Writing a Postgraduate Research Thesis: The X-Factor

https://youtu.be/0_PPQVFCfA8

Congratulations on taking the exciting step of considering or deciding to pursue a master's or PhD journey! This is a truly rewarding experience that will open up an entirely new world of discoveries. While it may come with its challenges, this journey can lead to incredible growth and achievement. If you're thinking about embarking on this path, here's a video with three quick tips on choosing the right master's or PhD program for you.

A. Four Basic Queries

Research and writing are interconnected skills that must be mastered in all postgraduate studies. Before becoming a postgraduate student, below are the basic queries you should look for the answers to:

1. Why should I write?

2. What do I write?

3. Why should I do research?

4. How do I write from research?

a. Why Should I Write?

Generally, writing makes you feel right. It helps you to express ideas and share knowledge. You will be self-satisfied with your writing after it is published. As a postgraduate student, you may start blogging before attempting to write a research paper guided by your supervisor. Besides, writing can advance your career further to the next level. When your blog has gained many subscribers, or your research papers have gained many citations on Google Scholar, you will achieve "fame" and earn a fortune.

b. What Do I Write?

Now, you should realise the reasons for writing. However, your next question might be: What should I write? All right, here are the two suggestions for a postgraduate student. Consider writing comments on social media. Comments are feedback to the authors to help them to improve their writing. In addition, it helps show that their work is being read and valued by readers. Instead of getting lots of views and likes, most authors prefer receiving comments that offer real value. If you wish to give an impactful comment that the writer appreciates the most, below are the three quick tips for writing an impactful comment.

https://youtu.be/CoebXUWEKpo

Secondly, after reading and posting your impactful comments on social media, you can publish your writing in a full-text format. Share your thoughts, experiences, observations, findings, or innovative ideas about the best practices in your areas for knowledge sharing with global readers by becoming a blogger.

Many different genres can be found in academic writing, such as persuasive, argumentative, discussion-type, expository, and narrative articles. You may also ask, "How can I get published if I do not have a platform?" Should I build one? But how? My simple answer is: Be a guest blogger. You may find out more about how to become a guest blogger by reading the article Be Our Guest Author.

c. Why Should I Do Research?

Research refers to a systematic search for knowledge. It is the scientific discovery of facts or insights through objective analysis of the problem by answering the right questions. As a postgraduate student, you must have an inquiring mind and a commitment to clear, critical thinking. Research employs a scientific, data-driven, evidence-based approach that incorporates ethical considerations. What are the benefits?

A postgraduate student should think like a researcher. You will learn discovery methods, investigative skills, critical thinking, logic and argumentation, and ways to develop inquiry-based techniques. Finally, it builds your career skills; for example, below is an infographic on the research impact of Web-based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI), the outcome of my doctoral study (refer to my PhD viva presentation video below), from 2014 to 2021.

d. How to Write from Research?

A postgraduate study is a psychological contract that requires proper supervision. If you fail to complete the research report, you will fail to graduate on time. This problem may arise from weak conceptualisation and faulty design at the proposal stage. Writing from research uses evidence to persuade or inform the readers about a particular point. It does not involve all kinds of writing we read and write all the time; not all useful and valuable writing automatically requires research.

Writing from research always takes place for some reason or purpose within some context that potentially changes the way you do these steps, which are not quite as linear and straightforward. There are three distinguished criteria as follows:

• Thesis: a point that readers would not accept as “common sense.”

• Premise: a fact being relied exclusively upon to support a point

• Citation: the evidence that supports the writer’s point came from

B. Applying ADOJAR: The X-Factor Solutions

The X-factor of writing a postgraduate research thesis is called ADOJAR. It is an acronym for Acquire, Define, Organise, Justify, Associate, and Refine. Let's look into each as follows:

1. Acquire: Acquire the prerequisite knowledge and skills. These include:

   1. Academic writing conventions

      1. Research style and format

      2. Three key investigative conventions:

         1. Analysis

         2. Evidence

         3. Discussion

   2. Plagiarism avoidance

      1. Citation

      2. Quotation mark

      3. Paraphrase

      4. Works cited or references

   3. Research assignment analysis

      1. Understand the terminology: evaluation, interpretation, definition, proposal, causal argument, comparison, precedence, implications

   4. Research schedule establishment

      1. Finding and narrowing a topic

      2. Drafting a thesis and research proposal

      3. Reading and creating a working bibliography

      4. Creating notes

      5. Organising and outlining

      6. Drafting the paper

      7. Formatting the paper

      8. Writing a list of references

      9. Revising, editing, and proofreading

      10. Submitting or publishing

2. Define: Define and narrow a topic within a scope. These include:

   1. Set limitations.

      1. Sample size

      2. Methodology

      3. Resources: time, facilities, and funding

      4. Location

   2. Ask specific questions: where, what, and why.

   3. Make a decision.

3. Organise: Read, annotate, and create a list of references in a specified format and style during the drafting.

   1. Three main points in an organised structure:

      1. Introduction

      2. Body

      3. Conclusion

   2. Formats and styles: APA, MLA, CMS, IEEE, etc.

4. Justify: Provide relevant supporting details.

   1. Historical background

   2. Literature

   3. Critical view

   4. Assumption

   5. Fact

   6. Data

   7. Statistics

   8. Evidence

   9. Definition

5. Associate: Associate all written sections.

   1. Abstract: Include the problem statement. Indication of methodology, main findings, and principal conclusion.

   2. Introduction:

      1. Establishing a territory

      2. Establishing a niche

      3. Occupying the niche

   3. Literature review

   4. Methodology: Process of data collection and data analysis techniques

   5. Results

   6. Discussion

      1. Introduction: Review findings, discuss outcomes, and stake a claim.

      2. Evaluation: Analyse, explain, refer to the literature, and state implications.

      3. Conclusion: Highlight limitations and recommendations.

   7. Conclusion

   8. Acknowledgements

   9. References

6. Refine: Refine the draft by revising, editing, and proofreading before submission or publication.

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