How to structure a Dissertation or Thesis?

Need Dissertation help online or thesis help? Then this page is absolutely helpful for you to know that How to structure a Dissertation & Thesis.

A dissertation in simple words is a really long piece of writing often associated with academic work and research.

Therefore having a structure in mind when starting work can go a long way.

Here are the Structure a Dissertation or Thesis instructions.

Structure a Dissertation or Thesis Instructions

Title Page – 

Some colleges or institutes provide their own formats to this.

This is the first page of your dissertation. It would include details along the lines of your name, student ID number, name of your institution, course name, department name and other details.

Acknowledgment – 

This is an optional page, usually kept to one page only. Mentors, teachers, family, and friends are thanked and acknowledged for their help during the dissertation & thesis.

Abstract / Executive Summary – 

An abstract is a summary of your dissertation. The abstract should include:

• The main aim of your research
• Your methodology
• Summary and conclusions

Table of Contents – 

A table that lists headings, sub-headings, and page no. to help navigate through your document. It will provide an overview to the reader.

List of Figures and Tables – 

If Tables and figures are a prominent part of your paper, then numbering them and providing a list of them, in the beginning, is a good way to avoid the hassle. Word will automatically do that for you if you use the insert caption feature.

List of abbreviations – 

Abbreviations used in the thesis/ dissertation are listed along with what they represent in alphabetical order. 

Glossary – 

There might be terms and phrases used in your dissertation that a general reader might not be familiar with, it is advisable to provide a glossary that indulges in a brief description of these words. Thus providing clarity in one’s paper. 

Introduction / Research Proposal – 

The introduction is the first preview that is given about the Dissertation & Thesis.  It is a setup of the relevance, goal, and conclusion of the study. Provides an understanding that the study aims to establish. It gives context and background information too.  This section should provide clarity as to what the study is about and be engaging. This part should blossom intrigue and make the reader want to journey further. The introduction should be written with complete discard of Abstract as it (abstract) is a standalone part of the paper.

Literature review – 

Literature review prompts you to venture into the already existing academic work on the topic you’ve chosen. This study of collecting sources, analyzing, evaluating, and drawing relevance between them will help recognize patterns, justify your research and help find gaps to fill. A literature review is a part where you justify how is your research paper contributing and useful to the academic world.

Methodology – 

This is the part where you answer HOW and WHY. Let the readers assess its validity. Which tools aided data collection and handling? Justify your decisions to go about the path you did. Also mention if you had tried other ways, and why you found they were inaccurate. 

There is a possibility that a word limit has been imposed on the whole structure a Dissertation or Thesis. In the flow of writing Literature Review and Methodology, it is easier to rush past the comfortable space you’d like to leave for writing Results and Discussion. Therefore keep in mind the preset word limit distribution and if you haven’t it would be good to have a range kept in mind.

Results – 

These are the findings descriptive and presented. They are not discussed or analyzed just show-cased.

Discussion – 

This is where one can explore the meaning and implications of the research.

Elaborate on what other doors this data has opened. Where the data contradict previous studies and where it provides backing to previous theories. 

Dissertation help Conclusion – 

It should emphasize what your research has contributed and it can feel like it is repetitive but this is a necessary part. 

Reference list – 

This is the cited section of all the sources in the dissertation or thesis There is management software to help you list your citations – Mendeley or Zotero. There are also citation styles like APA or MLA. It is better to keep the citation style consistent.

Appendices – 

The last part of the dissertation help includes the additional information or supporting data that was not essential to the core analysis. It could be interviews, transcripts, questionnaires, surveys, etc.  In terms of Dissertation help & thesis help online, this page might be helpful for you, hopefully.