Enjoy writing your science thesis or dissertation! : a step by step guide to planning and writing dissertations and theses for undergraduate and graduate science students / Elizabeth Fisher, Richard Thompson.

By:

Fisher, Elizabeth [author]

Contributor(s):

Thompson, Richard [author]

Material type: Text

TextCopyright date: 2014Edition: Second editionDescription: xii, 338 pages ; 23 cmContent type:

text

ISBN:

9781783264216
1783264217

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

808.0665 FIS

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Standard Loan	Moylish Library Main Collection	808.0665 FIS (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Checked out	11/04/2024	39002100634303
3 Day Loan	Moylish Library Short Loan	808.0665 FIS (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		39002100634295

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This book is a step by step illustrated guide to planning and writing dissertations and theses for undergraduate and graduate science students. Topics covered include advice on writing each section of a thesis as well as general discussions on collecting and organizing references, keeping records, presenting data, interacting with a supervisor and avoiding academic misconduct. Recommendations about how to use word processors and other software packages effectively are included, as well as advice on the use of other resources. A concise summary of important points of English grammar is given, along with appendices listing frequently confused words and wordy phrases to avoid. Further appendices are provided, including one on SI units. The aim is to provide an easy-to-read guide that gives students practical advice about all aspects of writing a science thesis or dissertation, starting from writing a thesis plan and finishing with the viva and corrections to the thesis.

