A dissertation’s arrangement varies depending on the field, but it is normally divided into four or five chapters.

A dissertation, also known as a thesis, is a lengthy scholarly paper focused on original Study. Your dissertation will likely be the longest piece of writing you’ve ever completed, and it can be difficult to know where to begin and how to structure the whole of it.

So, we have elucidated a simple guide to help you understand how to give a proper structure to your dissertation.

Here is a step-by-step guide of how to structure your dissertation and the order that you must follow when finally presenting your dissertation. 

[Disclaimer: The structure of your dissertation solely depends on the field of your subject, location, discipline, approach, and topic. For example, a humanities field dissertation will be more like a long essay, whereas, if you are researching the sciences or social sciences then the approach would be different. This is just a general structure just to give you a clearer picture of how, to begin with, your dissertation.]

Title Page

The title of your paper, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date all appear on the first page of your dissertation. Your student number, supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo are sometimes included depending on the instructions provided by your university. Many courses have specific formatting criteria for the dissertation title tab.

Acknowledgment 

The acknowledgments section is normally optional, and it allows you to express gratitude to those who assisted you in the writing of your dissertation. This may include your professors/supervisors, research participants, and friends or family who helped you.

Abstract

The abstract is a brief outline of your dissertation that is usually between 150 and 300 words long. When you’ve finished the rest of the dissertation, you should pen it at the very end.

In the abstract, ensure to:
Describe the tools you used and the key subject and goals of your study.
Compile a list of the most important findings.
Summarize the findings.
Not down the conclusions.

Despite its short length, the abstract is the first (and sometimes only) part of your dissertation that people read, so you must get it right.

Table of contents 

List all of your chapters and subheadings, as well as their page numbers, in the table of contents. The contents page of your dissertation gives the reader a summary of your layout and makes it easier for them to navigate the paper.

The table of contents should contain all aspects of your dissertation, including the appendices.

List of tables and figures 

If you’ve used a lot of tables and figures in your dissertation, make a numbered list of them.

List of abbreviations 

If you used a lot of abbreviations in your dissertation, you can put them in an alphabetized list so that the reader can look up their meanings quickly.

Glossary

It’s a smart thing to have a glossary if you’ve used a lot of extremely technical words that your reader won’t be familiar with. List the terms alphabetically and provide a brief description or definition for each.

Introduction

You set up your dissertation’s subject, meaning, and significance in the introduction, and you tell the reader what to expect in the rest of the dissertation.

The introduction should include the following information:
Establish your research subject by including background material that will help you contextualize your work.
Establish the spectrum of the research and narrow down the intensity.
Discuss the current state of research on the subject, demonstrating how your thesis relates to a larger issue or discussion.
Your study questions and priorities should be stated clearly.
Give an outline of the framework of your dissertation.

All in the introduction should be easy to understand, interesting, and related to your study.

Theoretical Framework/Literature Review

You should do a literature review before beginning your study to obtain a detailed understanding of the existing scholarly work on your subject. This refers to:

Collecting references (e.g. books and journal articles) and choosing the most applicable ones
Evaluating and assessing each source critically
Connecting them (e.g., trends, themes, disputes, and gaps) to cover a wider statement

You should not only summarize current studies in the dissertation literature review chapter or section but instead, create a cohesive framework and thesis that contributes to a valid basis or explanation for your study. It may, for example, attempt to demonstrate how your research:

Tries to fill a void in the literature
Approaches the topic from a novel theoretical or methodological perspective.
Proposes a solution to an issue that is yet to be answered.
Contributes to a scientific discussion.
Through new data, it expands and reinforces current data.

The literature review also serves as the foundation for a theoretical outline, in which you identify and discuss the primary hypotheses, principles, and models that your thesis is characterized with.

You might answer descriptive analysis questions regarding the relationship between concepts or variables in this section.

Methodology

The methodology chapter or section explains how you carried out your study and allows the reader to judge its validity. In general, you can include:

The ultimate strategy and analysis design (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, experimental, ethnographic)
Your data collection processes (e.g. interviews, surveys, archives)
Where, when, and with whom the analysis was conducted
Your data-analysis techniques (e.g. statistical analysis, discourse analysis)
Usage of the tools and materials (e.g. computer programs, lab equipment)
A discussion of any difficulties you encountered when doing the study and how you overcome them.
An assessment or explanation of the procedures

In the methodology section, your goal is to accurately report what you did while also persuading the reader that this was the best method for answering your research questions or objectives.

Results

In some disciplines, the result section and the analysis are kept separate, while in others, the two are merged. In qualitative approaches such as ethnography, for example, the representation of facts is often woven together with interpretation and analysis.

In quantitative and experimental studies, however, the findings should be discussed separately before discussing their significance:
Each relevant result, including relevant descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, should be stated concisely.
Briefly explain how the conclusion applies to the topic or whether the hypothesis was proven correct.
Tables and statistics should be used as they assist the reader’s understanding of the results.
Report all related findings, including those that did not meet your standards, that are relevant to your study questions.
Subjective interpretations and conjecture are not allowed.
As an appendix, you should provide additional details (such as raw numbers, complete questionnaires, or interview transcripts).

Discussion

In the discussion, you’ll dig deeper into the context and consequences of your findings concerning your study questions. You should explore whether the findings meet your goals and how well they fit into the structure you created in previous chapters.

What do the results mean, according to your interpretations?
Examine the implications: why are the findings important?
Recognize the limitations: what information can’t the results provide?
Provide reasons if any of the findings were surprising. 

It’s a good idea to think about different ways to view your numbers. To demonstrate how your findings align with common information, the conversation should refer back to relevant sources.

Conclusion

In the conclusion, you should mention what more have your extensive research and dissertation added to what was already known about the subject. The conclusion of your dissertation should clearly and concisely address the key research question, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of your central point and stressing the value of your research.

The conclusion is a short segment that comes before the debate in certain academic conventions: you state your overall conclusions first, then analyze and interpret their context.

In other cases, however, the conclusion applies to the final chapter of your dissertation, where you tie up your findings with a final reflection. In addition to suggestions for future study or practice, this form of conclusion is common.

Reference list/ Works Cited/ Bibliography 

In a reference list, you must provide full descriptions of all references that you have cited. It’s critical to maintain a clear citation style. Each style has its own set of rules for how to format your references in the bibliography.

Appendices 

Appendices can be used to include documents that do not fit into the main body of your dissertation (for example, interview transcripts, survey questions, or tables with complete figures).

Proofreading and Editing

The first step toward a well-written dissertation is to ensure that all of the parts are in the correct order. Allow plenty of time for proofreading and editing. Mistakes in grammar and sloppy formatting will detract from the quality of your efforts.

So there you are. We hope the above guidelines will help you in structuring your dissertation.

Thanks and Regards,

Isabell S.

The TrueEditors Team

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