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The 5 questions that every thesis needs to answer

There are five questions that need to be answered in every thesis, regardless of discipline:
  1. What is the problem?
  2. Why is it interesting?
  3. What did you do?
  4. What did you find?
  5. What do your findings mean?
This particular examiner's comment relates to the second question.

"My major criticism of this section was that it is difficult to determine exactly how the current study would add to, or fill gaps in, current levels of understanding of the topic. In this respect, it would have been useful to put the objectives of the study into some sort of context of what has just been discussed in the literature review, particularly to aid the reader in understanding why the study needs to be done and how you developed the aims to achieve this. Additionally, a statement of the hypotheses to be tested, with linked aims, would have further aided this understanding."

I'm sure I will be adding further examiners' comments relating to the other questions as well.

Published Sunday, July 30, 2006 5:49 PM by robyn.owens
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# re: The 5 questions that every thesis needs to answer

This examiner's comment also relates to the second of the five questions, but on this occassion it is a much more positive reflection on the thesis.
"The thesis by **** is one of the best I have reveiwed in my twenty tears in academia. I was particularly impressed by the deep knowledge of the literature. Every reference that I could think of was represented and the reference listing was up-to-date and the candidate demonstrated a great understanding of the published work.
The second point that I thought was particularly impressive was the combination of theoretical work....with experimental validation. Combining these methods comprised a comprehensive theoretical/experimental study that goes beyond what I have typically seen in doctoral theses.
Also, I was impressed by the organisation of the thesis, the clarity of the approach and the logical arrangment of the chapters and sections that made reading of the thesis a pleasure. The writing was clear and succinct and the figures, with very few exceptions clear and easy to understand".
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 3:24 PM by Michael.Azariadis

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