How to Write Dissertations and Project Reports 2e by Weyers, McMillan

How to Write Dissertations and Project Reports 2e by Weyers, McMillan is the 2nd edition of the How to Write Dissertations & Project Reports book authored by Weyers, Jonathan D. B. McMillan, Kathleen and published by Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, Essex, England and associated companies throughout the world in 2011.

• Abstract. The summary of a paper that appears beneath the title and before the main text in a journal article. It provides an overview of the article's key findings.
• Acronym (grammatical term). An abbreviation formed from the first letter of words to form a word in itself, e.g. radar, NATO.
• Action research. This mode of research involves the practitioner identifying a problem within their work, study or social situation and then setting out to plan and execute a fact-finding study for evaluation. The aim is to find solutions to practical problems.
• Aims. Statements of intent or purpose that are broad in nature, and hence defined in general terms perhaps relating to an overall outcome (compare with objectives).
• Alphanumeric. Using both letters and numerals in order to classify groups of items.
• Analogy. A comparison; a similar case from which parallels can be drawn.
• Annotate. To expand on given notes or text, e.g. to write extra notes on a printout of a PowerPoint presentation or a photocopied section of a book.
• Assignment. Coursework, usually completed in own (i.e. non-contact) time.
• ATHENS. The program that allows access to the institution's online subscriptions.
• Bias. A view or description of evidence that is not balanced, promoting one conclusion or viewpoint.
• Bibliography. A list of all the resources used in preparing for a piece of written work. The bibliography is usually placed at the end of a document. Compare with Reference list.
• Blurb. A piece of writing used as publicity, typically for a book, and appearing on the jacket or cover.
• Brainstorm. An intensive search for ideas, often carried out and recorded in a free-form or diagrammatic way.
• Business report. A report produced to provide information that helps decision-making in a commercial context. It often follows a formulaic or 'house' style.
• Case study. This is an in-depth examination of specific social groups, events, a process, individuals or institutions. Such studies can be quantitative or qualitative.
• Causality. The notion that one event causes another to occur. A high degree of Correlation does not imply causality.
• Citation. (1) The act of making reference to another source in one's own writing. (2) A passage or a quotation from another source provided word for word within a text.
• Citing. Quoting a reference. See Citation.
• Colloquial. Informal words and phrases used in everyday speech (e.g. slang), and generally inappropriate for formal and academic writing.
• Confounding variable. An uncontrolled source of error that varies in step or opposition with some other controlled variable. This can give a 'spurious correlation' between the controlled variable and the measured variable, and hence which can lead to erroneous conclusions. See also Control.
• Conjecture. Making an inference or reaching a conclusion with little evidence.
• Control. In experiments, a treatment included to check whether a potential confounding variable appears to have an effect. For example, if examining the effects of an acidic drug on a response, it might be decided to check for the effects of pH on the response, to demonstrate that effects were due to the drug itself and not its effects on the acidity of the medium.
• Copyright. A legally enforceable restriction of the copying and publishing of original works, allowing the author(s) or assignee(s) or their agents alone to sell copies.
• Correlation. The strength and the direction of the relationship between two independent variables.
• COSHH (abbreviation). Control of Substances Hazardous to Health: UK regulations controlling the use and disposal of harmful substances.
• Critical thinking. The examination of facts, concepts and ideas in an objective manner. The ability to evaluate opinion and information systematically, clearly and with purpose.
• Demographic information. Data that relates to changes in population characteristics.
• Denominator. The lower part of a fraction.
• Descriptive statistics. Numerical descriptions of a data set, e.g. the average value (mean) of an array of numbers.
• Dewey decimal system. A library catalogue system that gives each book a numerical code. Compare with Library of Congress system.
• Digit. A single numeral, e.g. 5 in 24057.
• Dispersion. In statistics, a measure of the spread of values within a data set or frequency distribution, e.g. standard deviation.
• Dissertation. A formal written study of a specialised subject, usually submitted as part of the assessment for a university degree.
