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How to Structure a Dissertation – A Step by Step Guide

Published by Owen Ingram at August 11th, 2021 , Revised On September 20, 2023

A dissertation – sometimes called a thesis – is a long piece of information backed up by extensive research. This one, huge piece of research is what matters the most when students – undergraduates and postgraduates – are in their final year of study.

On the other hand, some institutions, especially in the case of undergraduate students, may or may not require students to write a dissertation. Courses are offered instead. This generally depends on the requirements of that particular institution.

If you are unsure about how to structure your dissertation or thesis, this article will offer you some guidelines to work out what the most important segments of a dissertation paper are and how you should organise them. Why is structure so important in research, anyway?

One way to answer that, as Abbie Hoffman aptly put it, is because: “Structure is more important than content in the transmission of information.”

Also Read: How to write a dissertation – step by step guide .

How to Structure a Dissertation or Thesis

It should be noted that the exact structure of your dissertation will depend on several factors, such as:

Your research approach (qualitative/quantitative)
The nature of your research design (exploratory/descriptive etc.)
The requirements set for forth by your academic institution.
The discipline or field your study belongs to. For instance, if you are a humanities student, you will need to develop your dissertation on the same pattern as any long essay .

This will include developing an overall argument to support the thesis statement and organizing chapters around theories or questions. The dissertation will be structured such that it starts with an introduction , develops on the main idea in its main body paragraphs and is then summarised in conclusion .

However, if you are basing your dissertation on primary or empirical research, you will be required to include each of the below components. In most cases of dissertation writing, each of these elements will have to be written as a separate chapter.

But depending on the word count you are provided with and academic subject, you may choose to combine some of these elements.

For example, sciences and engineering students often present results and discussions together in one chapter rather than two different chapters.

If you have any doubts about structuring your dissertation or thesis, it would be a good idea to consult with your academic supervisor and check your department’s requirements.

Parts of a Dissertation or Thesis

Your dissertation will start with a t itle page that will contain details of the author/researcher, research topic, degree program (the paper is to be submitted for), and research supervisor. In other words, a title page is the opening page containing all the names and title related to your research.

The name of your university, logo, student ID and submission date can also be presented on the title page. Many academic programs have stringent rules for formatting the dissertation title page.

Acknowledgements

The acknowledgments section allows you to thank those who helped you with your dissertation project. You might want to mention the names of your academic supervisor, family members, friends, God, and participants of your study whose contribution and support enabled you to complete your work.

However, the acknowledgments section is usually optional.

Tip: Many students wrongly assume that they need to thank everyone…even those who had little to no contributions towards the dissertation. This is not the case. You only need to thank those who were directly involved in the research process, such as your participants/volunteers, supervisor(s) etc.

Perhaps the smallest yet important part of a thesis, an abstract contains 5 parts:

A brief introduction of your research topic.
The significance of your research.
A line or two about the methodology that was used.
The results and what they mean (briefly); their interpretation(s).
And lastly, a conclusive comment regarding the results’ interpretation(s) as conclusion .

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Tip: Make sure to highlight key points to help readers figure out the scope and findings of your research study without having to read the entire dissertation. The abstract is your first chance to impress your readers. So, make sure to get it right. Here are detailed guidelines on how to write abstract for dissertation .

Table of contents is the section of a dissertation that guides each section of the dissertation paper’s contents. Depending on the level of detail in a table of contents, the most useful headings are listed to provide the reader the page number on which said information may be found at.

Table of contents can be inserted automatically as well as manually using the Microsoft Word Table of Contents feature.

List of Figures and Tables

If your dissertation paper uses several illustrations, tables and figures, you might want to present them in a numbered list in a separate section . Again, this list of tables and figures can be auto-created and auto inserted using the Microsoft Word built-in feature.

List of Abbreviations

Dissertations that include several abbreviations can also have an independent and separate alphabetised list of abbreviations so readers can easily figure out their meanings.

