Ahhh thesis... The culmination of 4 (or sometimes 3 or 5 or whatever) years studying in college. I've finished my thesis last year so I'm glad that the stress of it is long gone. Now that I have friends who are going to have their thesis this year, they have asked me for tips and advice on how to do a good thesis. I actually did pretty well so I maybe qualified enough to give advice. Here goes!
1. Find a good thesis group or partner.
Most courses will give the students a chance to have their thesis in groups (I think individual thesis only applies for courses with a small population of students). Choose wisely! You will spend a lot of time with them. This is a major requirement for graduating, THE MAJOR REQUIREMENT. You have to give it your best. Make sure that you are comfortable with the people you are with and that they will do the work. Thesis often destroys friendships because of the work (or lack of work) of someone. Blah blah blah. Also, you have to realize that thesis is costly, so it would be best to be in a group that understands that. A lot of us had disagreements and fights because of group mates not contributing anything whether intellectual, physical or financial. If you feel that you can't work in a group, can't find a group that suits your needs or just prefers to do the work alone, then professors allow that. That's just going to be harder since everything will rely on you. Choose wisely. Think about it not just once, not just twice, but plenty of times.
2. Choose a good thesis topic. SPECIFY!
Of course, your thesis will revolve around your course. But professors will not that it has to be specific enough so that readers outside your circle will understand what you will talk about. That's why thesis titles are very long! Go from broad then reduce it to specific topics.
For example, and for this purpose I will use my course and my thesis topic as a reference (Psychology), you plan to delve into the field of Biological Psychology. With that, you want to focus on the effects of neurotransmitters in one's mood. You found out that certain foods like chocolate and chili increase the production of serotonin, a "happy" neurotransmitter. So you come up with "The effects of serotonin-producing foods in increasing one's mood" or something like that. You see my point? You specify your topic enough for the reader.
An important point is that you have to be able to defend your thesis topic. How? Of course, by researching about it. But it's not going to be effective if you can't stand your topic. You have to love it. You have to believe in it. We had to go thru 2 topic changes to come up with our final topic because we were veering away from the topic itself and all the red tape pisses us off. I was happy enough to settle with satisfaction and pleasure among MMA fighters because we had to submit a topic already. But the thing is, I love the sport. I watch it. I was curious. And it also helps that our topic is unique. We had a hard time looking for sources and stuff but we enjoyed what we were finding out and doing for the research. Repeating thesis topics of genres gives professors headaches. Unique topics give flavor to an already dreadful scenario.
3. Choose a good thesis adviser.
You have a thesis adviser because he or she will guide you along the way the thesis journey. They will also be the one to defend you during your thesis defense. You pay them for their effort, so might as well choose someone you can really rely on and will give you the best you deserve. Some professors are good thesis advisers but because of lack of time (them having other jobs or having a lot of advisee-is that correct?), they don't get to give you the focus and time you need. There are some that you really can't get along with even if your thesis topic is inline with their specialty. In my opinion, choose someone that is a. knowledgeable in your topic of choice b. good in research making c. and very available. Some of my classmates had a hard time getting consultations with their advisers because said advisers were very busy with other things. Good thing we got a guidance counselor knowledgeable in MMA and is very available. He advised an outstanding thesis so we knew that we were in good hands.
4. READ!
Not everything you see on the internet or in the library is or will be considered as a reliable source. You need those sources to defend your topic so you really have to read and read and read. Use your library. Use the e-journal access. Use the internet. You can also go to other libraries (other universities and public libraries) for sources. Explore your world just for the sake of getting sources. You will need them in the future.
Oh, and, WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A SOURCE (even that about.com thing and sites similar to that).
5. Save money.
Thesis is costly. The trips you do to get to your participants, the meals and transportation expense you incur along the way, the numerous printing and binding you have to do, etc. That costs a lot of money. Better you save money, avoid splurging and going out for a bit just for thesis. You can have all the fun after. Trust me. It feels better afterwards.
6. Share the work.
Nothing good comes out of people not sharing the work. It comes out in defense because someone out there will know too much and someone will look like an utter fool. Know what each person is doing. Monitor.
7. Lastly, do not plagiarize.
This is such a serious offense yet some still do it. Come on, you're already in college. You can do it if you just put the effort it deserves. Read your source, summarize, synthesize, analyze, etc. Put your sources. You have the whole of college to prepare you for a formal research paper. Thesis is just lengthier plus with the added defense.
There you have it. This is just on the top of my head. Give your thoughts. =) Happy thesis-making!
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