• Ebrary. Commercial software used to distribute and access electronic documents, such as e-books and e-journals.
• Effectiveness. Smart working, rather than putting in extra effort without significant impact. This means identifying SMART goals, that is, those that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Tangible.
• Efficiency. Cutting out wasteful or unproductive effort, and focussing on using your time to maximise productivity.
• Ellipsis (grammatical term). The replacement of words deliberately omitted from the text by three dots, e.g. 'A range of online... methods of delivering materials and resources for learning'.
• Engineering notation. A form of writing numbers where numbers are expressed as powers of 10 divisible by 3, e.g. 10.4 × 103 rather than 1.04 × 104 or 10400.
• Error. Degree of deviation from a true value, which can be of two types, accuracy or precision. In practice, measurements are often assumed to be accurate (having a mean value close to the true value), and the more important thing to estimate is the precision (how much scatter there is among replicate values).
• Error bars. Lines extending from a symbol on a graph that indicate a (specified) error of a mean value (or other statistic of location).
• Ethics. The term 'ethics' in the research context refers to the moral principles, rules and standards of conduct that apply to investigations.
• Ethics Committee. Panel of academics within a university which considers research proposals in light of the institution's rules for clinical and non-clinical research. There may be at least one committee for each of these types of research.
• Exemplify. To provide an example of something.
• Extrapolation. In graphing, the act of creating an assumed line or relationship outside the limits of the available data points, assuming the line will follow trends identified using those points.
• Fallacy. A logically erroneous argument used in reasoning or debate.
• Feedback. Written comment on student submission, usually provided in a formative sense, so that improvements can be made.
• Finger tracing. The act of running your finger immediately below the line of text being read to follow your eyes' path across a page, starting and stopping a word or two from either side.
• Focus group. Small discussion group (4–6 members is considered ideal), where participants, often people who share a common experience, are asked to comment on an issue or, for business purposes, a product or marketing tool.
• Gist. The essence of something, e.g. a summary or a list of key ideas from a piece of writing or a talk.
• Hypothesis. A testable theory (plural hypotheses).
• Hypothesis testing. In statistics, a form of analysis that allows a numerical probability to be assigned to the outcomes of a hypothesis.
• Ibid. (abbreviation, a word or phrase expressed in the Latin language, but not 'adopted'). Short for ibidem, meaning 'in the same place'; especially used in some referencing systems, e.g. Chicago method, when referring to the immediately previous source mentioned.
• Idiom (grammatical term). A form of language used in everyday speech and understood by native speakers, but whose meaning is not immediately apparent from the actual words used, e.g. to 'pull someone's leg' (make them believe something that is not true).
• Indentation. In text layout, the positioning of text (usually three to five character spaces in) from the margin to indicate a new paragraph.
• Informants. In research, this term is taken to mean a person who participates in the research activity by providing data in response to the enquiry method adopted by the researcher.
• Information literacy. A suite of skills that are required to find, access, analyse, create, evaluate and use information in all its formats, whether in print or online.
• Informed consent. Consent given based on the sound understanding of the research being undertaken.
• Interpolation. In graphing, the assumed trend or relationship between adjacent data points. Compare with Extrapolation.
• Landscape orientation. The positioning of paper so that the 'long' side is horizontal. See also Portrait orientation.
• Learning objective. What students should be able to accomplish having participated in a course or one of its elements, such as a lecture, and having carried out any other activities, such as further reading, that are specified. Often closely related to what students should be able to demonstrate under examination.
• Learning outcome. Similar to a learning objective, often focussing on some product that a student should be able to demonstrate, possibly under examination.
• Legend. The key to a diagram, chart or graph, e.g. showing which lines and symbols refer to which quantities.
• Library of Congress system. A library catalogue system that gives each book an alphanumeric code. Compare with Dewey decimal system.
• Literature survey. A report on the literature on a defined area, usually specified in the title. May include the author's independent conclusions based on the sources consulted.
