#thesis tips

Since I am collecting what I write while working on my thesis in preparation to a lecture in which I will be guested to share my thesis work experience I decided to create a themed masterlist (I don't think I did it in the past, but I also not sure about that but here it is anyway). When I was working on my thesis I was also writing a thesis diary in my daily posts to document my experience and my work. All those posts were tagged as #thesis diary so in case you are interested in seeing my day to day thoughts and process you can find them here. These entries go from the 20th of April 2022 to the 8th of November 2022 (the day I defended my thesis and officially graduated). I hope this small masterlist post can be somewhat helpful, and if you have questions my inbox is always open!

my thesis notebook

thesis writing tips #1

thesis writing tips #2

1. I didn’t realise how fun it was to read academic papers which are concise and well-written until this one paper I started that my PI recommended… sheesh!! Quality really makes a difference! Tbh loving science has been really hard but after reading a blog of a fellow science enthusiast about basics in their field, I realised how much I love my science too, even if I’m not working on exactly where I wanna be at, at the moment. But knowing that this is a necessary step in that direction has been helpful.

2. Lofi hip hop girl’s our best friend- I love love music, especially the fast beats kind, but right now I need head empty, but no silence, mindspace, and lofi girl has been extremely helpful for them vibes. Additionally, it dispels the weird sound of silence that isn’t very helpful for trying to focus, and if you are spooked by lack of sound like me then this really does help!

3. The pretentious setup of a notion notes tab on my laptop, an open physical notebook with 4 different coloured pens, and the tab with Goodnotes for on the paper highlighting is really helpful tbh. I thought the more number of shtuff would be confusing but it surprisingly made my job of collecting information quite easy for me personally.

4. Them disagreements with close people- channelise the anger and frustration of all that into this moment… the now is the only thing that matters. There’s no point in fretting. Let the thoughts leave and keep forging on dearies.

5. Get yourself some nice snack for before or during the session, I made a quick masala corn and had cut up a whole papaya today, so I had had some nice snacks for today’s session.

Since writing my dissertation blog post, which you can read HERE, I wanted to share with you more tips that can help you write research projects while managing school work! Whether you’re in undergrad or doing post graduate research, these tips can help you to systematically work on projects that last over a longer period of time! 

Dedicate a notebook to your project. Like I mentioned in my dissertation blog post, I dedicated an entire notebook to jot down notes from relevant lectures, conference presentations, things I was reading at the time, meetings with my adviser, etc. You can also keep a research journal by making entries (add a date!) and writing everything that you did that day regarding your research project! It’s a great way to track progress too!  It helps to be organised, especially if you have to write up a report about it later.  

Have a plan. Having an outline of your project will help you to not get lost in the research forest of your topic! Yes, I’m using a tree metaphor to make a point... I know. During my dissertation writing process our thesis course instructor told us to look at our project topic like it’s a forest full of trees. Some of them are key in your research, i.e. you need to cover those theories, topics, etc. and some that are further away in the forest may relate to your topic but are not necessarily important! You will have to read a ton on your topic, so in order not to get lost, make an outline of key things you need to cover and then work from there. Having a plan/outline of your research project will help you focus to stay on track. It will also help break up the overwhelming project into smaller tasks that can be accomplished and you can adapt it along the way! 

Timelines. A timeline is easy to follow if you have a deadline of when your project is due. However, if you don’t have a set timeline, make one! You can break up all of the work that you need to do from your set up plan and set specific deadlines for tasks like gathering all of your reading resources one week, completing your background research and readings in two weeks, setting a deadline for when you would like your first draft to be done. Having these small deadlines will convince you to do work and make progress, it will also prevent you from procrastinating on Netflix. 

Just Google it. Sometimes if you get stuck on a question and you cannot find the necessary information in your reading materials, instead of bothering your professors/supervisors/advisers, just Google it! You can figure out a lot of things on your own by using Google. Particularly when it comes to statistics: how to report your data, how to use SPSS, which statistic to use when, etc. you can learn by Googling it and watching stats tutorials on YouTube! There are so many step-by-step guides out there and it takes only a couple of seconds to type out what you’re looking for in the Google search bar! 

