Even if you are not a political science major, to be successful in graduate school you must also major in your department’s politics if you want to finish your degree. Not paying attention to your department’s culture can hinder your progress despite your intellectual ability.
A department’s culture is the traditional patterns, norms, values, beliefs and behaviors that are passed down to new faculty and students alike. Ideally these unwritten and hidden rules are transmitted through the apprenticeship/mentoring relationship that exists between you and your advisor.
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Many students think I write article like these because I did not have a good advisor. However, I want you to know that I had a wonderful advisor. He was a tenured professor and well respected in my academic department. He wasn’t my best friend; my friend Elsie had fulfilled that role a long time ago. He was intelligent, well respected in the field, and had the reputation of being an advocate for his student advisees. I chose him because he was reliable and a great advocate for me. While some faculty members might be able to serve as mentors, you need an advisor who has power and respect in the department.
Selecting an advisor requires you to make an honest assessment of your working style. What type of working environment maximizes your true potential? Do you need someone to micro-manage every aspect of your thesis or dissertation project? Do you flourish when you are given a task and allowed to work at your own pace? Do you excel when you are allowed to figure things out by yourself? Are you willing to ask for help when you need it? To successfully complete your thesis or dissertation, you need an advisor who complements your working style.
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A Literature Review is a study of the original and primary scholarship on a particular topic. It does not study the topic itself, just the research that has been conducted on that topic. The aim of a Literature Review is to review, analysis and evaluate these sources to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and to identify a gap in the current literature that the thesis aims to fill. The Literature Review provides the background to and justification for the research.
A review of the relevant literature on a particular topic is a vital component of all research degrees. There are many reasons why a review of the current literature should be conducted before beginning a research project. These include:
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