, although these examples include only a
few. As mentioned above, it is important to remember that various
databases give different information about the literature that is
registered in the base. Also, most bibliographic databases do not
include articles in collected works. If the database is available
online, we will include the URL in parentheses.

National bibliographic databases

The two national bibliographic databases in the English-speaking
world are the British National Bibliography (BNB) and the
National Union Catalog (NUC) in the US. One of the largest
collections of printed material is found in the British Library, with
more than 17 million bibliographical records in several databases.
Some of the material dates back to the 1500s. The BNB uses the
Dewey system to classify entries and is available online
(www.bl.uk). Copac is a national, academic and specialist catalogue
of research libraries in the UK (http://copac.ac.uk). The NUC is
based on the Library of Congress Catalog system and covers more
than 20 million publications. It is available in many academic
libraries outside the US.

Some important international databases

Several international bibliographic databases which reference
books and journal articles are available online. Below, we will take
a look at some of them. Ask for help at the library to access them.
International databases surveille and register information in a
number of languages. Even if an article is written in French, you
will find it by using English key words, and the title is usually
translated into English. When you search these databases, make
sure you know the language in which the book or article is written,
otherwise, you might end up ordering literature you are unable to
read. Sometimes there are technical problems with the
international databases. If you have problems with access, contact
your local university library for help.
Google Scholar
Although Google Scholar is a search engine (see section 5.7) we will
mention it here. Many students and researchers will start with
Google Scholar when they are searching the literature
(http://scholar.google.com). It is a resource that provides
information on academic literature across several disciplines and
from different sources, such as books, theses, articles and abstracts.
Google Scholar is very easy to use. You will be able to find several
different types of publications there and locate them through your
library or on the Internet. The documents are ranked by author,
publisher and how recently they were cited in other research
literature. However, this site does not encompass all publications
in existence, so do not limit yourself to using this resource alone.
Scopus
Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-
reviewed research literature and high-quality Web sources,
through which you can search millions of abstracts and index data.
Since abstracts, or summaries of the content of the publication, are
included, it makes it easier for you to decide if the publication is
relevant. However, institutional access is required, so you need a
user-ID and password. Scopus is especially useful for economics,
business, education, development and psychology.
JSTOR
Another very popular resource is JSTOR (Journal Storage), which
has a large full-text collection of ‘classic’ academic journals. You
can search digitized issues of hundreds of well-known journals.
However, the most recent years are usually not available. Again,
institutional access is required, and you need a user-ID and
password.
Humanities International Index
There are numerous indexes for the different disciplines of
published articles and reviews. The Humanities International
Index database (www.ebscohost.com/corporate-
research/humanities-international-index) is an index of articles
and reviews in the humanities in American and English journals
from 1974. It covers, for example, archaeology, history, classical
studies, literature, languages, folklore, philosophy, religion, dance,
film, theatre and music. The database provides key-word
information on title, author, source, date of publication, language,
key words and document type. The database has been available
online since 1984. Institutional access is required, so you need a
user-ID and password.
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
(IBSS)
IBSS is a multi-subject social science database that includes books
and journal articles. It references publications from social
anthropology, sociology, political science and economy. The
printed edition covers the period 1953–1995. You can search in a
database from 1981 through the library, even if there are some
inconsistencies in the years before the millennium. Information is
provided on title, author, source, document type, date of
publication, language, key words and discipline.
IBSS, Sociological Abstracts (see below) and several other social
science databases have been acquired by ProQuest and put on a
new platform (http://search.proquest.com). This is a huge
resource for social scientists.
Sociological Abstracts
In some cases the subject databases include abstracts or
summaries of the content of the publication. Sociological Abstracts
is an international database that collects and registers abstracts of
journal articles, books, PhD dissertations and conference
proceedings within sociology and related disciplines from 1952.
The benefit of accessing the abstracts is that it makes it easier for
you to decide if the publication is relevant. Sociological Abstracts is
updated five times a year. Only publications since 1963 are
searchable online. There are similar databases for other social
science disciplines, for example Psychology Abstracts. In
Sociological Abstracts, information is provided on title (with
English translation), author, author’s institution and address,
journal, document type, language, place and date of publication,
and a summary of content in English.
Historical Abstracts
This database collects and registers abstracts and journal articles
within the historical disciplines and related topics in the
humanities and the social sciences from 1952. It covers the entire
world with the exception of the US and Canada. The bibliography
is available online from 1973. The information includes document
type, date of publication, key words, author, title, title translation
in English, journal, abstract in English and historical period
(historical period, historical period starting, historical period
ending). Again, institutional access is required, so you need a user-
ID and password.
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
ERIC (from 1966) is a bibliographic database within education.
ERIC is available online at the library and consists of Current
Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) with references to articles in
journals and Resources in Education (RIE) with references to
different types of material. ERIC is international with an emphasis
on the US.
Citation indexes
There are several other bibliographic databases that provide
various forms of information. One database that is different from
the others we have looked at above is the so-called citation indexes.
Here, you can search for specific authors or specific publications,
for example a journal article, and find a list of the publications that
later have referenced or cited the author or the article you searched
initially, who is citing it and where it is cited. The idea is that
references or citations in a publication will indicate subject
relationships between current and previous publications. The
citation indexes provide opportunities to trace how older
publications are used in contemporary research. A much used and
important index for journal articles is the ISI-Web of Science
(www.isinet.com), which is part of ISI-Web of Knowledge
(http://wokinfo.com). The database is divided into different fields,
for example Sciences Citation Index (natural sciences), Social
Sciences Citation Index and Arts and Humanities Citation Index.

5.7 Different types of literature

As stated before, when you are going to study a new topic it is a
good idea to begin with the quick reference materials, which
consists of handbooks, encyclopaedias and subject dictionaries,
before you read books and journal articles. The reference material
can introduce you to new subjects and give you an overview of the
subject by clarifying it and providing facts about current research.
These publications are located in the quick reference section in the
academic library.

Handbooks
If you want to have a broad and compact overview of a topic or a
subject, it is helpful to take a look at a recent handbook within your
discipline. Handbooks are reference sources. They include articles
that provide updated reviews of the research on a subject or
discipline. Often, the articles include an extensive bibliography.
The disadvantage of handbooks is that the research they reference
is usually a couple of years older than the publication date. Some
examples of handbooks are:

The Sage Handbook of Cultural Analysis (2008)

Handbook of Development Economics (2009)
The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion (2009)
Handbook of Social Psychology (2010)
The Oxford Handbook of Political Science (2011)
The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Mind (2011)
The International Handbooks of Media Studies (2012)

General and national encyclopaedias

Printed and electronic general encyclopaedias are useful for getting
a first overview. In the English-speaking world, Encyclopaedia
Britannica (2010) and Encyclopedia Americana (2009) are the
largest ones. Encyclopaedia Britannica (2010) is available online
at the library. In the German-speaking world, Brockhaus
Enzyklopädie in 30 Bänden (1986–2009) is important, which
exists in an updated version online. In French, Larousse’s La
grande encylopédie (1982–) is highly regarded; an updated
version is online and free. Whereas encyclopaedias used to be
updated infrequently, several are now online, for example
Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia and Grolier Multimedia
Encyclopedia. A free online library and research encyclopaedia is
Encyclopedia.Com, which is a reference source for students and
researchers offering free articles, pictures and facts
(www.encyclopedia.com). If you are not sure if you will be able to
access an encyclopaedia, ask for help at the library.

Subject encyclopaedias and dictionaries

The subject encyclopaedias and dictionaries can be very useful
resources for finding information about new topics. The main
difference between an encyclopaedia and a dictionary is that an
encyclopaedia will provide descriptions and a dictionary will give
definitions. However, there is a fluid boundary between these two
forms of publication, since many dictionaries provide as extensive
information as encyclopaedias. Students within the social sciences
should be familiar with International Encyclopedia of the Social
and Behavioral Sciences (2001). The predecessors were
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (IESS) (1968–91)
and Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (1930–35). Generally, the
more updated the encyclopaedia the more current the content.
However, if you are interested in older time periods, ideas and
theories, do not overlook some of these older encyclopaedias.
International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences
is more extensive than the previous editions and consists of 26
volumes (it is also available as an online resource published by
Elsevier). Several individual disciplines have encyclopaedias and
dictionaries that cover subject-specific topics, theories and
concepts. Many of these have extensive bibliographies and are
indexed. Examples are:

Westermann Lexikon der Geographie (1968–72)

The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion (2001; online via Blackwell
Reference Online)
An Encyclopedia of World History, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern:
Chronologically Arranged (2002)
A Dictionary of Modern Politics (2002)
The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (2008, also online)
Dictionary of Human Geography (2009)
Dictionary of Sociology (2009)
The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity (2010)
The International Encyclopedia of Education (2010)
Concise Dictionary of Social and Cultural Anthropology (2011)

A somewhat different publication is The Annual Register: A

Record of World Events (from 1758), which is the oldest of its kind
in the world. It gives annual overviews of the political and
economic situation around the world from a British perspective. It
is produced annually in hardback and is also published
electronically by ProQuest. Its archive is also available online from
the publisher. The Annual Register was collected under the
Internet Library of Early Journals project, a digital library
administered by the universities in Birmingham, Leeds,
Manchester and Oxford. The project finished in 1999 and no new
entry admitted. The librarians at the library will help you find the
type of subject encyclopaedia and dictionary you need.

Subject bibliographies
It is also a good idea to take a look at the main types of subject
bibliographies found in the quick reference section at the library.
These books contain entries that provide overviews of literature
from all over the world on specific disciplines or subjects. Some
subject bibliographies focus on specific disciplines. Examples are:

International Bibliography of the Social Sciences: Economics (2002)

Mass Media: A Bibliography with Indexes (Martin, 2002)
British Education Index (2003)
Cultural Anthropology: A Guide to References and Information Sources (2007)
International Bibliography of Historical Sciences (2009)

Other subject bibliographies are limited to specific subjects, for

example Women’s Studies: A Recommended Bibliography (Krikos
and Ingold, 2004), Gay and Lesbian Aging: Research and Future
Directions (Vries and Herdt, 2004) and Index Islamicus (2009).
Some subject bibliographies are national bibliographies, for
example France (1990), England (1993) and Slovakia (2000),
published in World Bibliographical Series by Clio Press. Finally,
some bibliographies are biographical, for example Nineteenth-
Century British Women Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical
Sourcebook (Bloom, 2000). Oxford Bibliographies Online is a new
addition to this genre (www.oxfordbibliographies.com).

Journals
Thousands of academic journals are published every year. Most of
them are published by commercial publishers in cooperation with
academics who function as editors and editorial boards. Many
journals are also connected to academic organizations. One
example is American Sociological Review (from 1936), which is
the journal of the American Sociological Association (ASA). Most
academic libraries access a wide range of journals. If you are not
sure which journal is relevant to your research, take a look at the
library’s journal collection. Use the library OPAC to get an
overview of the journals that are available.
Many journals focus primarily on a specific discipline. Some of
the most important journals in sociology are American Journal of
Sociology (1895–), American Sociological Review (1936–) and
British Journal of Sociology (1950–). In political science,
American Political Science Review (1906–), American Journal of
Political Science (1956–) and Political Science Quarterly (1886–)
are important. American Journal of Psychology (1887–), The
Journal of Psychology (1945–), Journal of Clinical Psychology
(1945–) and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1910–)
are considered influential in psychology. So are American
Anthropologist (1888–), Anthropological Quarterly (1921–) and
Current Anthropology (1959–) in social anthropology, and The
Economic Journal (1891–), Quarterly Journal of Economics
(1886–) and American Economic Review (1911–) in economics.
We have only mentioned a few here. There are several other
important journals within the different social science disciplines.
Many journals are multidisciplinary. One example is Social
Forces (1922–), which focuses on sociology but publishes articles
from social psychology, anthropology, political science, history and
economics. Another example is Gender and Society (1987–), which
includes articles on gender within all the social sciences. Other
examples are: Ethnic and Racial Studies (1977–), Studies on Crime
and Crime Prevention (1991–), Journal of Conflict Resolution
(1957–), Journal of Peace Research (1964–) and Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion (1961–). Some journals also focus on
area studies, such as Journal of Near Eastern Studies (1884–),
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies (1936–), African Studies
(1921–) and Journal of Latin American Studies (1969–).
Very useful for social scientists is a journal series called Annual
Review. It consists of several review articles with extensive
bibliographies that summarize ‘the state of the art’ in specific
disciplines. They are helpful when searching for information on a
new topic. Examples are: Annual Review of Anthropology (1972–),
Annual Review of Sociology (1975–), Annual Review of Political
Science (1932–), New Geography (1966/67–), Annual Bulletin of
Historical Literature (1911–) and Journal of Economic Literature
(1963–). The review is updated and commented, and it gives cross-
references to other disciplines.
 Several journals are available online. In some cases you will find
only abstracts and contents, but in other cases you will find the full
article. Many articles are only available if your library has a
subscription, which means that you need a user-ID and password.
However, some electronic journals are ‘open access’ and free. One
example is Diversities (www.unesco.org/shs/diversities), an
interdisciplinary journal on diverse societies, published by
UNESCO. Ask at the library how to find out which journals are
available from your own computer and which are available via the
library’s homepage.
Some publishers also offer academic journal databases online,
which give access to all the academic journals published by that
publisher, for example Sage Journals (http://online.sagepub.com)
and Taylor & Francis Journals (www.tandf.co.uk/journals).

Journal articles
It is in academic journals that you will find the most recent
research on any given topic. Some journals provide useful review
articles with extensive bibliographies. In the databases, these
articles are usually classified as either ‘feature article’ or ‘review
article’. Pay attention to these articles when you begin searching
the literature.
Efficient ways of finding journal articles are to study the
bibliography of a recently published article on your topic and use
indexes and abstracts (see section 5.6). Most journal articles are
indexed and many are subject to abstracting services. It is quite
common that academic journals are covered by more than one
indexing and abstracting service. You can search in these
international reference databases on subject, title, author and
journal. If you are not sure which indexing and abstracting services
are relevant to you, subject librarians should be able to help you. If
the article is not in your library, the librarian can help you to order
a copy.

Research methods
Books on research methods are useful during several phases of the
thesis process, finding and developing a topic, selecting one or
more methods and analytical strategies. There are a large number
of books on research methods in the social sciences, but we would
like to mention two book series here that provide a brief guidance
with references to different methods. Sage Little Green Books
series focuses on quantitative methods in the social sciences,
whereas Sage Little Blue Books series teaches qualitative methods.
You can also search Sage Research Methods Online, which is a tool
to help researchers and students (http://srmo.sagepub.com).

Textbooks
Many textbooks give a general overview of a topic, the main ideas
and the most influential authors in the discipline. Textbooks are
also used for interdisciplinary work when you are not already
familiar with the field. This information can provide a starting
point for your search, but textbooks are seldom sufficient as
sources of literature at master’s level.

Research reports and current research

There are numerous research centres and research institutes that
conduct all types of research. It can be very useful to see if
someone is doing research on your topic so that you can contact
them, inform them about your project, ask them for advice, and
use them as part of your support network (see Chapter 4). These
centres and institutes list overviews of current and past research
programmes on their websites, including their research reports.
The reports are often available free of charge in PDF files.
Several library OPACs will also have information about research
reports that are published by various research centres and research
institutes. On the library website, you will find information on
databases where you can search alphabetically. Many libraries have
the Current Research Information Systems (CRIS) database. This
is a shared system for registration and reports of research and
development activities for universities, colleges, research institutes,
funders, media and the public. EuroCRIS was established to access
current research information worldwide, but has an emphasis on
Europe (www.eurocris.org).
Research councils also give information on current and previous
research programmes and projects they fund and their outputs
(books, journal articles and conference papers). The Economic and
Social Research Council (ESRC) is one of the UK’s seven research
councils (see www.esrc.ac.uk). Another is the Arts and Humanities
Research Council (AHRC) (www.ahrc.ac.uk). These research
councils post research catalogues on their websites which list
details of funded research projects and publications. You can
search the catalogues by subject area, date, output type and key
words. Likewise, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in the
US posts links to programmes, projects, networks and events on
their website (www.ssrc.org). You can also search their publication
database, where you will find books, journal articles, event reports,
working papers, multimedia content and so on.

Theses and dissertations

Completed master’s theses and doctoral dissertations relevant for
your topic can be very important sources of information. By taking
a look at them, you will find the research status on your topic. They
can give you ideas for a thesis topic, and they are useful sources of
bibliographical references. At the library, theses and dissertations
are usually placed in a separate collection. In the UK, unlike in the
US, availability of theses varies as there are no systematic
procedures for providing copies. Many universities store digital
copies of theses which are accessed in a university open research
archive (ORA). Here, the digital theses are open access and freely
available online. In the UK and Ireland, an important way to
search for relevant theses is to take a look at the ASLIB Index to
Theses, which is a comprehensive listing of completed theses with
abstracts (www.theses.com). In the US, search in the ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) online databases which indexes,
abstracts and provides full-text access to master’s theses and PhD
dissertations (www.proquest.com).

Official publications and statistics

Official publications and statistics can be important sources of data.
Statistics are often used in many studies in social sciences, so it is
important to know what data are available. UK National Statistics
(www.statistics.gov.uk) and United States Census Bureau
(www.census.gov) collect, analyse and publish statistical data on a
wide range of topics. They produce catalogues of statistical sources
on a regular basis, which are available for free online. You can
browse the catalogues by theme or alphabetical order.
UK National Statistics publishes Annual Abstract of Statistics
and Monthly Digest of Statistics, which are available free on their
website. Another publication is the annual Social Trends, also
available on their website, which includes articles that present
social and economic data with explanations. The United Census
Bureau also publishes a series of official publications as well as
working papers which are available in PDF online.
Eurostat publishes statistical data of the European Union and
candidate countries (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu). Eurostat
also produces catalogues of statistical sources, which are available
free online. You can search the catalogues by theme or alphabetical
order. Eurostat publishes Eurostat Yearbook and Eurostat
Regional Yearbook, which are available for purchase. When it
comes to international statistics, there is another important
yearbook, The Europa World Yearbook (1926–), which provides
updated political and economic information about more than 250
countries and territories. An online version is available, but you
need a user-ID and password.
Organizations like the United Nations (UN) (http://data.un.org),
the World Bank (http://data.worldbank.org and
https://openknowledge.world-bank.org), the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
(http://stats.oecd.org), and the World Health Organization (WHO)
(www.who.int/gho/en) also provide information, publications and
useful data on their websites.
We would also like to mention official and government
publications and websites, such as Directgov, the official UK
government website, where you will find references to material
published by the different governmental departments and public
bodies on a range of issues (www.direct.gov.uk). Likewise, USAGov
provides a directory of the US government departments and
agencies together with links. You will find overviews of white
papers and propositions in full text, as well as lists of publications,
research and reports (www.usa.gov). This information is updated
daily.
In addition, parliamentary publications are available. The UK
Parliament has an official website (www.parliament.uk), and so
has the US Congress (www.congress.org). Here, you will find
overviews of acts, bills, consultations, command papers, settings,
documents and minutes. The benefit of using online access to
official publications, documents and statistics is that you can
search by theme or alphabetical order and find references to
updated information. Many library OPACs have a website where
these references are collected under the heading ‘official
publications’.
Newspapers
Most universities have subscriptions to digital archives of The
Times, The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal,
Washington Post, LATimes and several other newspapers.
Many also subscribe to Factiva, a large database of news and
business information with research tools (www.factiva.com), and
LexisNexis, an electronic database for legal, public-records and
journalistic documents (www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/home.page)

Conference proceedings and archives

There are several types of unpublished material that are available
to the public. We have already mentioned unpublished theses and
dissertations. The proceedings of conferences are also unpublished,
as they consist of papers presented by the participants. Many
professional organizations, like the American Sociological
Association (ASA) or the British Psychological Association (BPA),
hold annual conferences on specific themes. The proceedings of
these conferences can give you ‘state of the art’ information. These
associations will often publish the paper abstracts on their websites.
You will be able to obtain a copy of papers given at past
conferences by asking the associations or by emailing the author of
the paper. You need to know the international index of conference
proceedings, Index to Social Sciences & Humanities Proceedings
(1979–), which indexes individual papers and can be searched by
using key words, author and location.
We would also like to mention archives. There are thousands of
archives with collections of unpublished text, data, documents,
photos and so on. There are public and private archives, as well as
national and international ones. There are also archives within
different disciplines and topics. For example, the University of
Michigan Government Documents Center has a very useful archive
on Canadian and American politics, the UN and the EU. Some
students want to use other forms of unpublished material which is
not easily available, such as diaries and letters. If you are going to
use this type of material, ask for help at the national library’s
manuscript collection.

The Internet
We have pointed out the enormous amount of data available on the
Internet several times. The most challenging aspect of using the
Internet when working on your master’s thesis is to distinguish
relevant from irrelevant information. It is important that you go to
the deep Web and use some of the websites we have mentioned
here, rather than surf on top and only use search engines, as
different search engines structure and range the available websites.
Nevertheless, we have already mentioned Google Scholar, which
can be useful in your work because it gives you lists of scientific
material with automatic access to your academic library’s
subscription. Most bibliographic databases, including Google
Scholar, do not cover publications from non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (IGOs),
charities or policy institutes. Often Google and hunting through
websites are the only options of finding them.

5.8 Identifying useful books and articles

When you find a book, a journal article or a website you need to
judge its value and find out if it is important to your research.
There is no fixed method of assessing the value of books and
articles, but by looking at the following you will have a few criteria
by which to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant material.

Author’s name
If you recognize the name of the author as a scholar who is often
referenced, there is a good chance that this author is a renowned
authority in the discipline.

Title and subtitle

If the title or the subtitle has key words that are important for your
research, take a closer look at the article or the book.

Journal name
Become familiar with the most important journals within your
discipline. The name of a journal will help to you know the area it
covers.

Publisher and place of publication

The most important publications are published by the large, well-
known publishers, and they are usually published in cities where
famous universities are located. However, you can also find
relevant books published by smaller publishers.

