lesley
Drama Llama
My best friend Turriff, desperately missed.
Posts: 7,184 
Location: Scotland, Scotland, Scotland
|
Post by lesley on Feb 20, 2016 21:59:23 GMT
DD was talking today about her girlfriend struggling to keep down the word count in her dissertation (not a problem I had!). GF is in her final year of a BSc in Prosthetics and Orthotics, and loves her course. I think she must be pretty good at it too, as she already has two job offers and an invitation to study for a Masters, and she doesn't graduate until June. I remember writing my dissertation back in days of yore, and my mum typed it up for me, as I couldn't afford to get it done professionally. I always wished I had, as she complained incessantly about having to make corrections! I was studying for an Honours degree in Linguistics and Phonetics. It was 15,000 words on "Yiddish and its effect on the English of American Jews". Snappy title, huh?  Did you write one? What was it about? Do you still have a copy of it? I know mine is around somewhere, but I have no idea where.  |
|
Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,647
Location: Kansas City -ish
|
Post by Anita on Feb 20, 2016 22:03:01 GMT
Yes. As part of my graduation requirements, I had to pay to have my master's thesis bound into a book for the university to keep in their library, plus I got a bound copy. I believe it was around 170 pages with all the appendices. I vaguely remember what it was about (and mind you, this was just a few years ago), but I couldn't begin to tell you the actual title. The study had to do with people in my field transitioning from college into the job market.
|
|
raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
|
Post by raindancer on Feb 20, 2016 22:10:24 GMT
A thesis for undergarments, no. I'm currently completing a dual thesis requirement for my Master's. One is occupational heat stress program development in a surface mine. My second is on how the economics of the commodities market impacts worker injury rates at a copper mine. I am pretty tired of talking about copper mining these days.  We do t have a word count requirement, just page limit guidelines. |
|
tuesdaysgone
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,832
|
Post by tuesdaysgone on Feb 20, 2016 22:11:17 GMT
Ahh, memories. I did my Master's thesis on Edward Albee. It was titled: "Edward Albee, the Art of Communication." He wasn't even a favorite of mine, but I had done a 25 page paper on him for a class and the professor suggested I use it as the jumping off point for my thesis. I added about another 40 pages.
This was before personal computers were easily available. I typed my thesis on a word processor and saved everything to a floppy disk, remember those days? I found out the hard way that a floppy disk can fail. I had to re-type the entire thesis. I was sick to death of it by the time I finished.
I have a copy, but couldn't tell you where it is today.
|
|
|
|
Post by moveablefeast on Feb 20, 2016 22:12:17 GMT
I wrote my undergrad thesis on attachment to place in rural Appalachia. I still have an electronic copy in my e-portfolio. It was a good paper.
I'm writing my master's thesis on the application and limitation of business leadership theory in public library environments.
Who knows what comes next. I'm starting a pre-doc fellowship to develop some research and will decide next year what to do as far as my further education goes.
|
|
Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,706
|
Post by Dani-Mani on Feb 20, 2016 22:14:17 GMT
A thesis, yes. I'm in the dissertation phase now. And it's going mighty slow..
|
|
smginaz Suzy
Pearl Clutcher
Je suis desole.
Posts: 2,606
Jun 26, 2014 17:27:30 GMT
|
Post by smginaz Suzy on Feb 20, 2016 22:29:10 GMT
An undergrad thesis-on soap operas. Can't remember more than that.
Didn't have a requirement for my MBA.
Now working on my PhD, and still deciding on my dissertation.
|
|
J u l e e
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,531
Location: Cincinnati
Jun 28, 2014 2:50:47 GMT
|
Post by J u l e e on Feb 20, 2016 22:34:01 GMT
I had the option for my Masters to write a thesis or take a cumulative exam. I took the exam. I kind of wish I had opted for the thesis. It sounds so much more interesting to me to do one now than it did all those years ago. I love reading the topics of y'alls papers!
|
|
|
|
Post by librarylady on Feb 20, 2016 22:52:27 GMT
I did a thesis for my Masters in Library and Information Science.
My thesis had to be bound and a copy given to the library there. I had a second copy bound for myself.
My topic: Did the Newbery Award winning books from 1950 to 1990 reflect the American Family during the same time period?
(or something along those lines---realistic fiction was in the title)
I had to read all those novels (thank goodness they were short), analyze the family presented in the novel and compare it to what the US Census said about the family in those years.
|
|
|
|
Post by librarylady on Feb 20, 2016 22:55:40 GMT
With the invention of word processing and computers, the current generations do not realize the AGONY they have avoided!
