Research Reading for Dissertation Writing: Tips
Sunday, February 21st, 2010Reading literature for research based writing or academic writing like term papers, dissertation writing, thesis writing, is different from reading for pleasure or information. The way we read a given text determines its meaning to a large extent, and thus it is essential to develop good reading skills for effective research reading and dissertation writing.
We adopt different reading strategies in accordance to the genre of the text and its use. When reading for pleasure, we seek to skim through the text to take pleasure in the plot and its development. Similarly if we concentrate on extracting information from a given text, it is advisable to skim through the text. However if one is reading for research writing, every word is to be clearly interpreted and understood in its connotation and denotation.
A written sentence can have many inherent meanings, literal, metaphorical, syntactical, and contextual. The use and placement of words change the meaning of the sentence and message conveyed. When reading for academic purposes, it is essential to clearly understand the word usage, its meaning and the context in which it is used by the writer. This ensures an unbiased and clear understanding of the research material.
The first and foremost question to ask yourself when reading anything is “why you are reading it.” To be aware of the aim of reading anything makes the reading exercise more productive. If you have a set of questions that you want the text to answer, first check whether the resource material can help you reach the goal. Check the content of the book, its title and the book blurb.
Once the text seems promising, move on to finding the right reading strategy that must be applied for the extraction of information and details you want for your dissertation writing. This is the most important step in reading. Since dissertation writing requires an extensive reading, it is essential to read in accordance to the reading strategy that best suits a text. Before getting on to read, check whether the book requires scanning, skimming or extensive reading.
When reading for academic purposes like dissertation writing, it is important to understand the difference of words that share similar spelling, pronunciation or are synonymous. The choice of words changes the form of a sentence from a statement to an assertion, thereby making the message clear.
A clear and good understanding of the text is essential when reading for research purpose as thesis is built on the previous researches. If you happen to misinterpret information it is likely that you will commit a fallacy in your dissertation writing.
