How to write a thesis

Front matter

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A A i i | al *~ 5 L Part eons f : 4 .

Preface

Produce! Were it but the veriest infinitesimal fragment of a product, produce it in God’s name.—Carlyle

The requirement that every candidate for a graduate degree must prepare an acceptable thesis is perhaps the most characteristic respect in which a graduate curriculum of a university differs from an undergraduate curriculum. In the work of the undergraduate curriculum the student is guided by his professors at practically every step in his work, but in the work of the graduate curriculum he is placed more and more on his own resources and responsibility; moreover, he is expected to show a high and constantly increasing degree of intellectual independence. Preparing the thesis aids in developing this intellectual independence; furthermore, the quality of the thesis which the student produces is one of the best measures of the degree of intellectual independence’ which the student has attained; ergo, it is one of the best indexes of whether the student is entitled to a graduate degree.

The preparation of the thesis is calculated to give the student intensive and _ scholarly training in the collection, the organization, and the presentation of material. If the task accom- ©

Vv plishes the results just mentioned, it should not be looked upon as only another chore to be perfunctorily performed, nor yet as only another requirement designed to make a graduate degree more difficult to secure, but rather should be regarded as one of the most worthwhile types of training which the graduate curriculum gives. If the present author may be permitted to be personal for a moment, he would say that, valuable as the other training was, he received no training in his experience as a graduate student which he needed as much, and has used as much, as the training which came to him in writing his Master’s and his Doctor’s theses; he would testify further that he has talked with a legion of other persons who give similarly high rank to the thesis requirement as compared with the other require- — ments for graduate degrees.

Most candidates for graduate degrees enter into the task of writing their theses with little or no idea of methods of procedure, or of standards to be met; for many students, the writing of the thesis is their first research and literary effort: what is expected of them is all mystery. ‘The result to them is the loss of a large amount of time in writing and re-writing vi

PREFACE their theses. Moreover, much time and energy of the instructors, who must direct the writing of theses, are consumed in pointing out again and again shortcomings in such matters as the organization of statistical tables, the citation of authorities, the general organization of the thesis, and the arrangement of the bibliogra-_ phy; still more, these directions must be given to each tyro in thesis writing. There should be—in fact, there 1s—a better way of securing and of giving the directions just mentioned.

Those persons who are writing theses are in need of, and are entitled to, stimulation, guidance, and help, and it would seem that much of this assistance could be obtained through written directions and suggestions if such were available. It is the chief purpose of this book, therefore, to record some directions and suggestions, which it is hoped may he serviceable not only to those persons who are writing theses but also to those persons who are directing the writing of them. Most of the suggestions, it is thought, will be found helpful in the preparation of other scientific treatises as well as theses.

Although the content of the thesis is not neglected in the book, the major emphasis of the

Vil book is placed on the matter which, common observation has shown, causes the student the greatest trouble, namely, the literary style of the thesis. It is believed that the book contains a fairly comprehensive, reasonably harmonious, and withal practical, set of rules and suggestions on the preparation of theses and other scientific papers... Manifestly, however, the book cannot claim to cover every point, nor to utter the final-word on those points which it does cover. Many matters not here included must be taken for granted, and common sense must always be used in applying to each situation as it occurs the rules and suggestions herein set forth. Rules of rhetoric and grammar have not been included, because such helps are already available in many other textbooks, handbooks, and manuals.

The’ book could hardly have been prepared without the many helpful suggestions which were received from numerous sources. Some printed and mimeographed suggestions—few though they were—were gladly made available by the deans of various graduate schools and departments of universities. Many suggestions

*The suggestions have been written with the Master’s thesis particularly in mind; they are generally applicable, however, to the Bachelor’s thesis and to the Doctor’s thesis.

Vili

PREFACE were also freely given by several professors and reference librarians of various universities. For the assistance just mentioned the author is greatly indebted. The author is particularly indebted to his former colleague, Professor B. R. Buckingham, whose sympathetic interest, incisive criticisms, and kind suggestions were an invaluable help in preparing the first edition of the book. In preparing this, the revised, edition of the book, much valuable assistance, particularly on editorial matters, was given by Miss Josephine MacLatchy, editorial assistant of the Bureau of Educational Research of Ohio State University, and the author gratefully acknowledges that help. Alfred O. Brown, of the Public School Publishing Company, gave many suggestions for the improvement of Chapter VII, and that help is hereby acknowledged. He is also indebted to his students who, through their requests for information on the methods of research and the technique of writing theses and other scientific papers, have been the inspiration for most of the suggestions. For any errors, heresies, or other shortcomings which the book may contain the author is alone responsible.

