Postgraduate Study

This section of the textbook focuses on postgraduate study. It will:

1. Explain why a dissertation is written for postgraduate study
2. Explain what information literacy is
3. Demonstrate ways to research, using the library
4. Provide a link to the section on reading academic texts
5. Explain how to assess the credibility of a text you are reading
6. Provide a link to examples of academic writing
7. Provide a link to ethical use of information
8. Explain how to write some elements of a literature review.

The first thing for you to consider is that while postgraduate study is a big step up from what you’re doing in an English for Academic Purposes program or another type of bridging or pathways course, it’s also exciting and one of the most worthwhile things you can do – and of course it can help you to improve your chances of finding a better job or contributing to making the world a better place.

1 – Writing a Dissertation

Dissertation
Noun: dissertation; plural noun: dissertations
Along essay on a particular subject, especially one written for a postgraduate degree

Depending on the postgraduate degree you’re studying for, you’ll be writing either assignments of a significant length or a dissertation (this could be as long as 80,000 words), using academic English. You will be undertaking either a Masters degree, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), or a professional doctorate. We’ll focus on writing a PhD that requires a dissertation, but many of the points will be useful for you.

My focus

I’m interested in effective ways people can work together, particularly in the health sector, so to practice the skills we’re learning, we’ll focus on a dissertation based on effective work practices in the health sector. A specific focus will help us to think more effectively about the questions that will guide us, and their answers. Your focus might not be the health sector, but the points we make are relevant to any area of study.

Here is a question to consider:

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2 – Information literacy

Information literacy extends the concept of literacy. All academic study requires a knowledge and understanding of information literacy, but it is especially important to be information literate when you are studying for a postgraduate degree.

Information literacy means: to have the knowledge and ability to find, and then to read, a lot of information, to understand it, to analyse and evaluate it, and to use it when you write down your ideas (making sure that you acknowledge your sources). We have embedded information literacy in the course.

Think about the sort of information literacy you will require when you study – you will be reading a great deal, maybe accessing scientific data or reading reports, and thinking carefully about current research in your field. Writing your major assignment or your dissertation – and all of the activities that lead up to this writing task – require you to be information literate.

Information literacy refers to the way we experience information use it is an amalgam (or combination) of skills, aptitudes and knowledge, and all of these relate to information. More specifically, information literacy refers to the ability to consider information from a variety of sources, in order to do the following:

• access
• understand
• analyse
• evaluate and
• organise
• and to communicate effectively, using the information.

One of the overarching features of information literacy is that it is the foundation of independent learning. When you undertake postgraduate study, you’ll need a lot of independence.

There are three strands to information literacy. These are:

1. Academic literacy
2. Digital literacy
3. Media literacy

These are all very important. Take some time to think about what each one of them means.

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All of these features of information literacy are fundamental to effective study.

Let’s have a look at information literacy as a concept map.

Together, these aspects of information literacy will enhance your ability to study for your postgraduate degree, and we’ll continue focussing on information literacy throughout this course.

When you’re studying for your postgraduate degree, you may be studying with a lecturer, or you may be working with a supervisor and a co-supervisor, but you’ll also be required to be an independent learner.

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Any postgraduate degree is complex and requires you to be information literate; but if you are completing a degree that asks you to write a dissertation, then you will need to be researching, evaluating, thinking critically, organising and writing at a more sophisticated level. In this module, as we said, we will focus on postgraduate study that calls for a dissertation, and this will prepare you for any postgraduate study you may undertake.

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3 – Researching for information

If we think about studying at university, and particularly about postgraduate study and link it to information technology, the first thing we’ll consider is the need to access information (firstly for the literature review and then for the dissertation itself). You will need to demonstrate that you are an expert on the topic. To begin with, you will need to think carefully about your topic and the information you need.

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Professor Smallhausen says:

You can certainly use Wikipedia or Google (particularly Google scholar), but the university library is one of the best places to conduct research.

If you’re not actually on a campus, give some thought to how you can access the information in the library.

All tertiary libraries in Australia would now have computer catalogues that allow students of that library to find sources. If a student finds an article from a journal, then it would be easy to download and print that article. A book, or a chapter from a book, is more difficult. Students cannot download chapters or books (unless they are e-books), so a visit to the library would be necessary.

