Knitting connections: establishing and exploring research links in the discussion section of master’s dissertations using the SCE model

Abstract

The supervision of master’s students at the dissertation stage of their taught programme is generally considered to be one of the privileges of an academic in higher education (Bacwayo, Nampala and Oteyo, 2017). Of concern to those who are less experienced or new to the supervisory role is knowing the best way to effectively support their supervisees, particularly at the write-up stage. This opinion piece focuses on the ‘discussion’, an important chapter which typically provokes ‘fear, uncertainty and doubt’ (Mewburn, 2016) in the minds of taught master’s students as they wrestle with its construction. I argue that supervisors can alleviate some of their supervisees’ anxieties by introducing them to the SCE model – Support, Challenge and Extend – which I have developed and have shared with taught master’s students in England for a number of years. Designed to purposefully target key chapter content, I aim to show readers how this simple yet useful model effectively encourages taught master’s students to establish and knit connections between their review of literature chapter and findings chapter, ‘comparing and contrasting the study results with those of other relevant studies’ (Bavdekar, 2015, p.40) with reasoning. Extracts from taught master’s dissertations (from the academic discipline of education) are offered by way of illustrating the value of the SCE model for supervisors to help their students avoid making common mistakes in their writing, thus generating a stimulating discussion about what is known (literature) and what is now known (findings) in the supervisee’s chosen area of study.