When writing your dissertation, you should create an outline that lists out every chapter and section. Making this clear structure helps you show your readers all the important backgrounds and give them an idea of the new conclusions or ideas. Your dissertation should have a central idea so you can have a deeper understanding of the subject you are writing about.
Classifying the Chapters of a Standard Dissertation
A typical dissertation structure is made up of the following; Introduction, Literature Review, Methods and Materials, Research results and discussions, and Conclusion.
- Introduction
This is an important chapter in your dissertation, and it is where you introduce your topic to your readers. This chapter contains what you will do and why it is important. In the introduction chapter, you summarize your dissertation and explain how you study your topic, what you are researching, and the objective of your research. In your opening paragraph, your audience should be prepared for what they are about to read.
- Literature Review
To complete the literature review chapter, you need to have some skills. Your literature review is where you identify existing research on your topic and clearly analyze the relevant and available information on the topic.
The literature review demonstrates your knowledge in a specific field, the literature as you understand it, and an analysis. Before you move on to planning your dissertation, writing your literature review should come first. This is to avoid a situation where your methodology and study have critical weaknesses after gathering and researching information.
Differences between Thesis and Dissertation
You will only spot the difference between a thesis and a dissertation after finishing them. A thesis shows the completion of a master’s degree program while a dissertation is written at the time a doctoral study is ongoing. A thesis is when you compile research as a way of proving that you know about the information you have learned during your graduate program, while a dissertation is used to contribute new theories, practices, or knowledge to your field.
- Methods and Materials
In this chapter, you explain the methods you have used to gather data and provide an answer to a research question. This is an important part of your academic project as a slight mistake in your methodology may make your important findings invalid.
- Results and Discussions
This part of your dissertation contains the final results of your research, the analysis of those results, and your sub-conclusion.
- Conclusion
This is the last part that ties everything together and informs your readers what you have found during your research process. Your concluding paragraph should contain a brief overview of your study, findings, and conclusions based on the main research problem or hypothesis.
The other Chapters in Your Dissertation that You should Know:
- Title page
- Bibliography
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- Table of content
- Figures and tables (List)
- Appendices
Title Page should contain your full name; the title of your dissertation, date of publication, and place; your faculty, department, university, and supervisor; instructional program.
