Plan Your Dissertation

Charlotte Brookfield is a Reader at Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences. Charlotte is based in the Cardiff Q-Step Centre of Excellence in Quantitative Methods Teaching and Learning. The Centre is one of eighteen across the UK which aim to enhance the quantitative research methods training experience for social science students. The pedagogic activities of the Centre have influenced Charlotte’s research interests and in particular, she is interested in exploring the extent to which British sociology engages with quantitative approaches and the possible factors that may contribute toward sociology students’ resistance to study and use quantitative techniques. Charlotte teaches on a range of research methods and substantive modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Specifically, she convenes the Real World Research Placement module, where students are afforded the opportunity to put into practice the quantitative skills they have acquired in lectures in a local work organisation. Organisations involved in this module include the Welsh Government, the Welsh Blood Service and the Welsh Wheelchair Basketball Association. It was through leading this module that Charlotte came to realise the necessity for social science students and graduates to have a greater familiarity with Microsoft Excel. In her spare time, Charlotte enjoys baking and crafting.Jamie Lewis is a Reader in Sociology at Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences. His research is mainly situated in the Sociology of Science and Technology Studies (STS), but also extends to the public understanding of science (PUS) and medical sociology. He is presently working on a Expert Citizen Science project on air pollution. He is one of the authors of Psychiatric Genetics: from hereditary madness to big biology and is writing a book examining the development and stabilisation of Bigfootology. His area of research interests include:·         developments in qualitative research;·         the boundaries between science, pseudo-science and non-science·         the sociology of biomedical knowledge with particular emphasis on the social implications of new genetic and stem cell technologies;·         issues of culture, interdisciplinarity and collaboration in big science;·         public engagement and public understanding of risk;·         aspects of practical accomplishment and modelling in the laboratory;·         science, activism and civic repair.He is also an editor of the journal, Qualitative Research.

A really easy read that gives you all the information to start thinking about writing a dissertation. The format and structure is perfect for students. I have already shared this text with my Year 2 undergraduate students in preparation for their Independent Project module in Year 3.

• What is a dissertation?Is a dissertation for me?How do I pick my research topic?What is the role of the supervisor in the dissertation?How do I manage my time effectively?What do I need to read before I start?How do I produce an ethically sensitive piece of research?What methods should I use?