Back to uni in a month-- oh no

studentphil

waterbaby wrote:

Have you looked at dissertations that past students have done? This really helped me when I was struggling with how to approach it because it gave me an idea of the sort of thing I was expected to produce. Just an idea, cos they were on different topics of course, but it did help to get a feel for it.

I have looked at an example yes, I think I have a topic now so I hope it will work.

DrFluffy

I can't wait to get back to uni *Fluffy realises this makes her desperately sad*

studentphil

DrFluffy wrote:

I can't wait to get back to uni *Fluffy realises this makes her desperately sad*

I would not mind working for a university but being a student is rubbish

DrFluffy

Tell me about it - there's no way my student loan is going to last a year this year!

kendra_2

lellie wrote:

I know how you feel.. I need to start planning my dissertation and I don't have a clue what to do it on.

My dissertation, I just picked a random topic, said I'd do it on that... thought nothing about what/when/how until the fifth week of term when I had a four hour train journey. Printed ten academic papers (scanned through about twenty-five of them, looked at what appeared to be basic/relevant) and read them on the train. The first meeting I walked in, had managed in those four hours to plan everything I was going to do.

Did it, spent most of the second term writing it up little by little (just a few hours a week helps - I had to be at University on Wednesdays 9am, so 10am-4pm was my designated time for Dissertation). Finalised it the first week of the Easter holidays (so thirteen weeks to write all the chapters, explain results/methodolody, the first twelve weeks was random reading/writing theory which didn't take long at all). Handed it in, came top of the year for that module.

So my message, don't worry. Unless it's something where data gathering isn't some source somewhere... in which case... you might have to start worrying if you've done nothing.


I'll be fully detached from University at the end of September when my research contract runs out... then I'll be unemployed. Doh!

cupid_s

When we picked our dissertation topics there were about 300 different literature or research ones (and about 300 students - makes sense). The students then picked the ten they wanted to do. The students were ranked in order depending on how well they'd done in the first and second year and based on their ranking they got their first choice etc. ie, the top student gets their first choice, as does the second (unless it was the one taken by the best student) and so on.
I was 5th so i got my first choice (yay) working for a drugs company then 2 weeks before i was supposed to start the company said they weren't taking any students after all so i was left without a placement. There were only 2 other topics left, both of which i hadn't done the necessary modules for in the second year.
So how's that for stress just before beginning your final year? In the end I had to go along to a lecturer and beg him to take another student (making 3 which was more than he'd wanted to take on) so that i could actually do a dissertation at all.

It was horrible and I had to sort it all out myself with only a few weeks to go.

So people worrying about their dissertations - it could be worse.