Date of publication
It is a good idea to begin with recent publications, because they will
reference older publications. By reading recent literature, you will
get to know about the older literature that is relevant for your
research.

Websites
A common problem with websites is that the credibility of the
information is not guaranteed. Websites of established and well-
known institutions have the same reliability and credibility as the
institutions themselves. Get to know the websites of institutions
that might be relevant for your thesis. Be more critical towards
websites of new and unknown institutions, groups or persons.

Content
In order to select key literature, you need information about the
content, especially if you are going to purchase books or order from
other libraries. This information is available in the databases for
searching literature which provide abstracts or summaries of the
publications. If the book or the article is referenced in a review
article, it has been reviewed and approved by other scholars.
Review articles provide information about key literature within a
discipline or on a topic. Another possibility is to use book reviews
found in academic journals. Some journals only publish book
reviews. One example is Book Review Digest (1905–), which
references and quotes book reviews taken from a selection of
American, British and Canadian journals within the social sciences
and the humanities. There are similar journals within different
disciplines, for example Reviews in Anthropology (1974–),
International Review of Education (1955–), History: Review of
New Books (1972–) and Contemporary Psychology: A Journal of
Reviews (1956–).
 When you have obtained a copy of a book, you need to know if it
is relevant for you without having to read the entire book. To judge
the book, take a look at the following:

 Text on the back cover: a brief summary of the book.

 Content’s list: a quick overview of the topics covered in the book and
the priority given to each topic.
 Preface: information about the purpose of the book and the
audience the author wants to reach.
 Index: an overview of the concepts used by the author and a quick
way to see if they are appropriate to your topic. By looking up some
important key words, you will see if the author discusses topics that
are relevant for your work.
 Bibliography: lets you see if the author references scholars who are
considered important for your work.
 Skim reading: by reading the first and last two sentences of a
paragraph you will have an idea of the main content. Skim read
sections of the book, or just the introduction and first chapter as this is
where you will find information on the background of the book and
the research questions. Then skim read the last chapter which
presents a summary and conclusions.

5.9 How to keep a search log

When you are searching the literature, you will find a much larger
amount of books and articles than you can possibly read at that
time. It is extremely important that you keep some sort of record of
your search. Management of the search is good project planning.
Anyone who has tried to find a publication based on incomplete
information knows how time consuming and frustrating this is. It
is not so important what type of record you keep. You can produce
an electronic search log, use prints and copies, or take handwritten
notes. The important issue is that the system works for you. Below
are some ideas of how to produce a log.

Endnote, Zotero, Mendeley and datafiles

An electronic search log can be made by using bibliographic
systems or by making a search file on your computer. There is a
range of software for constructing search logs, such as Endnote,
Zotero and Mendeley. Endnote is a good and stable program for
collecting references, while Zotero offers a solution that does not
cost money. Mendeley is also free and very popular, and enables
you to share your library (www.mendeley.com). Another
alternative is to create a file on your computer. Whichever way you
choose, it is very important that you keep accurate, consistent and
correct records. Make sure you construct complete references
including author, title, place of publication, publisher, date of
publication and the location of the book (name of the library and
classification number). A list of references can be systematized
according to theme or alphabetical order based on the author’s last
name, or a combination of the two. When you search the databases
previously mentioned in this chapter, you will often find that it is
possible to import bibliographic data in different formats. They can
be imported into a reference program or to your email, and then
systematized according to your own need (see section 5.5).

Prints and copies

When you are searching literature electronically, and you think you
are finding relevant literature, print the search details. If you find a
large number of references, print them or save the search results in
a file. It is sometimes a good idea to print or copy the front page
and contents list of a book or a journal. Include the page that gives
information about date and place of publication. As a safeguard,
staple the pages together so that you know which information goes
with what, and store in a simple ring binder.

5.10 A few useful websites

Archives
National Archives (UK): www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
National Archives of Australia: www.naa.gov.au
US National Archives: www.archives.gov

Internet bookstores
AbeBooks: www.abebooks.co.uk
Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk (UK) and www.amazon.com (US)
WHSmith: www.whsmith.co.uk

National libraries
The British Library: www.bl.uk
Library and Archives Canada: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca
Library of Congress: www.loc.gov
National Library of Australia: www.nla.gov.au

Official publications and statistics

Directgov: www.direct.gov.uk
Eurostat: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
OECD Statistics: http://stats.oecd.org
UK National Statistics: www.statistics.gov.uk
UK Parliament: www.parliament.uk
United Nations: http://data.un.org
United States Census Bureau: www.census.gov
USAGov: www.usa.gov
US Congress: www.congress.org
WHO Global Health Observatory: www.who.int/gho/en
World Bank: http://data.worldbank.org and
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org

Research councils
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC): www.ahrc.ac.uk
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC): www.esrc.ac.uk
Social Science Research Council (SSRC): www.ssrc.org

Search tools
Google: www.google.com
Google Books: http://books.google.com
Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com
University of Michigan Government Documents Center:
www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/polisci.html

Theses and dissertations

ASLIB Index to Theses: www.theses.com
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT): www.proquest.com/en-
US/catalogs/databases/detail/pqdt.shtml

5.11 Summary
The purpose of reviewing literature is to demonstrate your knowledge
1 and understanding of the topic and to prevent you from addressing
outdated topics.
The research literature can be used to find a topic, construct a
2 theoretical framework, define key concepts, frame and specify research
questions, and develop ideas for methodology and strategies for analysis.
It is not sufficient to use search engines to find literature, you also need
3
to search electronically through the library OPACs and databases.
4The academic libraries arrange classes for new users every semester.
The materials in the quick-reference section of the library are a good
5
place to start.
Several national and international bibliographic databases and services
6
can be used to find books and articles.
Articles from refereed academic journals are a crucial source of
7 information in any research. Recent publications and indexing and
abstracting services provide the main tools to find articles.
Other important sources of information are research reports, theses and
dissertations, official publications, statistics, newspapers, research
8
methods books, textbooks, conference proceedings and archival
material.
9Produce a search log that keeps accurate, consistent and correct records.
A subject librarian will have knowledge of different types of literature
10
and databases. They are there to help you.
11 Begin searching the literature early.
12Essentially, reading leads to writing.

5.12 Action plan

Searching the literature is time consuming and you need to plan
the search carefully. In order to find research literature it is
important that you begin at one end and follow the leads. Start
with a topic that interests you:

Talk with your advisor and fellow students to get ideas for relevant
1 literature. People who know you and what you are looking for can help
you to get started.
 Sign up for a class for new users at the library. By getting to know the
library catalogues and search engines, you will learn how the library
2
works and to search on your own. Visit the website of the subject
librarian in your discipline.
Find the relevant handbooks at the library. See if there is an annual
3 review for your discipline. Look for general and subject dictionaries
and encyclopaedias.
Browse the most important academic journals in your discipline to
4 find information about recent research, who does what and how
research is conducted.
Search for literature electronically. Experiment with different key
5
words.
Try to find the most recent publications, where you will find the latest
6
research results and references to older publications.
When you find a book, use the criteria mentioned in section 5.8 to see
7
if it is useful for your work.
Keep a search log that works for you. Log all the publications you find
8
and remember to include correct and complete information.

___________
1Thanks to Mark Janes, Social Sciences Subject Consultant, Bodleian
Libraries, University of Oxford, and Ragnhild Sundsbak, Subject Librarian
of Political Science at the University of Oslo Library, who have helped to
edit and update the information about search methods, bibliographic
databases, types of publication and keeping a search log.
6
Reviewing research literature

About 20 per cent of your thesis should be set aside to review and
discuss the research literature (see section 11.1). This is a good
place to begin for many students, especially if you have problems
getting started. The first section of the review consists of a
presentation of relevant literature. By starting here you have begun
the next important step, namely to discuss the research literature.
We will describe both aspects here.
The purpose of the literature review is to define the space that
has been neglected by other scholars. This helps to clarify and
determine how original your contribution is. The first part of the
literature review includes a description of the major contributions
in the field, which are criticized and discussed in the second part.
This strategy helps you develop the argumentation and establish a
theoretical framework. By reviewing the research literature you
will also obtain the necessary knowledge to formulate good
research questions.

6.1 Coherence
The lack of coherence is a problem in many master’s theses. In
some instances, the reader has a feeling that the research literature
was read after the research was done and written as a separate
chapter to add credibility. There is nothing wrong with having a
separate chapter devoted to literature, but it must be related to the
subsequent research. Coherence in a thesis is established and
maintained in much the same way as coherence in a paragraph
(section 3.3). It is structured and organized according to an overall
objective.
Coherence should be evident in several sections of the thesis. We
will discuss this as we go along. However, here are a few reminders.
In order to create coherence between theory and empirical facts,
you must first use the research literature to establish a framework.
Once you find or determine a particular scientific problem, it must
be contextualized in relation to relevant research. It is your job to
find the research that has been done, and how other scholars have
studied similar topics. One example is a study of the role that
foreign policy plays in American presidential elections, where the
student reviewed the research both on broad analyses of voting
decisions and more restricted analyses of the importance of foreign
policy in the American public (Lian, 2010). This student used
current research to create frameworks for his thesis.
Some students search for a theoretical framework they hope will
fit their thesis perfectly. Such frameworks rarely exist. One reason
may be that you approach a problem from a different angle than
those who came before you. Or perhaps previous research does not
pose the kind of questions you do or it suffers from neglect. In
these situations, use the gaps in the research literature as a
justification for your approach. By pointing out the weaknesses in
current research, you define the space neglected by others.
Coherence must also be evident in the research questions. When
you formulate a research question, it often constitutes a small part
of a larger scientific problem. One example is the thesis on
American presidential elections mentioned above, where the
student asked: ‘How important are opinions on foreign policy
values and issues for American voters when determining their final
vote in the general elections?’ (Lian, 2010: 8). This question is
related to larger scientific problems within political science,
namely explaining voter decisions and election outcomes (ibid.: 10).
The connection between the specific research question and the
larger debates within your field must be present in the thesis. In
Chapter 7, we will show you how to use the research literature to
formulate research questions. It is by relating specific questions to
a larger scientific problem that your thesis can contribute to new
knowledge in the field.
Furthermore, there must be coherence between theory and
analysis. Theories are meant to help you develop systems of
interpretations and explanations, which you use in the analysis
(see section 9). For example, when you present your findings, you
need to compare them with findings in previous research. However,
theories are not used solely as frames for interpretation of
empirical data; you use the data to criticize and modify the
theoretical framework so that your empirical study helps to
develop current theories.
Within many disciplines, some theories are more popular than
others. For this reason, some students feel under pressure to
include the most popular theories of the time. This approach is
seldom successful. Your research questions should determine the
relevant theoretical framework. If a theory seems irrelevant to your
questions, do not use it.

6.2 Reviewing the literature

A literature review shows that you have done some reading and
considered it. The purpose of the review is to explain facts that are
unknown to the reader and that are necessary to understand your
position. What you are actually doing is justifying your work by
defining a space that has been neglected by others, and thereby
developing your own position.
When you discuss books, articles, dissertations and research
reports the literature must appear to be necessary to understand
the field (see Chapter 7 for more information about how to
formulate and develop research questions). If the subsequent
research appears unrelated to the literature, you have reviewed the
wrong type of literature. Keep in mind that the review should
function as a relevant context for your thesis and that every part
should have something to say about your research topic.
To illustrate, we will take a look at a master’s thesis in political
science that studied Islamism and gender by analysing one
particular political party, the Algerian Islamist Party (Holmsen,
2009). The research questions asked if patriarchy is a basis for
Islamist movements or if such movements are changing their
perceptions of women. In the literature review, this student
reviewed current research on Islamism, women and Islamism,
Islam and modernity, and social movement theory. In her account
of social movement theory, she emphasized a topic that was related
to the research questions, namely movement ideology (ibid.: 16–
19). There are several other topics that she could have addressed
which are commonly discussed in social movement theory, such as
actor motivation and organizational models. Since they were not
related to the particular research questions studied here, they were
left out of the discussion. The literature review created coherence
between the theoretical and the empirical parts.
It is often difficult to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant
literature when you begin to write this section. This confusion has
to do with the fact that you are at an early stage in the writing
process. Include the literature you think is important. As your
work develops, so will your understanding of what to include and
what to leave out. During the last phase of your work, go back and
take out irrelevant sections (see Chapter 11 on editing). This
approach means that you will write more than you will actually use.
However, this does not necessarily mean that your work is a waste
of time. Perhaps you will use the text you took out somewhere else,
in an article or a lecture. Remember that it is much easier to write
too much than it is to go back later and incorporate new text.
The different sources of research literature should not be given
an equal amount of attention in the review. It is common to use
less space on scholarly contributions you will not use later, and
give more space to that which is important to form your own
argumentation. For example, one or two pages should be used for a
historical outline of older and inadequate research, whereas 5–10
pages should be allocated for discussion of the research that is
important for your study. If the connection between the literature
and your argument is not clear, you must let the reader know why
you have included this particular literature. Finally, remember to
set aside more space when describing an unknown topic than
discussing topics that are widely known by most readers.
A common strategy in reviewing research literature is to go from
the general to the specific. This is true for the whole thesis, as well
as for each section. In every part of the presentation, begin by
introducing the most important contributions in the field. In our
example, the student began by presenting studies on Islamism in
general. Thereafter, she focused on the research that analysed
women and Islamism.
Further, concentrate on the main topics in each presentation.
We will see how a student introduced a scholar whose work she
wanted to discuss (Revheim, 2004). It is common to present
academic traditions and positions, as well as other contextual
factors that are important for the academic work. This is how this
student began her introduction:
 Samuel P. Huntington has a long and impressive academic record ...
Today Huntington is the director of the John Olin Institute of
Strategic Studies at Harvard (Dalby, ÓTuathail and Routledge, 1998,
p. 170). Huntington can be classified as a realist, but many have also
labeled him a neoconservative thinker. Huntington has not been
confined to academic circles, on the contrary, he has worked closely
with different U.S. governmental agencies (Revheim, 2004: 8)

She continued by presenting his major contributions:

Huntington first published his interpretation of the evolution of

world politics after the Cold War in 1993 in an article in the Journal
of Foreign Affairs, titled The Clash of Civilizations? (Huntington,
1993a) This evoked an enormous response world-wide ... Three years
later he elaborated on his ideas in his book, The Clash of Civilizations
and the Remaking of World Order. He presents here a new paradigm,
as a more meaningful and useful instrument for viewing global
politics (Huntington, 1996). (ibid.: 9–10)

After the student introduced the main themes in the work of this
scholar, she went on to discuss other areas of his work. When you
review the research literature, include examples to illustrate.
Remember to place the illustrations in connection to the issues you
are discussing.

6.3 Critical analysis – questions and

critique
After your have given an overview and described the research
literature, you must critically analyse it. A critical analysis implies
that you have actively analysed and evaluated the information you
have gathered on a particular topic, interpreted the relevancy of
the sources, and developed the information into one or more
arguments which ends in conclusions. Critical analysis is used
when you review and discuss the research literature, and it is used
when you analyse the data (see section 9.3). You are expected to
always do your reading in a critical manner. A literature review
consists of more than just a summary or a description of other
people’s work. It is an analysis in the sense that you are required to
extract different forms of information from the literature and
assess it by asking questions and critiquing it. You must consider
and evaluate the claims made by the theorists. Is the basis for the
claims sound? Do they apply to the situations you will be studying?
The aim is to assess definitions of the topic, theories and analytical
perspectives, assumptions used, methodologies, gaps in empirical
work and conclusions.
The first step in critical analysis is to evaluate what you have
read by asking questions that raise more complex issues. The next
step is to discuss the literature, which we will address in section 6.4.
Questions are useful because they generate ideas, explore concepts
and feed into your discussion. There are several strategies for
examining statements made by other scholars. Below, we will use
Barnes’ (2005: 37–49) four strategies for examining statements or
propositions: setting up comparisons; questioning the truth of a
proposition; checking the validity of an argument; and pinpointing
generalizations and assumptions.

Setting up comparisons
Ask yourself if you can think of other views than those expressed in
the literature you are examining. When you are going to think
critically, the idea is to see if you can find a variety of views and
compare their strengths and weaknesses.
One way to set up comparisons is to decide if one proposition is
more important than another. Here, you compare the meaning
and the significance of the proposition. A proposition usually
consists of three parts: the basic premise, the claims or the
implications deriving from the claims and a conclusion. First, ask
questions about the basic premise of the proposition. If the
premise is false, the whole argument is faulty. Let us take the
following proposition as a simple example: ‘All middle-class
children are more intelligent than working-class children.’ By
showing that some middle-class children are but many are not, you
have critically analysed the claims made in the proposition. Since
the claim is based on a generalization (‘all middle-class children’),
it is relatively easy to refute it. Otherwise, you would have needed
to provide evidence, for example in the form of documentation
found in previous research. Second, ask questions about possible
consequences of a proposition. Which consequences could such a
proposition have for the funding of school programmes? Why are
these consequences important, and for whom?
 A common way to set up comparisons is by looking for
differences over a period of time. For example, immigration
policies are about to change. You can set up comparisons by asking
how immigration policies used to be. Ask how they are now, and
how they might be in the future. You can also set up a comparison
by changing the context to see if this changes the content of the
proposition. For example, if you are going to interpret a book or an
article, does it make a difference if the text is written by a woman, a
person who belongs to an ethnic minority, or a male bureaucrat?
It is also common to distinguish between positive and negative
comparisons. Positive comparisons point to similarities, whereas
negative comparisons point to differences. Below we will take a
look at how a student uses negative and positive comparisons in
the review of the research literature. This example is a thesis in
human geography which analyses the use of microcredit as a
strategy to reduce poverty in Ghana, especially among youth and
women (Siakwah, 2010). In the following, the student begins by
contrasting and outlining the differences between the so-called
modernization theorists and dependency theorists when it comes
to their views on how poverty is created and removed:

The modernization theorists contend that poverty is internally

created in the developing nations and could only be removed through
internal strategies by following the development paths of the
advanced world (Hirschman 1958, Myrdal 1971, Schultz 1980) ... The
dependency theorists, on the other hand, hold the view that poverty
is externally created and can only be eradicated if the developed
world alters the unfavorable trade relations with the developing
countries (Dos Santos 1973, Bauer 1981, Rodney 1972). (Siakwah,
2010: 13)

Here, the negative comparisons between the modernization and

the dependency theorists are used to pinpoint their differences.
The student continues by setting up positive comparisons between
these two ‘grand theories’. The purpose is to point out the similar
features that these theories share:

Gardner et al. (1996) have argued that neither of the grand theories
has survived intact as a viable paradigm for understanding change
and transformation, or processes of poverty and inequality in time
and space. It is noted that the arguments of these theories appear
 abstract, which meant that they might fail to reflect the complexity of
real world situation and thus ended up with circular statements
(Seppålå 1998). That means, they might not be ideal in explaining
realistically the problems of global processes. (ibid.: 13)

Although these two theories are different, they share certain

limitations and weaknesses that this student uses to dismiss both
of them.
Setting up negative and positive comparisons is an effective
device for finding out as much as possible about a topic.
Comparisons can be made of theories, statements, actions,
empirical findings, events, public policies and so forth. Questions
of ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’ can be turned into ‘Why not?’ and ‘How not?’.
The more meanings you compare, the more comprehensive and
profound your understanding will be.

Questioning the truth of a proposition

Propositions are seldom true or false. Many propositions depend
on facts that strengthen or weaken their truth. Ask yourself: To
what extent or under which circumstances might something be
true or false? There are very few propositions that are true in every
situation or in all circumstances.
Questioning the truth of a proposition helps to identify the
underlying assumptions. These assumptions are usually not
expressed explicitly, but they are important in deciding whether a
proposition is true or not. You do this by examining the
proposition to see if it is substantiated. You may ask ‘Is this true?’,
‘Where is the evidence?’ or ‘What are the implications?’. The
following example is taken from a thesis in sociology which
explores how Pashtuns in northern Afghanistan, who traditionally
had supported the Taliban, coped after the Taliban fell in 2001
(Langslet, 2008). In the following, this student discusses previous
research which analyses how migrants made the decision to leave.
The research literature distinguishes between migrants who are
forced to leave and migrants who voluntarily leave. The student
questions the truth of this distinction. She first outlines the two
positions in the research literature:

Forced migration studies often emphasize violence and categorize

migration in relation to its degree of ‘forcedness’, leaving forced
 migrants with very little choice about their decision to migrate
(Lubkemann 2004; Schmeidl 1996). Forced migrants are understood
as trying to protect their current livelihood, while voluntary migrants
are seen as trying to improve their livelihood. (Langslet, 2008: 13)

Then she questions the truth of the distinction by identifying the

underlying assumptions on which it rests:

This is a rather reductionist way of understanding an actor’s response

to a crisis situation, as it fails to scrutinize the actors’ agency and the
social, economic and cultural factors influencing a decision on
whether to stay or leave (Lubkemann 2004). Furthermore, such an
understanding fails to account for variations among migrants.
(Langslet, 2008: 13)

Here, she shows that the distinction between the two groups of
migrants assumes that forced migrants have little agency and that
social, economic and cultural factors do not play a role in their
decision to leave. She also shows that these assumptions are not
substantiated, due to the variety among migrants. Then she
presents an alternative proposition, namely that the decision-
making process is similar for both groups, which she attempts to
substantiate through documentation:

After all, wartime migrants are no less rational than voluntary

migrants, and their ability to make a decision is not eliminated by the
cause of their decision. Thus, even though insecurity and violence are
essential, other underlying factors of economic and social nature do
interact with the political ones (Schmeidl 1996). It is when several of
these factors play together that wartime migration is most likely to
occur. (ibid.: 13)

By questioning the truth of a proposition and examining it to see if

it is substantiated, this student weakened the proposition. As a
result, she opened the door to present an alternative proposition,
which she supported by presenting documentation.
Another useful way of questioning the truth of a proposition is to
ask questions that help you establish its validity. Here, you attempt
to find out if a proposition is based on false assumptions. For
example, if a study uses intelligence tests and concludes that there
are different levels of intelligence among various ethnic groups,
you will hardly doubt the conclusion that the respondents scored
the way they did on the test. However, you will perhaps ask if this
is a good measure of intelligence: ‘Is this a good test?’, ‘Why is it a
good test?’, ‘Why is it not a good test?’.
In other instances, you may ask questions to find out if a
proposition is resting on an inadequate basis. For example, if a
survey has a low response rate, the basis to draw conclusions is
hardly present. Or if the sample is non-representative, the study
does not provide a basis for generalizations.
If you want to examine if a proposition is true, the first step is to
argue that it is false. Possible questions are: ‘What assumptions
are implicit in this proposition?’, ‘Are they acceptable or not?’. The
student above used this approach when she argued that forced
migration studies rested on ‘a rather reductionist way of
understanding an actor’s response to a crisis situation’ (Langslet,
2008: 13). If the assumptions are unacceptable, new questions
need to be raised.
Just as propositions can generate questions, questions can be
used to generate propositions. For example, the question ‘Should
intolerant and illiberal groups have the right to voice their views in
public debates?’ can become a controversial proposition by turning
the words around: ‘Intolerant and illiberal groups should not have
the right to voice their views in public debates.’ It is easier to
discuss a proposition than a question (see section 6.4 below).
There are at least four types of questions that are particularly
useful in generating propositions (Barnes, 2005: 43–44). They use
the words ‘must’, ‘should’, ‘can’t’ and ‘shouldn’t’:

What must we do about [e.g. global warming]?

