what is a dissertation article

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Dissertation

How to Write a Dissertation | A Guide to Structure & Content

A dissertation or thesis is a long piece of academic writing based on original research, submitted as part of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

The structure of a dissertation depends on your field, but it is usually divided into at least four or five chapters (including an introduction and conclusion chapter).

The most common dissertation structure in the sciences and social sciences includes:

• An introduction to your topic
• A literature review that surveys relevant sources
• An explanation of your methodology
• An overview of the results of your research
• A discussion of the results and their implications
• A conclusion that shows what your research has contributed

Dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a long essay , building an argument by analysing primary and secondary sources . Instead of the standard structure outlined here, you might organise your chapters around different themes or case studies.

Other important elements of the dissertation include the title page , abstract , and reference list . If in doubt about how your dissertation should be structured, always check your department’s guidelines and consult with your supervisor.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

Table of contents

Acknowledgements, table of contents, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review / theoretical framework, methodology, reference list.

The very first page of your document contains your dissertation’s title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo. Many programs have strict requirements for formatting the dissertation title page .

The title page is often used as cover when printing and binding your dissertation .

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

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

The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about 150-300 words long. You should write it at the very end, when you’ve completed the rest of the dissertation. In the abstract, make sure to:

• State the main topic and aims of your research
• Describe the methods you used
• Summarise the main results
• State your conclusions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Establish your research topic , giving necessary background information to contextualise your work
• Narrow down the focus and define the scope of the research
• Discuss the state of existing research on the topic, showing your work’s relevance to a broader problem or debate
• Clearly state your objectives and research questions , and indicate how you will answer them
• Give an overview of your dissertation’s structure

Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant to your research. By the end, the reader should understand the what , why and how of your research. Not sure how? Read our guide on how to write a dissertation introduction .

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

• Collecting sources (e.g. books and journal articles) and selecting the most relevant ones
• Critically evaluating and analysing each source
• Drawing connections between them (e.g. themes, patterns, conflicts, gaps) to make an overall point

In the dissertation literature review chapter or section, you shouldn’t just summarise existing studies, but develop a coherent structure and argument that leads to a clear basis or justification for your own research. For example, it might aim to show how your research:

• Addresses a gap in the literature
• Takes a new theoretical or methodological approach to the topic
• Proposes a solution to an unresolved problem
• Advances a theoretical debate
• Builds on and strengthens existing knowledge with new data

The literature review often becomes the basis for a theoretical framework , in which you define and analyse the key theories, concepts and models that frame your research. In this section you can answer descriptive research questions about the relationship between concepts or variables.

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

• The overall approach and type of research (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, experimental, ethnographic)
• Your methods of collecting data (e.g. interviews, surveys, archives)
• Details of where, when, and with whom the research took place
• Your methods of analysing data (e.g. statistical analysis, discourse analysis)
• Tools and materials you used (e.g. computer programs, lab equipment)
• A discussion of any obstacles you faced in conducting the research and how you overcame them
• An evaluation or justification of your methods

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

Next, you report the results of your research . You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses, or topics. Only report results that are relevant to your objectives and research questions. In some disciplines, the results section is strictly separated from the discussion, while in others the two are combined.

For example, for qualitative methods like in-depth interviews, the presentation of the data will often be woven together with discussion and analysis, while in quantitative and experimental research, the results should be presented separately before you discuss their meaning. If you’re unsure, consult with your supervisor and look at sample dissertations to find out the best structure for your research.

In the results section it can often be helpful to include tables, graphs and charts. Think carefully about how best to present your data, and don’t include tables or figures that just repeat what you have written  –  they should provide extra information or usefully visualise the results in a way that adds value to your text.

Full versions of your data (such as interview transcripts) can be included as an appendix .

The discussion  is where you explore the meaning and implications of your results in relation to your research questions. Here you should interpret the results in detail, discussing whether they met your expectations and how well they fit with the framework that you built in earlier chapters. If any of the results were unexpected, offer explanations for why this might be. It’s a good idea to consider alternative interpretations of your data and discuss any limitations that might have influenced the results.

The discussion should reference other scholarly work to show how your results fit with existing knowledge. You can also make recommendations for future research or practical action.

The dissertation conclusion should concisely answer the main research question, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of your central argument. Wrap up your dissertation with a final reflection on what you did and how you did it. The conclusion often also includes recommendations for research or practice.

In this section, it’s important to show how your findings contribute to knowledge in the field and why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known?

You must include full details of all sources that you have cited in a reference list (sometimes also called a works cited list or bibliography). It’s important to follow a consistent reference style . Each style has strict and specific requirements for how to format your sources in the reference list.

The most common styles used in UK universities are Harvard referencing and Vancouver referencing . Your department will often specify which referencing style you should use – for example, psychology students tend to use APA style , humanities students often use MHRA , and law students always use OSCOLA . M ake sure to check the requirements, and ask your supervisor if you’re unsure.

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

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

Is this article helpful?

Other students also liked.

• What Is a Dissertation? | 5 Essential Questions to Get Started
• What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples
• How to Write a Dissertation Proposal | A Step-by-Step Guide

More interesting articles

• Checklist: Writing a dissertation
• Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates
• Dissertation binding and printing
• Dissertation Table of Contents in Word | Instructions & Examples
• Dissertation title page
• Example Theoretical Framework of a Dissertation or Thesis
• Figure & Table Lists | Word Instructions, Template & Examples
• How to Choose a Dissertation Topic | 8 Steps to Follow
• How to Write a Discussion Section | Tips & Examples
• How to Write a Results Section | Tips & Examples
• How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion
• How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Introduction
• How to Write an Abstract | Steps & Examples
• How to Write Recommendations in Research | Examples & Tips
• List of Abbreviations | Example, Template & Best Practices
• Operationalisation | A Guide with Examples, Pros & Cons
• Prize-Winning Thesis and Dissertation Examples
• Relevance of Your Dissertation Topic | Criteria & Tips
• Research Paper Appendix | Example & Templates
• Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples
• Thesis & Dissertation Database Examples
• What is a Dissertation Preface? | Definition & Examples
• What is a Glossary? | Definition, Templates, & Examples
• What Is a Research Methodology? | Steps & Tips
• What is a Theoretical Framework? | A Step-by-Step Guide
• What Is a Thesis? | Ultimate Guide & Examples

/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="what is a dissertation article"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Guide to writing your thesis/dissertation, definition of dissertation and thesis.

The dissertation or thesis is a scholarly treatise that substantiates a specific point of view as a result of original research that is conducted by students during their graduate study. At Cornell, the thesis is a requirement for the receipt of the M.A. and M.S. degrees and some professional master’s degrees. The dissertation is a requirement of the Ph.D. degree.

Formatting Requirement and Standards

The Graduate School sets the minimum format for your thesis or dissertation, while you, your special committee, and your advisor/chair decide upon the content and length. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other mechanical issues are your sole responsibility. Generally, the thesis and dissertation should conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field. The Graduate School does not monitor the thesis or dissertation for mechanics, content, or style.

“Papers Option” Dissertation or Thesis

A “papers option” is available only to students in certain fields, which are listed on the Fields Permitting the Use of Papers Option page , or by approved petition. If you choose the papers option, your dissertation or thesis is organized as a series of relatively independent chapters or papers that you have submitted or will be submitting to journals in the field. You must be the only author or the first author of the papers to be used in the dissertation. The papers-option dissertation or thesis must meet all format and submission requirements, and a singular referencing convention must be used throughout.

ProQuest Electronic Submissions

The dissertation and thesis become permanent records of your original research, and in the case of doctoral research, the Graduate School requires publication of the dissertation and abstract in its original form. All Cornell master’s theses and doctoral dissertations require an electronic submission through ProQuest, which fills orders for paper or digital copies of the thesis and dissertation and makes a digital version available online via their subscription database, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses . For master’s theses, only the abstract is available. ProQuest provides worldwide distribution of your work from the master copy. You retain control over your dissertation and are free to grant publishing rights as you see fit. The formatting requirements contained in this guide meet all ProQuest specifications.

Copies of Dissertation and Thesis

Copies of Ph.D. dissertations and master’s theses are also uploaded in PDF format to the Cornell Library Repository, eCommons . A print copy of each master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation is submitted to Cornell University Library by ProQuest.

