MIDS 490 -- Interdisciplinary Master's Thesis

Writing the Thesis:  Resources, Guidelines, and Expectations

 

Thesis vs. Project:  Preliminary Distinctions

A word about the key differences in structure and expectation between the Master's Thesis and the Master's Project in the MIDS program is probably in order before we cover the details of the Thesis.  Both options represent the capstone achievement of your MIDS program--the thesis/project reports upon your original research, synthesizes insights from your classroom experiences and your individual research efforts, and showcases your writing and critical reasoning skills.  Of the two options, the thesis is more traditional and more familiar--a long (40-50 pages), well-organized, and thoroughly documented scholarly paper detailing your research project's purpose, methods, results, analysis, and relation to the literature in your field(s).  Essentially, anything that is written up, bound, and housed on a library shelf is classified as a thesis (as opposed to a project).  Many theses, esp. those within the social science and humanities, are argumentative in nature (rather than simply informative).  In other words, you must do more than simply gather and summarize information; you must analyze and evaluate it within the context of an original argument.  However, considerable flexibility exists in terms of what counts as a thesis--for example, for someone doing creative writing as an program area, a thesis could consist of a collection of poems or short stories, accompanied by an introductory essay which previews the collection, sets out a writer's philosophy, etc.  Ultimately, the scope and format of one's thesis must be negotiated by the student and her committee members, particularly the chair, bearing in mind the guidelines that apply to all Roosevelt Master's Thesis documents (see the link to Roosevelt's Graduate Division below).   

The project may be thought of as a non-traditional approach to the Master's capstone, though there is nothing inherently less rigorous, challenging, or formal about the project option.  The project may or may not be argumentative in nature.  This option may consist of a piece of work that has a significant component--a photo exhibit, a performance piece, a computer program or website, a business plan or forecast, to cite a few examples--that does not fit neatly within the framework of a traditional thesis paper.  However, the project should be accompanied by a shorter (15-20 page) paper which introduces, analyzes, and contextualizes the project, and demonstrates your familiarity with the secondary literature of the relevant field(s).  

 

Purpose of the Master's Thesis

Although master's theses vary rather widely in terms of purpose, content, and methodology, a few common characteristics apply.  For the MIDS degree, and assuming yours is a scholarly topic rather than a creative writing project, the thesis should

 

Key Resources for Research and Writing

 

Basic Requirements of the Document

 

Topic Focus

Establishing a clear and feasible topic focus is one of the most important steps in completing a successful thesis.  One way to approach this objective is to work from your proposal written for MIDS 400, and ascertain to what extent your project needs to be narrowed, expanded, or refocused, depending on the feedback you received on the proposal as well as the course work and research you've done in the meantime.  A key consideration is setting up a focus that's fairly specific without being so narrow that it can't support an extended discussion.  Bear in mind that it's difficult to get too focused; most researchers cast their nets too widely at first, and have to pare things down in a process of reflection and revision.

 

Organization of the Document

Some basic considerations:  the organization of your thesis should be determined primarily by your topic and methodological approach, rather than a boilerplate plan.  Drafting and revising a detailed outline (again, starting from the one you developed for the MIDS 400 proposal) is the best way to organize your discussion.  Consider both the number of major points you'll need to cover, the relative space you'll devote to each section, and the ordering of the sections.  Bear in mind that you'll probably revisit the organization question as you draft, perhaps a few times, because written documents rarely pan out precisely as the preliminary outline dictates.  

Sometimes the methods used in your research will suggest an organization strategy.  For example, if you're conducting an empirical study--whether it's conducting an scientific experiment, using a survey tool to gather quantitative data, or doing a field study involving observations and interviews--you'll probably want to use the standard organization scheme of empirical reports:  introduction, methods, results, and discussion.  If you're doing a qualitative case study, you'll need to make sure you strike an appropriate balance between summarizing information about the case vs. analyzing and evaluating that information (the former should not be emphasized at the expense of the latter). 

Most importantly, consider the nature of your topic and the disciplines you are integrating in your analysis.  Does your topic itself suggest a logical organization pattern?  (A literary critical study of 20th-century African-American women writers, for example, would not fit logically into the empirical report outline.)  Do your disciplines (e.g., psychology or history) typically employ a standard organization scheme in key journals you've consulted?  If so in either case, you've got a starting point; subsequently, you should consult with your committee, especially your advisor, about your basic organization plan as well as to what extent you should follow an existing model.

Consider, to take one concrete issue, how theses from various disciplines often differ in where the author "reviews the literature"; in other words, where the author summarizes and critiques the relevant secondary literature on the topic, points out gaps in the scholarship, and explains the relevance of the present study to the existing research.  Some theses integrate this discussion into the overall document, weaving in such critical review in several places.  Others use a separate "Literature Review" section near the beginning of the document.  Still others use the general introductory section for this task (e.g., in most scientific disciplines).  All of these options are valid in the appropriate context, but which option you choose will depend upon your topic and method of analysis.

A similar set of options exists in terms of discussing your research methods.  Like the lit review example, an explanation of the methods used might either be done in a separate section (as is usual with  empirical studies in the natural and social sciences) or in the introduction section of a non-empirical study.  Either way, you need to devote a least a few paragraphs to discussing your methods of study, especially since you'll need to explain in what sense your thesis is interdisciplinary in character.  What disciplines does it employ, and which methods from one or another does it use?  What is especially noteworthy about the ways you synthesize these disciplines?  How do these methods work together and complement one another?  What are the key assumptions and even limitations of your methods?

