 Get Connected Start Early Develop a Detailed Proposal Stick to a Routine Keep Your Eye on the Ball Don't Underestimate the Time Get Feedback Throughout Don't Count on Your Last Semester Have the Right Attitude |
The honors thesis is the most significant element of your honors education. Combining
analytical, research and communication skills emphasized throughout honors
courses and colloquia with the knowledge and skills gained through your
majors courses, the thesis is the chance for you to put a personal stamp
on your professional training. The thesis is yours in all respects
– your topic, your creativity, your hard work, your vision and, most of
all, your responsibility.
This ownership is a double-edged sword. Completing the thesis illustrates to potential graduate/professional school admissions committees or employers that you're capable of carrying a project from the concept stages through to completion. It's also a great chance to showcase your areas of special interest, and to demonstrate those creative or technical skills you have developed. But because the thesis work is done outside the highly structured environment of your other courses, it's easy to let time slip by without progress. Producing and defending a solid thesis requires self-motivation, focus, and the ability to manage your time and other responsibilities. It is precisely this challenge that gives a completed thesis its value. There's no strict formula that will ensure you complete (or even begin) a thesis project. Nevertheless, there are some general guidelines that may help you keep on track.Remember, the goal is for you to produce a quality piece of work, one that illustrates the best of what you can achieve. A half-baked thesis, poorly-designed and cobbled together, doesn’t showcase your abilities very well and could even be detrimental to your chances of getting that scholarship or job. So, what can you do to maximize your chances of producing the type of thesis you imagine? |
GET CONNECTED Doing your thesis will require you to work closely with your thesis director. It is the responsibility of the thesis director to provide you with insight, guidance and support throughout your thesis project; in many cases, he or she may supply you with the topic of the thesis itself. Very few people develop their thesis topic on their own and, in fact, we assume that you will not. Unless you're strongly committed to a single topic, it's better to integrate your project with that of a faculty member in your major department; in this way, you can build on a foundation already established by this individual, as well as support the scholarly focus of that individual, the department and the university. Obviously, before you can choose a project area for your thesis, you need to be aware of what's going on in your major department. As a freshman, you should investigate the opportunities that may be available: learn who each of the faculty are, talk to them about their scholarly interests, and ask them about what type of projects they might be able to help you develop. Typically, faculty are always anxious to talk about their research or creative activity, especially if there's a chance they can recruit a high-quality student to work with them. Don't be shy, and remember: you're not supposed to know anything about what they do - that's why you're asking them. When you meet the faculty, you should be looking for several things. First, do their interests complement yours ? It's unlikely you'll find someone doing exactly what you want to do. What you should hope is to find someone who can guide you to a project that is interesting, relevant, and meaningful in some way. At this stage in your career, the quality of your project is more important than the question. Second, do they think a creative outlet might exist for the type of project you would undertake with them ? Broad dissemination of your work (through publication in a research journal, magazine or newspaper, performance or juried exhibition, radio or television broadcast, etc.) indicates to grad school committees/employers that it is of high quality and gives you one more (very large) advantage in the competition for that scholarship or job. Finally, is the person someone with whom you can get along over an extended period of time? This is not insignificant - if you can't stand your thesis director, it makes it much harder to motivate yourself to work on the project. › top ‹ START EARLY Probably the biggest reason people fail to complete (or even start) a thesis project is that they wait too long to begin. As a freshman, sophomore or even junior, you might convince yourself that 'I'll do it when I'm a senior.' Then, when you are a senior, the thought of undertaking a project that large is overwhelming. You're busy applying for grad schools or jobs, taking your most difficult classes, and looking forward to kicking back a little in your last semester - hardly the time to think about finding a thesis director, developing a project, carrying it out and getting it written. What's the solution ? Don't wait that long. If you start investigating possible projects as a freshman, develop some basic skills and experience as a sophomore, then you'll be ready to hit it hard as a junior and wrap it up midway through your senior year. This is perfect, since you'll already have a completed thesis to show to grad school admission committees/employers by the