Full Description
How to Write a Masters Thesis is a comprehensive manual on how to conceptualize and write a five-chapter masters thesis, including the introduction, literature review, methodology, results, and discussionnclusion. Very often, a theory-practice gap exists for students who have taken the prerequisite methods and statistics courses in their masters program but who have yet to understand how to apply and translate what they've learned about the research process with their first major project. Yvonna Bui demystifies this process by integrating the language learned in these prerequisite courses into a step-by-step guide for developing one's own thesis/project.
Table of Contents
List of Students' Master's Theses xiii
Preface xv
About the Author xviii
Chapter 1 Overview of the Master's Degree 1 (20)
and Thesis
The Master's Degree 2 (3)
Benefits of Obtaining a Master's Degree 4 (1)
Master's Degree Program 5 (1)
Master's Thesis Committee and Chairperson 5 (1)
What Is a Master's Thesis? 6 (3)
The Difference Between a Master's 7 (1)
Thesis and a Term Paper
The Difference Between a Master's 7 (2)
Thesis and a Doctoral Dissertation
Components of a Master's Thesis 9 (4)
Chapter One Introduction 9 (1)
Chapter Two Literature Review 10 (1)
Chapter Three Methods 11 (1)
Chapter Four Results 11 (1)
Chapter Five Discussion 12 (1)
Quantitative Versus Qualitative Studies 13 (2)
Quantitative Methods 13 (1)
Qualitative Methods 14 (1)
Style Form 15 (1)
Summary 16 (1)
Resources 17 (4)
Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 17 (1)
Reflection/Discussion Questions 17 (1)
Try It Exercises 18 (1)
Key Terms 19 (1)
Suggested Readings 20 (1)
Web Links 20 (1)
Chapter 2 Selecting a Research Topic 21 (26)
Important Factors to Consider When 23 (7)
Selecting a Topic
Personal Significance 23 (1)
Critical Issues in the Field 24 (1)
Existing Research Literature 25 (1)
Search Engines 26 (1)
Electronic Databases 27 (3)
Ethical Considerations 30 (1)
How to Narrow and Refocus Your Topic 30 (4)
Feasibility 31 (1)
Accessibility 32 (1)
Time and Resources 33 (1)
Developing Answerable Research Questions 34 (3)
Answerable Questions 34 (1)
Defining Terms 35 (2)
Creating a Realistic Timeline 37 (2)
Time Management 39 (3)
Reserving Time 40 (1)
Chunking Method 40 (2)
Summary 42 (1)
Resources 43 (4)
Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 43 (1)
Reflection/Discussion Questions 43 (1)
Try It Exercises 44 (1)
Key Terms 45 (1)
Suggested Readings 45 (1)
Web Link 45 (2)
Chapter 3 Using the Literature to Research 47 (26)
Your Problem
Benefits of Conducting a Literature Review 49 (1)
Sources of Data: Primary Versus Secondary 50 (3)
Primary Sources 50 (1)
Secondary Sources 50 (3)
Selecting Keywords 53 (1)
Conducting Searches in Electronic 54 (10)
Databases
Basic Search 56 (1)
Limiters 57 (1)
Expanders 58 (1)
Advanced Search 58 (1)
Boolean Operators 59 (1)
Symbols 60 (1)
Using the Thesaurus 61 (3)
Conducting Searches on the Internet 64 (1)
Different Types of Articles 65 (1)
Refereed Versus Non-Refereed 65 (1)
Staying Organized 66 (1)
Summary 67 (2)
Resources 69 (4)
Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 69 (1)
Reflection/Discussion Questions 70 (1)
Try It Exercises 70 (1)
Key Terms 71 (1)
Suggested Readings 72 (1)
Web Links 72 (1)
Chapter 4 Conducting Ethical Research 73 (20)
Background and History 75 (2)
Nuremberg Code 75 (1)
Thalidomide 76 (1)
Tuskegee Syphilis Study 76 (1)
Legal and Ethical Principles 77 (3)
Belmont Report 77 (1)
Respect for Persons 77 (1)
Beneficence 78 (1)
Justice 79 (1)
Federal Regulations 80 (1)
Common Rule 80 (1)
Institutional Review Board (IRB) 81 (5)
IRB Application Process 81 (1)
Preparing the IRB Research Plan 82 (4)
Ethical Behavior 86 (2)
Plagiarism 87 (1)
Summary 88 (1)
Resources 89 (4)
Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 89 (1)
Reflection/Discussion Questions 89 (1)
Try It Exercises 90 (1)
Key Terms 90 (1)
Suggested Readings 91 (1)
Web Links 91 (2)
Chapter 5 How to Write Chapter One, 93 (26)
Introduction
Writing Style 95 (1)
Chapter One Sections 95 (19)
Introduction 95 (6)
Statement of the Problem 101 (2)
Background and Need 103 (1)
Three Parallel Ladders Strategy 103 (5)
Purpose of the Study 108 (2)
