thesis argument social studies

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The conclusion is intended to help the reader understand why your research should matter to them after they have finished reading the paper. A conclusion is not merely a summary of the main topics covered or a re-statement of your research problem, but a synthesis of key points derived from the findings of your study and, if applicable, where you recommend new areas for future research. For most college-level research papers, two or three well-developed paragraphs is sufficient for a conclusion, although in some cases, more paragraphs may be required in describing the key findings and their significance.

Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Conclusions. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University.

Importance of a Good Conclusion

A well-written conclusion provides you with important opportunities to demonstrate to the reader your understanding of the research problem. These include:

• Presenting the last word on the issues you raised in your paper . Just as the introduction gives a first impression to your reader, the conclusion offers a chance to leave a lasting impression. Do this, for example, by highlighting key findings in your analysis that advance new understanding about the research problem, that are unusual or unexpected, or that have important implications applied to practice.
• Summarizing your thoughts and conveying the larger significance of your study . The conclusion is an opportunity to succinctly re-emphasize  your answer to the "So What?" question by placing the study within the context of how your research advances past research about the topic.
• Identifying how a gap in the literature has been addressed . The conclusion can be where you describe how a previously identified gap in the literature [first identified in your literature review section] has been addressed by your research and why this contribution is significant.
• Demonstrating the importance of your ideas . Don't be shy. The conclusion offers an opportunity to elaborate on the impact and significance of your findings. This is particularly important if your study approached examining the research problem from an unusual or innovative perspective.
• Introducing possible new or expanded ways of thinking about the research problem . This does not refer to introducing new information [which should be avoided], but to offer new insight and creative approaches for framing or contextualizing the research problem based on the results of your study.

Bunton, David. “The Structure of PhD Conclusion Chapters.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 4 (July 2005): 207–224; Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Conclusion. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; Conclusions. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  General Rules

The general function of your paper's conclusion is to restate the main argument . It reminds the reader of the strengths of your main argument(s) and reiterates the most important evidence supporting those argument(s). Do this by clearly summarizing the context, background, and necessity of pursuing the research problem you investigated in relation to an issue, controversy, or a gap found in the literature. However, make sure that your conclusion is not simply a repetitive summary of the findings. This reduces the impact of the argument(s) you have developed in your paper.

When writing the conclusion to your paper, follow these general rules:

• Present your conclusions in clear, concise language. Re-state the purpose of your study, then describe how your findings differ or support those of other studies and why [i.e., what were the unique, new, or crucial contributions your study made to the overall research about your topic?].
• Do not simply reiterate your findings or the discussion of your results. Provide a synthesis of arguments presented in the paper to show how these converge to address the research problem and the overall objectives of your study.
• Indicate opportunities for future research if you haven't already done so in the discussion section of your paper. Highlighting the need for further research provides the reader with evidence that you have an in-depth awareness of the research problem but that further investigations should take place beyond the scope of your investigation.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is presented well:

• If the argument or purpose of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize the argument for your reader.
• If, prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the end of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from the data [this is opposite of the introduction, which begins with general discussion of the context and ends with a detailed description of the research problem]. 

The conclusion also provides a place for you to persuasively and succinctly restate the research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with all the information about the topic . Depending on the discipline you are writing in, the concluding paragraph may contain your reflections on the evidence presented. However, the nature of being introspective about the research you have conducted will depend on the topic and whether your professor wants you to express your observations in this way. If asked to think introspectively about the topics, do not delve into idle speculation. Being introspective means looking within yourself as an author to try and understand an issue more deeply, not to guess at possible outcomes or make up scenarios not supported by the evidence.

II.  Developing a Compelling Conclusion

Although an effective conclusion needs to be clear and succinct, it does not need to be written passively or lack a compelling narrative. Strategies to help you move beyond merely summarizing the key points of your research paper may include any of the following:

• If your essay deals with a critical, contemporary problem, warn readers of the possible consequences of not attending to the problem proactively.
• Recommend a specific course or courses of action that, if adopted, could address a specific problem in practice or in the development of new knowledge leading to positive change.
• Cite a relevant quotation or expert opinion already noted in your paper in order to lend authority and support to the conclusion(s) you have reached [a good source would be from your literature review].
• Explain the consequences of your research in a way that elicits action or demonstrates urgency in seeking change.
• Restate a key statistic, fact, or visual image to emphasize the most important finding of your paper.
• If your discipline encourages personal reflection, illustrate your concluding point by drawing from your own life experiences.
• Return to an anecdote, an example, or a quotation that you presented in your introduction, but add further insight derived from the findings of your study; use your interpretation of results from your study to recast it in new or important ways.
• Provide a "take-home" message in the form of a succinct, declarative statement that you want the reader to remember about your study.

