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FHS Dissertation
Lecture 1
Finding a Topic and Building a
Bibliography
What is a Dissertation?
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A Dissertation is a piece of writing of between
8000 and 10000 words, inc. footnotes but not
including bibliography
Over 12 months’ work: final hand-in Week 2
of Trinity 2011
Further information in FHS Course Handbook
These Powerpoint slides available shortly in
Nick Attfield’s Weblearn room
Assessment Criteria
A First-Class FHS Dissertation …
This dissertation will display some original thought, a critical
approach to its sources and a good knowledge of the relevant
scholarly field. It will be a well-conceived and independent
project which has been well executed. There will be clear
evidence that the candidate is aware of pertinent issues in its
chosen area of musicology and has a very good command of
the literature. It will be very well presented and written in a
clear and engaging manner.
You can find this information in your FHS Handbook
and on Weblearn (in the ‘Faculty Student Area’)
Assessment Criteria
An outstanding First-Class Dissertation…
In both conception and execution, this dissertation will
display a high degree of original thought, a refined and
critical approach to its sources and a wide knowledge of
the relevant scholarly field. It may even be of
publishable quality. It will show an impressive
awareness of pertinent issues in its chosen area of
musicology, and an authoritative command of the
literature. It will be faultlessly presented and written in a
clear and engaging manner.
In other words …
A successful dissertation:
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is focused on a clear topic
displays good knowledge of the relevant
literature and repertoire
has a central argument
is well organised and presented
Finding a Topic
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Choose a topic that excites you and that feels
like *yours*
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Remember you will be living with it for a while!
Your starting point could be:
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a piece of music
a composer
a performer or performance tradition
a repertoire
a historical period or a geographical location
a text
a writer
an issue
Finding a Topic
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What kind of study do you want it to
be?
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analytical
critical
editorial
historical/historiographical
political or sociological
a mixture of the above, or something else
entirely? – utilising non-musical skills?
Finding a Topic
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Next, start to read around the topic and
approach – find out what work has already
been done in this area
What is the current state of scholarship?
Who are the key thinkers? What backgrounds
do they come from?
What might be driving them?
Finding an Angle
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What angle might you take on the
topic?
What can you contribute to debates?
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What’s missing in the literature? What
biases does it have? Does it fail to raise or
answer any key questions you have?
Finding an Angle
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Begin to refine your topic and angle
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Refine further:
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Are they too broad or too narrow?
Remember: 8000-10000 words only!
Do more reading; take more notes
Narrow your field of investigation, if
necessary
Brainstorm!
Model Brainstorm
Nostalgia
and
melancholy
Avant-garde
Alienated
and tradition
subject
‘Late style’
(Adorno,
Said)
Rethinking
NeoSchoenberg
classicism
Op. 11
& Pierrot lunaire
Stravinsky
‘Postmodern’
Orpheus &
play:
Symphony in C
Torke
Next Steps
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Produce some preliminary plans from
your brainstorm
Discuss plans with tutor (and peers?)
Begin to think about a title
Start work on your bibliography
Finding a Title
A good title:
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indicates clearly the central focus of the
essay
engages the reader and encourages
him/her to read on
is unambiguous
helps you to write the essay
Finding a Title
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Look for models in recent issues of
academic journals
An exam-style question does not usually
make a good essay/dissertation title
Consider using a quotation in the title
Try out a number of possible options
Use of the colon is not compulsory!
Finding a Title
Some (good and not-so-good) examples
for discussion
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Schumann’s Symphonies
‘All they say or do is theatre’: Music,
Text and Drama in Stravinsky’s The
Rake’s Progress
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How is the Concept of Postmodernism
Relevant to Recent Music?
Finding a Title
Some (good and not-so-good) examples
for discussion
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The Reinvention of Early Music
A History of Opera from Monteverdi to
MacMillan
Rethinking Mozart’s Piano Sonatas: the
Bodleian’s Albi Rosenthal Collection
The Bibliography
Why is the bibliography important?
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It helps you define and refine your topic
It helps you keep an eye on your own
progress as you go along
It locates your work within the context of
existing scholarship
It enables you to avoid a topic that has
already been written about
The Bibliography
What should the bibliography contain?
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All the materials that you have
consulted and that have informed your
work, whether or not you refer to them
directly in the body of the essay
Full references according to best
professional practice
The Bibliography
What should the bibliography not
contain?
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Materials that have no bearing on the
essay/dissertation
Materials you have not consulted
Materials you have not read
Resources
First stages: finding materials and
preparing the bibliography
 Library resources
 Online resources
 Catalogues and databases
 Scores and manuscripts
 Audio and video materials
 Other materials
Library resources
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Bodleian Library
Music Faculty Library
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Books and Journals
Dissertations
Scores & editions
Dictionaries and research
catalogues
Special collections
Microfilm collections
Library resources
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College and other specialist
libraries in Oxford
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e.g., Taylor Institution Library
(modern languages), Pitt Rivers
Museum (ethnography)
British Library (www.bl.uk)
COPAC – British and Irish
university libraries portal
www.copac.ac.uk
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European Libraries
www.theeuropeanlibrary.org/portal/index.html
Online resources: general
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First ports of call
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Audio resources
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The New Grove Online www.grovemusic.com
Naxos online www.naxosmusiclibrary.com
Classical music internal.oxford.classical.com
General sources of information
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Royal Holloway Golden Pages
www2.rhbnc.ac.uk/Music/Links/index.html
 includes lists of conferences, dissertation abstracts,
composer home pages, etc.
