Master's hit by second major setback, is it worth it?

Proxy

Hi all, I posted a while back about issues I was having with supervision in my research Masters studies, now its hit another Big Brick Wall.

I'm doing an MBS by research, using active research on a company's information system. Now the company is about to roll out an entirely new system, making my research more or less worthless. I never knew this was going to happen, and i'm obviously extremely bothered by it. I'm 15 months into a 21 month Masters, and this is the second time i've had to change my thesis topic in a significant way. I'm really wondering if its worth it! I'm considering leaving to work for a while, possibly do the research in spare time, or else leave entirely and maybe return in future.

Anybody got any similar experiences to share with me?

Turbulent Bill

Hi Proxy, obviously I'm not familiar with your research, but why should the company's new system stop your work? Could you not use the 15 months work as the backbone of your thesis? Remember that the thesis title is usually one of the last things to be completely defined, so you have the opportunity to frame it around your existing material.

In my eyes, changing the research topic significantly 3/4 the way through the period is a non-starter. Similarly, productivity will go through the floor if you move to part-time. Tech-related work usually has quite a short shelf life, so you run the risk of it being obsolete if you wait too long.

BuffyBot

I can't imagine that you couldn't base the work somehow on what you've covered already.

Speak to your adviser or someone in the faculty and see what can be done?

Proxy

I'm currently trying to convince my supervisor that the research can continue on the data i've been collecting so far, I believe it can, as i've had collegues working in tandem with other companies that have even gone out of business before the thesis was handed it, so i'm sure if I just noted it it would be ok.

On a tangent - I have colleagues that are currently about to take up full time work while finishing their studies; is this a majorly bad idea? I had considered it myself but in honesty i'd rather get the thesis done and out of mind first.

Red Alert

Just wondering have you and supervisor had a chat about this yet? It doesn't sound like it is a show-stopper.

Proxy

Yes we have, and, after the initial heart attack, he carried on by saying we needed to change focus, pretty much restart the thesis with a new focus, lit review, methodology; and a year extension to the course, which I *really* don't want to do right now.

I really don't believe its a showstopper either, and if it ends up that way I think i'll just walk.

CathalMc

I think we're all speculating in the dark a little here, but maybe there's something to be got from comparing the systems before and after, in the context that you've explored so far? A direction change sure enough but hopefully retains something of what you have covered already.

Proxy

CathalMc wrote: »

I think we're all speculating in the dark a little here, but maybe there's something to be got from comparing the systems before and after, in the context that you've explored so far? A direction change sure enough but hopefully retains something of what you have covered already.

I like your idea. How much did a system change really benefit the business? I'll give that some thought - how would you like your name in the acknowledgements?

CathalMc

Pfffh, I'm sure you would have thought of it yourself eventually. Just let us know how it goes!
For what it's worth, don't back down if your supervisor is a bit iffy about your final idea, at this stage it's time to think about just getting it done!

Turbulent Bill

Proxy wrote: »

Yes we have, and, after the initial heart attack, he carried on by saying we needed to change focus, pretty much restart the thesis with a new focus, lit review, methodology; and a year extension to the course, which I *really* don't want to do right now.

I really don't believe its a showstopper either, and if it ends up that way I think i'll just walk.

At this stage, I think you should tough it out with him. Present your thesis as it stands, demonstrating that it is (or will be) a complete piece of work. If it needs more content then use the new system for that (as CathalMc said), but only if you really need to.

Proxy

I've conversed with the IT department of the company and they've given me the details of the changeover. The trouble is, they've already done (more or less) the study of the system I was going to do, making mine fairly irrelevant. The system will be a parallel changeover, meaning it'll be done in stages. However the stages reach too far ahead (over the next 10 months) for me to do any study on an implementation, or comparison of, the system. So, still a snafu. Meeting with supervisor over it tomorrow, the best thing to do is perhaps gather as much data right now as possible and take my study at a slightly different angle.

Thanks for the help everybody, much appreciated - whichever way it goes; postgraduate studies certainly are "interesting" (in the Chinese proverbial sense of the word!)