As thesis season continues, I am pleased to see some real progress on my thesis. Today’s bit of progress was adding my methods chapter (Chapter 3) to my master thesis document.
This chapter covers the determination of my methods (including a pilot study), a description of my participant sample, and details of my data collection tools. It also discusses how I coded and analysed my data and how I decided to present my findings.
I feel somewhat confident about this chapter, but I admit I am a little concerned that my examiners might want a little more detail about some of the more philosophical aspects of the methodological approaches I used. However, I think that there is a bit of overlap between the start of this chapter and the end of my literature review that might need some re-jigging once the whole document is together. And maybe once I am reading the full thesis as one document, I will feel more confident. Or, maybe, I’ll realise that the last bits of Chapter 2 (literature review) really do belong at the start of my methods chapter.
As for the actual writing of this chapter, it was relatively enjoyable and relaxing to write. (Unlike my literature review chapter!) I think that’s because the methods chapter is about me. Or, rather, it’s about the work that I did and the decisions that I made. Sure, some bits were a bit more challenging. But most of the chapter is a narrative that outlines what I did – or did not do – and my reasoning for those things. Because I was writing about things I knew quite well (my own actions) I wasn’t faced with the fear of getting it wrong or misinterpreting someone else’s work.
In the next couple of weeks, I will be getting my three findings chapters ready to drop into the main thesis document. I will also be writing up my discussion chapter which is feeling a bit overwhelming at the moment. But it does feel good to see more progress being made – especially as I have to send a full draft of the entire thesis to my supervisors in 11 days! (Yikes!)