dissertation plan progressif

Understanding and solving intractable resource governance problems.

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• POLI 332 Latin American Environmental Politics (Term 2, Spring 2012)
• POLI 350A Public Policy (Term 1, Sep-Dec 2011)
• POLI 375A Global Environmental Politics (Term 1, Sep-Dec 2011)

Planning the timeline and progress of your doctoral dissertation (or Masters/undergraduate thesis)

One of my PhD students lamented this week with me that she had a lot to juggle (taking children to and from schools and to and from activities, etc.) and that she needed a strategy to make her research move forward. I had been planning to write this blog post for a while, since this is the one question I get asked the most by doctoral students (“ how do I plan my unstructured time over the summer ” being the other one).

Do you have one like this but for dissertations? From how to pick your topic to how to plan your chapters or something similar? 🙂 — Mariana Miguélez (@Scherezadda) March 27, 2018

I had to rush to get this blog post done because my student is 2 years away from the deadline her university has imposed for her thesis defence, which is why I sat down with her last night to show her how I do things. I have two other PhD students at exactly the same stage (2 years to defense) so I figured I might as well finish this blog post.

While I’ve suggested that people read one (or more) of the books that I’ve digested myself (check my Writing a Doctoral Dissertation page), one of the main things I teach my students is how to apply backcasting techniques to develop a project plan . I was trained as a project manager, and I worked in that capacity for a number of years, so I understand exactly the kind of work that needs to be done to develop good project plans.

There are a few resources for students, which I mentioned on Twitter earlier today (October 5th, 2018), many of which are listed in the thread that will appear if you click anywhere on the tweet shown below. Thanks to everyone who responded to my query, though I think many of them were professors describing their own process, which is not the same as having a doctoral dissertation (ONE GOAL) to finish in X number of years. My students are doing theirs in the 3 papers’ model, which is a bit closer to the day-to-day life of a professor, but still, the trajectory is quite different. Anyhow, here are some recommendations (click on the tweet to expand the entire thread).

Everyone: one of my PhD students today asked me how to plan her day/week/month/time table. Can you tweet me your process before I tweet/thread mine? Thanks! (I'm off to dinner because I've already written 460 words). — Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) October 3, 2018

The core planning strategy I would thus recommend doctoral, masters and undergraduate students is to engage in a combination of Gantt Chart Design and project backcasting techniques .

The Gantt chart is a technique I learned in graduate school when I took project management courses. This is a hypothetical Gantt chart for my doctoral student, covering about 15 months.

What I suggested to her was to use backcasting techniques to plan backwards from her goal (PhD thesis defense) to intermediate goals. This post explains how I backcast a project https://t.co/wAmyejeoa0 since her dissertation is a 3-papers one, I suggested she uses that model. — Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) October 5, 2018

For Gantt Chart templates, you can see Dr. Emma Sheppard’s here.

Project planning for research students https://t.co/ku7shfB5uL excellent template by @DrESheppard which may be of interest to students from undergrad, Masters and PhD levels. pic.twitter.com/ujQVlYocH7 — Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) September 3, 2018

Here is another resource that you can use to create Gantt Charts.

To do Gantt charts you can use Excel or Microsoft Project (which is how I learned to do them), or Visio (which has been bought by the evil company and is now Microsoft Visio). I liked this detailed approach that uses connectors between milestones and tasks https://t.co/xVjNmM1q7c — Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) October 5, 2018

Hugh Kearns and Maria Gardiner have lots of resources on their site, and have published books on this as well.

I just realised @ithinkwell and @ithinkwellHugh have excellent FREE templates on their website https://t.co/Q859jNiM6Q for PhD students to plan their trajectories, etc. #PhDChat (thanks, Maria and Hugh!) — Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) October 5, 2018

Dr. Patrick Dunleavy’s book “ Authoring a PhD ” is incredible and really does help students who are planning their PhD process. I recommend it to my own doctoral students.

And of course I would be remiss if I forgot to recommend Dr. Ellie Mackin Roberts (my coauthor for a forthcoming book on research planning) and her website. Ellie has A TON of downloadable printables for you to plan your own research. She is fantastic.

Both for doctoral students AND for post-PhD folks, my coauthor Dr. @EllieMackin has an entire website for research planning https://t.co/unXMqmaf2Z she offers FREE downloadable printable templates that you can use to plan your own research. — Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) October 5, 2018

In the end, the process I recommended to my students and that I do myself is – set a target defense date and then work backwards and plan tasks, activities, and intermediate goals. For example, I have asked my students to plan submission dates for their 3 papers (to be sent to journals) and then schedule fieldwork and data analysis accordingly. This process has worked well, and I hope my description of the process will help my students and others!

In a subsequent blog post I’ll describe how to go from long-term goals (submit paper X by Y date) to daily tasks. That blog post will definitely apply to doctoral students and post-PhD folks.

If you liked this blog post, you may also be interested in my Resources for Graduate Students page, and on my reading notes of books I’ve read on how to do a doctoral degree.

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About Raul Pacheco-Vega, PhD

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How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

• Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
• Find a unique and valuable research topic
• Craft a convincing research proposal
• Write up a strong introduction chapter
• Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
• Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
• Present the findings of your research
• Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

• Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
• See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
• If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
• Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

• Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
• Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
• Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
• Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

Need a helping hand?

Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

• You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
• You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
• You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

• A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
• A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
• Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
• The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

• You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
• You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
• You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

• Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
• Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
• Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
• Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

• If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
• If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

• If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
• If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
• If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

• Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
• Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

• Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
• Find a unique (original) and important research topic
• Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
• Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
• Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
• Undertake your own research
• Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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20 Comments

thankfull >>>this is very useful

Thank you, it was really helpful

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Thanks Derek Jansen|GRADCOACH, I find it very useful guide to arrange my activities and proceed to research!

Thank you so much for such a marvelous teaching .I am so convinced that am going to write a comprehensive and a distinct masters dissertation

It is an amazing comprehensive explanation

This was straightforward. Thank you!

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Very educating.

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

Thank you 💕😊 very much. I was confused but your comprehensive explanation has cleared my doubts of ever presenting a good thesis. Thank you.

thank you so much, that was so useful

Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

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Dissertation Gantt Chart – A Visual Way to Track your Dissertation Progress

Published by Ellie Cross at January 26th, 2023 , Revised On October 9, 2023

A dissertation Gantt chart is an essential tool for any student completing a doctoral degree. The chart helps you to organise and track your progress, ensuring that you complete your dissertation on time and with the required quality. 

The Chart Includes the Following Key Elements: 

• Title of the Dissertation
• Target Date for Completion
• Estimated Time to Complete (ETC)
• Actual Time to Complete (ACT)
• Changes Made to ETC or ACT from the Original Plan
• Summary of Major Accomplishments or Difficulties encountered during the project

Features of Gantt Chart 

The following are the key features of a dissertation Gantt Chart:

• It has a timeline that shows the progress of the project.
• It contains tasks and deadlines for each phase of the project.
• It allows you to track resources and costs associated with the project.
• It provides an overview of how much work remains to be done in each project phase.
• It can help you to make informed decisions about when to take specific actions on the project.

How to Create a Custom Dissertation Gantt Chart?

When writing a dissertation , it is important to keep track of the progress and deadlines. One way to do this is to create a Gantt Chart. This guide will show you how to make a Gantt Chart for your dissertation. 

• Decide what tasks need to be completed and when they need to be completed. The goal is to have everything on the chart in order by the deadline.
• Start by creating a table or graph to represent your project’s timeline. This will help you to easily see where tasks are located and how much time they will take.
• Next, add in each task’s duration (in hours and minutes), as well as the associated resources that will be needed for completion (e.g., research materials, software).
• Finally, allocate specific days and times for each step of your project based on the information in your timeline table. This will help you stay organised and on track!
• Assign each task a colour based on its importance. For example, green tasks should take less than an hour, and blue tasks should take more than an hour but at most two hours.

Gantt Chart Templates

There are many different Gantt Chart templates available online, so choosing one that best suits your needs is important.

