Developing Undergrad Thesis Proposal & Presentations
Crafting an impactful undergrad thesis involves navigating various presentations and written documents. Dive into the process at UTSA with MARC, COS Research/Thesis Experience, and Honors College credit opportunities. From oral proposal presentations to final thesis defenses, this journey is essential for academic distinction.
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Developing the Undergrad Thesis Proposal & Thesis Presentations & Written Doc
FirstHow it Fits into the UTSA Universe.. Can write for MARC, COS Res/Thesis Experience, and Honors College Credit INSTITUTIONAL! OLD COS DISTINCTION LINK: https://sciences.utsa.edu/student/dir.html COS Undergraduate Thesis Experience Distinction and now COS LINK: https://sciences.utsa.edu/student/ug-thesis.html HONORS COLLEGE LINK: https://honors.utsa.edu/academics/exp-spices/thesis.html MARC THESIS Link: https://sciences.utsa.edu/student-programs/marc/thesis.html Honors College or COS Honors Need two readers as well
Required for MARC / MARC-2 Thesis Proposal Oral Presentation Thesis (as long as needed) Thesis Oral Presentation Length? Proposal oral is shorter 5 minutes Thesis: 8 minutes for thesis + 2 for Questions
MARC Thesis Should be UTSA Research (unless permission is obtained) Begin as soon as you have independent project (at latest at beginning of Sr. Year) MARC must take two major research courses (6 credits). Integrate thesis-building into these courses Products: Thesis Proposal Oral Presentation: 5 Min (Quick!) Thesis Document (as many pages as is needed) MARC MAY ALSO BE FIRST AUTHOR RES PAPER (You must have been primary writer!) Thesis Presentation: 10 min (8 presentation minutes, 2 questions)
MARC Thesis Proposal Presentation Give at least a semester before graduation. Even better a year. We do not require a written document Check if your PI or Honors College does? Normally One Aim/goal at least Approved by PI Short Oral Presentation Required Five Minutes Six Slides at Most Should be UTSA Research As soon as you have independent project (can also help encourage an indep project)
Thesis Proposal Presentation Structure Thesis Proposal PPT TECHNICAL (not 3MT) but tell a good story Integrate a few Images for interest Present 5 minutes Small numbers of slides Title Slide (w PI & You & title & UTSA) Slides 1 & 2: Introduction with implications (can have figure) Background w Supporting Literature, Slide 3: Purpose (Filling what gap in literature?), Specific Aims (major goal!) usually 1 as UG), Hypothesis Slide 4: Methods / Approach / Timeline / Stats to be used Slide 5: Prelim results and / or Expected Results & potential problems Slide: References Slide: Questions?
Final Thesis Presentation May represent part of your total work. Estimate 1 slide per minute. 8 minutes long, 2 additional for questions. ABOUT 10 SLIDES MAX!!!! Title Intro (1 3 slides) Introduction w importance leading to Gap (with Citations) i.e. Background and Supporting Literature Purpose, Specific Aim (usually 1 as UG), Hypothesis (1 slide) Methods / Approach / Timeline / Stats (1 - 2 slides) Results (1 3 slides) Acknowledgements (1 slide) Everyone broad [PI, lab, other labs, programs, significant others] Questions? References
Common Presentation Hints (and problems) GOAL: Maintain your Audience s Attention! ALWAYS CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE (Introduction variability; assume mixed-major UGs.) Remember to put your PI on the title slide as well as program/utsa logos If you re using data you didn t collect (databases, etc) know everything about it anyway. Use one-line bulleted phrases except for hypothesis / purpose. Put citations on each slide next to bullet. Ref on bottom. Use for all sections. Put all important points in writing. Work with PI to insure figures represent experiments/numerical data. Put figures on slides to pique listener interest (often in Intro, but no triggering). Don t read off your slides...let your eyes rove the room to engage all You are telling a story. Relax and talk about your research in simple but professional language. The more like a TED speaker you are, the more impressive you ll be. Practice to find behavioral distractors or gaps in presentation. Walk through figures, don t ignore (intro) and don t vaguely wave at them ( As you can see... ). Practice YOUR WHOLE TALK MULTIPLE TIMES! Practice ending your talk. (Do you have any questions...or thank you for coming to my talk...) Collect Questions and practice them. For FINAL thesis, remember to thank your PI and Support System!!
Major Presentation Guidelines! It would be a good idea to review Dr. T s presentation videos (or watch from class): Powerful Presentations 1: https://utsa.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=647ee92a- da2e-48e4-97a9-ac4501694b8e Powerful Presentations 2: https://utsa.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=647ee92a-da2e-48e4-97a9- ac4501694b8e Powerful Presentations 3: https://utsa.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=dbf5335e-3195-44a7-b1d7- ac45017c397a
UTSA Honors Thesis Originally Developed by Dr. Ann Eisenberg Guide to Writing your Honors Thesis, Kristine Madsen, MD, MPH Berkeley School of Public Health https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Honors- Thesis-Guide-2020.pdf
Location Template: MARC Honors Thesis Template: https://sciences.utsa.edu/student-programs/marc/thesis.html
Title Page Has specific format.
Permissions page: People will have to sign off on your thesis Research PI, RISE/MARC PI, HC (If with Honors) See template:
Actual Written Thesis Have Written Thesis Document Have 2 readers if it is for Honors College and/or your College Can follow whichever Template https://sciences.utsa.edu/student-programs/marc/_documents/templates/thesis-template.docx Length determined by project Usually 20 30 pages total One Aim/goal is normal for UGs Endnote integration can help w references Different signature pages for MARC vs HC (otherwise, the same) Approved by PI Normal APA thesis format Except - Background more like paper not a general summary
Writing in General Avoid Jargon. Always spell out abbreviations. Summarize sentences until they cannot be summarized Nice transitions between sentences and sections Avoid Distractors Always make it focus on your work. Avoid distracting unneeded information Ex: isolation studies. If using college student volunteers, don t bring up that lack of education can influence social isolation- You aren t addressing it.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-05273-4 Most fantastic model paper. Super well-written. Or use good SHORT paper from your lab (or a subset!)
Acknowledgements Go overboard on these, with emotion Family Sig Other Lab Buddies PI
Abstract Standard Intro, Method, Result, Conclusion
Writing Introduction Broad to Narrow in topic w foundational lit for project Roughly one paragraph for each major topic needed to explain project Get to the Problem / Gap Purpose to Fill this Gap and why important? Goals / Specific Aims Hypothesis/es Short Summary of what you did, using what. Good example / Progression obvious: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-05273-4
Methods Easiest to write. Use figures / Flow chart if needed. Make sure that it s NOT only the techniques Description of how the experiments were designed and carried out. Qualitative, Quant, Mixed, etc. for Psych especially (Reliability / Validity) Animal and human subject Ethics, approvals and care Materials (where purchased) and Equipment Used Methods used for data collection Statistical Methods and Analyses Don t need details to the level of making common solutions
Results Each figure answers a question... Like a scientific paper. Narrative that tells story Figures referred to and their results summarized (no raw data mentioned) Each Figure has its own connected legend (Stand alone) Can use subheadings for each experiement or even start with a question that you are exploring!
Discussion/Conclusions Summary of Key Findings How Hypothesis came out How Impacts literature context/ theories and prior info in field Unexpected Results and interpretation Limitations or weaknesses in the research Next Steps / Future Directions Restatement of most significant findings Implications Importance Broadened out Beware of concluding too much but you can SUGGEST https://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter/docs/handouts/Discussion%20Section%20for%20Research %20Papers.pdf