While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important.

This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argument would not also need to read an essay based on this descriptive thesis.  

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence) 

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues.

This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which “issues” it is focused on—or why it matters if they are considered—readers won’t know what the rest of the essay will argue, and the writer won’t know what to focus on. If there is a particular issue that Sandel does not address, then a more specific version of the thesis would include that issue—hand an explanation of why it is important.  

Arguable thesis with analytical claim 

While Sandel argues persuasively that our instinct to “remake” (54) ourselves into something ever more perfect is a problem, his belief that we can always draw a line between what is medically necessary and what makes us simply “better than well” (51) is less convincing.

This is an arguable analytical claim. To argue for this claim, the essay writer will need to show how evidence from the article itself points to this interpretation. It’s also a reasonable scope for a thesis because it can be supported with evidence available in the text and is neither too broad nor too narrow.  

Arguable thesis with normative claim 

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children.

This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument.  

Questions to ask about your thesis 

• Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it?  
• Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument?  
• Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument?  
• Is the thesis supportable with evidence from the text rather than with generalizations or outside research?  
• Would anyone want to read a paper in which this thesis was developed? That is, can you explain what this paper is adding to our understanding of a problem, question, or topic?
• picture_as_pdf Thesis

Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

*The Caveat *

In this post, we’ll be discussing a traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout, which is generally used for social science research across universities, whether in the US, UK, Europe or Australia. However, some universities may have small variations on this structure (extra chapters, merged chapters, slightly different ordering, etc).

So, always check with your university if they have a prescribed structure or layout that they expect you to work with. If not, it’s safe to assume the structure we’ll discuss here is suitable. And even if they do have a prescribed structure, you’ll still get value from this post as we’ll explain the core contents of each section.  

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

• Acknowledgements page
• Abstract (or executive summary)
• Table of contents , list of figures and tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Results
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• Reference list

As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure. For example, they want an additional “personal reflection chapter”, or they might prefer the results and discussion chapter to be merged into one. Regardless, the overarching flow will always be the same, as this flow reflects the research process , which we discussed here – i.e.:

• The introduction chapter presents the core research question and aims .
• The literature review chapter assesses what the current research says about this question.
• The methodology, results and discussion chapters go about undertaking new research about this question.
• The conclusion chapter (attempts to) answer the core research question .

In other words, the dissertation structure and layout reflect the research process of asking a well-defined question(s), investigating, and then answering the question – see below.

To restate that – the structure and layout of a dissertation reflect the flow of the overall research process . This is essential to understand, as each chapter will make a lot more sense if you “get” this concept. If you’re not familiar with the research process, read this post before going further.

Right. Now that we’ve covered the big picture, let’s dive a little deeper into the details of each section and chapter. Oh and by the way, you can also grab our free dissertation/thesis template here to help speed things up.

The title page of your dissertation is the very first impression the marker will get of your work, so it pays to invest some time thinking about your title. But what makes for a good title? A strong title needs to be 3 things:

• Succinct (not overly lengthy or verbose)
• Specific (not vague or ambiguous)
• Representative of the research you’re undertaking (clearly linked to your research questions)

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

• The broader area of the research (i.e. the overarching topic)
• The specific focus of your research (i.e. your specific context)
• Indication of research design (e.g. quantitative , qualitative , or  mixed methods ).

For example:

A quantitative investigation [research design] into the antecedents of organisational trust [broader area] in the UK retail forex trading market [specific context/area of focus].

Again, some universities may have specific requirements regarding the format and structure of the title, so it’s worth double-checking expectations with your institution (if there’s no mention in the brief or study material).

Acknowledgements

This page provides you with an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped you along your research journey. Generally, it’s optional (and won’t count towards your marks), but it is academic best practice to include this.

So, who do you say thanks to? Well, there’s no prescribed requirements, but it’s common to mention the following people:

• Your dissertation supervisor or committee.
• Any professors, lecturers or academics that helped you understand the topic or methodologies.
• Any tutors, mentors or advisors.
• Your family and friends, especially spouse (for adult learners studying part-time).

There’s no need for lengthy rambling. Just state who you’re thankful to and for what (e.g. thank you to my supervisor, John Doe, for his endless patience and attentiveness) – be sincere. In terms of length, you should keep this to a page or less.

Abstract or executive summary

The dissertation abstract (or executive summary for some degrees) serves to provide the first-time reader (and marker or moderator) with a big-picture view of your research project. It should give them an understanding of the key insights and findings from the research, without them needing to read the rest of the report – in other words, it should be able to stand alone .

For it to stand alone, your abstract should cover the following key points (at a minimum):

• Your research questions and aims – what key question(s) did your research aim to answer?
• Your methodology – how did you go about investigating the topic and finding answers to your research question(s)?
• Your findings – following your own research, what did do you discover?
• Your conclusions – based on your findings, what conclusions did you draw? What answers did you find to your research question(s)?

So, in much the same way the dissertation structure mimics the research process, your abstract or executive summary should reflect the research process, from the initial stage of asking the original question to the final stage of answering that question.

In practical terms, it’s a good idea to write this section up last , once all your core chapters are complete. Otherwise, you’ll end up writing and rewriting this section multiple times (just wasting time). For a step by step guide on how to write a strong executive summary, check out this post .

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

This section is straightforward. You’ll typically present your table of contents (TOC) first, followed by the two lists – figures and tables. I recommend that you use Microsoft Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate your TOC. If you’re not familiar with this functionality, the video below explains it simply:

If you find that your table of contents is overly lengthy, consider removing one level of depth. Oftentimes, this can be done without detracting from the usefulness of the TOC.

Right, now that the “admin” sections are out of the way, its time to move on to your core chapters. These chapters are the heart of your dissertation and are where you’ll earn the marks. The first chapter is the introduction chapter – as you would expect, this is the time to introduce your research…

It’s important to understand that even though you’ve provided an overview of your research in your abstract, your introduction needs to be written as if the reader has not read that (remember, the abstract is essentially a standalone document). So, your introduction chapter needs to start from the very beginning, and should address the following questions:

• What will you be investigating (in plain-language, big picture-level)?
• Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original?
• What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter).
• What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will and won’t you cover ?
• How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt?
• How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

These are just the bare basic requirements for your intro chapter. Some universities will want additional bells and whistles in the intro chapter, so be sure to carefully read your brief or consult your research supervisor.

If done right, your introduction chapter will set a clear direction for the rest of your dissertation. Specifically, it will make it clear to the reader (and marker) exactly what you’ll be investigating, why that’s important, and how you’ll be going about the investigation. Conversely, if your introduction chapter leaves a first-time reader wondering what exactly you’ll be researching, you’ve still got some work to do.

Now that you’ve set a clear direction with your introduction chapter, the next step is the literature review . In this section, you will analyse the existing research (typically academic journal articles and high-quality industry publications), with a view to understanding the following questions:

• What does the literature currently say about the topic you’re investigating?
• Is the literature lacking or well established? Is it divided or in disagreement?
• How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
• How does your research contribute something original?
• How does the methodology of previous studies help you develop your own?

Depending on the nature of your study, you may also present a conceptual framework towards the end of your literature review, which you will then test in your actual research.

Again, some universities will want you to focus on some of these areas more than others, some will have additional or fewer requirements, and so on. Therefore, as always, its important to review your brief and/or discuss with your supervisor, so that you know exactly what’s expected of your literature review chapter.

Now that you’ve investigated the current state of knowledge in your literature review chapter and are familiar with the existing key theories, models and frameworks, its time to design your own research. Enter the methodology chapter – the most “science-ey” of the chapters…

In this chapter, you need to address two critical questions:

• Exactly HOW will you carry out your research (i.e. what is your intended research design)?
• Exactly WHY have you chosen to do things this way (i.e. how do you justify your design)?

Remember, the dissertation part of your degree is first and foremost about developing and demonstrating research skills . Therefore, the markers want to see that you know which methods to use, can clearly articulate why you’ve chosen then, and know how to deploy them effectively.

Importantly, this chapter requires detail – don’t hold back on the specifics. State exactly what you’ll be doing, with who, when, for how long, etc. Moreover, for every design choice you make, make sure you justify it.

In practice, you will likely end up coming back to this chapter once you’ve undertaken all your data collection and analysis, and revise it based on changes you made during the analysis phase. This is perfectly fine. Its natural for you to add an additional analysis technique, scrap an old one, etc based on where your data lead you. Of course, I’m talking about small changes here – not a fundamental switch from qualitative to quantitative, which will likely send your supervisor in a spin!

You’ve now collected your data and undertaken your analysis, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In this chapter, you’ll present the raw results of your analysis . For example, in the case of a quant study, you’ll present the demographic data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics , etc.

Typically, Chapter 4 is simply a presentation and description of the data, not a discussion of the meaning of the data. In other words, it’s descriptive, rather than analytical – the meaning is discussed in Chapter 5. However, some universities will want you to combine chapters 4 and 5, so that you both present and interpret the meaning of the data at the same time. Check with your institution what their preference is.

Now that you’ve presented the data analysis results, its time to interpret and analyse them. In other words, its time to discuss what they mean, especially in relation to your research question(s).

What you discuss here will depend largely on your chosen methodology. For example, if you’ve gone the quantitative route, you might discuss the relationships between variables . If you’ve gone the qualitative route, you might discuss key themes and the meanings thereof. It all depends on what your research design choices were.

Most importantly, you need to discuss your results in relation to your research questions and aims, as well as the existing literature. What do the results tell you about your research questions? Are they aligned with the existing research or at odds? If so, why might this be? Dig deep into your findings and explain what the findings suggest, in plain English.

The final chapter – you’ve made it! Now that you’ve discussed your interpretation of the results, its time to bring it back to the beginning with the conclusion chapter . In other words, its time to (attempt to) answer your original research question s (from way back in chapter 1). Clearly state what your conclusions are in terms of your research questions. This might feel a bit repetitive, as you would have touched on this in the previous chapter, but its important to bring the discussion full circle and explicitly state your answer(s) to the research question(s).

Next, you’ll typically discuss the implications of your findings . In other words, you’ve answered your research questions – but what does this mean for the real world (or even for academia)? What should now be done differently, given the new insight you’ve generated?

Lastly, you should discuss the limitations of your research, as well as what this means for future research in the area. No study is perfect, especially not a Masters-level. Discuss the shortcomings of your research. Perhaps your methodology was limited, perhaps your sample size was small or not representative, etc, etc. Don’t be afraid to critique your work – the markers want to see that you can identify the limitations of your work. This is a strength, not a weakness. Be brutal!

This marks the end of your core chapters – woohoo! From here on out, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

The reference list is straightforward. It should contain a list of all resources cited in your dissertation, in the required format, e.g. APA , Harvard, etc.

It’s essential that you use reference management software for your dissertation. Do NOT try handle your referencing manually – its far too error prone. On a reference list of multiple pages, you’re going to make mistake. To this end, I suggest considering either Mendeley or Zotero. Both are free and provide a very straightforward interface to ensure that your referencing is 100% on point. I’ve included a simple how-to video for the Mendeley software (my personal favourite) below:

Some universities may ask you to include a bibliography, as opposed to a reference list. These two things are not the same . A bibliography is similar to a reference list, except that it also includes resources which informed your thinking but were not directly cited in your dissertation. So, double-check your brief and make sure you use the right one.

The very last piece of the puzzle is the appendix or set of appendices. This is where you’ll include any supporting data and evidence. Importantly, supporting is the keyword here.

Your appendices should provide additional “nice to know”, depth-adding information, which is not critical to the core analysis. Appendices should not be used as a way to cut down word count (see this post which covers how to reduce word count ). In other words, don’t place content that is critical to the core analysis here, just to save word count. You will not earn marks on any content in the appendices, so don’t try to play the system!

Time to recap…

And there you have it – the traditional dissertation structure and layout, from A-Z. To recap, the core structure for a dissertation or thesis is (typically) as follows:

• Acknowledgments page

Most importantly, the core chapters should reflect the research process (asking, investigating and answering your research question). Moreover, the research question(s) should form the golden thread throughout your dissertation structure. Everything should revolve around the research questions, and as you’ve seen, they should form both the start point (i.e. introduction chapter) and the endpoint (i.e. conclusion chapter).

I hope this post has provided you with clarity about the traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or feel free to get in touch with us. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the  Grad Coach Blog .

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 ...

You Might Also Like:

36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

Glad to hear that, Arun. Good luck writing your dissertation.

Such clear practical logical advice. I very much needed to read this to keep me focused in stead of fretting.. Perfect now ready to start my research!

what about scientific fields like computer or engineering thesis what is the difference in the structure? thank you very much

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

Very helpful and accessible. What I like most is how practical the advice is along with helpful tools/ links.

Thanks Ade!

Thank you so much sir.. It was really helpful..

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

You’re most welcome. Good luck with your dissertation.

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

Many times Clarity and vision of destination of dissertation is what makes the difference between good ,average and great researchers the same way a great automobile driver is fast with clarity of address and Clear weather conditions .

I guess Great researcher = great ideas + knowledge + great and fast data collection and modeling + great writing + high clarity on all these

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

Morning. Where will I write the definitions of what I’m referring to in my report?

Thank you so much Derek, I was almost lost! Thanks a tonnnn! Have a great day!

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

This was very helpful. Clear and concise. I know exactly what to do now.

Thank you for allowing me to go through briefly. I hope to find time to continue.

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

Very interesting! It will definitely set me and many more for success. highly recommended.

Thank you soo much sir, for the opportunity to express my skills

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

My stress level just dropped at least 15 points after watching this. Just starting my thesis for my grad program and I feel a lot more capable now! Thanks for such a clear and helpful video, Emma and the GradCoach team!

Do we need to mention the number of words the dissertation contains in the main document?

It depends on your university’s requirements, so it would be best to check with them 🙂

Such a helpful post to help me get started with structuring my masters dissertation, thank you!

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

• What Is A Literature Review (In A Dissertation Or Thesis) - Grad Coach - […] is to write the actual literature review chapter (this is usually the second chapter in a typical dissertation or…

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Print Friendly

The Graduate School

University information technology (uit), main navigation, published articles as dissertation chapters.

• Submission Procedure
• Policies for Theses and Dissertations
• Coauthored Theses and Dissertations
• Approval Requirements
• Publication Requirements
• Copyright Page
• Statement of Thesis/Dissertation Approval
• Dedication, Frontispiece, and Epigraph
• Table of Contents and List of Figures/Tables
• Acknowledgements
• General Formatting Requirements
• Parts Composed of Related Chapters
• Headings and Subheadings
• Tables and Figures
• Footnote and Reference Citations
• Appendix or Appendices
• References or Selected Bibliography
• Documentation Styles
• Writing Styles
• Print Quality
• Accessibility in the PDF
• Electronic Version Submitted for Thesis Release
• Distribution of Theses and Dissertations
• Alternate Text
• Color Contrast
• Accessibility Issues in Table Construction
• Heading Space
• Double Space
• Single Space

Previously Published, Accepted, and Submitted Articles as Chapters of a Dissertation

• Alternate Figure/Table Placement

In the case where students use a previously published, submitted, or accepted article as one or more chapters of their dissertation, the following rules apply. 

Each previously published reprint and accepted or submitted article (or chapter as an article prepared for publication) is treated as a separate chapter. The dissertation must have a general abstract that covers all components. A general introduction and general conclusion are recommended. If a dissertation incorporating previously published articles as chapters is selected, references must be placed at the end of each chapter—not at the end of the manuscript. Each set of references may follow a different style guide, depending on the journal in which the chapter is published or will be published. Table titles and figure captions must be locally numbered. 

Copyright issues frequently arise with previously published material. Students need to obtain permission to duplicate copyrighted material (and, possibly, multiple author releases). A full credit line (stating “Reprinted with permission from” followed by the source) must be placed on the part-title page preceding a reprint or as a footnote on the first page of a chapter that contains a previously published article that has been reformatted to the University of Utah’s format requirements outlined herein. 

For all previously published chapters, permission to reuse or reprint or adapt must be provided by the student to the Thesis Office. Releases from coauthors must also be provided, even if the coauthors are members of the student’s committee or even if the student is the leading author. 

Reprints (published article pages inserted as images on the pages of the manuscript) are acceptable. However, some departments require that previously published articles be reformatted to match all other chapters. Check with your department and committee to see if they accept the use of reprints. 

Reprints are preceded by a part-title page. The chapter title must match exactly the title of the journal article. The part-title page must include the attribution required by the publisher. The reprints are accepted as they are except that they must fit within the thesis margins and manuscript pages must be numbered consecutively with the rest of the text. All other chapters (whether accepted, submitted, or in preparation) must fit University of Utah guidelines, as specified in the handbook (margins, subheads, figure and table placement, etc.). 

In the List of Figures and List of Tables, figures and tables from reprints are treated as if they are numbered with respect to the rest of the text. A local numbering scheme must be used. For example, in the List of Figures, the first figure in Chapter 5, which is a reprint, is listed as 5.1. 

The requirement that all print be at least 2 mm does not apply to reprints. The text may be smaller than that as long as the words, figures, and tables are of sufficient resolution to remain crisp. 

Students using reprints should check the accessibility of the document and make adjustments to the document to make sure that it is accessible to screen readers.

As for any other thesis or dissertation, students are urged to submit their manuscripts prior to the defense for a preliminary review. 

Thesis and Dissertation Guide

• Starting your Dissertation/Thesis
• Dissertation/Thesis Resources
• Books That May Help
• Literature Reviews
• Annotated Bibliography
• We Don't Have It? / Interlibrary Loan
• Online Learning Study Tips
• Search Strategy
• Advanced Search Techniques
• Kemp Library Video Tutorials
• Find Articles / Journals / Databases
• What are...
• Database Video Tutorials
• Peer Reviewed
• How to confirm and cite peer review
• Primary/Secondary Sources
• Other Types of Sources (i.e. Newspapers)
• Legal Research Resources
• Evidence Based Practice/Appraisal Resources
• Google Scholar
• Website Evaluation
• Internet Searching
• Apps You Didn't Know You Needed
• Who is citing me?
• Questions After Hours
• ESU Thesis Submission
• ESU Dissertation Submission

Everything You Need To Know

• What is Peer Reviewed?
• Characteristics of Peer Review
• Finding Peer Review
• Making sure it's peer reviewed
• What is Popular?
• What are Trade Publications?

Very simply an article is peer reviewed if it has been read and scrutinized by scholars or other researchers in the field prior to publication. Think of it as quality control for research and publication.

The article and the journal where it is published also meet certain research and publishing standards for that particular discipline.

Other terms for  peer reviewed  are  refereed  or  juried .

Official Definitions:

The Oxford English Dictionary (2019) defines peer review as "To subject to, or evaluate by, peer review; to referee (a paper)" and peer reviewed as "That is, or has been, subject to peer review; (of a journal) that incorporates a system of peer review."

Bibliography

"peer review, v."  OED Online , Oxford University Press, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/237423. Accessed 29 October 2019.

"peer-reviewed, adj."  OED Online , Oxford University Press, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/263622. Accessed 29 October 2019.

Here are some general characteristics that usually apply to peer reviewed journals and their articles:

• Introduction & literature review
• Theory or background
• Methods (how I did my research)
• Conclusion and/or discussion
• Tone or language of the article will reflect the subject discipline for which it is written. It assumes some scholarly background on the part of the reader
• Most scholarly articles report on original research or experimentation
• May be accompanied by supporting charts and diagrams, but there may be few pictures
• Journal will have little or no advertisement

Is it peer reviewed? How do you know? We have a few ways to sort your results, or identify if your specific result is peer reviewed .

1. Sort your results: Most of our databases have a feature that allows you to limit or refine your search results to only those that are peer-reviewed. Look for that option on the search screen.  Pro tip: some database providers have a more lenient definition of peer reviewed , if you're not sure check with a librarian or your professor.

2. I'm not sure if this article or journal is peer reviewed :

You can look up the journal by title or ISSN number in Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory. Once you locate the journal, Ulrich's will tell you, by having an image of a referee shirt or not,  if a journal is peer reviewed or not.   Below, you can see that of the six results, the first and fifth result are not peer reviewed and the second, third, fourth, and sixth are peer reviewed.

• If you want to see if a particular journal is peer reviewed, go to  Ulrich's Periodical Directory  (you can get there from the Database A to Z list as well).  
• Do a search by Journal Title (here we used "Journal of Anthropology") to see if a journal is peer reviewed.  There will be an image of a referee jersey next to the title if it is peer reviewed. 
• In the below example, the search for "Journal of Anthropology"  UNLV  is not a peer reviewed journal, but  The Australian Journal of Anthropology  is (both electronic and print).

Popular magazines are those that are published with the general reader in mind. The articles generally assume no prior knowledge on the part of the reader and are written by journalists or editors. The goal may be to inform, entertain or persuade the reader.

Popular Magazines may have lots of pictures and they will have advertisements.

Some examples:

• Consumer Reports
• Mademoiselle
• Runners World
• Sports Illustrated

Trade publications are often written by and for professionals within a field or industry. The publication may cover emerging trends, current news and new products. The articles may be "how to" in nature or give practical advise for practitioners in a field. They are usually not academic in nature and are not peer reviewed . The publication will often contain advertisements and photos.   They can look academic, so be sure to review sources carefully.

What is Peer Review? Visual

The Process of Peer Review

Scholarly (and Peer Reviewed) VS Popular

• << Previous: Database Video Tutorials
• Next: How to confirm and cite peer review >>
• Last Updated: Apr 29, 2024 12:07 PM
• URL: https://esu.libguides.com/thesis

May 15, 2024

Tips and Resources for a Successful Summer of Dissertation Writing

By Yana Zlochistaya

Summer can be a strange time for graduate students. Gone are the seminars and workshops, the student clubs, and the working group, that structured the semester and provided us with a sense of community. Instead, we’re faced with a three-month expanse of time that can feel equal parts liberating and intimidating. This double-edged freedom is only exacerbated for those of us in the writing stage of our dissertation, when isolation and a lack of discipline can have a particularly big impact. For those hoping not to enter another summer with lofty plans, only to blink and find ourselves in August disappointed with our progress, we’ve compiled some tips and resources that can help.

According to Graduate Writing Center Director Sabrina Soracco, the most important thing you can do to set yourself up for writing success is to clarify your goals. She recommends starting this process by looking at departmental requirements for a completed dissertation. Consider when you would like to file and work backwards from that point, determining what you have to get done in order to hit that target. Next, check in with your dissertation committee members to set up an accountability structure. Would they prefer an end-of-summer update to the whole committee? A monthly check-in with your chair or one of your readers? Setting up explicit expectations that work for you and your committee can cut through the aimlessness that comes with a major writing project.

For those early on in their dissertation-writing process, a committee meeting is also a valuable opportunity to set parameters. “One of the problems with the excitement for the discipline that happens post-quals is that it results in too many ideas,” says Director Soracco. Your committee members should give you input on productive research directions so that you can begin to hone in on your project. It is also important to remember that your dissertation does not have to be the end-all-and-be-all of your academic research. Ideas that do not fit into its scope can end up becoming conference papers or even book chapters.

Once you have a clear goal that you have discussed with your committee, the hard part begins: you have to actually write. The Graduate Writing Center offers several resources to make that process easier:

• The Graduate Writing Community. This is a totally remote, two-month program that is based on a model of “gentle accountability.” When you sign up, you are added to a bCourses site moderated by a Graduate Writing Consultant. At the beginning of the week, everyone sets their goals in a discussion post, and by the end of the week, everyone checks in with progress updates. During the week, the writing consultants offer nine hours of remote synchronous writing sessions. As a writing community member, you can attend whichever sessions work best for your schedule. All that’s required is that you show up, set a goal for that hour, and work towards that goal for the length of two 25-minute Pomodoro sessions . This year’s summer writing community will begin in June. Keep your eye on your email for the registration link!
• Writing Consultations : As a graduate student, you can sign up for an individual meeting with a Graduate Writing Consultant. They can give you feedback on your work, help you figure out the structure of a chapter, or just talk through how to get started on a writing project. 
• Independent Writing Groups: If you would prefer to write with specific friends or colleagues, you can contact Graduate Writing Center Director Sabrina Soracco at [email protected] so that she can help you set up your own writing group. The structure and length of these groups can differ; often, members will send each other one to five pages of writing weekly and meet the next day for two hours to provide feedback and get advice. Sometimes, groups will meet up not only to share writing, but to work in a common space before coming together to debrief. Regardless of what the groups look like, the important thing is to create a guilt-free space. Some weeks, you might submit an outline; other weeks, it might be the roughest of rough drafts; sometimes, you might come to a session without having submitted anything. As long as we continue to make progress (and show up even when we don’t), we’re doing what we need to. As Director Soracco puts it, “it often takes slogging through a lot of stuff to get to that great epiphany.”

Yana Zlochistaya is a fifth-year graduate student in the Department of Comparative Literature and a Professional Development Liaison with the Graduate Division. She previously served as a co-director for Beyond Academia.

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

A Chicago teen entered college at 10. At 17, she earned a doctorate from Arizona State

Dorothy Jean Tillman II participates in Arizona State University’s commencement, May 6, 2024, in Tempe, Ariz. Tillman, 18, earned her doctoral degree in integrated behavioral health in December at age 17 from the school. Tillman, of Chicago, began taking college courses at age 10. She earned her associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees before she turned 17. (Tillman Family via AP)

• Copy Link copied

CHICAGO (AP) — Dorothy Jean Tillman II’s participation in Arizona State University’s May 6 commencement was the latest step on a higher-education journey the Chicago teen started when she took her first college course at age 10.

In between came associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

When Tillman successfully defended her dissertation in December, she became the youngest person — at age 17 — to earn a doctoral degree in integrated behavioral health at Arizona State, associate professor Leslie Manson told ABC’s “Good Morning America” for a story Monday.

“It’s a wonderful celebration, and we hope ... that Dorothy Jean inspires more students,” Manson said. “But this is still something so rare and unique.”

Tillman, called “Dorothy Jeanius” by family and friends, is the granddaughter of former Chicago Alderwoman Dorothy Tillman.

When most students are just learning to navigate middle school, her mother enrolled Tillman in classes through the College of Lake County in northern Illinois, where she majored in psychology and completed her associate’s degree in 2016, according to her biography.

Tillman earned a bachelor’s in humanities from New York’s Excelsior College in 2018. About two years later, she earned her master’s of science from Unity College in Maine before being accepted in 2021 into Arizona State’s Behavioral Health Management Program.

Most of her classwork was done remotely and online. Tillman did attend her Arizona State commencement in person and addressed the graduating class during the ceremony.

Tillman told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she credits her grandmother and trusting in her mother’s guidance for her educational pursuits and successes.

“Everything that we were doing didn’t seem abnormal to me or out of the ordinary until it started getting all of the attention,” said Tillman, now 18.

There have been sacrifices, though.

“I didn’t have the everyday school things like homecoming dances or spirit weeks or just school pictures and things like that ... that kind of create unity with my peers,” she said.

She has found time to dance and do choreography. Tillman also is founder and chief executive of the Dorothyjeanius STEAM Leadership Institute. The program includes summer camps designed to help young people in the arts and STEM subjects.

She said her plans include public speaking engagements and fundraising for the camp, which Tillman said she hopes to franchise one day.

Tillman is motivated and has innovative ideas, said Manson, adding, “And truly, I think what is inspiring is that she embodies that meaning of being a true leader.”

Jimalita Tillman said she is most impressed with her daughter’s ability to show herself and her successes with grace, but to also understand when to “put her foot down” when choosing between social outings and her education.

Associated Press researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.

7 Princeton Traditions in My Last Semester

May 16, 2024, amélie lemay.

As a follow-up to my sophomore blog post about 7 traditions in my first on-campus semester , I now present to you 7 traditions from my final semester. 

1. Taking 3 courses + thesis

In the final semester, seniors generally take a lighter course load to have additional time to focus on the thesis. This spring I only took 3 courses plus the thesis (which counts as a course), giving me more time to focus on my project than when I have a typical 4-5 course load. This also gave me time for graduate school interviews, student visit days, and other tasks associated with planning for life post-Princeton.

2. Choosing a grad school program

Come March, I was notified of my acceptances to the different graduate school programs I'd applied to. In the fall, I'll be starting a doctoral program in Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT working with Dr. Desirée Plata! Being able to share this news with my professors and letter of recommendation writers was exciting and rewarding.

3. Printing and binding my thesis

In mid-April, my thesis was wrapping up, and it was time for official printing and binding. Printing your thesis is optional, but it's traditional to present a leather-bound copy to your advisor. I chose to print my thesis and was incredibly proud to present the culmination of my project to Dr. Bourg.

4. Stepping into the Fountain of Freedom post-thesis submission

Following submission of the thesis, seniors will step into the Fountain of Freedom to officially mark the beginning of the mythical "PTL" (post-thesis life). The water wasn't very warm on the day after my department's thesis submission date (April 15), but I still honored the tradition by stepping into the water.

5. Wearing my class jacket

Formerly known as a " beer jacket ," to be worn by seniors at the Nassau Inn to protect their day clothes, the class jacket is now the de facto uniform for Reunions. The jacket prominently displays your class year, making it easy to spot your classmates among the masses of orange and black that flock to campus for Reunions each May. Our class voted on the design in the fall, and I'm really pleased with the final design.

6. Taking photos by the bronze tigers

Our class government offered free sessions with a pro photographer by the bronze tigers, and I also took photos of my friends myself. We brought numerous graduation props (thesis, class jacket, cap) to the session.

7. Walking through FitzRandolph Gate

At Commencement, I'll walk through FitzRandolph Gate for the first time since the class of 2024 Pre-Rade in my first on-campus semester. Legend has it that students who walk through the gates between the Pre-Rade and Commencement won't graduate in four years. All appears to be on track for me to officially receive my diploma on May 28, but I certainly won't be taking any chances between now and then.

And with that, my undergraduate experience at Princeton has come to a close! I've truly loved my time here, and I'll forever be grateful to Old Nassau.

Related Articles

Commencement commences, amor fati: embracing my path through princeton, plasa’s inaugural latine history series.

Gladstone Investment: The Decrease In Dividend Coverage Is Not A Reason To Sell

• Gladstone Investment has been in the list of my favorite BDCs since December last year.
• The reason why I favor GAIN lies in its defensiveness, focus on durable businesses and one of the lowest debt levels in the BDC sector.
• So far GAIN has delivered stable results, but underperformed the booming BDC market, which is only logical given its defensive nature.
• Just recently GAIN circulated its quarterly results, which send encouraging signs for the shareholders.
• In this article I assess the most recent quarterly report, contextualise that with my bullish thesis.

Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ: NASDAQ: GAIN ) has been one of my favorite BDCs since late December last year, when I did a more thorough assessment of its fundamentals, determining that the risk and return profile was attractive enough to go long.

The motivation behind recommending a buy for GAIN came from the following aspects:

• One of the lowest leverage levels in the BDC sector.
• Notable exposure towards preferred shares, which not only generate stable cash flows, but also offer an enhanced upside potential in the scenario of falling interest rates.
• The focus on cash-flowing companies that have already established their operations in relatively defensive industries.
• Strict underwriting standards leading to a de-risked portfolio exposure and thus reduced probability of recognizing meaningful non-accruals.

A counter argument was the tiny portfolio of GAIN that inherently limits the overall option space where to participate in LBOs, M&As and other transactions, which typically require meaningful amounts of external financing. Similarly, the fact that GAIN had not utilised its leverage potential could theoretically imply a reduced upside potential in the scenario of upward trending markets.

However, considering my investment strategy of preferring defense over offense and primarily focusing on the sustainability of the underlying dividend, the aforementioned benefits were more than enough to offset potential drawbacks.

Since the publication of my bullish thesis, GAIN has delivered stable results but underperformed the BDC market, which has in general experienced tailwinds mostly stemming from the strengthening of a 'higher for longer' interest rate scenario. This goes in line with my assumption before recommending a buy on GAIN, which is that during a highly upwards trending BDC market it would most probably lag the index due to smaller leverage that reduces the overall beta component.

GAIN just published its Q4, 2024 earnings report , which reveals a fresh set of data points that are worth contextualising against my current bull thesis. Let's review the earnings deck and determine whether the bull case remains intact.

Thesis review

The fourth quarter brought in a mixed bag of messages, which really if assessed deeper boils down to still a favourable momentum in the underlying business.

On the surface, the most unpleasant aspect from Q4 results was the notable drop in the net investment income figure, which came in at $5.3 million compared to $9.7 million in the prior quarter. Looking at the top-line, we notice that it actually improved by circa $0.5 million, but it was the expansion in the cost base that drove the bottom-line figure lower (i.e., the net investment income). Net expenses for the fourth quarter landed at $18.3 million, which is circa $5 million more than in the prior quarter. So, if we stopped here and contextualised this with the underlying dividend, we would easily conclude that the distributions are unsustainable and that GAIN will sooner or later revise the dividend downwards.

However, the main reason why the net expense component rose so much was related to a successful realisation of an equity investment that unlocked significant capital gains from the embedded book values that were recorded a relatively long time ago when GAIN injected its capital in companies' equity.

So the increase in the cost base was primarily driven by accrued capital gains based incentive fees, which could be considered a one-off and also to some extent a positive thing since that stems from a successful exit.

As the table below indicates, the adjusted net investment figure, which excludes these fluctuations and focuses only on the interest bearing components, was at $0.24 per share. That is slightly lower than in the prior quarter, when GAIN achieved a result of $0.26 per share.

GAIN Q4, 2024 earnings report

This drop by $0.02 per share is attributable to the overall margin compression in the BDC segment and largely to the fact that GAIN managed to exit from an equity positions, thereby imposing headwinds on the top-line level. This is once again something temporary and even if GAIN was not able to get back the adjusted net investment income result, it would still be sufficient to cover the dividend.

Now, as a result of the exit, GAIN was able to increase its NAV by $0.42 per share after making the distributions. So, this divestiture alone brought in sufficient capital to cover the gap between adjusted net investment income and the dividend, while also leaving ample amounts of liquidity unutilised that could be used to bring down the debt or sponsor incremental investments.

On a forward basis I would, however, assume that GAIN will be able boost its core net investment income result as it does just that: either reduced debt further or begins to underwrite more notable amounts of new investments by using its fortress balance sheet (which has one of the lowest leverage profiles in the BDC space).

According to the commentary by Dave Dullum - President - in the recent earnings call , it also seems that GAIN will continue to slowly but surely tap into its equity portfolio to unlock the embedded value that should, ultimately, provide tailwinds for either the top-line or its balance sheet.

As our portfolio has matured, we've been at this since 2005, and the equity values have been, we clearly will be able to continue to constructively harvest these gains for the benefit of shareholders. As you all know, we are able to, because of our model, be in some of these companies for a long period of time and really, it's to the benefit of shareholders that we're not having to exit companies too rapidly unable to maintain them. We will continue to balance the timing of the exits while maintaining the level of our assets that produce the income that we need to support the monthly dividend levels that we currently are able to have and hopefully over time continue to grow them.

The bottom line

Optically, it might seem that the recent quarterly results indicate a deteriorating performance leading to an unsustainable level of the current dividend coverage.

Yet, peeling back the onion a bit, it becomes clear that it was just the successful realisation of a previously made equity investment that introduced accrued capital gains based incentive fees, which, in turn, lowered the net investment income result.

However, the fact that GAIN managed to divest one of its equity stakes has boosted its NAV base and strengthened the liquidity profile, allowing to not only cover the temporary gap in the dividend coverage, but also provide management with a more flexibility to either reduce its debt further or channel this capital into new interest bearing investments. Either of these should warrant a higher net investment income result.

Given the aforementioned dynamics and the clear value potential in Gladstone Investment equity portfolio, the stock is a buy.

This article was written by

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of GAIN either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Recommended For You

About gain ticker, more on gain, related stocks, trending analysis, trending news.

Bridging private equity’s value creation gap

For the past 40 years or so, private equity (PE) buyout managers largely invested capital in an environment of declining interest rates and escalating asset prices. During that period, they were able to rely on financial leverage, enhanced tax and debt structures, and increasing valuations on high-quality assets to generate outsize returns for investors and create value.

Times have changed , however. Since 2020, the cost of debt has increased and liquidity in debt markets is harder to access given current interest rates, asset valuations, and typical bank borrowing standards. Fund performance has suffered as a result: PE buyout entry multiples declined from 11.9 to 11.0 times EBITDA through the first nine months of 2023. 1 2024 Global Private Markets Review , McKinsey, March 2024.

Even as debt markets begin to bounce back, a new macroeconomic reality is setting in—one that requires more than just financial acumen to drive returns. Buyout managers now need to focus on operational value creation strategies for revenue growth, as well as margin expansion to offset compression of multiples and to deliver desired returns to investors.

Based on our years of research and experience working with a range of private-capital firms across the globe, we have identified two key principles to maximize operational value creation.

First, buyout managers should invest with operational value creation at the forefront . This means that in addition to strategic diligence, they should conduct operational diligence for new assets. Their focus should be on developing a rigorous, bespoke, and integrated approach to assessing top-line and operational efficiency. During the underwriting process, managers can also identify actions that could expand and improve EBITDA margins and growth rates during the holding period, identify the costs involved in this transformation, and create rough timelines to track the assets’ performance. And if they acquire the asset, the manager should: 1) clearly establish the value creation objectives before deal signing, 2) emphasize operational and top-line improvements after closing, and 3) pursue continual improvements in ways of working with portfolio companies. Meanwhile, for existing assets, the manager should ensure that the level of oversight and monitoring is closely aligned with the health of each asset.

Second, everyone should understand and have a hand in improving operations . Within the PE firm, the operating group and deal teams should work together to enable and hold portfolio companies accountable for the execution of the value creation plan. This begins with an explicit focus on “linking talent to value”—ensuring leaders with the right combination of skills and experience are in place and empowered to deliver the plan, improve internal processes, and build organizational capabilities.

In our experience, getting these two principles right can significantly improve PE fund performance. Our initial analysis of more than 100 PE funds with vintages after 2020 indicates that general partners that focus on creating value through asset operations achieve a higher internal rate of return—up to two to three percentage points higher, on average—compared with peers.

The case for operational efficiency

The ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty has made it difficult for buyout managers to achieve historical levels of returns in the PE buyout industry using old ways of value creation. 2 Overall, roughly two-thirds of the total return for buyout deals that were entered in 2010 or later, and exited 2021 or before, can be attributed to market multiple expansion and leverage. See 2024 Global Private Markets Review .   And it’s not going to get any easier anytime soon, for two reasons.

Higher-for-longer rates will trigger financing issues

The US Federal Reserve projects that the federal funds rate will remain around 4.5 percent through 2024, then potentially drop to about 3.0 percent by the end of 2026. 3 “Summary of economic projections,” Federal Reserve Board, December 13, 2023.   Yet, even if rates decline by 200 basis points over the next two years, they will still be higher than they were over the past four years when PE buyout deals were underwritten.

This could create issues with recapitalization or floating interest rate resets for a portfolio company’s standing debt. Consider that the average borrower takes a leveraged loan at an interest coverage ratio of about three times EBIDTA (or 3x). 4 The interest coverage ratio is an indicator of a borrower’s ability to service debt, or potential default risk.   With rising interest expenses and additional profitability headwinds, these coverage ratios could quickly fall below 2x and get close to or trip covenant triggers around 1x. In 2023, for example, the average leveraged loan in the healthcare and software industries was already at less than a 2x interest coverage ratio. 5 James Gelfer and Stephanie Rader, “What’s the worst that could happen? Default and recovery rates in private credit,” Goldman Sachs, April 20, 2023.   To avoid a covenant breach, or (if needed) increasing recapitalization capital available without equity paydown, managers will need to rely on operational efficiency to increase EBITDA.

Valuations are mismatched

If interest rates remain high, the most recent vintage of PE assets is likely to face valuation mismatches at exit, or extended hold periods until value can be realized. Moreover, valuation of PE assets has remained high relative to their public-market equivalents, partly a result of the natural lag in how these assets are marked to market. As the CEO of Harvard University’s endowment explained in Harvard’s 2023 annual report, it will likely take more time for private valuations to fully reflect market conditions due to the continued slowdown in exits and financing rounds. 6 Message from the CEO of Harvard Management Company, September 2023.

Adapting PE’s value creation approach

Operational efficiency isn’t a new concept in the PE world. We’ve previously written  about the strategic shift among firms, increasingly notable since 2018, moving from the historical “buy smart and hold” approach to one of “acquire, align on strategy, and improve operating performance.”

However, the role of operations in creating more value is no longer just a source of competitive advantage but a competitive necessity for managers. Let’s take a closer look at the two principles that can create operational efficiency.

Invest with operational value creation at the forefront

PE fund managers can improve the profitability and exit valuations of assets by having operations-related conversations up front.

Assessing new assets. Prior to acquiring an asset, PE managers typically conduct financial and strategic diligence to refine their understanding of a given market and the asset’s position in that market. They should also undertake operational diligence—if they are not already doing so—to develop a holistic view of the asset to inform their value creation agenda.

Operational diligence involves the detailed assessment of an asset’s operations, including identification of opportunities to improve margins or accelerate organic growth. A well-executed operational-diligence process can reveal or confirm which types of initiatives could generate top-line and efficiency-driven value, the estimated cash flow improvements these initiatives could generate, the approximate timing of any cash flow improvements, and the potential costs of such initiatives.

The results of an operational-diligence process can be advantageous in other ways, too. Managers can use the findings to create a compelling value creation plan, or a detailed memo summarizing the near-term improvement opportunities available in the current profit-and-loss statement, as well as potential opportunities for expansion into adjacencies or new markets. After this step is done, they should determine, in collaboration with their operating-group colleagues, whether they have the appropriate leaders in place to successfully implement the value creation plan.

These results can also help managers resolve any potential issues up front, prior to deal signing, which in turn could increase the likelihood of receiving investment committee approval for the acquisition. Managers also can share the diligence findings with co-investors and financiers to help boost their confidence in the investment and the associated value creation thesis.

It is crucial that managers have in-depth familiarity with company operations, since operational diligence is not just an analytical-sizing exercise. If they perform operational diligence well, they can ensure that the full value creation strategy and performance improvement opportunities are embedded in the annual operating plan and the longer-term three- to five-year plan of the portfolio company’s management team.

Assessing existing assets. When it comes to existing assets, a fundamental question for PE managers is how to continue to improve performance throughout the deal life cycle. Particularly in the current macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, where uncertainty reigns, managers should focus more—and more often—on directly monitoring assets and intervening when required. They can complement this monitoring with routine touchpoints with the CEO, CFO, and chief transformation officer (CTO) of individual assets to get updates on critical initiatives driving the value creation plan, along with ensuring their operating group has full access to each portfolio company’s financials. Few PE managers currently provide this level of transparency into their assets’ performance.

To effectively monitor existing assets, managers can use key performance indicators (KPIs) directly linked to the fund’s investment thesis. For instance, if the fund’s investment thesis is centered on the availability of inventory, they may rigorously track forecasts of supply and demand and order volumes. This way, they can identify and address issues with inventory early on. Some managers pull information directly from the enterprise resource planning systems in their portfolio companies to get full visibility into operations. Others have set up specific “transformation management offices” to support performance improvements in key assets and improve transparency on key initiatives.

We’ve seen managers adopt various approaches with assets that are on track to meet return hurdles. They have frequent discussions with the portfolio company’s management team, perform quarterly credit checks on key suppliers and customers to ensure stability of their extended operations, and do a detailed review of the portfolio company’s operations and financial performance two to three years into the hold period. Managers can therefore confirm whether the management team is delivering on their value creation plans and also identify any new opportunities associated with the well-performing assets.

If existing assets are underperforming or distressed, managers’ prompt interventions to improve operations in the near term, and improve revenue over the medium term, can determine whether they should continue to own the asset or reduce their equity position through a bankruptcy proceeding. One manager implemented a cash management program to monitor and improve the cash flow for an underperforming retail asset of a portfolio company. The approach helped the portfolio company overcome a peak cash flow crisis period, avoid tripping liquidity covenants in an asset-backed loan, and get the time needed for the asset’s long-term performance to improve.

Reassess internal operations and governance

In addition to operational improvements, managers should also assess their own operations and consider shifting to an operating model that encourages increased engagement between their team and the portfolio companies. They should cultivate a stable of trusted, experienced executives within the operating group. They should empower these executives to be equal collaborators with the deal team in determining the value available in the asset to be underwritten, developing an appropriate value creation strategy, and overseeing performance of the portfolio company’s management.

Shift to a ‘just right’ operating model for operating partners. The operating model through which buyout managers engage with portfolio companies should be “just right”—that is, aligned with the fund’s overall strategy, how the fund is structured, and who sets the strategic vision for each individual portfolio company.

There are two types of engagement operating models—consultative and directive. When choosing an operating model, firms should align their hiring and internal capabilities to support their operating norms, how they add value to their portfolio companies, and the desired relationship with the management team (exhibit).

Take the example of a traditional buyout manager that acquires good companies with good management teams. In such a case, the portfolio company’s management team is likely to already have a strategic vision for the asset. These managers may therefore choose a more consultative engagement approach (for instance, providing advice and support to the portfolio company for any board-related issues or other challenges).

For value- or operations-focused funds, the manager may have higher ownership in the strategic vision for the asset, so their initial goal should be to develop a management team that can deliver on a specific investment thesis. In this case, the support required by the portfolio company could be less specialized (for example, the manager helps in hiring the right talent for key functional areas), and more integrative, to ensure a successful end-to-end transformation for the asset. As such, a more directive or oversight-focused engagement operating model may be preferred.

Successful execution of these engagement models requires the operating group to have the right talent mix and experience levels. If the manager implements a “generalist” coverage model, for example, where the focus is on monitoring and overseeing portfolio companies, the operating group will need people with the ability (and experience) to support the management in end-to-end transformations. However, a different type of skill set is required if the manager chooses a “specialist” coverage model, where the focus is on providing functional guidance and expertise (leaving transformations to the portfolio company’s management teams). Larger and more mature operating groups frequently use a mix of both talent pools.

Empower the operating group. In the past, many buyout managers did not have operating teams, so they relied on the management teams in the portfolio companies to fully identify and implement the value creation plan while running the asset’s day-to-day operations. Over time, many top PE funds began to establish internal operating groups  to provide strategic direction, coaching, and support to their portfolio companies. The operating groups, however, tended to take a back seat to deal teams, largely because legacy mindsets and governance structures placed responsibility for the performance of an asset on the deal team. In our view, while the deal team needs to remain responsible and accountable for the deal, certain tasks can be delegated to the operating group.

Some managers give their operating group members seats on portfolio company boards, hiring authority for key executives, and even decision-making rights on certain value creation strategies within the portfolio. For optimal performance, these operating groups should have leaders with prior C-suite responsibility or commensurate accountability within the PE fund and experience executing cross-functional mandates and company transformations. Certain funds with a core commitment to portfolio value creation include the leader of the operating group on the investment committee. Less-experienced members of the operating group can have consultative arrangements or peer-to-peer relationships with key portfolio company leaders.

Since the main KPIs for operating teams are financial, it is critical that their leaders understand a buyout asset’s business model, financing, and general market dynamics. The operating group should also be involved in the deal during the diligence phase, and participate in the development of the value creation thesis as well as the underwriting process. Upon deal close, the operating team should be as empowered as the deal team to serve as stewards of the asset and resolve issues concerning company operations.

Some funds also are hiring CTOs  for their portfolio companies to steer them through large transformations. Similar to the CTO in any organization , they help the organization align on a common vision, translate strategy into concrete initiatives for better performance, and create a system of continuous improvement and growth for the employees. However, when deployed by the PE fund, the CTO also often serves as a bridge between the PE fund and the portfolio company and can serve as a plug-and-play executive to fill short-term gaps in the portfolio company management team. In many instances, the CTO is given signatory, and occasionally broader, functional responsibilities. In addition, their personal incentives can be aligned with the fund’s desired outcomes. For example, funds may tie an element of the CTO’s overall compensation to EBITDA improvement or the success of the transformation.

Bring best-of-breed capabilities to portfolio companies. Buyout managers can bring a range of compelling capabilities to their portfolio companies, especially to smaller and midmarket companies and their internal operating teams. Our conversations with industry stakeholders revealed that buyout managers’ skills can be particularly useful in the following three areas:

• Procurement. Portfolio companies can draw on a buyout manager’s long-established procurement processes, team, and negotiating support. For instance, managers often have prenegotiated rates with suppliers or group purchasing arrangements that portfolio companies can leverage to minimize their own procurement costs and reduce third-party spending.
• Executive talent. They can also capitalize on the diverse and robust network of top talent that buyout managers have likely cultivated over time, including homegrown leaders and ones found through executive search firms (both within and outside the PE industry).
• Partners. Similarly, they can work with the buyout manager’s roster of external experts, business partners, suppliers, and advisers to find the best solutions to their emerging business challenges (for instance, gaining access to offshore resources during a carve-out transaction).

Ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty is creating unprecedented times in the PE buyout industry. Managers should use this as an opportunity to redouble their efforts on creating operational improvements in their existing portfolio, as well as new assets. It won’t be easy to adapt and evolve value creation processes and practices, but managers that succeed have an opportunity to close the gap between the current state of value creation and historical returns and outperform their peers.

Jose Luis Blanco is a senior partner in McKinsey’s New York office, where Matthew Maloney is a partner; William Bundy is a partner in the Washington, DC, office; and Jason Phillips is a senior partner in the London office.

The authors wish to thank Louis Dufau and Bill Leigh for their contributions to this article.

This article was edited by Arshiya Khullar, an editor in McKinsey’s Gurugram office.

Explore a career with us

Related articles.

McKinsey Global Private Markets Review 2024: Private markets in a slower era

CEO alpha: A new approach to generating private equity outperformance

Private equity operating groups and the pursuit of ‘portfolio alpha’

File(s) under embargo

until file(s) become available

ANOMALY DETECTION USING MACHINE LEARNING FORINTRUSION DETECTION

This thesis examines machine learning approaches for anomaly detection in network security, particularly focusing on intrusion detection using TCP and UDP protocols. It uses logistic regression models to effectively distinguish between normal and abnormal network actions, demonstrating a strong ability to detect possible security concerns. The study uses the UNSW-NB15 dataset for model validation, allowing a thorough evaluation of the models' capacity to detect anomalies in real-world network scenarios. The UNSW-NB15 dataset is a comprehensive network attack dataset frequently used in research to evaluate intrusion detection systems and anomaly detection algorithms because of its realistic attack scenarios and various network activities.

Further investigation is carried out using a Multi-Task Neural Network built for binary and multi-class classification tasks. This method allows for the in-depth study of network data, making it easier to identify potential threats. The model is fine-tuned during successive training epochs, focusing on validation measures to ensure its generalizability. The thesis also applied early stopping mechanisms to enhance the ML model, which helps optimize the training process, reduces the risk of overfitting, and improves the model's performance on new, unseen data.

This thesis also uses blockchain technology to track model performance indicators, a novel strategy that improves data integrity and reliability. This blockchain-based logging system keeps an immutable record of the models' performance over time, which helps to build a transparent and verifiable anomaly detection framework.

In summation, this research enhances Machine Learning approaches for network anomaly detection. It proposes scalable and effective approaches for early detection and mitigation of network intrusions, ultimately improving the security posture of network systems.

Degree Type

• Master of Science
• Computer and Information Technology

Campus location

• West Lafayette

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair

Additional committee member 2, additional committee member 3, usage metrics.

• Machine learning not elsewhere classified

• Investigative
• Print Edition
• Submit a Tip

Senior Profile: Jason Wallace imagines new worlds in thesis film ‘Citizens of Kattaquam’

Wallace, a film and media studies major, says his ambitious senior thesis film was a team effort..

Jason Wallace, director of "Citizens of Kattaquam," is pictured.

Graduating senior Jason Wallace is nearing the end of post-production  for his thesis film “ Citizens of Kattaquam. ” Featuring scenes with up to 40 cast members and a crew of 15, Wallace’s grandiose sci-fi epic is not the typical small-scale production expected of student films on sparse budgets. But for Wallace, pursuing one of the most ambitious Tufts thesis films in recent years was necessary to realize his vision.

“The senior theses I’ve seen in the past, while they’re good, they’re not really the films that speak to me or drove me to do film in the first place,” Wallace said. “I figured if I’m going to do a senior thesis, it has to be different than  other theses and replicate the films that made me get into storytelling in the first place. That just so happens to be ‘Star Wars,’ so I wanted to do a sci-fi fantasy thing.”

It might be surprising to learn that Wallace, having now written and directed a 30-minute sci-fi epic, had no ambitions for film prior to college.

“I actually applied to be in the School of Engineering, because I was a STEM kid,” Wallace said. However, during a gap year in Brazil before college, Wallace had a change of heart.

“During Brazil, I figured I was doing [engineering] for the wrong reasons. It was more [about] money and just because that's what people expected for me,” Wallace said. He experimented with international relations and political science as potential new majors, but neither seemed to work for him.   Based on encouragement from a friend’s father, a professional in the entertainment industry , Wallace tried out some film classes when he started at Tufts.

“It was really funny because when I started out as a film major, I hadn’t seen that many movies,” Wallace said. “I was very much like, ‘Star Wars’ is the only one I watch. And FMS really opened me up, so I watch more stuff now.”

After taking FMS 10 , an introductory production course, in the spring of his first year, Wallace knew that film was for him.

“That was really the class that made me decide, ‘Oh, I like this,’ because that was the first practice course,” Wallace said.

Taking higher level production courses like Screenwriting 1 and 2, as well as Script to Screen prepared Wallace to make his own film outside of a typical course structure.

“[For] a thesis, you are on your own,” Wallace said. “You’re expected to know what a call sheet is, how to cast, how to location scout, all of that.”

As he began to make his vision a reality, he was not without fears.

“All the lead up to shooting, I was like, ‘This is a lot, I have no idea how it’s going to go.’ I was preparing myself for the worst,”  Wallace said. “ It was very anxiety-inducing the first weekend [of shooting]. The first scene we were doing was in the Barnum studio, and I remember pacing around as the crew was piling in, and I’m like, ‘I do not know what I'm doing.’   But after the first few takes, that immediately went away . I had a really good crew, which helped make everything go smoothly.”

Finding a good crew and community through the film department has been a highlight of Wallace’s time at Tufts.

“The thing I love about the Tufts film department is that we’re so small, so pretty much that same pool of people is on everyone’s shoots,” Wallace reflected . “It’s like a mini Tufts family. It’s great. And I don’t think you could get that at a more competitive, larger school.”

The familial and collaborative part of filmmaking is what makes it special for Wallace.

“I don’t think I would’ve been in film if it was a solo endeavor. The collaboration is my favorite part about it,” Wallace said. “With film … you have to rely on different people for different things to make the final image. And so if you’re not collaborative, don’t be in film. But it is my favorite part about it, definitely.”

Looking forward, Wallace is currently making different cuts of “Citizens of Kattaquam” to run in festivals.   The first screening will be a shortened version that played on May 4, a cosmically fitting day for a massive Star Wars fan,  at 1 p.m. in Somerville Theater as part of the 21st Independent Film Festival Boston .   After these festivals wrap up, his next goal is to create another short film, albeit on a much smaller scale, to add to his portfolio.

Long term, Wallace dreams of becoming a writer and director and hopes to return one day to the world he established in “Citizens of Kattaquam.”

“It’s part of a larger world I want to build in the future,” Wallace said. “I’m hoping that I can get the gang back together to shoot another installment at some point. Don't know when — that could be a year from now, could be five years, 10 years from now.”

The idea of bringing “the gang back together” marks a key value for him. While leaving college and trying to break into the competitive entertainment industry is daunting, for Wallace, all it takes is remaining true to the community he built while at Tufts.

“My close film friends, we have this running thing where it’s like, all it takes is one of us to make it big,” Wallace concluded. “Once one of us gets in there, then we sort of drag everyone up with us. So I hope that’s the case.”

Seniors of Tufts theater reflect on four years of performance

Students, faculty mourn end of Tufts/NEC dual degree program

Senior Profile: Carl Svahn brings his love for art, journalism to the Daily and beyond

Letter to the editor, faculty told to prepare for upcoming budget cuts, tufts denies medford alpha epsilon pi’s affiliation request, breaking: bárbara brizuela to serve as interim dean of school of arts and sciences, editorial: tufts’ summer glow up.