Includes index.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Acknowledgements (p. v)
Chapter 1 Overview (p. 1)
1.1 Preliminaries (p. 1)
1.2 Creating a Plan for Your Thesis or Dissertation (p. 2)
1.3 Overview of this Book (p. 8)
Common Mistakes (p. 25)
Key Points (p. 25)
Chapter 2 Getting Organised (p. 27)
2.1 Organise Yourself (p. 27)
2.2 Organise Your Information (p. 29)
2.3 Sources of Information (p. 31)
2.4 Copyright (p. 34)
2.5 Your Friendly Computer (p. 35)
2.6 Word Processing (p. 39)
2.7 Other Useful Software Packages (p. 42)
Common Mistakes (p. 45)
Key Points (p. 45)
Chapter 3 Your References or Bibliography (p. 47)
3.1 References and Citations (p. 47)
3.2 Using References (p. 48)
3.3 Collect and Store Your References from Day One of Your Project (p. 51)
3.4 The Final Text (p. 53)
3.5 Formats for Citations and References (p. 53)
3.6 How to Write the Full-Length Reference (p. 56)
Common Mistakes (p. 61)
Key Points (p. 63)
Chapter 4 Planning and Writing Your Literature Review (p. 65)
4.1 Read Around Your Subject from Day One (p. 65)
4.2 Keep Notes from Your Reading (p. 66)
4.3 Planning Your Literature Review (p. 67)
4.4 Writing Your Literature Review (p. 69)
Common Mistakes (p. 70)
Key Points (p. 70)
Chapter 5 Planning and Writing Your Materials and Methods/Experimental Techniques (p. 71)
5.1 Planning Materials and Methods/Experimental Techniques (p. 73)
5.2 Writing the Methods Section (p. 74)
5.3 Writing the Materials Section (p. 77)
5.4 Writing Conventions (p. 81)
5.5 What to Include (p. 83)
Common Mistakes (p. 88)
Key Points (p. 89)
Chapter 6 Planning and Writing Your Results (p. 91)
6.1 Planning Your Results Chapter (p. 92)
6.2 Which Results to Include (p. 94)
6.3 The Order In Which to present Your Results (p. 95)
6.4 How Many Results Chapters, What Titles and in which Order? (p. 96)
6.5 Writing Your Results Chapter (p. 97)
6.6 Writing Style (p. 99)
6.7 Figures, Tables and Appendices (p. 100)
Common Mistakes (p. 100)
Key Points (p. 101)
Chapter 7 Planning and Writing Your Discussion and Conclusion (p. 103)
7.1 Planning the Discussion (p. 103)
7.2 Writing Your Discussion (p. 107)
7.3 Writing the Conclusion (p. 108)
Common Mistakes (p. 109)
Key Points (p. 109)
Chapter 8 Planning and Writing Your Introduction (p. 111)
8.1 Planning the Introduction (p. 111)
8.2 The Beginning (p. 113)
8.3 The Middle (p. 114)
8.4 The End (p. 115)
8.5 Theory Section (p. 116)
8.6 Writing Your Introduction (p. 118)
Common Mistakes (p. 120)
Key Points (p. 121)
Chapter 9 Deciding on Your Title and Writing Your Abstract (p. 123)
9.1 The Title of your Thesis or Dissertation (p. 123)
9.2 The Abstract of your Thesis or Dissertation (p. 125)
Common Mistakes (p. 127)
Key Points (p. 128)
Chapter 10 The Other Bits (p. 129)
10.1 Title Page (p. 130)
10.2 Abstract (p. 133)
10.3 Acknowledgements/Dedication (p. 133)
10.4 Table of Contents (p. 133)
10.5 Lists of Figures and Tables (p. 134)
10.6 List of Abbreviations (p. 134)
10.7 Glossary (p. 135)
10.8 Appendices (p. 135)
10.9 Published Papers (p. 136)
Common Mistakes (p. 136)
Key Points (p. 137)
Chapter 11 Other People's Work (p. 139)
11.1 Being Part of a Team (p. 139)
11.2 Plagiarism (p. 141)
11.3 Copywright (p. 143)
Common Mistakes (p. 144)
Key Points (p. 144)
Chapter 12 Layout (p. 145)
12.1 Fonts and Line Spacing (p. 146)
12.2 Layout of Text on the Page (p. 149)
12.3 Titles and Headings (p. 153)
12.4 Additional Features (p. 156)
12.5 Mathematical Equations (p. 157)
Common Mistakes (p. 159)
Key Points (p. 160)
Chapter 13 Numbers, Errors and Statistics (p. 161)
13.1 Writing Numbers and Quantities (p. 161)
13.2 Errors and Uncertainties (p. 164)
13.3 Statistics (p. 167)
Common Mistakes (p. 172)
Key Points (p. 172)
Chapter 14 Figures and Tables (p. 173)
14.1 Basic Principles (p. 173)
14.2 Figures: Illustrations (p. 177)
14.3 Annotating Figures (p. 178)
14.4 Figures: Graphs (p. 184)
14.5 Tables (p. 194)
14.6 Inserting Figures and Tables into a Thesis or Dissertation (p. 198)
Common Mistakes (p. 200)
Key Points (p. 200)
Chapter 15 Proofreading, Printing, Binding and Submission (p. 203)
15.1 Getting Ready (p. 203)
15.2 Proofreading (p. 205)
15.3 Printing Your Dissertation or Thesis (p. 207)
15.4 Submitting Your Thesis (p. 209)
Common Mistakes (p. 210)
Key Points (p. 211)
Chapter 16 The Viva and Thereafter or 'And you thought it was All Over...' (p. 213)
16.1 Oral Examinations (p. 213)
16.2 Preparing for Your Viva (p. 215)
16.3 The Day of the Viva (p. 218)
16.4 After the Viva (p. 221)
Common Mistakes (p. 222)
Key Points (p. 223)
Chapter 17 Supervision (p. 225)
17.1 Roles and Responsibilities (p. 225)
17.2 Reviewing Drafts Of Your Thesis or Dissertation (p. 227)
17.3 Problems with Supervisors (p. 229)
17.4 Changing Supervisor (p. 231)
Common Mistakes (p. 231)
Key Points (p. 232)
Chapter 18 The Use of English in Scientific Writing (p. 233)
18.1 Scientific Writing Style (p. 233)
18.2 Important Conventions for Writing a Scientific Document (p. 242)
18.3 The Use of English in a Scientific Thesis or Dissertation (p. 251)
18.4 Common Problems with Writing (p. 255)
18.5 Punctuation (p. 260)
18.6 Common Errors with Punctuation (p. 281)
Common Mistakes (p. 282)
Key Points (p. 283)
Appendices
Appendix 1 Easily Confused Words (p. 285)
Appendix 2 Prefixes and Suffixes (p. 301)
Appendix 3 Wordy Words and Phrases (p. 305)
Appendix 4 Words that Cause Vagueness (p. 313)
Appendix 5 Latin Words and Abbreviations (p. 317)
Appendix 6 The Greek Alphabet (p. 325)
Appendix 7 SI Units (p. 327)
Index (p. 333)