Penulisan Karya Ilmiah

Mari E. Mulyani, SIP., M.Si., PhD (Oxon)

Exercise (viva voce)
§  What is the main issue?
§  Why is the issue important?
§  What work has been done in this area?
List names (dates) and debates
§  How does your work relate to theirs?
§  What did you intend to add to the
conversation?
§  What precisely is your research question?
 Aims

1.  To create a well-thought, well-

structured, well-referenced, and
well-presented research proposal,
thesis and academic article
2.  To increase chances of publication
 Objectives:
§  to improve the style of writing
and its content
§  to contend with thesis’
assessors, journal editors, and
referees
§  to increase chances of
publication
 Goals for today

Session 1:
Masters ‘thesis’ research proposal

Session 2:
Working on ‘Introduction’
The Main Writing Style

Ladle, R. and Malhado,M

 Key to Academic Writing
§  Having a clear target audience
§  Clarity and precision, the primary objectives
§  Well-structured, well-referenced, and well-
written to justify and validate facts
§  Theories and opinions presented to form a
precise argument
§  Imitates the style typical of a scientific
manuscript
§  Avoids colourful adjectives
Academic writing, why?
 Academic writing, why?

All thesis and dissertations must be presented

in an appropriate academic style
and format to ensure that the precise aims of
the thesis and dissertation are met

“One of the problems with work that is poorly

presented is that examiner tends to lose confidence in
the candidate and can become suspicious that there
are deeper problems of inadequate and rushed
conceptualization”(Johnson 1997: 345)
WHY PUBLISH?
 Publishing is important for
science; it drives scientific
progress

§  The accumulation of knowledge,

§  Defining, refining, and rejecting
hypotheses
What is ‘Thesis’?
‘Thesis’?
—  An integrated argument
—  A central or main idea
—  A reasonable and reasoned
interpretations of what we find in our
analyses of texts
 A thesis (or proposal) should
demonstrate (your skill):
1.  Research problem(s)
2.  Research aim(s) and objective(s)
3.  Authoritative literature
4.  Research methodology
5.  Analysis of the primary (or/and
secondary) data
6.  Conclusions
7.  Recommendations for further research
 Masters ‘thesis’
§  It positions your research within
the ‘bigger picture’, explains and
compares, and arrives at
generalisations to extend theory
§  It explains what can be done and
addresses the underlying why
§  It is specific and narrowly focused
 Assessment criteria:
§  Clarity of the goals
§  Methodology
§  Bibliography
§  Chapter structure
§  Timetable
§  Fieldwork design
§  Progress to date
§  Significance to literature
§  Significance to the field

Example: MScCriteria_Oxford_2014.pdf
‘Unsuccessful Research Proposal’
‘Unsuccessful Research Proposal’

Example: Unsuccessful proposal_1.pdf

‘Successful Research Proposal’

—  Example: SUCCESSFUL proposal.pdf

 Two Types of examiner comments:
1) ‘intellectual endeavours’,
2) ‘communication aspects’

“There is often a relationship between the quality of

presentation and the quality of scientific
results” (Johnston 1997: 340).

“One of the problems with work that is poorly presented

is that examiners tend to lose confidence in the
candidate and can become suspicious that there are
deeper problems of inadequate and rushed
conceptualization”(Johnston 1997: 345)
Examiner’s remarks on theses
—  ‘well conceptualised’
—  ‘critically analysed review of literature’
—  ‘aims of this piece of research are
achieved’
—  ‘thorough…study’
—  ‘problems appears…worthy of in-depth
study’

(Johnston 1997:341)
Where in my thesis will I demonstrate…

—  Complexity?
—  Originality?/Novel concepts?/Innovative ideas?
—  Critical thinking?
—  Significant contribution to knowledge /the field?
—  Publishable outcomes?
R. Whitaker, science writing class, Oxford SoGE, Nov. 2011
 Generic structure

—  The subject of my study is… —  Introduction

—  It merits study because… —  Introduction/lit. review
—  My works relates to others’ that… —  Lit. review
—  The research question is… —  Introduction/lit. review
—  I approached it from a perspective —  Methodology
of —  --
—  I found… —  Results
—  That means… —  Discussion
—  There are implications for… —  Conclusions
 Research proposal, includes:
§  A working title; benefit of ‘precise
wording’
§  An introduction to the topic: research
aim, objectives, and questions
§  A Preliminary Literature Review: major
authors, major themes, gap in literature
§  Research Methodology: justify the
methods vis a vis research objectives and
questions
§  Timetable
Introduction: exercise (viva voce)
§  What is the main issue?
§  Why is the issue important?
§  What work has been done in this area?
List names (dates) and debates
§  How does your work relate to theirs?
§  What did you intend to add to the
conversation?
§  What precisely is your research question?
 Introduction
1.  General context
2.  Specific context
3.  Research problem/gap in
existing literature/key question
4.  Research aim(s) and objective(s)
 Introduction:
the importance of the first
and last
‘paragraph’
(the aims/objectives/hypotheses)