What should we do about ...?
What can’t we do about ...?
What shouldn’t we do about ...?

Here are some propositions that are generated from these

questions. Perhaps you can add more propositions:

The international community must take responsibility for global warming.’

‘Global warming should be fought in each country.’
‘Global warming cannot be ignored.’
‘Taxes should not be used to fight global warming.’

Checking the validity of an argument

The first question that should be asked is if the argument is
coherent. An important criteria of good argumentation is that it is
consistent and without contradictions.
The second question is if the argument is valid. If so, why is it
valid? Validity is not dependent on there being truth in the
propositions in the argument. Valid arguments can contain true
and false propositions. Validity has to do with the logic of the
argument, or if the various pieces fit together. If an argument is to
be valid, there must be a logical relationship between the
proposition and the conclusion in the argument. If you claim that
an argument is invalid, it must be because you think that the
argument is illogical.
A useful way to analyse an argument is to ask questions about
the premise on which the argument rests. A premise is a
proposition or a statement that is assumed to be true and from
which something else can be inferred. If the premise of an
argument is unacceptable, the entire argument can be rejected.
Since the premise is wrong, the argument that follows bears no
significance. Rejecting the premise of an argument is the most
common device for discarding it.
You should examine all premises with a certain degree of
scepticism. There are several questions that can be asked about a
premise. For example, is the premise only based on an assumption
or is there evidence that indicates that it is more substantial? Is it
based on scientific knowledge? Or is it based on stereotypes?
Watch out for sentences such as ‘all students ...,’ ‘all women ...,’ and
‘all Muslims’. A premise and an argument should be based on
scientific knowledge, not stereotypes.

Pinpointing generalizations and

assumptions
When reading a text, ask yourself ‘What is being taken for granted
here?’. By asking this question you will be able to pinpoint
generalizations and assumptions. Not all generalizations are
inaccurate. Some generalizations are summaries of scientific
knowledge, such as the statement ‘Global warming has harmful
effects on the planet’. Assumptions are not necessarily in and of
themselves a sign of poor academic argument, unless they are
proven to be false. People make assumptions on a daily basis that
are based on previous experience.
Within the academic genre of writing, you are encouraged to
make specific propositions rather than general ones. It is difficult
to construct a meaningful argument unless you move from the
general to the specific. Stereotypes are, for example, based on
generalizations. They are so wide that they fit a variety of situations,
and data that fail to support them are overlooked. ‘Women are less
capable leaders than men’ is a sweeping generalization. It is based
on an assumption that all women are less capable leaders than all
men, even when there is plenty of specific evidence to contradict it.
Nevertheless, there are some types of generalizations that are
used within the academic genre. If you conducted a study based on
a representative sample of women and men leaders, it is possible to
make sound generalizations based on the data you collected and
analysed. This is not an unsupported generalization because it is
based on evidence produced by research and it is situated in a
specific context.
These four strategies for examining statements and propositions,
setting up comparisons, questioning the truth of a proposition,
checking the validity of an argument and pinpointing
generalizations and assumptions will help you to clarify your own
thinking. By examining statements, you will find arguments that
you can use later in the discussion of the research literature.

6.4 Critical analysis – discussing the

literature
After your have asked questions and criticized the literature, the
next step is to discuss it. A good literature review demonstrates
competencies in finding and selecting items or issues that will be
discussed in greater detail. The issues included in the discussion
must be important for the field of study. By reading the literature
you will be able to find them. The issues you select must also be
relevant for your research questions. One illustrative example is
the above-mentioned thesis which studied the effect of foreign
policy questions on American voters in presidential elections
between 1992 and 2008 (Lian, 2010). This student included a
discussion of values and attitudes, dimensional voting and party
identification, which were later used in an electoral model and in
the analysis. These discussions became an integrated part of the
overall argument and functioned as a thread from start to finish.
Our aim here is to present briefly how an argumentation is
constructed (see also Walton 2006: 1–42). It is important not to
confuse propositions and arguments. A proposition is a sentence
that is true or false. An argument is a statement that is used to
support or weaken a proposition that is questionable, or open to
doubt. Arguments are valid or invalid. A proposition is never valid
or invalid, but it can be tested to see if it is true or false. This
distinction is the basic equipment for thinking and discussing. In a
master’s thesis, the argumentation will not be confined to a few
logical lines. Instead, the writing will contain an overall
argumentation that consists of a chain of arguments. Let us see
how to construct an argumentation by chaining arguments.
Statements that are used to support the proposition are called
pro arguments, and statements that are used to question or
weaken the proposition are called counter arguments (or
rebuttals). For example, the statement ‘University education is a
good thing’ is a proposition. The statement ‘After one year, most
university graduates are employed’ is a pro argument because it
supports the proposition. The statement, ‘Many university
graduates have difficulties getting relevant jobs’ is a counter
argument, because it weakens the proposition.
Some students mistakenly believe that they are discussing the
research literature when they are, in fact, only repeating what some
scholars have said. For example, the following statement is not a
discussion, but a summary of other scholars’ views:

When attempting to explain how fundamentalist political and

religious movements grow, some scholars emphasize the importance
of political leadership crisis (Kepel 2002), whereas other scholars
stress the political opportunities which are available for these
movements to act. (Meyer and Staggenborg 1996)

By simply describing what other scholars think and include

references to their work, you are still being descriptive.
It is you who must be critical, basing your judgement on the
knowledge you have acquired through a balanced reading or your
observations. You can use your critical reading of these scholars to
construct your own argument. The idea is to formulate a
proposition, which is debated by using pro- and counter arguments.
For example:

Fundamentalist political and religious movement growth is the result

of various forms of crises. Kepel (2002) shows that during the 1960s
and 70s many Arab leaders used socialist ideology to oppress
opposition and control the state. It is reasonable to argue that this
leadership crisis created a situation which promoted the growth of
Islamic fundamentalism. However, by focusing on political
opportunities to act, which Meyer and Staggenborg (1996) do in their
study of American conservative religious movements and their
opponents, it is obvious that mobilization cannot take place unless
the state enables challengers to act.

If you have reached a well-founded conclusion which stands in a

logical relationship to the argument above, you should add: ‘The
conclusion is that
As mentioned above, it is easier to discuss a proposition than a
question. It is therefore a good idea to rephrase a question into a
proposition which is then discussed. A chain of argumentation is
made up of smaller specific arguments combined together. The aim
is to support or weaken the proposition. It is common to first
present one or more arguments that support the proposition (pro
arguments), followed by one or more arguments that weaken the
proposition (counter arguments). The arguments that directly
support or weaken the proposition are called ‘arguments of the
first order’. These arguments can, in fact, function as propositions
that can be supported or weakened by other arguments. The
arguments that support or weaken the first order arguments are
called ‘arguments of the second order’. Again, these arguments can
function as propositions that can be supported or weakened by
other arguments, called ‘arguments of the third order’. In this way,
chains of argumentation are made up of smaller arguments that
are connected together. The conclusion is reached when there are
no more relevant arguments.
We will now see how a student in sociology organizes his
argumentation according to this structure. The following example
is taken from a thesis which analyses social mobility among
Norwegian-born people of immigrant descent (Hermansen, 2009).
This student asks if disadvantages experienced by immigrants are
transferred to their children, especially when it comes to their
occupational position on the labour market. In order to answer this
question, he compares Norwegians of immigrant descent with
ethnic Norwegians in the same age group and with similar
education. In the following, he discusses the importance of social
origins. First, the student presents a proposition in the form of a
hypothesis:

It is a viable hypothesis that inequality in labor-market outcomes

between second-generation immigrants and native majority
individuals is a result of different social, cultural, and economic
resources in their families of origin ... (Jonsson 2007). (ibid.: 41)

The hypothesis states that Norwegian-born people of immigrant

descent will have less prestigious occupations because they come
from more disadvantaged family backgrounds than ethnic
Norwegians. In the following, he discusses this hypothesis by
presenting arguments for and against it. He first presents several
pro arguments which support the hypothesis or the proposition.
We have selected three pro arguments. They are ‘arguments of first
order’, that is, arguments which directly support or weaken the
proposition:

Individuals of advantaged social backgrounds may draw upon

assistance from parents, relatives, and friends in order to get access
to occupational positions ... [P]ersons from advantaged social origins
may have intimate knowledge of correct ways of self-presentation
and conduct in prestigious elite circles ... [I]ndividuals of advantaged
social class backgrounds could have higher work aspirations than
their peers of less advantaged backgrounds. (ibid.: 41–42)

Here, the student outlines several reasons why the family

backgrounds of these two groups will affect their positions on the
labour market. These arguments support the proposition that these
groups differ due to different social origins. He then presents a
counter-argument which weakens the hypothesis above:

However ... we can derive a reverse argument, i.e. that persons of less
advantaged social origins who attain higher-level educational
qualifications are positively selected for higher aspirations than their
peers of more advantaged social origins ... (e.g., Boudon 1974; Mare
1980; Breen and Goldthorpe 1997). (ibid.: 42)
The student argues that people who come from less advantaged
backgrounds and still have attained a higher-level education must
have more resources than people from advantaged backgrounds.
He uses this argument to weaken the hypothesis which states that
social origin matters. This counter-argument is substantiated by
two pro arguments. They are ‘arguments of the second order’, that
is, arguments which support the counter-argument:

Furthermore, following this line of argument, if second-generation

immigrants have higher educational aspirations than their social
origin peers in the native majority, this immigrant ‘drive’ could also
spill over to their work aspirations and career-orientations. This
could give them advantages in the process of occupational
attainment . (ibid.: 42)

Here, he argues that the above ‘immigrant drive’ which led to high
educational aspirations could result in stronger career orientations
and better positions on the labour market than their peers. These
arguments support the counter-argument which attempts to
weaken the original hypothesis about the importance of social
origin.
This example demonstrates an overall argumentation that
consists of a chain of arguments. It is possible to imagine that the
student could have included more arguments. Do you have
suggestions for arguments that could be used? Finally, the
discussion should end in a conclusion. Do you have a suggestion
for a concluding sentence?
Many students make the mistake of only including pro
arguments when they want to support a proposition. However, it is
important to incorporate counter arguments as well. In doing so,
you demonstrate your knowledge of the counter arguments and the
ability to look at an issue from more than one angle. When you
introduce counter arguments, try to weaken them by using
arguments of a higher order. By presenting arguments against a
counterargument, the proposition is supported. A discussion of the
research literature consists, then, of a chain of argumentation that
includes several pro- and counter arguments combined.

6.5 Evaluating arguments

Some arguments are better than others. The quality of an
argument is often judged by three criteria: reliability, significance
and validity.

Reliability
If the propositions in an argument are incorrect, the argument is
not a good argument. We have seen above that propositions can be
based on assumptions that were never questioned or opinions
unsupported by evidence. A common strategy is to show that the
propositions in the argument are correct and therefore reliable,
and correspondingly that the propositions in the counter-argument
are incorrect or unreliable. Questioning the truth of a proposition
is a useful method to formulate arguments for and against the
proposition.

Significance
If it does not matter that the proposition in the argument is correct
or incorrect, the argument has little significance for the discussion.
Many argumentations attempt to show the importance of a specific
argument by weakening the counter-argument. The reason is that
the weaker the argument, the less significance it has. When you
want to demonstrate the weakness of a counter-argument, reduce
its importance and show that it is irrelevant for the discussion.

Validity
An argument usually contains several propositions that may
individually be true or false. As noted above, if the argument is to
be valid, the different propositions must be coherent. Validity is
dependent upon the logical consistency between the propositions
and the conclusion of the argument. If the propositions are
inconsistent and there is a gap in logical coherence, the argument
is invalid.

6.6 Summary
The purpose of the literature review is to define the space that has
1
been neglected by other scholars.
2 Coherence should be evident in several sections of the thesis:

º between theory and empirical facts

 º between the research questions and the larger debates in your field
º between theory and analysis.

3 When you describe and discuss the research literature:

º include only relevant literature

give more space to important literature you will use later and less
º
space on
º contributions you will not use go from the general to the specific
º concentrate on the main topics.

The first step in critical analysis is to evaluate the research literature

4 by asking questions which raise more complex issues. You question
and critique the literature by:
º setting up positive and negative comparisons
º questioning the truth of a proposition
º checking the validity of an argument
º pinpointing generalizations and assumptions.

The next step in critical analysis is to discuss the research literature.

5
An argumentation consists of:

º a proposition, which is a sentence that is true or false

º an argument, which is valid or invalid
º pro arguments, which support the proposition
º counter arguments, which weaken the proposition.

A discussion of the research literature consists of a chain of

6 argumentation that includes several pro- and counter arguments
combined.
Arguments are judged by three criteria: reliability, significance and
7
validity.
Below is a list of suggestions for opening sentences that are useful
8 when you want to change the direction in your writing (see Barnes,
2005: 144):

º Previous research offers us a number of examples ...

º What can be said immediately is ...
º This clash of views calls into question ...
º It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that ...
º The problem can be summarized ...
º This problem can be seen from another angle ...
º Is this really a sound reason for saying ...?
º A second argument which cannot be ignored is ... We must allow for .
º From this, it would seem that not all ...
 º This explains why .
º Alternatively, . in addition . by contrast .
º One of the most obvious examples ...
º A similar topic is taken up by ... who says that ...

6.7 Action plan

1 Write a critical analysis of two books that are relevant for your topic.
2 First review the literature by describing it.
Then, critically consider and evaluate the claims made by the authors.
3
Ask yourself:

ºWhat is the basic premise of the claims?

Is the basic premise sound? For example, is it believable? Where is
º
the evidence?
ºWhat are the consequences derived from the claims made?
ºDo the authors make generalizations?

4 The next step in critical analysis is to discuss the research literature:

ºselect one issue and formulate a proposition which can be discussed

ºformulate two pro arguments and two counter arguments
formulate arguments of the second and the third order to each of the
ºarguments above. Can you think of more relevant arguments that
need be included?
try to weaken the counter arguments by using counter arguments of a
º
higher order
ºformulate a conclusion to the discussion.
7
How do I formulate
research questions?

Many students find that formulating research questions is one

of the most challenging aspects of writing a master’s thesis.
Have you ever had someone ask you what your research
questions are, only to hear yourself mumble ‘I’m working on it’?
Students often struggle with solving the puzzle of what a
scientific question is. From the perspective of the student, as
well as more experienced scientists, posing research questions
can imply a certain level of frustration.
It is a problem in many master’s theses that the questions
are vague. This does not mean that the questions are
uninteresting. Vague questions often indicate that you lack
clarity as to what the problems are which you are going to
solve. In some cases, the result will be that you collect too
much data or collect the wrong type of data. The lack of
specified research questions also creates problems when you
are getting ready to analyse the data. What type of answers can
you possibly be looking for when you are not sure which
questions you have? Finally, if you do not have specified
questions, you will not know when your work is finished. The
benefit of having specified research questions is that you know
that your analysis is finished when all the questions are
answered.
One would think that it is fairly easy to pose a scientific
question. Yet, most students as well as scientists think that it is
often more difficult to find and formulate good questions than
to find the answers. Although formulating research questions
is difficult, it is not a mystery that cannot be solved. In the
social sciences, questions are of a particular kind. They are
constructed in a certain way that is common for most social
science research, and our aim in this chapter is to show you
how. We are unable to offer a universal recipe for formulating
scientific questions, but perhaps we can give you a general
idea and point out some principal ingredients in a scientific
question in the social sciences. Hopefully, this will help you to
formulate more complete research questions.
According to American sociologist Robert Merton (1965),
the questions that matter in the social sciences are ‘questions
so formulated that the answers to them will confirm, amplify,
or variously revise some part of what is currently taken as
knowledge in the field’ (1965: x). Merton attempts to identify
the principal ingredients in scientific questions in sociology
and in social scientific enquiry generally, and he outlines three
principal components (1965: xii-xiii). First is the origination
question, or what we here call the overall question, a
statement of what you want to know. Second is the rationale,
stating why you want to have the particular questions
answered. Third are the specified questions that point towards
possible answers to the overall question in terms that satisfy
the rationale for having raised it. Most students succeed in
posing overall questions. However, many stop here and fail to
include the other two components. Later, we will organize the
discussion according to Merton’s distinctions. Before we do so,
we want to give a brief outline of research questions in
quantitative and qualitative studies.

7.1 Research questions in quantitative

and qualitative theses
When students begin to develop a topic for a thesis and
formulate research questions, they will find that the amount of
information about different topics varies greatly (see section
1.2). In some cases, a lot of research has been conducted,
which students can access and use to formulate research
questions. In other cases, there is little research and
information available. Often the type of research questions
students will be able to pose varies according to the amount of
information that is available before they begin their study.
When few studies have been conducted and you only have
vague perceptions of what you are going to study, it is difficult
to formulate very specific research questions. In this situation,
the research questions often centre on a topic in the sense that
you describe the topic and specify what you want to know
about it. This type of question is usually broad and open. This
approach is sometimes used in qualitative studies. One
example is an ethnographic study of the use of electric vehicles
in the UK (Brady, 2010). Although some studies had been
conducted in this area, they were small and limited. This
student defined a topic, namely ‘Electric car culture’, which
she wanted to study. She used ethnography to document
patterns of use and driving styles, and the values of the drivers.
We have previously described how you find a topic for your
thesis (Chapter 1), and there is a rather fluid boundary
between developing a topic and posing research questions. As
we pointed out in Chapter 1, a topic must be defined and
developed.
A description of a topic can provide the basis for asking
more limited questions. Often you will have some information
about the topic. If this is the case, you can ask factual
questions and use the thesis to answer them. This approach is
used in quantitative as well as qualitative studies. One
example of a qualitative study is a thesis in sociology where
the student asked if the central government policies on health
and education in the UK changed much after Tony Blair’s New
Labour governments of 1997–2007 took over from Margaret
Thatcher’s Conservative governments of 1979–97. He
answered this question by conducting a qualitative analysis of
government documents (Holland, 2009). Another example is
a thesis in education which asked about the effects of planned
change on organizational culture in a large college in the UK.
This student used quantitative and qualitative data to answer
this question (Stakes, 2010). Indeed, the focus of this chapter
is how to formulate these types of research questions.
Finally, in some situations the topic is so researched
beforehand that the research questions are formulated as one
or more hypotheses and the purpose of the study is add more
information or revise previous knowledge. In order to test
hypotheses, there is usually a need to conduct a quantitative
study. An example of this approach is found in a thesis in
political science which studies the role of foreign policy in
American presidential elections (Lian, 2010). As we will see
below, this student begins by posing an overall question. After
he has reviewed the relevant research and theory in the field,
he creates a voting model and generates several hypotheses,
which he tests by doing a quantitative analysis of election
surveys. The limitation of this approach is that the thesis is
directed only at falsifying the hypotheses, which might mean
that the student has overlooked important new and
unexpected information.
As we see, research questions in qualitative studies tend to
differ from those in quantitative studies as it relates to scope
and degree of specificity. This might lead some students who
plan to conduct a qualitative study to mistakenly assume that
they do not have to put much effort into formulating research
questions. The same is often true for students who write
theoretical theses. They tend to present vague research
questions in the introduction (which they should; see section
10.1), but these questions are not developed further in the
thesis. The result is that the reader does not really understand
what the student wants to do. In some cases, the student also
operates with more specified research questions which are
scattered throughout the thesis.
In some books on qualitative research methods, authors
claim that you should wait to formulate research questions
until you have begun the data collection. This approach tends
to create a number of problems for students. They risk
collecting either too much or sometimes irrelevant data, which
means extra work and is a waste of time. Qualitative data are
often more difficult to handle than quantitative data.
Therefore, studies based on qualitative data demand as much
planning when it comes to formulating research questions as
quantitative studies do.
This does not mean that research questions cannot be
adjusted once the data collection has begun. Adjusting
research questions, methods and analysis is a process that
takes place continually throughout your work on the thesis.
However, it is easier to adjust research questions after the data
collection has begun than it is to formulate completely new
questions that must fit data which are already collected. The
same is true for theoretical theses, which require research
questions to be precise. Vague questions tend to result in
incoherent discussions.