III. Problems to Avoid

Failure to be concise Your conclusion section should be concise and to the point. Conclusions that are too lengthy often have unnecessary information in them. The conclusion is not the place for details about your methodology or results. Although you should give a summary of what was learned from your research, this summary should be relatively brief, since the emphasis in the conclusion is on the implications, evaluations, insights, and other forms of analysis that you make. Strategies for writing concisely can be found here .

Failure to comment on larger, more significant issues In the introduction, your task was to move from the general [the field of study] to the specific [the research problem]. However, in the conclusion, your task is to move from a specific discussion [your research problem] back to a general discussion framed around the implications and significance of your findings [i.e., how your research contributes new understanding or fills an important gap in the literature]. In short, the conclusion is where you should place your research within a larger context [visualize your paper as an hourglass--start with a broad introduction and review of the literature, move to the specific analysis and discussion, conclude with a broad summary of the study's implications and significance].

Failure to reveal problems and negative results Negative aspects of the research process should never be ignored. These are problems, deficiencies, or challenges encountered during your study. They should be summarized as a way of qualifying your overall conclusions. If you encountered negative or unintended results [i.e., findings that are validated outside the research context in which they were generated], you must report them in the results section and discuss their implications in the discussion section of your paper. In the conclusion, use negative results as an opportunity to explain their possible significance and/or how they may form the basis for future research.

Failure to provide a clear summary of what was learned In order to be able to discuss how your research fits within your field of study [and possibly the world at large], you need to summarize briefly and succinctly how it contributes to new knowledge or a new understanding about the research problem. This element of your conclusion may be only a few sentences long.

Failure to match the objectives of your research Often research objectives in the social and behavioral sciences change while the research is being carried out. This is not a problem unless you forget to go back and refine the original objectives in your introduction. As these changes emerge they must be documented so that they accurately reflect what you were trying to accomplish in your research [not what you thought you might accomplish when you began].

Resist the urge to apologize If you've immersed yourself in studying the research problem, you presumably should know a good deal about it [perhaps even more than your professor!]. Nevertheless, by the time you have finished writing, you may be having some doubts about what you have produced. Repress those doubts! Don't undermine your authority as a researcher by saying something like, "This is just one approach to examining this problem; there may be other, much better approaches that...." The overall tone of your conclusion should convey confidence to the reader about the study's validity and realiability.

Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8; Concluding Paragraphs. College Writing Center at Meramec. St. Louis Community College; Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Conclusions. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Freedman, Leora  and Jerry Plotnick. Introductions and Conclusions. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Leibensperger, Summer. Draft Your Conclusion. Academic Center, the University of Houston-Victoria, 2003; Make Your Last Words Count. The Writer’s Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin Madison; Miquel, Fuster-Marquez and Carmen Gregori-Signes. “Chapter Six: ‘Last but Not Least:’ Writing the Conclusion of Your Paper.” In Writing an Applied Linguistics Thesis or Dissertation: A Guide to Presenting Empirical Research . John Bitchener, editor. (Basingstoke,UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), pp. 93-105; Tips for Writing a Good Conclusion. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Kretchmer, Paul. Twelve Steps to Writing an Effective Conclusion. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; Writing Conclusions. Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Writing: Considering Structure and Organization. Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College.

Writing Tip

Don't Belabor the Obvious!

Avoid phrases like "in conclusion...," "in summary...," or "in closing...." These phrases can be useful, even welcome, in oral presentations. But readers can see by the tell-tale section heading and number of pages remaining that they are reaching the end of your paper. You'll irritate your readers if you belabor the obvious.

Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8.

Another Writing Tip

New Insight, Not New Information!

