0.2 Approach to a master's thesis paper

After narrowing the topic, it is important to consider the approach to the thesis paper. The approach defines the specific subject and guides the direction of the content of the thesis paper. It also helps narrow the scope of the literature search. Three functional approaches for a medical thesis paper are:

Each approach is unique to the type of paper you want to develop. For each approach, you must do a literature review. Literature review is NOT a summary of all the published literature collected for the specific subject. Literature review is a tool, not a goal. It is a step in each of the three approaches mentioned above. It contributes to the finished product but by no means constitute a thesis paper. Literature review provides the supporting documentation necessary to make your own interpretation in each approach. Literature review also determines whether the chosen approach can be developed into a thesis paper or another approach should be used on the same topic.

One common misconception is that one can summarize a published literature review article. This is not a thesis paper. Published literature review articles are written by experts in the field. They spend time collecting and referencing multiple published sources. These experts have also put their own analysis and interpretations about a specific subject in their papers. Mimicking published work done by experts does not constitute original work. Claiming this work as your own is plagiarism. To avoid plagiarism, consider the follow questions:

• What is your contribution to this topic?
• What have you contributed that is new?
• What would any reader learn from this?
• How does the literature review support your analysis and interpretation of the topic?
• Can you produce a copy of your annotated bibliography?

If you can answer all these questions, plagiarism is not a problem. If any of the above questions cannot be answered, then look at the purpose, target audience and approach to help define the goal and direction of your thesis paper. If a reference is not in your annotated bibliography, do not use that source for your thesis paper. When in doubt, seek proper guidance from your professors or counselors before you start developing your thesis paper.

At this point, begin to work on the early steps of your Master’s thesis paper:

1. Purpose
2. Target audience
3. Approach
4. Search and collection of published peer-reviewed sources
5. Literature review