5.7 Tips & tricks

A thesis project topic can be very interesting. There are however some hurdles to take. Some are better than others in this.

As in any project, planning is a vital activity. But how do you plan a large project, like a thesis?

The master programme officially has a length of two years. Six of these twenty-four months is reserved for a thesis, right?

The answer is no, because a thesis project takes much more time. To start with, what do you take as the starting point of a thesis project? Is it the day you start thinking about it for the first time or when you seriously start with your project preparations? Or is it the scheduled kick-off date?

Then, a thesis project is not a simple extension of your previous courses. If you are so fortunate to continue with a subject you already took in an earlier course, then you are lucky. However, most students have to start from scratch. This means that you have to face a long list of uncertainties. Most of you will master them, but this takes effort and time.The following is an overview of the most relevant ones:

- Finding a commissioners and topics is not like picking something from a shelf in a (virtual) supermarket. You have to do a lot of work to get on board. You may get many rejections, even at a crucial moment.

- Writing a sufficient project proposal takes a lot of time.

- Lecturers (professors) may or may not like your first ideas (if you have them). It takes time to convince them that you found a research gap. That explains the advice to prepare yourself by readling literature, search the repository, contact a graduation coordinator, before you contact potential supervisors.

- You experience that the master programme is actually a set of introductions into a certain field or topic. The interdisciplinary nature of the programme and diversity of teaching staff goes along with a lack of integrating theories. As a result, many students struggle with their literature study. What theories did I study earlier (when: BSc or MSc?)? Are there also others? Help, which of these should I apply?
Then, there is the relative value of a literature study. After reading through a pile of scientific papers, most of you realise that most authors reduce reality rather considerably and sometimes even misrepresent it (ivory tower behaviour). Finding a paper that matches your case is rare, but you can at least learn from the approach, the use of theories and methods and the way data is used.

- The tools you became familiar with in your earlier courses may not always work in practice. Many companies and government organisations lack data-driven management. If data is collected, then it frequently turns out that what is in their databases (or heads) does not reflect the reality you experience (during your problem analysis). This is frequently a main reason why the organisation has the problem. The data quality may also not match with your (software-)technical requirements. This means that you do not get the data you need for your project. A major cause of delay in a thesis project is data collection and analysis, due to waiting for non-available data and finding a way to compensate this.

- You could have a mismatch with your external commissioner. For instance, you aim to carry out a technical analysis, but your commissioner is a policy person.

- In most other courses, you worked at least in pairs. Here you have to work on your own. You have to cope with your weak points.

- You may be asked to do carry out small tasks, not related to your project. Advice: Don't, because you will loose many weeks in this way. Add a clause in your graduation contract to restrict or prevent it.

- You may have supervisors with rather different opinions. How do you find a middle of the road?

- You may experience health or other private problems or your relatives and friends may.

- The preparation period is usually drastically extended due to unfinished courses.

- There are vacation breaks, in particular the summer period. It is difficult or even impossible to plan one of the four official meetings in the summer break. Supervision is also a challenge.

Advice

The average time spent is far more than 6 months. 8-10 months is more realistic, with outliers. Do not postpone, but start your preparations early.

Discuss your uncertainties and questions regularly with your supervisors. Graduation coordinator dr. Fazi may be next in line to advise you.

Success with your project.