Dissertation Components

Main Parts of Your Dissertation

Dissertation writing is a cluster of many components, where the students depict their concepts and thoughts. The dissertation is many elements that portrait and develops throughout the writing. A dissertation cannot stand without any element missing from the bunch.

Are you confused about how to structure the dissertation ? Are you looking for a comprehensive guide? Let us assure you that you have landed on the perfect page.

Today we are going to guide you through the entire process of arranging and structuring your doctoral thesis or dissertation.

Does the table of contents follow or precede the list of acknowledgments? Do you write the appendix first or bibliography? What’s the difference between a list of references and a bibliography? Find answers to all your queries in this comprehensive blog dedicated to the students who will write their dissertations for the very first time.

Your dissertation will be the first step towards receiving your Ph.D. degree. The years of hard work, research, planning, and field visits finally culminate into a dissertation. However, before you go ahead with its preparation, make sure to draft a proposal on the topic of your choice. Only when your supervisor accepts it, you will be eligible to start working on your dissertation.

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Dissertation Proposal

The proposal is like a blueprint of our paper that you have to submit to your supervisor before you proceed with writing the dissertation. Here, you must outline the area of your research and the methodology you will follow to proceed with your argument.

The proposal must include these following components:

Introduction

This will be the primary step towards getting approval to write the dissertation. Consider this as an initial pitch of your research idea. Outline the context of your research and provide a summary of the vital areas it will cover.

Background and significance

This part of the proposal should explain the context of your research work. It should explain why it is important to a given academic field. Give the readers an extensive idea on the significance of work that it will hold in the area of your research.

Literature Review

It is crucial to break the literature into ‘conceptual categories.’ Then analyze how your research will add new information in these categories and enrich the academic knowledge pool. To frame your proposals literature review follow these five C’s of preparation. Cite, Compare, Contrast, Critique, and Connect.

Research methodology

Your methodology should mention the research design by drawing examples from your literature review. Talk about the specific methodological approaches you have planned to obtain the information for your argument.

Your proposal should also touch upon the conclusion you aim to reach. Make sure your proposal answers these following questions:

What is the area that you plan to study?
Why is it important to conduct research in that area?
What significance does it hold within the subject areas of your curriculum?
What are the problems it aims to solve?
How does it add value to the existing research pool and builds upon it?
What is the exact aim for the paper and whether is it possible to complete it within the stipulated time?

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Once your supervisor accepts your proposal, you must start preparing the dissertation immediately. Many students drop out in the last year of their academic career because they are unable to complete their dissertation work within the deadline. Stop procrastinating and go ahead with the preparation of your paper today.

Also, make sure you have a clear idea of the university guidelines. Know the word limits, the fonts you must use, whether you need to keep the acknowledge section before or after your abstract, and other necessary rules and regulations.

Can’t wait to learn the basic steps? Let us jump right on to it.

The basic components of a dissertation will follow this order:

Title page

It usually consists of 100 to 150 words. It must include your full name, the degree to be conferred, the name of the university, your department, the college from which you will earn your degree and finally the month and year of approval.

Copyrights page

This section will contain the name of the legal owner of the document and the copyright and ownership of the material. It can contain your name and a year or the university from which you are obtaining the degree (depending upon the university policies).

Abstract

The abstract provides a concise summary of your research study. It is usually limited to 400 to 500 words and discusses the purpose, scope, data sources, methodology, key findings, statement of problem, implications, and limitations.

Work on the abstract once you have completed writing your dissertation. Try to look at the paper from an outsider’s perspective in the abstract section. It must not start with “In my dissertation, I have aimed to study” but come up with something like “This dissertation is a study of…”

Acknowledgments

Most students prefer to include a brief acknowledgment section. Mention the names of all the contributors, committee members, colleagues, friends, and everyone who supported and helped you since the preparatory stage of your paper.

Content page

The contents will be an outline of your entire dissertation. It must list the headings and subheadings, the chapters and the major sections within the chapters with their respective page numbers.

Introduction

An introduction includes the purpose and focus of your study. It explains how it will contribute to the development of academic knowledge and practice.

Main chapters

The order and format of the chapters vary, depending on the institution and department you are enrolled in. However, the most common aspects it must include are:

Introduction
Literature review
Methodology
Findings
Analysis and synthesis
Conclusions and recommendations

The chapters form the fundamental pillars of your dissertation. Divide your work into 4 to 5 chapters and make sure each of them consists of all these aspects. Each of the chapters must concentrate and elaborate on a particular topic and must be apt for independent reading.

Conclusion

This chapter should reflect your findings and review of your work. The conclusion should be a short summary of your argument and mention the new learnings you have come across while conducting the study and the future possibilities of development.

References and bibliography

A bibliography is a tabular list of citation of the names of authors whose work have inspired and shaped your argument. Make sure you mention all the direct and indirect sources that have influenced your paper in the proper format as mentioned in your university guidelines.

The reference must include all these words in alphabetical order. This helps the readers to locate the resources that were used.

Appendix

This section is dedicated to all the research instruments that played a significant part in the successful completion of your paper. The sample interview transcripts, summary charts, sample coding schemes, etc must be included in the appendix.

The structure and format of dissertations change as per the course requirements. The structure of your dissertation will depend on your discipline, topic, and your approach. Learn the slight variations and tweaks that your paper needs and soar the sky with top grades this year.

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