dissertation writing schedule

dissertation writing schedule

The Importance of a Well-Structured Dissertation Writing Schedule

1. Introduction

Lack of a clear research methodology and plan is identified by Zuber-Skerritt (1992) as a common problem for postgraduate research students. He says that it is something that could lead to a student delaying the completion of a dissertation. This could lead to an overexpenditure of tuition fees, living costs, and other resources. Using a research method based on constructivist methodologies, Sutherland (1998) actually carried out a case study on research methods employed by academics in management education. His sample method was to use an email server conference during the Academy of Management conference to send questions to academic research practitioners who attended the conference at the time. Step one involved the identification of the problem that was being studied, step two was to decide what type of information was needed and where to get it, and step three was to strategize the analysis of the information. By using these methods and discussing them with other academics, Sutherland’s case study provided information that was too extensive to report, but the research method was successful. His study is a good example of effective research and it can be useful for a student with a similar research method to identify it and evaluate it at a later date.

When using primary research within scientific research, whether it is for a dissertation or for a PhD, it is essential that clear and concise research objectives are identified and that appropriate methods are employed in order to manage and carry out the research (Saunders et al., 2007). The author also says that it is imperative to plan the work to schedule by creating a research timetable highlighting key objectives to keep the research on track. By utilizing these methods, an academic is able to draw boundaries around the research to stay focused, set targets and timescales to avoid a drifting research process, and also to increase research efficiency. By adopting these methods, dissertation students are more likely to produce a successful result and the process of carrying out the research will be more manageable and enjoyable. This chapter aims to provide information on how to go about improving research efficiency by using research methods and identifying a work schedule to manage the research. It will also aim to identify problems that students face in completing a dissertation or a thesis, which may be related to the way in which students manage research and their work process. At the end of this chapter, there will be a simple flow diagram to help visualize the research process.

2. Setting Clear Goals and Objectives

A key way of ensuring that this all comes to fruition is to agree on a set of objectives for your research. Lay down what you hope to achieve at each phase, and this gives a clear-cut method of assessing whether you have been successful and can move on to the next stage. This can also be a great motivational tool. If you find that you have reached your set objectives, then you will feel that you have made significant progress, and this will spur you on with the knowledge that your schedule is working. Objectives also provide a firm answer to the difficult question of when to move on to the next stage of your research. This is an area where it is easy to become bogged down, but setting aims will prevent you from spending too much time on something that may not be all that relevant to your dissertation. Always keep our overall goal in mind and keep a mindset that each task that you are undertaking is taking you a step closer to completing your dissertation.

Therefore, it is important to ensure that you are setting clear goals when creating your dissertation schedule. This will allow you to keep your timeframe in mind and make realistic judgments regarding how much time you need to allocate to each task. Realistic allocation of time is key to ensuring that you are not left with an excessive amount of work in the final weeks before submission. If you have a concrete timetable in mind for each phase of your research, it will be much easier to gauge what you will not be able to achieve within the constraints of your schedule.

3. Creating a Realistic Timeline

Task inventory and Gantt charting can be done in collaboration with a supervisor, clarifying what the task is and how it will meet the project objectives. This can be a useful first step in getting help from a busy supervisor.

A Gantt chart is a simple and effective planning tool, where the x-axis is time and the y-axis is task. Length and position of the bar on the x-axis indicate the task’s span and date. The space in front of the bar can be used to note any date changes. Gantt charts have a pleasing visual impact, offering a clear and comprehensive view of the whole project. It is easy to assess how much has been done and how much is left to do, how the work compares with the intended schedule, and the impact of any changes. Any research project with an expected duration of more than a few days will benefit from a Gantt chart.

The student should begin by assembling a complete inventory of tasks to do. The student should get the balance right and avoid the common mistake of having too many tasks of the uninteresting but necessary variety. For example, only one long task could be quite demoralizing. A task is a specific objective requiring a specific amount of work. Subject to some juggling as the project unfolds, the tasks should be entered on a Gantt chart (see figure 1).

Once the importance of planning is recognized, the importance of a realistic timetable is self-evident. There are limited hours in a day. If we want to achieve some specific outcomes, we must make an efficient use of our time. The danger of not creating a realistic timetable is the allocation of equal time to equal tasks, no matter how important or trivial they are. Some tasks are unimportant and contribute little to the final outcome. In that case, it is a matter of doing a less than perfect job and accepting that the task will need to be revisited later. Other tasks are too large to tackle in one session, and there are other competing priorities. An unsatisfactory pattern of work is established with the result that little is achieved. When time is tight, there is a tendency to avoid the harder tasks, the ones with a heavy intellectual demand. At the end of the day, despite many hours of work, the use of time will seem to be bewilderingly inefficient. An open-ended approach to tasks is a recipe for work of a mediocre standard. At the back of his mind, the student knows whether or not he is making the best use of his time. If not, morale will dip and there will be a temptation to increase the hours of work. This can lead to a vicious circle of long working hours, low productivity, and increased fatigue. With discouragement, the student may give up and rethink his career plans. An efficient timetable, by contrast, is a morale booster. It should break tasks into small, non-dissimilar units of work. Each task or unit of work must be dated. Movement between tasks is date-regulated. There must be provision for flexibility, moving uncompleted work forward in time, but with no alteration in the task’s size. Completed work will be ticked off or crossed through. The amount of work done should never be in doubt.

4. Establishing Effective Writing Strategies

Initially, establishing good writing strategies which then lead to a well-structured dissertation is dependent on a clear and practical dissertation question. This can be defined as a question that has been broken down in order to assess each variable. For example, a question asking whether the war in Iraq was just can be viewed from different angles and gives rise to various issues that can be discussed. It is this clarity of the question that will help decide the course of the dissertation, so an effective strategy involves breaking down the question even further to identify the specific issues it raises. This can lead to the development of a conceptual map to identify the main issues and the relationships between variables. This not only aids the identification of a dissertation structure but is also a useful reminder when it comes to report writing as it can highlight connections, which may be easily forgotten. Once a clear question has been established, an important strategy involves setting a realistic timescale in which to complete the task. This requires breaking the dissertation down into individual projects. For example, taking the previous question, project headings might be: literature review on the causes of the war (2 weeks), exploration of the conflicting interests of the various parties involved (3 weeks), assess the short-term results of the war including the effect on the Middle East and the world (4 weeks), and finally examine the current situation in Iraq and make a personal conclusion (3 weeks). With each project clearly defined, estimated times can be assigned, and these should be overestimated to allow for any unforeseen circumstances such as illness, etc. It is important to monitor progression through the timescale to ensure completion of the dissertation on time, and it may be useful to create a Gantt chart or similar plan to illustrate this. This breaking down of the tasks highlighted by a study by Boice (1990) is a useful way to prevent ‘binge writing,’ an all too common pitfall for postgraduate students and the cause of much unnecessary stress.

5. Adapting and Adjusting the Schedule as Needed

Be prepared to be flexible with the schedule. Unexpected events such as illness or choosing a different topic for your dissertation could require you to deviate from your schedule. In other cases, you may have to reassess whether the other activities are taking up too much time. If so, what is the last thing that you would cut? Of course, in reality, what you will need to do is not to throw away these activities but to spend less time on them. This doesn’t matter too much, providing it is not the language learning/English practice because foreign language books and dictionaries are essential reference tools. Always keep a log of how your time should have been spent and compare this with how you actually spent your time. This is the most effective way of identifying time wasters. Indicate the next area in the left-hand column. Make good use of specific time slots. This is better than having only a rough idea of what you are going to do and when, which is vague and not very helpful. A minutely detailed plan is better than one that is too vague, although the law of diminishing returns applies. Experiment with different types of timetables until you find one that is suitable. But be adaptable and do not get too worried if you do not keep to it 100%. Step 5: taking set activities to completion. This will avoid having unfinished activities take up time in the following activities. In other words, allocate only spare time to activities not on the list in Section 3 Step 4 and do not deviate from it.