For Thesis Writers: Important Indicators and Research Objectives

AN OVER-CONFIDENT DOCTORATE student wanted to finish his course fast that he did not even consider what would take place in the research proposal stage. Perhaps his Department did not require a defense for the proposal. What was clear was that he went ahead and conducted his research. Then came the final defense. Since he was taking Doctor of Sociology, the question went to what happened to his cultural indicators? What was the culture of the majority of respondents? He had no answer for that. He merely assumed culture would not make any difference.

It happened that his mentor was not a Filipino. Naturally, he wondered if results would be different if the culture differed. Wasn’t he consulting him? In Sociology, culture always mattered.

Michael A. Costello, a sociology professor and native of Crystal Lake, Illinois died February 2, 1998 in a plane crash in the Philippines, according to Chicago Tribune News. This was some four years after his mentee failed to defend. According to the report, Mr. Costello was visiting his family in Manila when his commercial jet crashed into a 7,260-foot mountain 30 miles outside of a city where he had lived and worked, south of the country.

Off-topic, why do we mention this? Because the failed student can always say, “my mentor died so I was not able to finish my course.” The reason is not exactly true.

It is not unusual that we hear reasons like this. The mentor died. But the truth is that the mentor died from waiting way too long for the student’s input.

Culture as an indicator could not be surveyed again separate from other indicators. Research is not done that way. You have to prepare your instrument well and administer it one time.

Another student wanted to study how students could populate their school as his objective for doing research. How could that be a tenable objective when the course is School Administration? It would take on an Economics angle. Even if one’s bachelor’s degree is on Economics, it will not do justice for a thesis to a Master of Arts degree in Administration. The study should contribute to administration or school management, the current course.

Again, always consider your course.