Have the software/applications downloaded on your computer. There’s nothing more annoying than having to re-run a statistical analysis test on SPSS and realizing that you don’t have it with you and it’s after 10 pm and the computer labs on campus are closed until tomorrow... The solution is to have it downloaded on your computer so that you can access it whenever you need it! Google ways how you can get SPSS on your computer, I had it on mine and it was a life saver when I was writing my dissertation and needed to run a bunch of different statistical tests. For my master’s degree I will be using Python and MATLAB and I already have them downloaded on my mac! 

Schedule in time to do work. While planning out my week in my bullet journal, I would make sure that on days off I scheduled to work on my research projects. Having a weekly schedule helps you see when you have free time to work on your research projects, as often you will have to balance course work with research. 

Know when to ask for help. I would set up weekly meetings with my research adviser to check in and show my progress and also to have my questions answered! I would also ask for help if I was not able to find answers on Google! 

You will make mistakes. Looking back on my dissertation I already know the mistakes that I made. My experiment design was flawed but that’s ok. As humans our number one goal should be to learn and grow; therefore, the mistakes that we make during our research projects can turn out to be learned lessons and ensure that we will not make the same mistakes twice. 

Use an automatic citation program for references. There are programs out there that help you gather all of the research papers that you will use in your research project and automatically cite them for you. They also generate a bibliography/reference list and can cite in your preferred style (MLA, APA, etc.). They’re free to use and most popular ones are Zotero, Mendeley, Easybib, RefWorks, etc. 

Have some fire. The most important thing is that you’re passionate about your research project and have the motivation to sit down and do work. Make sure that the topic you’re researching is interesting to you. If you’re engaged with the content you’re reading about you will find the writing process a lot easier and more enjoyable! So have some fire and be unstoppable in your research endeavors! 

I hope these tips help you out and please keep in mind that I am not an expert researcher (at least not yet!). I’m looking forward to starting my research master’s in September and learning more about conducting research! My hands are already itching from excitement when I think about working on new research projects!  

1. TOPIC

Mag-isip kayo ng magandang topic na pag-aaralan nyo. Dapat connected sa course nyo. The more the merrier para madami kayong pagpipilian. Either bago or napapanahon. Mahalaga din na gusto nyo o interesado kayo sa topic kasi hindi ko alam kung magkakaron ka ng gana gawin ang thesis mo kung hindi ka interesado sa topic. Bonggahan nyo na ng isang malupit na title! haha

2. HUWAG MAHIHIYANG MAGTANONG (kung may ritemed ba nito? 😂)

Kung may bumabagabag sayo o di kaya meron kang hindi naintindihan sa topic nyo, wag magdalawang isip na magtanong sa prof mo, sa mga kaklase mo o kahit sino na tingin mo makakatulong sayo. Wag laging magdepende sa thesis adviser nyo o sa sarili nyo kasi minsan may mga butas pala yung thesis nyo. (based on experience to) Mas maganda na makapagtanong ka din sa iba para kung sakaling may butas man, maaayos mo pa ng mas maaga.

3. HUWAG UMABSENT SA THESIS CLASS

Madaming importanteng kailangan malaman sa thesis class kaya wag kayong umabsent para hindi kayo ma-out of place kapag may sinasubmit ang iba tapos kayo wala.