COLUMBUS, OHIO WARD G. REEDER 1X

CHAPTER

= II

Contents

PAGE

THE NATURE OF THE THESIGuaaas I THE SELECTON, DELIMITATION, AND

PLANNING OF THE PROBLEM.... I9

Chapter II The Selection, Delimitation, And Planning Of The Problem

SELECTING THE PROBLEM

Responsibility for selecting the problem.— The responsibility for selecting the thesis problem should be on the student, not on his instructors. ‘The selecting of the problem and the planning of the attack upon it are as important in the training of the student as is the solving of the problem; in fact, a problem has been largely solved when the correct method of attacking it has been determined. An excellent index of the ability of the student to do graduate work is the extent to which he is able to see and to discover problems in his major field. The foregoing recommendation is not meant to imply that problems should not be called to the attention of students—quite the contrary is meant. Consultations with instructors on practicable thesis problems are always desirable, but, in order that the student may receive full benefit from the preparation of the thesis, it should be expected that he do the actual selecting of the problem.

Just yesterday the way in which a thesis problem should be selected was exemplified by one of the graduate students of the author. That student came to the office and asked whether he might talk about a thesis problem. He was invited to proceed with his talking. One of the most refreshing characteristics of” that conference was that the student had ~“something to talk about”: he had in mind three or four live problems on which he might write a thesis. We took time to discuss each problem pro and con, and to weigh each problem against the others, with the result that it was not long until the student had tentatively selected the problem which seemed the best. Such a student is the pride of an instructor; he gives evidence that he knows where he is going and that he will arrive at his destination without much wasted time and energy.

Now contrast the student just mentioned with a second type of graduate student who comes to a professor’s office and announces, or admits, that he can’t think of a suitable thesis problem, and requests the professor to assign him a problem. When such a student

SELECTING AND PLANNING THE PROBLEM Pall appears, and he does appear quite often, a professor is usually in doubt whether the student has the ability and the ambition to write an acceptable thesis; it is not always true, but usually such a student is incompetent, or lazy, and sometimes he is both incompetent and lazy; he would be happy to have his professors do his thinking for him.

Making a written record of live problems.— In order that live problems may not be forgotten, it is a good plan for the student to make a written record of all such problems as they come to mind in the course of classroom lectures and discussion, or through reading, or by other means. The present author has followed for several years the practice of writing on a filing card a statement of each par- .

ticularly live and unsolved problem in his field oe which occurs to him; he finds that list of problems to be particularly helpful in guiding both his personal research work and that of his students. Unless an appropriate plan for making a written record of them is followed, problems come to mind, then flit away frequently never to return; an idea is an elusive thing, and for permanence it must be placed in writing.

Ws How TO WRITE A THESIS

When to select the problem.—The problem should be selected and work begun on it as early in the student’s graduate course as possible—during the first weeks, if at all possible. An early selection of the problem will give the student more time to mature his thought _ on the problem, and the result will be a better thesis. A hastily produced thesis is almost always poor, and, if poor, it is everlastingly to the discredit of both the student who produces it and the university which accepts it. It should not be forgotten that a thesis once written, and accepted cannot be recalled and rewritten; on the contrary, it must remain as a monument, good or bad, to the student and the university.

Criteria for selecting the problem.—Much thought will be necessary on the part of the student if a suitable problem is to be selected, and still more thought will be necessary if the most suitable problem is to be chosen. The best type of student will have in mind several problems which he might pursue, and his task, therefore, will not be that primarily of securing a problem, but rather it will be that of selecting the problem. In this fortunate dilemma the student must carefully weigh each problem against every other problem, and under the guidance of his major professor he must select the problem which seems best. When selecting the problem the following criteria, among others, should be kept in mind:

The novelty of the problem.—That is, how much work, if any, has already been done on the general problem and will further work on it be helpful? Before plunging into a problem, the student should make sure that he is not duplicating, unawares at least, the work of someone, particularly the work of someone who has made a scholarly investigation of the problem; moreover, an attempt should be made to ascertain whether any other person is now working on the proposed problem. The time of scientific workers is too valuable to - spend in working on problems which have already been sufficiently investigated, or are now being investigated, by other workers. However, such considerations as the discovery of new methods and techniques, which methods and techniques were not extant at the time

of making a given investigation, might make it advisable to duplicate in part an earlier investigation for verification or for further discoveries.

The student’s interest in the problem.—It goes without saying that a problem should be selected in which the student already has interest, or in which he can soon create an interest. It is curiously true that work on almost any problem soon becomes interesting, and grows increasingly interesting, to the true research scholar. Someone has aptly said that “there are no uninteresting subjects; there are only uninterested persons.”