7.2 Overall research questions

When you are going to formulate research questions, you must
first present one or more overall questions, meaning a
statement of what you want to know (see sections 1.1–1.2).
This sentence can be relatively wide and inclusive. At this
stage, think of a problem that stimulates your curiosity. Is
there something you do not understand or something you
don’t know? The question should be of general interest. Why is
something this way and not another way?
Your ability to pose research questions is related to your
knowledge of the field. If you have little knowledge about a
topic, you will not ask good questions. This is the reason
behind our advice that once you have selected a topic, the next
step is to study, review and discuss the research literature (see
Chapter 6). Use the knowledge you obtained through your
reading to write down possible questions.
When you are posing questions within the social sciences,
look for the actors (i.e. the acting units). This means that the
actions which are analysed must be specific. They cannot be
‘the society’, ‘the norms’, ‘the culture’ and so forth. Even if the
topic of the thesis is ‘a local community’, for example,
remember the simple fact that people act and not the local
community as such. The actors must be identified in the
overall questions, and so must their actions (i.e. a reference to
specific actors in specific groups or societies).

Different types of overall questions

There are several different types of overall questions (Merton,
1965: xiii-xix). Whereas some questions are wide, other
questions are more limited in scope. Questions vary also
according to the type of knowledge that is sought.
 One important type of question calls for discovering facts.
It may be needless to say that before facts can be explained,
they must be established. Everyday knowledge is sometimes
based on assumptions instead of facts, and one aim in
research is to discover a particular body of facts. It would be
premature to ask ‘why’ or to try to explain something before
the facts are ascertained. For example, if you want to explain
why ethnic minority status has effects on positions in the
labour market you must first demonstrate that there are
differences in occupational status between the ethnic majority
and minority populations. The following example is taken
from the thesis in sociology which studied social mobility
among Norwegians of immigrant descent (Hermansen, 2009).
The student compared occupational positions between this
group and ethnic Norwegians in the same age group and with
similar education. He asked the following descriptive question:

Do second-generation immigrants gain access to advantaged

positions in the social structure on par with their native
majority peers? (ibid.: 2)

This question was directed at finding facts about the

occupational positions of the two groups. Some students use
their theses to merely find and present facts. These types of
master’s theses are usually boring. Although posing
descriptive questions and finding facts are important, this is
only one element in developing a research question.
Descriptive questions are only one of a variety of overall
questions. Another type focuses on the search for uniformities
of relations between classes of phenomena. One example is:
‘How may society be multicultural and yet maintain social
cohesion?’ Another example is: ‘Which factors in a given
country affect the crime rates in that country?’ These types of
overall questions call for more than merely establishing facts.
They ask why an observed state of affairs exists. The concern
here is to explain a phenomenon, to seek reasons and causes.
For example, the student who studied American presidential
elections asked:
 How important are opinions on foreign policy values and issues
for American voters when determining their final vote in the
general elections? (Lian, 2010: 8)

This student attempts to find out the effect that policy

preferences have on voting behaviour. He does so by
suggesting a relationship between two classes of variables,
namely opinions on foreign policy values and voting in general
elections. The question suggests classes of variables that could
be taken into account but do not yet suggest the particular
variables in each class to be considered. As stated above, there
are different types of overall questions. At this stage, it is
common to play with several. Asking different types of overall
questions is an important stage in the process of formulating
specified research questions.
A large number of overall questions within the social
sciences address the relations between variables within one or
more societal institutions. Examples of questions focusing on
the institutional sphere of society are studies on the
educational institution, the legal institution, the religious
institution, politics and so forth. We will illustrate these types
of questions by taking a look at a master’s thesis in education,
where the student analysed the consequences of decentralizing
educational systems in Australia, Canada, Finland, Norway
and Sweden. The two main overall questions were:

Does the transition of educational authority from central to local

level affect student achievement? Does a potential relationship
between local autonomy and student achievement still exist
after controlling for socio-economic status and immigrant
background? (Haug, 2009: 3–4)

In this case, the questions are restricted to a particular

institutional sphere, namely the educational systems where
decentralization reforms have been implemented. These types
of question have a double objective. On the one hand, they
direct the attention towards that which is distinctive to that
particular institution, which here is a particular type of
educational system. On the other hand, the questions can be
extended to wider classes of situations or institutions. It is
easy to see how the questions above with little revision can be
addressed to other institutional spheres, such as health care or
the political sphere, where the aim is to study consequences of
implemented reforms.
Some overall questions focus on the application of
particular concepts. A popular topic since the 1990s is identity.
There is a wide variety of identities that can be studied –
national, ethnic, religious, cultural, social class, gender and
sexual – and there is a wide variety of approaches that can be
applied. Whereas some attempt to define and outline the
construction of specific identities, others use the concept to
explain variations in the behaviour of people and the
consequences this behaviour has for society.
Another type of overall question is to clarify concepts or
ideas that no longer seem to be adequate. One example is the
question of whether theories of modernity are adequate to
describe contemporary Western societies or if one must use
concepts of post-modernity, late modernity or even post-
secularity.
It is also possible to distinguish between overall questions
which centre on processes and those which centre on patterns.
Overall questions which focus on processes are looking at
events or factors that take place over a longer period of time
(diachronic). One illustrative example is the above-mentioned
thesis which analysed American elections (Lian, 2010). The
first overall question is followed by a second question, which
includes a time factor and points to processes that have taken
place over time. The two overall questions are:

[1] How important are opinions on foreign policy values and

issues for American voters when determining their final vote in
the general elections?
[2] How has this changed over time in the period between 1992
and 2008? (ibid.: 8)

Overall questions which focus on patterns are looking at

factors that take place at a specific moment in time
(synchronic). One example is a study which attempted to
analyse the reasons for the 2003 American invasion of Iraq
(Lindviksmoen, 2007). This thesis was limited to one event
that took place at one specific moment.
Contrasts and differences
When you are going to pose an overall question, it is important
to emphasize contrasts. We have previously mentioned that a
thesis which only establishes something as a fact is relatively
uninteresting. A thesis is more interesting when there is an
attempt to explain the established facts. In an explanation, it is
not enough to ascertain that something is a fact, you must also
ascertain that something else is not a fact. Ask: ‘Why does this
phenomenon appear in this particular way and not in other
ways?’
A useful way to find explanations is to direct the questions
towards differences. For example, differences can be found
between two points of time. One example is the above-
mentioned study of American voter opinions and behaviours
between 1992 and 2008 (Lian, 2010). Another type of contrast
can be between two or more groups. One example of this type
of question is a thesis in psychology which studied the
organization of treatment, care and support for HIV-positive
people in rural South Africa by comparing different formal and
informal organizations (Vaage, 2010). Differences can also be
found in understandings of concepts, theories and discourses.
One example is a thesis in sociology which compared theories
on the body in the work of Foucault and symbolic
interactionism (Hestad, 2008). Another example is a student
in human geography who examined different forms of
discourses about rape in American newspaper media in 2006
(Bitsch, 2010).
It is also possible to focus on differences between
theoretical assumptions and observed facts. An example is a
thesis which focused on theories about globalization and the
role of the state in the economy (Vold, 2007). While some
theories argue that the world economy is so globalized that the
nation state is no longer relevant, others claim that the world
economy is no more international than it was before the First
World War. In much of the literature, transnational
companies are seen as the principal actors. This student
compared these theories with data from Venezuela and
analysed the role of the state in turning the Venezuelan
petroleum industry into a tool for development. In this way, he
was able to discuss the differences between theoretical claims
and empirical data. Finally, it is possible to combine a set of
contrasts in the same overall question.
Overall questions can be constructed in various ways, and in
more ways than we have mentioned here. These questions are
of different kinds and they have different sources. Whereas
some questions centre on facts, others are directed towards
the adequacy of concepts, theories and ideas. Some deal with
the causes of specific phenomena, and others are concerned
with their consequences. The important issue is that asking
overall questions is not the same as formulating complete
research questions. It is only the first ingredient.

7.3 The rationale of the questions

The next step in the formulation of a research question is the
rationale or the justification of the question (Merton, 1965:
xix-xxvi). Why are you asking this question? Why is it worth
your time and effort? You must state what your reasons are for
why this question deserves the attention of the reader as well
as yourself. The rationale specifies how other parts of science
or social practices will benefit from answering the question.

Theoretical rationale
The most important rationale for an overall question is its
interest for the scientific community. Merton (1965: xix)
distinguishes between scientifically trivial and scientifically
consequential questions. If the question and its answer are
going to be consequential for science, they must be relevant
for other ideas and observations in the field. This means that it
is not enough that you think your question is interesting.
Historically, science has been justified by curiosity (i.e. that
knowledge is a self-contained end). But if you want your
research to be more than a hobby, you must show that it will
extend knowledge in one way or another. Because science is a
collective project, your research must be relevant for other
theories and studies in the field.
Social science research has often been justified by a double
relevance. This means that the same research has importance
for systematic knowledge as well as practical use. Social
scientists disagree whether their research must have both a
practical rationale and a theoretical rationale, and the balance
between the two. We will not get into this debate here. Our
claim is that all overall questions must have a theoretical
rationale. In some cases, overall questions will also have a
practical rationale. We will describe both types below and
attempt to point out the cases where the practical rationale is
relevant.
The theoretical rationale claims that a question is worth
asking because its answers will expand systematic knowledge.
This rationale takes various forms. First, an overall question
can be justified by stating that existing theory is useful to
understand certain phenomena which have not been
examined before in terms of this theory. One example is to use
contemporary theories of social movements to analyse historic
political movements. The purpose of this approach is to detect
aspects of these movements that have been ignored by older
research. Second, a question can be justified by pointing out
perceived inconsistencies in previous research and suggesting
that they can be reconciled by demonstrating that the
inconsistencies are apparent rather than real. The third
theoretical rationale points out gaps in current theories or
knowledge. In the thesis on social mobility mentioned above,
the student presented a similar rationale. He argued that his
study would contribute with important new knowledge in the
field, since there was a gap in current research (Hermansen,
2009: 2–3, 25).

Practical rationale
The other type of rationale discussed here is a practical
rationale. A practical rationale states that a question is worth
posing because its answer will have practical consequences for
a social group or for society. Many master’s theses in the social
sciences justify the overall questions by claiming that the
answers to these questions will improve the situation of
disadvantaged groups or help society deal with conflicts or
pressing social issues. One example is a thesis in psychology
where two students analysed different treatments of
adolescents engaging in non-suicidal self-injury (Lie and BØ,
2010). Several theses in psychology which aim at improving
the treatment of various forms of mental disorders and
illnesses will tend to have a practical rationale in addition to a
theoretical one.
A practical rationale can also be based on the fact that new
developments in society are taking place. The purpose of the
research is, then, to contribute to new knowledge and
understanding. For example, the increasing number of
Muslims in Western countries has led to a growing interest in
the study of Islam and other religions, as well as the study of
ethnic and religious minorities. The interest in research based
on a practical rationale tends to increase when social changes
are defined as social problems leading to social conflicts. For
example, American social science has long traditions of doing
research on discrimination and racism. European social
scientists did not demonstrate much interest in these topics
until the 1960s and 1970s when racial and ethnic minorities
became of a noteworthy size. Historic and social changes affect
the types of questions scientists are asking and the reasons
why they are asking them.

7.4 Specified questions

We have seen that overall questions differ in scope as well as
in the degree of specificity. There is, therefore, a need for
specifying the overall questions further. They must be
rephrased into one or more questions which will indicate the
observations that will give an answer to each overall question.
Only then have the research questions definitively been posed
(Merton, 1965: xxvi). An example is the following overall
question: ‘What is the relationship between religion and
violence?’ This is a question about the connections between
two phenomena without any indication about the observations
that are required to give an answer to it. It can be rephrased
into the following specified question: ‘Are there elements in
the ideologies of Christianity and Islam that justify the use of
violence?’ The question is now specified in a way that it
indicates the variables that must be studied to give an answer
to it, namely the ideological elements of Christianity and Islam.
It is important to be aware that one overall question often
has to be recast into several specified questions. If we take a
look at the overall question above, we can think of many
specified questions that can be asked: ‘Do religious people
favour the use of violence more than non-religious people do?
Do religious people engage more in violent acts than non-
religious people do? Do all religious organizations promote the
use of violence? If not, which organizations promote the use of
violence? Which organizations speak against the use of
violence?’ We could go on. As you see, these specified
questions go in very different directions. Some imply the study
of people’s attitudes, whereas other questions imply the study
of people’s actions, religious ideologies or religious
organizations. Unless the overall question is specified, you will
not really know what kind of observations (study of people’s
attitudes, people’s actions, religious texts, religious leaders or
religious organizations) you should be doing.
In most instances, you must answer a number of specified
questions in order to answer the overall question. We will use
Hermansen’s thesis (2009) to illustrate. As mentioned before,
his overall question is:

The general question explored in this study is: Do second-

generation immigrants gain access to advantaged positions in
the social structure on par with their native majority peers?
(Hermansen, 2009: 2)

In order to answer this question, this student had to find

various aspects of second-generation immigrants which could
possibly affect their positions in the social structure. For
example, he studied their social origin and their educational
qualifications. He also had to clarify what he meant by
‘positions in the social structure’, which he defined as
positions on the labour market. The student recast his overall
question into several specified questions, of which we will
mention two:

[1] Do second-generation immigrants experience equal access to

employment relative to native majority peers with similar
educational qualifications and social origins?
[2] If employed, do second-generation immigrants experience
equal access to different occupational class positions relative to
native majority peers with similar educational qualifications and
social origins? (Hermansen, 2009: 7–8, 73, 87)
Here, he explores whether the people he studies experience
equal opportunities. He first asks if individuals gain access to
employment and then if they gain access to specific
occupational positions. When the overall question has been
rephrased to a number of specified questions, as illustrated
here, the research questions have been definitely posed.
When you are going to specify the research questions, do so
by writing an introduction to the questions. Use the research
literature to frame the questions and justify their relevance.
The example below is taken from a master’s thesis in
psychology mentioned above which studied the organization
of treatment, care and support for HIV-positive people in rural
South Africa (Vaage, 2010). Notice how the student justifies
the overall question by claiming that it is relevant due to the
gap in previous research:

Though many health scientists have drawn attention to the role

of social capital as a way to illuminate the quality of healthcare
in communities there is yet little current research on the topic
(Campell, 2005). This thesis investigates the role of social
capital in promoting treatment, care, and support for HIV/AIDS
affected people in a poor marginalized community by examining
the levels of participation and cooperation between formal and
informal healthcare structures in the community. (Vaage, 2010:
18)

Once this question is presented, the student uses the research

literature to give a deeper understanding of the question:

In accordance with Derose and Varda’s (2009) and Foley and

Edward’s (1999) recommendations for the use of social capital
in academic research the thesis will not focus on cognitive
dimensions of social capital but on structural aspects. (ibid.: 18)

We understand that there are two dimensions often studied by

scholars who use the particular type of theory mentioned here,
and that this student chooses to use one dimension. After he
has specified why he wants to focus on one dimension, he
recasts the overall question into four specified questions:
 [1] In which ways do formal and informal organizations provide
treatment, care and support to HIV positive people in the village?
[2] How do the organizations cooperate and coordinate their
work?
[3] To what degree do organizations working in the community
cooperate and communicate with formal structures of the
government?
[4] What are the main constraints for providing efficient
treatment, care and support for HIV positive people in the
village? (Vaage, 2010: 18–19)

This student could have described and discussed each

question even further than what was done here. A list of
specified research questions easily bores the reader. A useful
way to deepen the understanding of each question is to pose
additional questions that indicate possible answers. If we take
a look at the third question above, we will see that the student
could have developed it further. For example, he could have
added questions such as: ‘Do they have formal agreements
with the government? If so, which parts of the government?’
He could also have turned the question upside down and
imagined the opposite answers by asking: ‘Or do they only
have informal cooperation with governmental agencies?’ Can
you think of other questions that could have been added?
By using the research literature to present the overall and
the specified questions, you give the reader a more thorough
understanding of the questions you are asking. You also create
expectations by turning the questions upside down. Framing
the questions this way also gives coherence between your
discussion of the literature and the research you are about to
do.

7.5 Adjustments during the research

process
Formulating and specifying the research questions take place
throughout the entire process of writing a thesis. Once you
have found a topic, it is a good idea to write down a number of
possible questions. When you read the literature, you will
recast the questions as a result of more knowledge. During the
search for a research design and method (see Chapter 8), your
questions will perhaps change again. Sometimes, you will
discover that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to find
empirical material that can be used. In other cases, you will
realize that your questions are so broad that the effort of trying
to answer them will take too much time. Some students find
that the data do not provide answers to their questions, or that
the data shed light on questions not posed. In both cases, the
questions need to be revised. In the first case, old questions
must be excluded. In the second, new questions must be
incorporated. The process of reformulating questions is
common, which means that the process of formulating
research questions is not really finished until the analysis is
done. However, what we are discussing here are minor
adjustments. Do not let this lead you to believe that you can
skip the difficult work of formulating research questions. If
you do, your whole work will be affected by it.

7.6 Summary
Formulating research questions is one of the most challenging
1
aspects of writing a thesis.

It is a problem in many theses that the research questions are

2
vague and underdeveloped.
The type of research questions often varies according to the
3
amount of information that is available.
Research questions in qualitative and quantitative studies vary in
4
scope and specificity.
5 The three principal ingredients of research questions are:
º overall questions
º rationale of the questions
º specified questions.
The research questions are often adjusted during the entire
6
thesis process.

7.7 Action plan

1 Formulate one overall question relating to the topic you have
 selected for your thesis.
Give a rationale for the question. What is the theoretical
2
rationale? Should you include a practical rationale?
Formulate three specified questions to the overall question. Use
3
the research literature when doing so.
Discuss the questions with your advisor, fellow students and
4
other relevant discussion partners.
8
Easier said than done –
choosing a suitable research
design and method

The starting point of research is usually finding and formulating a

topic. When you begin looking at designing your research project,
considerations of methodological issues become part of this
process. As noted in Chapter 7, searching for a method sometimes
leads to further specifications or revisions of your research
questions. In fact, formulating research questions and finding the
proper method(s) often take place at the same time. It is a good
idea to begin thinking about methodological issues as soon as
possible. Whether you have a qualitative or a quantitative study in
mind, preparations must be made beforehand. There are several
choices involved in conducting research, such as methodological
traditions and approaches, choosing a methodological strategy that
takes the constraints on your time and money into consideration,
ethical issues relevant to your research idea, and finding data that
are available, reliable and valid. The focus of this chapter is to look
at important issues you must consider to design a coherent
research project.
This chapter is not about various research methods. Our aim
here is to point out some of the issues you need to address when
designing your research. In the social sciences, different
methodological assumptions and beliefs are widely debated, which
have consequences for methodological approaches and choices (see,
for example, Hart, 2008a: 193–276). There are many excellent
books and other sources dedicated to research methods in the
social sciences. We want to mention two book series that offer brief
guidance to different methods (see section 5.7). Sage’s Little Green
Books series teaches quantitative methods in the social sciences,
and Sage’s Little Blue Books series covers qualitative methods. Also,
take a look at Sage Research Methods Online, which is a tool to
help students (http://srmo.sagepub.com). Our advice is that you
study the literature relevant for your field and your thesis. Ask your
tutor or advisor to help you.

8.1 What is a research method?

A master’s thesis must set aside a chapter or a section to describe
the steps that will be undertaken to address the research questions.
Usually, the methods section follows the formulation of the
research questions. Whether you use quantitative or qualitative
methods, or whether the data consist of surveys, interviews,
observations, documents or texts, you must describe the
considerations that led you from the research questions to the
applicable method by which those questions may be studied. This
means that a coherent research design has a logical relationship
between the research questions and the method.
There is ‘an arsenal’ of different research methods. Every
research method has its advantages and disadvantages. There are
always other ways to do research and answer the research
questions you have posed. Here, we will view research methods as
different tools in the research toolbox. It is a strategy or a
technique you use to solve problems and acquire new knowledge.
The main question is: What do you have to do to acquire the
necessary knowledge to answer your research questions?
It is important to remember that all research takes place within
paradigms and models that are considered acceptable within
various fields of study. Each research method rests on assumptions
of truth and perceptions of what the world is like (Crotty, 1998).
There is an ongoing debate on qualitative and quantitative
methods in the social sciences, a debate that raises issues of what
science is, the nature of knowledge and values in research. This
debate was previously characterized by deep antagonism. Now
there is an acknowledgement that both methods have strengths
and weaknesses.
Our approach is that one method cannot, in principle, be
considered better or worse than the other. The most important
aspect of a method is whether or not it helps you to answer your
research questions. This means that you must find the best tools to
serve this purpose. Another important issue that must be
considered relates to ethical dimensions of the method in question
(see section 8.3).
It is a good idea to be open to various research methods. Look to
see if different methods can be combined rather than locking
yourself into considering only one method (Creswell, 2008). Many
scientists have found that it is often fruitful to mix different
methods (Teddlie and Tashakkori, 2008). At the same time, you
must consider how extensive your research should be in the time
you have available. Do not make your thesis too complicated by
employing several research methods. If you want to mix methods,
a good strategy is to focus on one method, which is supplemented
by other methods. For example, the starting point of a thesis can be
a summary of findings from existing surveys, which are studied in
more detail by a qualitative study. These matters should be
discussed with your advisor.

8.2 Useful strategies for designing a

master’s thesis
Master’s-level students face a number of constraints and dilemmas.
First of all, most students have limited time available. Then there is
the economic limitation, which means that one cannot afford costly
data collection. At the same time, it is in the interest of every
student to plan a project that provides as much information as
possible. The challenge is to design a research project that can be
completed within these constraints. Here we will outline good
strategies commonly used to design master’s theses. It is important
to remember that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, but
can be combined. There are also more strategies than those
mentioned here.

