Frequently Asked Questions About a M. A. Thesis
What is a thesis?
In Sociology, a thesis is an independent empirical research project designed, conducted, and written by students with the assistance of at least three faculty members who are thesis committee members. A thesis is similar to an academic journal article in terms of length and content. This research can be on any topic approved by committee members, it can use any method and any theory that is sensible given the research questions. The finished product should add something new to our understanding of social life and be of potentially publishable quality.
How much time will it take to do the research and write the thesis?
Typically, the thesis proposal is started in the Research Methods course and defended in the summer at the end of the first year of study. The thesis research then spans the two semesters of the second year of study. Of course, how long this process takes depends on how much time and energy is devoted to it.
How good does a thesis need to be?
Very good. An M.A. degree certifies that students have the skills to independently conduct social research which is the defining characteristic of professional sociologists.
What is a thesis committee?
A thesis committee in Sociology has at least three members. The Chair must be a faculty member in the Department of Sociology, at least two of the three members must have their Ph.D. degrees in Sociology (note: there are several Ph.D. Sociologists in other USF departments).
What do these faculty members do?
Committee members offer guidance throughout the thesis project. In practice, this can take many forms. Students must work closely throughout the project with their thesis Chairs; how closely students work with other committee members depends on the characteristics of the particular project and on the preferences of the
committee members.
How are faculty members chosen?
Obviously, appropriate faculty members are those with expertise in the chosen topic and method. In many ways, students are choosing their committee members when they choose their research topic.
What is a thesis proposal?
A thesis proposal is simply that: A proposal for research. A proposal does not receive a “grade,” per se. Rather, it is written and re-written until it is fully acceptable to all committee members. Once a thesis proposal is accepted by all committee members, a proposal defense is scheduled. Full-time students typically defend their proposals at the end of the Spring semester or at the beginning of the summer after their first year of study.
What is a thesis proposal defense?
A thesis proposal defense is about an hour in length and it is the time when students and their committee members talk about the proposed research.
What does a thesis proposal look like?
Although proposals differ greatly depending on what type of research they are proposing, a final research proposal includes everything but the “results” and “conclusions” sections contained in published journal articles and there is more attention to proposed method than often is included in published journal articles.
In essay format, final proposals should be a logical package linking research questions, current understandings (theory and empirical) and methods in ways that are defensible. While proposals sometimes are relatively short documents (15 pages or so), they are very organized and tightly written. They should contain:
• An explicit research question or set of inter-related questions.
• A mandate for exploring these questions. What in the existing literature leads to the need to examine these questions? What is lacking from current knowledge, or what hasn’t been explored or what needs to be explored in a different way? This is the literature review that places the research
questions within ongoing concerns and defines the relevant concepts.
• The proposed research technique(s). What technique(s) will be used? What are the most important concepts? If a survey or interview is being proposed the questions should be included; if a document analysis is being proposed the major categories of interest should be included; if an observation is proposed, then a tentative observational schedule (when and where) should be included.
• If the proposed study involves other than secondary analysis of data and/or examinations of publicly available documents, there should be a serious contemplation of the ethical dimensions of this research. Include a detailed explanation for how various levels of consent will be obtained as
well as the proposed informed consent form.
Data collection can not begin before the project is approved by the USF Institutional Review Board: http://www.research.usf.edu/CS/irb_forms.htm
For details about USF Graduate School thesis deadlines and requirements:
http://www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.asp