....typing a page, getting to the bottom and realizing, "Ooops, not enough room for the footnotes" GAH, the pages I have had to retype!
I received my MLS just as libraries were moving to computers for the catalog and thankfully avoided typing those darn cards. I had to type some for my degree, but never had to do it as part of my job. Those rules for card catalogs are a beating.
|
|
|
|
Post by anniefb on Feb 20, 2016 23:02:01 GMT
Both. A dissertation for my Bachelor of Laws which gave me an honours degree and a thesis for my Masters. Both were about different aspects of environmental law. I really enjoyed the dissertation, but once I'd started the Masters, my first thought was - why on earth did I do that?
|
|
gsquaredmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,080
Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
|
Post by gsquaredmom on Feb 20, 2016 23:08:50 GMT
For my bachelors I wrote a thesis of about 70 pages. For my masters I wrote a thesis of about 130 pages For my next two masters I did non thesis options. For my doctorate I wrote a dissertation of 250 pages.
|
|
|
|
Post by M~ on Feb 20, 2016 23:13:12 GMT
Yes. For my M.A. UGH.
|
|
|
|
Post by k8smom on Feb 20, 2016 23:18:44 GMT
Yes, for my master's degree I wrote a thesis on algae bio-fuel. Riveting stuff!  |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 3:40:08 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2016 23:58:23 GMT
My undergraduate did not require a thesis or dissertation. I did have to put together a cohesive thematic photo portfolio of 25 matted prints and write a short research paper related to the portfolio. Then give a 5-7 minute public presentation of my portfolio. We had an evening presentation for the entire class that was publicised in the community. About 300 people showed up to see our work and hear our discussion on what we photographed and why.
|
|
moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,183
Location: Western Illinois
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
|
Post by moodyblue on Feb 21, 2016 0:18:59 GMT
Not for undergraduate degree. Most Master's candidates in education had to do a thesis and I had to take the course on writing one, but because my Master's degree was in reading education I did two practica where we tested and worked with a student instead of having to write a thesis. I much preferred that option!
|
|
valleyview
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,816
Jun 27, 2014 18:41:26 GMT
|
Post by valleyview on Feb 21, 2016 0:59:14 GMT
I had to do a 25 page paper (sort of a pre-thesis) in my bachelor's program. I chose the Scopes Monkey Trial. I spent months reading microfilm. Ugh! I also encountered the difficulties of missing books and inter-library loans. Also, I was a terrible typist. It was the lowest point I had in college. In grad school, I also opted out of a thesis, but the subject was going to be our state's historian. Interviewing him was a high point in my college career. What an amazing man! librarylady, your thesis on Newberry books sounds really intriguing! |
|
peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,630
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
|
Post by peabay on Feb 21, 2016 1:03:10 GMT
I wrote a dissertation for my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. It was about borderline personality disorder and how it changes from young adulthood into older adulthood as reflected by responses on projective testing.
|
|
|
|
Post by shescrafty on Feb 21, 2016 2:10:35 GMT
For my Master's I researched Kindergarten entrance age and how it impacted later academic achievement. It had a snappier title, but I can't remember exactly what it was now. Basically I researched if being older when you started kindergarten made a positive impact as the child got older and went through school.
|
|
melissa
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,912
|
Post by melissa on Feb 21, 2016 2:19:50 GMT
Keeping the word count down? I know I did not have a limit and have no idea how many words it was! I do remember that I had to rent a laser printer to get it printed because my first copy was rejected. Then, when I printed it on the laser printer, all the symbols came out weird I had to go through the whole thing.
My committee members said they had seen PhD theses that were shorter. The title was something about creating polyclonal antibodies to a lipopolysaccharide on E.coli. I was working on developing an immune based treatment for gram negative sepsis. This was many years ago and the product does not exist to this day. A competing lab was using a monoclonal antibody and was a step ahead. Too many people died, but I still think they had the wrong approach. Also, it was only given to people who were already dying, which might have been too late as it was.
|
|
|
|
Post by epeanymous on Feb 21, 2016 2:26:58 GMT
I had an undergraduate thesis on the process of desegregating schools in a community near my university (in the 1990s, in New England, unbelievably) and a graduate thesis on the impact of welfare reform under President Clinton on nonprofit service agencies in the city where I attended graduate school. Both were thankfully written in the computer age. I didn't have to write a thesis for law school, but law review members were expected to write a student note, which is an academic article, and mine was on the impact of criminal convictions on child custody issues.