Research Questions 110 (2)
Significance to the Field 112 (1)
Definitions 112 (1)
Limitations 113 (1)
Ethical Considerations 114 (1)
Summary 114 (1)
Resources 115 (4)
Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 115 (1)
Reflection/Discussion Questions 116 (1)
Try It Exercises 116 (2)
Key Terms 118 (1)
Suggested Readings 118 (1)
Web Links 118 (1)
Chapter 6 How to Write Chapter Two, 119 (18)
Literature Review
Preparation and Organization 121 (2)
Chapter Two Sections 123 (9)
Introduction 123 (1)
Advance Organizer 124 (1)
Body of the Review 125 (1)
Research Synthesis 125 (6)
Section Summary 131 (1)
Chapter Summary 131 (1)
Summary 132 (1)
Resources 133 (4)
Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 133 (1)
Reflection/Discussion Questions 133 (1)
Try It Exercises 134 (1)
Key Terms 135 (1)
Suggested Readings 135 (1)
Web Links 135 (2)
Chapter 7 How to Write Chapter Three, 137 (24)
Methods
Preparation and Organization 138 (1)
Chapter Three Sections 139 (17)
Introduction 140 (2)
Setting 142 (1)
Participants 143 (2)
Intervention and Materials 145 (2)
Measurement Instruments 147 (3)
Validity and Reliability 150 (1)
Procedure 151 (3)
Data Analysis 154 (2)
Summary 156 (1)
Resources 157 (4)
Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 157 (1)
Reflection/Discussion Questions 158 (1)
Try It Exercises 159 (1)
Key Terms 160 (1)
Suggested Readings 160 (1)
Web Links 160 (1)
Chapter 8 How to Write Chapter Four, Results 161 (34)
Preparation and Organization 163 (1)
Chapter Four Sections 163 (1)
Quantitative Data 164 (18)
Descriptive Statistics 165 (1)
Measures of Central Tendency 165 (3)
Measures of Variability 168 (3)
Additional Ways to Report Data 171 (1)
Descriptively
Inferential Statistics 172 (1)
Tests of Significance 173 (1)
Independent-Samples t Test 173 (2)
Independent-Samples t Test SPSS Output 175 (2)
Paired-Samples t Test 177 (1)
Paired-Samples t Test SPSS Output 178 (4)
Qualitative Data 182 (6)
Major Themes and Patterns 182 (3)
Research Questions 185 (2)
Validity of Findings 187 (1)
Summary 188 (1)
Resources 189 (6)
Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 189 (1)
Reflection/Discussion Questions 190 (1)
Try It Exercises 190 (1)
Key Terms 191 (1)
Suggested Readings 192 (1)
Web Links 192 (3)
Chapter 9 How to Write Chapter Five, 195 (18)
Discussion
Preparation and Organization 196 (1)
Chapter Five Sections 197 (11)
Introduction 197 (1)
Discussion 198 (4)
Limitations 202 (2)
Recommendations for Future Research 204 (1)
Conclusion 205 (3)
Summary 208 (1)
Resources 209 (4)
Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 209 (1)
Reflection/Discussion Questions 210 (1)
Try It Exercises 210 (1)
Suggested Readings 211 (1)
Web Links 211 (2)
Chapter 10 Final Formatting, APA Style 213 (38)
Preparation and Organization 216 (1)
APA Style 216 (9)
Levels of Heading 217 (3)
Citations in Text 220 (1)
Direct Quotes 221 (1)
Paraphrasing 221 (1)
One Work, One Author 221 (1)
One Work, Multiple Authors 222 (1)
One Work, Group Author 223 (1)
Two or More Works 223 (1)
Websites and Webpages 223 (1)
Personal Communications 224 (1)
Secondary Sources 224 (1)
Reference List 225 (7)
Order and Format 225 (1)
Periodicals 226 (1)
Books and Book Chapters 227 (2)
Online Sources 229 (1)
Online Journal Articles and Documents 230 (1)
Websites and Webpages 231 (1)
Tables 232 (5)
Tables in Text 233 (1)
Placement and Spacing 234 (1)
Title 234 (1)
Headings and Body 234 (2)
Notes 236 (1)
Figures 237 (2)
Figures in Text 237 (1)
Placement, Size, and Font 238 (1)
Captions and Legends 238 (1)
Graphs 239 (1)
Appendixes 239 (2)
Appendixes in Text 240 (1)
Placement and Cover Pages 240 (1)
Front Pages 241 (3)
Title Page 241 (1)
Signature Page 241 (2)
Acknowledgments 243 (1)
Abstract 243 (1)
Table of Contents 243 (1)
Lists of Tables and Figures 244 (1)
Copying and Binding 244 (2)
Final Tips and Checklist 246 (1)
Getting Published 246 (1)
Summary 247 (1)
Resources 248 (3)
Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions 248 (1)
Reflection/Discussion Questions 249 (1)
Try It Exercises 249 (1)
Key Terms 250 (1)
Suggested Readings 250 (1)
Web Links 250 (1)
Appendixes 251 (32)
Glossary 283 (12)
References 295 (6)
Author Index 301 (4)
Subject Index 305
