Sunday, November 2, 2008

A New Approach to M.S. Theses

Consider an alternative to the Master's Thesis format.

The student choses a topic they are interested in, and then studies what Wikipedia has written on the topic. Then, they make a list of information that would enhance the Wikipedia article, and the advisor helps them narrow the list down to a single (or perhaps a few) topics that are both feasible and consistent with the expectations of graduate students.

The objective of the thesis is then to seek and document this information, and the end result is a thesis documenting the Wikipedia page before and after the students' edits. Or, the thesis contains two parts: (a) a well-written narrative on the topic and (b) documentation of Wikipedia after the students' entries, with their contribution in italics.

Or, should we just keep compiling information only a few committee members will read?

Blog Archive