If you think you have used terms and phrases in your dissertation that readers might not be familiar with, you can create a glossary that lists important phrases and terms with their meanings explained.

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Introduction

Introduction chapter briefly introduces the purpose and relevance of your research topic.

Here, you will be expected to list the aim and key objectives of your research so your readers can easily understand what the following chapters of the dissertation will cover. A good dissertation introduction section incorporates the following information:

It provides background information to give context to your research.
It clearly specifies the research problem you wish to address with your research. When creating research questions , it is important to make sure your research’s focus and scope are neither too broad nor too narrow.
it demonstrates how your research is relevant and how it would contribute to the existing knowledge.
It provides an overview of the structure of your dissertation. The last section of an introduction contains an outline of the following chapters. It could start off with something like: “In the following chapter, past literature has been reviewed and critiqued. The proceeding section lays down major research findings…”
Theoretical framework – under a separate sub-heading – is also provided within the introductory chapter. Theoretical framework deals with the basic, underlying theory or theories that the research revolves around.

All the information presented under this section should be relevant, clear, and engaging. The readers should be able to figure out the what, why, when, and how of your study once they have read the introduction. Here are comprehensive guidelines on how to structure the introduction to the dissertation .

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Literature Review

The literature review chapter presents previous research performed on the topic and improves your understanding of the existing literature on your chosen topic. This is usually organised to complement your primary research work completed at a later stage.

Make sure that your chosen academic sources are authentic and up-to-date. The literature review chapter must be comprehensive and address the aims and objectives as defined in the introduction chapter. Here is what your literature research chapter should aim to achieve:

Data collection from authentic and relevant academic sources such as books, journal articles and research papers.
Analytical assessment of the information collected from those sources; this would involve a critiquing the reviewed researches that is, what their strengths/weaknesses are, why the research method they employed is better than others, importance of their findings, etc.
Identifying key research gaps, conflicts, patterns, and theories to get your point across to the reader effectively.

While your literature review should summarise previous literature, it is equally important to make sure that you develop a comprehensible argument or structure to justify your research topic. It would help if you considered keeping the following questions in mind when writing the literature review:

How does your research work fill a certain gap in exiting literature?
Did you adopt/adapt a new research approach to investigate the topic?
Does your research solve an unresolved problem?
Is your research dealing with some groundbreaking topic or theory that others might have overlooked?
Is your research taking forward an existing theoretical discussion?
Does your research strengthen and build on current knowledge within your area of study? This is otherwise known as ‘adding to the existing body of knowledge’ in academic circles.

Tip: You might want to establish relationships between variables/concepts to provide descriptive answers to some or all of your research questions. For instance, in case of quantitative research, you might hypothesise that variable A is positively co-related to variable B that is, one increases and so does the other one.

Research Methodology

The methods and techniques ( secondary and/or primar y) employed to collect research data are discussed in detail in the Methodology chapter. The most commonly used primary data collection methods are:

questionnaires
focus groups
observations

Essentially, the methodology chapter allows the researcher to explain how he/she achieved the findings, why they are reliable and how they helped him/her test the research hypotheses or address the research problem.

You might want to consider the following when writing methodology for the dissertation:

Type of research and approach your work is based on. Some of the most widely used types of research include experimental, quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
Data collection techniques that were employed such as questionnaires, surveys, focus groups, observations etc.
Details of how, when, where, and what of the research that was conducted.
Data analysis strategies employed (for instance, regression analysis).
Software and tools used for data analysis (Excel, STATA, SPSS, lab equipment, etc.).
Research limitations to highlight any hurdles you had to overcome when carrying our research. Limitations might or might not be mentioned within research methodology. Some institutions’ guidelines dictate they be mentioned under a separate section alongside recommendations.
Justification of your selection of research approach and research methodology.

Here is a comprehensive article on how to structure a dissertation methodology .

