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Thesis/Research Paper Structure由英国论文指导中心整理提供资源，本中心提供英国论文指导，英国留学生论文，指导英国论文服务。
General philosophy: Hierarchy of importance
Content: the message given
Style: the way that message is presented (structure, language, and illustration)
Form: the appearance of the message (grammar, punctuation, usage spelling, and format)
General philosophy
A research paper (or thesis) is an attempt to persuade.
The key to persuasion is organization.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Don’t use a thousand words where five hundred will do.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, and try, again.
A thesis is an original contribution to knowledge
An advisor/reader will expect that:
You have identified a worthwhile problem or question which has not been previously answered
You have solved the problem or answered the question
http://www.sce.carleton.ca/faculty/chinneck/thesis.html
A thesis is an attempt to persuade
A reader/reviewer will ask:
What is the research question?
Is it a good question? (Has it been answered before? is it a useful question to work on?)
Did the author convince me that the question was adequately answered?
Has the author made an adequate contribution to knowledge?
Know your audience
Explain abbreviations, unusual terms
Clear writing
Explain assumptions, limitations
For a journal article, know the usual audience and scope of papers
For a grant proposal, learn what kind of expenses are allowable, write to the specific goals or questions of that agency
Keep to the point
A concise paper or thesis requires keeping the main points in mind—ONLY include background information, data, discussion that is relevant to these points
For a proposal, focus on the aspects for which you request funding
Style and structure
Organization
Emphasis
Depth
Transition between sections
Organization: the key to persuasion
Start by writing down the single most important concept.
Outline the critical observations and reasoning that support that concept.
Test your organization by careful evaluation of the outline.
Expand the outline to greater detail, and then test it again.
Write the body of the next: methods first, observations next, interpretations last.
Write the contextual elements: conclusion first, introduction next, abstract last.
Insert carefully composed transitional sections, paragraphs, and sentences.
The outline is the necessary framework
Use the MS Word outline tool
Keep going back to “outline view”.
Throughout the various drafts of your writing
(more on this later)
Organization of the thesis
Abstract
Introduction
Background and literature review
Problem statement/research question
Methods
Data presentation
Interpretation
Discussions
References
**Different types of writing might have more/less emphasis on each of thesis elements
Question on each section?
Detail and main resource:
Nest hourglass model
The whole thesis
Each section, subsection
Most paragraphs
Broad focus at beginning, end; specifics/narrow focus in middle
Organization of the thesis
Abstract
Introduction
Background/Lit.re view
Problem statement/research question
Methods
Data presentation
Interpretation
Discussion
Conclusions
References
Abstract
Write this LAST!
Abstract should be 1-2 pages and should be self-contained
Model after a paper in your field
Written to attract readers to your article or thesis, gives a good initial impression
Summary of the contents of the thesis
Brief but contains sufficient detail
Motivation for the work (problem statement)
Project objectives
Techniques employed
Main results and conclusions
Introduction
Write this second to last!
This is a general introduction to what the thesis is all about—it is not just a description of the contents of each section. Briefly summarize the question (you will be stating the question in detail later), some of the reasons why it is a worthwhile question, and perhaps* give a brief overview of your main results.
* often done in journal articles, but not usually in thesis
Topic?
Defines scope and limitation of study
Importance?
Background?
Arrangement of thesis?
You probably wrote this for your thesis proposal; REWRITE IT AFTER body of thesis is written
Look at examples in published literature in your field
This section is likely to contain a lot of reference citations—put your thesis in context of existing work
Background
A brief section giving background information may be necessary. Your readers may not have any experience with some of the needed to follow your thesis, so you need to give it to them. 本中心提供英国论文指导，英国留学生论文，指导英国论文服务。
Review of the State of the Art(Literature review)
Limited to the state of art relevant to your thesis. Again, a specific heading is appropriate. The idea is to present (not analyze) the major ideas in the state of the art right up to, but not including, you organize this section by idea, and not by author or by publication.
Some advisors think this section should come after the problem statement (next section)
Some advisors do not expect a long lit. review for the thesis proposal or the thesis—be sure you ask your committee!
Literature review
Provide context for context for and details about the motivation for the project
States why the problem is important
Sets the scene for the work described in the thesis
Describes what others have done and hence sets a benchmark for the current project
Justifies the use of specific techniques or problem solving procedures
Tips for literature review
Make it a point to keep on top of your field of study by making regular visits to the library and to the electronic journals websites.
When reading a technical paper, jot down the key points and make a note of the journal or technical publication where the paper was published.
Devise a cataloguing system that will allow you to retrieve the paper quickly. (e.g. use ENDNOTE)
Make sure that you have read and understood cited work
Organize your content according to ideas instead of individual publications
Do not simply quote or paraphrase the contents of published articles. Weave the information into focused views.
Do not be tempted to summarize everything you have read; only include those relevant to your main points.
Research Question or Problem Statement
A concise statement of the question that your thesis or paper tackles
Justification, by direct reference to previous work, that your question is previously unanswered. This is where you analyze the information which you presented in the “state of the art” section
Discussion of why it is worthwhile to answer this question.
Highlight the section with a heading using words such as “problem” or “question”
Data and interpretation
Not standard form. But still organized!
One or several sections and subsections.
Methods, Data, Interpretation sections are separate.
Only one purpose: to convince the advisor (reader/reviewer) that you answered the question or solved the problem stated in the previous section.
For a proposal: describe methods, preliminary data, types of data to be collected
Present data that is relevant to answering the question or solving the problem
If there were blind alleys and dead ends, do not include these, unless specifically relevant to the demonstration that you answered the thesis question.
Note for some theses it may be important to include these in an appendix
Methods
Depending on your topic this may be one paragraph or a long section.
If measurement error is important to your study, state how this was assessed.
Data presentation
Draft your figures first: (a picture is worth a thousand words)
Make caption stand alone
Use enough figures to present the data that justifies you interpretation and conclusions. Not more, no less. (don’t use 1000 words when 500 will do)
Don’t write your text around your figures
Use the proper tools (for your research AND your writing)
Spreadsheets, analysis tools
Plotting programs
Graphics programs
ENDNOTE
Writing recourse
Start learning these before you collect the data (e.g., during the thesis proposal process)
Focus on one important thing in each paragraph
Each paragraph needs a topic sentence
Content of paragraph should only relate to that topic
Use outline view to see and revise this
Interpretation
Keep separate from data, clearly distinguished by paragraph, section, and/or words like “are interpreted to show”.
Depending on your topic, it is often useful to subdivide interpretation into a “local” or small “regional” or “big picture” scale that flows from consideration of your data with that of others. This latter type is usually included in the “discussion” section.
Discussion
Look at discussion section in paper in your field. See what they cover.
Usually is a broader scale interpretation than just your data (relate to previous published results)
Addresses the bigger problem of your research topic and how your study fits into solving those problems.#p#分页标题#e#
Is NOT a conclusion section.
Conclusions
Conclusions
Summary of contributions
Future research
Conclusions are not a rambling summary of the thesis: they are short, concise statements of the inference that you have made because of your numbered paragraph, ordered from most to least important. All conclusions should be directly related to the research question stated.
References
All references cited, including those in Tables and Figure captions. No more, no less.
Use consistent style throughout (e.g. “et al.” OR “and others”, not both)
Use ENDNOTE program (start now building your library database)本中心提供英国论文指导，英国留学生论文，指导英国论文服务。
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