Your Dissertation in Education

Dr Nicholas Walliman is a qualified architect and Associate Lecturer in the School of the Built Environment at Oxford Brookes University and is a former research associate in the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development. He has been engaged on a series of nationally and internationally funded research projects on aspects of building technology and has published many research papers. He has also supervised and examined numerous PhD, MPhil and Masters students. He has published a number of books on doing research and writing papers, dissertations and theses.  Scott Buckler has been involved in education since the 1990s, fluctuating between primary teaching, secondary teaching (science, computing, psychology), and universities (education, sport, psychology). From teaching research methods across the expanse of education (from the primary years through to doctorates), Scott has been an advocate of high quality research, through facilitating an open mind while maintaining academic integrity. His research has encompassed many areas, often with the theme of personal and professional growth, through the lens of transpersonal psychology. His PhD thesis was interdisciplinary, combining anthropology and psychology to explore the way that the martial arts lead to personal transformation. Professionally, Scott’s research is predominantly in applied educational psychology, inclusive education, and research methods. Scott is a Chartered Teacher and Chartered Psychologist.

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE DISSERTATION PROCESS
What is a Dissertation?
What is Educational Research?
What′s all this about Ethics?
PART TWO: ESTABLISHING A FOCUS
What will it be About?
How do I Get Started?
How do I Write a Proposal?
How do I Write an Introduction?
PART THREE: EXPLORING THE BACKGROUND TO THE TOPIC
Where Do I Get Hold of all The Necessary Background Information?
How Can I Manage all The Notes?
What about Referencing?
How do I Argue My Point Effectively?
How do I Write a Literature Review?
PART FOUR: CONDUCTING THE RESEARCH
What Sorts of Data Will I Find and How Much do I Need?
What′s all this about Philosophy?
How do I Conduct Effective Interviews?
How do I Structure Effective Questionnaires?
How do I Undertake Effective Observations?
How do I Write a Methodology Chapter?
PART FIVE: ANALYZING THE DATA AND IDENTIFYING CONCLUSIONS
How do I Analyze Quantitative Data?
How do I Analyze Qualitative Data?
How do I Write a Discussion Chapter?
PART 6: PRACTICAL GUIDANCE ON THE SUBJECT
How can I Work Effectively with My Supervisor?
What about Working and Planning My Time?
How can I Manage a Long Piece of Writing?
How can I Make my Work Look Interesting and Easy to Read?
How do I Cope With Stress?
Who else Might be Interested in My Writing?