• Location. In statistics, an estimate of the 'centre' of a data set or frequency distribution, e.g. the mean.
• Matched samples. In statistics, pairs of individuals chosen for comparison of a key variable, but sharing properties relative to known or potential confounding variables. As such, a mechanism for reducing the statistical effects of errors derived from such sources.
• Mean. In statistics, a measure of location of a sample or population calculated as the sum of all the data values divided by the number of values.
• Median. In statistics, a measure of location of a sample or population calculated as the mid-point of the data values when ranked in numerical order.
• Mnemonic. An aid to memory involving a sequence of letters or associations, e.g. 'Richard of York goes battling in vain', to remember the colours of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
• Mode. In statistics, a measure of location of a sample or population calculated as the most common value in a data set.
• Moderator. Acts as a facilitator in a focus group by instigating the discussion and ensuring that the conversation is maintained and remains on task.
• Noun (grammatical term). A word denoting a person, place or thing.
• Numerator. The upper part of a fraction.
• Objectives. Goals outlined in specific terms and tending to relate to individual, achievable outcomes that are required to achieve the ultimate aim. Ideally objectives will state 'what', 'how', 'where' and 'when' (as appropriate). Some people favour SMART objectives that are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Tangible.
• Objectivity. Having a view or approach based on a balanced consideration of the facts.
• Op. cit. (abbreviation, a word or phrase expressed in the Latin language, but not 'adopted'). Short for opus citatum, meaning 'in the place cited'. In some forms of citation this term is used to refer to a previous citation of the same text or article.
• Paraphrase. To quote ideas indirectly by expressing them in other words.
• Perfectionism. The personal quality of wanting to produce the best possible product or outcome, sometimes regardless of other factors involved.
• Phonetic. Relating to the sounds made in speech.
• Phrasal verb (grammatical term). An idiomatic verbal phrase consisting of a verb and adverb or a verb and preposition. See Idiom.
• Plagiarism. Copying the work of others and passing it off as one's own, without acknowledgement.
• Population. In statistics, the whole group of items that might be part of the study.
• Portrait orientation. The positioning of paper so that the 'short' side is horizontal. See also Landscape orientation.
• Premise/premiss. A statement or assertion that forms the basis for a position in thought, debate or argument.
• Primary source. The source in which ideas and data are first communicated.
• Prioritising. Ranking tasks in precedence, taking into account their urgency and importance.
• Pronoun (grammatical term). A word that may replace a noun: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. For example, 'Traffic lights are red, green and amber. They light in a particular sequence.'
• Proof. In science, evidence that indicates a hypothesis is true. The word 'proof' should be used cautiously when applied to quantitative research – the term implies 100 per cent certainty, whereas this is very rarely justified owing to the ambiguity inherent in statistical analysis and experimental design.
• Propaganda. Skewed or biased reporting of the facts to favour a particular outcome or point of view.
• Proposal. For a dissertation or research project, a document outlining the scope and methods of the research you intend to carry out and, in some cases, indicating how you plan to organise your writing.
• Provenance. The history of a valued object or work of art or literature; a record of the ultimate derivation and passage of an item through its various owners.
• Qualitative. Data (information) that cannot be expressed in numbers, e.g. the colour of the lecturer's tie or the quality of life of elderly patients.
• Quantitative. Data (information) that can be expressed in numbers, e.g. the width of the lecturer's tie or the number of elderly patients included in a survey.
• Question probes. A style of question that encourages participants to develop the discussion further. For example, the researcher might ask, 'Could you expand on that point a little further?' or 'What do you mean by x?'.
• Question prompts. Prepared questions that are designed to direct the focus group's attention to the areas of discussion that are of interest to the researcher's purpose.
• Quotation. Words directly lifted from a source, e.g. a journal article or book, usually placed between inverted commas (quotation marks), i.e. '. . .' or '. . .'.
• Reciprocal. In mathematics, the inverse (i.e. one divided by the quantity in question). For example, the reciprocal of 2 is 1/2 = 0.5.