Don't surprise the reader with new information in your conclusion that was never referenced anywhere else in the paper. This why the conclusion rarely has citations to sources. If you have new information to present, add it to the discussion or other appropriate section of the paper. Note that, although no new information is introduced, the conclusion, along with the discussion section, is where you offer your most "original" contributions in the paper; the conclusion is where you describe the value of your research, demonstrate that you understand the material that you’ve presented, and position your findings within the larger context of scholarship on the topic, including describing how your research contributes new insights to that scholarship.

Assan, Joseph. "Writing the Conclusion Chapter: The Good, the Bad and the Missing." Liverpool: Development Studies Association (2009): 1-8; Conclusions. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina.

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9.4: Argumentative Thesis Statements

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Learning Objective

• Recognize an argumentative thesis

A strong, argumentative thesis statement should take a stance about an issue. It should explain the basics of your argument and help your reader to know what to expect in your essay.

This video reviews the necessary components of a thesis statement and walks through some examples.

You can view the transcript for “Purdue OWL: Thesis Statements” here (opens in new window) .

Key Features of Argumentative Thesis Statements

Below are some of the key features of an argumentative thesis statement. An argumentative thesis is debatable, assertive, reasonable, evidence-based, and focused.

An argumentative thesis must make a claim about which reasonable people can disagree. Statements of fact or areas of general agreement cannot be argumentative theses because few people disagree about them. Let’s take a look at an example:

• BAD: Junk food is bad for your health.

This is not a debatable thesis. Most people would agree that junk food is bad for your health. A debatable thesis would be:

• GOOD: Because junk food is bad for your health, the size of sodas offered at fast-food restaurants should be regulated by the federal government.

Reasonable people could agree or disagree with the statement.

An argumentative thesis takes a position, asserting the writer’s stance. Questions, vague statements, or quotations from others are not argumentative theses because they do not assert the writer’s viewpoint. Let’s take a look at an example:

• BAD: Federal immigration law is a tough issue about which many people disagree.

This is not an arguable thesis because it does not assert a position.

• GOOD: Federal immigration enforcement law needs to be overhauled because it puts undue constraints on state and local police.

This is an argumentative thesis because it asserts a position that immigration enforcement law needs to be changed.

An argumentative thesis must make a claim that is logical and possible. Claims that are outrageous or impossible are not argumentative theses. Let’s take a look at an example:

• BAD: City council members are dishonest and should be thrown in jail.

This is not an argumentative thesis. City council members’ ineffectiveness is not a reason to send them to jail.

• GOOD: City council members should be term-limited to prevent one group or party from maintaining control indefinitely.

This is an arguable thesis because term limits are possible, and shared political control is a reasonable goal.

Evidence-Based

An argumentative thesis must be able to be supported by evidence. Claims that presuppose value systems, morals, or religious beliefs cannot be supported with evidence and therefore are not argumentative theses. Let’s take a look at an example:

• BAD: Individuals convicted of murder will go to hell when they die.

This is not an argumentative thesis because its support rests on religious beliefs or values rather than evidence.

• GOOD: Rehabilitation programs for individuals serving life sentences should be funded because these programs reduce violence within prisons.

This is an argumentative thesis because evidence such as case studies and statistics can be used to support it.

An argumentative thesis must be focused and narrow. A focused, narrow claim is clearer, more able to be supported with evidence, and more persuasive than a broad, general claim. Let’s take a look at an example:

• BAD: The federal government should overhaul the U.S. tax code.

This is not an effective argumentative thesis because it is too general (What part of the government? Which tax codes? What sections of those tax codes?) and would require an overwhelming amount of evidence to be fully supported.

• GOOD: The U.S. House of Representatives should vote to repeal the federal estate tax because the revenue generated by that tax is negligible.

This is an effective argumentative thesis because it identifies a specific actor and action and can be fully supported with evidence about the amount of revenue the estate tax generates.

In the practice exercises below, you will use this information from your reading to see if you can recognize and evaluate argumentative thesis statements. Keep in mind that a sound argumentative thesis should be debatable, assertive, reasonable, evidence-based, and focused.

