Thesis

[DolphinChicaDDD]

My advisor suggested I start thinking long and hard about what my thesis topic is going to be. Keep in mind, I STARTED GRAD CLASSES THIS FALL. Naturally, I'm freaking out.I was just wondering what everyones thesis is/was/tentative. Masters, PhD, whatever.

I'll start off. Right now, I'm tossing around 4 ideas. They are in order I'm considering them:

1. Urban Watersheds and Education: How to teach city children about watersheds on their own level
2. Brownfield Redevelopment: The process, community involvement, and outcomes
3. Scientific Writing (This is the newest one. I'm thinking some thing about how to reach the general public, or surveying pharmacitucal companies to see how they convey new information to patients, is there a more effective way? Very open. I just love writing and science, and want to combine the two)
4. Beach Nourishment and its Effects on Macroinvertebrates/ Coastal life in general


ETA: My masters will be in Environmental Studies, with a concentration in Envrionmental Science.

[Munchkin03]

Your advisor just gave you some excellent advice. I didn't submit a topic for my thesis, which is due in May, until September. I just spent my entire Thanksgiving break (except Thursday, thank goodness!) working on research and getting sample specimens. Coming up with ideas a year in advance can help you secure funding, or help you plan extra time for travel. Also, if for some reason you can't do one topic, you can change to another one without too much stress.

My Master's will be in Architecture-Historic Preservation. So, my topic is anti-graffiti coatings on weathering steel. It's a highly controversial topic within the building conservation world due to concerns that the anti-graffiti coating takes away from the steel's essence. We will see.

[Taualumna]

What's your master's degree in? I didn't have to write a "true" thesis for my M.Ed, but I had to write what the department calls a "major research paper". It's shorter and doesn't require as many primary sources. I wrote mine on middle and upper class women's education in the 19th and early 20th century and how it impacted society.

[winneythepooh7]

What she said. Also, my mentor told me that I should write about what I know about already, don't stress myself out even more by writing about a topic that has nothing to do with my actual practice-related work in grad school. So what I did, was write about the population I was doing my internship with last year of grad school, gaps in the system, that kind of thing. What helped a lot was that the way my program was set up, most of the papers I had ALREADY wrote about in my final year practice class tied into the final major paper. I saw a lot of my classmates stressing pulling topics out of the sky and handing in a "crappy" paper the day of graduation. Don't stress yourself out anymore then you absolutely need to.

[AXOhottie]

Depending on what your masters is in, I think it would be neat to do your thesis on how to teach students scientific writing. I am a TA for a variety of freshmen and sophomore biology and chemistry classes, and one of the most difficult problems they encounter is how to properly write a scientific paper. The format and use of language is completely different than it is in a paper they might write for an English class. Understanding what to include and how to structure sentences using primarily passive voice are often difficult concepts for many of the students. Many students are appalled at their low grade when they receive their first formal report back. Students usually have not written this type of paper before they come to college. Teaching students how to write excellent scientific papers could be very beneficial. You don't have to use this, but it's an idea that could intergrate an education focus (from your first choice) and your love of science and writing.

[DolphinChicaDDD]

Originally posted by Taualumna
What's your master's degree in?

I probably should have included that in my orginal post. I'll go back and edit.

My masters will be in Envrionmental Studies, with a focus in Envrionmental Science.

Once I finish with that, I think I'm going to apply for a doctorate in envrionmental management. Which is why I think I'm leaning towards ubran watershed or brownfield redevelopment, that way I could build my dissertation on research I already completeled.

[ShyViolet]

Ahh the dreaded dissertation. I'm doing my MLitt in art history with a concentration in the Venetian Renaissance.
My thesis topic is shaping up to be Lorenzo Lotto and the influence of his religion on portraiture.
I'll finalise it in January and will submit the finished dissertation by July.

As for my PhD, my topic is still in the very rough stages, but I want to look at anatomical deformity in Venetian Renaissance art and compare it to how anatomy was used in the High Renaissance in Rome or Florence.

