For today’s post, I am keen to offer my top ten tips for writing and researching a history dissertation. In September 2018, completed my Masters in History at University College Cork. My masters programme was spread over the course of one year in which I was required to write a 20,000 word dissertation. Since I studied history as part of my Bachelor’s Degree in Arts, I became fascinated with the history of healthcare in modern Ireland, in particular in relation to provision for women and children during the twentieth century. Despite various topic changes, I settled on examining the role of the public health nurse in maternal and infant provision and the School Medical Service, 1919-1979. Fortunately, I received a First Class Honours in my dissertation and for my overall grade at the end of the year and consequently, I would like to share some useful advice and tips that I learned throughout my experience of writing a history dissertation.
Firstly, it’s important to allow for your topic to change or alter while you are researching your topic. This naturally happens as you may come across an idea which may appeal more to your taste or you may find that your original idea may have been previously researched. You start researching by reading academic secondary sources that are related to your topic and taking note of these books and journal articles as you sift through new material.
Next, you can expand to examining primary material such as governmental reports and documents and you will become aware that you may need to visit some archives to view certain reports of material. for my research, I needed to view archives by An Bord Altranais held in UCD Archives for which I was required to provide ethical approval as I had access to sensitive personal information, for example nurses registers. Therefore, you need to ensure you have booked an appointment to view archives in the library before you make the trip.
It’s also important to point out that you should not worry about what stage of researching or writing other students in your class are at as everyone has a pace that is right for them. Talk to your dissertation supervisor or the Masters co-ordinator about how much research you should aim to complete within a given time and set deadlines to hand up your draft chapters to your supervisor. I promise that this will help you to avoid deviating from doing your research and help to ensure that you are consistently writing and editing your work.
The easiest method of approaching your dissertation is to focus on one chapter or section of your dissertation at a time. You should also negotiate deadlines for these chapters and sections of your dissertation with your supervisor which will ensure you maintain focus and progress with your work as it is easy to become immersed in one chapter and neglect the following sections. I would also recommend starting your chapters before writing the introduction as you cannot be certain of each chapter’s outline until you have researched each chapter which will inevitably alter.
Please ensure that you have edited your work at least four times before you submit any drafts to your supervisor as the more time and effort you put into your work the higher the grade you will receive at the end of the year. Fundamentally, do not be afraid to ask for clarification on any corrections you supervisor provides you with. They are appointed to advise and support you.
Take a break between writing chapters as you will have a clear head and feel refreshed when you begin a new chapter (I usually took a week or two as I had the summer months to write my dissertation).
Proof-reading is an essential part of editing so when you have read over your completed chapters and sections hundreds of times ask a friend or family member to read your work. They will be more likely to notice any spelling or grammar mistakes with a fresh pair of eyes.
It may also be helpful to get your dissertation copies bound a few days before the submission date to allow for unforeseen delays. You should read the History Department’s submission instructions to double-check that you have the correct font size and number of copies etc.
Lastly, enjoy your experience of undertaking a masters as you will meet new friends with similar interests to yourself and become more confident with researching.
HealthHistoryIreland 