How to structure a dissertation ACAW401

How to structure a dissertation

A dissertation or thesis is a long piece of academic writing based on original research, submitted as part of a doctoral, masters, or bachelors degree.

Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing youve ever done, and it can be intimidating to know where to start. This article helps you work out exactly what you should include and where to include it.

You can also download our full dissertation template in .docx or Google Docs format. The template includes a ready-made table of contents with notes on what to include in each chapter. You can adapt it to your own requirements.

Table of contents

1. Deciding on your dissertations structure


2. Title page


3. Acknowledgements


4. Abstract


5. Table of contents


6. List of figures and tables


7. List of abbreviations


8. Glossary


9. Introduction


10. Literature review / Theoretical framework


11. Methodology


12. Results


13. Discussion


14. Conclusion


15. Reference list


16. Appendices


17. Editing and proofreading


18. Checklist


19. Free lecture slides

Deciding on your dissertations structure

Not all dissertations are structured exactly the samethe form your research takes will depend on your location, discipline, topic and approach.

For example, dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a longessay, building an overall argument to support a centralthesis, with chapters organized around different themes or case studies.

But if youre doing empirical research in the sciences or social sciences, your dissertation should generally contain all of the following elements. In many cases, each will be a separate chapter, but sometimes you might combine them. For example, in certain kinds of qualitative social science, the results and discussion will be woven together rather than separated.

The order of sections can also vary between fields and countries. For example, some universities advise that the conclusion should always come before the discussion.

If in doubt about how your thesis or dissertation should be structured, always check your departments guidelines and consult with your supervisor.

Title page

The very first page of your document contains your dissertations title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisors name, and the universitys logo. Many programs have strict requirements for formatting thedissertationtitle page.

Acknowledgements

Theacknowledgementssection is usually optional, and gives space for you to thank everyone who helped you in writing your dissertation. This might include your supervisors, participants in your research, and friends or family who supported you.

Abstract

The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about 150300 words long. You should write it at the very end, when youve completed the rest of the dissertation. In the abstract, make sure to:

• State the main topic and aims of your research


• Describe the methods you used


• Summarize the main results


• State your conclusions

Although the abstract is very short, its the first part (and sometimes the only part) of your dissertation that people will read, so its important that you get it right. If youre struggling to write a strong abstract, read our guide onhow to write an abstract.

Table of contents

In the table of contents, list all of your chapters and subheadings and their page numbers. Thedissertation contents pagegives the reader an overview of your structure and helps easily navigate the document.

All parts of your dissertation should be included in the table of contents, including the appendices. You can generate a table of contents automatically in Word if you used heading styles.

List of figures and tables

If you have used a lot of tables and figures in your dissertation, you should itemize them in anumbered list. You can automatically generate this list using the Insert Caption feature in Word.

List of abbreviations

If you have used a lot of abbreviations in your dissertation, you can include them in analphabetized list of abbreviationsso that the reader can easily look up their meanings.

Glossary

If you have used a lot of highly specialized terms that will not be familiar to your reader, it might be a good idea to include aglossary. List the terms alphabetically and explain each term with a brief description or definition.

Introduction

In the introduction, you set up your dissertations topic, purpose, and relevance, and tell the reader what to expect in the rest of the dissertation. The introduction should:

• Establish yourresearch topic, giving necessary background information to contextualize your work


• Narrow down the focus and define the scope of the research


• Discuss the state of existing research on the topic, showing your works relevance to a broaderproblemor debate


• Clearly state yourresearch questionsand objectives


• Give anoverview of your dissertations structure

Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant to your research. By the end, the reader should understand thewhat,whyandhowof your research. If you need more help, read our guide onhow to write a dissertation introduction.

Literature review / Theoretical framework

Before you start on your research, you should have conducted aliterature reviewto gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on your topic. This means:

• Collecting sources (e.g. books and journal articles) and selecting the most relevant ones


• Critically evaluating and analyzing each source


• Drawing connections between them (e.g. themes, patterns, conflicts, gaps) to make an overall point

In thedissertation literature review chapter or section, you shouldnt just summarize existing studies, but develop a coherent structure and argument that leads to a clear basis or justification for your own research. For example, it might aim to show how your research:

• Addresses a gap in the literature


• Takes a new theoretical or methodological approach to the topic


• Proposes a solution to an unresolved problem


• Advances a theoretical debate


• Builds on and strengthens existing knowledge with new data

Theliterature reviewoften becomes the basis for atheoretical framework, in which you define and analyze the key theories, concepts and models that frame your research. In this section you can answer descriptive research questions about the relationship between concepts or variables.

Methodology

Themethodologychapter or section describes how you conducted your research, allowing your reader to assess its validity. You should generally include:

• The overall approach and type of research (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, experimental, ethnographic)


• Your methods of collecting data (e.g. interviews, surveys, archives)


• Details of where, when, and with whom the research took place


• Your methods of analyzing data (e.g. statistical analysis, discourse analysis)


• Tools and materials you used (e.g. computer programs, lab equipment)


• A discussion of any obstacles you faced in conducting the research and how you overcame them


• An evaluation or justification of your methods

Your aim in the methodology is to accurately report what you did, as well as convincing the reader that this was the best approach to answering your research questions or objectives.