Research Findings

In this section, you present your research findings. The dissertation findings chapter is built around the research questions, as outlined in the introduction chapter. Report findings that are directly relevant to your research questions.

Any information that is not directly relevant to research questions or hypotheses but could be useful for the readers can be placed under the Appendices .

As indicated above, you can either develop a standalone chapter to present your findings or combine them with the discussion chapter. This choice depends on the type of research involved and the academic subject, as well as what your institution’s academic guidelines dictate.

For example, it is common to have both findings and discussion grouped under the same section, particularly if the dissertation is based on qualitative research data.

On the other hand, dissertations that use quantitative or experimental data should present findings and analysis/discussion in two separate chapters. Here are some sample dissertations to help you figure out the best structure for your own project.

Sample Dissertation

Tip: Try to present as many charts, graphs, illustrations and tables in the findings chapter to improve your data presentation. Provide their qualitative interpretations alongside, too. Refrain from explaining the information that is already evident from figures and tables.

The findings are followed by the Discussion chapter , which is considered the heart of any dissertation paper. The discussion section is an opportunity for you to tie the knots together to address the research questions and present arguments, models and key themes.

This chapter can make or break your research.

The discussion chapter does not require any new data or information because it is more about the interpretation(s) of the data you have already collected and presented. Here are some questions for you to think over when writing the discussion chapter:

Did your work answer all the research questions or tested the hypothesis?
Did you come up with some unexpected results for which you have to provide an additional explanation or justification?
Are there any limitations that could have influenced your research findings?

Here is an article on how to structure a dissertation discussion .

Conclusions corresponding to each research objective are provided in the Conclusion section . This is usually done by revisiting the research questions to finally close the dissertation. Some institutions may specifically ask for recommendations to evaluate your critical thinking.

By the end, the readers should have a clear apprehension of your fundamental case with a focus on what methods of research were employed and what you achieved from this research.

Quick Question: Does the conclusion chapter reflect on the contributions your research work will make to existing knowledge?

Answer: Yes, the conclusion chapter of the research paper typically includes a reflection on the research’s contributions to existing knowledge. In the “conclusion chapter”, you have to summarise the key findings and discuss how they add value to the existing literature on the current topic.

Reference list

All academic sources that you collected information from should be cited in-text and also presented in a reference list (or a bibliography in case you include references that you read for the research but didn’t end up citing in the text), so the readers can easily locate the source of information when/if needed.

At most UK universities, Harvard referencing is the recommended style of referencing. It has strict and specific requirements on how to format a reference resource. Other common styles of referencing include MLA, APA, Footnotes, etc.

Each chapter of the dissertation should have relevant information. Any information that is not directly relevant to your research topic but your readers might be interested in (interview transcripts etc.) should be moved under the Appendices section .

Things like questionnaires, survey items or readings that were used in the study’s experiment are mostly included under appendices.

An Outline of Dissertation/Thesis Structure

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FAQs About Structure a Dissertation

What does the title page of a dissertation contain.

The title page will contain details of the author/researcher, research topic , degree program (the paper is to be submitted for) and research supervisor’s name(s). The name of your university, logo, student number and submission date can also be presented on the title page.

What is the purpose of adding acknowledgement?

The acknowledgements section allows you to thank those who helped you with your dissertation project. You might want to mention the names of your academic supervisor, family members, friends, God and participants of your study whose contribution and support enabled you to complete your work.

Can I omit the glossary from the dissertation?

Yes, but only if you think that your paper does not contain any terms or phrases that the reader might not understand. If you think you have used them in the paper, you must create a glossary that lists important phrases and terms with their meanings explained.

What is the purpose of appendices in a dissertation?

Any information that is not directly relevant to research questions or hypotheses but could be useful for the readers can be placed under the Appendices, such as questionnaire that was used in the study.

Which referencing style should I use in my dissertation?

