Requirements and conditions

 

You may choose any issue within the field of sociology, but your dissertation has to involve the analysis of primary sources. Usually this will involve collecting your own data using interviews, focus groups, questionnaires or participant observation; however, primary sources can also include novels, autobiographies, government publications, trial judge reports, films, magazines, newspapers, and so on. Original writings by theorists also count as primary sources if the objective of analysis is the development of ideas. It is also acceptable to re-analyse data that someone else has collected.

 

Dissertation Structure

There is no right or wrong way to write a dissertation (other than the requirements already set out), but in the past students have asked for some general guidelines. You can look at past dissertations to get an idea of how dissertations can be structured. Past first class dissertations are in the Adam Smith library in the Adam Smith building and are borrowable in the same way as other library items.

Dissertations are not just long essays; they contain chapters and sections within chapters. Normally, you should include:

• A title page
• An abstract, setting out the what, where, how, why and who of the research. Abstracts are usually brief (250 words or less) and summarise the dissertation aims and objectives, methods, key findings and conclusions.
• An acknowledgements section, thanking the people who have assisted you in your studies (e.g. friends, family, tutors, librarians, gatekeeper organisations, research participants).
• A table of contents and, where relevant, a list of tables/figures/ illustrations.
• An introduction, which outlines the key concepts discussed in the dissertation (in particular the research aims and objectives alongside a discussion of the research context). Don’t give everything away at the beginning, but do indicate the line of argument that your dissertation will take and how this argument will be structured (e.g. in the first chapter a,b,c, will be discussed, chapter two will focus upon x,y,z…). You should also explain why you are interested in this topic/why the reader should read it.
• A critical literature review, which shows that you are aware of other people’s contributions to the field. This is not just a descriptive summary of what you have read. It should include an indication of how the existing literature relates to your perspective and project (e.g. what theories and ideas you find most useful, what is not adequately explained by the current literature, how your project will add to our existing knowledge or understanding of the area, etc.).
• A methodology Alongside a ‘nuts and bolts’ account of what you actually did during your research, this chapter should describe and defend your research stance/philosophy, explain the reasoning behind your choice of methods, and address any obvious limitations of the research (e.g. limited time, resources, sample). This section needs to be closely connected to your initial research question; tell the reader explicitly how the research approach adopted addresses the question posed. Key points that students often forget to incorporate include: methodology (as opposed to methods), ethical considerations (particularly where there is an existing relationship between the researcher and the research participants) and analysis (how did you make sense of the data collected?).
• Findings chapter/s. Again, you need to move beyond a purely descriptive summary of the key themes. Try to make sense of what you have found by comparing your findings both within and across groups, and by comparing your study’s findings with those of other studies discussed in your literature review. It is also important that you reflect on the implications of your findings for the research questions that have driven your research; in other words, how do your results illuminate your research questions?
• A conclusion, which should be structured in a logical and coherent manner, leading the reader through the various stages of the dissertation. Avoid introducing any new material, except perhaps a critical reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of your approach (how you might do it differently knowing what you do now and/or what you have learned from it).
• A bibliography with full references to all the texts mentioned, not everything you have read (unless it is cited in your text).
• Appendix/ces, e.g. information sheet, consent form, interview schedule, coding frame, etc. Please note – appendices should only contain reference materials that supplement the important facts in the text. Don’t include items just for the sake of it and don’t include material that is central to your overall argument. Material included in an appendix is for reference purposes only, and is therefore not considered in the marking process. Do NOT include completed consent forms.

More ethnographic type dissertations may not follow the same path and you may want to put more weight on the ‘findings’ part, relying on ‘thick description’ or verbatim quotes, but you will nonetheless need to incorporate these elements into the final product.