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...sessments/5173

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...sessments/7008

Contributors and Attributions

• Argumentative Thesis Statements. Provided by : University of Mississippi. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Argumentative Thesis Activity. Provided by : Excelsior College. Located at : http://owl.excelsior.edu/argument-and-critical-thinking/argumentative-thesis/argumentative-thesis-activity/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Purdue OWL: Thesis Statements. Provided by : OWLPurdue. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKXkemYldmw . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Developing Strong Thesis Statements

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

These OWL resources will help you develop and refine the arguments in your writing.

The thesis statement or main claim must be debatable

An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your thesis is something that is generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people.

Example of a non-debatable thesis statement:

This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution implies that something is bad or negative in some way. Furthermore, all studies agree that pollution is a problem; they simply disagree on the impact it will have or the scope of the problem. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is unambiguously good.

Example of a debatable thesis statement:

This is an example of a debatable thesis because reasonable people could disagree with it. Some people might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money. Others might feel that we should be spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government, should be paying to limit pollution.

Another example of a debatable thesis statement:

In this example there is also room for disagreement between rational individuals. Some citizens might think focusing on recycling programs rather than private automobiles is the most effective strategy.

The thesis needs to be narrow

Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right.

Example of a thesis that is too broad:

There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue. First, what is included in the category "drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use (which might include alcohol and cigarettes), or all uses of medication in general? Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths (and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence)? Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Finally, what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults? There are just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate.

Example of a narrow or focused thesis:

In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic.

We could narrow each debatable thesis from the previous examples in the following way:

Narrowed debatable thesis 1:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also how the money could actually help to control pollution.

Narrowed debatable thesis 2:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national anti-pollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus.

Qualifiers such as " typically ," " generally ," " usually ," or " on average " also help to limit the scope of your claim by allowing for the almost inevitable exception to the rule.

Types of claims

Claims typically fall into one of four categories. Thinking about how you want to approach your topic, or, in other words, what type of claim you want to make, is one way to focus your thesis on one particular aspect of your broader topic.

Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. Example:

Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur. Example:

Claims about value: These are claims made of what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something. Example:

Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. Example:

Which type of claim is right for your argument? Which type of thesis or claim you use for your argument will depend on your position and knowledge of the topic, your audience, and the context of your paper. You might want to think about where you imagine your audience to be on this topic and pinpoint where you think the biggest difference in viewpoints might be. Even if you start with one type of claim you probably will be using several within the paper. Regardless of the type of claim you choose to utilize it is key to identify the controversy or debate you are addressing and to define your position early on in the paper.

Meeting the Common Core, Part Three: Argument Writing

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ARGUMENT WRITING in social studies classrooms also integrates the expectations of the C3 Framework—specifically the emphasis on an inquiry approach to learning social studies and communicating conclusions as outlined in Dimension 4.  In this investigation, we explore HOW TO support students’ argument writing and illustrate how to integrate key aspects of argument into their writing as this student has done. You’ll see that working on argument writing with students relies on an inquiry approach to teaching social studies as well as an emphasis on literacy.

As a result of participating in this Investigation, you will become familiar with:  

• The CCSS argument writing standards and what argument writing involves in the context of social studies.
• The ways in which the C3 Framework supports argument writing.
• Key teaching practices that support students’ growth in writing social studies arguments.  

Chauncey Monte-Sano University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

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1 How arguments are used in the Social Sciences

The audio programme used in this course addresses the issue of how arguments are constructed and used in the social sciences. It uses extracts from a radio programme (originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1997) in which the social consequences of welfare provision are discussed from different viewpoints. The programme is organised to allow you to trace how arguments are being put together, assess what sort of assumptions are being made, and examine how forms of evidence are being used.

The programme itself identifies a number of issues for you to consider as you listen to it. The aim is to help you identify and evaluate the arguments about whether the welfare state has been marked by a ‘failure to discriminate between the deserving and undeserving poor that has caused the cost of welfare to inflate uncontrollably. It has distorted the British economy, undermined the work ethic, and produced a less fair rather than a fairer society.’ This is the argument put by Dr Digby Anderson in the programme and which is supported by a number of ‘witnesses’ whom he questions. A counter-argument is put forward by Bea Campbell.

