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Building an architecture for your thesis
Nicky Mason
PhD Experience conference 2012
University of Hull
Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Faculty of Health & Social Science
Aims • Share experience developing thesis architecture
(Trafford and Lesham 2008) • What, why, how Set in context of my research • 5th year of PhD (part time) • Midwife • Qualitative study – 12 women’s stories of planned
Caesarean birth • Narrative analysis
Women’s stories of planned Caesarean birth in their first pregnancy
• What meaning do women give to their experience of planned Caesarean?
• What phenomena occur in women’s stories of birth by planned Caesarean?
• How does a woman’s personal experience of birth (of planned Caesarean) relate to how birth is seen in society? (dominant childbirth discourses)
Narrative Analysis
• Stories are representations of experience
• Can explore self concept and social context (story teller as character within a plot/situation)
• Examines story itself – how storyteller orders flow of experience to make sense of events and actions in their life.
• Able to explore forms of telling about experience, not just the language used by asking why was the story told like that?
• Emphasise content and structure (whole story)
Doctorate
• An apprenticeship – learning craft skills of research
• A journey to becoming a researcher
• Process (and outcome)
The Thesis •Account of and account for your research •Process (and outcome)
Developing a writing style
•Writing within your methodology (storied account) •Narrative Analysis stories are: -co-produced (Mishler)
-dialogic (Bakhtin, Frank) •Creative writing course
•Understand structure of stories/plot •Engage reader(s) •Story (narrative arc v description)
Story
•Narrative arc •Beginning, middle and a future •Characters or concepts have changed over time (not necessarily chronological) •Something has happened
Trafford and Lesham 2008
‘I wish I’d found this book in my first year.’ •Examiner perspective ‘Think of your thesis as presenting the story of your research to your readers.’ Trafford and Lesham 2008
Thesis architecture – the what
•Blueprint of possible structure and shape of your thesis •Respective size and shape of the work to be undertaken •Plan against which you and your supervisors can monitor progress
Thesis architecture – the why •Visual overview of entire thesis •Displays intended relationship between ideas and arguments within the text •Displays author’s attention to the needs and expectation of readers •Acknowledge appropriate protocols
Thesis architecture – the how •Questions as starting point •Key decision points or milestones in thinking •Conceptual development - depth and breadth •Table – sections themes •explored with supervisors •Identify what already written •Revisit with supervisors
Trafford and Lesham • What is your research all about?
• What structure will your research have?
• Will it have parts/chapters or just chapters?
• What are the provisional titles of its parts/chapters?
• What are the expected contributions of each of these sections?
• What about the relative word count, where will diagrams, figures or tables or other non text items appear?
• What will be the continuous thread/theme/issue that runs through your thesis?
• Where does this thread originate?
• What will readers valued memories be of your thesis?
Stepping Stones to achieving your doctorate by focussing on your viva from the start p. 58
What will readers valued memory be of your thesis?
I hope to engage the reader in a conversation about planned Caesarean birth and that they come away with an impression of women’s experience and an understanding of the impact of that experience. I would like the reader to experience the sense of a plot unfolding where themes develop over time. I hope to present them with something that is coherent and convincing and more than just the sum of the individual parts. Like good books and films I hope that the reader will continue to think about and question what reading this story has meant to them, their knowledge of this topic and if appropriate, their clinical practice.
Reflections Outcome
• Useful model to see thesis as a whole and relationship of individual elements
• Iterative tool to use with supervisors
Process
• Deciding how to structure thesis- enhanced my conceptual framework-becomes meaningful in the writing/telling
• Writing for a reader (engage and signpost)
• ‘Conversation’ with authors – viva.