Fill gaps in previous research

As you study previous research, you will sometimes find that the
scope of the research is limited. The purpose of the new research is
to fill gaps in previous research. An illustrative example is feminist
research, which often has collected a lot of new information that
male scientists have overlooked. By studying topics male scientists
have ignored, they have uncovered large areas of society that
otherwise had remained in the dark. One master’s thesis within
this genre was conducted by a student in history who studied two
child emigration societies based in Birmingham and Manchester
between 1870 and 1914 (Ward, 2010). Although there had been a
scholarly interest in child emigration to Australia, this topic has
largely been ignored in previous research when it came to children
taken to Canada.
If you want to use this strategy, one possible idea is to use data
from one of the many surveys that have been conducted and
formulate new research questions that scientists have ignored.
These questions can be answered by analysing the quantitative
data in a different way than previously done, and perhaps by
collecting new qualitative data. A student used a similar approach
when she wanted to study segmented assimilation among Arab
Americans in the Detroit Metro area (Weaver, 2010). She used
previous census data and collected new interview data from Arab
Americans living in the Detroit Metro area. Another idea is to use
the many suggestions for further research that usually come at the
end of scholarly articles and books to pose your own research
questions. Several of the completed master’s theses that are used
as examples in this book have the aim of filling gaps in previous
research.

Reappraise previous research

In some cases, the problem with previous research is not that its
scope is limited, but that it is based on mistakes and
misinterpretations. Therefore, a common strategy is to reappraise
previous research by using new interpretive tools, perspectives or
methods. A shift in point of view can fundamentally affect the
research conducted. One example of this approach is to re-analyse
data collected at a specific point in time. The aim is to see if new
information is found by using different theories, explanatory
strategies or analytical tools than those used earlier. One example
is African American historical research. In American research,
Euro-American perspectives were taken as the norm and African
American experiences and perspectives were largely ignored. By
using different analytical perspectives, frames of reference and
methods, African American scientists found a vast amount of
information that Euro-American scientists had misinterpreted.
Repeat previous research
The strategy here is to attempt to repeat previous research either in
another context or at another time. Let us first take a look at
repeating research in another context. For example, a student finds
information about research conducted in a specific context and
decides to conduct similar research in a different context. One
example of this approach is found in a study of Islamism and
gender (Holmsen, 2009). These topics have been studied in several
contexts, but this student decided to focus on a specific Algerian
political party. A similar approach is taken when one repeats
research at another time. It is possible to look at studies conducted
a few years ago and repeat the same study today. The purpose is to
detect possible changes that have taken place between the two
points in time.

Case studies
This strategy opens up for the study of one case or the comparison
of two or more cases. The characteristic feature of a case study is
that the findings from the study apply solely to this case and
cannot be generalized to other populations. Case studies seem to
be a useful strategy for many master’s-level students. The reason is
that a case is relatively limited, which makes it useful for small
research projects. One example is a thesis in social anthropology
where the student studied local Liverpool fans’ experience of
commercial changes in British football (Gustavsen, 2010). Another
example is a student in education who evaluated the effects of
planned change in organizational culture among staff who
presented higher education programmes in a large college in the
UK (Stakes, 2010). While these students analysed one case, other
students prefer to compare two or more cases. For example, a law
student compared two cases in her thesis, namely affirmative
action in the US and the UK (Herron, 2010). Another example is a
student in sociology who compared the social policy with special
reference to health and education during the Conservative
governments of Margaret Thatcher (1979–97) and the New Labour
governments of Tony Blair (1997–2007) (Holland, 2009). Finally,
a student in political science compared five cases in his thesis,
namely five American presidential elections (Lian, 2010). These
cases are limited to defined theories that are voiced, or actions that
took place, in a given context at a specific point in time.
Write a thesis within the frames of a
research programme
Many master’s-level students prefer to conduct an independent
study. Other students choose to write a thesis within a large
research programme directed by a professor at their university or
college. Although the latter strategy often implies certain
limitations regarding research topic and methods, it has several
benefits. You will be part of a large group of scientists who will take
an interest in your work. You will learn about research by
interacting with the researchers and the other students in the
programme. You will also extend your academic network, which
can be helpful in pursuing an academic career (see Chapter 4).

8.3 Practical and ethical considerations

when collecting data
Whichever strategy you choose, all research needs data. Data can
be whatever is deemed necessary to answer your research
questions. The data may take the form of survey data, interview
data or observations. Or the data may take the form of texts, such
as academic books, public reports, historic documents,
photography, film and so on.
It is common to distinguish between primary and secondary
data. Primary data are first-hand accounts produced at the time of
the event. Survey data and interview data are some examples of
primary data. So are historic records and documents, speeches and
government documents. These may be available in their original
form or they may be reproduced in a book or on the Internet. An
important feature of primary data is that they have not been
interpreted by others. This does not mean that primary data are
objective. Surveys and interview data can be coloured by the
researchers who formulated the questions and collected the data.
The authors who produce the first-hand accounts interpret
situations, problems, actions and objects, and their interpretations
are also coloured by their contexts. In contrast, secondary data
interpret and analyse primary sources, which means that they are
somewhat removed from the event itself. Secondary data consist of
critique, commentaries, analyses and informed views, often found
in books, newspapers and other forms of publications.
 Another important distinction is that between data and
evidence (Barnes, 2005: 160–161). Primary and secondary data are
not in themselves evidence used to support arguments. A student
who uses primary or secondary data (e.g. survey data or
government documents) will not argue that the data in and of
themselves are the evidence, but rather that the evidence can be
found in these data. Data must be questioned and analysed before
they can be used as evidence. This is why data, such as interview
data, survey data, research literature or historic records, must be
evaluated and discussed rather than used without analysis or
criticism.
This brings us to different ways by which you can evaluate data.
Once you have identified possible data, you must make sure you
find the data you need. You must also consider how the data can be
collected, in sufficient quantity and of the necessary quality. Below,
we will outline some criteria commonly used to evaluate data.

Sample
All research uses some form of procedure to select the data that are
going to be included in the study. Not all research requires,
however, the careful sampling needed when the population is too
large for all units to be studied, for example in statistical surveys.
The size of the sample is dependent upon the type of research you
are going to do. As a master’s student, it is important to carefully
consider the size of the sample with your limited time and money
in mind.
Considering sample size is relevant for all students who are
writing a master’s thesis. If you are going to analyse texts, you will
have to make a selection of sources. The available literature is
extensive within most fields and it is not likely that you will be able
to include everything. What are the most important contributions?
What is considered to be a ‘must’? Which criteria should you use to
select what to include and what to leave out? Discuss these issues
with your advisor.
A sample in empirical studies refers to both units of analysis and
variables selected for the study. The size of the sample differs
drastically in quantitative and qualitative studies. In quantitative
studies, there are minimum requirements for the size of the sample
in order to make the study reliable. If you are planning to conduct
a quantitative study, use one of the numerous excellent textbooks
on statistics that are available. If you are planning to conduct a
qualitative study, check with your advisor about the size of the
sample. Master theses based on qualitative studies vary in this area.
To illustrate, a thesis in sociology can be based on nine interviews
(Susaas, 2010) or 34 interviews (Gustavsen, 2011). In addition,
discuss with your advisor the number of variables that should be
included.
It is not necessary to include all the relevant information
regarding the research questions, as long as you explain to the
reader what you exclude and why. Common explanations are that
you did not have time to collect all the available data and that it
would cost too much to do so. The amount of data can quickly
become unmanageable. If you collect too much data, you will find
that the sheer amount becomes difficult to handle and you end up
wasting time on reducing it to a workable size. So plan data
collection carefully.

Availability
Before data collection begins, check to see if the data will be
available. Is the literature available at the library or online? If you
want to conduct an empirical study, will you be able to access the
data you need? Do the data already exist or do you have to collect
them? If you want to interview individuals, what is the likelihood
that they will want to cooperate with you? Will you be able to
access the group you want to study? These questions need be
answered as quickly as possible. There are examples of students
who planned a study carefully, only to find that they were unable to
access the informants. It takes a lot to recover from such a setback
and get started with a new study.

Reliability
Another issue that must be considered is the quality of data. The
word ‘reliability’ is often associated with measurements in
quantitative studies, but reliability also has to do with the
thoroughness with which data has been collected. Reliable data are
data that can be trusted. In some instances, reliability is connected
to the trustworthiness of primary and secondary sources, such as
books, documents and research reports. In other instances, the
reliability of data is found by repeating the observations, tests or
questions to see if independent measurements of one and the same
phenomenon produce consistent results. Reliability is not
something that can be calculated precisely when it comes to
qualitative data. However, the basic principles of reliability
constitute part of all research. If data are unreliable, they will not
be useful in answering your research questions. The aim is,
therefore, that the data are as trustworthy as possible.

Validity
Data’s validity is related to the selection and collection of data.
When you are going to collect data, the questions you must ask are:
‘Are the data relevant to answer the research questions?’ Or have
you been so selective that you ignored other data which might be of
importance? For example, it is possible to make reliable
measurements of the number of trips abroad the American
president makes every year, but difficult to claim that this is a valid
measure of the role that foreign policy issues play in American
elections. It is also possible to measure the size of a person’s head,
but hardly possible to claim that this is a valid measurement of
intelligence. Validity in research is especially important because it
is difficult to know if research delivers what it promises. You
cannot simply assume that the data collected in a study are valid.
The scientist may have been so selective that important data are
overlooked. If the scientist is working from a particular paradigm,
relevant data that do not fit the paradigm may have been excluded.
Or the evidence might not be relevant to the main argument and
the conclusions. The aim is to collect relevant data to answer the
research questions and to include all the data that are of
importance.

Ethical considerations
All research conducted with human beings has ethical implications
(see section 1.3). Universities and colleges have ethical standards
for conducting this type of research. Many have institutionalized
procedures to guarantee that informed consent is obtained by the
participants in the study and that no harm will emerge as a result
of their participation. It is your responsibility to know these
standards and follow the university guidelines. In some instances,
students must submit an application to a university committee and
have their authorization before data collection can begin. This is a
process that takes time. Become knowledgeable about the
university standards and requirements as quickly as possible and
before data collection begins.
The two main ethical issues that are related to using subjects in
research are that the participants must give their fully informed
consent and that they are not harmed as a result of their
participation (Hart, 2008a: 277–311; Rudestam and Newton, 2007:
275–292). Informed consent is a key issue in ethical research
conducted with human beings. In most cases, informed consent is
required, unless you do archival or document research, secondary
analyses of data, or observe people in public (e.g. on the London
underground, in a busy shopping centre, at a music festival).
There are several elements in obtaining informed consent. First,
provide honest information about the purpose of the study.
Explain the study in a language the participants understand. They
need to know what type of participation is expected of them and
how long this will take. Give information about the funding of the
study and the publication plans of the results. If you cannot share
the purpose of the study fully because it would compromise the
research, consider this issue carefully. It is your responsibility to
make sure that the study does not cause problems or harm for the
participants later. If the study includes children or adolescents,
they require special protection. Perhaps you can share more about
the purpose of the study after the questionnaire is filled out or the
interview is finished. This is the time to offer to answer more
questions about the study.
Second, let the participant know that participation is voluntary.
In some settings, people feel pressurized to participate in order to
maintain their social standing in a group or they fear that declining
to participate will have negative effects on their friendships, family,
studies, job situation and so on. They need to know explicitly that
they are not required to participate, and that they have the right to
withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. In situations
where persons may experience negative effects from either
participating or not participating in the study, it is important that
the decision to participate, to decline to participate, and to
withdraw from the study is confidential.
Third, provide information about anonymity. Anonymity means
that the identity of the participant will be preserved by the
researcher. For example, in a qualitative interview study,
identifying information about the participant must be removed, so
that neither too much information nor too little information is
provided that will identify the participant. In some studies, it is not
possible to provide anonymity, for example in a study of political
party leaders. In this case, the participants must explicitly be
informed that they will not remain anonymous in the study, and
they must give their fully informed consent to the fact that
identifying information about them will appear in the publications.
Finally, give information about how you plan to store the data
during the study. Where and how will the data be stored? Will they
be stored electronically or on paper? Who will access the data (e.g.
other researchers)? What will happen to the data after the study is
finished? Will they be stored or destroyed? This information is
necessary for participants to make fully informed decisions to
participate or not participate in your study.

Discuss with your advisor

All data have strengths and weaknesses. It is important that you
understand these aspects of the data you will be collecting.
Excellent books on methods will give you a lot of information on
various sources of data. In addition, discuss these issues with your
advisor. Is your approach the best way to find useful data? Are
there other sources of data that you have not considered? What are
the strengths of the data you will be collecting? What are their
weaknesses? What kind of conclusions can you draw on the basis
of these data? Can the findings be generalized? Your advisor will
help you to understand the quality and the limitations of your data,
and how to use them in the analysis.

8.4 Writing the methods chapter

Information on methods in a master’s thesis gives information
about what you will do to answer your research questions.
Therefore, this information logically follows the presentation of the
research questions. Some disciplines require that this information
is written in a separate methods chapter, whereas other disciplines
prefer that you incorporate this information as a section in another
chapter. Find out the preferred approach within you discipline.
The aim of the methods chapter is to describe the exact steps
you will take to answer the research questions. These steps must be
specified in sufficient detail to allow another scientist to replicate
your study. This approach is based on the ideal of the verifiability
of science, meaning that scientists should be able to see if the study
is conducted according to accepted methods within that particular
discipline. By describing each step in detail, you will also
demonstrate that you have the required methodological skills to
conduct scientific research.
This does not mean, however, that the methods chapter should
be written as a ‘mini textbook’ on methods. Some students include
long sections on the differences between quantitative and
qualitative research designs, which usually are quite boring. The
description of the research methods must be related to the actual
study that is being conducted. The idea is to describe the
methodological choices you have made and the rationale for your
procedures.
It is not necessarily a good idea to write this chapter before you
have collected the data and completed the analysis. The reason is
that you will develop methodological reflections as you go along.
We recommend that you make extensive notes as you collect data
and analyse them. These notes should discuss the sample, the
data’s reliability and validity, ethical concerns, analytical methods,
assumptions on which your research rests, and the rationale of
your procedures. Once you have completed the analysis, it will be
relatively easy to go back to your notes and write the methods
chapter. Make sure you write whole sentences and paragraphs
when you take notes and not just key words. If you only use key
words, it will be difficult to remember what you had in mind when
you wrote them.

The structure of the methods chapter

Here we will give a brief overview of the structure of the methods
chapter or methods section and mention some issues that should
be addressed.
Step 1: The design of the study
A reasonable way to begin is to describe the design of the study. By
‘design’ we do not mean an extensive explanation of different
research designs, but a short sentence or two that informs the
reader of the general type of design that is used. Examples are:
‘This study utilizes a representative survey design to assess the
impact of integration issues in the last parliamentary election’ or
‘This study of unemployment is based on 25 interviews with
unemployed women and men between the ages of 18 and 25 in
Birmingham’. A short outline of the research design gives the
reader an idea of what to expect. One example is taken from a
thesis in sociology:

This dissertation is concerned with the ways in which Muslims and

Islam were conveyed in speeches by British Cabinet Ministers of the
Labour Government ... For the analysis, I collected 111 speeches that
were delivered by 16 different prominent Labour Ministers of the
Tony Blair Cabinet between 12th September 2001 (the day after 9/11)
and 27th June 2007 (the day Tony Blair resigned). (Moosavi, 2007: 6,
25)

Another example is taken from a thesis in human geography which

analyses the changes in the clothing industry in Durban, South
Africa. The student does not mention the data she is going to
collect, but she still gives the reader an idea of what she is going to
do:

The research object of this study is the clothing industry in Durban,

in the context of global competition ... The Durban area is an exciting
point of departure as it is concentrated on mass-production and thus
in direct competition with other low-cost areas . By exploring the
reasons behind the deteriorating competitiveness of companies and
the local response, Durban might shed light to whether there are any
conflicts in the relation between trade liberalisation and labour
regulations in a labour-intensive industry. (Wethal, 2011: 39)

A brief description of the thesis gives the reader an understanding

of what is coming.
Step 2: Discussion of challenges
The next step is to discuss the challenges you faced when
attempting to answer the research questions and conduct the study.
A good idea is to reiterate the research questions and then discuss
the practical problems that must be resolved in order to answer
them. Which research design is suitable in order to answer these
questions? How do the limitations of time and money affect my
choices? From where or from whom should the data be collected?
What type of data should be collected? How should the data be
collected? These issues might overlap with the third step below. To
illustrate, we will continue to take a look at the thesis on the
clothing industry in Durban. The student addresses some of the
issues mentioned here:

The chosen research method should reflect the research questions of

a given project. As I wanted to get my informants’ perspectives on
changes and dynamics within the industry, as well as the strategies
they used to confront the challenge of change, the qualitative
interview was the most viable way to get the detailed information I
was searching for. Through the qualitative interview, one can see the
world from the informants’ point of view, bring forth their experience,
and reveal their perceptions. ...
I stayed in Durban from the beginning of May to mid-July 2010 ...
I performed 15 in-depth interviews: one with a trading house, one
with a representative from the union SACTWU, one with a
representative from the employer organisation NCMA, one with two
representatives from the Bargaining Council, one with a consultant of
textile and clothing companies, one with a manufacturer of
interlining for the clothing industry, one with an official from the
EThekwini municipality, five with CMT manufacturers, three with
large manufacturers, as well as two conversations with my contact in
the Chamber of Commerce in Durban. As shown, my informants are
mostly manufacturers, but representatives from important
institutions connected to the industry are also included. This gave me
the opportunity to get differing and conflicting views on the status of
the industry. (Wethal, 2011: 38–40)

Step 3: Procedure description

The third step is to describe the procedures. This section provides a
detailed description of the exact steps you took to contact the
participants in the study, obtain their consent and cooperation,
and the different steps in data collection. This section will let the
reader know exactly when, where and how the data were collected.
If you already have provided this information in the section above,
there is no need to repeat this information again. The student
above said:

I ... managed to establish a contact with the Durban Chamber of

Commerce. He introduced me, by email, to a consultant for the
textile and clothing companies with more than 30 years of experience
from the clothing industry. These were the only two contacts I had
when leaving ... for Durban. The consultant had established an
 interview for me the day after our arrival in Durban and also gave me
a great overall introduction to the local industry by email. The
contact at the Chamber of Commerce also gave me several important
contacts in the industry. These contacts assisted me with new
informants. .
The informant from the Chamber of Commerce could be seen as a
combination of a key informant and a gatekeeper ... I would not say
that the informant from the Chamber of Commerce could have
blocked access into the industry, but he made the entrance a lot
easier, especially with the Bargaining Council, and it would have
taken time to find the other informants on my own. ...
I also found it very useful to have a name reference when
contacting a new informant.
From the initial suggestions given by the contact in the Chamber
of Commerce, I got new suggestions for informants. Most of my
informants were obtained using this method, but I also contacted
individual companies by email and phone, after a web-based search
or by getting to know the company name in an earlier interview. I
found this to be more challenging, as I lacked a name reference, but it
still got me a few additional interviews.
My field partner ... assisted me in landing an interview with the
trade union, and hence functioned as a gatekeeper. She had worked
closely with the union for several weeks while I was focusing on
manufacturers. I did not want to be related to the union before my
interviews with the manufacturers were done. It turned out to be
more difficult than expected to get entrance in the union. After
several phone calls and visits without luck, . helped me setting up an
appointment for the interview. (Wethal, 2011: 41–42)

Here, the student describes who she contacted and how easy or
difficult it was to get access to informants. She also included
reflections on how her informants functioned, if they were key
informants or gatekeepers who opened or closed doors.
Another issue that should be discussed here is what the ethical
concerns are in this study. The student above discusses in detail
the issues of informed consent, confidentiality, consequences of
research, and her own role as a researcher:

I contacted my informants on the phone beforehand to inform them

about the project, who I was, and what kind of information they
could assist me with. At the actual interview I would emphasize that
participation was voluntary. Fortunately, the informants were helpful
and appeared to view the interview as a positive experience. As the
interviews did not ask for any personal information, but had a theme
related approach, none of the informants felt that the interview
situation was intimidating or very challenging. .
In the project, it was never problematic to keep my informants
anonymous. Again this relates to the aim of the research – to
understand the dynamics of the industry. In presenting the views of
the industry, I refer to my informants according to what kind of
manufacturer they are or what kind of institution they represent. The
informants were not informed about whom else I was interviewing,
but most of the time they knew about some of the others because of
the snowball method applied . The struggles of the industry and the
challenges they are experiencing are mostly out in the open, so that
knowing of other informants would not lead to any disadvantages. .
The informants did not see any negative consequences of being
involved in the project, and they were all extremely helpful both in
providing information and by assisting me in contacting other
relevant informants ... One could also say that some of the
informants found it relieving to talk freely about the difficulties they
felt in the industry, and use their own experiences to illustrate the
situation. One potential informant refused to do the interview
because he was on the verge of being shut down by the Bargaining
Council. Therefore, he did not want to attract negative attention to
the factory or talk to anybody about his situation. In these situations
it could be tempting to persuade an informant to do the interview
regardless of his concerns, because it could reveal interesting
information about why the company is being forced to shut down.
But as it is the researcher’s responsibility to protect the informants, it
would not have been an option to ask him to do the interview without
knowing what consequences this could have for his business. The
informant was still very helpful and gave me the phone number of
another informant in the same type of company. ...
It was important for me to be clear about who I was and what my
project was about; a student writing a master thesis, and not
somebody who could change their world. Some asked if I was a
journalist, and others thought I wanted to work in the clothing
industry after finalising the project. To avoid such
misunderstandings I always started the interview by explaining my
project, what university I came from and the field of human
geography. My last question in the interview would also be if they
 wanted to ask me something, so that if there still were some
ambiguity about the project or my status, we would clear that off
before finishing ... One can never be completely sure that the
informants have understood where you as a researcher are coming
from, but it is important to make this information as clear as possible
and an integrated part of the interview. If not, you might end up
disappointing your informants at a later stage. (Wethal, 2011: 46–48)

In this description of ethical concerns, the student includes

information on different ethical dilemmas she encountered during
her fieldwork and how she tried to resolve them.
Step 4: Data reliability and validity
The next step is to discuss data’s reliability and validity. What are
the strengths and weaknesses of the data? What implications do
these issues have for the analysis? What implications do they have
for the conclusions? Let us return to the student above, who
reflects on some of these issues:

This method of attaining informants can be explained as the snowball

method . A challenge with this method is that the selection of
informants might come from the same network or group (Thagaard
2009). In my case, the contact from the Chamber of Commerce was
particularly aware of this and gave me four contacts from distinct
parts of the industry, pointing out how these four would give me
different perspectives on the restructuring. You can never get
completely away from possible bias with this method, as one could
always question if the snowball method has excluded important
informants .
As the method of qualitative research interviews is based on the
premise that the data is a result of an interaction between the
researcher and the informant in the interview situation, the question
of replicating a project is irrelevant. Hence, the question of reliability
in qualitative studies is better connected with whether or not the
researcher is clear and thorough in his/her explanations about the
methodological choices (Thagaard 2009). Throughout the process I
have been conscious about the context in which my data has been
collected, as well as having different types of informants to support or
reject information from others .
Validity is linked to interpretation of the data material, and
whether or not the researcher’s interpretations are representative for
 the studied reality ... The internal validity refers to how causal
relations are supported within the study. The aim of the thesis is to
understand how changes in global production systems are affecting
the clothing industry in Durban. By presenting a broad theoretical
approach and connecting these theories with information from my
informants in the analysis, I believe that I have made the causal
relations within the study clear and comprehensible for the reader .
External validity is connected to transferability, meaning if and
how the understanding developed in a study can have relevance for
similar studies in other contexts (Thagaard 2009). One could argue
that the understandings from this thesis might be transferable to
other studies, as it comprises an interpretation of competitiveness
and local responses in labour-intensive production. The challenges in
competitiveness are likely to be present in other geographical
contexts as well as other labour-intensive industries, but the response
from manufacturers might differ as the possibilities for restructuring
are more contextually defined. (Wethal, 2011: 42, 45–46)

Note how the student reflects on the snowball sampling she used
and how she attempts to resolve the weaknesses connected to this
particular data collection method. She also discusses reliability and
validity.
Step 5: The analytical approach
Finally, give an outline of the analytical approach. Quantitative
studies tend to include an extensive section that discusses
analytical tools and strategies. This is evident in a thesis in political
science on the role that foreign policy plays in American
presidential elections, where the student uses more than ten pages
to describe the statistical analyses he is about to conduct (Lian,
2010: 34–46). Even if a student conducting a qualitative study may
not be able to refer to specific quantitative procedures, the general
framework of a qualitative analysis should be specified in the
methods chapter, as both qualitative and quantitative studies
involve several phases of data analysis. One example is the above-
mentioned thesis in sociology which analyses the representation of
Muslims and Islam in speeches by the British government:

After acquiring the speeches, I analysed them using a discourse

analysis approach, by paying close attention to the language that was
deployed to construct specific meanings and then coding the most
 frequently-appearing aspects of the discourse into categories as
necessary, to be evaluated later. Discourse analysis is based upon
much of the theory developed by the philosopher Michel Foucault,
most especially his development of the concept discourse. (Moosavi
2007: 25)

He continues by giving an outline of what discourse analysis is,

why and how he is going to use it, and its benefits and limitations
(ibid.: 25–28).
Depending upon what type of thesis you are writing, the
emphasis on each of the issues discussed here will vary.
Nevertheless, all of these issues are important in all science. Talk
with your advisor about how much space you should use to discuss
each of them.
A reminder: a common weakness in many masters theses is that
students tend to write too much on how they collected the data in
the methods chapter, but they include few reflections on methods
in the analysis. It is important that the discussions in the methods
chapter are continued in the analysis. For example, if the data have
specific strengths or weaknesses, which they usually have,
reflections on these aspects of the data should be included in the
analysis.

8.5 Summary
1 Useful strategies to design a master’s thesis:

ºfill gaps in previous research

ºreappraise previous research
ºrepeat previous research
ºcase studies
ºwrite a thesis within the frames of a research programme.

2 Practical considerations in data collection:

ºconsidering sample size with your limited time and money in mind
ºchecking to see if the data will be available
ºcollecting as reliable and relevant data as possible.

3 Ethical principles in data collection:

ºthe participants must give their fully informed consent
ºthey must not be harmed as a result of their participation
ºremember that many universities and colleges have ethical standards
 for research, and it is your responsibility to know these standards and
follow them.

4 The structure of the methods chapter:

ºa description of the design of the study

a discussion of the challenges you face when you are going to answer
º
the research questions and conduct the study, including ethical issues
ºa description of the procedures
ºa discussion of the data’s reliability and validity
ºan outline of the analytical approach.

8.6 Action plan

You have several options when you are writing a master’s thesis.
Questions which you might ask are:
1 Research design:

Based on my research questions, what type of research design should

I use? For example, I might have an interest in the changing global
media industry. Looking at the research literature, what is the best
º
approach for my study? Should I fill gaps, reappraise or repeat
previous work, or conduct a case study? Or use a combination? Is
there an ongoing research programme that could be relevant?
ºWhat are my limitations when it comes to time and money?

2 Practical and ethical considerations in data collection:

ºWhat is the quality of the data I am considering?

ºHave I ignored other data which might be of importance?
ºAre the data I need available?
ºHow will I collect them?
ºWhich ethical implications will my study have?
Do I need to apply for an authorization before data collection can
º
begin?
ºHow will I store the data during the data analysis?
ºWhat will I do with the data after my thesis is completed?

3 The methods chapter:

Study the methods chapter or section in a master’s thesis within your

ºdiscipline or go online and take a look at the master’s theses that are
mentioned in this chapter.
ºSee how their discussions are structured.
 Did they include all the parts mentioned in this chapter or are some
º
missing? Learn from their strengths and mistakes.
9
The art of keeping a steady
course – structuring the
analysis

Analysing the data is demanding and fun at the same time. Many
students feel overwhelmed when they take a look at the large
amount of data they have collected and try to figure out where to
start. Once they begin to write, they also discover that writing the
analysis is a more lonely activity than collecting the data. The
feeling of isolation can be challenging and it is important to have
disciplined work habits (see section 2.4), perhaps share some of
your findings on social media (section 4.1), and use the different
tricks to continue writing that you know work for you (see section
3.4). At the same time, analysing data is fun because you discover
new and sometimes unexpected findings and anticipate possible
conclusions. During this phase, divide the tasks into manageable
pieces, and take one step at a time. For example, begin by
organizing the data material before you interpret and analyse them.
Now is the time you will reap the benefits of working so hard to
formulate specified research questions. You will discover that you
can use them to create a structure for the analysis.
In this chapter, we will not discuss different analytical strategies.
This information can be found in the many excellent books and
other sources dedicated to quantitative and qualitative data
analysis in the social sciences. Ask your teacher or advisor to help
you. Our aim is to discuss various problems that most students
face during this phase of the thesis. We will point out some issues
we think you should be aware of to improve the analysis. However,
it is important that you study relevant research literature that
might be helpful when analysing your data. One idea is to take a
look at the work of other scholars who use a similar analytical
approach to the one you think you will use (if you have been lucky
enough to have found some). Study their books or articles carefully
to see how they have conducted the analysis. There is much to
learn by this approach. By studying the work of acknowledged
scholars, you will get ideas about how to analyse your own data.

9.1 Organizing and preparing the data for

analysis
After data collection is finished, many students will have a large
amount of data that seem difficult to handle. The first step is to
organize and systematize the data. There are at least two reasons
why you should do this before you begin the analysis. First,
organizing the data will give you an overview, which will help you
to see if you have the necessary data to answer your research
questions. If you have collected a large amount of qualitative data,
it might be difficult to get a complete overview. In some instances
you will find data to questions you have not posed yet, and in other
instances you discover that some data are too weak to be used.
However, organizing the data will help you to see what type of
information you do have. Second, getting an overview will help you
to evaluate data reliability and validity. Assessing the quality of the
data is important for deciding the kind of conclusions you will be
able to draw (see sections 8.3 and 8.4).
There are several strategies students use to organize and
systematize data, depending on the type of thesis they are doing. In
many cases, to systematize data simply means to compress them.
For example, if you have collected quantitative data, you will
compress them by conducting a statistical analysis. When data are
compressed, some details will disappear. This is necessary to get an
overview. However, it is essential to keep enough information to
answer the research questions.
When organizing and preparing qualitative data for analysis, use
a system that works for you. If your data consist of text, for
example transcripts from interviews, it is a good idea to classify
them by using concepts and categories. This is something you can
do while you are transcribing the interviews, which is usually
rather boring. Make a spreadsheet on your computer and fill the
top row with background variables, such as gender, age, marital
status, education and profession. Continue by filling in key
concepts and categories, for example views on a particular issue or
development, specific practices and so on. Leave room at the end
to fill in more categories and key concepts you will think of as you
go along. Fill in the first column on the left with the informants’
numbers or fictional names. As you transcribe the interviews, use
key words to fill in information from interviews in the spreadsheet,
for example that the informant is for or against a particular issue.
By doing this, you are transcribing and organizing the interview
data simultaneously. This will make the transcription process more
interesting, and when you have transcribed all the interviews, you
have a spread sheet that gives you an overview of the data. This
method is useful for systematizing different types of qualitative
data, such as newspaper articles, speeches, films and so on. In
quantitative studies you basically use the same method by giving
numerical descriptions when you code the data.
Make sure you make a different file and write down all the ideas
you get for the analysis as you are organizing the data and filling in
the spreadsheet. Once again, write full sentences and not just key
words, so that you will be able to recapture what you had in mind
when you wrote them.
Another idea for systematizing the data is to use the research
questions as a frame. Let us illustrate by taking a look at a thesis
we have mentioned before, namely a qualitative study of the
clothing industry in Durban, South Africa (Wethal, 2011). The
student posed three overall research questions in her thesis:

What are the factors that deteriorate the competitiveness of the

manufacturers in the industry and how do these affect their position
in the value chain?
What strategies are manufacturers in Durban using to stay
competitive?
How do these strategies affect employment opportunities in the
Durban labour market? (ibid.: 2–4, 49, 73, 87).

The data consisted of interviews with manufacturers and

representatives from important institutions connected to the
industry, such as members of different governmental bodies as
well as labour union and employer union representatives (ibid.:
40).
The student used the three overall research questions to
systematize the data. She began by collecting the part of the
material that dealt with the first research question, constraints to
competitiveness. Here, she divided the data into two categories,
external and internal factors that could explain the declining
competitiveness. Then she used the second research question,
which asked about the response of the Durban manufacturers to
the new situation, to organize the material further. Once again, she
divided the data by suggesting two new categories, response at the
industry level and response at the company level. The data was
systematized according to each of these two categories. Finally, she
organized the material according to the third research question,
which analysed the effects of the manufacturers’ strategies on
employment opportunities in Durban. Again, she used two
categories to systematize the data, according to changes in the
labour market and job security for unskilled workers. As
demonstrated in this thesis, data are often organized and
systematized several times.
When you systematize the data, remember to separate the
information that appears here from your own interpretations and
views. Your interpretations have a place in the analysis and the
discussion later, but not during the process of organizing and
preparing the data. As mentioned above, the process of
systematizing data will give you ideas for analysis. Write them
down for later use.
Basically, the same principle is used when systematizing
quantitative data. In quantitative studies, it is important to keep
methods for data analyses in mind when collecting the data, as
these two processes are related. You want to make sure that the
data you collect can be analysed by the statistical methods you plan
to use.

9.2 Describing and interpreting the data

Of all sections, the chapters which describe, interpret and critically
discuss results are the most important to write well. The committee
will study them carefully because these chapters will signal your
ability to make sense of data. They also reveal your ability to create
consistency between theoretical discussions, research questions,
methods and conclusions.
In the analysis, your job is to answer the research questions. It is
a good idea to use the research questions as a frame for the
analysis. We saw above how the student used the research
questions to systematize the data. When she was going to write the
analysis, she continued to use the research questions as a
structuring frame. In the presentation, she used them as headings
and under each heading she made sure she answered the questions
she had posed. As an introduction to every chapter, she reiterated
the research questions she was going to answer in this particular
chapter (Wethal, 2011: 49, 73, 87). This helped to remind the
reader of the aim of every chapter. If she had initially posed
questions she was unable to find answers to in the data material,
she took them out. And whenever she found interesting findings in
the data on relevant questions she had not initially posed, she
formulated and included them. In this way, she created coherence
between the research questions and the findings she presented and
discussed in this analysis.
When you describe the data and your findings, it is important
that you let the data demonstrate that something is the way you
claim it is. Many students present a claim before they have shown
data which document that this is the case. It is the data, whether
they consist of text, pictures, quotes from interviews, field notes or
statistical data, that are your documentation. In case studies based
on transcribed interview data, the convention is to quote sections
of the interview verbatim. If you only narrate the evidence, by
stating that ‘One of the manufacturers felt that the competition was
destroying his business’ instead of quoting directly from the
relevant transcript, you could be accused of making it up. The
above narrated evidence is only a claim which needs to be
supported by quoted evidence. Let us illustrate by returning to the
thesis above on the clothing industry in Durban. In the analysis,
this student presents several quotations from the Durban
manufacturers she interviews. Below, she quotes one manufacturer
who complains about the competition from China, an issue several
manufacturers mention. First, she describes the context within
which the manufacturers operate by referencing previous research.
Then she quotes verbatim sections from the interview with one of
them, before she comments at the end:
 China has both lower wages and higher productivity (Jauch & Traub-
Merz 2006). While competition has heightened in lower income
segments globally, imports in these segments have increased in South
Africa (Velia et al. 2006). This has intensified competition for orders
on the Durban market:
I think it is totally unfair for local manufacturers that we’re now
forced to compete with the Far East and the world ... China is paying
less than a third of what we’re paying. (CMT manufacturer 20.05.10)
The CMT manufacturer above describes a frustration among many of
the producing companies in Durban. They are well aware of what is
available in other countries, and see their own high input-costs as
hampering competitiveness. (Wethal, 2011: 59–60)

In her comments after the quote, the student varies the description
of data by paraphrasing, saying that this manufacturer ‘describes a
frustration among many of the producing companies in Durban’
(ibid.: 60). She can do so because she has already quoted several
examples from the evidence directly and shown the reader that this
is a plausible narrative of the evidence. She also abbreviates the
presentation by using this informant as an illustration of the views
expressed by many other informants. In some cases, you might
refer to data that are included in the appendices. The important
issue is always that the evidence for your statements must be found
in the data, and you have to demonstrate to the reader that the
data support your claims.
The data will not speak for themselves, but they need to be
interpreted. You have to make sense of the data by making them
meaningful to the reader. This part of the thesis should therefore
include both descriptions and interpretations of the data. If you
conduct a quantitative study, the analysis is relatively
straightforward because statistical analyses are done according to
specific rules. In this type of study, it is usually a challenge to
communicate clearly to the reader what the results mean and the
implications they have for the study. Interpretations are therefore
clearly present in quantitative studies as well.
If you conduct a qualitative study, even more space should be set
aside for interpretation. In this type of study, there should be a rich
description of each case. The reason is that this creates dynamic in
the narrative. It is not enough, however, to just repeat events and
statements, but the descriptions should be followed by
interpretations, unless the description in itself is the interpretation.
The more you describe, the more interpretation and analysis
should follow.
When you interpret data, you use a perspective or frame of
reference from which you make sense of the data. The perspective
is found in the critical analysis of the research literature you have
conducted (see Chapter 6) and drawn upon when you formulated
the research questions (see Chapter 7). By now, you have discussed
the literature and presented your research questions for the
readers, which means that this perspective is known to them.
Interpretations consist of comparisons of similarities and
differences and critique and discussion of various topics.
Comparing similarities and differences helps to sharpen your mind.
Not all comparisons are obvious. Most of them must be discovered
and developed if they are going to bring new information. It is
important to ask yourself what can be useful for a comparison.
Show originality by presenting new interpretations based on your
understanding of the data. Critical thinking often results in new
ideas. Use your own intuition and understanding of the material,
which you follow up by reading.
A convention in most studies is to include a section which
explains why you choose to interpret data they way you do. It is not
self-evident why data should be interpreted in a particular way.
You need to justify your interpretations by making a case for them.
Specify areas that are difficult to interpret, areas of uncertainty and
points of tension. For example, is more than one interpretation
possible? Present the different options and provide the reasons as
to why you choose the interpretations you do.
As you analyse the data, you need to include methodological
reflections and modifications. In quantitative studies, the findings
are modified based on the sample, response rate, statistical
methods of analysis and so forth. In qualitative studies, you need
to remind the readers and yourself that the findings only apply to
the participants in the study and cannot be generalized to a larger
population. A convention is also to frequently include reflections
on your role and how the subjects’ perceptions of you might have
affected their answers.
In the discussion of findings, there should be references back to
the theoretical discussions in the thesis, which is done by
comparing your results with the results found in other studies. This
will show your ability to create a direct link between theory and
empirical findings, between previous research and your own work.
One example which illustrates this issue is taken from the above-
mentioned thesis on American presidential elections:

The first research question raised in the introduction focused on how

important foreign policy was for the vote choice of American voters.
Aldrich, Sullivan and Borgida (1989) coined the phrase ‘waltzing
before a blind audience’ to describe the previously prevailing view of
the mismatch between the amount of time and energy presidential
candidates used on foreign policy in the campaign, and the public’s
inability and unwillingness to care about such distant matters. This
study has shown that voters certainly are not blind to the candidates’
waltzing ...
Although this analysis has not covered the topic of voters’ level of
information, it seems clear that it has further weakened the notion
proposed by Almond (1960) that American voters find foreign policy
questions too remote and complex to decide their vote choice.
American voters have opinions on foreign policy and will use them to
choose who to vote for if they find them important enough. (Lian
2010: 66)

Note how the student reiterates his first research question before
he outlines the views he found in previous research, namely that
voters do not care about such issues when they vote in presidential
elections. He continues by concluding that his study does not
support previous research but shows that voters do care about
foreign policy issues.
The student above emphasizes the differences and contrasts
between previous research and his own work. He could also have
pointed out consistency and similarities to previous research.
Usually, a study will be consistent with other research in some
areas, and different from previous research in other areas. Use the
outcomes of your research to nuance and develop the works of
others. Does previous research suffer from errors or limitations?
Or are the findings contradictive because they are based on
different sources of data?
Finally, avoid taking the reader back and forth by using the same
data in more than one chapter, no matter what type of structure
you use in the following chapters in the analysis.
9.3 Critical analysis of the data –
developing the argument
After you have described and interpreted the data, the analysis
must be expanded by developing your own argument. A master’s
thesis usually has an overall argument which penetrates the thesis
from the beginning to the end. If the argument is not clearly
presented, the thesis will appear to be fragmented and
unsystematic. Within any overall argument, there are also shorter
and smaller attempts at stating arguments for specific issues.
Some students do not know how to develop an argument. You
do not argue a specific point by describing all the findings and
concluding: ‘Here are all the findings, and therefore, the following
must be true’ (Barnes, 2005: 149). If this is all you do, you are
being descriptive. However, it is you who must be critical and
develop your own argument with a structure and a sequence (see
section 6.4). When you are going to develop an argument, it is a
good idea to begin with a context which provides limitations to the
argument. From there, you present one or more propositions (see
the example below). You seek to support or weaken the proposition
by using the empirical findings of your study and pro-arguments,
and by critically discussing relevant counter-arguments. This
argumentation may lead to new propositions, which you attempt to
further support or weaken. To develop an argument means to
develop the logical sequence of issues that eventually leads to one
or more conclusions.
In order to develop the argument you may present two
propositions, where the purpose is to weaken one and support the
other. You do this by weakening relevant counter-arguments to the
proposition you want to support. However, an argument seldom
consists of a discussion of two propositions. Usually, there are a
number of propositions that could be relevant to include. To make
sure that your thesis has a logical structure, the discussion should
not take the reader in several different directions and end without
a conclusion. Even if there are several relevant propositions, select
the most important ones and argue in favour of some and against
the alternative and competing propositions. We will continue to
use the thesis on the clothing industry in Durban as an illustrative
example. As mentioned before, one research question concerns the
effects of the manufacturers’ strategies on employment
opportunities in Durban and the student looks at changes in the
labour market and job security for unskilled workers. Under the
heading ‘Labour and Security,’ she contextualizes the industry by
first describing the South African economy from a global
perspective:

At the global arena, South Africa, with the middle-income status,

finds itself competing with the highly productive developed countries
and low wage countries (Theron et al. 2007). (Wethal, 2011: 92)

In order to develop her argument, the student references her

critical analysis of theorists she presents earlier in her thesis. This
discussion is related to the understanding of how workers and jobs
are distributed unevenly in a universal market (ibid.: 20–21). Her
aim is to weaken certain aspects of a theory which distinguishes
between regulated and unregulated labour market segments. She
first presents a central claim in the theory, which she admits can be
used to describe the labour market in Durban:

Kingdon and Knight (2007) use the insider-outsider theory of labour

economists, where regulated workers can be regarded insiders, and
workers in the unregulated sector and the unemployed, as outsiders.
Being a highly simplistic conceptualisation of labour market
segments, it can still be used to sketch insecurity in the labour market
in Durban. Insiders, through Kingdon and Knight’s (2007:819)
conceptualisation; ‘fall within the scope of industrial relations
regulations, including recognition of trade unions and collective
bargaining, the right to strike, protection against dismissal, and
minimum standards concerning hours of normal and overtime work,
minimum wages, and minimum leave provisions’. Outsiders
naturally fall outside the formal labour regulations, and generally
receive much lower income (Kingdon & Knight 2007). (Wethal, 2011:
92)

She examines the distinction between insiders and outsiders in the

labour market and using it as a proposition she attempts to weaken
by presenting a counter-argument:

What this conceptualisation implies is that the insiders have secure

working conditions, but it can be argued that no job is currently safe
in the Durban industry. (Wethal, 2011: 92)
The student continues to support her counter-argument, namely
that no job is safe in Durban, by presenting an argument of a
higher order, or a pro-argument of the second order (see section
6.4):

Hence, even with an internal segmentation of the clothing industry

with regulated, semi-regulated and unregulated parts, one can argue
that the whole industry is being pushed towards the outsider category.
(Wethal, 2011: 92)

Her argument, that the whole industry is being pushed into the
outsider category, becomes a new proposition that she attempts to
support by using her own data. She quotes one of the
manufacturers she has interviewed, who says:

I don’t see a future, to be honest. They’ll always be there, but it’ll not
be in the formal sector that we are. You will see. Have you been to
any Chatsworth or Clearwood factories? It’ll be that sector that’ll
remain, but it’ll be unofficial, I don’t believe it’ll be a council to
control it, I believe they will manipulate the labour force, as far as
wages and that’s concerned. And it’ll be very underhanded business,
they’ll compete with China. That’s what I’m seeing...I don’t see a
formal sector producing, I see buying houses, I see marketing, but I
can’t see production (CMT manufacturer 02.06.10).
The CMT manufacturer above explains how he perceives the
future of the industry. He sees what is left of production is being
moved to the unregulated sector, with low wages and high levels of
insecurity for workers. (Wethal, 2011: 92–93)

Note how the student uses the quote from the manufacturer to
support her proposition. Further below, she continues to argue in
favour of her proposition and weaken alternative theory by
claiming that it is irrelevant:

Hence, it is impossible to place any of the segments of workers in

Durban in the insider category. Because of a lack of alternatives,
skills and career opportunities in the industry, workers in Durban’s
clothing industry have an insecure future. Carnoy’s (1980 in
Beerepoot 2010) differentiation between a high-education segment, a
unionized segment and a competitive segment seems irrelevant in the
Durban clothing industry. The whole workforce in Durban can be
 described through his concept of a competitive segment; a large and
poorly educated labour force competing for jobs with low and
unstable working conditions, even though a large part of the workers
in regulated business are unionized. (Wethal, 2011: 93)

Finally, she lets the discussion end in a conclusion by proposing an

alternative theory:

Here, Friedman (2006 in Beerepoot 2010) could be more useful, as

he includes a global aspect in the segmentation theory. Through his
hypothesis, the threats of globalisation are so severe that only a small
group of workers can secure long-term employment. (Wethal, 2011:
93)

Based on her critical analysis of theorists earlier in her thesis,

Wethal argues that theories on labour segmentation in
contemporary societies must include globalization as an important
variable (ibid.: 21). After she has analysed the data, she brings this
issue up again. In this way, she connects theory, research questions
and data analysis in an overall argument that functions as a red
thread in her thesis.
Another way to structure the argumentation in a thesis is to
examine several competing propositions and point out their
strengths or weaknesses by outlining the consequences of
supporting or rejecting each one. The main argument is that none
of the propositions are true, because these are the consequences.
This opens up the space to present an alternative proposition,
which is based on your findings (Barnes, 2005: 148).
Whichever way you structure the discussion, whether you use
those mentioned above or you construct your own, the major issue
is that you develop your conclusive argument by attempting to
defend a particular statement.

