Writing up the Research - Dan Remenyi - Chapter Summary

A doctoral degree requires that the work conducted by the candidate has added significantly to the body of knowledge.  A doctoral dissertation would generally require between 200 and 400 pages.  This represents approximately 50,000 to 100,000 words.  More than 500 pages are sometimes sent back by examiners to be shortened.

Suggested List of Chapters

Introduction
Literature Review
Research questions
Methodology
Evidence collection and analysis
Interpretation
Summary and conclusion



Strategies for Writing Up the Thesis

The first, which is sometimes called the final lap approach, is to collect all the literature references, all the evidence and the analysis, and then write the dissertation.  Here the writing is done as a single task at the end of the research process when all the other contributory work has been completed.


The second strategy is to write up the work as it is an progress and to begin as soon as the research has been started.  This approach is recommended in most cases as it makes more manageable the time-consuming and difficult task of writing.  Whichever strategy is chosen it is important for the research candidate to keep detailed records of literature which has been read and quotations which will be used, as well as a concise record of the evidence collected.  The better the recording of the research work in progress, the easier the writing of the final dissertation will be.

When to Finalise the Dissertation

In practical terms the research is ready to be finalised when the supervisor or promoter agrees that the candidate has achieved the research objectives.

Clearly these decisions are subjective and depend on the standards set by the institution at which the degree is being done.  If the candidate has already had papers published or accepted for publication in referred journals, has presented his or her work at academic conferences, presented seminars to peers or to faculty, or has had a book on the research accepted for publication, these would be clear indicators that he or she is in a position to finalise the dissertation.

Producing Academic Papers on the Way

At the doctoral level a research candidate may be able to write two or three papers.  For example, at doctoral level the candidate might write a theoretical paper relating to the conceptualisation of the research problem, a paper discussing some element of the methodology and the evidence collection, and a paper which reports on the research findings.  It is important for doctoral candidates to have published in peer-reviewed journals and they should attempt to write up the key aspects of their work for publication in academic journals.

Fundamentals


Relevance, Rigour and Impact

Relevance refers to the requirement that the academic paper should address issues which are of interest to the target audience of the journal.  Rigour is concerned with whether or not the research reported in the paper has been carried out using an appropriate and sound research methodology.  The issue of impact concerns the reasons why top scholars or practitioners would be interested in the paper and motivated to read it and this requires a high degree of originality.

Finalising the Dissertation

It is necessary to produce the dissertation in a bound and final form.  If the dissertation has to be written from scratch, then writing the final document may take several months and the time needed should not be underestimated.

It is useful for the research candidate to obtain informal reviews of his or her work from friends and colleagues.

To make additions to the work, even if the dissertation is fully accepted, and these need to be completed as soon as possible while the subject is still fresh in the candidate’s mind.