You are probably at the stage now where you have looked through numerous guides on how to write a dissertation at university. You may be confused over the number of different points of view that these guides provide and thus may be a little confused. You are probably then thinking, how do I actually structure my dissertation? Does the rationale come before or after the methodology? This short article will show you an accepted structure that colleges and universities will encourage you to use to complete your dissertation paper.
Dissertation Abstract - the abstract provides a synopsis of the whole research paper and will present the objectives and outcomes/conclusions of the research. You don't need to write over 200 words for this part, but these 200 words should be concise and to the point.
Contents Page - here you should list the major parts to the dissertation, with subsections, and the page numbers that they are on. Having more than one page for your contents page isnt advisable and making a really rough draft before you begin any part of your dissertation will allow you to plan your research and writing more effectively.
Introduction - your introduction should provide a detailed and focus overview of the background on the dissertation topic and the structure the paper will follow. Your main findings are provided and you should also summaries the conclusions that you have gained from analysis of your results. You should base your introduction around a journey of the reader - it explains to them where they are, where they are going, and what other things they will find when they pass by.
Literature Review - the literature review chapter will be an area where you will review previous literature, thus any previous research on the topic. You will want to choose very relevant research materials here as this will form the basis for you providing a hypothesis or research question for the rest of your dissertation research process.
Methods Chapter - you will want to identify the different methods that you will be using in the research project. You should also mention ones that you have dismissed and are choosing not to include, and specifying the reasons why. You should also provide support for the different methods that you are going to be using and allow the reader to understand why these are beneficial to the study. Describing why you would not use a certain research method will also be relevant in this chapter.
Data Analysis - here you present your empirical data collected and highlight the main issues which have emerged from your research. You will most probably use graphs, charts and diagrams to illustrate trends and analysis - you should not, however, draw any conclusions at this point. The way to write this section and structure is to show data gathered and set it out so that the data collected could be used independently of your conclusions.
Discussion - this section is for a researcher to identify the data they have collected and analyze it against one another to develop an analysis of gathered data and present your main findings.
Conclusion - this section will sum up your whole paper and will identify the main points. You should also analyze what your paper contains and be able to clearly communicate this to the reader of your dissertation. Evaluating your conclusions is a step also taken by some students and will mean that you can identify any weaknesses. You should also include any recommendations or further research required.
Bibliography - all reference should be listed alphabetically, this doesnt matter whether you have quoted from them or not. You should include the authors name, title, place of publication, publisher and date when including any material in your bibliography.
Appendices - a section that will include such things as a copy of the questionnaire, transcript of interviews and other relevant documents to your dissertation. Such information would disrupt the flow of your argument and thus be better placed here.
Overall, you should allow your structure to flow between your dissertation seamlessly. You do not want your reader to be structured in reading your dissertation in a way that will regiment their reading, but you also do not want them to be lost for where to go next, or be reading the data analysis before the literature review. You should also have your work checked by a professional before you submit.
Dissertation Abstract - the abstract provides a synopsis of the whole research paper and will present the objectives and outcomes/conclusions of the research. You don't need to write over 200 words for this part, but these 200 words should be concise and to the point.
Contents Page - here you should list the major parts to the dissertation, with subsections, and the page numbers that they are on. Having more than one page for your contents page isnt advisable and making a really rough draft before you begin any part of your dissertation will allow you to plan your research and writing more effectively.
Introduction - your introduction should provide a detailed and focus overview of the background on the dissertation topic and the structure the paper will follow. Your main findings are provided and you should also summaries the conclusions that you have gained from analysis of your results. You should base your introduction around a journey of the reader - it explains to them where they are, where they are going, and what other things they will find when they pass by.
Literature Review - the literature review chapter will be an area where you will review previous literature, thus any previous research on the topic. You will want to choose very relevant research materials here as this will form the basis for you providing a hypothesis or research question for the rest of your dissertation research process.
Methods Chapter - you will want to identify the different methods that you will be using in the research project. You should also mention ones that you have dismissed and are choosing not to include, and specifying the reasons why. You should also provide support for the different methods that you are going to be using and allow the reader to understand why these are beneficial to the study. Describing why you would not use a certain research method will also be relevant in this chapter.
Data Analysis - here you present your empirical data collected and highlight the main issues which have emerged from your research. You will most probably use graphs, charts and diagrams to illustrate trends and analysis - you should not, however, draw any conclusions at this point. The way to write this section and structure is to show data gathered and set it out so that the data collected could be used independently of your conclusions.
Discussion - this section is for a researcher to identify the data they have collected and analyze it against one another to develop an analysis of gathered data and present your main findings.
Conclusion - this section will sum up your whole paper and will identify the main points. You should also analyze what your paper contains and be able to clearly communicate this to the reader of your dissertation. Evaluating your conclusions is a step also taken by some students and will mean that you can identify any weaknesses. You should also include any recommendations or further research required.
Bibliography - all reference should be listed alphabetically, this doesnt matter whether you have quoted from them or not. You should include the authors name, title, place of publication, publisher and date when including any material in your bibliography.
Appendices - a section that will include such things as a copy of the questionnaire, transcript of interviews and other relevant documents to your dissertation. Such information would disrupt the flow of your argument and thus be better placed here.
Overall, you should allow your structure to flow between your dissertation seamlessly. You do not want your reader to be structured in reading your dissertation in a way that will regiment their reading, but you also do not want them to be lost for where to go next, or be reading the data analysis before the literature review. You should also have your work checked by a professional before you submit.
About the Author:
As an knowledgeable graduate, Nick is aware with the different terms used in dissertations. If you want online dissertation proofreading services from a professional who will provide dissertaion editing, then you should visit his site.
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