Dissertation Abstract

Approaching the end. I have not written the summary/abstract of the whole thesis. Spent the morning tidying up the Conclusion.  I hope to get it done by today, as I want it to be ready for proof-reading by supervisor and a professional by Monday. One of the feedback given to me by my supervisor was that I should put in more direct quotations from the interviews in the Findings section. Alas, this aspect I have procrastinated for so long and still have only done in bits and pieces, but looks like I would sacrifice this if I have no time. I already first worked on the more important Conclusion section. Next up, I need to work on the Abstract, which is very important if you read what I typed out below for you.

But as for now, I think I should stop. On my way to church. I guess I should start preparing this heart to be at peace and ready to enter into God's house of prayer, instead of coming in with my thoughts still on my work. I will spend the coming moments thanking God, for His help in provision of many ideas that I could have completed the Conclusion section in the morning. I have been struggling with that for the longest time.

“Too often, writing this brief but important statement is left to the last minute, at which time the author dashes off a hasty synopsis that needs instead to be concise, highly informative, and carefully written. Having to encapsulate one’s major professional preoccupation of the past months – or years – into the inviolable word limit of an abstract for a journal, or of one’s dissertation study for Dissertation Abstracts, can seem like the last straw. Fortunately, it is about the last straw, a signal to celebrate that a major effort is finally nearing completion. As with anything you write, give time and thought to preparing your abstract, review it editorially, try it out on others, and ask someone to read it aloud to you. An abstract affords a valuable opportunity to inform a wide audience, to capture potential readers, and to develop or expand your interactive professional network. Whether others will pursue the reading of your complete text may depend entirely on their assessment of this tiny sample of your writing, including its style. Once again, emphasize problem and content, not fieldwork techniques.”

Writing Up Qualitative Research by Harry Wolcott, 3^rd Edition. (p. 134)