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    Student Guide To The Thesis (2022)

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    Melanie Palma
    This document provides guidance to students on completing their research thesis for an English Pedagogy program. It outlines the objectives and guidelines of an undergraduate thesis, including developing a research proposal, designing the thesis with components like an introduction, literature review, methodology, and findings section. It also specifies requirements like minimum word counts for sections and using APA style.

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    Student Guide To The Thesis (2022)

    Uploaded by

    Melanie Palma
    17 views6 pages
    This document provides guidance to students on completing their research thesis for an English Pedagogy program. It outlines the objectives and guidelines of an undergraduate thesis, including developing a research proposal, designing the thesis with components like an introduction, literature review, methodology, and findings section. It also specifies requirements like minimum word counts for sections and using APA style.

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    Student Guide to the Thesis (2022)

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    This document provides guidance to students on completing their research thesis for an English Pedagogy program. It outlines the objectives and guidelines of an undergraduate thesis, including developing a research proposal, designing the thesis with components like an introduction, literature review, methodology, and findings section. It also specifies requirements like minimum word counts for sections and using APA style.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    17 views6 pages

    Student Guide To The Thesis (2022)

    Uploaded by

    Melanie Palma
    This document provides guidance to students on completing their research thesis for an English Pedagogy program. It outlines the objectives and guidelines of an undergraduate thesis, including developing a research proposal, designing the thesis with components like an introduction, literature review, methodology, and findings section. It also specifies requirements like minimum word counts for sections and using APA style.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 6

    Student Research

    Thesis Guide
    English Pedagogy Program
    Degree Seminar

    2022
    I. Introduction
    This guide is a support document intended to assist final students in their research and
    thesis-writing process. Throughout this document, students will find answers to common
    questions they may have as they work in their thesis project. The information covered in
    this guide starts with the general objectives of the thesis and follows the chronology of the
    project process.

    We recommend reading this document before beginning the process to know the steps to
    take in the term ahead. We also suggest referring to this guide while working on the
    project, to identify answers to the questions that may arise once the work has been
    initiated.

    II. Research Thesis Guidelines


    Undergraduate thesis
    An undergraduate thesis is a piece of research and writing on a single subject. It is
    commonly completed as the ultimate step of a degree program and the topic is chosen
    based on a student’s own area of interest. It allows the student to explore a narrow topic
    in depth. The student works with a teacher whose role is to supervise the process
    providing guidance and support throughout the course of the research.

    Objectives of the thesis


    The undergraduate thesis at our university is the culmination of students' learning
    experience. This process allows them to demonstrate their capacity to apply basic research
    skills in an area of their interest. The successful completion of their thesis would enable
    students to obtain their academic degree.
    Even though individual theses have their specific orientations, students completing their
    projects at our program must fulfill the following objectives:
    1) Demonstrate their professional skills by engaging in pedagogically focused, classroom
    research.
    2) Identify, analyse, and interpret their teaching practice considering their immediate
    context, their learning path and the theoretical and methodological approaches
    concerning language teaching.
    3) Demonstrate their ability to use academic English at an advanced level (C1).

    Research Approach
    The thesis project can be developed using either classroom-based or self-study research
    method. It is important that you are clear on the differences between these approaches
    and enact the approach you use consistent with its methodological expectations.
    Classroom-based research is a means of exploring and understanding the effect of
    pedagogical strategies on student learning in the unique environments of the Chilean EFL
    classroom. Self-study research centres on the role of the educator within professional
    practice settings to gain expanded understanding of teacher’s teaching practice. Your
    decision about which method to use should be based on the classroom circumstances that
    you have and should be subject to initial and ongoing review with your research
    supervisor, practicum tutor and guide teacher. For more details on these research
    methods, refer to the support material provided by the program.

    Research proposal
    The initial research proposal is used as a means of testing the viability of an intended
    research project, providing a concise and coherent summary of the proposed research.
    The research proposal should set out the central issues or questions that are intended to
    be addressed and detail the area of study and key literature in which the research will be
    located.

    The research proposal should include a title, research question, brief presentation of the
    rationale for the research, supporting literature, research methodology and a timeline of
    the research project. The proposal is to be developed in consultation with your research
    supervisor, tutor and guide teacher, and needs to be approved as suitable before research
    can commence. This is due by August 19, or slightly later based on agreement with your
    research supervisor.

    The Design of your Research Thesis

    This section of the document systematically details the requirements for the final thesis
    for Seminar. All submissions should be based on this guide.

    a) Title page
    The thesis title should be on a separate page and include name, subject and
    qualification that the thesis has been prepared for. It is worth considering
    creating a title which reflects the research question (but this may not necessarily
    be the actual research question). The format of the page should follow APA 7.

    b) Abstract
    Abstract should be on a separate page and should provide the reader with a clear
    road map of the design and outcomes of the research. Ideally, this abstract
    should be between 200 to 300 words. Specifically, it should summarize the
    following aspects of the study:
    a. the central focus and context of the study
    b. the methodology of the study and the primary research methods used
    c. the key outcomes of the research
    Therefore, the abstract should be completed once the research thesis is complete.

