Happy Fox Posted 18 March 2013 Posted 18 March 2013 For anybody that has any trouble with finding references, Citing research papers, how many references equates to a First, all queries here.
Stuliasz Posted 18 March 2013 Posted 18 March 2013 Not undergrad I know but I'm in the process of developing a thesis for a part-time masters I'm doing at Leicester. Was recommended by the lecturer use EndNote to organise literature, citations etc. I can get it for £66 through the uni but was wondering if it's worth it for the sake of one (admittedly quite large) piece of work?
SemperEadem Posted 18 March 2013 Posted 18 March 2013 Deadline is May 1st, April is going to one shit month.
Happy Fox Posted 18 March 2013 Author Posted 18 March 2013 Deadline is May 1st, April is going to one shit month. I don't want to gloat! but I have finished mine obviously the first abstract only, but if I can hand in the final draft by next week I will be chuffed, because I need to start revision sooner rather than later!
StanSP Posted 18 March 2013 Posted 18 March 2013 Probably my worst time at uni whilst doing my dissertation. Hated it! Took the enjoyment right out of final year. So glad handing it in. Such a relief. That's what kept me going - knowing such a huge weight would be off my chest! Good luck to all of you!
ealingfox Posted 19 March 2013 Posted 19 March 2013 Not undergrad I know but I'm in the process of developing a thesis for a part-time masters I'm doing at Leicester. Was recommended by the lecturer use EndNote to organise literature, citations etc. I can get it for £66 through the uni but was wondering if it's worth it for the sake of one (admittedly quite large) piece of work? Definitely not worth 66 quid. I've always done my referencing and bibliography myself and its been fine, although a little tedious.
Corky Posted 19 March 2013 Posted 19 March 2013 Probably my worst time at uni whilst doing my dissertation. Hated it! Took the enjoyment right out of final year. So glad handing it in. Such a relief. That's what kept me going - knowing such a huge weight would be off my chest! Good luck to all of you! I had to change mine part way through. That was fun.
BHAFC Braders Posted 19 March 2013 Posted 19 March 2013 Probably my worst time at uni whilst doing my dissertation. Hated it! Took the enjoyment right out of final year. So glad handing it in. Such a relief. That's what kept me going - knowing such a huge weight would be off my chest! Good luck to all of you! I was the opposite , My dissertation showed everyone what exactly I was capable of and got me my highest marks. But best of luck to everyone doing it at the moment.
Scow Posted 19 March 2013 Posted 19 March 2013 Definitely not worth 66 quid. I've always done my referencing and bibliography myself and its been fine, although a little tedious. Yes, it is tedious, but saves time in the long run - just get into the habit of doing it as you go along.
StanSP Posted 19 March 2013 Posted 19 March 2013 How long was everyone's dissertations, in terms of words? And what was the topic on? Mine was attitudes and self-beliefs of an individual, looking at what motivates an individual. Sounds boring, started out alright and then became quite boring! I had to change mine part way through. That was fun. Ouch. How come? I was the opposite , My dissertation showed everyone what exactly I was capable of and got me my highest marks. But best of luck to everyone doing it at the moment. Fair enough! Not undergrad I know but I'm in the process of developing a thesis for a part-time masters I'm doing at Leicester. Was recommended by the lecturer use EndNote to organise literature, citations etc. I can get it for £66 through the uni but was wondering if it's worth it for the sake of one (admittedly quite large) piece of work? Luckily at my uni we were given a handbook at the beginning of our first year which had all the basic information in, which including quoting and Harvard referencing for essays and dissertations, as well as grade boundaries etc etc. Would no way pay £66. I found some books via uni were outrageously expensive. Most of the time just ended up going via Amazon, eBay or Studentbeans.
The Blur Posted 19 March 2013 Posted 19 March 2013 I never knew there are a set amount of references to be considered for a First. Since I am a computing student, my dissertation is more of a final year project where I have to develop a educational game for deaf students. I still have to hand in a 80 pages report which takes the biscuit as I have friends from other courses who only have dissertations with less page limits without an additional project on the side.
Charl91 Posted 19 March 2013 Posted 19 March 2013 Did mine last year. 12,000 words on the English Civil War (wont bore you with the specific questions). Got a 2.1, was alright I guess. A lot of research, but wrote it out in less than a week.
Deucalion Posted 19 March 2013 Posted 19 March 2013 Mine was thrilling. Something like, 'How was Poland able to pursue a distinct form of communism in the two decades following World War Two while avoiding the fate of Hungary' or some such thing. Here's the reasons. 1. The popularity and personality of Marshall Gomulka 2. Polish economic 'differences' from the Soviet economy were successful and useful. 3. Poland did not threaten to break from the Warsaw Pact. That's 28 words. What was the point of the other 11972 then?
Corky Posted 19 March 2013 Posted 19 March 2013 Ouch. How come? It was all to do with the specific topic, the original one was too broad. The supervisor was correct, just frustrating I'd done a decent amount then had to alter it.