The audio file was recorded in 1998. The course team analyse the nature of argument using a Radio 4 programme, which puts the welfare system on trial. Sequences from the radio programme are interspersed by analysis of the way the arguments are presented.

Participants in the audio programme were:

John Clarke Professor of Social Policy at The Open University;

Dr Digby Johnson a member of The Social Affairs Unit (a registered charity);

Bea Campbell a writer and journalist.

Listen to the linked audio files, Evidence and Argument. You may want to use the titles and spaces on the attached document to make notes on the arguments while you are listening.

Please click here [ Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. ( Hide tip ) ]   to view document.

Comment/Reflecting on your learning

In addition to considering the arguments and evidence used in the programme it is also useful to reflect on the links between the debate and ideas and themes you have already met.

What points of continuity and change can you see between Anderson's emphasis on the need to distinguish between the deserving and the undeserving poor?

What does this tell us about the process of social construction and the importance of history for understanding the present?

Consider how the programme highlights the need and access to welfare are socially constructed and contested.

Consider how the contrast between Anderson's and Campbell's arguments reflect the distinction between social order and social justice approaches to social problems. One sees the poor as the problem while the other sees the poor as having problems. This is also linked to the social construction of difference . Anderson's and Campbell's disagreement about the role of the state is also linked to the discussion about the socially constructed distinction between the public and the private .

Evidence and Argument part 1 (11 minutes 5MB)

Transcript: Evidence and Argument part 1

Evidence and Argument part 2 (8 minutes 4 MB)

Transcript: Evidence and Argument part 2

Evidence and Argument part 3 (10 minutes 5 MB)

Transcript: Evidence and Argument part 3

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Committee on Degrees in Social Studies

• Thesis Formatting

Social Studies Senior Theses should be between 20,000 and 30,000 words of text. Theses that exceed 30,000 words may be penalized by up to half a grade for excessive length. Theses that do not reach the minimum required length may fail to receive honors. You are required to attach a word count to your thesis. To do so, type out the word count on an otherwise blank page and include it as the last page in your thesis. Theses will not be accepted without a word count.

One copy of your thesis is to be submitted electronically to the Social Studies office, uploaded to the Social Studies 99 Canvas site. If you are a joint concentrator, you should submit one copy of your thesis to Social Studies and one to your joint concentration.

Apart from quotations of more than 50 words and from foot­notes, theses should be double-spaced.   

Pages must be numbered.

The margins should be one inch at the top and bottom of each page, with one inch at the left edge and one inch at the right.

Follow the foot- or end-noting conventions of the discipline with which the essay is most closely associated.  

Here is an example of the text that should be appro­priately centered and spaced on the title page:

Acknowledgements  

When the thesis is submitted, please leave out an acknowledgements page. If your thesis is accepted for archives, you will be contacted to provide an acknowledgements page and any minor updates you wish to include.

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From nitrogen to activism: Unveiling Dalhousie’s 2024 Doctoral Thesis Award winners

Stephen Oshilaja - April 16, 2024

Dalhousie doctoral graduates Joseph Bedard and Tari Ajadi have been named the 2024 recipients of the Dalhousie Doctoral Thesis Awards, an annual honour that recognizes dissertations that have made significant and original contributions to the academic community and Canadian society.

The awards, presented by the Faculty of Graduate Studies for more than 25 years now, recognize exceptional theses submitted by PhD students.

Dr. Bedard’s ground-breaking research in the Department of Chemistry centered on making plastics out of nitrogen and phosphorus. He hopes his work lays the foundation for the development and commercialization of atmospheric nitrogen-derived plastics, but also that it challenges basic assumptions in the way chemicals that can be used as building blocks for synthetic materials are identified.

“Joe took on the most ambitious project in our group with global impact and systematically developed the tools needed to tackle it,” says Dr. Saurabh Chitnis, who served as his doctoral supervisor. “His curiosity, enthusiasm, and persistence are models for all graduate students undertaking high-risk, high-reward research. I am thrilled to see it recognized in this way and to have been part of his scientific journey.” 

Dr. Bedard was also recently crowned the winner of Falling Walls Lab Pitches competition in Berlin , Germany, for his presentation “Breaking the Wall of Alternative Plastics.”