—  First paragraph

◦  Examples: 1st para_MEM thesis.pdf; 1st para_MEM & PJ paper_JED.pdf
—  Last paragraph
◦  Examples: Example_last para introduction_M.Mulyani Thesis.pdf;
Last para_MEM & PJ_APV 2015.pdf; Last para_Ituarte_McDermott_Mulyani 2014.pdf
 Research Question

—  Where do research ideas come

from?
—  What makes a research question?
—  What makes a question
‘researchable’?
Introduction: ‘stating the obvious’
‘clarity-clarity-clarity’

—  Assessors’ comments

◦  Examples:Clarity-clarity-clarity.pdf
—  Examples of clearly stated aim and objectives:
◦  Examples: Clarity_MEM thesis.pdf; Clarity_KB thesis.pdf; Clarity_APV_p.5.L20-25.pdf
Introduction: common errors
1.  Repetition: avoid the same phrases in the
introduction, abstract and discussion
2.  Excessive context: be concise!
3.  Too basic: remember whom you write for!
4.  Weak connection
5.  Poor referencing
6.  Inappropriate framing
 Writing exercise:
—  The subject of my study is…/This research is about …(50 words)
—  My research question(s) is/are… (50 words)
—  The thesis aims to …(50 words)/This thesis presents an examination of …
—  The subject of the research is important because …(50 words)
—  Researchers who have looked at this subject are/include…(50 words)
—  Smith argues that..(25 words); Brown argues that …(25 words) ….They
suggest ….(25 words)
—  Debate centres on the issue of … (25 words)
—  There is still work to be done on … (25 words) /What has not been done
is …
—  My research is closest to that of xxx in that … (50 words)
—  My contribution will be…(50 words)
—  This thesis is important for a number of reasons. Firstly,… (100 words)
—  This thesis presents a case study of …(50)
The benefits of ‘basic writing exercises’:
§  It can establish focus and/or direction
§  It prompts you to write (even) before you have a
sense of focus or direction
§  It prompts you to associate your project with the
literature
§  It prompts you to distinguish your project from
the literature
§  It can help to focus your reading and thinking
§  The ‘word limit’ can help you to focus your
writing
Thank You
 Reference
—  Anderson, J., Durston, B. and Poole, M. (1970) Thesis and Assignment Writing. Brisbane: Wiley.
§  Bruce, C.S. (1994) Research students’ early experiences of the dissertation literature review, Studies in Higher Education,
19(2): 217–29.
—  Cooper, H.M. (1988) The structure of knowledge synthesis, Knowledge in Society, 1:104–26.
§  ITUARTE-LIMA, C., MCDERMOTT, C. L. and MULYANI, M., 2014. Assessing equity in national legal frameworks for
REDD+: The case of Indonesia. Environmental Science & Policy.
§  Johnston, S. (1997) Examining the examiners: an analysis of examiners’ reports on
§  doctoral theses, Studies in Higher Education, 22(3): 333–47.
§  Ladle, J. R. A and Malhado, A.C.M. (2013) A practical guide to writing scientific articles. Unpublished manuscript.
§  McDermott, C.L., van Asselt, H., Streck, C., Assembe, S., Duchelle, A., Haug, C., Humphreys, D., Mulyani, M., Silori, C., Suzuki, R.,
Zelli, F., Frick, S., Lentini, M., Luintel, H. and Salimon, C. (2012)
Governance for REDD+, Forest Management and Biodiversity: Existing Approaches and Future Options. Chapter 5 in, Parrotta, J.,
Christoph, C. and Mansourie, S. (eds.) Understanding relationships between biodiversity, carbon, forests and people. IUFRO,
Vienna. Commissioned by Global Forest Expert Panel,The Collaborative Partnership on Forests.
—  Merriam, S.B. (1988) Case Study Research in Education: A Qualitative Approach. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
§  MULYANI, M., 2014. The Interplay between REDD+Mechanism and Indonesia Forest Governance. PhD Thesis
§  MULYANI, M. and JEPSON, P., 2013. REDD and Forest Governance in Indonesia: A Multistakeholder Study of Perceived
Challenges and Opportunities. The Journal of Environment & Development, 22(3), pp. 261-283.
§  MULYANI, M. and JEPSON, P., (in press). Social learning through a REDD+ 'village agreement': insights from the
Kalimantan Forests Climate Partnership (KFCP) in Indonesia. Asia Pacific View Point, April 2015.
§  MURRAY, R., 2002. How to write thesis. Open University Press. Beckshire. U.K.
§  Phillips, E.M. and Pugh, D.S. (2000) How to Get a PhD: A Handbook for Students and their
§  Supervisors, 3rd edn. Buckingham: Open University Press.
§  Strunk, W, 1918. The Elements of StyleI. Thaca, N.Y: W.P. Humphrey, 1918. New York: Bartleby.com, 1999
§  WHITE, P., 2009. Developing research questions: a guide for social scientists. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.