You are here

Your Dissertation in Education
Share

Your Dissertation in Education

Second Edition


March 2016 | 360 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd

Are you struggling with your dissertation? Have you started too late and now you're panicking?

Help is here! Your Dissertation in Education is a straight-forward, plain English guide to doing and writing your project. It will take you from start to finish, with practical and friendly advice on every page. This second edition includes:

  • A new Foundations section with the concepts and tools you need to get started
  • An expanded guide to methodology and writing about methods
  • A new chapter on mixed methods

An essential companion on your dissertation journey, this book is ideal for students across education, including teacher training, early childhood and education studies.

Student Success is a series of essential guides for students of all levels. From how to think critically and write great essays to boosting your employability and managing your wellbeing, the Student Success series helps you study smarter and get the best from your time at university. 

 
Chapter 1: Introduction
 
Chapter 2: What is a dissertation?
 
Chapter 3: What is educational research?
 
Chapter 4: What’s all this about ethics?
 
Chapter 5: What will it be about?
 
Chapter 6: How do I get started?
 
Chapter 7: How do I write a proposal?
 
Chapter 8: How do I write an introduction?
 
Chapter 9: Where do I get hold of all the necessary background information
 
Chapter 10: How can I manage all the notes?
 
Chapter 11: What about referencing?
 
Chapter 12: How do I argue my point effectively?
 
Chapter 13: How do I write a literature review?
 
Chapter 14: Methodology and methods: what’s the difference?
 
Chapter 15: What is meant by mixing methodologies?
 
Chapter 16: What sorts of data will I find and how much do I need?
 
Chapter 17: Methods: How do I conduct effective interviews?
 
Chapter 18: Methods: How do I structure effective questionnaires?
 
Chapter 19: Methods: How do I undertake effective observations?
 
Chapter 20: Methods: How do I conduct documentary analysis?
 
Chapter 21: Why is reliability and validity so important?
 
Chapter 22: How do I write a methodology chapter?
 
Chapter 23: How do I analyse qualitative data?
 
Chapter 24: How do I analyse quantitative data?
 
Chapter 25: How do I combine different data sets?
 
Chapter 26: How do I write a discussion chapter?
 
Chapter 27: How can I work effectively with my supervisor?
 
Chapter 28: What about working and planning my time?
 
Chapter 29: How can I manage a long piece of writing?
 
Chapter 30: Who else might be interested in my writing?

From constructing a question to presenting the findings, this welcome second edition should be the first read for students undertaking a dissertation in education. It makes complex methodological and procedural issues accessible, while fostering students’ confidence and proficiency in undertaking an independent research project. 

Alan Thomson
Senior Lecturer, Edge Hill University

Aimed primarily at undergraduate students on teacher education degrees, this book deserves a much wider audience. Written in an engaging style, it provides clear explanations of complex ideas and is an excellent ‘step-by-step’ guide to planning and writing a dissertation. Highly recommended.

 

 
Dr Nigel Skinner
Head of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Exeter

The great achievement of  this book is the way in which it combines readability and rigour.  Scott Buckler and Nicholas Wallman are to be congratulated on the very thorough yet accessible approach they have taken to the topic of dissertation writing, offering advice on each and every aspect of the process, clearly drawing on a wide range of experience and referring to some of the latest literature to support their advice.  I am sure that many hard-pressed and potentially anxious colleagues undertaking writing of a sustained kind, perhaps for the first time, will gain enormous reassurance and support from this book.  And they may even find some amusement, given the authors' sense of humour!

Ian Menter
Emeritus Professor of Teacher Education, University of Oxford and President of the British Educational Research Association, 2013-15"

We have this text in our library, and I will point students toward it as a reference source on specific items, such as organizing and writing the literature review. I would like a text that incorporates writing samples to help give students a better idea of what strong content looks like.

Tom Frankman
Education Social Sciences Div, William Woods University
May 26, 2022

Useful reading for trainee teachers.
Well structured and simple to follow.

Ms Maria McArdle
School Of Education, University Of Bedfordshire
March 30, 2016

A good reference book that is easy to read and understand when writing a dissertation. Ideal for the pre-registration nursing programme.

Mr Alan Keyte
Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of The West of England
May 23, 2017

Excellent book! Very well written and easy to read. Following a pragmatic style and gathering exactly what the reader expect to find.
Highly recommended to anyone interested in education research.

Dr Ghita Kouadri Mostefaoui
Department of Computer Science, University College London
May 4, 2016

This provides students with a very good framework for understanding the requirements of a good disseration which they can use in their own research project.

Dr Irene Dewar Bonnar
Education , Stirling University
June 7, 2016

To teach students how to handle their thesis subject and doing research in a structured, systematic way.

Mr Jules G. Verlaan
Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Delft University of Technology
February 24, 2016

This publication gives detailed explanations with clear descriptions and stages to planning a dissertation. This book will be recommended to both the BA Education in Lifelong Learning students and the BA in Early Childhood Studies.

Miss Tracey Canham
Health Care And Early Years, Swindon College
April 3, 2016

For instructors

Purchasing options

Please select a format:

ISBN: 9781473907485
£24.99
ISBN: 9781473907478
£91.00

SAGE Knowledge is the ultimate social sciences digital library for students, researchers, and faculty. Hosting more than 4,400 titles, it includes an expansive range of SAGE eBook and eReference content, including scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, and more.

The platform allows researchers to cross-search and seamlessly access a wide breadth of must-have SAGE book and reference content from one source.

SAGE Knowledge brings together high-quality content from across our imprints, including CQ Press and Corwin titles.