Oddy Labs - How to structure a Dissertation - Academic writing

HOW TO STRUCTURE A DISSERTATION

What Is Dissertation  A dissertation is a document composed in support of one’s candidacy for a degree or professional qualification. Dissertations are lengthy academic papers (20 000 - 50 000 words) that involve both primary and secondary sources used a thorough literature review, and developed methodology to demonstrate the author’s findings in specific research. This paper must show the critical assessment of information, creative approach to thinking, and specific knowledge acquired throughout an academic career.

Structure For A Dissertation:  Title page  Acknowledgment  Abstract  Table of contents  Introduction  Literature review  Methodology  Results  Discussion  Conclusion and recommendations  References  Appendices

Acknowledgment ď‚´ Mention the supervisor, promoter, or any person (institution) that provided financial or other support.

Abstract ď‚´ Contextualize the research, outline the methodology, and summarize findings ď‚´ Include the dissertation's most interesting and innovative points ď‚´ Make it no longer than 250-350 words

Table of Contents ď‚´ List the paper sections and corresponding page numbers

Introduction  Describe the study and lay out the reasoning behind it  Explain how the research is organized  Provide the problem statement, its significance, research questions, and hypotheses

Literature Review  Present the in-depth study of existing literature and highlight the gaps in it, thereby identifying the need for the current research  Divide it by indicating sources devoted to the historical background, theories, and existing empirical studies  Present critiques by opposing authors for every one or two works to have a balanced view of the subject analyzed.

Methodology ď‚´ Classify it depending on various research factors: quantitative, qualitative, or combined ď‚´ Provide a justification for the chosen methodology and detailed explanation of its practical application ď‚´ Include subsections (if necessary): the research approach, research strategy, data collection, data analysis, reliability, validity, generalizability, ethical issues, limitations, participants, etc.

Results ď‚´ Present the findings of the analysis

Discussion ď‚´ justify the research topic (why the candidate chose that topic), the recap of literature review and methodology, the justification of samples, the brief recap of results, and the summary that answers the whole research question.

Conclusion And Recommendations  Summarize the key points of the research and develop a final judgment, with attention paid to the findings’ significance  Point out the possible limitations or gaps in the work and place the findings the broader perspective of literature  Indicate the work’s future scope and additional studies that can be conducted  Mention the practical or real-life applications of the research  Address any potential criticisms  End the dissertation with simply, clearly, and factually, without adding completely new ideas Include all.

Appendices ď‚´ Include all sample questionnaires, graphs, tables, pictures, etc. while conducting the research

Dos  Start with doing the literature review  Use sources no older than 5-7 years and directly related to the subject  Move gradually from the theoretical review to the practical part of the research  Use the appropriate sample population if interviews are included  Make the literature review and the findings’ analysis of about 35% and 15% of the dissertation respectively

Don’ts  Use only one type of sources  Base the literature review on sources from a completely different area of expertise  Write each chapter as a separate paper, without linking it to previous sections  Provide sweeping statements, rhetorical claims, and meaningless cliches in concluding paragraphs  Restate and summarize findings without either proving or refuting the research questions  Draw percentage graphs when the research includes fewer than 100 respondents

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