Things to consider in a Master’s Project

We’re approaching dissertation semester now and being in your third year, you may be considering postgrad. Being aware of certain things in a Master’s thesis may help you outperform in a better way. In this article, I will be canvassing different aspects of the “Big project” that may sound helpful when preparing.

Choice of project topic:

Choosing a topic of choice is not as easy as it seems. It’s frustrating when you have many ideas to work on.

If you consider three main factors behind choosing your project work, it may well fit your course and expectations – make sure the subject of research is related to the modules covered in the previous semesters and demanding in the market, also the research methodology lies in line with your reasoning strength e.g. if you like research with numericals, go for quantitative research otherwise, you can undertake qualitative research if you are keen to do analytical research. Remember, the methodology section has a significant area of contribution in a Master’s project.

Difficulties:

Some difficulties that students face with their thesis writing are,

• Dissertation writing is not something usually students are so used to. It requires guidance and a bit of structure knowledge before you dive into the work. 
• Generally, a dissertation is considered to be written within a word limit that varies course to course, but in average it lays 10,000 to 25,000 word count, which is huge and not so easy to cover.
• Researching takes a long time.
• It is quite often that, when you think about the process you conducted in your research, a lot needs to be changed and you may have to reject a few weeks’ of work.
• Guidance and supervision plays a massive role in dissertation writing. Sometimes due to lack of communication and guidance, it can lead to a poor report.

Get it done by a deadline:

Dissertation is not a single click job, it requires patience, workout, and most importantly determination with deep bondage with the research you are conducting. You can take the below guideline as a sample guide.

• First, decide a final project you really want to work on.
• When you get your thesis subject, immediately start research on it following several relevant papers and work available.
• Do a thorough literature review and start writing your literature review section, leaving abstract and introduction to be completed at the end. A literature review generally takes up 1/3 of your dissertation period.
• It becomes easier if you start thinking of the methodology when 50% of your literature review is done.
• Start writing your methodology with full focus on it and try to complete it before one month of the submission due date.
• In the last month, complete the rest of the writing: analysis, conclusion etc.

Tips for sorting ideas, better experience & grade:

• Note down all the topics of available research proposals.
• Sort one by one following three factors stated above and finalise the one that seems most appropriate for you.
• Instead of dividing the whole project work into monthly progress, try to progress on a weekly basis and keep a track of it. This will help you in time management and catching up as it may seem one weeks to be much productive whereas the next one producing very less amount of work.
• Keeping patience and following a steady route is significantly crucial.
• Maintaining regular contact with your supervisor is mandatory.