time you start applying for positions (usually around the beginning of the spring semester of your senior year). The thesis is not meant to take two or three years of constant, sustained effort; you could easily complete an acceptable thesis in two or three semesters of hard work. But, if you spread that time commitment out over a longer period, it means you'll be better able to budget your time, and the task won't be so onerous as it would be if you were trying to do it all while facing a short deadline. In addition, you'll have time to reflect on your thesis, think about what you've done and what it all means. This is a necessary part of any scholarly endeavor, and your thesis will be better because of it. So, starting early means that you will produce a stronger thesis with less time pressure - all in all, a good combination. › top ‹ DEVELOP A DETAILED PROPOSAL Try and do a jigsaw puzzle without a picture - not too easy. Diving into a thesis project without a clear sense of where you're going or hope to end up is very much the same. In fact, puzzles and theses are difficult even with a clear picture of what you're trying to accomplish. But a detailed template does allow you to systematically approach the problem and gives you the a reference point to help keep you from drifting too far afield. That's the function of your thesis proposal, and why it's so essential to a good and successful honors thesis experience. You need to submit a thesis proposal when you begin your project in earnest, and prior to enrolling for thesis credits. The proposal should be developed in collaboration with your thesis director and with Walker Rutledge, the honors thesis coordinator. It should identify your topic, the specific goals/hypotheses/aspects you will address, the manner and time frame in which you will complete the project. Developing the proposal will force you to clarify your ideas about the project; the more thoroughly you approach the proposal, the more helpful it will be to you as a reference point later on. Research or project proposals are a common requirement of graduate schools, funding agencies, and corporate America; despite what you may feel as you're writing them, this expectation exists not simply to generate peperwork, but because proposals serve very useful functions in evaluating projects at the outset and monitoring their progress throughout. One practical reason we require you to file a thesis proposal is that it will allow us to protect your grade until you complete the project. You will receive an 'X' for all thesis credits you take until you successfully defend a completed thesis. Normally, grades of 'X' are automatically converted by the Registrar to 'F' after 11 weeks into the next semester. If you have filed a thesis proposal, any 'X's for thesis credits on your transcript will remain that way indefinitely (until you either complete the project or withdraw from the thesis and forfeit those credits); without a proposal on file, we have no way of preventing the grades from converting to 'F's. › top ‹ STICK TO A ROUTINE You don't have to make major strides every week, nor do you have to punch a clock to get your thesis done. But you should set and accomplish some reasonable goals each week. Get all the papers you need for Section 3...Block out Act I...Identify and scout out potential sampling sites...If you can do this reliably, you will get your thesis done, and it'll probably be a better product than if you worked feverishly for two months right before graduation. The trick to producing a solid thesis with a minimum of stress is to be methodical in your approach. Think of the thesis as a series of small, independent tasks that need to be strung together. If you can imagine breaking the job into pieces like that, you can concentrate on completing the next logical task at each stage. This makes it all seem less overwhelming, and helps build momentum (as you gradually start to check off items on your task list). Undertaking the thesis is about creativity, insight, and intellectual challenge, but completing it is about endurance and perseverence. Whatever strategies you can use to maintain your focus will increase the chances that you will finish your project, have it be of high quality, and get it done on time. This might mean setting aside a certain amount of time each week to devote to your thesis work (regardless of how productive you expect it to be), meeting one small goal every day, or committing to presenting your progress to others at certain points (and in a somewhat formal manner) along the way. The essential thing is that you regularly make time to work on the thesis, even if there are a lot of other things going on. If you start using that excuse to justify putting aside your thesis, you-ll never finish - there are always other things going on. Part of your routine should be to meet regularly with your thesis director and with Walker Rutledge to discuss your progress. The purpose of these meetings is not to shame you into working contientiously (though they may well have that effect), but rather to help you stay on a productive track. If you end up floundering for an extended period of time, that will obviously affect your schedule for completion, and likely add stress as well; your director may be able to anticipate and head off problems associated with red tape, your methodology, analytical software, etc. that may otherwise