Some popular templates include the Pareto chart and the Venn diagram. Both of these charts offer a variety of options for customisation, so you can create charts that look exactly the way you want them to. Additionally, both charts can easily be converted into graphs using GraphPad Prism.

If simplicity is key, then the line graph may be a better option. This chart offers minimal customisation options but allows you to clearly see trends and patterns in your data.

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The Importance of the Gantt Chart

Gantt charts are valuable as a student, and even if you are a university graduate, they can help you. Along with making good grades, as recommended by the university, you have to strive to take full advantage of the use of your projects. Brainstorming with your classmates can be a productive way to accomplish this objective. You need to use Gantt charts for your projects for several reasons.

It Helps Provide a Visual Outlook 

A Gantt chart helps you handle your workflow by providing a detailed graphical representation. Gantt charts allow you to see all the tasks that must be completed, the amount of time needed, and task overlap. This will allow you to keep better track of goals and deadlines, which will be useful in ensuring you are on time to complete everything.

Solve Challenges Easily

A Gantt chart allows you to determine even better how to avoid issues and get the job done faster. You can see the result of the tasks that have been completed if you want to perceive the resources rightly to make the project run smoothly and quickly.

Evaluate Time

Effective task planning with the Gantt chart will help you organise and finish the projects efficiently. In addition, it will make it easier to see the actions you must complete before beginning others.

Ease of Communication

The Gantt chart will help you keep your group and sponsors notified of the modifications to your timetable. That’s why it’s crucial to have a regular update if your schedule changes. This means you can even use and provide available resources effectively.

Oversee a Project

The Gantt chart is crucial to the success of a project because that is how it assists in directing its activities through scheduling, assigning, and monitoring tasks. The horizontal chart makes it easy to see the projects’ progressions. You also always get to know what’s happening within any ongoing tasks.

Ease your Brain’s Memory

Gantt charts can help you reclaim your mind space by easing the selection of content you need to remember. Then, all you have to do is focus on accomplishing and acting on your current priorities. Team members can also see the course of the project’s tasks.

Reduces Cost

A Gantt chart is beneficial if you want to cut down on costs. Equipped with this, you can appreciate the tasks that have been carried out and stay up to date on what needs to be completed. As a result, you will remember essential deadlines and thus save more money on expenses.

The Benefits of Using a Dissertation Gantt Chart

No one knows the feeling of sitting in front of a blank whiteboard, trying to figure out how to write a dissertation . The process can seem daunting and overwhelming, but using a Gantt Chart can make the entire process much easier.  

A Gantt Chart is simply a chart that helps you plan and track your tasks. It can be used for any project but is especially helpful when writing a dissertation. You can track your progress by breaking down your work into specific dates and tasks. 

You will be able to see exactly where you are in progress. A Gantt Chart can provide a visual representation of your progress, which can help motivate you to complete your work on time.

Do you lack time and want someone to write your dissertation for you? Do you want to save money on your dissertation? Are you looking for someone to help with the grant chart process? Check out ResearchProspect! They can help you find the perfect person to create your dissertation.

 You can trust these professionals to deliver top-notch work. Moreover, they offer affordable rates and a range of customisation options. So if you’re looking for an affordable and reliable writing service, look no further than ResearchProspect.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is dissertation gantt chart.

A dissertation Gantt Chart is a visual timeline or project management tool that outlines key research tasks, deadlines, and dependencies to help plan, track, and manage the progress of a dissertation project efficiently.

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The decision to pay someone to write your dissertation depends on individuals, balancing benefits like time saved with ethical considerations.

Here is how coursework & dissertation are similar: Both test knowledge & require research (coursework applies, dissertation expands).

The essay writing process involves finding a suitable topic, preparing notes or outlines, research, and revisions. So how long will it take?

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Researching and writing your dissertation is a huge, complex undertaking. Before beginning, check with your advisor and your department/college about specific dissertation research-and-writing conventions in your discipline. The instructions in this section are offered as general suggestions and not as definitive guidance for the University of Kentucky requirements.

In order to manage the dissertation writing process, you should CREATE A WORK PLAN . A work plan will help you:

• Break down the large, overwhelming process of writing a dissertation into manageable steps;
• Keep a "daily commitment" to your dissertation;
• Discover and take advantage of your most productive work habits;
• Set goals and reward yourself for achieving them; and
• Balance dissertation writing with the other aspects of your life.

To start your work plan, you should assess your own goals and work habits as well as those of your advisor, committee, and department. Think about questions like:

• When would you like to complete and defend your dissertation?
• To meet this deadline, how much will you need to work every day/week/month?

Start your work plan by setting a completion goal, the date by which you would like to have your dissertation complete.

Then, think about the "big picture" issues. Talk to your advisor about all of the steps and associated deadlines for your specific program. Completing a dissertation involves many smaller deadlines along the way to the final deadline. You need to have a complete understanding of what is expected of you throughout this process. Once you know all the smaller deadlines and steps you will need to complete, map them out along the timeline set by your completion goal.

Once you know all of the deadlines and requirements, think about the "little picture" issues. Most importantly, how will you manage your time? You should map out all of your absolutely unbreakable time commitments to identify what remaining time is available for you to use on your dissertation. Additionally, you should:

• Establish a regular work schedule;
• Figure out when and how you work best and try to maximize these advantages;
• Find productive and positive work spaces;
• Eliminate distractions while you work;
• Create "ready to write" rituals that help you get started every day;
• Base your daily goals and requirements on output instead of time worked; and
• Save your "mindless work" (such as formatting, transcribing, etc.) for when you are blocked so you can still make progress every day.

Check out this video for time management tips:

When you are first starting, set a specific amount of time (such as two weeks to a month) as a pilot test for your work plan. Stick to your plan during this pilot test, then evaluate and revise your plan. Additionally, make sure to evaluate and revise your plan each semester to account for changes in your schedule.

Dissertation writing is a long process and setbacks will happen. You should expect the unexpected and build in extra time to your schedule to account for unavoidable delays. Let missed deadlines and other lapses go, and remember to focus on what you can do today and tomorrow to reach your goals. Further, you need to make sure to reward yourself for completing work on or ahead of schedule.

The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has created a handout about planning for dissertation writing. Additionally, the video below offers an overview of the planning process. 

Research-Related Considerations

• Human Subjects
• Organize Your Research
• Copyright Issues
• Research Data Management
• Professional Identity

Will your research require you to use human subjects in any capacity?  If so, you will need to get your research reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). At the University of Kentucky, all IRB matters are handled by the Office of Research Integrity .

Additionally, these 10 simple rules for protecting research integrity may be of help. 

Keeping your research organized is key because it will help ensure your dissertation writing process remains efficient. A wide variety of tools are available to help you keep your research organized. The following is some of the most popular options.

• EndNote EndNote is a powerful software application used to manage personal databases of citations from sources such as journals, books, or websites. EndNote can input records from online bibliographic databases; organize references, images and PDFs; and be used to create bibliographies and figure lists.
• Zotero Includes the ability to store author, title, and publication fields and to export that information as formatted references, and the ability to organize, tag, and search in advanced ways.
• Mendeley Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network.
• Research Log Handout Don't like any of these software options? Create your own research log! This handout from the University of Manitoba will show you how to keep track of your research.

Copyright issues are prevalent in activities related to teaching, learning, and research.  For instance, researchers may wonder who owns the copyright of their publications .  At the same time, they may run into questions about whether they can lawfully use copyrighted materials in their publications. 

You as the author are by default the copyright holder of your dissertation and thus have exclusive rights over it.  Registering your copyright is optional.  However, registration will provide you with more protection in case somebody infringes upon your rights in the future. 

When deciding whether you can use somebody's work in your dissertation, you need to find out if the work concerned is already out of copyright protection.  The Copyright Slider can help you with that.  If the work is out of copyright, you can reuse it in whatever way you want without seeking permission. 

For materials that are still under copyright protection, you should think about whether your use is fair.  There are many online resources that help people determine what constitutes a fair use.  For example, the University of Minnesota Libraries provides detailed information about using copyrightable materials , understanding fair use , and thinking through the four factors of fair use .  Other libraries provide a checklist to help researchers make a decision on the matter of fair use. 

If you have questions about copyright, feel free to contact the University of Kentucky Libraries or refer to this Copyright Resource Center . 

It is likely that your scholarly endeavors will generate research data in different formats.  It is common nowadays that researchers are expected to take care of the collected data and later provide access to the processed dataset, especially if the research project is publicly funded.  Managing research data can help researchers develop commendable work habits and thus enable them to do their work more efficiently.  If you need help with research data management, refer to this guide or feel free to contact your academic liaison for suggestions and assistance.  There are also these 10 simple rules to help you with a data management plan. 

Below is a short video that shows the importance of research data management.  The second video provides a quick Introduction to the basics of research data.  

There is an international initiative that addresses problems related to confirming the identity of researchers with similar or the same name. It is ORCID , which issues unique identifiers to distinguish individual researchers. Different stakeholders in the research community, including funding agencies, higher education institutions, and publishers, plan to adopt the ORCID ID as a means to disambiguate the identity of researchers and to track their scholarly activities and contributions. More information about ORCID is available from the video below. 

Click here to register for an ORCID ID. Once you have created the ID, take some time to add information about yourself and your research outputs.  This will help build your professional online presence and reputation.  Last but not least, remember to add the ORCID ID to your CV, scholarly publications, grant applications, and academic profiles such as a personal Web page. This will help clarify your identity as a scholar among others who have names similar to or same as yours.

In the video below, a professor explains how a professional online presence can supplement a CV.  She also points out what to consider before putting together an online profile.  Additionally, these 10 simple rules show you how to build and maintain a scientific reputation. 

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How to Write a Dissertation or Thesis Proposal

Published on September 21, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on July 18, 2023.

When starting your thesis or dissertation process, one of the first requirements is a research proposal or a prospectus. It describes what or who you want to examine, delving into why, when, where, and how you will do so, stemming from your research question and a relevant topic .

The proposal or prospectus stage is crucial for the development of your research. It helps you choose a type of research to pursue, as well as whether to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like.

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Table of contents

What should your proposal contain, dissertation question examples, what should your proposal look like, dissertation prospectus examples, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about proposals.

Prior to jumping into the research for your thesis or dissertation, you first need to develop your research proposal and have it approved by your supervisor. It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives .

Depending on your department’s requirements, there may be a defense component involved, where you present your research plan in prospectus format to your committee for their approval.

Your proposal should answer the following questions:

• Why is your research necessary?
• What is already known about your topic?
• Where and when will your research be conducted?
• Who should be studied?
• How can the research best be done?

Ultimately, your proposal should persuade your supervisor or committee that your proposed project is worth pursuing.

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Strong research kicks off with a solid research question , and dissertations are no exception to this.

Dissertation research questions should be:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly
• What are the main factors enticing people under 30 in suburban areas to engage in the gig economy?
• Which techniques prove most effective for 1st-grade teachers at local elementary schools in engaging students with special needs?
• Which communication streams are the most effective for getting those aged 18-30 to the polls on Election Day?

An easy rule of thumb is that your proposal will usually resemble a (much) shorter version of your thesis or dissertation. While of course it won’t include the results section , discussion section , or conclusion , it serves as a “mini” version or roadmap for what you eventually seek to write.

Be sure to include:

• A succinct introduction to your topic and problem statement
• A brief literature review situating your topic within existing research
• A basic outline of the research methods you think will best answer your research question
• The perceived implications for future research
• A reference list in the citation style of your choice

The length of your proposal varies quite a bit depending on your discipline and type of work you’re conducting. While a thesis proposal is often only 3-7 pages long, a prospectus for your dissertation is usually much longer, with more detailed analysis. Dissertation proposals can be up to 25-30 pages in length.

Writing a proposal or prospectus can be a challenge, but we’ve compiled some examples for you to get your started.

• Example #1: “Geographic Representations of the Planet Mars, 1867-1907” by Maria Lane
• Example #2: “Individuals and the State in Late Bronze Age Greece: Messenian Perspectives on Mycenaean Society” by Dimitri Nakassis
• Example #3: “Manhood Up in the Air: A Study of Male Flight Attendants, Queerness, and Corporate Capitalism during the Cold War Era” by Phil Tiemeyer

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The research methods you use depend on the type of data you need to answer your research question .

• If you want to measure something or test a hypothesis , use quantitative methods . If you want to explore ideas, thoughts and meanings, use qualitative methods .
• If you want to analyze a large amount of readily-available data, use secondary data. If you want data specific to your purposes with control over how it is generated, collect primary data.
• If you want to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables , use experimental methods. If you want to understand the characteristics of a research subject, use descriptive methods.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as:

• Your anticipated title
• Your abstract
• Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.)

A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research aims, that you collect high-quality data, and that you use the right kind of analysis to answer your questions, utilizing credible sources . This allows you to draw valid , trustworthy conclusions.

The priorities of a research design can vary depending on the field, but you usually have to specify:

• Your research questions and/or hypotheses
• Your overall approach (e.g., qualitative or quantitative )
• The type of design you’re using (e.g., a survey , experiment , or case study )
• Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects
• Your data collection methods (e.g., questionnaires , observations)
• Your data collection procedures (e.g., operationalization , timing and data management)
• Your data analysis methods (e.g., statistical tests  or thematic analysis )

A dissertation prospectus or proposal describes what or who you plan to research for your dissertation. It delves into why, when, where, and how you will do your research, as well as helps you choose a type of research to pursue. You should also determine whether you plan to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like.

It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives , ready to be approved by your supervisor or committee.

Note that some departments require a defense component, where you present your prospectus to your committee orally.

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

• Researchability
• Feasibility and specificity
• Relevance and originality

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The Dissertation Process Explained in 6 Simple Steps

Completing your doctoral program is no easy feat, yet the payoff makes it all worthwhile. You’ll challenge yourself with academic rigor and defend your thesis as you showcase your knowledge to a panel of experts.

One of the hardest parts of the dissertation process is simply getting started. Here are six steps to guide you to successfully earning your doctoral degree by tackling your dissertation, from start to finish.

Step 1: Brainstorm Topics

Finding a research topic that’s right for you and your doctoral studies requires some serious thought. A doctoral program can take years to complete, so it’s important you choose a topic that you’re passionate about. Whether that’s in the field of education administration or entrepreneurship, find an area of study that suits your academic interests and career goals. 

As a doctoral candidate, you’ll take on the role of an independent researcher, which means you’ll be facilitating your own studies and academic milestones. Choose a topic that gets your wheels turning and stirs up an urgent sense of curiosity. However, take note that not every idea will suit a doctoral dissertation and the manuscript formatting. Many students make the mistake of choosing a topic that is too broad. Doctoral dissertations must be researchable and demonstrative based on qualitative or quantitative data. 

Do some preliminary research to determine if someone has already conducted similar research. Being flexible with your brainstorming will allow you to refine your topic with ease. Take constructive criticism from peers and mentors seriously so that you set yourself up for success from day one. If you find yourself feeling a bit lost, don’t be afraid to turn to experts in your field for their opinion. At this initial stage of the dissertation process, you should be the most open to exploring new ideas and refining your area of research.

Step 2: Find a Faculty Mentor and Committee Assignment

Once your topic is approved by the university, you’ll be tasked with selecting a faculty mentor. Finding a faculty chairperson is one of the most important steps you will take in your dissertation process , apart from crafting and delivering your manuscript. After all, your mentor will guide your academic work over the course of your doctoral studies for the next several years. You two will develop a working relationship, so it’s crucial that you choose a mentor you can collaborate and communicate with effectively.

At most universities, your faculty chair will be dedicated to the dissertation process full time. That means they will have the skills, expertise and time to support all of your needs. However, for the other members of your dissertation committee, you’ll want to consider logistics as well. You may have a dream faculty mentor you’d appreciate working with, but they must have the time and attention to dedicate to make the investment worthwhile for you both. Be upfront about your intended timeline, weekly and monthly time commitment, and expectations around communication. When you approach a faculty member about serving as part of your dissertation committee, leave the door open for them to say “no,” so you’re sure to find the right fit and someone who can commit in the long run. 

Some universities make the selection process easy by assigning a dissertation chair and committee to you. For example, doctoral students at SNU are assigned a committee comprised of four people: a dissertation chair within the program’s department, a second departmental faculty member, a member from outside the department who has scholarly expertise in the student’s research topic, and the Dissertation Director who coordinates all communication among the committee members.

Step 3: Develop and Submit a Proposal

Think of the proposal as an opportunity for you to both suss out your ideas and create a convincing argument to present to the faculty committee. Your proposal is the first look at your thesis statement, where you:

• Introduce the topic
• Pose a set of related topics
• Outline the qualitative and quantitative data you hope to extract through careful research  

Again, be open to critical feedback. During this stage, you have the opportunity to reflect and refine the direction of your research. Faculty members will likely reciprocate your proposal with pointed questions that identify gaps in your proposal development or information-seeking process. 

You’ll go through a set of one or more revisions based on faculty feedback. You’ll then submit your proposal application for final approval. Once you have the entire committee’s approval, you’ll begin to collect data.

Step 4: Conduct Research and Data Analysis

In your proposal, you’ll outline your plan to conduct careful research, collect data and analyze that data. Throughout the research process, refer back to your outline to chart your own progress and to build a collection of measurable results to present to your faculty mentor. 

The next step is to add the data you collect to your proposal in two sections. The first section will summarize the data, and the second will offer an interpretation of that data. This step also lends itself to a series of revisions between you and the dissertation committee. Be prepared to implement those changes as you begin to draft your manuscript .

Step 5: Draft Your Manuscript

First, consult with your university’s policies and procedures regarding the doctoral manuscript academic requirements and scholarly style. Check with your department to inquire about additional departmental procedures. 

Consider Your Format 

Develop a consistent format in the early stages, so that submitting your thesis to the Advisory Committee and Examining Committee will run smoothly and you can receive swift feedback. You want to create both a professional and intuitive system for the academic committee and your general audience to be able to easily peruse your thesis. 

Pay close attention to proper sourcing of previously published content and provide a numbering system (page numbers and charts) that reflects the formatting of your thesis, not the numbering system of a previous publication. Devise chapter layout with the same level of scrutiny. Number chapters sequentially, and create a uniform system to label all charts, tables and equations. And last but not least, be sure to follow standard grammatical conventions, including spelling and punctuation. 

Cite Your Sources

As you gather research and develop your manuscript, you must cite your sources accurately and consistently. Check with your department ahead of time in case you should be formatting your resources according to specific departmental standards. In the absence of departmental standards, create a format of your own that you can adhere to with consistency. Most doctoral candidates will choose to include sources at the end of each chapter or in one single list at the end of their dissertation. 

Craft Your Content

You’ll spend the bulk of your time crafting the content of the manuscript itself . You’ll  begin by summarizing relevant sourcing and reviewing related literature. The purpose of this first section is to establish your expertise in the field, establish clear objectives for your research, identify the broader context within which the research resides, and provide more acute context for the data itself. You’ll then discuss the methods of analyzing the research before transitioning into data analysis in a chapter-by-chapter breakdown. Finally, in your conclusion, you’ll link your direct research to the larger picture and the implications of its impact in your field.

Step 6: Defend Your Thesis

The pinnacle of your research will be defending your thesis in front of a panel of experts — the dissertation committee. Sometimes this takes place in person, or, as has proved increasingly common during the past year, by video/voice conferencing. 

This is your opportunity to demonstrate all that you have learned over multiple years of careful research and analysis. The committee will pose questions to both clarify and challenge your level of knowledge in an impromptu fashion. In some cases, based on the committee’s perception, you may need to submit a secondary oral defense. Ultimately, the committee will determine a successful delivery of your dissertation and the chance to proudly assert your doctoral status after completing all degree requirements. 

No matter which path you choose to pursue en route to your doctoral, online and in-person education options can make your dream of completing your degree one step closer to reality. Take a look at SNU’s online and on-campus course offerings today.

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Writing from a to b.

To attain a doctoral degree, every Ph.D. student needs to navigate the dissertation-writing process.  Writing from A to B: A Guide to Completing the Dissertation Phase of Doctoral Studies  demystifies this process. The author, Dr. Keith Hjortshoj, has drawn upon his many years of experience with Cornell’s renowned John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines to craft this invaluable manual, which provides clear and cogent insights to lead you through each phase.

Through the generosity of a grant from the Council of Graduate Schools, the Graduate School is delighted to make Writing from A to B: A Guide to Completing the Dissertation Phase of Doctoral Studies  available. You will find this guide to be indispensable to each stage of your dissertation, from conceptualization to final revision. 

Download  Writing from A to B (PDF) . Members of the Cornell community may receive a hard copy by emailing Kelly Tillotson at ( [email protected]) .

As you enter this important phase of your graduate education, remember that you have the support of your special committee, your field, and the Graduate School.  Cornell has many resources to assist our students in reaching their degree goals, and we urge you to communicate regularly with your advisors so that they can help you move forward and access whatever support services you may need to complete your Ph.D.

We wish you the very best for your dissertation work, and we look forward to the conferral of your doctoral degree.

Thesis & Dissertation Guidelines

These guidelines provide students at Vanderbilt University with essential information about how to prepare and submit theses and dissertations in a format acceptable to the Graduate School. You can either explore the guidelines by topic below or review the complete Format Guidelines document .

General Information

Manuscript preparation.

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Submission Requirements

Students in foreign language departments may submit manuscripts in a language other than English. The abstract, however, must be in English.

You may use a multi-part presentation format for combining original research that has been conducted in two or more related or non-related areas, or for presentation of combined journal articles (published or submitted for publication). You should organize the parts or articles into chapters, with well-defined subheadings, including an introduction, methods, results and discussion. Each chapter may contain its own list of references and appendices, or you may list them all at the end, depending on the custom of your discipline.When using this format, the thesis or dissertation should nonetheless consist of an integrated argument that binds the chapters together. You should include the appropriate preliminary pages, an introduction presenting the general theme of the research, and a conclusion summarizing and integrating the major findings. Any additional appendices related to the dissertation as a whole or any general references from the introduction, conclusion or transitional sections should come at the end of the dissertation.

When you have previously published portions of your thesis or dissertation as an article or book chapter, you must ensure the work may also be published as part of the dissertation or thesis. The  standard provisions of copyright law  regarding quoted and previously published material under copyright apply to the publication of theses and dissertations. Many publishers provide exceptions to work published as part of graduation requirements and this is often clearly outlined as part of the publication agreement signed by the author.In order to include your own previously published or co-authored material in your thesis or dissertation, you must comply with the following:

• You must be the first author, or obtain permission from your committee, to be uploaded as an Administrative file in Vireo.
• The article must be based on research completed while you were enrolled at Vanderbilt University.
• You must have permission from the publisher to reuse the work, which should be uploaded to VIREO as an Administrative file. The record of permission may take the form of the publishing agreement, a copy of the publisher’s webpage describing reuse rights, or an email approval from the publisher. You should also identify which chapters are associated with which articles when prompted within VIREO.
• If there are co-authors, you must obtain the permission of all co-authors to include the work in the thesis or dissertation as a matter of both copyright law and professional courtesy. Include these permissions (email approval is acceptable) as an Administrative file in VIREO.
• You must properly acknowledge previously published material and any co-authors within the text of your manuscript. This would typically take the form of a footnote, or, alternately, an italicized statement beneath the relevant chapter heading. The rubric should be: “This chapter is adapted from [Title] published in [Journal] and has been reproduced with the permission of the publisher and my co-authors [List co-authors]” and include the full citation required by the publisher, if any, or appropriate to your discipline.

If the work is submitted to the ProQuest database, ProQuest will scan the document to ensure it contains no copyrighted material without consent and proper citation.

Inclusion of Third-Party Content

If you are including content in your dissertation not authored or created by you, consider copyright issues. If your use of the content would exceed fair use under the Copyright Act, then you will need to seek the copyright holder’s permission in order to use the material. Obtaining copyright permissions often takes time and should not be left until the last minute.You should discuss questions about copyrighted material with your dissertation advisor or contact the VU Librarian for Copyright and Scholarly Communications at  [email protected]  for help evaluating fair use or obtaining permissions.

Your thesis or dissertation is automatically protected by copyright as soon as it is fixed in a tangible form, such as being saved as an electronic file.  Although not required, it is good practice to include the copyright symbol, your name, and the year on the title page of your work (© 2017 by [your name]).You also may choose to register your copyright, which will gain you additional protections in case of litigation for copyright infringement. You can file a copyright registration online directly with the  U.S. Copyright Office  for a fee of $45.00.

You will be asked to agree to the license to deposit your submission to the Vanderbilt Institutional Repository.  The Library, with the Vanderbilt Institutional Repository, enhances the metadata provided with your dissertation and adds your record to discovery tools like the Library Catalog and WorldCat, making it easily findable for scholars worldwide. The library also maintains the technical infrastructure of the repository.  If you plan to make your dissertation open access, we can assist you in understanding the options for licensing. If your dissertation makes use of copyrighted content, you will want to think early on about whether you may rely on fair use or need to acquire licenses. We will be glad to meet with you to discuss the requirements of your particular project.PhD students also have the option to request deposit of your submission with ProQuest, at no additional cost to you. If you elect to deposit your submission with ProQuest, you must also agree to the ProQuest license. This agreement is entirely between you and ProQuest.  Vanderbilt’s sole responsibility is to pass on the license agreement and your work to ProQuest.  Please contact ProQuest Dissertation Publishing, at 1(800) 521-0600 or  [email protected]  with any questions.

The expectation of the Graduate School is that all theses and dissertations will be made publicly available absent these limited circumstances.  You have the option to make your submission available immediately or to temporarily embargo its release for a limited period of time. Students may elect to embargo their work if they anticipate publication, are making a patent application, have restrictions imposed by sponsors, or privacy concerns.  Metadata, including the abstract, about your submission will still be visible in the Vanderbilt Institutional Repository, thereby indicating that your submission was accepted.  You should discuss any anticipated hold on publication with your advisor. If selecting the ProQuest publishing option, be sure that you make the same embargo selection under the Vanderbilt options. Once your submission has been released to ProQuest, we have no ability to retract it.If, after consultation with your advisor, you would like to request a temporary embargo, you can elect from the following:

• No embargo and release immediately for worldwide access
• Six (6) month embargo
• Twelve (12) month embargo
• Twenty-four (24) month embargo

If you, after consultation with your advisor, determine that you need to extend your embargo beyond your initial selection, you can only do so with permission from the Graduate School. If you have questions about your embargo, you may email  [email protected]

The Graduate School recommends Campus Copy for procuring bound copies of theses and dissertations. You may contact them directly at 615-936-4544, or online at  Printing Services .

These guidelines provide students at Vanderbilt University with essential information about how to prepare and submit theses and dissertations in a format acceptable to the Graduate School. The topics range from writing style to the completion of required forms. There are instructions and sample pages on the Graduate School website for guidance through this process.

There is a distinct difference between submitting a manuscript to a publisher and providing a completed thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School. A manuscript represents a pre-publication format; a thesis or dissertation is a final, completely edited, published document. Students should use these guidelines, not other style manuals, as the final authority on issues of format and style. Areas not covered in this document or deviation from any of the specifications should be discussed with a Graduate School format editor. Do not use previously accepted theses and dissertations as definite models for style.

Manuscripts consist of four major sections and must be placed in the order listed:

• Title Page (required)
• Copyright (optional)
• Dedication (optional)
• Acknowledgments/Acknowledgment of Support (optional)
• Table of Contents (required)
• List of Tables (required, if tables are in the body of the manuscript)
• List of Figures (required, if figures are in the body of the manuscript)
• List of Abbreviations/Nomenclature/Symbols (optional)
• Introduction (may be referred to as Chapter 1)

Body of Manuscript

• References  (required)
• Appendices  (optional)

The dedication is an optional portion of the academic manuscript. It is a personal message from the author in tribute to a person, group, or cause. Most dedications are brief statements beginning with “To…” or “For…” such as “To my family” or “For my daughter, Samantha.” The dedication, if any, is considered to be the sole work of the author and does not reflect endorsement of the views and opinions expressed therein by Vanderbilt University, the Graduate School, or the members of the faculty committee.

The acknowledgment is another optional portion of the academic manuscript. It is appropriately used to thank those people and organizations that have helped or encouraged the author in the process of obtaining the degree or otherwise making the graduate degree possible: advisers, the committee, labmates or members of one’s cohort, family, friends, etc. Typically, an acknowledgment is no more than 1 page in length.Acknowledgment of grant/contract or other financial support may be included on the acknowledgment page. Similarly, permission to reprint copyrighted material may be included here.The acknowledgment, if any, is considered to be the sole work of the author and does not reflect endorsement of the views and opinions expressed therein by Vanderbilt University, the Graduate School, or the members of the faculty committee.

The abstract is a separate document from the manuscript; it is not bound with the thesis or dissertation. Abstracts must be printed on white, 8 ½ x 11-inch paper. No page numbers are printed on the abstract. One copy is required. Abstracts must have the original signature(s) of the faculty advisor(s). The maximum length of the thesis abstract is 250 words. The maximum length of the dissertation abstract is 350 words, including the dissertation title. Majors are listed on the last pages of these guidelines. NEW: Abstract sample

The title page must be printed on white, 8 ½ x 11-inch paper. Committee member signatures on the title page must be originals. Spacing on the title page will vary according to the length of the title. The five lines following your name must be formatted exactly as found on the sample title page. The title page is considered page ‘i’ but the page number is not printed on the page.  The month, day, and year representing the conferral date must be listed on the title page.

• NEW: ETD Title Page sample
• NEW: Title Page With Signatures sample

Use a standard font consistently throughout the manuscript. Font size should be 10 to 12-point for all text, including titles and headings. It is permissible to change point size in tables, figures, captions, footnotes, and appendix material. Retain the same font, where possible. When charts, graphs, or spreadsheets are “imported,” it is permissible to use alternate fonts. Italics are appropriate for book and journal titles, foreign terms, and scientific terminology.  Boldface  may be used within the text for emphasis and/or for headings and subheadings. Use both in moderation.

Measure the top margin from the edge of the page to the top of the first line of text. Measure the bottom page margin from the bottom of the last line of text to the bottom edge of the page. Page margins should be a minimum of one-half inch from top, bottom, left, and right and a maximum of one inch from top, bottom, left, and right. Right margins may be justified or ragged, depending upon departmental requirements or student preference.

The title page is considered to be page ‘i’ but the page number should not be printed on this page. All other pages should have a page number centered about ½ inch from the bottom of the page. Number the preliminary pages in lowercase Roman numerals. Arabic numerals begin on the first page of text. Pages are numbered consecutively throughout the remainder of the manuscript. The Introduction may be placed before the first page of Chapter 1, if it is not considered a chapter. The use of Arabic numbers may begin on the first page of the Introduction.

The entire text may be single-spaced, one and one-half spaced, or double-spaced. Block quotations, footnotes, endnotes, table and figure captions, titles longer than one line, and individual reference entries may be single-spaced. With spacing set, the following guidelines should be applied: Two enters after chapter numbers, chapter titles and major section titles (Dedication, Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Abbreviations, Appendices, and References). Two enters before each first- level and second-level heading. Two enters before and after tables and figures embedded in the text. One enter after sub-level headings.

Chapters may be identified with uppercase Roman numerals or Arabic numbers. Styles used on the Table of Contents should be consistent within the text. Tables, figures, footnotes, and equations should be numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript with Arabic numerals. These may also be numbered consecutively by each chapter. Equation numbers should be placed to the right of the equation and contained within parentheses or brackets. Use uppercase letters to designate appendices.

Departments will determine acceptable standards for organizing master’s theses into chapters, sections, or parts.  Usually, if a thesis has headings, a Table of Contents should be included. The dissertation must be divided into chapters. The use of parts, in addition to chapters, is acceptable.

Words and Sentences

Take care to divide words correctly. Do not divide words from one page to the next. Word processing software provides for “widow and orphan” protection. Utilize this feature to help in the proper division of sentences from one page to another. In general, a single line of text should not be left at the bottom or top of a page. Blank space may be left at the bottom of a page, where necessary.

Headings and Subheadings

Use headings and subheadings to describe briefly the material in the section that follows. Be consistent with your choice of “levels” and refer to the instructions on spacing for proper spacing between headings, subheadings, and text. First-level headings must be listed on the Table of Contents. Second-level and subsequent subheadings may be included.

Acronyms/Abbreviations/Capitalization

Abbreviations on the title page should appear as they do in the body of the thesis or dissertation. (Examples:  Xenopus laevis , Ca, Mg, Pb, Zn; TGF-β, p53.) Capitalize only the first letter of words of importance, distinction, or emphasis in titles and headings. Do not alter the all-cap style used for acronyms (Example: AIDS) and organizational names (Example: IBM). Use the conventional style for Latin words (Examples:  in vitro, in vivo, in situ ). Genus and species should be italicized. Capitalize the first letter of the genus, but not that of the species name (Example:  Streptococcus aureus ).

Figures commonly refer to photographs, images, maps, charts, graphs, and drawings. Tables generally list tabulated numerical data. These items should appear as close as possible to their first mention in the text. Tables and figures may be placed in appendices, if this is a departmental requirement or standard in the field. Tables and figures should be numbered with Arabic numerals, either consecutively or by chapter. Be consistent in the style used in the placement of tables and figure captions. Tables and figures may be embedded within the text or placed on a page alone. When placed on its own page, a figure or table may be centered on the page. When included with text, a table or figure should be set apart from the text. Tables and figures, including captions, may be oriented in landscape. Make sure to use landscape page positioning on landscape-oriented pages. Table data and figure data must be kept together, if the information fits on one page.

The submission process for theses and dissertations begins at the Graduate School. Forms must be digitally submitted to the Graduate School. View the Checklist for Graduation

The Vanderbilt Libraries have recently implemented  VIREO , an Electronic Thesis & Dissertation review and submission system for the Graduate School. The Graduate School requires electronic submission of all theses and dissertations through this new platform. Format reviews now occur within the VIREO submission process. If you have questions or would like an in-person format review,  contact administrators .Students will use their VUnet ID and password to log in and begin completing the appropriate information, as outlined below.

Verify Your Information

• Orcid ID (can obtain in VIREO)
• Department/Program, Degree, Major
• Phone & Address

 License & Publication Agreements

• Vanderbilt License Agreement (required)
• ProQuest Publication (optional)

 Document Information

• Title, degree month/year, defense date, abstract, keywords, subjects, language
• Your committee, Chair email
• Previously published material (optional)
• Embargo options

Upload Your Files

• Primary document: thesis/dissertation
• Additional files: supplemental, source, administrative (CV, Survey of Earned Doctorates (additional SED information is in the Ph.D. Dissertation Requirements accordion below))

Confirm and Submit

• Students will receive a confirmation email once submitted

Any documents you will be uploading into VIREO as administrative files should be saved as a PDF, and named with your last name, first name-file-conferral month and year. Examples:

• King, Amanda-IntraTermApp-032021.pdf
• King, Amanda-CV-052021.pdf
• King, Amanda-SED-052021.pdf
• King, Amanda-Title Page-052021.pdf
• King, Amanda-Permissions-052021.pdf
• King, Amanda-DGS Approval-052021.pdf

Intent to Graduate

Students planning to graduate at the end of the fall, spring, or summer term should submit the Intent to Graduate form through YES by clicking on Graduation – Intent. Note that all masters students should submit this form , even if they are receiving a master’s in passing to the PhD.

Format Review

A format review is required before thesis or dissertation approval. Review will take place through VIREO when you first upload your document. Allow time before the deadline for review and revisions. For questions contact  [email protected] .

Submit one copy of the title page, with original signatures of the advisor and a second reader (either a member of the committee or DGS of the program). The date on the title page will reflect the month, day, year of degree conferral.

Submit one copy of the abstract with the signature of the advisor.

Intent to Graduate 

Students planning to graduate at the end of the fall, spring, or summer term should submit the Intent to Graduate form through YES by clicking on Graduation – Intent.

Defense Results

Students must schedule the Defense Exam with the Graduate School two weeks prior to the exam. Students will bring the Defense Results Form (along with the Title Page & Abstract) to obtain committee signatures. Upload the signed title page and abstract as one administrative file (title page first followed by abstract) to VIREO as an administrative file, and have your department submit the defense results to the graduate school submissions portal.

Upload your signed title page as an administrative file in VIREO. The date on the title page will reflect the month, day, year of degree conferral. Be sure it is the date of conferral and not the date of your defense.

Upload your signed abstract as an administrative file in VIREO.

Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED)

Students finishing a doctorate degree are required to complete the  SED survey . Information provided to the National Opinion Research Council remains confidential and will be used for research or statistical purposes. Submit the Certificate of Completion with your VIREO submission as an administrative file.

Curriculum Vitae

Submit your CV through your VIREO submission as an administrative file. Directions on preparing a curriculum vitae are available here.

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• Capella University Blog
• PhD/Doctorate

What are the steps in writing a dissertation?

December 11, 2019

The doctoral dissertation is the crowning achievement of your PhD program and an accomplishment of which you can be very proud. It’s also a significant undertaking. For any large project like this, understanding the steps and sequence can help reduce some of the anxiety you may be feeling about writing a dissertation.

Curtis Brant, PhD, Dean of Research & Scholarship at Capella University, provides details of the primary steps required to complete a dissertation. 

Generally, a dissertation will have five chapters:

• An outline of the full background of your study
• A comprehensive literature review supporting your research
• A discussion of your choice of research design, data collection and analysis, and details of the research steps
• The actual data analyses and results, and
• The final evaluation and interpretation of your results.

As you progress through your program, each of the steps described below is designed to help you make concrete progress on your dissertation in smaller, manageable chunks. 

Step 1: Project Ideation.

 In your coursework, you will learn a great deal about the theories and practices central to your field of study. You will gain broad exposure to the field to help you to start thinking about a topic of inquiry for your project. You will also learn more about research ethics and methodologies so that in the next phase you will be ready to formally develop your project proposal. 

Step 2: Project Development.

Next, you will narrow down your choice of topics and begin to build the detailed format of your project. In this step, you will develop a detailed research plan that outlines the theoretical basis for your research, the questions you hope to answer, a research methodology, and proposed data analyses. In creating such a detailed research plan, you will also be developing much of the content for the first three chapters of your dissertation. You will submit your plan for approval to faculty to help prepare you for the next phase of completing your actual research. 

Step 3: Project Implementation.

 This step begins with submitting your study for approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB will review your project to ensure it meets the standards for ethical research. Once you get IRB approval, you can start to gather the data that you will analyze in the next step. During this step, you will also write and synthesize much of the content for the remaining chapters of your dissertation.

Step 4: Project Conclusion.

In this step you will complete your data collection and analyze the results. You will also finish writing the final two chapters of your dissertation in which you summarize your findings and connect your findings back to the questions and theories you discussed in earlier chapters. Prior to submitting your final dissertation for approval by your faculty review and edit it to ensure synthesis of all the content.

Step 5: University Approvals.

In the final step of completing your dissertation, you will submit your project for final format editing and approval from your faculty. 

Whatever step you’re on, one of the key factors to success is time management. Every step requires considerable work. Breaking down each step (as Capella does) is a good approach, as is diligently scheduling time every week to continue working. It may feel overwhelming to contemplate the entire process at once, but bundling it into smaller goals helps it become less daunting.

What’s more, as you progress through the steps of your project, your hard work will begin to pay off as you see the prospect of earning your PhD become a reality. Knowing that you’re contributing knowledge to your chosen field can be rewarding. It’s hard work but it’s followed by an immense feeling of satisfaction when you reach the end.

Capella University offers PhD and professional doctoral degree programs ranging from business to education and health to technology. Learn more about our online PhD programs .

You may also like

Can I transfer credits into a doctoral program?

The difference between a dissertation and doctoral capstone

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Top ten dissertation completion strategies, strategy 1:  project manager, strategy 2:  productivity, strategy 3:  persistence, strategy 4:  routines and structure, strategy 5:  workplace distractions, strategy 6:  software tools, strategy 7:  mobile workplaces, strategy 8:  accountability, strategy 9:  creativity and flexibility, strategy 10:  wellness.

• Les différents types de plan

I- Le plan dialectique

C'est le plan le plus utilisé.

A- Il est organisé en trois parties : thèse, antithèse, synthèse.

I- Thèse défendue (vérité de la thèse)

C'est souvent la thèse du sens commun

II- Réfutation de la thèse et antithèse

C'est souvent une thèse philosophique célèbre, qui détruit le point de vue du sens commun

III- Synthèse, où l'on rapproche les deux points de vue opposés, au sein d'une unité ou d'une catégorie supérieure. Elle réunifie, sans opérer de compromis ni concilier de manière verbale.

Ici, il faut trouver une thèse qui, renvoyant les deux premières dos à dos, montre qu'elles sont toutes les deux également partielles.

B- Problème de ce type de plan

1) La synthèse des deux thèses n'est pas toujours réalisable, ni même légitime.

2) C'est un peu une gymnastique intellectuelle, qui peut agacer certains…

Ainsi lui préferera-t-on le plan progressif (tout en n'abandonnant pas tout à fait le plan dialectique…).

C- Exemple de synthèse

Voici le plan d'une élève de terminale. Son sujet : "Le temps est-il essentiellement destructeur ?".

I- Le temps destructeur

- l'éphémérité de la vie

- l'éphémérité du temps

II- Le temps n'est pas que destructeur

- le souvenir

- l'avancée de l'homme grâce au temps

Sa question : "je ne trouve pas de troisième axe". Elle n'arrive donc pas à faire une "synthèse".

Voici ce qu'on peut proposer :

On va donc montrer le caractère partiel des deux thèses, et trouver un point de vue "supérieur", qui réunifiera les deux thèses en présence. On peut ainsi, en "troisième axe", faire une partie reprenant la thèse I = le caractère destructeur du temps (le passé ne reviendra plus, etc.), mais, cette fois, pour montrer qu'elle ne s'oppose pas à la thèse II. C'est-à-dire que l'on va montrer que, paradoxalement, ce qui dans le temps le fait paraître destructeur, n'est justement pas destructeur : - positivité de l'oubli (cours sur la mémoire, la partie sur Nietzsche) : si on n'oubliait rien, alors, nous ne pourrions pas supporter la vie, nous ne pourrions pas agir (thèse de Nietzsche et de Borgès) - et gain de sens pour l'homme, car cela signifie qu'il n'est pas condamné à revivre les mêmes événements toute sa vie (cf. le film "Une histoire sans fin"); possibilité de tout recommencer à zéro, etc. C'est là tout l'art de savoir trouver la positivité d'une thèse premièrement négative : on montre ici que ce qui dans le temps fait qu'il est destructeur, finit par être ce qui nous fait progresser, aller de l'avant...

II- Le plan progressif

A- Caractéristiques et structure

Il consiste à considérer, par des points de vue successifs, une même notion ou des notions, que l'on étudie en les approfondissant. Il s'agit de partir d'un point de vue relativement superficiel, de manière à atteindre des plans d'analyse de plus en plus élaborés et profonds.

Ce plan a souvent la forme suivante :

I- Première définition élémentaire, proche du point de vue du sens commun ou du discours quotidien

II- Elaboration d'une seconde définition, plus rationnelle ou réfléchie (donc, "philosophique")

III- En arriver à un troisième niveau, plus "transcendant"

B- Intérêt

C'est un plan très fécond pour les intitulés portant sur une notion ("La contingence", "Qu'est-ce qu'une personne?"). En effet, il permet alors l'étude approfondie d'un concept.

Si les intitulés du bac ne sont pas tels, ce n'est pas grave : je trouve que ce type de plan permet aussi une réflexion très intéressante sur des intitulés dits "classiques" (les questions).

C- Exemples

1) Reportez-vous au corrigé du sujet "Peut-on douter de tout?" :

I- du point de vue de la connaissance;

III- du point de vue moral et/ ou politique.

2) "Qu'est-ce qu'une éducation réussie?"

I- Niveau élémentaire : une mise en œuvre des moyens propres à assurer le développement d'un être humain et sa pleine adaptation sociale

II- Niveau éthique : une forme de discipline susceptible de conduire à la formation de la personne

III- Niveau métaphysique : un processus concernant le passage de la nature à la culture, et à la liberté

Conclusion : les points communs de ces deux types de plan

Si j'ai dit à la fin de la première partie que l'on peut adopter ce type de plan tout en n'abandonnant pas le type de plan dialectique, c'est qu'ils ne sont pas sans avoir, selon moi, des points communs. En effet, il me semble que quand on passe, dans le plan dialectique, d'une thèse à sa réfutation, et finalement à leur "réconciliation", on ne peut le faire intelligemment que si l'on change quelque peu les définitions des concepts majeurs, que si l'on change quelque peu de point de vue. Sinon, ça ne peut que donner quelque chose du genre : "à la fois oui, et à la fois non". Ce qui est inacceptable, c'est du pur relativisme -attitude anti-philosophique, cf. Platon!

NB : il y a d'autres types de plans, mais en classe terminale, les deux précédents suffisent. Mais attention : ce sont des canevas, utiles, certes, mais toujours en quelque sorte trop larges pour ce sujet-ci, que vous aurez à traiter. N'hésitez donc pas à innover, à partir de ces deux grands schémas possibles…

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Technique :

On expose dans une première partie de la dissertation une position (c’est –à-dire une première réponse à la problématique) avec des arguments.

Dans une seconde partie,   on trouve des objections qui réfutent la première réponse.

Dans une troisième partie, on reprend la première réponse pour montrer qu’elle est pertinente en apportant les conditions, les réserves, les nuances qui proviennent des objections de la seconde partie.

Remarque : il est préférable dans ce type de plan, de prendre comme thèse la position que l’on défend et qui correspond réellement à ce que l’on croit juste.

Exemple  : la loi et la liberté s’opposent elles ?

I/ La loi est nécessaire pour établir la liberté dans la société.

Argument principal : sans loi, c’est l’anarchie, la loi du plus fort, un seul est libre, les autres sont soumis.

II/ Mais la loi peut anéantir la liberté. [

Argument principal : dans une dictature ou un système totalitaire, il y a bien des lois mais elles s’opposent aux libertés des hommes.

III/   La loi est favorable à la liberté sous certaines conditions :

Argument principal : il faut instituer des lois démocratiques …..

C’est un plan qui apporte des réponses en établissant plusieurs sens ou plusieurs registres dans la question du sujet. La dissertation abordera successivement ces différents aspects en cherchant au mieux à les relier les uns aux autres.

A-t-on le droit de désobéir ?

1/ Le point de vue   du droit légal ( le droit en vigueur dans la société)

Argument principal : La désobéissance est interdite

2) Le point de vue moral

Argument principal : il y a des lois injustes et la désobéissance est légitime

3) La problème de la légitimité.

Argument principal  : Comment savoir si un acte est légitime : on peut se référer à   la notion de droit naturel (les droits de l’homme).

Le plan progressif est intéressant car il permet d’exposer différentes idées sur une notion   . Le danger c’est de s’éloigner du sujet dans l’une des parties.

C’est une variante du plan dialectique.