Results

Next, you report theresults of your research. You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses, or themes.

In some disciplines, the results section is strictly separated from the discussion, while in others the two are combined. For example, in qualitative methods likeethnography, the presentation of the data will often be woven together with discussion and analysis.

However, in quantitative andexperimentalresearch, the results should be presented separately before you discuss their meaning:

• Concisely state each relevant result, including relevantdescriptive statistics(e.g. means, standard deviations) andinferential statistics(e.g.test statistics,p-values).


• Briefly state how the result relates to the question or whether the hypothesis was supported.


• Include tables and figures if they help the reader understand your results.


• Report all results that are relevant to your research questions, including any that did not meet your expectations.


• Dont include subjective interpretations or speculation.

Additional data (including raw numbers, full questionnaires, or interview transcripts) can be included as anappendix.

Discussion

Thediscussionis where you explore the meaning and implications of your results in relation to your research questions. Here you should interpret the results in detail, discussing whether they met your expectations and how well they fit with the framework that you built in earlier chapters.

• Give your interpretations: what do the results mean?


• Explore the implications: why do the results matter?


• Acknowledge the limitations: what cant the results tell us?

If any of the results were unexpected, offer explanations for why this might be. Its a good idea to consider alternative interpretations of your data. The discussion should refer back to relevant sources to show how your results fit with existing knowledge.

Conclusion

Thedissertation conclusionshould concisely answer the main research question, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of your central argument and emphasizing what your research has contributed.

In some academic conventions, the conclusion refers to a short section that comes before the discussion: first you directly state your overall conclusions, then you discuss and interpret their meaning.

In other contexts, however, the conclusion refers to the final chapter, where you wrap up your dissertation with a final reflection on what you found. This type of conclusion often also includes recommendations for future research or practice.

In this chapter, its important to leave the reader with a clear impression of why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known?

Reference list

You must include full details of all sources that you have cited in areference list(sometimes also called aworks cited listor bibliography). Its important to follow a consistentcitation style. Each style has strict and specific requirements for how to format your sources in the reference list.

Common styles includeAPAandMLA, but your program will often specify which citation style you should usemake sure to check the requirements, and ask your supervisor if youre unsure.

To save time creating the reference list and make sure your citations are correctly and consistently formatted, you can use the Scribbr Citation Generator.

Create APA citationsCreate MLA citations

Appendices

Your dissertation itself should contain only essential information that directly contributes to answering your research question. Documents you have used that do not fit into the main body of your dissertation (such as interview transcripts, survey questions or tables with full figures) can be added asappendices.

Editing and proofreading

Making sure all the sections are in the right place is only the first step to a well-written dissertation. Leave plenty of time for editing andproofreading. Grammar mistakes and sloppy formatting errors can drag down the quality of your hard work.

You should plan to write and revise several drafts of your thesis or dissertation before focusing onlanguage mistakes, typos and inconsistencies. You might want to consider using a professionaldissertation editing serviceto make sure its perfect before submitting.

Checklist

Use this simple checklist to make sure youve included all the essentials.

Checklist: Dissertation

0/25

• Mytitle pageincludes all information required by my university.


• I have includedacknowledgementsthanking those who helped me.


• Myabstractprovides a concise summary of the dissertation, giving the reader a clear idea of my key findings or arguments.


• I have created atable of contentsto help the reader navigate my dissertation.


• The table of contents includes all chapter titles, but excludes the title page, acknowledgements, and abstract.


• Myintroductionleads into my topic in an engaging way and shows the relevance of my research.


• My introduction clearly defines the focus of my research, stating myresearch questionsand objectives.


• My introduction includes an overview of the dissertations structure.


• I have reviewed the most important literature to show the current state of knowledge on my topic.


• Myliterature reviewdoes not just summarize but engages critically with sources, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of existing research.


• My literature review discusses patterns, themes, and debates in the literature.


• My literature review shows how my dissertation addresses a gap or contributes something new to existing research.


• I have clearly outlined thetheoretical frameworkof my research, explaining the theories and models that support my approach.


• I have thoroughly described mymethodology, explaining how I collected and analyzed data.


• I have concisely and objectively reported all relevantresults.


• I have evaluated and interpreted the meaning of the results in mydiscussion.


• I have acknowledged any important limitations of the results.


• I have clearly stated the answer to my main research question in theconclusion.


• I have clearly explained the implications of my conclusion, emphasizing what new insight my research has contributed.


• I have provided relevant recommendations for further research or practice.


• If relevant, I have includedappendiceswith supplemental information.


• I have included anin-text citationevery time I use words, ideas, or information from a source.


• I have listed every source in a reference list at the end of my dissertation.


• I have consistently followed the rules of my chosencitation style.


• I have followed all formatting guidelines provided by my university.

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