Prize-Winner Describes the Process Behind Her Dissertation

An image of Selçuk, Turkey familiar to many travellers. For her part, Holly Campbell looked at female enterprise for her dissertation. (Photo: laszlo-photo/Flickr)

Recently Holly Campbell, a student from University College London, won the EGRG Undergraduate Dissertation Prize which included a copy of  the seventh edition of SAGE Publishing’s book, Global Shift: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy. We reached out to Holly to find out a little bit more about her award-winning dissertation, entitled Moments of Progress: An exploration of the interaction between female enterprise and patriarchal norms in Selcuck, Turkey.

How did you decide on your dissertation topic, and why?

Holly Campbell: I decided on this dissertation topic out of personal attachment to Selcuk (the place of research), having regularly visited family living in the town since I was young. I have always been amazed by the hardworking nature of the women in this town and have witnessed the growth of their businesses. During university, my interests in gender (inequality) and development grew. This gave me a new outlook on the growth of female run businesses in Turkey: was this an opportunity for patriarchal norms to be challenged? This is what I endeavoured to find out.

What resources did you find most helpful in researching and writing up?

Holly Campbell: I used a variety of resources to research this dissertation, though some were used more frequently than others. I found online articles especially helpful for their ability to be quickly accessed, as well as imported into online reference managing tools. I also still cherish using libraries and hard copies of books, which I used as often as I could.