• Reference list. A list of sources referred to in a piece of writing, usually provided at the end of the document. Compare with Bibliography.
• Register (grammatical term). The style of language and grammar used in written or spoken form as appropriate to the context, often distinguishing formal from informal usage, for example.
• Respondent. An individual providing answers to a questionnaire or survey.
• Rhetorical question. A question asked as part of a talk or written work where an answer from the audience or reader is not required or expected, and indeed where the answer is usually subsequently provided by the speaker or author. Used as a device to direct the attention and thoughts of the audience or reader, e.g. 'Why is this important? I'll tell you why . . .'
• Rounding. The process of truncating a number to give the appropriate number of significant figures.
• Sample. In statistics, a sub-set of individuals from a specific population.
• Scientific method. The scientific approach to a problem, involving the creation of a hypothesis and testing it using evidence obtained in experiments or by observation.
• Scientific notation. A form of writing numbers where they are expressed as powers of 10, e.g. 1.04 × 104 rather than 10400.
• Scientific report. A report on a piece of scientific observation or experiment that follows a generic format, with subdivisions (e.g. abstract, introduction, materials and methods, etc.) in a particular order.
• Secondary source. A source that quotes, adapts, interprets, translates, develops or otherwise uses information drawn from primary sources.
• Significant figure (s.f.). The number of digits in a number, counting from the first non-zero digit and including any final zeros.
• SI system. SI is the abbreviated form of Système International d'Unités – an internationally agreed metric system of units based on the metre (m), kilogram (kg) and second (s), and with specific conventions for denoting both the units (with symbols) and very large and small quantities (with prefixes).
• Subjectivity. Having a view or approach based on a personal opinion, not necessarily taking a balanced account of all the facts.
• Superscript. Text, including numerals, above the line of normal text, usually in a smaller font, e.g. ². Contrast with subscript, which is text or numerals below the line, thus: _a.
• Supervisor. The academic who takes overall responsibility for a student as they conduct their research according to the agreed proposal outline.
• Synonym (grammatical term). A word with the same meaning as another.
• Syntax (grammatical term). The way words are used (in their appropriate grammatical forms), especially with respect to their connection and relationships within sentences.
• Système International d'Unités (SI). The internationally agreed metre-kilogramme–second system of units used in most branches of the sciences.
• Terminator paragraph (grammatical term). The paragraph that brings a piece or section of writing to an ending or conclusion.
• Thesis. (1) A written piece of work discussing a piece of research and submitted for assessment as part of a degree, often bound. (2) An intellectual proposition; a theory, concept or idea.
• Tic mark (or tick mark). Graduation marks along a graph axis.
• Topic paragraph. The paragraph, usually the first, that indicates or points to the topic of a section or piece of writing and how it can be expected to develop.
• Topic sentence. The sentence, usually the first, that indicates or points to the topic of a paragraph and how it can be expected to develop.
• Typo (abbreviation). Short for typographical error – a typing mistake or, less commonly, a typesetting error.
• Value judgement. A statement that reflects the views and values of the speaker or writer rather than the objective reality of what is being assessed or considered.
• Variable. A mathematical quantity that can take different values in different cases.
• Verb (grammatical term). The 'doing' word(s) in a sentence. A part of speech by which action or state of being is indicated, serving to connect a subject with a predicate. A verb also shows, for example, time shifts by changes in tense, e.g. past, present or future.
• Verbatim. From Latin, meaning word for word, e.g. verbatim notes are word-for-word copies (transcriptions) of a lecture or text.
• Wikipedia. Said to be the world's biggest multilingual free-content encyclopaedia on the Internet; written collaboratively by volunteers. Most of the articles can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet. As such, the content is not regarded as being wholly reliable.
• Work placement. A period of study conducted in the workplace, carrying out work relevant to the course or degree programme and possibly assessed via reports and reflective summaries.
• Writer's block. The inability to structure thoughts; in particular, the inability to start the act of writing when this is required.