The (free) course to get you started
Take the first step towards crafting a high-quality dissertation, thesis or research project with our free mini-course.
– 100% free – no costs, no signup or email required
– Easy to understand explanations and examples
– Extensive video, audio and text-based content
– Free downloadable templates and tools
Everything you need to get started.
This flexible mini-course is built from a carefully curated selection of our best video and text content. Working through the course content, you’ll learn:
- How to find a high-quality research topic
- How to develop a convincing research proposal
- How to craft a high-quality introduction and literature review
- How to choose a suitable methodology and present your results
- How to polish your dissertation or thesis for the highest marks
You can start wherever makes sense for you, and you can work at your own pace. While you will get the maximum benefit from working through all the content in order, you’re welcome to skip around.
If you have any suggestions, please let us know. If you’d like 1-on-1 support with your research project, have a look at our private research coaching service here.
Get Started
If you’re completely new to research, start at 1. If you’ve already got some understanding, jump ahead to whichever topic you’re struggling with.
Part 1: Topic Ideation & Proposal
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1. Dissertation 101: What you need to know
Learn about the ABCs of academic research and how the core research process comes to life in a dissertation or thesis.
2. How to find a high-quality research topic
3. Research proposal 101: What you need to know
4. How to write a research proposal
5. Common mistakes in the research proposal
6. Research proposal template (Download)
Part 2: Starting Your Dissertation Or Thesis
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1. How to structure your dissertation or thesis
2. Introduction chapter 101 – Why, what and how
3. Common mistakes in the introduction chapter
4. Dissertation/thesis template (Download)
Part 3: The Literature Review
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1. Literature review 101: What you need to know
2. How to write a literature review: big-picture process
3. How to find high-quality literature (quickly)
4. How to review journal articles efficiently
Learn how to fast-track your review process by focusing exclusively on a few important sections of each journal article your encounter.
5. Literature review Excel template (Download)
6. How to structure the literature review chapter
7. Common mistakes in the literature review
Derek and David discuss 7 common mistakes that students run into in the literature review chapter so that you can avoid these mark-destroying pitfalls.
Part 4: Research Design & Methodology
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1. Research methodology 101: What you need to know
2. Qualitative vs quantitative research
Learn about the core differences between qualitative and quantitative research, data and analysis methods.
3. How to choose a research methodology
4. Saunder's research onion: Overview
5. How to write the methodology chapter/section
6. Qualitative data analysis methods 101
Learn about the 6 most commonly used qualitative data analysis methods in this video blog post combo.
7. Quantitative data analysis methods 101
Learn about the basics of quantitative data analysis, including descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.
8. How to write the methodology chapter
Learn how to structure your research methodology chapter for maximum impact, covering all the key research design choices.
9. Common mistakes in the methodology chapter
David and Alexandra discuss 6 common but costly mistakes students make when it comes to the methodology chapter, and the methodology in general.
Part 5: Results & Discussion
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1. The results chapter: Qualitative
2. The results chapter: Quantitative
3. Common mistakes in the results chapter
In this video, David and Alexandra unpack 7 costly mistakes that are commonly made in the results chapter.
4. The discussion chapter 101: What, why & how
5. Common mistakes in the discussion chapter
In this video, David and Ruth look at 7 mistakes that students commonly make when writing up their discussion chapter.
Part 6: Wrapping Up
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1. The conclusion chapter 101: What, why and how
2. Common mistakes in the conclusion chapter
3. The abstract 101: What, why and how
4. Defending your dissertation or thesis
In this video, Derek and David discuss 13 common questions that come up in dissertation and thesis oral defences, so that you can prepare for your own.
5. Defending your dissertation or thesis
6. Referencing: Mendeley & Zotero
Learn how to use two popular pieces of reference management software, Mendeley and Zotero
Part 7: General tips & tools
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Essential apps for the research journey
Learn about 8 useful apps, services and pieces of software that can help you move through the research process efficiently.
Descriptive vs analytical writing
How to reduce word count
Learn how to trim down excessive word count in your dissertation or thesis without sacrificing a large portion of marks.
How to craft strong arguments in your dissertation
How to choose the right charts and graphs
Academic misconduct
Dissertation vs thesis
If there’s something you’re looking for that’s not covered in the course material, check out the Grad Coach blog for more free content.