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1. Before you read Text 3A “PhD Thesis”, discuss these questions with your groupmates or teacher.
a) What is a PhD thesis? b) What is the most important part of a PhD thesis? c) Does a PhD thesis require approval? d) What is the purpose of the review chapter? e) What is the procedure of defending a PhD thesis? f) What similarities and differences can you fi nd between a PhD thesis and a kandidatskaya thesis?
2. Read and translate Text 3A. The Active Vocabulary List following the Text may be helpful. Find out if your answers are right or wrong. Use the introductory phrases given in Unit 1.
Text 3A. PhD Thesis
The PhD thesis or dissertation is a monograph, i.e. a selfcontained piece of work written solely by the PhD candidate and no-one else. It sets out a certain problem that the candidate has worked on, possibly within a larger team, under guidance of one or more academic advisors. It motivates and defi nes the problem, reviews existing approaches to the problem, identifi es through critical analysis a clear gap for a possible novel academic contribution, and spells out a so-called hypothesis, which is a proposed explanation for the problem or a proposed solution to the problem. The thesis also explains in suffi cient detail, and justifi es the work undertaken to decide on the hypothesis (or hypotheses as the case may be). This work typically involves a combination of further literature studies, theoretical analysis, experimental design, data collection, carrying out the experiments, data analysis, and drawing conclusions. A good thesis also delineates the limitation of the work done or the conclusions drawn and outlines possible future research directions.
The format of a PhD thesis is not very different from any other formal research dissertation or study paper. However, a PhD thesis requires much more research and evaluation on the topic.
To start a PhD thesis, you will need to submit a written proposal in to your advisor. The length of this proposal will vary, and is dependent upon your advisor’s specifi cations and the topic that the paper is written on. The body of the proposal contains certain elements that must be included.
The most important part of your PhD proposal is coming up with a hypothesis for your research questions. This is where your successful research study will begin. In most cases this requires the researcher to do background work ahead of time in order to choose a direction for which his or her thesis should go, as well as what the research will need to be done to prove his or her point.
The second stage of the process is actually beginning your PhD thesis. This requires approval of your proposal fi rst. The fi rst chapter will be the basic introduction to your subject, including the reasons why you decided on this topic for your research. The introduction also takes a look at other work that a researcher has done that is pertinent to the PhD thesis, and what new achievements he or she is trying to do through the study.
The second chapter looks at the literature that deals with the same subject matter. Keep in mind that the literature should only be high quality, and include items such as journals and books. While the review chapter does not directly relate to the thesis work itself, it shows the reader what the researcher was thinking when he or she began working on the research topic.
The third chapter looks at the research question with a detailed discussion of the PhD thesis statement. It will also include the information like the statement of the problem, and the hypothesis and predictions. It summarizes what the researcher is trying to accomplish through the course of the study.
The fourth chapter of your thesis takes a look at your research and the method that you used when coming up with the data. This chapter can be very different from one thesis to another, as it will depend on what method the research used, including comparative analysis, scientific technique, regression analysis, and more. This chapter also includes information such as the variables that were used, as well as why you used them and the theories you had behind choosing them.
The fifth chapter looks at the study that has been done so far, and what results were obtained during this study. It also looks at what methodology was applied during the study.
The sixth chapter looks at the results in greater detail. It will also evaluate the results against the previous information already known or what the researcher has discovered. The limitations of the study are also discussed in this chapter, which includes the factors that the study did not look at or incorporate. It can also include the information about the research that the author discovered that was not related to the original thesis and hypothesis because it was not addressed with the original specifi cations of the variables.
The seventh chapter is the critical analysis. This includes the information that was discovered during the research, as well as the areas of the study that may be open to further research in the future.
The final chapter sums up the results of the research and allows the author to give his or her interpretations and thoughts on the study itself. Writing your thesis is not the end of the study. You will also be required to put together a defence of your research, which entails being able to verify all of the information that is included in your thesis. To do this, you will be put in front of a panel of experts who will question your research. Therefore, you need to make sure that your evidence is accurate, proves what it needs to, is relevant to the issue, can be easily understood, and that it is convincing enough that the readers will believe what you have to say.