9.4 Structure
Many students wonder how they should structure the analysis. A
convention in theses based on quantitative data is to divide the
analysis into three parts. First, present a description of data and,
second, conduct the statistical analysis. The final part consists of
interpretations, where the findings are critically discussed in light
of the theories which are presented earlier in the thesis.
 A thesis based on qualitative data does not necessarily lend itself
to this structure as the three parts tend to overlap. Some advisors
prefer that you go directly to the interpretations and illustrate
them generously by using several quotes to illustrate. Others claim
that you should let the subjects speak on their own behalf before
you interpret their statements. The reasons are that this approach
shows respect for the informants and enables you to distinguish
between the data and your interpretations. The argument against
the latter position is that your interpretations are part of the
process of data selection and presentation. There is no perfect way
to structure the analysis. Whichever way you choose, you must
describe what you have done and why you choose to structure it
the way you do. Perhaps the readers will not agree with you, but
they will be satisfied if you make a good case.

9.5 Coherence
Consistency in the thesis is created by having each part stand in a
logical relationship to the other parts, so that together they create a
totality. Consistency is created within each chapter by including
introductions and summaries. In the beginning of a chapter, let the
reader know what is coming and how it is connected to the rest of
the thesis. At the end of the chapter, summarize briefly what you
have discussed. Cross-references in the text can also be used to
create coherence between the different parts. It is much better that
you reference back to something you wrote before than frequently
present promises of what is to come later.
Consistency is further created within each chapter by grouping
different ideas, comparisons and discussions. Nothing should
stand in isolation. Look at your text and ask ‘Where is the
connection with the rest?’. As you come to the end of the analysis,
it is extremely important to see how each part is consistent with
the central ideas. Make sure you have not moved so far from the
beginning that the early texts seem irrelevant. From the beginning
to the end, the thesis should be coherent to the degree that it
makes sense as a whole.

9.6 Inclusive and bias-free writing

We would like to end this chapter with some ethical considerations
in writing (see Rudestam and Newton, 2007: 282–292).
Throughout the entire thesis, it is important to avoid phrases and
words which discriminate or oppress different groups. Every
questionnaire, every interview guide and text should be examined
carefully to ensure that there are no direct or indirect references
which suggest that it is ‘normal’ or ‘correct’ to belong to a specific
ethnic group, gender, age, religion, or have specific sexual
preferences.
As an author, you have an obligation to keep up to date on how
different phrases and words might be perceived by various groups.
Changes are constantly made in this area, and what was acceptable
language yesterday might not be so today. We will mention a few
rules you can use to avoid writing in such a way that you condone
and reproduce prejudices:

 Use gender-neutral instead of gender-specific words. Avoid using

‘he’, instead write ‘she or he’. The text can become difficult and
awkward if you frequently use the latter, so it might be better to
change it to plural and say ‘they’. Another solution is to change to ‘one’
or ‘you’.
 Do not simply assume that one profession includes only one gender.
Examples would be to write ‘the researcher ... he’ or ‘the pre-school
teacher ... she’.
 Avoid gender stereotypes, for example ‘a good and beautiful female
student’ and ‘an intelligent and cool male professor’.
 Do not identify people according to ethnicity unless it is relevant. If
it is relevant, use the phrases and words which are accepted by the
groups you reference.
 Avoid language which degrades others or reinforces stereotypes. For
example, statements which refer to a group as ‘culturally deprived’ or
that someone has ‘a religion which is inconsistent with modern
society’ are degrading.
 Avoid hegemonic language. There are several words and phrases
which reflect a form of dominance. Words like ‘we’ and ‘the others’ in
descriptions of ethnic, religious or sexual groups have hegemonic
functions. Even in situations where words like ‘the others’ are used
ironically, they might reflect a form of dominance.
 Avoid paternalistic language. For example, the phrase ‘my
informants’ might suggest that you are somehow in a relationship of
ownership to the subjects in your study. Instead, use the phrase ‘the
informants in this study’, ‘the subjects in this study’ or ‘the
participants in my study.’
  Do not present undocumented assumptions about different age
groups, for example, ‘the elderly are surprisingly able to work longer
than they used to’.

9.7 Summary
The data must be organized and systemized several times before you
1
interpret them. Data can be systematized:

ºby being compressed

ºaccording to concepts and categories
ºby the research questions.

2 The research questions should be used to frame the analysis.

3 In the description and interpretation of data:

ºlet the data demonstrate that something is the way you claim it is
ºdevelop originality in the interpretations
ºinclude methodological reflections
ºinclude references to theory
emphasize differences and contrasts, as well as consistency and
º
similarities.

4 A critical discussion of the data should include:

ºa penetrating argument from beginning to end

a discussion of the most important propositions with pro- and
º
counter-arguments.

Use the following list to see if you have avoided common mistakes in
5 your argumentation. According to Barnes (2005: 150), a bad argument
may include statements which:

ºcontradict themselves
ºhave no relationship with previous statements
ºdo not have any logical sequence
ºare based on assumptions that were never questioned
appeal to authorities that are known to be limited or suspect
º(dictionaries, historical traditions long discredited, research now
challenged, famous people, writers of fiction)
ºpresent opinion as argument unsupported by evidence
ºcontain nothing that leads to a logical conclusion
ºtake no account of exceptions or counter-claims
ºtry to claim absolute instead of qualified truths.
 Consistency in a thesis should be created within each chapter and
6
between all the chapters.
7 The language should be inclusive and bias-free.

9.8 Action plan

Begin by writing one chapter of the analysis and work thoroughly with
1 this chapter. It is easier to write a text of 10–15 pages rather than 100
pages!
2 First, describe and interpret the data:

reiterate the research questions you are going to answer in this

º
chapter
º compare similarities, differences and contrasts
º develop new and original interpretations
º justify your interpretations
º place your findings in the context of your critical analysis of theory.

3 Critically analyse your data and develop an overall argumentation:

º select one or two important propositions

º argue in favour of some and against others
formulate conclusions that stand in a logical relationship to the
º
argumentation.

4 Check to see that there is consistency within this chapter.

5 Make sure you use bias-free language.
After you have written one chapter of analysis, confer with your
advisor. If necessary, revise and resubmit. Once this chapter has an
6
acceptable form, use it as a standard for the remaining chapters in the
analysis.
10
Beginning and end –
introduction and conclusion

The first and the last chapters of the thesis are important. The
introduction gives the reader a taste of what is to come. Here you
have a chance to spark interest and grab the attention of the reader.
You should give just the right amount of information to entice the
reader into your thoughts about the thesis topic. The conclusion is
your final chance to influence the reader in the direction you want.
These two parts of the thesis are connected. In the final chapter
you return to the questions you posed in the introduction and give
the ‘essence’ of the conclusions.

10.1 The introduction

Although the introduction is placed at the beginning of the thesis,
it is possible to write it later. Some suggest that you leave writing
the introduction until the end, and then write it simultaneously
with the summary and conclusions, because it is impossible to
write a final introduction chapter prior to completing the thesis.
Others think that writing a draft of your introduction and revising
it as you go along is a better idea, because this helps to organize
your thoughts. Whichever way you choose, you will most likely
rewrite and edit the introduction several times.
The introduction offers a broad context for your study. You tell
the reader exactly what you are going to write about. This is your
opportunity to set the intellectual level of your thesis. You do
yourself no favours by beginning in a way that creates a poor first
impression, so be prepared to put effort into writing a good
introduction. It should leave the reader in no doubt about the
purpose of your thesis and how it will unfold.
If you do not know how to structure the introduction, study
carefully one of the master’s theses which are referenced in this
book and available online. One example is a thesis in education
which studies pupil resistance to authority (Fortune, 2010). Here,
we will give a brief overview of the type of information commonly
found in introductions. First, present the topic of the thesis.
Readers get bored very quickly if you present long overviews of
theories or research traditions without letting them know the
purpose of this information. Create a context for the reader by
explaining what the thesis is about. Second, narrow the focus by
presenting the research questions. The wording of the research
questions should be sufficiently explicit to orient any reader. Make
sure you include the overall questions as well as the specified
questions. Third, give information about the purpose of the thesis.
You want to say something about why you are writing about this
topic. Explain the rationale or the justification for why these
questions deserve the attention of the reader.
The next step is to present the scientific and theoretical
approach. What do we already know about the topic? By
referencing established research, the reader is left with the
impression that you have taken notice and considered other
sources of authority from the beginning. An early sideways glance
at existing research shows evidence of wide reading and qualitative
work. Furthermore, give a brief presentation of the literature that
will be discussed, followed by an outline of the methods used in the
study or the procedures used to explore the research questions.
Describe briefly the study by providing information about data,
sample and data collection. Then, discuss the methods of analysis
that have been applied. Conclude the introduction by presenting a
reading map where you outline the structure of the thesis and the
content of the chapters that follow.

10.2 The conclusions chapter

The final chapter is the place you tell the reader what you have
achieved in your study. This chapter is based solely on the contents
of the previous chapters, so do not introduce anything new here.
The conclusions should follow logically from the previous analysis
and discussion and appear to be evident to the reader. Just as it
might be useful to see how other students have structured an
introduction, it may be helpful to study how they have written the
conclusions. Again, study some of the theses used as examples in
this book, or take a look at the thesis in education mentioned above,
which has a section at the end where many of the issues mentioned
here are included (Fortune, 2010: 338–348).
The conclusions chapter usually consists of several sections.
First, provide a summary. Reiterate the overall and the specified
research questions and the data you analysed to answer these
questions. What were the main findings? Give an outline of the
main results from your study. Emphasize the most important
issues and explain why this is important. Include statements that
evaluate if and how the research objectives have been fulfilled. If
changes were made to the original research design, explain why.
Often some results come as a surprise. If so, describe and discuss
the results you expected to find and the ones that were unexpected.
Further, present conclusions about your findings. The
conclusions will often be part of the summary. Answer the research
questions in a way that is sufficiently clear to inform any reader. If
the thesis is structured in a way that tests one or more alternative
hypotheses, evaluate the strengths of the hypotheses. State
explicitly if the hypotheses were weakened, strengthened or should
be modified. Finally, present the explanations of your conclusions
and discuss other possible explanations.
State the relationship of your study to the research literature.
Describe how the results contribute to understanding the
phenomenon and the implications of the findings for existing
research. This means that you may critique the interpretations,
assumptions or concepts used in previous research, and use your
study to develop them further. This is how your research may have
theoretical implications.
Comment on the limitations of your research. Discuss the
strengths and weaknesses of the study. This information may
contribute to developing future research. Include suggestions for
improvements, in case you were to follow up with another study
later.
Finally, conclude by discussing implications for future research.
Good research tends to lead to puzzles and new research questions.
This may mean that you identify topics that need further study,
concepts that must be elaborated and refined, or gaps in research
that should be filled. On the basis of the work you have done, what
type of research would you recommend?

10.3 Summary
1 The introduction should include:

º a presentation of the topic of the thesis

º the research questions
º the purpose of the thesis
º the scientific and theoretical approach
º a brief presentation of the research literature
º the methods
º the analytical approach
º a reading map of the thesis.

2 The concluding chapter should include:

º a summary of the research questions, methods and findings

º the explanations of the conclusions
º the implications for existing research
º the limitations of your research
º implications for further research.

10.4 Action plan

Write a first draft of your introduction. Revise and edit it by asking
1
yourself questions like these:

º Is the topic of the thesis presented early in the introduction?

º Are the research questions posed explicitly?
º Is the rationale for the research questions explained?
º Are the scientific and theoretical frames of approach presented?
º Is there a description of the research literature you are going to discuss?
º Is the choice of data and methods described?
º What about the analytical approach?
º Finally, is a reading map included?

2Do the same as above and use the following questions as a checklist:

º Are the overall and the specified research questions reiterated?

º Is there a summary of main findings from your study?
º Are there explicit conclusions that answer the research questions?
º What are the scientific and theoretical implications of your study?
º What are the limitations?
º Which recommendations do you propose for future research?
11
Chaos and order – editing
and referencing

Even if we discuss editing towards the end of this book, editing is

an activity that should take place throughout the entire writing
process. From the beginning, get used to the idea that what you
write will be edited and reworked many times. Drafting, writing,
rewriting, proofing and editing are part of the writing process and
soon become routine (see section 3.5). At the end of the process,
there is a need to go over the entire thesis. After all the chapters
have been written, some students start to run out of time and are
tempted to skip editing. A poor composition or format will,
however, be reflected in your grade. The first complete draft of
your thesis is most likely in need of editing. Here is your real
opportunity to give your thesis final shape and emphasis.
Editing can sometimes be painful. Giving your writing emphasis
means to push some parts of the text into the background and pull
other parts forward. Perhaps you realize that you have written too
much and you must leave out the part of the text you laboured with
and truly like. Reducing and taking out text is part of the writing
process. This does not mean, however, that you delete it: it is a
good idea to make new files and organize the text according to
relevant key words so that you can find it later. You may use this
material for something else, for example in a lecture or an article.

11.1 A classic thesis structure

We have previously mentioned that a thesis should have unity and
coherence (see section 9.4). The different parts of the thesis should
be connected. As we outline a typical thesis structure, you will see
that a thesis has a beginning, a middle section and an end. Each
section and all the parts should be interrelated. A thesis usually has
a plot or a narrative structure (Hart, 2008a: 101–102), in the sense
that it tells the story of a problem you found, which some scholars
believed was important and which you thought was interesting, so
this is what you did and what you found, and this is why it is
important.
The different parts of a thesis are often placed in a given order.
The final manuscript also contains additional parts, which are
meant to provide important information and help the reader
navigate the text. Here, we will give an outline for a classic
structure (Barnes, 2005: 135–136). Your version might not follow
this structure, but the format is common. The suggested
percentages of text are a very rough guide. Talk to your advisor
about the final draft and find out how it should look.

Give a short title with a more specified subtitle,

Front page
author, year and place of study.
Summary A brief summary of the whole thesis.
Contents Headings and sub-headings with page numbers.
Thanks to advisor and other relevant persons and
Acknowledgements
institutions.
A presentation of the thesis topic, why this study is
important, its practical and theoretical significance,
Introduction an outline of the research questions (overall and
specified), data, methods of analysis and an outline
of content. (10 per cent)
The descriptive overview of the relevant research
literature in the field is followed by critical analysis
and discussions of key issues. Sometimes this is a
Research literature separate chapter. Others slice the description and
analysis of the literature in the text so that the
literature review permeates the writing. (20 per
cent)
Presentation, rationale and specification of the
Research questions research questions. Presentation of method(s) and
and methods the reasons for using these methods, based on the
research questions. (20 per cent)
Presentation and interpretations of the data.
Analysis
Results, findings, including tables, graphics and
 statistics. (25 per cent)
Discussion and Critical analysis, discussion and critique of the
critique results and findings. (15 per cent)
Summary of the findings, limitations of the
Summary/conclusion research: strength and weaknesses, and
implications for future research. (10 per cent)
References Alphabetical list of references that occur in the text.
Where appropriate: samples of interview guide,
Appendices
questionnaires and so on.

The size of a master’s thesis varies according to different

disciplines. Find out the requirements at your university.
Exceeding the word count is often a problem. Use the classic thesis
structure above and look at your thesis. Where is the imbalance?
Some students use too much space on the description of theory and
not enough on the discussion. Others write a lengthy description
and interpretation of data, but include hardly any critical analysis.
Trimming the word count can usually be done in the descriptive
parts of the thesis, such as the description of theory and the
description of data.

11.2 Quotations
Finding a really good quotation is not difficult, but using it well in
the text is not that easy. Often students want to quote an author
directly because they think that the issue is well stated. Within the
academic genre, it is more common to paraphrase, or put the
quoted material into your own words, and reference the source
than to use direct quotations. The purpose of quotations is to
support a point and illustrate the text. As a general rule, avoid long
quotations, as they are not meant to carry the text. If you follow
these guidelines, you will avoid delivering a text with long
quotations and little text in between. Also, when paraphrasing the
text, do not copy any of the text, as this is plagiarism and unethical
behaviour – to be avoided at all cost.
Exceptions to this rule are found in empirical studies and
master’s theses based on qualitative data collected by the author. A
common strategy in these studies is to use long quotations to give
the subjects space to formulate the issue at hand in their own
words, and to place their statements in a larger context. These
quotations refer to the data. Sometimes it is necessary with long
quotations to demonstrate to the reader that the interpretations
are reasonable. A similar example is this book, where we have used
long quotations from completed master’s theses to illustrate how
students actually go about writing. However, be aware that in some
instances you will need permission to quote.
Sometimes students want to quote sections of a text. If you
exclude parts of the text in a quotation, use three dots followed by
a full stop if it is at the end of a sentence ... . Quotations which are
less than five lines should be integrated in the text, with quotation
marks in the beginning and the end. For example: ‘Slavery had a
traumatic impact on both genders and on all aspects of life for the
Africans brought over to America’ (Patterson, 1998: 26). Longer
quotations should be separated from the main body of the text and
block indented (not just the first line) without quotations marks.
The reference is placed within parenthesis at the end of the
quotation and should include author name(s), date of publication
and page.
Remember to write the quotation in the language you found it
written, unless it is a language few people understand. If you
translate the quotation, indicate that you have done so. For
example: (Bourdieu, 1986: 69, transl. by the author).

11.3 Notes
Notes are used to give additional information that for some reason
does not fit with the text. They are not used for references to
literature. There are really no definite rules when it comes to notes.
Whereas some authors like to use notes, other authors do not use
notes at all. The type of additional information often found in notes
is a continuation of a debate that is too detailed to be included in
the text. Notes are also used to add relevant information that will
burden the text, such as factual information. A general rule is that
if the information is so important that it must be included, it
should be included in the text. In other words, try to limit the use
of notes.
Notes are usually placed at the end of the text or at the bottom of
the page (like a footnote). In the first case, the notes are placed at
the end of the text, but before the references. This is relatively
common in articles. In the second case, notes are placed at the
bottom of the page to make location easier, which is common in
larger studies, like a master’s thesis.
11.4 References
The purpose of referencing is related to the ideal of research as a
collective project. Research is largely built upon the work of other
scholars, and referencing is used to acknowledge their work. An
important principle is to respect the scholars who came before you.
Copying the ideas of others and using them as if they were your
own is plagiarism and is a breach of scholarly ethics. It should be
evident in the text if the ideas and information are taken from
other scholars or if they are your own. Referencing previous
research is also used to justify your writing and give it substance.
References in the text mean that there are evidence and support for
your statements in other books or articles that can be found if the
reader wishes to do so. Finally, referencing is used to demonstrate
to the reader that you know the research literature in the field. A
text with many references is often a sign of a well-read author.
This does not mean that you should burden the text with
irrelevant references. There are two main rules regarding
referencing literature. First, only include important, published
references. References to unpublished data are usually placed in
the notes. References to newspaper articles are often placed in a
bracket with the name of the newspaper and full date at the end of
a sentence (see section 11.5). Second, check that the references are
correct on the basis of the original publication. If you copy the
references of others, you risk copying their mistakes; this is easily
detected by someone who is well read in the field.
There are several different styles for listing references at the end
of your thesis. The departments at your university have different
traditions, and publishers and journals have their ways of doing it.
The various reference styles vary according to the amount of
information included and the order in which it is presented. For
example, whereas most reference styles include the title of the
article, some do not. Also, some systems list the date of publication
after the name of the author, whereas others list it at the very end.
Use the reference style recommended at your university, and take
care to follow it systematically.
Writing references is tedious work and takes a lot of time. It is
therefore important to take detailed bibliographic notes whenever
you read something that might be of use later (see section 5.9 on
keeping a search log). These notes should be as complete as
possible. Write down the author’s full name, complete title of the
publication, pagination of articles, date of publication, publisher
and place of publication. By doing so, you will have all the
necessary information to write the references. In your thesis, you
will be writing the references according to the style recommended
by your university. If you are going to publish an article based on
your thesis later, you might have to change the references to a
different style. It is easier to edit a complete list of references than
to find new information because some information is missing.
Since writing references is so time consuming, we advise you to
write it as you go along and not wait until the end. Several students
have learned this the hard way and waited until the end, only to
discover that the information they had about a given source was
incomplete and almost impossible to find. Our advice is to end
your day by writing down all new references. Either write
references in a separate file or use the bibliographic programmes
or systems that are available on the Internet (see section 5.9).
After you have written the thesis, go back and edit the references.
Even if you have carefully written down references as you go along,
you may have included mistakes or find that some information is
missing. Use the library OPAC (see section 5.5) to get the
information you need.

