To and Fro

To and Fro

from the idea to the PhD-dissertation

Play game

Game pieces

Topic research

start

20

21

19

22

How many points do you have?

23

0-499 points

Keywording

500+ points

for

sou

rc

es

Sear

ch

ing

18

15

16

17

24

14

10

13

12

11

END

29

30

25

28

27

26

38

Dissertation writing

31

37

32

36

33

34

35

Pick a fortune card!

21.

You use logical operators correctly. (+100 points)

20.

You miss the dissertation submission deadline. (-50 points)

38.

You perform a trial search in the SuperSearch. (+50 points)

2.

You search for synonyms for the topic’s keywords. (+50 points)

19.

You research an overused topic. (-50 points)

9.

You finish the dissertation on time. (+50 points)

35.

You contact experts on the topic through research networks (e.g., ResearchGate). (+100 points)

11.

You use the subject terms of the results for further searching. (+50 points)

16.

Pick a fortune card!

13.

Pick a fortune card!

30.

You have others proofread the first draft. (+50 points)

34.

Your thesis fails the plagiarism check. (-100 points)

36.

Pick a fortune card!

25.

You are familiar with the formal requirements of the dissertation. (+100 points)

31.

You find relevant articles. (+50 points)

24.

You follow new publications of certain journals. (+50 points)

6.

You narrow down the results, e.g., to full texts or scholarly articles (+50 points)

23.

You also browse doctoral dissertations from other universities. (+100 points)

8.

Pick a fortune card!

33.

Pick a fortune card!

17.

Pick a fortune card!

4.

You create a mind map, collecting the most important aspects of the topic. (+50 points)

14.

You were persuaded to choose a topic, but you don’t feel comfortable with it. (-50 points)

12.

Pick a fortune card!

37.

You focus on a narrow segment of the topic. (+100 points)

3.

You check previous PhD dissertations. (+50 points)

1.

Rules of the game

Goal In the game, players have to go through the process of writing a dissertation. The game aims to collect at least 500 points at the end of the game, representing a successfully dissertation.

• Go to the field (click on the number) and and collect your points:
• Bonus Topic field: Fortune or misfortune? Add or deduct your score.

• Score field: add or deduct your score according to the description of the field.

• The game continues until a player reaches the "END" field. At that point, the summa will determine whether the player has succeeded or failed.
• 500+ points: successful essay.
• Less than 500 points: the essay does not meet the requirements.

How to play • Prepare a piece of paper and pen to count your points. • Each player chooses a game piece and places it on the "Start" field. • The last person to use the library starts the game. • The player rolls the dice and moves according to the number rolled.

Go to the game

You start your search with SuperSearch. (+100 points)

22.

You take notes and use a reference manager (e.g., Zotero). (+50 points)

28.

You also search in Google Scholar and evaluate the sources. (+50 points)

27.

You cite a predatory journal. (-100 points)

26.

You don’t spend enough time mapping the topic. (-100 points)

18.

You formulate the search query with keywords. (+50 points)

15.

Your notes provide the outline of the thesis. (+50 points)

32.

You attend a library consultation. (+100 points)

29.

Congratulations! Your paper was rated excellent.

You further develop your previous assignment or idea. (+50 points)

10.

You examine a topic from a new perspective. (+100 points)

5.

You find a new topic at a conference. (+50 points)

7.

Sadly, you have not invested enough energy. Try again!