Week 1 - Week 7 : 2 Sept 2022 - 16 Oct 2022
Tan Yi Yun 0345559Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task 1/Research Implementation - Draft Dissertation
Week 1 :
During the first class, we have a brief explanation of the tasks for this
module. To avoid the snowballing effect, we are tasked to structure the
dissertation first so that we can look at what is lacking. After the
structure of the dissertation is done, we need to finish the literature
review section by the end of next week. We are advised to re-read what we
have written for the critical review of the last semester and build the
literature review matrix spreadsheet for discussion in the following
week.
Writing a dissertation, Week 1 (2/9/2022)
Week 2 :
Dr. Hayati reviewed our dissertation structure and gave advice on
improving our literature review structure.
What to include in the literature review:
- Refer to original works, rather than using secondary sources in
which you read someone else’s opinion of a work.
- The topic itself is your main focus, rather than the writer.
Everything should always relate
clearly to your own research question.
- Explain clearly why you have chosen to review certain pieces of
literature and not others. Are the writings you have chosen the
main works in this area, for example, or do they exemplify a
particular methodology.
- Which you will use in your own research project? In general, you
should only include
academic sources.
Week 3 :
There is no class this week. We are given some notes in Google
Classroom to help us finish the literature review and start to work
on the research methodology.
How to write a literature review
Week 4 :
We learnt how to write Research Methodology. The
template provided is a sample, which is not
necessary to follow when writing Section
3.
How to Write Research Methodology
Week 5 :
This week we learnt to write Research Findings and
Discussion. Results section should be written in past
tense.
How to Write Results and Discussion
Week 6 :
After finishing Section 4 and 5, we moved on to conclude all the
findings. We also learnt to write introduction and abstract.
How to Write Conclusion, Introduction and Abstract.
How to Write a Conclusion for Dissertation
Week 7 :
This week is the final week to complete the entire draft
dissertation.
INSTRUCTIONS
Literature Review Matrix & Draft
We are tasked to build the Literature Review Matrix to help us in writing
Section 2.
Literature Review Matrix, Week 2 (6/10/2022)
I have reviewed five more articles to support the data in literature
review. I have set a target to write at least 300 words a day. Each week we are given an interim deadline. It is challenging to meet the interim deadline every week. After I have done 85% of the Literature Review, I quickly moved on to the next section, Research Methodology. I felt more secure since I have almost finished with the previous section and now I have already started drafting the next section. Although I couldn’t finish everything before the interim deadline, I can see how much I need to finish from the draft and thus, I can plan my time according to the task.
In the Research Methodology, I have referred to what I have done last semester. Since I was adding one more instrument (the second phase of visual analysis) into my research, I need more time to gather, analyze and summarize the data, and correlate it to the first phase of visual analysis.
 |
Research Methodology, Week 6 (6/10/2022) |
It is a lot of work to complete in a week, I still tried to think positively and look back at what I have done so far. After completing Section 4 and 5, I believe my journey will be much more relaxing as the most difficult section is Section 5.
I have pushed hard to my limit to complete the writing as this weekend is the submission deadline. After I have completed Discussion and Conclusion, things become easier to manage. I tweaked the research rationale to research background and expanded the background of research. I completed the research conceptual framework and then added appendices, labels of tables and diagrams.
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| Research Methodology, Week 7 (14/10/2022) |
The pagination took me a few hours to figure out how to separate the roman letter pages and number pages. Last but not least, checking through the entire draft dissertation is a must to minimize the grammatical and spelling error and make sure the content is well-organized. I am proud to submit my draft dissertation on time.
Submission of Draft Dissertation
Draft Dissertation, Week 7 (16/10/2022)
FEEDBACK
Week 1 :
General feedback
Those who have yet to collect sufficient data should utilize the time well. Make sure you keep up with the progress to avoid the snowballing effect.
Week 2 :
General feedback
Students should follow the interim deadline to make sure they can meet the Task 1 deadline.
Students should use the provided cover sheet and draft the dissertation.
Specific feedback
Dr. Hayati gave some suggestions to improve the working title. Add similarities and differences in the Literature Review Matrix to compare and contrast the articles. Change the sequence of ‘character style’ and ‘characters and emotions’ to make sure the flow is logical.
Week 3 :
No class
Week 4 :
General feedback
It is not necessary to follow the template provided, instead, students can go for the way of master or phd writing by combining the Research Locale, Research Respondents, Research Instrument and so on. Describe the label of table and figure. Both of them should start with different numberings. Decide where you want to add the analysis (under research findings or discussion)
Specific feedback
Need to clarify on the research methods in Section 3. Describe the challenges you faced in conducting the research in Section 3. Adopt thematic analysis to analyze your qualitative data. Design the charts/tables to make them more attractive.
Week 5 :
General feedback
Remember to complete the reflection sheet because it is one of the reflective tools to lay out the challenges or obstacles you have faced. It can be used to express happiness or frustrations.
Specific feedback
Continue working on the following parts, all the best!
Week 6 :
General feedback
Conceptual framework is subjective, there is no right or wrong. Everyone should constantly update their reflection report. Those who have not shown up in the previous tutorials may consider deferring the module.
Specific feedback
The abstract should come at last after you have done the discussion and conclusion, but so far there’s nothing wrong. In the introduction, you may copy-paste from the rationale, but should change the subsection heading as “research background”, and add more background of your research topic into this section.
Week 7 :
General feedback
The submission for this weekend is the complete draft dissertation. The labels of tables and diagrams are based on the “section”. Try to avoid “for” and “from” in the beginning of the sentence as this is academic writing.
Specific feedback
Adjust the conceptual framework by listing out what is obtained from secondary data and primary data. The term “internal qualities” is confusing. So, it is better to put a column to briefly explain the term to avoid misunderstanding. “Diagram of Research methodology” should change to “Research design process”.
REFLECTION
The journey of dissertation is more tedious than what I have expected. The weekly interim dateline is a suffer, but also, a "motivation" for me to keep writing. I realized the target I have set for myself (300 words every day) have pushed me to meet the final deadline. I followed my own pace, write slowly but progressively to not burnt out in the process of writing. Literature review and Discussion are the two hardest sections which took 65% of my time and effort. At the end, I am grateful to have the support by Dr. Hayati who kept motivating all of us in this stressful situation. I am proud to submit the draft dissertation of over 25000 words on time.