MUO-E0011 - Thesis Plan Orientation, Lecture, 6.9.2021-10.9.2021

Topic outline

• Materials (updated 6.9.2021)
  1. PROGRAMME AND SLIDES

  Programme is subject to changes. Times will not change.

  Monday 6.9. 
  9:15-12: Positioning yourself and your thesis in the field of design (slides)
  13-15: Getting your thesis done without going bonkers (slides)
  Tuesday 7.9.
  Optional tutoring
  Wednesday 8.9. 
  9:15-12: Making a good thesis plan (slides)
  13-15: Academic language (slides)
  Thursday 9.9.
  Optional tutoring
  Friday 10.9.
  9:15-12: Talks and Q&A panel by recent graduates (slides if available)
  13-15: Advanced elements of a good thesis plan. Thesis portal (slides)
  

  2. BASICS: GUIDES, FORMS AND DATES

  Thesis guide (English), Opinnäyteohje (Finnish) is the bible which covers all the basic requirements of the thesis. Read it, reflect upon it and do as is instructed. 

  Thesis plan explained. This is a video lecture by Turkka Keinonen.
  

  Thesis plan template. This structure for thesis plan is a suggestion and it can be adopted according to the thesis. In case your supervisor provides you with research plan instructions different from the following, act according to the instructions of your supervisor, and, of course, MA Thesis Guide.

  Contract template for thesis in/with a company. Should you plan to do thesis for a company, here's a helpful contract template. Remember that it is not only you who promises a thesis to the company but that also the company needs to promise support to you. Update 23.11.2021: Contract template updated to the official template for study and educational contracts with organisations outside Aalto University.
  

  Copyright and personal data explained. This is a video lecture by Mari Pesola. Here are the slides of the talk.

  Information retrieval explained. This is a video lecture by Marika Sarvilahti. Here are the slides of the talk.

  Thesis submission and presentation timetable can be found in Design Joint Studies website.

  Key dates of graduation (request for degree certificate & graduation ceremony). This info can be found in your MA programme's Into-site > Graduation.

  Research ethics by the Finnish National Board of Research Integrity (TENK)

  Department of Design Grants for possible funding of thesis production.

  3. RESOURCES FOR WRITING & READING

  Academic English materials by Maurice Forget at the Language Centre:
  

  - Language Tips for Thesis Writers
  - Plagiarism
  - Strategies for Citation integration
  - Phrase Bank

  Lyhyt opas viittaamiseen (in Finnish) explains in an economic manner why, when and how to write correct references in an academic text.

  In English helpful is instructions to Harvard referencing because (Author, date) format is commonly used in the Department. Remember, though, that ARTS or Aalto does not have recommended referencing system so you can use whatever system you feel is most appropriate. Key principle is simple: your text must be as easy as possible to read and evaluate. Use your user centred thinking-skills to achieve that. In general, academic readers tend to prefer seeing sources in the text while commercial writers typically have endnotes.

  Useful website for referencing: https://www.citethisforme.com

  (PDF) How to read a book, v5.0 by Paul N. Edwards, University of Michigan School of Information

  (PDF) Newport, C. (2007). How to become a straight-A student. Chapter about how to write college level 30-50 pages research paper. New York: Broadway Books. Even though this is not specifically about writing the thesis, the example of "Mindy's Art History Research Paper" fits very well with how to construct and write an excellent thesis.
  

  (PDF) Webster, J., & Watson, R. T. (2002). Analyzing the past to prepare for the future. Writing a literature review. MIS Quarterly, 26(2), xiii-xxiii.This is an informative and comforting article written by the editors of MIS Quarterly to help their contributors to write good quality literature reviews.

  (PDF) Ladik, D. M., & Stewart, D. W. (2008). The contribution continuum. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36(2), 157-165. This article is about how to write your thesis contribution.
  

  Couple of  handbooks that are useful if writing does not come easily:
  Becker, H. S. (1986). Writing for social scientists. How to start and finish your thesis, book, or article. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 
  Graff, G., & Birkenstein, C. (2007). “They say/I say”. The moves that matter in persuasive writing. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  Ilyin, N. (2019). Writing for the design mind. London: Bloomsbury.

  Couple of handbooks and articles dealing with qualitative research methods. Saldana talks also about writing.
  Muratovski, G. (2016). Research for designers. A guide to methods and practice. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
  Saldaña, J. (2011). Fundamentals of qualitative research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  (PDF) Saldaña, J. (2013). "Introduction to codes and coding". From Saldaña, J. The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Second edition. Los Angeles: Sage.
  (PDF) Spradley, J. (2003). Asking descriptive questions. In Qualitative approaches to criminal justice. Perspectives from the field, ed. Mark Pogrebin, 44-53. Thousand Oaks: Sage

  4. SOFTWARE

  If you feel that you MA thesis is not going to be your last time of writing long or complicated manusricpts, consider using professional software and practices. Professional writers tend to write either with basic text editor (such as TextEdit) or full blown manuscript composer (such as Scrivener (the best) or Ulysses(also really good)), accompanied with a reference manager (such as Zotero, Paperpile or Bookends). Word processors (such as MS Word and Apple Pages), which are half text editors and half layout design software, are ok for those who do not plan to write long manuscripts after the thesis. Even with word processors it is best to keep styling of text in minimum and do layout design with e.g. InDesign. Remember that you can outsource your layout design, provided you credit the graphic designer properly. Also, if you are not likely to need full blown referencing system after writing your thesis, then for example spreadsheet programmes (MS Excel and Apple Numbers) will  keep your references organised well enough.

  5. MISCELLANEOUS

  Assorted selection of design literature below. Most of the titles below can be found online through Primo.

  A literature list for three research competences of Aalto Design Research:
  - Design for Sustainability
  - Collaborative and Human-Centred Design
  - Practice-based Research

  Ceschin, F., & Gaziulusoy, A. I. (2019). Design for sustainability. A multi-level framework from products to socio-technical systems. London: Routledge.
  Chapman, J. (Ed.). Routledge handbook of sustainable product design. London: Routledge. Routledge handbooks are good -- not to be read fully (they're door stopper monsters), but pick such chapters that interest you. 
  Clark, H., & Brody, D. (Eds.). (2009). Design studies. A reader. London: Bloomsbury.
  Egenhoefer, R. B. (Ed.). (2017). Routledge handbook of sustainable design. London: Routledge.
  Gorman, C. (Ed.). (2003). The industrial design reader. New York: Allworth Press.
  Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., Redström, J., & Wensveen, S. (2012). Design research through practice. From the lab, field, and showroom. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  Rodgers, P. A., & Yee, J. (Eds.). (2015). The Routledge companion to design research. London: Routledge.
  Simonsen, J., & Robertson, T. (Eds.). (2013). Routledge international handbook of participatory design. London: Routledge.