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THESIS WRITING

PROF. ABD KARIM ALIAS

Thursday, February 24, 2011


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Abd Karim Alias@2010 [[email protected]]


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What is a Thesis?

A written work resulting from

original research, especially one

submitted for higher degree in a

university



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Why write a thesis? Science aims to find pattern, trends,

and structurein the experiment Good scientific writing aims to bring

forward in the text

structure

organization of scientific knowledge



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Whats in thethesis?

Addresses a problem or series

of problems

Describes what was known

about the problem(s)

What you did to solve theproblems



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Whats in thethesis?

What you think the results means

How further progress can bemade



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Structure of a Thesis



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Getting started

Break the thesis into chapters; list the

major sections in each

1. Prepare a thesis outline

2.Discuss with your supervisor

Assemble all the data, tables, figures

Organise them into a sensible sequence

3. Prepare a chapter outline



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Getting started (cont)

Do a section at a time

Start with something easy

4. Write



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Thesis title

Title reflects content of the thesis

Use concise but informative title

Example

Physicochemical and Functional

Properties of Ozone-Oxidized Starch



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Thesis title

Be specific & accurate

Avoid phrases such as A study

of..., An investigation of...

Avoid jargon and acronym



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Chapter 1 - Introduction"The purpose of the Introduction should be

to supply sufficient background

informationto allow the reader to

understand and evaluate the results ofthe present studywithout needing to refer

to previous publications on the topic. The

Introduction should also provide the

rationalefor the present study. Choosereferences carefully to provide the most

salient backgroundrather than an

exhaustive review of the topic." (R.A. DAY)



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Chapter 1 - Introduction

A description of the general

problem followed by a statementof the specific problem and the

motivation for the study



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What to write in the Introduction?

What do we know about the topic? Provide comprehensive & critical review of the

major findings in the area

What we dont know (gap in knowledge) Identifying what the gaps in our current

understanding of the field are, and why it is

important that these gaps be closed

What we are now showing

A clear statement summarizing whats known,

what needs to be learned, and what your paper

aims to accomplishThursday, February 24, 2011


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Writing Good Introduction

The first paragraph should provide a briefbackground in present tense to establish

context, relevance, or nature of the problem,

question, or purpose (what is known) The second paragraph may include the

importance of the problem and unclear issues

(what is un-known)

The last paragraph should state the ratio-nale, hypothesis, main objective, or purpose

(why the study was done).



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...Alkalisingagentsareimportantinthe

preparationofmanytraditionalstarch-basedfoodproducts. Examplesincludetheuseoflimeinthe

productionoftortillasandkansui(amixtureof

sodiumandpotassiumcarbonate) inthe

preparation

of

Chinese

wheat

noodles

and

waxy

ricedumplings

Start by giving a general background



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.Despitetheage-oldusageofalkalisingagents,

thereisstillmuchwhichisnotknownconcerning

thee!ectsofthesereagentsonstarchproperties.

Althoughtheabilityofaqueousalkaliininducing

starchswellingiscommonknowledge,mostof

theworkhasbeencentredonNaOHinsystemscontainingrelativelylowstarchconcentrations

(


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.. Theinfluenceofalkalisingagents(especially

kansui) onthethermalpropertiesofstarcheshasyet

tobestudiedinanygreatdetail. Therefore,the

specificobjectivesofthepresentstudywere:

Todi!erentiatethee!ectsofsodiumcarbonateonthethermalprofilesassociatedwith

gelatinisationofstarch;

Toquantify...

Tocharacterize...

Connecting the problem statement to the objective (reasonfor undertaking the study)



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a systematicmethod for

identifying, evaluatingand interpretingthework produced by researchers,

scholars and practitioners.

What is literature review?


