Constructing an undergraduate thesis is something that needs to be done by all final year students. This is not an easy task to do, because a student has to use all their knowledge that they have accumulated in their university years. No wonder when constructing their undergraduate thesis a student can be confused because they do not know where they should start from.
To relieve students’ confusion, the Fisipol UGM Governmental Politics Student Corps (KOMAP) held an undergraduate thesis class that was in session from July to September. In the event, participants studied the different parts of a thesis, starting from the background to the research method. The speakers invited varied, starting from lecturers to Polgov UGM researchers. Students’ enthusiasm is also pretty high. There were always more than 50 students who attended the lectures.
Based on the class, the materials can be summarized in three points:
Finding a Research Topic
A research topic is fundamental in constructing a thesis. Research topics refers to the problem that will be analyzed in the research. We should decide on a research topic based on what we are passionate about. Then, read more about the topic in order to find the research gap that you can use.
Deciding on a Research Method
Generally, research methods are divided into two parts; qualitative and quantitative research methods. Research methods act as tools in doing the research analysis. When the research topic is clear, students can check the suitability of their research title in relation to the method that they are using. On the one hand, qualitative studies need literature analysis skills so researchers need more literature sources. On the other hand, quantitative studies are studies that lean more towards field studies, so the literature needed is significantly less than the qualitative studies.
Constructing a Literature Analysis
Constructing a literature analysis is done to know our academic position in previous studies. In this process, steps that need to be done are deciding on the keywords, finding analysis that are in line with our topics, and finally summarizing those studies so it can be a part of our literature studies. An important point that needs to be paid attention to is that a literature analysis is meant to see the weakness and strength of a research. This is so that researchers can create novelty in their research.
To construct an undergraduate thesis, one needs patience and grit. It is not an easy thing to do, but it is something that every university student must do. Therefore, choosing a research topic that interests us can be a way to make the undergraduate thesis research process easier and more fun.