4. MAGBASA AT UMINTINDI

Para mas maintindihan nyo yung topic nyo magbasa kayo ng magbasa at intindihin ang binabasa. Pagdating kasi sa defense tatanungin kayo about sa topic nyo wala kayong maisagot ibig sabihin hindi kayo nagbasa kaya masasabon kayo ng mga panels. Basahin nyo din yung mga previous thesis na nagawa ng mga graduate na para malaman nyo paano nila ginawa ang thesis nila. (namin😊)

5. IHANDA ANG BULSA (ng magulang)

I-brief nyo na ang parents nyo na magsisimula na ang madaming gastos. Sobrang dami po ng ipapaprint. Kada revise print nanaman tapos pag malapit na ang finals magkakandarapa kayo sa format, may isang page lang na mali pwedeng iprint nanaman lahat kasi may mga page number yan hindi na magiging sunod sunod kapag namali ang isa. May bayad din kada defense, kaya ayusin nyo defense nyo para hindi kayo magredefense another bayad nanaman yun. May bayad din grammarian at magpabookbind.

6. HUWAG SAYANGIN ANG ORAS

Kapag sinabing after 2 weeks pa ang deadline, GAWIN MO NA NGAYON. Wag mo na hintayin ang bukas kasi mas lalong papalapit yung deadline, mas lalo kang matataranta at hindi ka makakaisip ng maayos kapag magka-cram ka.

7. HUMANDA SA EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER

(kung magpapaapekto ka)

Dito nyo sa thesis malalaman ang tunay na ugali ng bawat kagroup mo. Expect na meron at merong mag-aaway dahil sa thesis. Kaya kung kaya mong hindi magpaapekto, wag kasi pag nagpaapekto ka, madadamay pati kondisyon mo sa pagaayos ng thesis mo.

Huwag paapekto sa problemang kaibigan. Yung mga bagay na hindi naman kailangan pagtuunan ng pansin, wag na pansinin. Yung mga bagay na hindi mo naman kailangan problemahin, wag mo na intindihin. Focus ka sa thesis mo.

8. KABISADUHIN ANG TOPIC AT ISAPUSO

Para kung bali-baliktarin man kayo ng panel, kayang kaya nyong sagutin at depensahan. Sa unang defense, title pa lang baka babahain na kayo ng mga tanong kaya dapat alamin mo kung ano ang topic nyo, bakit yun ang pinili nyo, ano ang objectives nyo at kung ano ang magiging ambag ng thesis nyo sa ating bansa o kahit sa sarili natin.

9. HUWAG PABAYAAN ANG SARILI

Tandaan mo na para makapag isip ka ng maayos at magawa mo ng maayos ang thesis mo, kailangan mo din alagaan ang sarili mo. Wag mo kalimutan kumain at magkaroon ng sapat na tulog. Kung magpupuyat wag sagarin kasi health mo ang nakasalalay.

10. HUWAG KALIMUTAN SI LORD

Wag kalimutang magdasal at gawing part si Lord ng araw araw mo. Sabi nga "Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa." Makikita ni Lord ang mga efforts at pagsisikap mo kaya always ask guidance and wisdom from Him at wag kalimutan na pasalamatan sya.

Sana makatulong to sa mga magth-thesis this year. Sigurado ako kaya nyo yan kasi ako nakayanan ko mag-isa.😊 Hindi ko din naman nasunod yung ibang tips dyan pero I'm sharing this kasi well, lesson learned, para alam nyo na gagawin. 😊

Best advice na binigay sakin ng thesis adviser ko "WAG MO IYAKAN ANG THESIS, HINDI INIIYAKAN ANG THESIS."

(other parts cr to dsflife)

Additional:

As some of you may know I’m currently writing my master’s thesis, and also working on a novel (or two). I’ve always loved writing, and reading. So here are some of my tips for academic writing, that apply to creative writing too :) 

Disclaimer: I am not an expert obviously (but I do usually get A’s on written assignments whelp)

One of the hardest things about starting a postgraduate degree is just that - starting. Even if you have a good idea of what your topic is, it can be difficult to decide what to do first because you’re faced with so many questions.

What gap is my research filling? 

Who are my sources? 

Who are the leading academics in my field? 

What topic should I start with? 

Should I decide on a chapter or thesis structure now, or after I’ve done more reading? 

What methodologies should I use? 

All of these questions are part of the early academic journey, but they can also be overwhelming. One of the best things to do when starting out is to make a mind map. Because their format is flexible they can grow with you on your early academic journey. 