Guest Bilo Posted 19 March 2013 Posted 19 March 2013 Call me weird, but I really enjoyed my dissertation. I chose a subject I found interesting, personally and academically, spent many hours on it and was proud of the end product. If I'm honest, I've had the itch to study for a postgraduate degree ever since and I'd actually like to get into lecturing long term.
Vacamion Posted 20 March 2013 Posted 20 March 2013 A long long time ago, I spent a sleepless, coffee fuelled 48 hours bashing out 10,000 words in German on the education system of the GDR, having procrastinated at an almost professional level for 9 months. If any of you have a dissertation to do and are putting off getting stuck into it, don't.
pSinatra Posted 20 March 2013 Posted 20 March 2013 Almost 20 years ago I just about managed to put together 20,000 words on the membership patterns & support for the British Union of Fascists during the 1930's. Needless to say, not the most exciting time of my life. It was a very different time.........no internet & no owning a PC/laptop/word processor (except for the super rich). Spent many a night sitting in a room full of computers typing away at 5 w.p.m. for a deadline that morning. I had never been anywhere near a keyboard before starting university - unless a ZX Spectrum counts? £66 for an organiser of citations?? I don't even understand what this is? Can't you just list them as & when.......& blow £66 on food, beer or something? I can't help feeling that university would be a vastly different experience if I went now. Hell, I even got a grant in my first & second year........it was that long ago!! Access to information & the sources of information was incredibly difficult back then, but the internet has changed all that. To have so much information instantly at your fingertips must free up a lot of time wasted in the library, in the vaults looking for journals that turn out to be of little use. It's difficult for me to get my head round.......a bit like when I told my Dad I took a calculator into a maths exam........"calculator in a maths exam???? We used an abacus in my day!!!"
Guesty Posted 20 March 2013 Posted 20 March 2013 Anyone doing a Bibliography/References should use this, it saves me hours. It's a godsend and free. Just type in anything about a book, journal or newspaper, etc and it normally comes up formatted for you. http://www.citethisforme.com/
David Guiza Posted 20 March 2013 Posted 20 March 2013 Currently deciding whether or not to do one for next year, i'm thinking of doing one of prisoners voting rights but may struggle on the word limit. Anybody else done a legal dissertation?
lavrentis Posted 20 March 2013 Posted 20 March 2013 Have to do one for Next Year. I do Computer Science and still trying to come up with a topic
StanSP Posted 20 March 2013 Posted 20 March 2013 Currently deciding whether or not to do one for next year, i'm thinking of doing one of prisoners voting rights but may struggle on the word limit. Anybody else done a legal dissertation? You get a choice?! Writing it like that shows that I'm very surprised. I'm not that surprised, but I knew from day one I'd have to do a dissertation and couldn't choose betwee that or exams/other assessments (which I presume is your other choice?). I put off my dissertation for quite a while, too (not as much as pSinatra, mind!). Although I bet I could challenge him on the professional procrastination level!
pSinatra Posted 20 March 2013 Posted 20 March 2013 I think the difficulty is finding a theme that isn't so broad as to lose it's purpose & direction. But then not having a topic too limited that you end up using insignificant material as filler. I began with an idea that I soon realised was not going to be suitable, in that I was never going to be able to write in the region of 20,000 words about it. I ended up writing about something I was less interested in, but more in line with the required criteria
Donut Posted 20 March 2013 Posted 20 March 2013 Reference your sources as you go along and then you dont have to organise anything at the end. Dont procrastinate. Finish it properly, and then mess about afterwards. Its a significant piece of work
StanSP Posted 20 March 2013 Posted 20 March 2013 Reference your sources as you go along and then you dont have to organise anything at the end. Dont procrastinate. Finish it properly, and then mess about afterwards. Its a significant piece of work Good tip. I stored all of mine in a separate word document and sorted it all out at the end. I think the difficulty is finding a theme that isn't so broad as to lose it's purpose & direction. But then not having a topic too limited that you end up using insignificant material as filler. I began with an idea that I soon realised was not going to be suitable, in that I was never going to be able to write in the region of 20,000 words about it. I ended up writing about something I was less interested in, but more in line with the required criteria Well said.
David Guiza Posted 20 March 2013 Posted 20 March 2013 You get a choice?! Writing it like that shows that I'm very surprised. I'm not that surprised, but I knew from day one I'd have to do a dissertation and couldn't choose betwee that or exams/other assessments (which I presume is your other choice?). I put off my dissertation for quite a while, too (not as much as pSinatra, mind!). Although I bet I could challenge him on the professional procrastination level! Yeah, not sure if it's the same on all degrees now or just the LLB. But, depending on the module choice there is no mandatory need for a dissertation. And yeah that is the option i'm faced with, obviously the dissertation is a lot of hard work, but providing there is an interesting an engaging subject I think it won't be as painful as it might otherwise be.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.