Undergrad Dissertation/Research Project Support group??

elisebutt65

Just noticed the PhD support thread on here and wondered if it was possible to have a similar thing for Dissertations and Undergrads?

For many of us this is the biggest piece of work we have been asked to produce and as such, it is a huuuuuge undertaking!!:eek:

I've got to hand in my Proposal by next Thursday and I wish we'd been given the form before we broke up for the summer as I've been beavering away and now I have to handwrite this damn thing, drawing mindmaps all over to show where I'm coming from!!!

I really have got to start proper lit review now to get it all done and dusted by December - Aaaargh!!! And I've just signed up to do extra Spanish as well!! I must be a glutton for punishment!!!

Cheeky_2

Good luck!

My Masters dissertation has to be in on Monday, can't wait to see the back of it!!!!!

holstar

I do geography BSc, and I had to have my proposal in by Easter and have all my fieldwork and labwork done by the time I got back to uni this week...which I have done and, despite some very long days in the field, wandering around streams in wellies was a really good change from just-finished exams.

just got a load of statistics and tables and maps and photographs and writing to do now...this is the boring bit! Draft hand in date it 16th december, to get feedback before the final deadline of..february sometime (not exactly sure off top of my head, but I'm aiming for december)

...good luck to everyone else

pavlovs_dog

on the subject of dissertations, i was planning on doing one in my final year (2007/08), but this year they will not be running the research methods module which they like (but do not demand) dissertation students to take.

on the dissertation point of view, i have 2 real topic choices available to me

1) literature...which doesnt appeal
2) sociolinguistics

but i dont fancy doing a sociolinguistic based degree with no study of research methods since a level sociology.

did you do a preparation module, and did it help?

holstar

for preparation, we used second semester tutorials to work through ideas and research them for tutorial essays

eg...week 1 - i want to do something with rivers. So, I go away and think about what particular aspect of rivers I want to do, researching what work is being done atm, what interests me etc
week 2 - rivers and the biota in/around that river..research that
week 3 - wanting to do the fieldwork local to uni, so river/environment issues in coastal mid wales
week 4 - looking at lasting impact of mining on local river and its biota
week 5 - looking at the more logistical aspects...river needs to be small enough for me to safely sample in, but also have a reasonable metal load, go and do a bit of reconnasaince round the area I'm thinking of
week 6 - final topic title - 'impact of metal mining on macroinvertebrate populations in the River Clarach', which had to be discussed with a lecturer who specialises in water chemistry etc to check that I had thought of everything

in yr2 semester 1, we did a module in lab techiniques. I ended up not actually using any of the stuff we learnt there but it was just general lab experience after not really doing any lab work since chemistry/physics at A level, and having VERY limited geography-lab work.

easter in yr2, we went on a residential field trip to Ireland where we did a lot of rivers work, sampling etc, which was very useful to me, but probably not as useful to people who aren't looking at rivers for their diss.

Best thing is to do something you are VERY interested in...you will be doing this for months...and if its something you dont really like then you'll be sock of it before you're even half way through....if you aren't enjoying it then the work you produce won't be good as it could be.

Luckily, Ive spent all summer on mine, and I'm still glad I chose this topic, so its going ok so far

HTH

loopy_lass

im up for this post, im just embarking on my dissertation, also got a 8 week module on employment politics (whoooo hooooo NOT) with a 3k essay to do & a presentation, then the literary review thingy to be in by december..

Ive done research methods, didnt understand it, so im doin a literature based dissertation ;-) pm me and i can always see if ive got any notes left from various modules i can email to ya. (for reference only lol)

ive done, Sociology, anthropology, psychology & research methods

loops x

elisebutt65

I've pm'ed you loopy!!

I'm doing a literature based(secondary research) dissertation as well so my lit review is going to be the backbone of my dissertation.

My title is "Insights into Customer’s Future Buying Behaviour of holiday products in the 21st Century" Doing a degree inTourism Business Management.

I've also got a huge assignment, assessed seminars and an exam in International Contemporary Issues and Managiong Tourism Activities this semester, then my Option next semester which is going to be the Anthrpology of Tourism and Strategic Management - another massive exam and assignments. Loads of evil group work - Aaaaargh!!

We did It and Research Methods last year and also a brief module on Research and Literature reviews inthe first year but everything was geared around Primary Research, so not a lot of use to me there - lol.

I've got heaps of leaflets ad examples from the Research Centre but again, it's mostly Primary research -gakkk!! I don't want to talk to people - hahahahaha.

loopy_lass

got ur pm am looking in my notes see what i have on secondary research...

loops

loopy_lass

ok heres a starter for 10... books... "your undergraduate dissertation - the essential guide for success"... Walliman N ... isbn 07619 41401

or "the good research guide - for small scale research projects, Denscombe M ... isbn 03350213030

loops

pavlovs_dog

those books sound fab, cheers loopy_lass

susiesue_2

hi, we have finished our exams and been warned to start preperaing for our disertation which they want a crit lit review.

few questions, how?????
where do you start? my friend who did hers about 5 years ago, thought she had kept her stratergy plan about how to tackle it put has lost it.

any good books/websites anybody?

i want to make a start over the summer(in my mind anyway)

thanks