How to Assure Coherence of Ideas in Your

Thesis/Dissertation

Coherence of Ideas Is The First Step to

Assure Consistency

Have your own material at hand and most important open your mind to focus on consistency

In this interactive session, you reflect, write, and assure coherence of your ideas

What Does Coherence of Ideas Mean?

• It is also known as logical coherence

• Ideas must be related to achieve the purpose of the study

• Ideas must harmonically connected

How Do You Achieve Coherence of Ideas?Same line of thought in each chapter, especially with basic elements: problem, purpose, research question, theoretical framework, and methodology

Tools to Build Coherence of Ideas

• Focus (your interest)• Harmonic connection (all foci

reflect the same interest)

Counterexample to Illustrate Coherence of Ideas

• Problem: Middle school students of a Chicago school district who are taught using traditional reading strategies get low scores in the NWEA test.

• Purpose: The purpose of this study is to know why middle school students do not like to read.

• Research Question: Why do middle school teachers prefer to teach reading using traditional strategies?

• Theoretical Framework: This study will be based on behaviourism.

• Methodology: A qualitative design with a snowball sampling will be used.

Let’s apply the suggested tools

• Focus• Harmonic connection of

foci

Research ProblemMiddle school students of a Chicago school district who are taught using traditional reading strategies get low scores in the NWEA test.

Focus:Teaching using traditional reading strategies seems to be related to low scores in the NWEA test

Purpose of StudyThe purpose of this study is to know why middle school students do not like to read.

Focus:Reasons to dislike reading

Research QuestionWhy do middle school teachers prefer to teach reading using traditional strategies?

Focus:Teachers’ reasons to use traditional reading strategies

Theoretical FrameworkThis study will be based on behaviourism

Focus:Teachers’ reasons to use traditional reading strategies

MethodologyA qualitative design with a snowball sampling will be used

Focus: A research method focused on finding out perceptions, feelings, grounded theory, etc. will be used and sampling will be developed by asking participants to recommend peers with similar points of view

Connection of Foci Traditional

reading strategies and

low scores

Reasons to dislike reading

Reasons to use traditional

strategies

Theory associated to

traditional strategies

Method based on human experience

and sampling by

recommending peers

Are these foci connected harmonically?

Keep the same problem and write down the rest of pivotal elements coherently

Research ProblemMiddle school students of a Chicago school district who are taught using traditional reading strategies get low scores in the NWEA test.

Focus:Teaching using traditional reading strategies seems to be related to low scores in the NWEA test

Now You Practice

Write down a coherent purpose, research question, theoretical basis (if you know about reading), and research method

If you write something like: • Research Problem: Middle school students of a Chicago school

district who are taught using traditional reading strategies get low scores in the NWEA test.

• Purpose: To know if scores of middle school students in the NWEA test can be improved using non-traditional reading strategies

• Research Question: What is the difference between the scores of middle school students in the NWEA test when applying non-traditional versus traditional reading strategies?

• Theoretical Framework: Constructivism and behaviourism

• Methodology: A quantitative quasi-experimental design will be used in which the control group will be taught using traditional reading strategies and the experimental one using non-traditional strategies.

Now You Practice

Write down your research problem, purpose, research question, theoretical basis, and research method.

Then check how coherent they are.

Advanced Idea for Today:

To write a high quality thesis/ dissertation, you must assure that its ideas are coherent (harmonically connected to reflect the same line of thought).

Now You Know

• What coherence of ideas is• What tools you can use to built

it