Browse existing work

Use this checklist to help your browsing and reading of dissertations or student research reports available through your library or department. Check off	each aspect once you have considered it.	
■	Choice of topic
•	When you were choosing items to read, which topics and titles attracted your interest, and
why? Which ones were off-putting and why?
•	What initial thoughts does that give you about selecting your own topic?	
■	Choice of title
•	What kinds of titles have been used in previous years?
•	How are the titles structured?
•	What initial thoughts does that give you about selecting your own title?	
■	Scale and scope
•	How did the authors design their research so as to keep it manageable in size and length?
•	What initial thoughts does this give you about setting the right scale for your assignment?	
■	Methods
•	What tips did you pick up on techniques and strategies that you could replicate or adapt?	
■	Ethical considerations
•	What kinds of ethical issues were addressed, or might have arisen, in the works you read?
•	Which of these might be relevant to your own dissertation?	
■	Structure
•	What did you notice about the way works were structured?
•	How did these vary from each other and from the requirements in your assignment brief?	
■	Style
•	What are these works like to read? How well do they flow?
•	From reading sections of different works, what did you observe about the writing styles used?
•	What thoughts were inspired in you for the writing style for your own work?	
■	Citations and references
•	How are citations and references used? How would that use apply to your own work?	
■	Presentation
•	Were any works more inviting or off-putting due to their presentation or layout?
•	What ideas did you gain for presenting your own dissertation?	
■	Abstract
•	From the abstracts that you read, what features would be useful for your own work?	
■	Any other observations
•	What other observations did you make from your browsing and reading of these works that could help you in completing your own?