The practical value of research on the problem to the student and to other persons.— Other matters being equal, an attempt should be made to select a problem whose solution will be of the greatest practical value to the student and to other persons as well. No research—scholarly and real research is meant, of course,—lacks practical value; but some research has more practical value than other.

The student’s special qualifications to attack the problem.—That is, does the student have » the special qualifications requisite for an effective attack upon the proposed problem, or would he do better to select another problem on which his special qualifications could show to better advantage? It should be noted that the attack on some problems requires large ability in statistical method; on others, unusual power of description is needed; on others, large knowledge of experimental procedure is demanded; on others, thorough familiarity with the historical method is needed ; and on still others, other special abilities are required.

The availability of data on the problem.— That is, are data which bear on the problem available and reasonably accessible? It should be noted that data on some problems are difficult, if not impossible, to secure. If at all possible the use of a questionnaire in securing data should be avoided.

The cost of investigating the problem.—To secure data on many problems requires an expenditure of money as well as of time; in fact, some problems require a large expenditure of money—money for reference books, experimental apparatus, postage, clerical service, or other materials and services. All of such expense must usually be borne by the student. ‘Thus, can be seen the importance of the student carefully estimating the cost of completing a proposed problem, and of weighing the cost against his financial resources and against the value of the problem.

The time which the investigation of the problem will probably require-—The time which will probably be required to complete the problem is, of course, a minor consideration in selecting a problem; the practical value of the problem, the student’s interest in the problem, and similar considerations, are of vastly greater importance than time. ‘Time, however, should be kept in mind when the problem is being selected, for after a problem has been undertaken it must be completed in the most scholarly manner whatever the amount of time required. |

DELIMITING THE PROBLEM

Importance of delimiting.—Sjince well-defined limits of the problem are necessary for the effective collection, organization, evaluation, and interpretation of data on a problem, it is usually advisable, after the general problem has been decided upon, to delimit it. A delimitation of the problem implies, among other things, an accurate and clear statement of the problem. Thus, not “The Teaching of Spelling” as a statement of a thesis problem,

SELECTING AND PLANNING THE PROBLEM PATE but, “The Script versus the Print Method of

Presenting Words in Spelling.” The latter statement of a problem in the pedagogy of spelling would be definite, and, if followed, would prevent the common mistake of taking in too much territory; moreover, it would prevent “fluttering in all directions and flying in none.”

Proper amount of delimitation. An investigation should arrive somewhere, should establish some point or points, and this usually cannot be accomplished unless the general problem is delimited. A problem sufficiently limited in scope for the student to attack it exhaustively should be selected. A thesis is not an essay, and the effusiveness of the typical essay should be avoided in preparing it. On the contrary, the less common mistake of defining the problem so narrowly that it is hopelessly isolated from every other topic should be avoided. The broader implications of problems selected for research must be kept in mind | by the student if he is to do practical and interesting work and if he is to avoid being merely a research drudge. Not to keep in mind the broader implications of problems and the relations of the problems to other fields of

28 How to Writrt A THESIS knowledge would be as absurd as would be the play, Hamlet, with Hamlet as the only character on the stage.

PLANNING THE ATTACK ON THE PROBLEM

Importance of planning.—A|ll details of attacking the problem, from its beginning to its completion, should be carefully planned before work is begun on the problem. Unless this planning is carried out, disappointments in such matters as securing data and choice of methods will be frequent. Failure to do this preliminary planning will likely necessitate that either the whole investigation or a large part of it be repeated, and that would mean a waste of time, labor, and frequently, unnecessary expense.

Admitting that the trial and error method is the only method which can be used on many problems—particularly experimental problems—, nevertheless, careful planning will reduce to a minimum the necessity for relying on that method. A definite and complete outline of the problem should be prepared before work is begun on the problem; such outline may then be revised in pursuing the problem as necessity demands. An outline will aid in securing proportion, in avoiding superfluity, and in preventing wandering. All the eminent scientists plan their work with great care; if eminent scientists thus plan their work, how much more necessary it is for the novice to plan his work with great care.

A general outline of the thesis——The following is a general outline which may be adapted to the needs of most research problems. Such an outline should be worked out in detail to meet the special needs of the particular problem which is being investigated.

Title—A title which consists of as few words as possible—yet words that indicate as accurately and comprehensively as possible the contents of the manuscript—should be selected. The title should be designed to attract the attention of prospective readers, but it should not be misleading to prospective readers.

