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Open Up Study Skills
Succeeding with Your Master's Dissertation: A Step-By-Step Handbook
What do I need to do to write a literature, context or systematic review? How do I explain my research methods and write up my findings?
Help! How do I prepare for a viva?
This essential handbook carefully guides the student through the entire dissertation process from start to finish, offering clear, straightforward and practical advice. Biggam uses clear illustrations of what students should do- or not do - to reach their full potential, helping them to succeed with their dissertation and avoid common pitfalls along the way.
Thoroughly updated, this popular book takes the student from research proposal, through literature reviews, research methods, and writing up, referencing and avoiding plagiarism, through to submission and marking, featuring:
- New chapter on 'Introducing the Master's Dissertation' focusing on the skills you need to succeed
- New material on Contextual Review for computer science, art and performance art students
- Updated material on the benefits of using university library databases and social media in research
- Expanded advice on the emotional journey and where to find assistance and support
- New Research Methods chapter for art, drama and computer science students
This is key reading for any social science, business, humanities or healthcare student required to complete a dissertation as part of their studies. It will also prove useful for undergraduate students considering postgraduate studies and for supervisors facilitating dissertation supervision.
"This book is a really excellent and friendly guide through the Master's dissertation process. It is clearly and engagingly written and easily understandable to a student. It also guides students gently from a general understanding in the first chapter, down to a significant level of detail in each subsequent chapter with worked examples and relevant practical tips. It also usefully highlights common mistakes. The book presents a realistic view of undertaking a Master's degree, presenting the generic skills needed for success and acknowledging that life outside the dissertation is complex, messy, and can sometimes get in the way!
It is particularly useful and relevant to my students as, unlike many other books on this topic, it does not ignore practice-based forms of research, in fact the book includes a substantial chapter on practice-as-research in the creative disciplines. This chapter includes software alongside creative arts and is therefore particularly suitable for inter- or multi-disciplinary postgraduates using technology to enhance their existing understanding of a subject (or their practice) through research.
I also really like the fact that the chapter on Abstracts is at the end (where it belongs!) and that students are explicitly told to write it last - no matter how many times I tell my students this, it is a common and recurring mistake!"
Daisy Abbott, School of Simulation and Visualisation, The Glasgow School of Art, UK"The dissertation component of a Master's programme can be very daunting for students. In this book John Biggam demystifies both the concept, and process of a dissertation. Biggam clearly explains the different parts of a dissertation, and offers a pragmatic structure which can be used by students to help frame their ideas. Also, the guidance given in the book is written in a reassuring tone which is never patronising. The summary on good practise in dissertation writing should be particularly useful during the planning stage, and as a final check for students."
Dr Donna Murray SFHEA, Head of Taught Student Development, Institute for Academic Development, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Help! How do I prepare for a viva?
This essential handbook carefully guides the student through the entire dissertation process from start to finish, offering clear, straightforward and practical advice. Biggam uses clear illustrations of what students should do- or not do - to reach their full potential, helping them to succeed with their dissertation and avoid common pitfalls along the way.
Thoroughly updated, this popular book takes the student from research proposal, through literature reviews, research methods, and writing up, referencing and avoiding plagiarism, through to submission and marking, featuring:
- New chapter on 'Introducing the Master's Dissertation' focusing on the skills you need to succeed
- New material on Contextual Review for computer science, art and performance art students
- Updated material on the benefits of using university library databases and social media in research
- Expanded advice on the emotional journey and where to find assistance and support
- New Research Methods chapter for art, drama and computer science students
This is key reading for any social science, business, humanities or healthcare student required to complete a dissertation as part of their studies. It will also prove useful for undergraduate students considering postgraduate studies and for supervisors facilitating dissertation supervision.
"This book is a really excellent and friendly guide through the Master's dissertation process. It is clearly and engagingly written and easily understandable to a student. It also guides students gently from a general understanding in the first chapter, down to a significant level of detail in each subsequent chapter with worked examples and relevant practical tips. It also usefully highlights common mistakes. The book presents a realistic view of undertaking a Master's degree, presenting the generic skills needed for success and acknowledging that life outside the dissertation is complex, messy, and can sometimes get in the way!
It is particularly useful and relevant to my students as, unlike many other books on this topic, it does not ignore practice-based forms of research, in fact the book includes a substantial chapter on practice-as-research in the creative disciplines. This chapter includes software alongside creative arts and is therefore particularly suitable for inter- or multi-disciplinary postgraduates using technology to enhance their existing understanding of a subject (or their practice) through research.
I also really like the fact that the chapter on Abstracts is at the end (where it belongs!) and that students are explicitly told to write it last - no matter how many times I tell my students this, it is a common and recurring mistake!"
Daisy Abbott, School of Simulation and Visualisation, The Glasgow School of Art, UK"The dissertation component of a Master's programme can be very daunting for students. In this book John Biggam demystifies both the concept, and process of a dissertation. Biggam clearly explains the different parts of a dissertation, and offers a pragmatic structure which can be used by students to help frame their ideas. Also, the guidance given in the book is written in a reassuring tone which is never patronising. The summary on good practise in dissertation writing should be particularly useful during the planning stage, and as a final check for students."
