Writing Built Environment Dissertations and Projects
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Author biographies ix Preface x About the companion website xii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Terminology; nomenclature 2 1.3 Document structure 3 1.4 Possible subject areas for your research 7 1.5 Professional bodies and the non?]technical or technical dissertation or project 8 1.6 Qualitative or quantitative analysis? 10 1.7 The student/supervisor relationship and time management 14 1.8 Ethical compliance and risk assessments 17 1.9 House style or style guide 22 1.10 Writing style 23 1.11 Proofreading 27 1.12 Extra support? 29 1.13 A research proposal 29 1.14 A viva or viva voce 30 Summary 31 References 31 2 The introduction chapter to the dissertation or project 33 2.1 Introduction contents 33 2.2 Articulation or description of the problem and provisional objectives 35 Summary of this chapter 37 References 38 3 Review of theory and the literature 39 3.1 Introduction 39 3.2 Style and contents of a literature review 41 3.3 Judgements or opinions? 43 3.4 Sources of data 44 3.5 Methods of finding the literature 48 3.6 Embedding theory in dissertations and projects 49 3.7 Referencing as evidence of reading 53 3.8 Citing literature sources in the narrative of your work 54 3.9 References or bibliography or both? 58 3.10 Common mistakes by students 59 3.11 Using software to help with references 60 3.12 Avoiding the charge of plagiarism 62 Summary of this chapter 64 References 64 4 Research goals and their measurement 67 4.1 Introduction 68 4.2 Aim 70 4.3 Research questions 71 4.4 Objectives 71 4.5 Variables 74 4.6 A hypothesis with one variable 75 4.7 A hypothesis with two variables: independent and dependent 77 4.8 Writing the hypothesis: nulls and tails - a matter of semantics 81 4.9 'Lots' of variables at large, intervening variables 83 4.10 Ancillary or subject variables 83 4.11 No relationship between the IV and the DV 88 4.12 Designing measurement instruments; use authoritative tools and adapt the work of others 89 4.13 Levels of measurement 93 4.14 Examples of categorical or nominal data in construction 95 4.15 Examples of ordinal data in construction 96 4.16 Examples of interval and ratio data in construction 97 4.17 Types of data 98 4.18 Money and CO2 as variables 102 4.19 Three objectives, each with an IV and DV: four variables to measure 103 4.20 Summarising research goals; variables and their definition 104 Summary of this chapter 105 References 105 5 The Methodology chapter; analysis, results and findings 107 5.1 Introduction 107 5.2 Approaches to collecting data 110 5.3 Data measuring and collection 112 5.4 Issues mostly relevant to just questionnaires 120 5.5 Ranking studies 129 5.6 Other analytical tools 131 5.7 Incorporating reliability and validity 132 5.8 Analysis, results and findings 137 Summary of this chapter 138 References 139 6 Laboratory experiments 140 6.1 Introduction 141 6.2 Test methodology 142 6.3 Sourcing test materials 143 6.4 Reliability and validity of findings 143 6.5 Sample size 145 6.6 Laboratory recording procedures 145 6.7 Dissertation/project writing (introduction, methodology and results) 146 6.8 Health and safety in the laboratory; COSHH and risk assessments 149 6.9 Role of the supervisor 151 6.10 Possible research topics for technical dissertations or projects, construction and civil engineering 153 6.11 Examples of research proposals 153 6.12 Research objectives and sample findings by the author 154 Bibliography 163 7 Qualitative data analysis 165 7.1 Introduction 165 7.2 The process of qualitative data collection 166 7.3 Steps in the analytical process 168 Summary of this chapter 175 References 176 8 Quantitative data analysis; descriptive statistics 177 8.1 Introduction 177 8.2 Examples of the use of descriptive statistical tools 178 8.3 Ancillary variables 186 8.4 Illustration of relevant descriptive statistics in charts 190 8.5 Normal distributions; Z scores 191 8.6 A second variable for descriptive analysis; an IV and a DV 197 Summary of this chapter 201 References 202 9 Quantitative data analysis; inferential statistics 203 9.1 Introduction 204 9.2 Probability values and three key tests: chi?]square, difference in means and correlation 206 9.3 The chi?]square test 210 9.4 Determining whether the dataset is parametric or non?]parametric 220 9.5 Difference in mean tests; the t?]test 223 9.6 Difference in means; the unrelated Mann-Whitney test 225 9.7 Difference in means; the related Wilcoxon t?]test 230 9.8 Difference in means; the parametric related t?]test 232 9.9 Correlations 236 9.10 Using correlation coefficients to measure internal reliability and validity in questionnaires 243 9.11 Which test? 243 9.12 Confidence intervals 247 9.13 Summarising results 250 Summary of this chapter 250 References 250 10 Discussion, conclusions, recommendations and appendices 251 10.1 Introduction 251 10.2 Discussion 252 10.3 Conclusions and recommendations 253 10.4 Appendices 255 10.5 The examiner's perspective 256 10.6 Summary of the dissertation or project process 258 Summary of this chapter 259 References 259 List of appendices 260 Appendix A: Glossary to demystify research terms 261 Appendix B: Research ethics and health and safety examples 268 Appendix C: An abstract, problem description and literature review 272 Appendix D: Eight research proposals 279 Appendix E: Raw data for a qualitative study 309 Appendix F: Statistical tables 340 Index 350
1
Introduction
The titles and objectives of the sections of this chapter are the following:
- 1.1 Introduction; to set the scene and describe the dissertation process
- 1.2 Terminology and nomenclature; to emphasise the importance of the objective
- 1.3 Document structure; to provide a template
- 1.4 Possible subject areas for your dissertation; suggest topic areas and encourage early reading
- 1.5 Professional bodies and the non-technical or technical dissertation or project; to distinguish between these two different types
- 1.6 Qualitative and quantitative analysis; to distinguish between the two analytical schools
- 1.7 The student/supervisor relationship and time management; to provide templates
- 1.8 Ethical compliance and risk assessments; to identify ground rules for compliance with codes of practice
- 1.9 House style or style guide; to promote consistency and provide a template
- 1.10 Writing style; to identify potential pitfalls
- 1.11 Proofreading; to encourage it, as a process, using independent help if necessary
- 1.12 Extra support?; to describe help available from university disability support units
- 1.13 A research proposal; what to do if you are required by your university to do a proposal
- 1.14 Viva or viva voce; to describe what it is and how to prepare
1.1 Introduction
In some universities the dissertation or project may carry as much as one quarter weighting towards the final year degree classification. It is the flagship document of your study. It is the document that external examiners will look at with greatest scrutiny. You may want to take it to your employer and/or prospective employers. You will hopefully be proud to show it to members of your family, and it will sit on your bookshelf so that you can show it to your grandchildren. It is a once-in-a-lifetime journey for most; it is to be enjoyed and remembered. Though it does not happen often, with the help of supervisors, some students may develop their research into a publication. That may involve condensing the work into about ten pages for delivery at a conference or even for inclusion as a journal paper. It is one thing to get a degree qualification on your CV; quite another for you to be a published author.