This was the first mindmap I made in March this year, just a few weeks after the start of my candidature, when I wasn’t sure how to start wrtiting my research rationale.

Not very pretty, I know, but it is possible to track my lines of thought. Broad topics have emerged, as well as sources and methodologies.

Now compare my first mind map with the updated version, made one month later in April.

These are A3 pages, by the way.

Using my first mind map as a blue print, I built on the primary aspects of my project. I've actually added extensively to it since then, but even in this early version I could see clearly where I had gaps in my knowledge, where I was breaking now ground, and what methodologies I would employ. I could even begin to construct a broad outline of my thesis. Using my mind map, I was also able to think of of my research questions, which I use to direct my reading and thesis focus.

Using Microsoft OneNote for Thesis Writing

While I am definitely a paper and pen kind of person, I have found using OneNote to be incredibly useful.  For me, it started when most of my readings for classes were PDF scans of texts and articles and printing them all out was getting expensive.  So, enter OneNote where you can load a “print out” of a PDF and highlight and make notes directly on the page.  This is still what I use it for primarily. Some people also use it for a bujo.

As I was working on the first chapter of my thesis I realized there's some things to keep in mind in order to make things easier. I am far from having the whole thesis writing experience, but I felt like doing this post now that this first experience is fresh in my mind. There will be other thesis-related posts, for now if you want to check out my thesis work experiece you can read my daily entries on here. The posts in which I have included these entries are all tagged as #thesis diary if you are interested.

When reading articles and sources use different colours to highlight important informations. If you find parts of the text you know you will want to quote in your thesis use a specific colour and tab them. The more precise and accurate you are the easier it will be during the writing process.

Also annotating ideas and thoughts on the margins will help during the writing process, because you will be able to link your own ideas to specific sources that helped you to get there.

Have a separate file with all the footnotes you'll have to include. If you have everything written down, and just have to add the specific pages last minute you will save a lot of time. This way you'll also make sure to have all the footnotes written in the same style (this is a lifesaver, believe me).

In the same way have a separate file with the bibliography you'll have to include at the very end of your thesis. Writing it piece by piece as you add sources to your work will make sure you don't forget any source, and it will make the task less overwhelming.

If when reading articles and sources you write down notes, for the love of god write near each piece of information the exact page you found it on. If you don't you will waste so much time to find it when you'll need it. You can keep your notes in the format you like best, but having the number of pages near everything will save you so much time and work.

The more organized you are when collecting your sources the less time you'll waste when writing. So keep your notes clean, write down even those informations that seem useless at first, make sure to know exactly where you found each article, and so on, you'll thank your past self later.

I found having a notebook fully dedicated to my thesis very useful, to navigate in it quickcly I used big clear headers, tab notes, and an index. This will all become very helpful once you have gathered a lot of informations. The research process is messy, try do everything in your power to make it as organized and as clear as you can. (I am going to create a post dedicated to my thesis notebook, so keep an eye out for that if you are interested).

When you add things to part of the text you had wrote already make sure right way that the footnotes are still accurate. The more you pay attention to it right away the less confusing it will be later. If for example in a footnote you referred to the previous, and add a new one in the middle, things could get confusing so try to keep an eye out for these things as you do them.

Having a rough plan of the structure of your thesis can be helpful to know how to refer to certain elements in the text. I'll use my own thesis as an example, I am writing about some witchcraft accusations. Knowing where in the text there is going to be the first proper exposition of the facts is helpful to know how much context I have to give when writing about people or facts in other parts of the thesis.

Do you have interesting and useful informations that don't fit perfectly with the main body of your text? Footnotes are your bestfriends, you can add insight, comments, further explanations, without breaking the flow of the text.

Make sure each chapter starts with an introduction of what you are about to discuss, and end it with a small summary of what you said. This will make your writing look much more intentional, and ties in everything nicely together. Once you are sure of the order of the chapters you should also tie the chapters together, by hinting to the next one in the conclusion of each one.