About Research

In carrying out your review of the literature, you will observe that all research articles are organized in essentially the same manner. Theses and dissertations follow this same organizational pattern, but because they are less restricted in length, some topics are covered more thoroughly than in the published research article. Figure 21.1 is an outline giving the usual organization of the thesis or dissertation. Some variations in this outline will be found in the requirements of different universities. Students often wait until all data have been collected and all analysis has been completed before starting to write their thesis or dissertation. It is more efficient; though, for the student to prepare some portions of the research report much earlier. It seems to be an almost inevitable features of research that the student encounters some periods when she is extremely busy and some periods when she must sit and wait. These lulls in the research routine can be used profitably...