One of the key criteria for the research is that it must have some originality. That is, not to discover something new but perhaps to look at an area that has already been investigated, and to take a different perspective on it or to use a different methodology. It is more than an assignment - the research process must seek the information, analyse it and offer conclusions. Modest objectives are adequate. Better dissertations and projects have robust methods of analysing qualitative data or some basic statistical analysis.
Dissertations and projects have assessment criteria. To achieve marks in the upper echelons (70%+), criteria often require that work should demonstrate 'substantial evidence of originality and creativity', 'very effective integration of theory and practice', 'excellent grasp of theoretical, conceptual, analytical and practical elements', and 'all information/skills deployed'.
There are two separate strands to your research. The first is that you must develop your knowledge in your chosen topic so that you become 'expert'. One of the reasons you may have chosen your subject is that you may want to learn more about it. Indeed, it is very important that you do this. The second is that you must conduct a piece of research, employing appropriate research methodology. In your document you must explain and substantiate your methodology; it must stand up to scrutiny. The method that you use must include the collection and analysis of data. The two strands go hand in hand. It is not to say that the weighting is 50:50, or any other percentage, but there must be substantial evidence of both in your dissertation. You must demonstrate that you have produced a piece of research in the true meaning of the word 'research'; it is not adequate that your document is a 'mere' report.
1.2 Terminology; nomenclature
Clarity in research is absolutely critical; the plethora of terminology used by academics can be unhelpful, fuzzy and for some misleading. That is just the way it is. It may be useful for you to employ your own rigid definitions of such terminology, or at the very least be consistent in the language you use in your work.
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-99) a professor of physics at Göttingen University, cited on the Quotations Page (2015), wrote 'One's first step in wisdom is to question everything'. Your research should start with a question, from which you will develop an objective in which you will 'do' something that will enable you to answer the question. What you will 'do' may involve testing a hypothesis. The research question, objective and hypothesis should all match each other, for example:
Research question: How well do UK contractors comply with best practice in health and safety? (note the question mark)
Objective: To determine how well UK contractors comply with best practice in health and safety.
Hypothesis: The compliance of UK contractors with best practice in health and safety is excellent (or in a different context to your research you may write 'not good enough').
You need to make it clear in your introduction that you have a research question, objective and hypothesis that match, but when you communicate with people in industry and also when you find the need to repeat yourself in your document it may be best to do so using the term 'objective'. People in industry are likely to be familiar with the word 'objective', but less familiar with research questions and hypotheses. An objective is a statement of what you will 'do' in your research.
When describing what a research project will 'do', students often express this by using words other than 'objective'. Some examples are: 'the focus of the study', 'the reason for the study', 'the study looks into', 'the study tries to', 'the study examines', 'purpose', 'goal', 'direction', 'intention' or 'seeks to'. Perhaps use of these phrases should be discouraged.
It must be recognised that universities and individual academics will have their own preferences, and students must be able to adapt flexibly to work with supervisors, and also to understand the writing of others who use different language. Most supervisors will be comfortable that you 'hang' the whole of your study around objectives; put more clearly, objectives, objectives and objectives.
1.3 Document structure
A suggested structure/template for a dissertation or project is:
No number Preliminary pages Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Theory and literature review Chapter 3 Research design and methodology Chapter 4 Analysis, results and findings Chapter 5 Discussion Chapter 6 Conclusions and recommendations No number References and bibliography No number AppendicesThis is not written in tablets of stone, but is merely a framework around which your structure may be designed. It is for individual researchers to design their structure and to agree it with their supervisor. These may be considered as chapter titles, but they should be 'flavoured' by words relevant to your study area, e.g. 'The development of theory and literature about money as a motivator for construction craftspeople'.
The weight of each chapter, or the number of words, does not necessarily lend itself to one sixth in each. There is an argument for saying that the first two chapters, as the opening to the document, could be about one third weight. The middle two chapters comprising the methodology and analytical framework could be about one third weight. Finally the last two chapters, closing off the document, could be about one third weight. Often it is the last part where students lose marks; they simply run out of time after completing the analysis. The consequence is that documents were heading for really good marks only achieve mid-range marks.
Each chapter should open with an introduction - there should even be an introduction to the introduction chapter - and close with a summary. Students often do not like writing either introductions or summaries, and question their value for the reader. The introduction to each chapter need only be a few paragraphs. It is not for readers to embark on a voyage of discovery as they read each chapter. The 'introduction to the introduction' may start with the aim of the study....
