MSc Development Management alumni Kyungmin Park shares her advice on planning and writing your MSc dissertation. Highlighting key resources available at LSE. As well as recommendations on how to get published.  

A dissertation isn’t just a requirement for your graduation – it holds much more value. For instance, if you’re pursuing a career in a specific industry (for me, it was impact investing), your dissertation can reflect an intentional focus in that area. This not only gives you an edge academically but also sends a compelling message to your potential employers that you’re deeply invested in this field.

My dissertation played a key role in landing a job in impact investing, but I wanted to maximize its impact in academia as well. Two years after graduating, I was able to publish my master’s thesis – Win-win or trade-off? Investigating the hybridity of impact investing in Cambodia’s microfinance – in the Journal of International Development (JID). In this blog, I’m sharing insights from my dissertation journey from time planning and writing to publication.

Start from timeline planning

The actual writing and research time for a dissertation can be surprisingly brief. I began actual drafting in mid-June after exams and submitted it by late August. During this period, having a solid timeline was essential. You should be aware that your supervisor and other professors will not be available for advice during summer months, so planning and seeking guidance early is key.

In my case, I used tools like a Gantt to organise tasks and keep track of progress. By mapping out each step – like research, writing, and analysis – you’ll have a clearer picture of how to allocate your time. Of course, you could use online tools like Monday for easier management.

7 easy ways to reduce your dissertation burden

To produce a quality paper, it’s important to seek support throughout the process. It not only provides fresh perspectives but also makes your journey much easier. Here are some of the supports I used:

Preparation period (before June)

• Knock on the doors of professors. Not only your supervisor or your course professors, but you can also reach out to the other department professors’ who are relevant to your topics and have office hours or 1:1 talks. In my experience, the talk with the Methodology professor was very helpful.

• Leverage free lectures from LSE such as writing classes. This can be invaluable especially if you are new to English academic writing. LSE’s classes even align well with professors’ expectations for style and structure, which can make a big difference.

Deep-dive period (late May to August)

• LSE Life resources – It’s good to be familiar with LSE Life resources in the preparation period as it offers various self-learning resources on dissertation writing. But its 1:1 advice is particularly useful during summer when professors are away.

• Digital skills lab – If you need help with tools like Excel, Stata, R, or Python when you collect or analyse data, the Digital Skills Lab is a great resource for methodology consultation and technical training.

• Relevant professors from other universities – When reviewing the literature, you may come across authors whose work closely relates to your topic. If you’re clear about what you’re writing but need some live insights rather than desktop research, reaching out to them can be worthwhile. Getting responses from busy professors are not always guaranteed, but there’s nothing to lose for sending one email. For your confidence, LSE email address was quite powerful with getting responses in my experience.
• Your peers: Discussions with your classmates are incredibly useful. Don’t overlook the value of your peers’ auditing and final reviews over the AI tools!

Bringing your dissertation to life: sharing your work

Your dissertation is a valuable contribution to your field. Why keep it tucked away on your computer when it could be shared and appreciated by others? Here are some ways to make sure your hard work sees the light of day:

• LinkedIn Posts: A LinkedIn post is a quick, effective way to share your research with your professional network.

• LSE Blogs: Contribute to the LSE ID blog series by translating your dissertation into a shorter and casual piece for a broader and less technical audience.

• Conferences: Presenting at an academic conference allows you to engage directly with others interested in your topic, offering a fantastic networking opportunity and constructive feedback. You can ask professors to recommend relevant conferences.
• Journals: Publishing your work in an academic journal adds credibility and helps reach an even wider audience. If you’re interested in taking this step, keep reading for tips on getting published.

Publishing your dissertation: how? 

Publishing a paper in a peer-reviewed journal can be a long process that requires patience and persistence, often involving multiple rounds of reviews and revisions. In my case, it took nearly two years to see my dissertation in print. Here is my timeline of the steps involved in publishing my dissertation in the JID:

• November 2022 – December 2023: Reached out to a professor who could collaborate with me for publication as a pusher (since I knew that I would be too lazy to revise and submit my paper by myself as a non-student!). Revised the paper based on the final feedback from the LSE professors and trimmed down the paper (from 10,000 words to approximately 6,000 words).

• January 2023: Several times, our paper got rejected in the first phase (screened out as the paper didn’t fit the journal’s direction or criteria). But finally got an OK sign from the JID to be reviewed.

• March 2023: Received the first feedback from three reviewers, which was much more detailed and sharper than I expected. Reviewer A was fully positive, reviewer B was negative about the methodology, and reviewer C was doubting but wanted to see the revised version. As a result, the main editor gave us a chance to revise the paper and submit it again.

• March – September 2023: Revised and updated the paper based on the feedback. This included writing a letter to explain our revision in detail and appreciate the reviewers’ efforts.

• March 2024: Received second feedback from the same reviewers. Luckily, it was a lot more positive overall with some minor comments as reviewers admitted that the paper has been improved. Revised and submitted again within 2 weeks.

• August 2024: Received final approval from the main editor for a publication.
• September 2024: Officially published the paper in a journal!

Dissertation is one of the biggest outputs of your one-year taught master’s degree and is so much more than an academic requirement. I hope these tips were helpful enough for you to embrace the journey and find smarter ways to complete this paper. After all, the impact of your dissertation could reach much farther than you ever anticipated!

The views expressed in this post are those of the author and in no way reflect those of the International Development LSE blog or the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Featured image credit: London School of Economics and Political Science