 

Critical Thinking and Analysis:  The "Meat" of the Thesis

By this point in your studies, you should be well-versed and highly proficient in critical thinking and analysis.  Think of the thesis as your chance to showcase that academic skill and apply it to a particular research question/problem.  Such an approach means you're writing to a set of readers (i.e., your committee) that is well-educated, perhaps even well-versed in one of your fields, but who will not have your particular interdisciplinary background and expertise.  In fact, your readers come from different fields of specialization, so they'll be looking for you to communication in a way that's comprehensible to everyone without oversimplifying your analysis.  Consequently, you should not think of yourself as writing to the big-shot "Experts in the Field"--instead, you're the expert!  Write with confidence, and be sure to define and explain concepts/terms that your readers might not automatically know.

Critical thinking also involves making logical claims that are supported by relevant and credible evidence; qualifying your arguments as necessary; analyzing and critiquing the arguments/viewpoints of others, as appropriate; and addressing the assumptions of your sources, your readers, and yourself.  Above all, you need to go beyond cobbling together a bunch of information from several sources:  you must weave that information into a coherent whole that is centered upon the point or points you wish to make about your topic. 

 

Using Sources Effectively and Judiciously

By now you're familiar with the kinds of sources used in graduate research as well as the types specific to your disciplines; these include different examples of primary, secondary, and even tertiary sources (see Booth 69).  You'll want, at the very least, some primary sources within your discussion, though the majority of sources cited will probably be secondary.  This balance, of course, will depend upon the nature of your topic and the disciplines you integrate.

In a master's thesis, sources are key elements of the project and are used for a variety of purposes--to serve as evidence; to provide authoritative testimony; to give the reader necessary background information or critical context; and/or to provide alternative viewpoints, even counterarguments, for you to engage and evaluate as part of your analysis.  The key thing to keep in mind here is that you need to use your sources critically rather than simplistically, taking into account their usefulness, relevance, and credibility.

Plan on citing a minimum of 25-40 legitimate sources; more, of course, is certainly encouraged, though large bibliographies don't necessarily equal good scholarship.  General encyclopedias and dictionaries do not count as legitimate sources in this context (although more specialized reference works may; consult your committee if you have questions about whether a particular source is appropriate).  Remember that critical readers are impressed when a researcher cites a variety of sources.  At the master's level, the emphasis should be on scholarly and semi-scholarly works (usually books and journal articles, though some web sources qualify), rather than popular magazine or news sources.  That said, some topics will necessitate gathering current information from quality news sources. 

As you write, be careful of becoming a "quote-gatherer"--one who gathers lots of neat-sounding quotations and strings them together to form a paper.  First and foremost you must put forth your own argument about your subject.  Stress summarizing and paraphrasing as you incorporate sources into your paper; use quotes sparingly and judiciously (i.e., when you want to retain the force and effect of the original author's language).  This way your citations will complement your own voice instead of overshadowing it.  Plus, by paraphrasing sources instead of quoting them, you demonstrate your intellectual mastery of the material.

Print vs. online sources:  Although you may use quality online sources (e.g., sources that are web-based, rather than simply being print-based and then converted to web format) in your thesis, you should emphasize quality print sources in your bibliography.  These include scholarly monographs, edited essay collections in book form, scholarly biographies, specialized reference works, government documents, business documents, data repositories, journal articles, and quality news articles.  All sources deserve your critical scrutiny, but it is often harder to evaluate the authority and credibility of online sources.  To do that, you'll sometimes need to do a little extra homework, as well as be willing to reject a web source you can't clearly identify, evaluate, or document.

 

Documenting Sources / Academic Honesty

When you integrate sources, you'll use a combination of summary, paraphrase, and quotation.  Make sure your summaries and paraphrases are accurate, in your own words, and properly cited; and that your quotations are exact and properly cited.  Use the MLA system for citing information within your text (parenthetical references) and writing the Works Cited list.  Footnotes/endnotes are not necessary, except for rare explanatory reasons (Gibaldi 238-42).  Parenthetical references in the text should clearly and economically refer the reader to the full bibliographic citation in the Works Cited list.  Please review the guidelines on academic honesty, plagiarism, and the ethical use of sources discussed in the resources below.  The principles of academic honesty and the consequences of plagiarism are also discussed in detail in the RU Student Handbook, available online from link below.  If you have questions about any of this material, talk to your thesis advisor and s/he will be happy to help.

Click here for a more detailed discussion on how to integrate and document your sources.  This web page was developed for upper-level undergraduate students, but the information is equally relevant to graduate theses.  Covers critical reading, note-taking, paraphrasing, quoting, and plagiarism.

 

Formatting the Thesis

While this is a detail-oriented task, to be sure, it's probably the easiest and most mechanical aspect of writing a thesis.  Your basic guideline, again, is the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, particularly chapter 4.  In addition, you should consult the guidelines in Roosevelt's document, "Dissertation and Master's Thesis Transmittal Process," available at the RU Graduate Division website.

 

Evaluation Process and Standards for the Thesis

MIDS 490 is a pass-fail course, as are all thesis courses at the university.  In order to achieve a "pass" grade for the thesis, certain minimal standards of quality must be met.  The following evaluative criteria serve as a benchmark for the overall quality of your final document, a way for you to self-critique your thesis as you draft and revise it, and a feedback tool for your readers in their efforts to guide you through the writing and revision process.  The key criteria include:

 

Compiled by Michael A. Bryson, PhD
Associate Professor of Humanities
Faculty Advisor for MIDS
Evelyn T. Stone University College
Roosevelt University
Chicago, IL  60605

Last updated:  10 Jun 2004