    c) Introduction to the Research study


    This is a critical component of the thesis that introduces the framework for your
    research and its intended objectives. It should analyse either:
    For classroom-based research: the origins of the research project, the key literature
    and theories informing the study, relevant theories and an overall rationale for the
    research focus. This should include:
    ● the specific motivations identified from past classroom experiences or from
    learning in the program for the topic/subject focus of the study
    ● the key literature and theories or concepts that inform the framing of the
    study and why these are worth investigating in the Chilean EFL classroom
    environment
    ● a logic for the specific focus of the classroom-based research that is being
    explored, drawing directly on this initial analysis
    For self-study research: the current and/or past contextual variables and personal
    experiences/interests that have motivated the study and led them to the research
    question. This should include:
    ● a description of the student-teacher current and previous teaching experience
    and reflections which have defined the area and guided the topic to be targeted
    and your research question;
    ● the specific nature of the research topic, issue, challenge or initiative you chose to
    investigate; and
    ● a rationale for the focus of the research topic, issue, challenge or initiative

    Both approaches require a well-developed rationale and explanation of the research


    focus selected. This section should logically lead to the introduction of the research
    question for the study (which concludes this section). This section should be a
    minimum of 1000 words.

    d) Literature review
    This section of the thesis provides more detailed analysis of the pedagogical and/or
    disciplinary literature that has guided the development of this research focus. The
    literature review should be consistent with the rest of the research project. This
    section should be a minimum of 1500 words.

    e) Research question
    A research question is a question that a study or research project aims to answer.
    This question often addresses a topic, issue, challenge or initiative, which, through
    analysis and interpretation of data, is answered in the study’s conclusion. The
    research question must address a disciplinary topic or a combined disciplinary and
    pedagogical topic.

    f) Overall methodology and specifics methods employed in the study


    This section centers around the broad methodology used to base the study (i.e.
    qualitative/quantitative/mixed method) and importantly, provides a clear and
    convincing rationale as to why this was the appropriate methodology for use in
    response to the research question identified in the last section. This needs to include
    methodological literature which provides supporting evidence for this approach.
    Secondly, the section needs to introduce the specific methods chosen to investigate
    the research question, consistent with this methodology. So, this part should include
    details of the data collection tools used (with actual examples of these tools
    included in the appendices) and the approach used for data analysis and
    interpretation. Again, justification of the approach/es chosen, using supporting
    methodological literature to provide evidence for why these were suitable choices
    given the methodology and methods used is necessary. This section should be a
    minimum of 1000 words.

    g) Research findings
    This important part of the thesis introduces the key findings of the data collection
    and analysis process. This section should detail the key outcomes of the study,
    referenced against the research question. These should be discussed in order of the
    significance you have assessed from the data (that is, the most significant outcome
    through to outcomes of secondary significance).
    Specific examples from the data—which maintain the anonymity of the
    respondents— should be used to bring life to these outcomes and provide evidence
    for the claims of significance made. These samples could include, where appropriate
    to the study, short quotes from interviews or journals, elements of collaborative
    dialogues, part of analysed documents, etc. This is an important part of the thesis
    that needs to highlight your analysis of the data.
    If you are undertaking classroom-based research, you need to focus your findings on
    the outcomes of your data analysis: that is what are the primary outcomes that you
    have established from the analysis of the data that you had collected.
    If you are undertaking self-study research, you should also include in your findings
    section the proposed plan you have designed in response to what your research
    has identified as important. It should also include the future plan you have
    developed for responding to the challenge you have identified.
    This section should be a minimum of 1000 words.

    h) Discussion of the findings


    This section needs to systematically analyse the outcomes detailed in the last
    section. The purpose of the discussion is to interpret and describe the significance of
    your findings considering what was already known about the research topic being
    investigated, and to explain any new understanding or fresh insights about the topic
    after you have taken the findings into consideration. The discussion will always
    connect to the introduction by way of the research question and the literature you
    reviewed. This section provides a key foundation for the conclusions and should be a
    minimum of 800 words.
    Important: If you are undertaking self-study research, you have the option of
    including this section as part of your findings (that is, as part of the previous section).
    However, if you are doing classroom-based research, this should be kept as a
    separate section.
    i) Research Implications
    This section should include what the outcomes mean for the issues implied by
    the research question and the analysis of the professional performance and
    teaching persona. In addition, you need to explain how these outcomes did and
    potentially could influence learning processes of EFL students. The implications
    of your research will derive from why it was important to conduct your study,
    especially linked to your teaching persona considering current beliefs, practice,
    decisions for future practice, among others. This section should be a minimum
    of 400 words.
    Important: If you are undertaking self-study research, you have the option of
    including this section as part of your findings (that is, as part of the previous section).
    However, if you are doing classroom-based research, this should be kept as a
    separate section
    j) Conclusions
    This chapter must wrap up your research and give the reader a final impression
    of your work. The conclusion chapter should be short. Instead of discussing
    specific results and interpreting the data in detail, here you make broad
    statements that sum up the most important insights of the research. The
    conclusion should not introduce new data, interpretations, or arguments. This
    section should be a minimum of 300 words.
    k) References
    The reference list must include complete book, journal or thesis details (and
    not just web addresses where the material was accessed) consistent with the
    expectations of the APA 7 referencing style.
    For a thesis, it is important that you include and use a broad range of reference
    sources, related to the broad theories/concepts, in your literature review and to
    support your chosen research methodology.

    l) Appendices
    The last part of the thesis are the appendices. These should include samples of
    tools, reference documents and other relevant artefacts that you have
    referred to in the thesis. Remember that the appendices should include
    documents/samples/tables that are important to the study but would be
    difficult to detail or include in the text without making it difficult to focus on
    the important aspects of the research and its outcomes.

    Total thesis length (excluding Abstract, References and


    Appendices): 6000 words (10% tolerance)

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