Dissertations and Bibliographies

[whydoiloveLatin]

Hello all.

I'm currently writing my MA dissertation on funerary inscriptions and this is the first dissertation I have ever written. As such I am not sure of what to expect from my advisor. I was only given one book which is a collection of funerary inscriptions from my target periods (which I'm quite sure I could've found myself) and nothing else. I did ask for a recommendation of helpful sources but I wasn't given any.

So my question is, is it normal to not be given a bibliography? I know that one of my friends was given a biblio to help with his dissertation and I got nothing, even when asked.

Thank you for your feedback!

[anthropologygeek]

I'm in a different field but for me I wasn't given anything.

[Sparky]

Wow, I'm not in classics, so maybe standards are different--but I have never even heard of being given a bibliography for a research project. Perhaps directed to a few helpful sources, or an index to help you find others on your own, but definitely not "Here's your bibliography, okay go." Generally, the first stage of a major research project is developing your OWN bibliography--seeing what scholarship is out there, where the debates are, directions you could go, what primary sources are available and how you can access them, etc. You know--lit review?

If you're looking for more guidance, you could try asking, instead of for a full bibliography, perhaps for the name of one or two relevant scholars, or the title of a journal whose back issues you might browse? Or check the biblio/notes of the book your prof did give you?

I have to say, as a teacher/TA, I won't even give my undergrads a full bibliography. If they ask for one, I do what I suspect your prof did--I recommend a book, article or author (or, um, Wikipedia) as a place to start, and let them take it from there.

[whydoiloveLatin]

Wow, I'm not in classics, so maybe standards are different--but I have never even heard of being given a bibliography for a research project. Perhaps directed to a few helpful sources, or an index to help you find others on your own, but definitely not "Here's your bibliography, okay go." Generally, the first stage of a major research project is developing your OWN bibliography--seeing what scholarship is out there, where the debates are, directions you could go, what primary sources are available and how you can access them, etc. You know--lit review?

If you're looking for more guidance, you could try asking, instead of for a full bibliography, perhaps for the name of one or two relevant scholars, or the title of a journal whose back issues you might browse? Or check the biblio/notes of the book your prof did give you?

I have to say, as a teacher/TA, I won't even give my undergrads a full bibliography. If they ask for one, I do what I suspect your prof did--I recommend a book, article or author (or, um, Wikipedia) as a place to start, and let them take it from there.

Yea, I've already browsed the biblio that we were given in class; my advisor and I actually did that in the first (and only) meeting. I just wasn't sure if I should've received at least one source (be it, a book article, journal or author) after I submitted my dissertation draft. I've been tracing the majority of the sources that I came across in the one book I was given, but they were all for inscriptions. So I have more sources on inscriptions than scholarly essays. I was given a website, but I only found one semi-useful book on that and most of its sources were either not in English or irrelevant to my topic. I've managed to painfully find a few scholarly essays in English but I was just wondering if that was the norm.

Thank you so much for your response! It helped a lot.

[Sparky]

Yeah, I suspect that you won't find so much out there that deals directly with funerary inscriptions, but rather secondary works that use inscriptions as the main source base. I don't do ancient or even late antique, but I have the vague impression that social history-type stuff might be a good place to look. I sort of recollect that some important women's history work has been done based *largely* on funerary inscriptions. Sorry I can't point you to anything more specific.

ETA: I love that you went from EE to classics. You are my hero, even if you do love Latin.

Edited September 12, 2012 by Sparky

[latinist]

So my question is, is it normal to not be given a bibliography?

Completely normal.

[marlowe]

You most certainly won't be handed a bibliography.

Part of the challenge of the dissertation, as your first major project, is learning your way around your field, research methods, and the critical 'conversation'. It's tough (and especially so in the UK, where you are expected very much to be a self-starter), but the challenge will make you a better researcher and a better scholar.

[Conscia Fati]

I was handed a bibliography for my thesis. It wasn't comprehensive, by any means, and I still did my own research, but it was an excellent starting point. YMMV.

[rkg2012]

Perhaps try asking for recommendations relating to some specific aspect if you need help. You shouldn't expect to be handed a complete bibliography, but I have always found professors/advisers happy to point me in the right direction. You could also come up with a preliminary bibliography yourself and send it to your adviser asking if he has any recommendations on what's missing or what's not worth your time. (but don't put it like that!)

Part of the challenge of the dissertation, as your first major project, is learning your way around your field, research methods, and the critical 'conversation'. It's tough (and especially so in the UK, where you are expected very much to be a self-starter), but the challenge will make you a better researcher and a better scholar.

Interestingly, I've studied both in the US and the UK, and I found UK profs to be much MORE coddling on the whole. In either place, if really depends on the professor and their expectations.