Dissertations & Theses

Writing a doctoral dissertation is something akin to conquering a mountain. The author uses a conversational and encouraging tone to guide doctoral students through the process of preparing, writing, and defending their dissertations. This thorough revision has been updated to include new and/or expanded coverage of research ethics and IRB procedures and varying university requirements for selection of topics, dissertation chairs, and committees.

All academics need to write, but many struggle to finish their dissertations, articles, books, or grant proposals. Writing is hard work and can be difficult to wedge into a frenetic academic schedule. How can we write it all while still having a life?   In this second edition of his popular guidebook, Paul Silvia offers fresh advice to help you overcome barriers to writing and use your time more productively. After addressing some common excuses and bad habits, he provides practical strategies to motivate students, professors, researchers, and other academics to become better and more prolific writers. Silvia draws from his own experience in psychology to explain how to write, submit, and revise academic work, from journal articles to books, all without sacrificing evenings, weekends, and vacations. The tips and strategies in this second edition have been updated to apply to academic writing in most disciplines. Also new to this edition is a chapter on writing grant and fellowship proposals.

Are you studying a subject in the humanities or social sciences? Do you have a long essay, dissertation, or thesis to write? This short guide is for international students, mature students, all students uncertain as to how to proceed. You won't have time to read more than you need to, so the student-friendly text is kept to a minimum. Advice is given concerning your title, what you might cover in your introduction; your review of the literature--your analysis of the 'received opinion' on the subject; your own counter-argument; your sources and use of evidence; and your conclusion. A number of short, illustrative passages are included, written by distinguished authors, as well as a summary structure plan, and exemplar essay.

By the time Umberto Eco published his best-selling novel The Name of the Rose, he was one of Italy's most celebrated intellectuals, a distinguished academic and the author of influential works on semiotics. Some years before that, in 1977, Eco published a little book for his students, How to Write a Thesis, in which he offered useful advice on all the steps involved in researching and writing a thesis--from choosing a topic to organizing a work schedule to writing the final draft. Eco's approach is anything but dry and academic. He not only offers practical advice but also considers larger questions about the value of the thesis-writing exercise. How to Write a Thesis is unlike any other writing manual. It reads like a novel. It is opinionated. It is frequently irreverent, sometimes polemical, and often hilarious.