Thesis final draft

REFLECTION-THESIS 1

Thesis Plan and Schedule

Harsha Vardhan Gunduboina

My Thesis Strategic Goals

The first strategic goal for my thesis is to complete and submit it on the stipulated time. Late submission of a thesis has negative consequences on the grading of the thesis by the instructor. I will have to make sure that I submit my thesis by December 5th, 2020. To achieve the goal, I will have to write up a schedule cutting down all the major activities involved in writing up the thesis and giving each item a specific timeline. I will continuously countercheck my progress with the set timeline and make sure that I am on schedule. An outstanding thesis requires excellent time management, and a schedule will help me manage my time in the right way and ensure that I submit my thesis on time.

Another goal is to stay organized throughout the whole research period and the writing period. The organization will ensure that I include all the ideas in my thesis and ensure that all required parts of the thesis are given considerable attention. I will achieve the goal by taking one step at a time, as listed in my schedule, without skipping any steps. According to research by Wagener in 2018, self-regulation could also help the writing of a perfect thesis paper. Another goal is to improve my social and listening skills, as they are essential when writing a thesis. I will need to constantly communicate with my instructor, and social skills will play an important role. The skills will ensure that I understand and consider any advice the instructor gives about my thesis. I will improve my social skills by having more interest in being social and constantly communicating with others around me.

I will also make sure that I am always well prepared for the meetings held with my instructor. Such meetings will affect the direction that my thesis takes. Being prepared shows the level of seriousness I have when it comes to writing the thesis. I plan to achieve that by always having real ideas related to my research topic every time I meet with the instructor. It creates a positive impression that will foster a good relationship and, therefore, more help in writing the thesis. I will also make sure that I maximize the meeting's benefits by going beyond the standard question and answers to better dialogues pertaining to my research topic.

My Thesis Schedule

DATES	TASKS
Sep 5th – Sept 15th	Background reading Development of research proposal
Sept 10th – Sept 18th	Initial proposal meeting and approval of project by the instructor
Sept 16th – Sept 21st	Planning the research methodology Research and the review of literature
Sept 10th – Nov 30th	Periodic meetings with the instructor Discussing the progress of the thesis Asking for necessary help on the writing process when need arises
Sept 20th – Oct 5th	Data collection Submission of the first draft Submission of the ‘discussion of results’ section
Sept 30th – Oct 12th	Mid-Term Draft
Oct 17th	Mid Term draft Presentation
Sept- Oct 19th	Thesis Recommendation
Oct 20th-Oct 26th	Forum 2 ‘Discussion of Mid Term Draft’
Oct 26th – Nov 2nd	Thesis first Draft
Nov 5th – Nov 9th	Discussion of the draft
Nov 9th – Nov 16th	Follow up meeting with instructor Discuss the draft
Nov 16th – Nov 20th	Submitting final draft of thesis for the final check
Nov 21st	Thesis Defense
Nov 23rd and Nov 30th	Follow up meeting with instructor to go through final drafts of the thesis
Dec 7th	Submission of the Thesis

Thesis Challenges

There are various challenges that I might face when doing this thesis. The pitfalls are common in the field of research and academic Thesis writing. The first challenge is time management from the time of the topic selection to the time the thesis is completed and submitted as required. It is hard to balance doing school work and balancing other aspects of life, especially if it requires one to pay maximum attention to it and carry out extensive research. Learning how to balance time and putting every aspect of the thesis in order could pose a significant challenge. Thesis writing is a time-consuming process, and at times as a student, one could get intimidated and enter the cycle of procrastination. Before they know, it is almost time to submit the thesis, and they have not reached most of the set milestones, thus rushing through the writing process. While writing the thesis, poor time management could be tackled by having a thesis schedule that will make sure every milestone is achieved on time.

Another challenge is on formatting ad documentation caused by the specific requirements that a school might have or a particular course might have. As a student, it is difficult to review the style used or to implement style rules required. It mostly happens due to the lengthy nature of thesis documents. Finding the necessary data to support the thesis topic might be difficult, especially if the methodology requires participants to get their perceptions about virtual reality. Writing and reporting down the research results I have carried out might also be a problem as only specific data should be included. Students often feel lazy or have no time to complete research and write their thesis, thus breaking the ethics code of writing, such as having plagiarized work. Copy-pasting items other than understanding concepts first could be a major challenge when using secondary sources of information for the research. It is also hard to develop research questions that are flexible and tangible, essential in molding and developing ideas of the thesis.

Reference

Wagener, B. (2018). The importance of affects, self-regulation, and relationships in the writing of a master's thesis. Teaching in Higher Education, 23(2), 227-242.