Introduction.—The introduction should not be disproportionately long, nor should any part of it, as is often the case, be prolix. The introduction might well include the following: (1) a statement of the problem and an exact delimitation of it; also a mention of the importance of the problem; (2) a statement of any work which has already been done on the

30 How To Writer A THESIS problem or on closely related problems by other investigators; and (3) a description of the data and the methods which are used in the investigation; if it is thought best, a brief statement of the data and the methods may be made in the introduction, then a more detailed description of them may be made-as needed in later sections of the manuscript.

Data and results——The presentation of the data and the results will, of course, require the major portion of the manuscript; in that part of the manuscript the following matters should be presented: (1) a detailed organization of the data of the investigation and a mention of how the data were secured; and, (2) an interpretation of the data.

Summary.—The summary should show succinctly the more important findings, and should state the conclusions, of the investigation. For a more detailed statement of what a summary should contain, the reader is referred to pies 87 and 88 of this book.

‘‘Browsing’’ through some good theses.—To discover how the authors of those theses outlined and attacked their problems, it will be helpful for the student to “browse” through some of the better theses which have been prepared, and which will probably be on file in the university library. The student’s instructors will be glad to suggest some of these better theses. |

In this examination of theses, the student should not secure the notion, as some students tend to do, that the aim is to prepare a thesis as good only as the typical one, for the typical thesis—even the best one, for that matter— may be of such poor quality that a particularly able student would not care to admit having written it. The aim should be to prepare a thesis which excels even the best in both content and form; the aim should not be merely to “get by.” Only by the student keeping in mind the ideal just mentioned can increasingly eminent scholarship result.

TYPES OF THESES

_ A categorical classification of theses cannot be made, because few theses are wholly of one type. In fact, most theses, although they may use primarily the technique of one method of research, nevertheless use to some extent all or most of the various methods of research. It should be mentioned, however, that the “unity

39 How to Writer A THESIS of spirit” of a thesis may oftentimes be injured by the use in it of too many different methods of research. Most theses are primarily, if not wholly, of one of the three following types:

Experimental.—In the experimental type of thesis, an experiment is performed according to correct experimental procedure to ascertain the effect or effects of a given factor or factors on another factor or factors. Examples: “The Effect of Different Types of Soil on Growing Corn;”’ “The Relation Between the Physical Condition of Children and Their Ability to Learn.”

Historical.—An historical thesis uses the historical method of research and traces for a given period of time the development of a given situation or situations. Examples: “A History of the Democratic Party in the United States from 1828 to 1920;” “The Evolution of the Office of County Superintendent of Schools in the United States from 1835 to 1QO20.%

Descriptive—In the descriptive type of thesis, an attempt is made to describe a present situation in such a way that it will be entirely intelligible. Examples: ‘Distribution of Income in the United States in 1929;” “The Legal Status of the Business Manager of Schools in the United States in 1929.”

I. Should the student, or the student’s professors, select the problem for the thesis? Why?

2. What advantages would there be in the student making, as they come to mind, a written record of live and possible problems?

3. When should the problem be selected? Whyr

4. Mention and discuss briefly the more important criteria which the student should keep in mind in selecting a problem?

5. What is meant by the delimitation of a problem? Why is this delimitation necessary in most problems? Can a problem be delimited too much? Explain.

6. Why should the problem be planned from beginning to end before work is begun on it?

7. What general criteria should the title of the thesis meet? What should the introductory section or chapter of the thesis contain?

CHAPTER tik ‘MAKING A BIBLIOGRAPHY THE WorKING BIBLIOGRAPHY

Purposes of the working bibliography.—One of the first steps which the student should take after the problem for the thesis has been selected, or tentatively selected, is to investigate the literature in the general field of the problem. in order to ascertain what, if anything, has already been done on the problem or on closely related problems. In the first place, this survey of the literature should be made because it may be the means of suggesting such things as subordinate problems which might be attacked, sources of data, methods of work, and possible mistakes to be avoided; in the second place, the survey should be made in order to ascertain whether the problem has already been solved: by another person, thus making it perhaps inadvisable for another worker to cover the same field. It is a good plan to summarize briefly at some appropriate place in the thesis (usually at the beginning) any work which other persons have done on the problem, or on closely related problems. |

MAKING A BIBLIOGRAPHY oo

How to find references.—Every reference which shows a possibility of containing pertinent and helpful material should be examined. Those references which are found to be helpful in furthering the investigation should be perused, and listed in the bibliography, and those which are not helpful should be discarded. The care with which a reference should be examined or read will depend, of course, on the prospective relevancy and the probable helpfulness of the reference. A mere turning of the pages of some references will be sufficient to show that the references are not pertinent to the study at hand, and should, therefore, be discarded. A casual survey of many other references, on the other hand, will show that the references are of such pertinence and helpfulness that every word of them should be read.