Dr Donna Murray SFHEA, Head of Taught Student Development, Institute for Academic Development, The University of Edinburgh, UK
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
34 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 11, 2012
I was assigned this book as part of my Master's dissertation course and it has been a lifesaver. Our instructors were found of not giving a lot of guidelines, so all the structure suggested by this book was very helpful because it gave me somewhere to start. I consulted it repeatedly during the process of writing my dissertation and modeled my paper pretty closely to what it recommended.
I would advise giving it a quick read through before even beginning work on a dissertation. Had I done so, instead of waiting till my research was already underway, my work would have been much more organized and effective. And, even though the examples were on very different topics from mine, they still helped me get a better idea of what my work should look like.
A quick word of warning though, my advisor has had me change some of the things I only wrote because this book advised me to, so know that it only provides guidelines. In the end, always go with what your advisor tells you to, since generally he or she is one of the people marking the paper anyway. Still, I would have been pretty much completely in the dark without this book, so I definitely recommend it to anyone undertaking a Master's dissertation.
I would advise giving it a quick read through before even beginning work on a dissertation. Had I done so, instead of waiting till my research was already underway, my work would have been much more organized and effective. And, even though the examples were on very different topics from mine, they still helped me get a better idea of what my work should look like.
A quick word of warning though, my advisor has had me change some of the things I only wrote because this book advised me to, so know that it only provides guidelines. In the end, always go with what your advisor tells you to, since generally he or she is one of the people marking the paper anyway. Still, I would have been pretty much completely in the dark without this book, so I definitely recommend it to anyone undertaking a Master's dissertation.
June 15, 2020
lol help
March 8, 2018
I can’t describe the chaos that I had when I started my masters' dissertation. What should be my research objectives? What research questions I am trying to answer? How do I proceed with my literature review, my findings, my analysis and discussion and finally, my conclusions? If you are a postgraduate student, I am sure you can relate to this.
The best resource that helped me to structure my dissertation was this golden book!
The book clarifies the whole Dissertation Life Cycle and the steps that you need to follow during that process. Each chapter in the book may correspond to a chapter in your research; therefore, you don’t have to read the entire book at one time. Instead, you can read it chapter by chapter according to the current stage of your research.
The book has a separate chapter for each main stage of your dissertation: the introduction, the literature review, the research methods, the findings and finally, the conclusions. Interestingly, when you feel like running out of useful verbs, the book can also be very useful because it has an appendix that you can use for this purpose.
The best resource that helped me to structure my dissertation was this golden book!
The book clarifies the whole Dissertation Life Cycle and the steps that you need to follow during that process. Each chapter in the book may correspond to a chapter in your research; therefore, you don’t have to read the entire book at one time. Instead, you can read it chapter by chapter according to the current stage of your research.
The book has a separate chapter for each main stage of your dissertation: the introduction, the literature review, the research methods, the findings and finally, the conclusions. Interestingly, when you feel like running out of useful verbs, the book can also be very useful because it has an appendix that you can use for this purpose.
May 27, 2019
Hands down THE best guide for research writing out there. 4th Edition.
I have read this for my PhD dissertation. This book should not only apply to MA students. Perfectly set out with clear and concise examples. Repetitions just as you'd find in research writing to emphasize the most important points. Discusses, in my view, simple and obvious points about the research process that shall appear logical to most. In this sense left me with a great feeling of self-esteem while reading!
Highly recommend for those pursuing graduate studies and if i ever do graduate i will be recommending this guide to my students.
A+++ well done John
I have read this for my PhD dissertation. This book should not only apply to MA students. Perfectly set out with clear and concise examples. Repetitions just as you'd find in research writing to emphasize the most important points. Discusses, in my view, simple and obvious points about the research process that shall appear logical to most. In this sense left me with a great feeling of self-esteem while reading!
Highly recommend for those pursuing graduate studies and if i ever do graduate i will be recommending this guide to my students.
A+++ well done John
August 22, 2021
Grateful to my professor who suggested this book and said it’s a must read one. If you’ve never written an academic paper or a thesis then this is the best guide for you to read during your first semester.
June 13, 2017
Useful - retrieve again (Griffith e-book) for revision during dissertation process.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2020
Very clear, and the structured step-by-step organisation of this book makes it a great companion throughout the writing process. It got me through some really bumpy areas.
August 20, 2020
I read this on the recommendation of my academic advisor and found it really clear and helpful and it made the whole process of planning and writing my MA dissertation much less overwhelming.
January 5, 2021
Excellent breakdown of what is required, I feel much more confident.
August 2, 2021
Really helpful. I would say essential reading for anyone writing a dissertation. Really handy tips and examples of different sections.
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February 26, 2024The Bible 🙇♀️
March 29, 2016
Extremely useful resource.
June 3, 2012
a very helpful & practical guide.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews