The Step by Step Guide to Dissertation Structure

At first it may seem that completing a dissertation is a arduous task. However, once you have your research already conducted, everything you need to know is a proper dissertation structure. Complying with the stipulated order will help you gather your thoughts and organise your research results. You definitely need to consult your faculty for detailed guide on the structure of dissertation, but generally, any dissertation will have the following parts:

Title page
A dissertation title page is the first thing your evaluator will see; therefore, you need to make sure it is perfect in term of formatting. Your title page should include the following components: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Title of the dissertation Student's name followed by the preceding degree and date of graduation if relevant Reason for submitting the project which will usually be a partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree Your department and name of university Date of submitting the work

Abstract

This part of your dissertation should be brief and informative. Its length can vary from 300 to 500 words. A dissertation abstract should consist of one or several small paragraphs. The best idea is to include some background data for your research, the aims you have outlined for yourself and the achievements of your research. Ideally, after reading an abstract one should be able to decide whether your dissertation will be interesting for them or not.

Acknowledgements

In a dissertation acknowledgement you get to thank everyone who has helped you with your dissertation writing in some way. It can include your supervisor, teachers, professors, assistants, friends, parents and ever whole institutions. In this section you can both be serious and add a bit of fun. Remember that everything has to fit in one page limit.

Table of contents
Usually it is written after all other parts have been completed. The table of contents includes titles and page numbers of all dissertation sections and subsections. For all previous pages you should use roman numeral, such as i, ii, iii, iv, etc.

Introduction
Dissertation introduction can take up to 10% of the volume of a whole dissertation. In this section you need to follow 3 main stages: 1. 2. 3. identify a research problem, i.e. state why a certain question needs to be resolves; state your research hypothesis, briefly outline what you are going to do to prove it, and mention the limitations of the study; establish the significance of your study, i.e. how it will be beneficial for the science and how it will fit in with other researches in the field.

Methodology/ Literature Review/ Findings and Discussion

These threee sections can be roughly named as the main body of your dissertation, although within the findings and discussion chapter there can other subsections.

Methodology Chapter

Size of this section varies for different subjects and depending on the nature of a dissertation. If qualitative, quntitative and mixed research approaches are involved, then you will need to describe your techniques in detail. In addition, you should support your choice of methods with appropriate argumentation. Some types of dissertations will also need an additional chapter describing the ways of interpreting data; for example, qualitative research approach requires this.

Literature Review

A solid literature review is a mandatory chapter in case of a primary research, whereas it may not be necessary for dissertation in theory disciplines when the whole research is engaged in a dialogue with the existing literature on the topic. If you are dealing with primary research, you will analyse the literature thoroughly to find out what facts have already been established on your subject. In this undertaking your main goal will be to discover the gaps in existing knowledge and show how your dissertation will fill in those gaps. All works referred to in your literature review have to be properly cited and referenced in the bibliograpghy page.

Findings and Discussion

This part of your dissertation may include from 3 to 5 chapters. Each of the chapters should present a signle aspect of your research without losing track of the main objective. if only quantitative research is applied, then these chapters may sequentially concern presenting a hypothesis, describing the results and interpreting them. These chapters form the essence of your dissertation; therefore, it is mandatory that you present well supported evidence and solid, reasonable arguments.

Conclusion and Recommendations

In dissertation conclusion chapter you should summarise all your main points and come up with a final judgement. It is also necessary for you to predict and repulse counter-arguments which may appear. Another mandatory requirement is to find a place for your research findings among the knowledge base in that certain subject field. Further research objectives and scopes of study can be also suggested. For some types of dissertations a good idea will be to provide ideas on how your outcomes can be intergated into life and get a practical application.

Bibliography

This part of a dissertation must encompass all books, articles, journals and online sources which you have studied in the course of writing. All sources should be listed on a separate sheet of paper in alphabetical order. Make sure that the referencing style you use is the one which your college or university has

prescribed. When your work is completed, it is recommended to check that no source is missing from your dissertation bibliography.

Appendices
It is a final part of your dissertation. Reviewers will consult it to ensure that your research results are correct. Appendices do not count towards the page limit of your piece, although they may be rather lengthy. The following materials need to be featured in appendices: 1. 2. 3. Sample questionnaires; Pictures and photographs; Graphs and diargams; 1. Letters