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Guidance on the Dissertation Process

The first place to check is always your course information for any specific requirements. 


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The Institute for Academic Development (IAD) have compiled general advice and resources to support you throughout your research-based dissertation or project.

IAD Study Hub - Dissertations and research projects

Finding Resources

Top 5 tips if you’re stuck with your dissertation literature search

Are you stuck with the literature search for your dissertation or final year project? Not finding as much on your topic as you hoped? Here are 5 suggestions to help you move forward.

http://libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk/yourdissertation/2019/11/15/top-5-tips-if-youre-stuck-with-your-dissertation-literature-search/

Finding Academic Literature

Finding Academic Literature

  • Library resources and services (1:50 min)
  • Searching and sources (3:50 min)
  • Literature Review (13:00 min)
  • Requesting material (34:25 min)
  • Managing Literature (37:05 min)
  • Help 

Recording (40 min video)

Presentation slides (.pptx)

Dissertation Festival Resources

Dissertation Festival offered a series of live online events exploring how the Library can support students to make the most of their dissertation experience: from exploring what library resources are available to support a research question, to managing the bibliographic and research data students find. 

Suggested texts

The Institute for Academic Development (IAD) has compiled a resource list on study skills, including general study skills, academic writing, critical thinking, literature reviews, and dissertation and project writing.

Study Skills Guides resource list

SAGE Research Methods

A good starting point for information on research methods is SAGE Research Methods. 

It contains content on the steps involved in a research project, including a full range of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods for the social and behavioural sciences, as well as many methods commonly used in the hard sciences.

Topics: Key concepts in research, Philosophy of research, Research ethics, Planning research, Research design, Data collection, Data quality and data management, Qualitative data analysis, Quantitative data analysis,  Writing and disseminating research.

SAGE Research Methods also includes a project planner designed to guide you through a research project.