ACTIVE VOCABULARY LIST
set out v — (подробно) излагать (идеи, причины и т.п.)
approach (to) [ə′prəut∫] n — подход (к изучению чего-л.) approach to the problem — подход (путь) к разрешению проблемы
novel [′nɔv(ə)l] adj — новый, ранее не существовавший
novelty [′nɔv(ə)lti] n — новизна
state [′steit] n v — состояние, положение; излагать, формулировать, заявлять, констатировать
statement [′steitmənt] n — высказывание, изложение, утверждение
statement of the problem / problem statement — постановка проблемы (задачи) chapter [′t∫æptə] n — глава, раздел
introduce [,intrə′dju:s] v — вводить, внедрять; представлять, знакомить introduction [,intrə′dΛk∫(ə)n] n — предисловие, введение; внедрение; представление, знакомство
conclude [kən′klu:d] v — заканчивать; прийти к заключению, сделать вывод conclusion [kən′kluʒ(ə)n] n — окончание; заключение; вывод
draw a conclusion — делать вывод
arrive at / reach a conclusion — прийти к заключению
review [ri′vju:] n v — обзор; рассмотрение; рецензия, отзыв; рассматривать; рецензировать, писать критический отзыв
literature review — обзор литературы
reviewer [ri′vju:ə] n — рецензент, обозреватель, критик
refer (to) [ri′fə:] v — ссылаться (на кого-л., что-л.); иметь отношение, относиться reference (to) [′ref(ə)rəns] n— ссылка; сноска; рекомендация, отзыв
references n — библиографический список, библиография
reference book n — справочник
reference letter — рекомендательное письмо referee [,refə′ri:] n — автор отзыва или рекомендательного письма
outline [′autlain] n v — план, конспект; схема; изложить вкратце
propose [prə′pəuz] v — предлагать, вносить предложение
proposal [prə′pəuz(ə)l] n — предложение, проект, план
prove [pru:v] v — доказывать; оказываться
proof [pru:f] n — доказательство, подтверждение
pertinent (to) [′pə:tinənt] adj — уместный, подходящий
predict [pri′dikt] v — предсказывать, прогнозировать
prediction [pri′dik∫(ə)n] n — предсказание, прогноз
technique [tek′ni:k] n — способ, метод, методика; прием
scientific techniques — научные методы
evaluate [i′væljueit] v — оценивать, давать оценку
evaluation [i,vælju′ei∫(ə)n] n — оценка; оценивание; анализ
summarize [′sΛməraiz] / (syn.) sum up v — резюмировать, подводить итог; суммировать
summary [′sΛm(ə)ri] n — краткое изложение, конспект; резюме
entail [in′teil] v — влечь за собой, вызывать
collect [kə′lekt] / (syn.) gather [′gæðə] v — собирать
collect / gather data — собирать данные
spell out v — разъяснять детали или значение (чего-л.)
spell out a hypothesis [hai′pɔθisis] — разъяснить гипотезу
3. Complete the following sentences with details from the Text. 1.
1. The PhD thesis sets out _____________________________ .
2. You will need ___________________ to begin a PhD thesis.
3. The introduction chapter studies _____________________ .
4. The methodology you applied is discussed in ___________ .
5. The critical analysis chapter includes the information _____ .
4. Locate the following details in the Text. Give the line numbers.
1. In which lines does the author explain what PhD dissertation writing involves?
2. Where in the Text does the author mention the statement of the problem in the dissertation?
3. At what point in the Text does the author discuss the research methods to be used in a PhD dissertation?
4. Where in the Text does the author explain what scientific evidence is characteristic of?
5. Underline the detail that is NOT mentioned in the Text in each of the sentences below.
1. A PhD dissertation motivates and defi nes the problem that the candidate has worked on independently, defi nes the hypothesis, and outlines future research directions.
2. The chapter studying the PhD thesis statement includes the hypothesis, predictions, and literature review.
3. The factors that the study did not incorporate and the results obtained are discussed in the sixth chapter.
6. Answer the following detail questions.
1. According to the Text, a hypothesis is
a) a possible academic contribution.
b) a proposed solution to the problem.
c) a theoretical analysis.
2. According to the Text, the length of a written proposal depends on
a) the number of certain elements to be included.
b) the topic specifi cations.
c) your advisor’s recommendations.
3. According to the Text, what does the first chapter look at?
a) the reasons for choosing a particular topic for the research
b) the achievements the candidate has done
c) the details of the research
4. According to the Text, the second chapter relates to
a) the thesis work itself.
b) the information discovered during the research.
c) the researcher’s ideas at the initial stage of the research.
5. According to the Text, what does the eighth chapter include?
a) the research methods applied
b) the research summary
c) the critical analysis
7. Underline or mark the main ideas of the Text and retell it in English.
Дата: 2018-12-21, просмотров: 886.