In theory, it is very simple to find sources, but accessing the information requires special training, and this is where the specialist knowledge of the librarian is vital to your ability to research. You will need to understand and use the search tools that will give you access to the information. Most tertiary libraries have tutorials online to help you learn how to access the library and find information. You will be able to use the tutorial from the university where you are studying.

It is important for you to understand and use referencing. There are many referencing systems in use: Harvard, MLA, APA, Oxford, for example. When you write anything academic you will be required to follow one of these referencing systems. You will find a link to information and activities about referencing, and you will need to make sure you read this and practise these activities before you move on to the next section.

4 – Effective reading

Now that you have found your information, the next step is to read each source so that you comprehend it. To help you practice your reading, you will find a link to an effective way of reading. You will apply the skills you’ve learned to your reading of the article you have been provided with, and it will be used in many of the other activities.

When you read your sources, you will gradually become an expert in the area you’re focusing on.   Next, you’ll have to consider some more issues:

1. In what way is it relevant to your research topic?

2. If it is relevant, how much of it will you use?   This is one of the biggest issues you will confront, because you will have to consider very carefully not just what you are reading, but why it will be useful. If you are using about twenty sources, then you have a lot of material to keep track of.

3. Is this information valid? Are the author’s statements backed up with evidence?

4. How does it fit in with your ideas? Does it suggest something new or different to you?

5. Does it agree with what other people have said on the same topic? If not, which source would you agree with? Which one is more persuasive? You might disagree but you can still use the source. You are quite entitled to tell your reader that you take issue with what someone has said. This can strengthen your case and show that you are capable of creating a valid academic argument.

Have you noticed that all of these questions relate to information literacy? We’ll explore these issues in more detail in the link to reading.

5 – Is the text credible?

Credible
Adjective: credible
Able to be believed; convincing

The most likely sources you will be using are articles, books or chapters in books. Reading is essential, but you need to make sure that these are sources that will be suitable to use. A particular source may be interesting but before reading any source for understanding, you will need to assess whether it is credible. We’ve given you a definition of ‘credible’.

Professor Smallhausen explains what we mean:

• Does it come from an academic source – a book published by a reputable publisher; or a journal that is intended for an academic readership?

• Are there in-text references throughout, together with a list of references?

• Are the authors’ credentials appropriate for academic research? Think about such aspects that you can find out about the author such as expertise, affiliation with a university or a professional body.

• If it is a journal, is it peer reviewed? That is, have other experts in the same field given their opinion about the article? The journal site will tell you this.

• Is it current (has it been published recently enough so that the information is not out of date?) Although currency usually indicates something that has been published in the last few years, you might, for example, be writing a dissertation about 17^th century history or art history, so in these cases historical sources will be quite valid. This can happen in a number of fields.

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6 – Academic Writing examples

In your preparatory courses, you will probably be learning how to write in an academic way. Academic writing includes:

• confidence in using appropriate vocabulary and grammar
• the ability to use well-structured sentences and cohesive paragraphs
• and proficiency in expressing your thoughts in a clear and concise way.

Good writing is essential at the postgraduate level. Otherwise, no matter how good your ideas are, your reader will not understand them. There is a link to a section that has a number of exercises in academic writing. Some of these exercises relate to the article you read in the link to reading. When you have completed these exercises, you can confidently move on to the next section.

7 – Ethical Use of Information

Ethical
Adjective: Ethical
Relating to right and wrong in conduct; behaving in a way that is honest

So far we’ve thought about a lot of issues relating to finding and using information but now it’s time to turn our attention to the ethical use of the information we have. If you use information that comes from another source, then you must always acknowledge that source. Otherwise you will be plagiarising. In the courses of study you are already undertaking, you will have learned about the need to avoid plagiarism.

There are links to exercises to do to make sure that you are always acknowledging your sources. One of the important aspects of ethical use of information is making sure you are able to reference correctly, and this points to the need to make sure that you are practising the skills you learned.

Again, the sections on writing and ethical use of information relate to information literacy.

8 – Literature Review

If you are completing a postgraduate degree that requires a dissertation, one of your first and most important tasks will be to prepare and write a literature review. This will be prepared by the end of your first year and is part of what is called the ‘confirmation procedure’. You will learn much more about the literature review once you start your postgraduate studies, but we will talk about it briefly here.