Online resources: journals
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JSTOR www.jstor.org
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Remember that JSTOR doesn’t have
everything! Use in conjunction with paper
copies and other databases, e.g. …
Current periodicals (not on JSTOR)
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Access via www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/eresources
Online resources: databases
RILM: Abstracts of music literature
 RISM: Inventory of musical sources after
1600
 RIPM: Retrospective index to music
periodicals
Access these key databases and other
online resources via:
www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/oxlip
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Online resources: beware!
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Treat with great caution:
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Wikipedia (it’s not moderated or checked)
Other unmoderated sites
Other unattributed articles
In some instances blogs, Facebook pages
and other online ‘ephemera’ can provide,
for example, supporting anecdotal
evidence, but handle with care and signal
its status clearly
Other resources
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Non-commercial audio and video
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Specialist libraries and research centres
National Sound Archive (part of the British
Library) www.bl.uk/nsa
BBC and other broadcasters
Video materials are increasingly accessible
online (YouTube !)
Other resources
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Ethnographic fieldwork: is this necessary? Do
you have access permission? Plan well in
advance.
Sociological / psychological fieldwork: is this
necessary? Do you have access permission?
Plan well in advance. Questions of
confidentiality.
Oral histories: how do you gain access to
subjects? Plan questions well in advance.
How will you record responses?
Plagiarism
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Plagiarism is intellectual theft – the
representation of the ideas of others as
your own
Make sure you acknowledge fully in
footnotes all material you have taken
from other sources (including online
material), whether or not you have
quoted it directly. An entry in the
bibliography is not sufficient.
University Plagiarism Code
All undergraduate and graduate students must carefully read regulations 3, 4 and 5 in the Proctors’
Disciplinary Regulations for University Examinations below. These make it clear that you must always
indicate to the examiners when you have drawn on the work of others; other people’s original ideas
and methods should be clearly distinguished from your own, and other people’s words, illustrations,
diagrams etc. should be clearly indicated regardless of whether they are copied exactly, paraphrased,
or adapted. Failure to acknowledge your sources by clear citation and referencing constitutes
plagiarism. The University reserves the right to use software applications to screen any individual’s
submitted work for matches either to published sources or to other submitted work. In some
examinations, all candidates are asked to submit an electronic copy of essays, dissertations etc. for
screening by ‘Turnitin’. Any matches might indicate either plagiarism or collusion. Although the use of
electronic resources by students in their academic work is encouraged, you should remember that the
regulations on plagiarism apply to on-line material and other digital material just as much as to printed
material.
Guidance about the use of source-materials and the preparation of written work is given in departments’
literature and on their web-sites, and is explained by tutors and supervisors. If you are unclear about
how to take notes or use web-sourced material properly, or what is acceptable practice when writing
your essay, project report, thesis, etc., please ask for advice.
If university examiners believe that material submitted by a candidate may be plagiarised, they will refer
the matter to the Proctors. The Proctors will suspend a student’s examination while they fully
investigate such cases (including interviewing the student). If they consider that a breach of the
Disciplinary Regulations has occurred, the Proctors are empowered to refer the matter to the Student
Disciplinary Panel. Where plagiarism is proven, it will be dealt with severely: in the most extreme
cases, this can result in the student’s career at Oxford being ended by expulsion from the University.
See: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/proctors/info/pam/section9.shtml#_Toc95
Overlap
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Do not be overly vexed by this matter!
It is highly likely that your topic will
emerge from courses you have taken
Concerns about overlap should not
prevent you from writing a dissertation
on the topic of your choice
Just be careful not to rely unduly on
your dissertation in a final unseen paper
Model Timetable: Dissertation
Second Year
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Hilary Term: preliminary discussions about topic with
your tutor; identify potential supervisor
Easter Vacation: initial planning and basic
bibliographic research; drafting of outline research
proposal
Trinity Term Week 4: submission of title, outline,
bibliography and name of supervisor to Music Faculty
Long Vacation: preparation of bibliography,
undertake main body of research, visit libraries and
archives
Model Timetable: Dissertation
Third Year
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Michaelmas Term: drafting of key sections
Christmas Vacation: preparation of first complete
draft of dissertation
Hilary Term: discussion of preliminary draft with
supervisor; make changes, additions, etc.
Easter Vacation: preparation of final version, collation
of music examples, etc.
Trinity Term Week 2: submission of finished
dissertation to Examination Schools
FHS Dissertation
Next Week
Writing the Dissertation: Tips and Tricks