The sources which should be examined in making the working bibliography will vary with the problem, but the following general suggestions regarding the sources that should be examined will be found to be worth keeping in mind:

1. Ask your professors, librarians, and other persons who are familiar with the field, to mention helpful references and to suggest leads. Follow all leads which have any likelihood of being fruitful; remember that the finding of one reference will often be the means of discovering other references.

2. Examine books, monographs, bulletins, published and unpublished theses, and other materials which deal with the same general problem or with related problems. Examine in particular any bibliographies which the works just mentioned may contain; do not, however, permit any such bibliographies to become a “crutch” to your further efforts.

3. Consult the card catalog of the library. . If your education on the use of library indexes and library catalogs has been neglected, the librarian will be glad to show you how to use these tools. Don’t hesitate to call upon the librarian for any help which you may need in running down references; one of the chief functions of the librarian is to help the student.

4. Consult the standard periodical-indexes, such as (1) Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, (2) Poole’s Index to Periodical Laterature, and (3) International Index to Periodicals.

5. Consult the standard book-catalogs, such

MAKING A BIBLIOGRAPHY oi as (1) The American Library Association’s Index to General Literature, (2) The United States Catalog, and (3) Cumulative Book Index.

6. Note that many subjects have their own indexes, and the more pertinent of these indexes should be consulted. Some of the better known of the subject indexes are the following: (1) Agricultural Index, (2) Architectural Index, (3) Dramatic Index, (4) Engineering Index, (5) Index Medicus, (6) Industrial Arts Index, (7) Psychological Index, (8) United States Document Catalog and Subject Index, and (9) The Education Index. For a complete and classified list of such indexes the student should consult I. G. Mudge’s Guide to Reference Books (Fifth Edition) ; this book contains a list of all the references listed above and hundreds of additional references.

7. Consult the indexes of periodicals in the general field of the problem. Most of the better magazines follow the practice of indexing the various authors and subjects annually, and a few of them publish cumulative indexes every few years.

Placing references on filing cards.—It is an excellent plan to list the references of the working bibliography on filing cards, using a separate card for each reference. The use of that plan will permit the arranging of the cards to allow in the final bibliography an alphabetical organization of the references, or any other type of organization which may be desired. Filing cards of 3 by 5 inches are usually a good size to use; if, however, the student desires to take elaborate notes on any or all references, cards of 4 by 6 inches or of 5 by 8 inches are more appropriate. Fig. 1 illustrates a filing card on which have been entered the bibliographical data for a reference.

Ayres, L. P. An Index Number for State School Systems. New York: Department of Education, Russell Sage Foundation, 1920. 70 pp.

A statistical study which ranks the several states and territories of the Union on the efficiency of their school systems.

FIG. I. A SAMPLE CARD IN A WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY

Library call-number—The library call-number of the reference should be entered in, say the upper left-hand corner of the filing card (see the sample in Fig. 1). The entering of the call-number is recommended, because, if there is need to refer again to the reference, time will be saved in securing the reference from the library. The library call-number should appear only in the working bibliography, not in the final bibliography.

An annotation of each reference.—If, upon | examination of the reference, it is found pertinent to the study, it will be helpful for the future use of the reference to enter on the filing card a brief annotation indicating the general contents and the merits of the reference. For a sample annotation, see Fig. 1.

Main criteria for bibliographical data.— There are three main criteria which the bibliographical data of references should meet— ‘namely, (1) accuracy, (2) completeness, and (3) consistency. If these criteria are kept in mind when the working bibliography is made, not only will the working bibliography be more useful to the student, but the final bibliography, which must be prepared from the working bibliography, will be much more valuable to other persons who may have occasion to use it.

Accuracy of data.—The first criterion which the working bibliography should meet is meticulous accuracy. An inaccurate working bibliography should be guarded against because such a bibliography would be likely to cause not only the student trouble in attempting to use it at a later time, but would be sure to inconvenience and irritate persons who might try to use the bibliography when it appeared in final form. Who has not had the experience of trying to find a certain reference, but was handicapped—perhaps entirely thwarted in the attempt—because of the “bum steers” of an ignorant or careless author who prepared the biblhography! When copying the bibliographical data for a given reference the author should make sure that the data are copied exactly as they appear in the reference; this means that every necessary word, figure, or symbol shall be included and that the spelling of every word shall be perfect.