[Munchkin03]

There is a considerable difference between a "Master/Major Project" and a thesis. The former is usually a summation of what you've learned during classes and fieldwork, while the latter is original research that is supposed to be of publication-quality. Sometimes the thesis might originate from fieldwork or classwork--but it requires some outside work, and can't come from old papers.

I had to write a Major Project for one of my majors, and a thesis for the other. BIG DIFFERENCE.

[Buff]

if you're interested in a doctrate focused on watersheds or brownfield development after your masters pick one of those topics. i can tell you that watersheds is a HUGE environmental area right now. i work at my local conservation district, which is closely associated with natural resources conservation service (usda). the major upcoming program, conservation security program, is completely watershed based. this program is going to provide a large funding source for farmers. but i'm sure there is tons of money out there for city studies as well, especially dealing with managing water and impermeable surfaces and pollution.

[winneythepooh7]

Originally posted by Munchkin03
There is a considerable difference between a "Master/Major Project" and a thesis. The former is usually a summation of what you've learned during classes and fieldwork, while the latter is original research that is supposed to be of publication-quality. Sometimes the thesis might originate from fieldwork or classwork--but it requires some outside work, and can't come from old papers.

I had to write a Major Project for one of my majors, and a thesis for the other. BIG DIFFERENCE.

Good point. I remember I used the word "thesis" once and my field instructor got highly offended because HE had to write a thesis for his PhD. The "Master/Major Project" is generally not an original work as you've pointed out.

[starang21]

i was a teaching assistant. Purdue gave me the full hook up....


damn, people actually learned from my ass.....

[ShyViolet]

I've decided to be pedantic today, so here you go.
There are differences between Master Project, Dissertation and Thesis. I have to write a dissertation for my masters and a thesis for my PhD.

~ A master/major project (I'm guessing on this one as we don't have them here) is a major body of research, though not necessarily based in original research...

~ A dissertation is a longer work, for us it's 15,000 words (~60 pages double spaced) for the MLitt or 40,000 words (~160 pages double spaced) for the MPhil. A master's dissertation IS expected to be based in original research and make a new contribution to the understanding of the topic.
In the states, I think a normal MA or MS dissertation is usually around 60-70 pages.

~ The PhD Thesis is typically 80,000 words (~320 pages double spaced) and should make an original and significant contribution to knowledge.

I think a lot of the confusion over nomenclature dervives from the fact that it's not standardised between universities.

~ShyViolet

[Rudey]

The Pharmaceutical Industry: Innovation vs. Protection (2003)

This paper tackled the difficult issue of intellectual property rights within the pharmaceutical sector. Differentiating between downstream patents on final products and upstream patents on the components of these products, I analyzed the impact on innovation of two Congressional acts passed in the 1980s: the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 and the Waxman-Hatch Act of 1984. The objective was to examine both positive and negative aspects of these acts in light of these two patent classifications. In addition, the paper examined the rationale behind the enactment of these acts. Ultimately, ideas were presented to tackle difficult issues in the form of policy recommendations striking a balance between innovation and protection in the industry.

-Rudey

[DolphinChicaDDD]

I met with a guy about a project that I think will lead to my thesis. I've narrowed down and focused more and *think* this is what I'm going to be doing:

Natural Redevelopment: Using urban stormwater to recreate freshwater wetlands in filled land

Yeah, it is offically going to be a thesis. The funding for the project should come through in April, so there go my dreams of living at the beach for the summer. I'll be stuck in the hot city, doing research.

[SDTSarah]

Okay...I've started freaking out a little, too. My advisor just invited me to do the Honors Program. It's the only way to graduate with Honors at Emory, and it involves writing a 50-80 page thesis. I have aboiut 1 1/2 years, but the thought of doing something so monumental is...overwhelming. I've never done ANYTHING like this before, so I'm pretty nervous. On the other hand, graduating with honors will be pretty cool.

My topic is probably going to be something about Roman mystery cults.