1. Major Difficulties

Based on my experience as a teacher of academic writing and an examiner of Master’s dissertations for 4 years, most thesis introductions written by graduate students suffer from at least one of the following:

1.1. Difficulties in Establishing Context for the Research (Background of the study):

It is called ‘background’ because researchers are supposed to review the existing literature on the aspect/topic being investigated. Nevertheless, it is often observed that many background sections are hastily written as the students neither provide sufficient details about the field of interest nor they present the key issues – referred to in previous studies – that would allow the reader to understand how the topic chosen came into existence.    

1.2. Difficulties in Demonstrating the Research Significance and Gaps:

The analysis of the general introductions showed that the following two main issues are often present in the research rationale section:

• Hasty Statement of the Benefits: In some introductions, the students fail to provide solid arguments to convince readers of the importance of their topic and clearly demonstrate the expected practical benefits that would contribute to the development of the existing field of knowledge.
• Absence of the Research Gap: Though it is an important step to demonstrate the significance of the study, most students tend to ignore it when writing the general introduction. This may imply that the students are just duplicating existing research; or they probably do not have a firm grasp of the body of knowledge in their domain.

1.3. Difficulties in Stating the Research Problem:

The analysis of the introductory sections in Master’s dissertations reveals that stating the research problem often represents a daunting task for many novice researchers. The following are the major problems detected in writing the problem statement section:

• Brief and Incomplete Description of the Problem Being Studied: Despite its importance, the problem statement is not given the weight it deserves in some introductory sections of Master’s dissertations. The students often write just two or three sentences that do not provide a clear and detailed definition of the problem which answers the following questions: What (what aspect(s) the researcher is studying), Who (population/sample taking part in the study), Where (context of the study), and When (duration/period of time).
• Description of the Problem with Reference to Irrelevant Contexts: Many students tend to describe what happened/is happening in other contexts and overlook the context within which their studies take place. In other words, their problem statements look like a mini review of the issues discussed in previous related studies without considering the major differences between the characteristics of the context of those studies and their (i.e., students) own studies’ context.
• Overgeneralization and Assumptions without Concrete Evidence: When stating the problem, many graduate students tend to make assumptions without proof and draw conclusions that are too broad and illogical as they are based on what is happening in the limited context within which their studies take place. For instance, it is neither acceptable nor logical to state that all EFL undergraduates in the country encounter serious issues in reading comprehension while you (the researcher) are investigating the problem in one particular context in the country (e.g., The English Department at a particular university, a secondary school in the researcher’s hometown…etc.)    

1.4. Difficulties in Formulating Good Research Questions:

The analysis of the research questions’ sub-section in some introductions of Master’s dissertations reveals three major difficulties stated as follows:

• False Dichotomies: The majority of graduate students tend to frame their research questions in a way that two or more points/aspects are investigated at once and a single answer is required. This problem can be illustrated through the following example:

What are the major challenges faced by EFL students in essay writing and to what extent can their writing performance be improved through the use of group work activities?

This is a compound question which includes two separate questions: a) What are the major challenges…writing?, b) To what extent can their writing… group work activities?

These two questions require two separate answers and, most probably, two different research instruments to collect data and be addressed satisfactorily. That is, the first question (Q a) can be investigated through using questionnaires or semi-structured interviews, while the second question (Q b) can be addressed through conducting an experiment in EFL writing classes to test the impacts of group work activities on writing.

• Ambiguity and Vagueness of the Research Questions: Many research questions formulated by graduate students are not clear and focused in a way that allows the researchers to direct their research and establish a clear relationship between the variables. Also, unclear research questions open the space for different interpretations by the readers who will exert great efforts to understand what exactly the researcher is  investigating. Consequently, vague questions lead to vague answers and research outcomes which are untrustworthy and unreliable.
• Lack of Necessary Details about the Sample and the Research Site: Research questions in many introductions often do not provide information about the research participants (e.g., first/second/third year students at university, primary/middle/secondary school pupils or teachers…etc.) and the location where the study took place (i.e., a particular university, school, institution, company…etc.). Overlooking such details results in lack of precision and specificity.