The honors thesis constitutes original research and analysis of a specific topic that engages with the existing literature in media studies. The thesis should make an argument supported by evidence, using the methodologies of the field.
An honors thesis should be approximately 10,000 words, or roughly 40 pages, double-spaced. Keeping in mind that you will have only 15 or 20 pages for the analysis and argumentation portion of the thesis, be sure to select a topic that is focused and feasible in its scope. (See "Thesis Scope" handout).
Thesis Structure and Format
A thesis typically comprises:
- Introduction
- Literature review
- Discussion/Analysis of Evidence
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
Introduction
In whatever order makes sense to you, you should pose a clear research question and state a clear thesis, give background on the topic, make clear what your methodology is.
Research Question: Identify the key question, issue or problem the thesis will attempt to address. This should be a clear and succinct formulation of a researchable question. The research question can be formulated as one main question with (a few) more specific sub-questions (see “Questions” guide).
Thesis Statement: The thesis statement sets forth the scope of the project and the argument that you will make (see “Thesis Statements” guide).
Background: The background provides the necessary information that readers need to know up front about your topic. This information might be historical in nature, or it might describe a phenomenon that is currently unfolding. It should convince readers why the theme is important.
Methodology: Identify and justify the specific methodology you will use to answer the research question. Show how your choice of design and research method is suited to gathering the evidence you need. How did you collect the data? Which options became available through your chosen approach? How do you know that you have actually investigated what you intended to investigate? (see “Methods” guide).
Finally, your introduction should include a brief outline showing the reader how the different parts relate to each other. It often makes sense to put the outline at the end of the introduction.
Literature Review
A literature review should make clear that you are well grounded in the existing literature that is relevant to your project. In the case of an interdisciplinary topic in media, culture, and communication, this often means defining three to four overlapping and interconnecting literatures that are important to your argument. A literature review should not summarize texts, but rather should engage with the themes, concepts, approaches, and arguments at stake in the literature relevant to your project. (Note: While it may make sense to use a literature review to critique those aspects of existing theoretical arguments with which you disagree, it is more useful to focus on the concepts that you find most useful to your own project.
Discussion & Analysis
Your discussion of the evidence you have gathered, as well as your analysis of it and the argument you build out of it, will form the core of your thesis. Here is where you will fulfill the expectations that you have set up in the introduction. To discuss means to question your findings, and to consider different interpretations. This is your opportunity to show that you have understood the significance of your data / findings and that you are capable of analyzing them in an original manner. You also need to show that you have a good grasp of the theoretical tools that you will use in your analysis: you should choose them because they can shed light on the data you are interested in by giving insights not achievable by ordinary, everyday reflections. This section will take the form of argumentation. In other words, you investigate a phenomenon from several different perspectives, using your analytical tools (i.e. theories).
Conclusion
The final section of your thesis may take one of several different forms. Some theses call for clear answers, while for others a summing up will be appropriate. The decisive factor will be the nature of your thesis statement and/or research question.
You should also place your work in a wider, academic perspective – stating what you add to the literature and also identifying any unresolved questions. (During the work, you may have encountered new research questions and interesting literature which could have been followed up. At this point, you may point out these possible developments, while making it clear for the reader that they were beyond the framework of your current project.)
NOTE: There should be a strong connection between your conclusion and your introduction. All the themes and issues you raised in your introduction must come up again in one way or another. If you see that your thesis has not tackled an issue you raised in the introduction, you should go back to the introduction and delete the reference to that issue.
Bibliography
In the final thesis you may use MLA, APA, or Chicago Style. This decision should be made in consultation with your supervisor. It is imperative that you follow the guidelines of a style manual. NYU Citation Style Guide