11.5 Referencing in the text

The most common way of referencing is to use the ‘author-date’
style, which means placing the author’s last name, followed by the
date of publication and page number, within parentheses. In the
references section at the end of the thesis, your references should
be listed alphabetically by name of author. The advantage of this
system is that the reader will find the name and the date of the
reference without difficulty. The disadvantages are that several
references in the text will make the reading more difficult, and that
the reader must look at the end of thesis to find the full reference.
Whether you use a colon or a comma is a matter of style (see
section 11.7), but be consistent and never mix different styles.
References in the text are usually made in two ways:

If the author’s name is in the text, it is followed by the date of publication,

and in some instances the page number, within parentheses. For
1
example: ‘Patterson (1998: 25) claims that slavery destroyed the Afro-
American family structure in such a way that it still affects Afro-American
 women and men.’
If the authors name is not in the text, but you give a summary of the
author’s view, end the sentence with the author’s last name, date of
publication and page number within parentheses. For example: ‘Slavery
2destroyed the possibility to be a husband and a father. Since the slave was
reduced in law and civic life to a nonperson, a man could not have
authority or power over his children or their mother (Patterson, 1998:
27).’

The ‘author-date’ style of referencing differs depending upon the

number of authors, the number of publications and so forth. Here
are some examples:

 One author, one publication: (Patterson, 1998)

 One author, several publications: (Patterson, 1997, 1998)
 One author, several publications published the same year
(distinguish each reference by using letters a, b etc.):
(Bourdieu, 1971a, 1971b)
 Several authors: (Frazier, 1963; Kivisto, 1993; Wood 2006)
 Two authors, the same publication: (Ebaugh and Chafetz,
2000)
 Two or more authors, the same publication: (Alba et al.,
2008)
 One author, quoted by another author: (Peirce, quoted by
Eco, 1979a: 69)
 Recommending further reading: (see Calhoun, 2007)

Whatever style you use, be consistent and pay attention to the use
of commas, colons, semi-colons and full-stops.
References are listed in full at the end of your thesis, and they
are always in alphabetical order. The references must have been
mentioned in the text. In order to check the consistency between
references in the text and the list at the end, print first the list of
references, then go back to the beginning of the document and
search for the first parenthesis sign – as in: (– and this will take
you to the first text reference. Check this on your list of references
to make sure the name and date are correct, or add full details for
those that are missing. Repeat the process to the end of the
document. Finally, delete all the references in the list that are not
mentioned in the text.

11.6 Referencing electronic sources

There are several different electronic sources, such as websites,
electronic databases, software or electronic journal articles, and
different rules apply for referencing these types of sources. The
Harvard Style of Referencing is used by many (see University
Library, 2011). However, there are several other styles as well, for
example the Chicago Manual Style
(www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html). Again, use the style
manual recommended by your university. Below we offer you some
information about the elements that usually should be included
when referencing electronic sources.

Websites
To determine the author or source of a website can be difficult. If
the website is a company or a public institution, reference the
corporate authorship. Information about date of publication also
varies on different websites. Give the last updated date, if available.
If there is no date, use the date you accessed the information. In
some cases, the reference is to a document on a general website.
Here, give the title of the web page or web document, which you
find at the top of the screen. When you are going to reference an
electronic source, give information about the type of medium this
is, for example ‘online’, if you have downloaded it from the
Internet, or ‘e-book’ or ‘PDF’.
Information about publisher and place of publication is
irrelevant when it comes to websites. Instead, give the reader
information about where to find the electronic information, the
website address or URL (uniform resource locator). It is not
enough to reference a website, as many will have problems finding
the link. Instead, include information about where the website is
available. Do so by copying the URL from the net rather than
writing it yourself. It is easy to make small mistakes, which
prevents the reader from finding it.
The information on the Internet constantly changes. A
document found today can be moved to another address tomorrow
or disappear completely. For this reason, include the date
(day/month/year) for when the document was accessed.
 In contrast to printed media, electronic sources do not have
clearly defined pages. Therefore, do not give information about
pagination, even if it appears when you print the document. Only
use page numbers when referencing an Acrobat document. Acrobat
documents (or PDFs) are photographic copies of original printed
sources and do have page numbers. You will recognize a PDF, since
it is only readable by using the Adobe Acrobat Reader program,
which can be downloaded for free on the Internet. Based on what
we have said so far, the elements for referencing a website are, for
example:
American Psychological Association 2010. Ethical Principles of Psychologists
and Code of Conduct [online]. Available at:
www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx [Accessed 26 February 2012].

Publications found on the Internet

Many publications are available online, such as e-books, academic
journal articles, master’s theses, PhD dissertations and public
documents. Unless the document is a journal article, give
information about place of publication and publisher. If is it is a
journal article, include the name of the journal, volume and issue
number. Many publications on the Internet are available in PDF
format, which means that information about pagination should be
included. The elements for an article in an electronic journal are,
for example:
Gaye, A. and Jha, S., 2011. Measuring Women’s Empowerment through
Migration. Diversities 13(1), s. 49–66 [pdf]. Available at:
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001914/191499e.pdf#191551
[Accessed 26 February 2012].

11.7 List of references

The full list of references is at the end of your thesis and the
references are always in alphabetical order. It is expected that you
will have a complete and correct list of references. It is a good idea
to copy a reference list and study it in great detail for every
reference until you have learned the manual style.
Be aware that different sources are listed in different ways. For
example, there are different set-ups for books, articles in journals,
articles in books, publications from an organization or an
institution, unpublished theses and so on. A general rule is that a
reference should be listed as it appears in its original version. For
example, some journals use capital letters in the main words of the
title of the article, some do not.

11.8 Summary

When near completion, the entire thesis must be read from beginning to
1
end.
2The size requirement for a thesis varies from discipline to discipline.
3There is a classic thesis structure that can be used to trim the word count.
4Quotations should be short, unless the quotation refers to the data.
5The use of notes should be limited.
6Every university has a recommended reference style.
The full list of references is at the end of the thesis and in alphabetical
7
order.

11.9 Action plan

1 Editing the thesis. Take a look at the first full draft of your thesis:
ºWhich parts are too large and must be abbreviated?
ºWhich parts are too small and should be expanded?
ºWhich parts are still missing?

2Look at all the quotations and notes:

ºAre all the quotations meaningful and integrated into the text?
ºShould some notes be longer, shorter or deleted?

3Find out the approved reference manual at your university:

Practise every day by writing correct references in the text and in the
º
reference list.
12
When is it finished?
Checklist summary

Many students are tired towards the end. You have lived with
the thesis for a long time. It might be difficult to get the
necessary distance to finish the work. There are always some
parts of the text that should be improved and rewritten.
Perhaps a chapter did not turn out the way you had in mind or
the literature review is less extensive than you thought.
Perhaps the thesis is not the ‘masterpiece’ you envisioned.
However, at one point it is important to finish it, submit it,
and move on with life. The problem might be that it is difficult
to know when it is finished. Here we will take a look at what to
do towards the end of the writing process.

12.1 Reading the thesis with a critical eye

During the work with the thesis – and especially when the
analysis is coming to an end – it is important that you set a
deadline for when you are going to submit the thesis (see
section 1.4). Once you have a date, plan the weeks before the
deadline carefully. Make sure you set aside time for editing.
Towards the end, you will find that you will be able to get a lot
of work done in just one week.
Since you are the one who has the final responsibility for the
thesis, you must read it carefully from the beginning to the end.
Below, we have included a checklist you may use for each
section of the thesis.
Look for the following throughout the thesis
 Do you go from the general to the specific?
 How do you structure paragraphs and sentences?

 Do the topic sentences state the controlling ideas in the

paragraphs?
 Are the sentences precise?
 Is the text consistent and coherent?
 Do some parts stand alone and in isolation from the rest?

The introduction
 Does the introduction offer a broad context for your
study?
 Do you clearly present the topic of the thesis?
 Do you present the research questions and the purpose
of the thesis?
 Remember to briefly describe the research literature,
data and methods of analysis.
 Include a brief reading map to the entire thesis.

The review of the research literature

 Do you include literature that appears to be necessary to
understand the topic of your thesis?
 Do you give more space to the literature than is
important to your own argumentation?
 Do you critically evaluate and analyse the literature?
 Do you discuss the important issues in the field?
 Are these issues relevant to your research questions?
 How is your argumentation structured?
 Do you formulate propositions that are debated by using
pro- and counter-arguments?
 Is the argumentation coherent or does it go in many
different directions?
 Are your arguments valid, significant and correct?

The research questions

  Have you formulated the overall research questions?
 What are the rationales for the questions?
 Do you have theoretical or practical rationales, or both?
 Are the research questions specified in such a way that
they indicate the observations that must be made to
answer the questions?
 Is there coherence between the research questions and
the critical analysis of the research literature?

The research method

 Is there consistency between the research questions and
the research methods?
 Have you explained why the research methods are
adequate?
 Have you included a discussion of the methodological
strengths and weaknesses?
 Have you remembered to comment on the sample and
the validity and the reliability of the data?
 Does your thesis raise ethical issues that must be
discussed?

The analysis
 It is important to check that you have answered all the
research questions. Make sure that there is consistency
between the research questions and the analysis.
 Check that all statements of fact are supported by the
data.
 Remember not to use identical data in more than one
chapter.
 How do you explain and justify your interpretations?
 Have you remembered to critically analyse and discuss
your findings?
 Do you refer to the theoretical debates in your discussion
of the findings?
 Is your overall argumentation evident for the reader?
 Check that no part stands alone or in isolation from the
rest. Are the different parts connected and is there is a
‘red thread’ going through the entire analysis?
  Make sure that the analysis is consistent with the
purpose and the aims of the study.

Summary and conclusions

 Check that you have repeated the research questions and
described the research methods you used to answer the
questions.
 Make sure that all the findings are summarized.
 Have you answered all the research questions you posed
in the introduction and later in the thesis?
 Remember to present the explanations of the findings
and the theoretical implications of your study.
 Have you included comments on the strengths and
weaknesses of your study?
 Check that there is consistency between the introduction
and the conclusions chapter.
 Include a few suggestions for further study.

References in the text

 Are the references correct and complete?
 Are the references in the text consistent with the list of
references?

List of references
 Which manual style have you used? Have you followed it
systematically?
 Is the reference list correct? Read it carefully.

Editing the different parts of the thesis

 Does the composition of the thesis give a balanced
impression? Or does the thesis seem imbalanced where
some parts are too large or too small?

Grammar and spelling

There is no reason to let your thesis suffer from poor spelling.
Use the spell-check on your computer. In addition, read the
entire thesis carefully. For example, the spell-check will
approve both ‘you’ and ‘me’, but the meaning is different. You
have rewritten the thesis, or parts of it, several times. It is easy
to overlook parts of previous versions that should have been
deleted, or perhaps you deleted that which should be included.
Sometimes, you have read the text so many times that you are
blinded and overlook mistakes. It is a good idea to get a fellow
student or another competent reader to read your final draft
before you send it to your advisor.

12.2 Comments and approval from your

advisors
About one or two months before you submit your thesis, send
a first complete draft to your advisor, or advisors if you have
more than one. A complete draft consists of all parts of the
thesis, from front page and contents to references and
appendices. So far, your advisors have only read individual
chapters or parts of the thesis. It is not easy to remember in
detail what the theoretical part, written a semester ago, looks
like and know if it fits with the rest of the thesis. By reading a
complete draft, your advisors will be able to look at the
complete thesis and its composition. Should some parts be
expanded or should some parts be trimmed?
Talk with your advisors about the date for the first complete
draft, so that they will have enough time to read it carefully.
Although we recommend one to two months before the final
deadline, this is something you and your advisors decide. If
the complete draft is fairly well composed, perhaps a month is
enough for your advisors to read it carefully, and for you to
make the necessary corrections.
Listen carefully to the comments of your advisors. At this
point, many students are so tired of the whole thesis that they
are tempted not to do the final editing. Do not give in to these
temptations, as it would be silly to spoil your chances of a good
grade after all the effort you have put into your thesis so far. It
is important to remember that you, as a student, are the one
who has the final responsibility for the thesis. If you get a poor
grade, it is your responsibility, and you cannot blame your
advisors. Therefore it is important that you set aside time to
make the final corrections. Some theses improve incredibly by
relatively simple editing towards the end.

12.3 Work in progress

As we are at the end of this book, we hope that you as a reader
will ask many questions about our approach. This is the
attitude we want to encourage. If you, by reading a section or a
chapter in this book, are better prepared and have more
success with your master’s thesis than you would otherwise,
we will have added something of value to you. We expect you
to disagree with us at times. However, if we have inspired a
discussion of writing in general and writing a master’s thesis
more specifically, we have done our job. We have not tried to
teach you the only way to writing, but to inspire thought and
encourage search for the most effective way to do this,
premised on your skills.
This book has been edited, read and critiqued by several
colleagues. We have rewritten the text, deleted some, moved
other parts, and added new text. In this way, our book is also a
text that can be improved. Our hope is, however, that this
edition will help you as a student to develop your skills, so that
you are more effective and less stressed about the writing
process.
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Weaver, K., 2010. Arab Americans and Segmented Assimilation: Looking
Beyond the Theory to the Reality in the Detroit Metro Area. MA thesis,
University of Oslo. Available from:
www.duo.uio.no/publ/ILOS/2010/107676/thesis.pdf (accessed 1 July
2012).
Wethal, U.B., 2011. Strategies of Avoidance — Value Chain Reactions in the
Durban Clothing Industry. MA thesis, University of Oslo. Available from:
www.duo.uio.no/publ/iss/2011/124427/Wethal.pdf (accessed 13 May 2012).
Index

Academia 40
advisor 11–12, 42–43, 111, 148
relationship 45–46
responsibilities 42–43
analogies 6
analysis 119–131
categories 120
coherence 73, 129
compare similarities and differences 124
consistency 125
critical 125
description 122
develop the argument 125–128
interpretation 122
justify the interpretation 124
key concepts 120
organize data 120
prepare data 120
analytical strategies 50
anonymity 110
appendices 138
arguments 82–86, 125–128
chaining arguments 84
counter-arguments 83, 126–127
evaluating 86
pro-arguments 83
reliability 86
significance 86
validity 81, 87
archives 65
associations 20–21
assumptions 77, 79, 82, 93, 95
audience 27
Bias-free writing 129
bibliographic database 55
books for sale 52
brainstorming 6, 24, 35

Case study 105

Categories 120
chaining arguments 83
classic thesis structure 136
coherence 73, 100, 122, 129, 146
between different parts of the thesis 74, 100, 122, 146
between theory and empirical facts 74, 122
logical 87
comparisons 78
positive and negative 78
propositions 77
similarities and differences 124
compulsory writing 31
concepts, define 49
conclusion 133
conference proceedings 57, 65
contents 68, 137
contrasts 95, 125
counter-argument 30, 83, 126
critical analysis 77, 82, 125
data 125
literature 77, 82

Data 90, 92, 120–128

availability 108
organize 120
prepare 120
reliability 108
validity 108
qualitative 90
quantitative 90
database 54
international 55
social scientific 56–57
data collection 106
 anonymity 110
availability 108
ethical considerations 109
primary data 106
reliability 108
sample 107
secondary data 106
validity 108
deadline 13, 44, 145
decision making 20
developing a topic 5
dictionary, subject 59
differences, look for 78
documentation 8, 78, 122

Editing 136, 148

different parts of the thesis 147
electronic search 53
author 53
classification number 54
literature 51
key word 53
OPAC 53–54, 61, 63, 65, 140
title 53
word in title 53–54
Endnote 69
encyclopedia 58–59
subject 59
ethics 10–13, 15, 42, 106, 109, 114–115, 118, 138, 146
evaluating 86
arguments 86
literature 66

Facebook 39
finding a topic 2
front page 137

Gantt chart 15
generalizations 82
general sentences 32, 41, 45
genre 17

Handbooks 58
Identifying useful literature 66–68
author’s name 67
bibliography 68
content 67
contents list 68
date of publication 67
index 68
journal name 67
preface 68
publisher 67
skim reading 68
text on back cover 68
title and subtitle 67
websites 67
inconsistencies 97
Internet 51–52, 66, 143
bookstores 70
electronic search 52
deep web 51
search engines 51, 55, 66
interpretation 74, 122, 137, 147
justify 124
introduction 129, 131, 135, 137, 147

Journals 61
journal articles 62

Key concept 7, 13, 16, 49, 120

Language, bias free 129

library OPAC 53–54, 61, 63, 65, 140
LinkedIn 39
Literature 47, 65, 73, 137, 139, 146
archives 65
conference proceedings 65
different types 58
dissertations 64
general encylopaedias 58
handbooks 58
journals 61
journal articles 62
official publications 64, 70
 official statistics 64, 70
references 139
research reports 63
search 47, 51
subject dictionaries 59
subject encyclopaedias 59
textbooks 63
theses 64
use 48
literature review 73, 75
coherence 74
critical analysis 77, 82
describe 75
discuss 82
raise questions and critique 77
theoretical frame 49, 74
logical coherence 87

Manual literature search 54

Mendeley 69
Metalib 54
method, see research method
methods chapter 111–112, 146
mind map 7–8, 16
motivation 21

Networks, academic and professional 39

notes 139

Official publications 64, 70

official statistics 64, 70
OPAC 53–54, 61, 63, 65, 140
overall research questions 92
contrasts 95
differences 95
different types 92
discovering facts 93
explaining a phenomenon 93
observations 98
patterns 94
practical rationale 97
processes 94–95
 rationale 96
relations between several phenomena 93
specify 98
theoretical rationale 96

Paragraph 24, 32–35

persuasive writing 30
phenomena, relation between 93
practical consideration in data collection 106
preface 68
primary data 106
prioritize 24–25
pro-argument 83, 126
progress 18, 43
project planning 13, 68
proposition 33, 77
false 79, 83
true 79, 83
reliability 86
significance 77
questioning 79

Quotations 122, 138

Rationale of the research question 96

practical 97
theoretical 96
references 139
electronic sources 142
in the text 141
list of 143
literature 139
relevant literature 48
reliability 86, 108
data 108
arguments 86
research ethics 10–13, 15, 106, 109, 114–115, 118, 138, 146
research design 102
data availability 108
data reliability 108
data validity 109
methods 103
 sample of subjects and data 107
research literature 47, 73
critical analysis 77, 82
describe 75
discuss 82
search 47, 51
theoretical discussion 49, 74
research findings 122, 126, 134, 137, 147
research methods 13, 62, 103, 133, 137
qualitative 103
quantitative 103
research proposal 11
research report 63
research questions 89
adjust 92
descriptive questions 93
formulate 92
hypotheses 91
overall 92
scientific question 89–90
specified questions 98
topic 90
qualitative 90
quantitative 90
RSS-feeds 54
results of study 122, 134, 137

Sample 13, 107

data 107
subjects 107
searching literature 47
author 53
bibliographic database 54
books for sale 52
catalogues 52
databases 54
electronic search 53
international databases 55
Internet 53, 66
library 52
key word 53
 manual search 54
Metalib 54
OPAC 53–54, 61, 63, 65, 140
search log 68
types of literature 58
search log 68
data files 69
Endnote 69
copies 68
Mendeley 69
Zotero 69
self-image 20–22
sentences 24, 31, 88, 145
general 32
opening 88
topic 32
similarities 78, 124
skim reading 5, 36, 68
social media 5, 39, 119
Academia 40
Facebook 39
LinkedIn 39
Specify 7, 9, 49
research topic 7, 9
research questions 49, 90, 98
statistics 64, 70
strategies for designing a master’s thesis 104
case-studies 105
fill gaps in previous research 104
reappraise previous research 105
repeat previous research 105
write a thesis within the frames of a research program 106
structure 31, 33, 119, 137
analysis 119
paragraph 33
sentence 31
thesis 137
students 40, 42
networks 40,
responsibilities 42
summary 134
 conclusions 134
findings 134
results from the study 134

Textbooks 63
topic 1
find 2
decision 9
develop 5
distance to 3
research ethics 10
theoretical framework 49
theoretical assumptions 82, 95
theoretical discussion 124
thesis structure 136
tricks to continue writing 35

Uninvited writing 31
unpublished material 65

Validity 81, 87, 109

argument 81, 87
data 109
Visualization 22

Websites 67
writing
assessing skills 24, 26
bias-free 129
compulsory 31
ethics 129
hindrances for 18
motivation 21
persuasive 30
practice 35
purpose 29
routines 23
rules 27
structure 31
styles 30
tricks to continue 35
uninvited 31
writing blocks 18
 emotional and cognitive 18
task blocks 19
writing styles 30

Zotero 69