Course guide: Undergraduate Dissertations / Undergraduate Research Projects

A guide for anyone undertaking a research project in the applied social sciences. Now includes further advice on concluding, writing, and presenting research, using social media and digital methods, and understanding how to effectively work with supervisors. Setting out a clear and detailed road map, to guide students through the different stages of a research project, explaining key steps, and processes at each level in refreshingly jargon-free terms. How to choose your research question Project management and study skills Effective literature reviews Methodology, theory, and research design frames Ethics and access Data collection tools Effective data analysis Discussing findings, concluding, and writing up.

The authors assumes that their reader has no prior knowledge of research methodology or experience of carrying out research. They take the reader step by step through each stage of preparing for, carrying out, and writing up a research project.

Also available as eBook via ProQuest
Specifically designed with engineering students in mind the book is organized into three sections, broken down into concise chapters that focus on a specific topic and the skills required. The section on planning shows you how to choose a project, research a topic, write a project proposal, plan the project, select methods and methodologies, and keep records. The section on writing provides help on writing the different sections of a research report as well as introduces you to the strategies and language conventions required for writing an effective research report. Finally, the section on presenting covers creating effective figures and layout, preparing for a project presentation, and the dos and don'ts in delivering a presentation.

For anyone who needs help in preparing for organizing, planning, scheduling, and writing the longest sustained writing project they have encountered, particularly if he or she is not receiving sufficient guidance about the process, but also for anyone looking to boost his or her writing productivity. Provides advice on working with dissertation advisors and committee members, presents proven techniques for the prewriting and writing stages of the dissertation, sets out a system for keeping on schedule, and advocates enlisting peer support. If you experience anxiety, blocking, impatience, perfectionism or procrastination when you write then this system is for you. Presents a system of straightforward and proven techniques that are used by productive writers and applies them to the dissertation process.

Invaluable resource for students in a wide range of disciplines and fields of study, particularly those planning to use social research methods or to carry out a library-based study for their undergraduate research project. Written specifically to address the needs and concerns of the undergraduate. A tightly focused volume guides students through the process of conducting and completing a research project. Includes several accompanying student support materials to aid students further. Closely integrated sets of end-of-chapter tasks covering all aspects of research projects from design to completion, as well as suggested further reading, enhance each chapter. A wide range of additional helpful materials relevant to subject areas is available from an accompanying website.

Of equal value to both the anxious and the ambitious student
Provides expert, step-by-step advice on managing and developing a successful undergraduate project. This book takes you through each stage of your dissertation, answering questions including: How do I choose an appropriate topic for my dissertation? How do I write a research proposal? What's a literature review, how do I conduct it and how do I write it up? How can I ensure I'm an ethical researcher? What methods of data collection are appropriate for my research question? Once I have collected my data, what do I do? What's the best structure for my dissertation? Full of examples from real student projects, interdisciplinary case studies and illustrated with cartoons to make you smile along the way, this book will tell you all you need to know to write a brilliant dissertation. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips and resources for study success!

Practical guide that takes undergraduate students step-by-step through the process of completing a dissertation, from the initial stages of generating original ideas and planning the project through to writing their first draft and critically reviewing their own work. It shows students how to choose the most appropriate methods for collecting and analysing their data and how to then integrate this research into their dissertation. Students will learn how to develop consistent and persuasive arguments and write up their research in a clear and concise style. This book is an essential resource for undergraduates of all disciplines who are required to write a dissertation as part of their degree.

Is a literature review looming in your future? Are you procrastinating on writing a literature review at this very moment? If so, this is the book for you. Writing often causes trepidation and procrastination for engineering students--issues that compound while writing a literature review, a type of academic writing most engineers are never formally taught. Consider this workbook as a "couch-to-5k" program for engineering writers rather than runners: if you complete the activities in this book from beginning to end, you will have a literature review draft ready for revision and content editing by your research advisor. So, You Have to Write a Literature Review presents a dynamic and practical method in which engineering students--typically late-career undergraduates or graduate students--can learn to write literature reviews, and translate genre-based writing instruction into easy-to-follow, bite-sized activities and content. Written in a refreshingly conversational style while acknowledging that writing is quite difficult, Catherine Berdanier and Joshua Lenart leverage their unique disciplinary backgrounds with decades of experience teaching academic engineering writing in this user-friendly workbook.

Every undergraduate student will at some point be required to write a dissertation, project, a portfolio or thesis. Concise, succinct, and brief. Most chapters cover topics every student will find useful regardless of their course of study. This book covers essential policies, guidelines and procedures set out in the code of practice for writing projects in most reputable universities around the world. Essential topics that every student must have at their fingertips such as choosing a research topic, using the library and using database for searches, copyright, editing, gathering and collating information, citing references, code of practice in research, evidence-based approach, confidentiality, privacy and data protection, and virtual learning environment. Formatting, editing, binding and finishing your project are all succinctly explained in simple English.