Professor Smallhausen will give you some information here on what a literature review is, why you need to write one, and the steps you will take to write it.

What is a literature review?

• There is no definitive ‘literature review’ – each discipline will have a different way of organising and structuring the literature review – but the literature review is a piece of writing (perhaps ten pages) that appears at the beginning of a dissertation.

• It is a review of literature relating to the question you are investigating. The word ‘review’ is important, because it means that you are reviewing (that is, you are assessing or critically appraising) each of the sources you have read. It will have some background material setting out the area you’ll be addressing, followed by the review itself. It is written towards the end of the first year of your studies, to demonstrate that:

• you have a good understanding of the material you have read and of the issue you want to address

• you can relate the sources to the issue

• your research will fit in to the framework of knowledge in the field

• your work will be an original contribution to research.

Why do you need to write a literature review?

• A literature review justifies your choice of research question and lets the reader (usually your supervisor) know that the topic is important.
• When you write your literature review you’ll be convincing your reader that you are an expert on this subject.
• The literature review will demonstrate that you can bring something new to the area you are researching.

An updated version of the literature review will appear in your dissertation. (By the time you write your dissertation you will know a great deal more about the subject than you do at the end of the first year.)

What are the steps you will take to write it?

Let’s think back to what we said about information literacy and the elements that it comprises. By the time you write your literature review you might have accessed about twenty sources. But one of the other important elements of information literacy is understanding. So what do you do with these sources?

• Firstly, you make sure that you have read and understood

• You will decide which of the ideas in each source you will use.

• You will need to analyse the information carefully.

• As well as understanding what your sources say, you will have to consider whether there are ways you can group the ideas. Perhaps there are specific themes that are addressed in the sources. You will probably find that you’ll be able to link one theme to a small number of sources.

• Then, once you have read the sources and grouped them, you will write your review in the most efficient and logical way. You may have about twenty sources, but this does not mean that you will just write them down as a list.

In the example below, we’ve given some thought to effective work practices in the health sector. We want to tie everything together as much as possible. The information we want to convey is here, but this is an example of a way not to organise one section of a literature review:

Einarsdottir (2012) considers that nursing staff require the ability to interact effectively with colleagues. Maben (2013) focusses on the problems caused by a heavy workload and lack of control experienced by nurses in a busy ward. Westbrook et al. (2009) pay attention to the use of ICT to improve work place effectiveness.

Professor Smallhausen explains a more effective way to write this section:

Rather than giving a list (or a summary), where you are also emphasising the importance of the authors, you could rephrase it so that it reads like this:

The importance of interpersonal interaction and the use of ICT in the nursing profession should be considered in relation to effective work practices. Nurses need to interact effectively with colleagues. (Einarsdottir 2012). At the same time, their effectiveness can be enhanced by judicious use of ICT in the ward (Westbrook et al. 2009). There are problems, however, caused by a heavy workload and lack of control experienced by nurses in a busy workplace (Maben 2013).

Did you notice that the attribution (that is, the reference) came after the comment, so it is written in my voice and is my review, not just a summary?

You’ve been given a number of reasons for writing a literature review. Choose one of these and expand on why you think it is important.

Professor Smallhausen’s answer for each one of these:

• A literature review justifies your choice of research question and lets the reader (usually your supervisor) know that the topic is important.

There are many areas that you could research, but you’ll need to find one that is significant. You’ll be spending a great deal of time on this initiative, so it does need to be worthwhile. Your literature review will demonstrate that a lot has been written about the subject, but also that there is much more that could be written.

• When you write your literature review you’ll be explaining to your reader that you are an expert on this subject.

By the time you have read and analysed your sources, you will know a great deal about the subject. When you write you will be demonstrating that you are an authority on this topic.

• The literature review will demonstrate that you can bring something new to the area you are researching.

For your dissertation, you’ll need to find a topic that’s been the subject of quite a lot of investigation. However, remember that you can’t just reproduce the same information – you have to show that you are making an original contribution. Your literature review will provide the basis for your dissertation, so it should demonstrate that you are bringing fresh ideas to the topic.

You’ll also show, of course (in both the literature review and the completed dissertation), that you’re an effective researcher, that you’ve now developed a very good understanding of the material relating to the subject and are able to think critically about it, and that you can write using academically appropriate English, while being aware of the need for ethical writing.