lead to an unproductive period. › top ‹ KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL It's easy to to get lost in your thesis, and drift away from your original or intended course. As you start researching your topic, collecting data, or even writing, you can easily end up pursuing things tangential to your primary purpose. Some of these tangents are useful and even necessary (since you'll never be able to anticipate exactly what direction you'll need to take in your thesis project); the problem comes when you start chasing tangents of tangents. Left unchecked, you'll look back on your accomplishments six months down the road and wonder how you ended up where you did, and realize that you have little or nothing relevant to your thesis topic to show for your efforts. It's essential, then, that you always look at what you're doing (or about to do) in the context of the overall project. In this way, you'll be able to see early on that you're getting off subject, or to prioritize different tasks with respect to how much they contribute to completing your thesis. A good thesis proposal is the most important tool to staying on track. If you've carefully thought out your project and outlined the necessary steps in a concrete way, you'll be able to use that document as a context for evaluating what you're doing at any one time. Your thesis director should also be able to keep you focused if you meet with him or her on a regular basis. Whatever mechanism you use, you need to continually step back from what you're doing and ask 'What does this contribute to my project' and 'Is this the most essential thing I need to be pursuing in my thesis work right now ?' Some bits of work are inherently more valuable than others, but they also all have their place and time to be pursued. So, even if what you're doing seems trivial, it may still be the thing you most need to be doing at the time. On the other hand, something with very exciting long-term potential may be very enticing, but if it prevents you from making progress on your thesis, it may not be time well-spent until the thesis is done. This is not to say that you need to adhere tightly to your thesis proposal. The proposal was developed before you began the project, and so can't be more than a guide or projected course of action. There's a big advantage to 'going where the project takes you', and where that might be is something you won't find out until you're well into it. As such, you need to be open to shifting your focus in a new direction. You may get a better, more interesting or meaningful thesis as a result. However, if you're going to make such a switch, it needs to be the result of a purposeful decision, not an unintended consequence of failing to pay attention to your initial objectives. Making such a decision requires having an overall plan and evaluating it periodically. › top ‹ DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE TIME Completing the thesis will take longer than you expect it will. Things invariably come up that interrupt your methodical plans. You have those pesky classes to study for, the sources you need from the library are away at the bindery, the instrument you need to analyze your samples breaks down, you get the chance to hike part of the Appalachian Trail during spring break... All of these things can and do happen, and each one pushes that completion date back just a little bit. Beyond that, you'll be surpised at how long it takes to analyze, synthesize, and organize your information, and especially to get the thesis into final form. In fact, collecting the information and/or data is in many ways the easy part. Making sense of it and presenting it in a way that others can appreciate its significance is much more difficult. Remember that, when it comes to writing your thesis, that you'll be going through multiple drafts. You're not expected to produce a well-polished thesis the first time through; however, you are expected to get to that point, regardless of how many drafts it takes. As such, you can count on your thesis director and the honors thesis coordinator to 'suggest' a large number of revisions. Hopefully these will be largely stylistic, but making the necessary changes still takes a lot of time. Work with your thesis director and determine how long it should reasonably take to compile the information/data/pieces you'll need to complete the thesis. Be sure to build in some time for problems that will arise. Take the number you come up with and double it to get a reasonable estimate of how long it will take you to complete the entire project and defend your thesis. This isn't pessimistic, nor should it scare you off. Rather, it should help you by giving you the chance to develop a realistic plan of action that will allow you finish your thesis but also do all those other things you want to do (like hike the Appalachian Trail). › top ‹ GET FEEDBACK THROUGHOUT While the thesis is your work, no scholarship is done completely in a vacuum. You'll need and benefit from guidance, suggestions, and editorial criticism throughout the duration of the project. Scientists have collaborators, writers have editors, artists have muses, and great thinkers have sounding boards. These people all contribute to the production of quality work, no matter what the format. The same is true of your thesis - don't feel you must, should, or even want to work in isolation of those who