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Literature is about telling a

storykind of a chain story whereeach writer starts with a partial story

created previously by others and

expand on itthe existing literature is

the story so far


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Literature review is

an interpretation and synthesis

of published work- Merriam (1988:6)



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5

Filtering &sortingthe essentials from the irrelevant


See the wood for the trees

Image source: http:// sciencebhakta.wordpress.com


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Skills for digesting the literature

Select, differentiate,

break up

Integrate, combine,formulate, reorganize

Understand, distinguish,

explain

Define, classify, describe

Dissecting data into their constituent part.

Rearranging the elements derivedfrom analysis to identify relationship.

Interpreting & distinguishing betweendifferent types of data , theory &argument to describe the substance of

an idea

Describing the principles, uses, &function of rules, method, etc.

ANALYSIS

SYNTHESIS

COMPREHENSION

KNOWLEDGE

Adapted from Hart, 1998


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Any critical review should incorporate

An assessment of the strengths & weaknesses

of some of the theories

A clear understanding of the topic A citing of all key studies in the subject

territory

A clear indication of how the review linkstoyour research questions


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Any critical review should incorporate

A definition of the boundariesof your

research

A selection & synthesisof existing argumentsto form a new perspective

Through gradual refinement, a clear

demarcationof the research problem


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Scope & length of lit. review

Be selective

State the current state of the theory

How far back?(Masters ~10 years; PhD further back)

Avoid verbosity

Demonstrate ability to synthesise the body ofliterature brief but focused.


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Components of lit. review

Background information

Introduce topic

Describe scope & organization

Review past & present literature

Clarify purpose


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Theory

All research has a precedent

Integrate key points & make appropriate

inferences

Be aware of relationship to your topic


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Critical appraisal/synthesis

Not jus a list of the work of others

Identify issues highlighted

Highlight differences & similarities

Identify consensus


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Materials & Methods section

Provide detailed methodology used toconduct the experiment

Provide sufficient detailsbut it is notexpected to be written like alaboratory manual!

Describe controlused Highlight critical steps or precaution



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Results section

It contains all of the data to support (orrefute) the hypothesis that was

proposed in the introduction section

It serves to weave a coherent storyand must communicate the findingsto

the reader in a logical, transparent

manner.



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Results section

Data presentation - Graph or Table?

Tables can be used to display

precise numeric values

Figures are better for conveyingtrends or proportions



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Results section

Data presentation

Clear, succinct graphs, charts,

photographs, and drawings canquickly convey the primary findings of

research



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Results section

The figure legends should provide adetailed description of the corresponding

figure

Explain each symbol in the figure (typicallyarrow heads, arrows, asterisks)

Label should be clear (e.g., scale bar onSEM)

Data presentation



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Results section

Tables shoud be self-explanatory

Textual description should summarise

& highlight table content (not to

repeat)

Data presentation



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Results section

Arrange data in logical manner (in table)

Cross-check reference to figures/tables

in the text

Give proper credit to figures/tables takenfrom other sources

All statistical analyses, where appropriate,should be described

Data presentation



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Describe results succintly

...Inhighermoisture(1:4) systems,thepresence

ofNa2CO3appearedtosignificantly(p


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Results section - Common pitfalls

The same data are presented in figure(graph) and table

Data presented in the table are simply

stated (without describing the trend,

making comparison, highlighting

anomaly, etc.)

Unusual trend in data is ignored (nothighlighted)



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Discussion section

To communicate the significance of

your findings

To indicate how they support (orrefute) the experimental hypothesis

To describe how these results

advance the field of study



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How to Discuss?

Have the main point to emerge from the

results been picked for discussion?

Are there links made to the literature?

Is there enough evidence in your data to

attempt at theory building or

reconceptualization of the problems?

How thorough is your discussion &interpretation?



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How to Discuss?

Are there speculations? Are they well

grounded (can be substantiated with your

own data)?

How thorough is your discussion &interpretation?



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Discuss results succintly

. Thesignificantincreasesingelatinisation

transitiontemperaturesinthepresenceofNa2CO3

orNaOH(Table1andTable2) suggestan

enhancementofstarchgranulestability,probably

throughelectrostaticinteractionsbetweenNa+

ionsandhydroxylgroupsofstarch...



