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M.A. Thesis

How do I conduct thesis research?

Collect the necessary information for your problem, analyze the material (relating your research gathering to the existing literature on the subject, write up the report in a rough, first draft. Follow this form: read-write-read-write. Completing a research project is an iterative process that entails moving back and forth. You don’t have to read everything before you begin writing. Better to start putting things on paper early in the process, so you have something to work from in revising. This helps you focus and identify your direction. Some things to remember: you will have to make compromises on information gathering (the world is not perfect), your analysis will not be as pure or definitive as you might like, but show mixed, even confusing features. Your conclusions won’t be as clear cut as you wished, probably more complicated.

Write up a rough draft of the thesis manuscript, usually 50-60 pages, and submit it to your advisor.