You can use any of the referencing styles such as APA, MLA, and Harvard, according to the recommendation of your university; however, almost all UK institutions prefer Harvard referencing style .

What is the difference between references and bibliography?

References contain all the works that you read up and used and therefore, cited within the text of your thesis. However, in case you read on some works and resources that you didn’t end up citing in-text, they will be referenced in what is called a bibliography.

Additional readings might also be present alongside each bibliography entry for readers.

Dissertation Chapters: A Guide to Writing Your Dissertation

Embarking on your dissertation is equal parts exhilaration and trepidation. It’s finally your turn to stake out your territory in the body of knowledge and hone your expertise. Naturally, it’s a lot of work, the evidence of which is reflected in your dissertation chapters. These chapters, which comprise the bulk of your dissertation, offer a clear snapshot of your topic, the work that has already been done by other scholars in your field, gaps in the literature, complications, your approach, and more.

There are many moving parts to a dissertation, and the best way to simplify them is by chapter. Each chapter follows certain rules and serves a specific purpose. The most efficient way to break down the work ahead of you into pieces is to understand the role each chapter plays in the dissertation.

These are frequently asked questions about dissertation chapters.

How many chapters are in a dissertation?
What is the content of each dissertation chapter?
How long is each dissertation chapter?
How long does it take to write dissertation chapters?

How Many Dissertation Chapters are in a Dissertation?

Middle-aged woman with curly hair thinking with a notebook in her hand

Usually five. While there are no short answers in academia, five dissertation chapters is the convention across many fields, if not most. Five dissertation chapters is a safe bet. As always, though, do your homework and find out exactly what the expectations are for dissertations in your department.

Read (skim) dissertations written by recent graduates from your department to determine norms for chapter length and the extensiveness of the critical research they did and the studies they conducted. The average could be anything from 130 pages (math) to 500+ pages (history) –either way, you need to know. Also, visit office hours and talk to a few faculty members in your department. Whether they end up on your dissertation committee or not, their perspective will be helpful.

Content of Each Dissertation Chapter

There is a format for the structure of a dissertation that most fields adhere to, and it is very specific. The first three chapters constitute your dissertation proposal , which must be completed, defended, and approved by your dissertation committee. Once your proposal is successfully defended, you can proceed with the research you will need to do to write the two final chapters.

Dissertation Chapters

Dissertation Chapter One: Introduction to the Study This chapter includes your problem and purpose statements, research questions, and definitions of key terms examined in your research.
Dissertation Chapter Two: Literature Review This section is a deep dive of the extant research on your topic, as well as your opportunity to identify and highlight gaps in the literature.
Dissertation Chapter Three: Research Methods This chapter offers a summary of how you propose to collect data and your methods of analysis.
Dissertation Chapter Four: Results In this section, you present your findings and share the results of your study.
Dissertation Chapter Five: Conclusion The final chapter is an opportunity to offer your analysis of your findings and discuss the implications.

woman with eyeglasses working on her laptop in a shared office

How Long is a Dissertation Chapter?

Dissertation chapter lengths vary, though the number of pages you can expect to write will likely correlate with standard dissertation lengths in your discipline. If you are doing research in a field like anthropology or theology, be prepared to conduct extensive literature reviews and write lengthy chapters. Topics that require a great deal of background information also make the pages add up.

When thinking about the length of your dissertation chapters, also be aware that chapter lengths are not evenly divided. The bulk of your writing happens in the first three chapters, especially if the literature review covers a lot of ground. If you are writing a 130-page dissertation, the dissertation proposal will take up more than half of that space. Results sections can be comparatively short, and many scholars linger in the conclusion chapter because it’s their time to shine and it’s fun to write.

How Long Does It Take to Write Dissertation Chapters?

