7/30/2019 Dissertation Milestones

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Dissertation: Milestones for Submissions

Mid Term Report: October 18, 2012 (Total Marks=20) Abstract Research Questions Literature Review Research Methodology

o Conceptual/Theoretical Frameworko Research Questions refined through literature reviewo Research Strategy (for example, ethnography maybe your overall

strategy, then outline the different steps involved in this kind of strategy)

o Research Design (eg: if you are a participant observer in your site usingethnographic fieldwork, you may engage in systematic observations andconduct field interviews. In this section you tell us what are the protocolsyou will follow during observation sessions weekday mornings? Alternative

days of the week at different times? Different locations? etc; whatquestions will you ask in interviews? Are you going to do structuredinterviews, then include your questionnaire here or if you want more free

conversations then detail the themes you want to explore; how will youchoose your cases (buildings, projects etc.) your samples (number ofpeople you want to talk to while doing a survey; typically you need asample of at least 30 people for a survey to be considered significant; and

how will you select them?) and respondents: people you want to treat askey informers and do indepth interviews with)

o Data Collection Methods (what are the specific methods you will use tocollect data: interviews using structured questionnaires, or semi-structured

questions with impromptu probing; photographic documentation, analysisof old maps, drawings, archival materials etc.

o Data Analysis Methods (for example if you generate a lot of qualitativedata such as interview transcripts, photographs, archival literature, you

may have to do a content analysis looking for patterns and themes to helpyou answer your research questions)

o Introduction to primary case studiesjust a brief outline about the particularcase(s) without going into details and analysis

Report on Case Studies: November 1, 2012 (Total Marks=20)

Criteria for selecting primary case studies Detailed documentation of case studies Analysis of case studies from the perspective of your research questions Findings from case studies and relevance or your research

Integrative Analysis: November 15, 2012 (Total Marks=30)

Analysis of all data from primary and secondary sources Major findings from case studies: confine the information to what you yourself

have found out, and leave the link with the Literature Reviewforthe Discussion section.

Discussions: This is the heart of the dissertation. This is where you tie together theresearch questions or hypotheses, the data you have unearthed, and the previousresearch, models and arguments.

Pre Final Draft: November 30, 2012 (Total Marks=30)

Final Submission: December 15, 2012 (Total Marks=100)