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. Thesignificantincreasesingelatinisation

transitiontemperaturesinthepresenceofNa2CO3

orNaOH(Table1andTable2) suggestan

enhancementofstarchgranulestability,probably

throughelectrostaticinteractionsbetweenNa+

ionsandhydroxylgroupsofstarch...

Give supporting evidence/information fromprevious works



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. Onepossibleinterpretationoftheresults

showninFigure...includethepossibilitythat...

...TheresultsshowninFigure5arein

contradictiontotheworkofKarimetal. (2000)...

Thesedatasuggestthat...

Incontrast,Williamsetal. (1998) reportedthat...

Use phrases such as...



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How to write a conclusion?

What is the strongest and most important

statement that you can make from your

observations?

Refer back to problem posed, and describe

the conclusions that you reached from

carrying out this investigationSummarize new observations, new

interpretations, and new insights that have

resulted from the present work.

Should include the followings:



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What are the contributions of new

knowledge that your thesis makes Does your work suggest any interesting

further avenues?

Are there ways in which your work could

be improved by future researchers?

What are the practical (broader)implications of your work?

Should include the followings:



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Inconclusion,gaseousozonesuccessfully

oxidizedthethreetypesofstarchesstudied,but

theoxidationmechanismappearedtodi!erfrom

thatofchemicaloxidation. Ozoneoxidation

introducedmorecarbonylgroupsthancarboxyl

groupsinthestarchgranules. Underidentical

conditions,theextentofstarchoxidationvaried

amongdi!erenttypesofstarch...

Example:



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Usingozoneasanoxidizingagento!ers

severaladvantagesoverhypochlorite. During

ozoneoxidation,starchisoxidizedinadrystateandintheasismoisturecontent

condition,whereashypochloriteoxidation

requiresuseoforganicsolvents. Thedry

oxidationprocessusingozoneissimplerthan

thehypochloriteoxidationprocess,andit

o!ers100%productrecoverycomparedto

hypochloriteoxidation.

Example:



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Writing and effective abstract

Identify the major objectives and

conclusions

Identify phrases with keywords in the

methods section

Identify the major results from the

discussion or results section

Assemble the above information into asingle paragraph



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State your hypothesis or method used in

the first sentence

Omit background information, literature

review, and detailed description ofmethods

Remove extra words and phrases

Revise the paragraph so that the

abstract conveys only the essential

information



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Check to see if it meets the

guidelines

Make sure no grammar or spelling

errors!

Give the abstract to a colleague

(preferably one who is not familiar

with your work) and ask him/herwhether it makes sense



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Start out the Abstract by telling exactlywhat you did and how you did it. Focus on

the rationale and ideas of the study and why

it's important in the first two sentences

The effects of oxidation by ozone gas on some

physicochemical and functional properties ofstarch (corn, sago, and tapioca) were investigated.

Starch in dry powder form was exposed to ozone

for 10 min at different ozone generation times

(OGTs).

Example:



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In the next few lines, focus on the materialsand methods, and the data generated from

the study (results). Tell the reader how the

data were collected, compiled, and state

statistical significance(s).

Carboxyl and carbonyl contents increased markedly

in all starches with increasing OGT. Oxidation

significantly decreased the swelling power of

oxidized sago and tapioca starches but increased

that of oxidized corn starch.

Example:



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The end of the Abstract is just as important

as the beginning! State the implications of

your studies to the field of scholarship in

which you are working.

These results show that under similar conditions of

ozone treatment, the extent of starch oxidation

varies among different types of starch.

Some examples:



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State the implications of your studies...

!

Binding of water to starch films influences theirthermo-mechanical properties

!In general, tortillas prepared with hydrocolloids hada lower tendency for retrogradation than control

tortillas; it is important to consider this to obtaintortillas with better texture and lower RS content.

Some examples:

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