|
|
|
|
Post by annaintx on Feb 21, 2016 2:28:27 GMT
I wrote a Master's Thesis on how teachers can tap into student motivation in the classroom. My Ph.D was the history of a specific school in TX and the district it's in. My dissertation was 228 pages.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 3:40:08 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2016 2:28:37 GMT
I wrote a thesis for my MS and each chapter had to be a published journal article. It's about wild bees and the factors that support or limit their populations in wetlands and on farms. I have it in PDF, and I have the plastic storage bin with all the data, citations, specimen logs, and records in case I have to provide those for one of the articles or to another researcher. At some point, I should be able to destroy, but that bin represents so much time and money, I don't know. |
|
|
|
Post by elaine on Feb 21, 2016 2:30:47 GMT
DD was talking today about her girlfriend struggling to keep down the word count in her dissertation (not a problem I had!). GF is in her final year of a BSc in Prosthetics and Orthotics, and loves her course. I think she must be pretty good at it too, as she already has two job offers and an invitation to study for a Masters, and she doesn't graduate until June. I remember writing my dissertation back in days of yore, and my mum typed it up for me, as I couldn't afford to get it done professionally. I always wished I had, as she complained incessantly about having to make corrections! I was studying for an Honours degree in Linguistics and Phonetics. It was 15,000 words on "Yiddish and its effect on the English of American Jews". Snappy title, huh? Did you write one? What was it about? Do you still have a copy of it? I know mine is around somewhere, but I have no idea where. I wrote both a research based masters thesis and a doctoral dissertation. Both were on data I gathered on the health benefits of social support systems and types for men and women. I turned the thesis into an article that was published in a refereed journal. I have both in my basement somewhere- I had them hard bound. They are also in Ohio State's library somewhere - not that anyone has ever checked them out. |
|
AmeliaBloomer
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,842
Location: USA
Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
|
Post by AmeliaBloomer on Feb 21, 2016 2:33:02 GMT
For my Master's I researched Kindergarten entrance age and how it impacted later academic achievement. It had a snappier title, but I can't remember exactly what it was now. Basically I researched if being older when you started kindergarten made a positive impact as the child got older and went through school. Oh, do tell. What were the results? |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 3:40:08 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2016 2:34:08 GMT
Nope, they just wanted me out.
My husband chose to do orals instead. He did all the calculations for watering system for a golf course. I believe he got that because the professor who was supposed to do it( and was getting paid to do it) didn't want to.
The rest of his orals were design so he would have to the professors for help, because he was too independent. He didn't tho, solved the problems, but was admonished for not asking for help.
|
|
|
|
Post by anxiousmom on Feb 21, 2016 2:36:53 GMT
A thesis for undergarments, no. I am totally giggling like a 12 year old. |
|
|
|
Post by Delta Dawn on Feb 21, 2016 6:34:41 GMT
I had 2 undergraduate ones (nothing as exciting as the Peas are believe me!) As I had a double major I had to do 2 theses. One was on Japanese women as portrayed in Japanese women's literature from 1886 to present day. The other was on Chinese women in Canada for the last 100 years.
They were well-received. That is the thing that baffled me. I think the Chinese one was a stretch. The Japanese one at least I had experience.
|
|
|
|
Post by JoP on Feb 21, 2016 8:12:35 GMT
Yes I wrote a 20,000 word dissertation about stress in Management for my Masters. The university kept one copy and the other is in my bookcase at home |
|
|
|
Post by pierkiss on Feb 21, 2016 12:57:43 GMT
My Masters program was a non-thesis program. We had 3 practicable had to complete. I loved that, especially because the only idea I could come up with was on treating inappropriate sexual behavior in children with autism and I wasn't too keen on pursuing that line of study. My husband completed his Masters and PhD, so he wrote both a thesis and dissertation. There were no limits on word totals for either though. His thesis had to do with finding a way to increase safe driving practices. His dissertation dealt with increasing airport security. That study was really interesting because he came up with his method (highly effective, cost was extremely minimal), and also evaluated the effectiveness of a government funded security program that was being tested at a nearby airport. That program cost millions of dollars to create and implement. My husband found it to be minimally effective at best, and his cheap solution ( ) out performed it on every measure. The government people he was working with were absolutely furious!!! Needless to say that program was not used nationwide after all. |
|
