M.A. Program
Thesis Option

 

Those students who hope to pursue additional graduate training (i.e., Ph.D.) are strongly encouraged to select the thesis option. Students who select this option work closely with their MA thesis advisor to develop an empirical project, which is evaluated and approved by a committee chosen by the student and his/her advisor. Students are expected to work independently during all aspects of the thesis, including design, data collection, analysis, and write-up. A final report is written by the student, approved by the thesis committee, and submitted to the Graduate School for credit towards the Master's degree. The thesis must fulfill the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies, described in the Graduate Catalog. A minimum of 30 credit hours are required. The following paragraphs will serve as a guide for students who select the thesis option as part of their program requirements. Theses are expected to conform to high standards of scholarship. The research question(s) and/or project chosen for the study must be firmly embedded in the body of theory and empirical data that has been accumulated in psychology. You will be required to present a written proposal to all members of your thesis committee for the committee's approval. The proposal should include the justification, design and methodology of the project. When writing the thesis, you will be expected to provide a thorough presentation of the relevant literature and an in-depth discussion of the results and findings of the project. The latter should include limitations of the study, as well as alternative explanations of your findings. It is your responsibility to form the thesis committee, to be aware of appropriate deadlines (published in each semester's Schedule of Classes), collect needed documentation, and adhere to College and University requirements related to theses. As a general rule, to avoid the pressures of deadlines, you should have a complete and polished draft of the thesis available to your Committee at least two weeks prior to the deadline for submitting the thesis to the Office of Graduate Studies.   Choosing an Area, a Thesis Chair, and a Thesis Supervisory Committee The first thing to do is decide on a general area that interests you (e.g., coping with cancer; early detection of brain disease; environmental risk factors for disease, prevention, adherence to medical regime, etc.) Next, do some preliminary reading, identify any relevant courses and in general become more knowledgeable about the area on your own. Then identify faculty who have stated interests that may match yours, and get to know their work. Review their biographies on the department website and read some of their published research papers. Send an email to introduce yourself, your general interest area, ideas for thesis topics if you have some, your need for a thesis advisor, and why you’ve contacted that faculty member (i.e., overlap in your interests and the faculty member’s expertise). Keep in mind that faculty are looking for students who are: well prepared, excited about learning, aware that they have much to learn about the topic and research in general, and willing to mold their interests to match those of faculty. Students who are able to do these things will have a much better time finding a thesis advisor. Once a faculty member has agreed to chair your thesis committee, then you will need to find the rest of your committee. Thesis committees must have a minimum of three members, although you may include more if you choose. Three committee members must be UMKC Graduate faculty. The thesis committee chairperson and at least one other committee member must be from the department of psychology. In consultation with your thesis committee chairperson, you’ll want to identify other members who have expertise in the topic(s) or methods likely to be employed in your project. You’ll also want to think about identifying faculty who are likely to be active, helpful, and cooperative committee members. Listen carefully to the guidance provided by your thesis committee chairperson during this process. If appropriate, your thesis committee may be the same as your Program of Study Supervisory committee. In order to make your committee official, each member must sign the Recommendation for Appointment of Supervisory/Examination Committee form, and the form must be submitted to the department. Forms, instructions, and templates may be found in the appendix. You can also obtain forms online. The following general guidelines are designed to provide some assistance in the process of completing a master’s thesis. These are only guidelines, and you should work closely with your thesis committee chairperson to develop a step-by-step plan for your thesis.   Review of Literature and Developing Ideas After selecting an area of research and establishing a thesis committee, you’ll need to thoroughly review the current literature. On the basis of such a review you will learn about what has and hasn’t been studied in your area, common methodologies employed, and leaders in the field. While most often there are plenty of novel questions in any area of inquiry on which to focus your project, occasionally others have already answered the question(s) you wanted to pose. Work closely with your chairperson as there is almost always a design that will be sufficiently novel to suit your purposes. However, if not, you might decide to change your research area and also the thesis committee chairperson. There is no problem in doing this. During your literature review, be sure to keep records of: (a) studies you find interesting; (b) methods employed; (c) sample characteristics; and (d) what seems to be missing. As a consequence, you should develop some ideas about (a) extensions of existing studies that you might find interesting to do, and (b) areas where new studies need to be conducted. Either of these can be the basis of a thesis. At this planning and preparatory stage, be aware of all deadlines (e.g., SSIRB, graduation, etc.), and map out a time line with these considerations in mind. Remember, you must have all program requirements completed by the end of five years.   Creating the Research Design Professors vary in the extent to which they become involved with the student in the creation of the design. Some feel it is the student's responsibility to develop specific ideas about design and method. If this is the case, your next step is to develop a fairly concrete idea of what you want to do and how you will do it before you return to your thesis committee chairperson. Such a professor will be willing to help you with specific problems. Other professors will take a much more active hand in the development of the student's research design. Find out ahead of time how your thesis committee chairperson feels about this.   Writing the Research Proposal After the design has been approved by your thesis committee chairperson, write a research proposal. This consists of an introduction in which you review the relevant literature and point out how your study is related to prior studies (e.g., what is known and what gaps are present in the literature), what your hypotheses or research questions are, and a Methods section in which you detail your sample procedures and statistical analyses. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the University’s formatting guidelines for theses as well as your chairperson’s expectations, and to write your proposal accordingly. For more information on specific guidelines, go to the University of Missouri theses department web page. The proposal will require several drafts and edits by your thesis committee chairperson. Don’t get discouraged! You are learning the process of doing science. It isn’t easy or quick, but you will be developing the skills that will last through you professional career. When your thesis committee chairperson approves the proposal, (s)he will instruct you to give a copy to your other committee members. Your committee may want to meet to discuss your plans for the research, or to provide suggestions for improvement. Whether or not you meet formally is up to you; however, it is in your best interests to ensure that each of your committee members is completely satisfied with your proposal and plan. Upon each committee member’s approval, obtain their signatures on the Master’s Thesis Proposal Approval form, and submit the form to the department. Forms, instructions, and templates may be found in the appendix. You can also obtain forms online.   Obtaining Approval from Other Committees In most cases, it is necessary to obtain approval for your proposal from the Social Sciences Institutional Review Board (SSIRB) which is charged with protecting human and animal participants in research. This committee may request clarification of certain points in your proposal and suggest certain, sometimes major, revisions in your plans. Be aware of deadlines and requirements for the SSIRB, since this committee only convenes and reviews proposals at certain times and in specific formats.   Writing the Thesis, Obtaining Thesis Chair's Approval After having your proposal approved by the appropriate committees, you will work to gather and analyze data. The next step is to finish your thesis. This entails adding a Results and Discussion section to your proposal. You will give the first draft of your completed thesis to your thesis committee chairperson, who will make suggestions for changes. Several drafts will be required before you obtain final approval. Remember, don’t get discouraged! You’re closer than you think to being a Master! After your thesis committee chairperson approves the draft, give copies to the other committee members.   Committee Members Give Suggestions on Manuscripts At this point, you will work with your chairperson to arrange a meeting with your committee, in which you will defend your thesis and your committee will give you suggestions on improving the manuscript. After you make the required changes, your committee members may wish to re-examine the manuscript. Upon final approval, the committee members will sign the Report of Results of Examination form indicating that the thesis is approved, and you must submit this form to the department. Forms, instructions, and templates may be found in the appendix. You can also obtain forms online. You are then required to turn in a copy of the thesis to the Graduate School and another copy to the Library. Check with both for deadlines. The University requires that the student pay for binding two copies of the thesis.