Dr. Ajadi’s thesis sheds light on the remarkable efforts of African Nova Scotian community organizations and activists in shaping policies related to health and policing, historically and in the present. He hopes his work informs future attempts at transformational change that will and are currently unfolding by chronicling some of the successes (and failures) of the past. The work also pushes back against the erasure of Black political organizing in contemporary discussions around Canadian politics.

"Tari’s research on African Nova Scotian activism in policing and public health is path-breaking in the field of Canadian political science,” says Dr. Kristin Good, his former supervisor in the Department of Political Science .

“His work is conceptually and methodologically innovative in its exploration of African Nova Scotians’ long history of resistance to structural racism and of community organizing in Halifax, conceptualizing its organizations and networks as part of a competing racial order united by a commitment to self-determination and driven by an ethic of care. Methodologically, his work breaks new ground by including autoethnography as part of his toolkit, which allows him to reflect upon his personal experience as an activist in the analysis. I learned a lot from supervising Tari’s thesis and look forward to following his academic career.”

As this year’s winners, Drs. Bedard and Ajadi will also be Dal’s nominees for the CAGS-ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, which will be awarded by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) later this year.

For more insights into their impactful work, explore the Q&A below.

Dr. Joseph Bedard, Chemistry PhD

My thesis is concerned with making synthetic polymers (i.e. plastics) out of nitrogen and phosphorus. Right now, about 85% of the plastics we make are derived from petrochemicals. As our society is shifting away from fossil fuels towards alternative energy sources, we also must consider alternative materials sources as well. The work in my thesis is an entrant into the arena of non-petroleum-based plastics. I discovered a way to convert chemicals, derived from the nitrogen in our atmosphere, into polymers and networks with an incredibly unique molecular structure (nitrogen and phosphorus cages), the likes of which had not been discovered before. My thesis details the exploration of the fundamental properties for these new materials, as well as the physical properties of the plastics I can make from them. 

What impact do you hope to make with your research?

My hope is that the work I have done during my PhD not only lays the groundwork for the development and commercialization of atmospheric nitrogen-derived plastics, but also really encourages a paradigm shift in terms of the way we identify the chemicals that can be used as building blocks for synthetic materials. From a more zoomed-in perspective, I'm looking forward to seeing the chemistry research community build further on the concept of stringing together molecular cages to make polymers, and ultimately, materials. 

Tell me about a defining moment you had at Dalhousie.

In the fourth year of my PhD, through the encouragement of my principal investigator, prof. Saurabh Chitnis, I entered a regional competition called Falling Walls Lab Atlantic. I did not know too much about it at the time, but as I prepared my 3-minute pitch for the competition, I was encouraged to really think about the potential societal impact of my research. It is not often that synthetic chemists working on innovative, fundamental projects think about our work on such a scale. Doing so allowed me to realize that my research was actually a lot closer to having a material impact on our society than I'd thought. I went on to finish runner-up in the Atlantic competition and got a chance to go to Berlin to compete in the international competition, which I was lucky enough to end up winning. 

What are you doing now?

Right now, I have moved to Montreal, where I have traded the Maritime fog for the city smog (Willy's poutine holds up pretty well!). I am currently exploring opportunities that align best with my expertise and passion for chemistry and "big bet" science.

Dr. Tari Ajadi, Political Science PhD

My doctoral thesis is about the incredible work that African Nova Scotian community organizations and activists do (and have done, historically) to transform policy related to health and policing. It argues that Black organizers in Halifax engage in “worldmaking” via centuries-long lineage of resistance, institution-building, and advocacy. This worldmaking moves towards the idea of self-determination: being able to decide for oneself the trajectory of one’s community. As part of this lineage, organizers foster a distinct political identity that can facilitate solidarity across difference despite the significant barriers they may face in transforming the status quo.

I hope to inform future attempts at transformational change that will and are currently unfolding by chronicling some of the successes (and failures) of the past. I also intend to push back against the erasure of Black political organizing in contemporary discussions around Canadian politics.

The defining moments of my time at Dalhousie were the everyday acts of kindness and care that my close friends and mentors showed me throughout the years I spent at Dal– these moments have shaped who I am today. 

What are you doing now? 

I am an Assistant Professor in Black Politics at McGill University.

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