can offer any or all of these services to you; if you do, your thesis will suffer, and it it will be harder for you to even complete the project. Your thesis director will provide the majority of this input. You should expect to meet with him or her on a weekly basis, even if it's to report no progress (though hopefully that won't happen too often). Your director's role is to help you focus your topic, point you in the right direction, assist you in obtaining what resources you need, and critique all the intermediate stages of your project. We (and you) rely on him/her to ensure that your thesis project is well-conceived and carried out, and that there will be no surprises or disappointments when it comes time to defend your thesis. You should also select a second reader early in the process, and take advantage of what complementary expertise they have to offer. It's also important to keep several other people up to date on your progess. Most important, Walker Rutledge, the honors thesis coordinator, needs to know where you stand and what your plans are. Because he has seen many theses (successful and not), he can give you valuable insight into designing an appropriate and manageable project, budgeting your time, and preparing a quality product. When you get to the writing stage, he will also give you the editorial and stylistic help you need. You need to meet with Walker when you initiate your thesis project (prior to submitting your thesis proposal), and arrange to discuss your progress with him on a very regular basis. The honors office also needs to know where you stand. We're interested in seeing that you produce the best possible thesis, for both selfish and more altruistic reasons. Remember that the honors program has funds available to support thesis research; if we're familiar with what you're doing, we might be able to suggest creative ways you could take advantage of those funds to enhance your thesis and the experience itself (funds for supplies or travel to develop the thesis, or travel to present your thesis at a meeting, conference or show). For administrative reasons, we also need to have an accurate estimate of who's working on theses, how far along each person is, how many and whose theses will be completed in a given year. Keeping the honors program in the dark about your plans makes it more likely that you, your thesis director, and your department will be missed when we, for example, develop lists of honors graduates for recognition in the Commencement program, respond to others inquiring about involvement of various departments in thesis projects, etc. While not very exciting, these are essential kinds of information that we need you to provide to us. › top ‹ DON'T COUNT ON YOUR LAST SEMESTER You've gone through nearly four years of college - working hard, worrying about grades so that you'll get into grad school, following the (nearly) straight and narrow path. Midway through your senior year, your grades will have been sent to all those grad schools/professional schools/prospective employers, and you'll just be waiting on their decisions. You'll want to kick back a little in your last semester. Take a few classes, enjoy those last few months as a free and easy college student, and remind yourself why college (despite the work) is so much fun. You should be able to do this. Don't mess it up by putting off finishing your thesis until then. You won't like it, you won't do as a good a job, and the experience will seem like more of a burden than an opportunity. If you've planned and executed your thesis project well, you should be done before your last semester. Again, this is useful because you have a finished product to show to grad schools and prospective employers. On the other hand, if you go into the project expecting to use your last semester to complete the project, you've shortchanged yourself in two ways. First, you've given yourself no leeway in case something comes up that gets in the way of your finishing the project - your last semester is your last chance. Second and more important, you'll have deprived yourself of the well-deserved benefit reaped by seniors through the ages - the chance to relax a little at the end. You may well end up finishing your thesis in that semester anyway, but you shouldn't count on doing it that way from the outset. › top ‹ HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE The thesis process is at times exhilarating and infused with creative energy; at other times, it's extremely frustrating and tedious. During the discouraging times, you need to maintain the right perspective in order to keep moving forward. Nobody said working on your thesis would always be fun, only that it was a valuable experience. You need to remember why you thought it would be so valuable to you when you started the project. The chance to experience the nuts and bolts of your field...Getting a leg up on those other applicants to grad or professional school...Producing something that was truly yours...These reasons are just as true in the middle of your thesis endeavor as they were at the beginning. And when you've worked through the short-term difficulties, completed the project and receive your honors medallion, their significance will be much greater and more tangible than you could have imagined before. That's when the feeling of satisfaction sets in. Cry, and then get back to work. Gail Guiling '99 › top ‹ |
