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mail in their responses or did you have them answer the survey in one place – a place where you and your assistants could gather up the questionnaires?
Data Analysis
This part is really a continuation of some of the points mentioned earlier. The big thing to bear in mind is that you should throw in some of the equations you used when making your multivariate regression analysis or when employing hierarchical linear modeling. For the most part, this section of the paper is really just a re-statement of what analyses you used – though it will be a step-by-step review of how the data analysis part of the paper was undertaken.
Findings
Ah, the most important part of any thesis or dissertation – whether it’s quantitative or qualitative. This is the part where you get to see if your hypothesis was correct – or if the question you asked at the start of the paper yields an answer. Simply put, it is a summation of everything your research has uncovered. Interestingly, if you are doing a randomized survey, it is considered good form to look at how different causal relationships interacted depending upon the group – White, Black, Hispanic – being examined.
Chapter Five – Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations:
The final wrap-up
Offer a brief synopsis of the study, re-state your conclusions and offer some recommendations for resolving the problem – and pathways for future research. This is the section where you show just how much you’ve mastered the material, so don’t |
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hesitate to go in depth about what you think needs to be done.
Keep it Simple Silly (KISS)
According to Aline Russo, graduate writing supervisor at ThePaperExperts.com, students get themselves into trouble when they make papers more ambitious than they need to be: “We usually find that graduate students try to write about too many things at once rather than focusing just on the main question”. Aline also goes on to say, “A thesis or dissertation should be viewed as the first step towards future research; you don’t have to solve all the problems on a topic in one paper.” Basically, folks, keep the focus narrow, and don’t try to re-invent the wheel.
Use Methodology You Are Comfortable with
There’s nothing worse than using methodology – whether it’s multivariate analysis or hierarchical linear modeling – that you haven’t grasped; it can ruin everything. With that in mind, focus on methodologies you know well and, if you have to, tailor your paper around them. “So many students try to do work they can’t do rather than |