On expose l’opinion courante sur le sujet plus on réfute cette opinion, enfin on peut rétablir l’opinion courante avec des arguments plus approfondis.

Exemple  :   Faut-il satisfaire ses désirs   pour être heureux ?

I Selon l’opinion courante, le bonheur réside dans la satisfaction des désirs

Argument principal    :    (principe de la société de consommation).

II Le désir crée une insatisfaction permanente :

Argument principal    : souffrances liées aux désirs

III   il   faut satisfaire ses désirs pour être heureux.

Argument principal : il faut satisfaire ses désirs personnels (authentiques) et non les désirs que la société ou les autres nous attribuent (désirs mimétiques)

IV/ Le plan   Nature – Existence – Valeur  

Ce type de plan vous sera surtout utile dans les études supérieures (prépas).   On pose la question « qu’est-ce que ? » puis « comment / pourquoi cette chose existe et enfin quelle est sa valeur.

Exemple :   Ex :   La violence

I/ Nature   de la violence ?

  Physique, morale

II/ Existence   de la violence – Pourquoi la violence existe-t-elle ?

La question du libre arbitre

III/ Valeur   de la violence ?

Négativité   de la violence : la souffrance, la mort, la destruction

Positivité de la violence ? Violence créatrice d’un nouveau ordre (ex : révolution).

• Défiler vers le haut

Organiser un plan de dissertation

Le plan dialectique.

• Poser une thèse (qui correspond à une première réponse au sujet).
• Chercher ensuite à montrer les difficultés qu'elle pose.
• Finir en nuançant la première idée soutenue.

Le plan progressif

• Poser une première réponse au sujet qui relève du sens commun.
• Proposer une autre approche, plus philosophique, du problème.
• Terminer par une critique de l'approche philosophique précédente.

Le plan aporétique

• Montrer que ces difficultés empêchent de proposer une réponse définitive à la question posée.

Searle - XX e siècle

Texte 10 la connaissance scientifique peut-elle expliquer la conscience .

Pinker - XX e siècle

Texte 11 le cerveau détermine toute la personnalité.

• 2 e étape : Regroupez les analyses ainsi obtenues en fonction de la réponse que chacune propose et choisissez un type de plan pour répondre au sujet. Par exemple, si vous choisissez le plan progressif, les textes 8, 10 et 11 conviennent parfaitement.
• La conscience apparaît-elle dès l'apparition du cerveau de l'enfant ? Qu'est‑ce qui peut expliquer le besoin d'attendre ? Le cerveau suffit‑il à créer la conscience ? La thèse du texte serait‑elle une bonne thèse ou antithèse ? ( Texte 2 )
• Quelles sont les deux manières d'acquérir une conscience de soi ? Pourquoi l'homme agit‑il sur le monde ? De quoi l'art peut-il être considéré comme l'aboutissement ? La construction de ce texte est‑elle aporétique, dialectique ou progressive ? ( Texte 4 )
• Notre conscience est‑elle déterminée par un « destin biologique » ? Notre conscience ne dépend‑elle pas aussi d'interactions sociales ? Ici, la thèse repose sur une définition critique de la notion de conscience. Quel serait le plan le plus adapté pour faire de même en dissertation ? ( Texte 8 )

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Graduate Dissertation Progresss

Dissertation Progress

Students are required to meet with their advisors about their progress once a semester. By the end of the fourth year, the student should submit a complete draft of at least one chapter to the full committee. During the fifth year, the student is required to present a draft of another chapter to one of the work-in-progress groups of the departments. By the end of the summer following the fifth year (that is, before the sixth year begins), students should have completed at least three full chapters. All students are expected to complete their dissertations by the end of the sixth year of study.

In accordance with the Provost's Academic Rules for Ph.D.s , each doctoral candidate should meet annually (typically in the spring, though depending on schedules this meeting may also take place in fall) with his or her full committee to review progress-to-date toward the dissertation; confer about publication plans, conferences, research trips, and job market timetables; and generally check in. The dissertation chair should take the lead, once the student has put in the request, in finding a suitable time, date, and location for the meeting. Committee members who are unable to be attend in person should arrange to participate via Skype or conference call.

Students who have been working on dissertations more than five semesters will receive each summer from the Graduate Dean a Dissertation Progress Report form, which they must fill out and return to the Dean by the stipulated deadline (usually October 26). The form is now available online: https://fusion.sas.upenn.edu/degree/

Such students should prepare their Progress Reports in consultation with their dissertation advisors, since the advisors will be asked to verify the student's good progress toward degree.

Dissertation Progress Report forms are available in PDF format  here.

Students who have not completed the dissertation within five years of their first registration for dissertation tuition (normally fall of the fourth year) will be dropped from full-time student status, or even dropped entirely from the program, unless the advisor, Graduate Chair, and Graduate Dean agree to extend the student's full-time status. If you are approaching this point, you should take care to submit careful progress reports to the Dean, consult regularly with your dissertation advisor, and keep the Graduate Chair up to date on your progress.

Students who entered the program in Fall 1993 or more recently and who have not graduated within five years of their first term on dissertation tuition, will be required to resubmit their Dissertation proposals to the GEC for re-evaluation and reapproval, in order to ensure that their dissertation work continues to satisfy current scholarly standards. If a student's Dissertation proposal is not deemed satisfactory when resubmitted, he or she will be asked to revise it until it is approved; the GEC would also retain the right to drop the student from the program.

CONTINUOUS REGISTRATION Continuous registration as a graduate student is required unless a formal leave of absence is granted. Students considering taking a leave of absence should consult the University's most current Leave of Absence Policy for guidelines and procedures.

Steps After Submission

Main navigation.

If you recently submitted a dissertation or thesis in Axess, you still have one more required step to complete. Browse this guide to help you stay on track.

Certificate of Final Reading

After you’ve submitted your dissertation or thesis, one member of your Reading Committee, known as the Final Reader, must certify that they have reviewed the final draft of the dissertation, engineer thesis, or final project submitted to the university. The Final Reader must be a member of the Academic Council.  Final Reader certification or approval is one of the last submission steps that must be completed by the submission deadline date .

The certification process occurs in Axess, where the Final Reader will be able to review a copy of the submission, and then approve or reject the submission.

Upon final submission of the dissertation or thesis online, an email is automatically sent to the Final Reader informing them that they have a dissertation or thesis ready for review in Axess. The Final Reader can locate the Approve Dissertation/Thesis link within their Advisor tab in Axess.

The final reading of the dissertation should include a review of the following:

• Content : All suggested changes have been taken into account and incorporated into the manuscript where appropriate. If the manuscript includes joint group research, the student's contribution is clearly explained in an introduction.
• Published Materials : If previously published materials are included in the dissertation, publication sources are indicated, written permission has been obtained for copyrighted materials, and all of the dissertation format requirements have been met.
• Appearance : The dissertation is ready-for-publication in appearance.
• Release Options : The Final Reader will also have the opportunity to review the selected embargo and other release options.

If the Final Reader is having difficulty submitting approval via Axess due to technical issues, they should submit a Help Request .  If the Final Reader does not have access to a computer, or is traveling abroad, the student may submit a paper Certificate of Final Reading .  Please allow 3-5 business days to manually process paper certificates, whereas approvals submitted in Axess update the dissertation record in real time.

Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED)

Stanford University participates in the Survey of Earned Doctorates, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Education, and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).  Stanford asks that you complete this survey .

Obtaining Bound Copies for Personal Use

The Office of the University Registrar does not provide bound copies of your dissertation or thesis for personal use.

After you officially submit your dissertation or thesis to Stanford, if you want a bound copy of your work for personal use, the university recommends the HF Group .

The HF Group offers a print-on-demand service for Stanford students wanting personal bound copies (with red covers) of their dissertations, engineer thesis, or DMA Final Project. 

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Doctoral Dissertation Presentation

Please join us on Friday, June 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. , for EdD candidate Theresa Gouveia’s dissertation presentation. Her phenomenological study examined special education teachers’ lived experiences with compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and the influence of these on their professional quality of life.

See link and details on the flyer below.