The amount of time it takes to write a dissertation depends on many factors and can vary greatly depending on the student, the program, and the discipline. This is a great conversation to have with your dissertation advisor, or even the chair of your department if you are still in the early stages of your graduate education. It never hurts to have a rough timeline in mind so you can get organized and plan for the journey ahead.

man taking notes from a laptop next to the window

These elements often determine the amount of time it takes to write dissertation chapters:

Academic Discipline

Some graduate degrees take longer than others, and much of that disparity occurs after coursework is completed. In many arts programs, most of the dissertation is written while coursework is taking place. It’s a different story in the sciences and humanities. In fields like biology and chemistry, issues like lab space and institutional approval must be resolved before a study can even begin, much less be written about, and that can take months. In fields like history, the scholarly research phase is similarly extensive.

University libraries are an academic wonderland, but that doesn’t mean they hold all the answers or everything that you’ll need to get to work on your literature review or background material. Like many burgeoning scholars, I was excited to discover that I would need to travel in order to undertake some archival research for the critical introduction to my dissertation. However, the time required to set this up and visit the sites extended the amount of time it took to write these dissertation chapters.

Life has a sneaky way of persisting, even when you have a dissertation to write. Many scholars experience unavoidable stops and starts while writing their dissertations, and it’s important to make allowances for being human, even if it interferes with your writing schedule. In my experience, we do our best to write as quickly as possible, but there are inevitable hiccups along the way. No matter. Course correct and keep going. You can do this, and the rewards of having a completed, bound dissertation in your hands will make all the effort worthwhile.

Happy man drinking coffee and working on his laptop

Courtney Watson, Ph.D.

Courtney Watson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of English at Radford University Carilion, in Roanoke, Virginia. Her areas of expertise include undergraduate and graduate curriculum development for writing courses in the health sciences and American literature with a focus on literary travel, tourism, and heritage economies. Her writing and academic scholarship has been widely published in places that include Studies in American Culture , Dialogue , and The Virginia Quarterly Review . Her research on the integration of humanities into STEM education will be published by Routledge in an upcoming collection. Dr. Watson has also been nominated by the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Rising Star Award, and she is a past winner of the National Society of Arts & Letters Regional Short Story Prize, as well as institutional awards for scholarly research and excellence in teaching. Throughout her career in higher education, Dr. Watson has served in faculty governance and administration as a frequent committee chair and program chair. As a higher education consultant, she has served as a subject matter expert, an evaluator, and a contributor to white papers exploring program development, enrollment research, and educational mergers and acquisitions.

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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.

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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 .

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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 .

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Dissertations: Writing Chapters

Choosing a topic
Research Proposal
Reviewing the literature
Introductions & Conclusions

Writing Chapters

Wrapping Up
Abstracts & Summaries
Managing Expectations

As part of your dissertation you will find that you need to write different types of chapters. In this guide we take you through those types, how to structure them. how to write them and some dos and dont's. Click on the links below to jump to the section you need.

Writing a methodology chapter

Writing a results chapter

Writing a discussion chapter

Writing a Methodology Chapter

What is a dissertation methodology.

Structuring your methodology
Dos and don’ts

A well-written methodology chapter is essential in establishing the credibility and validity of your research, as it allows other researchers to reproduce your study and build upon your findings . In this guide, we will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to write a comprehensive and well-organized methodology chapter that will effectively communicate the methodology you used in your research.

The methodology explains your methodological approach and explains what you did and how , and why .
The methodology section allows the reader to critically evaluate a study's overall credibility .
The purpose is to give another researcher enough information to replicate the study and obtain similar results.
Methods and methodology are not synonyms (overarching approach vs specific tools and procedures used to collect and analyse data).

The methodology chapter, as any other chapters of your dissertation except the introduction and conclusion chapters, consists of 3 main sections: introduction, main body and conclusion/summary.

[Adapted from: Succeeding with your Master’s Dissertation: A step-by-step handbook ]

The sections included in the main body depend on the type of research and the type of dissertation. For example:

In the traditional dissertation , it is commonly a separate chapter preceding the Results chapter.
In topic-based dissertations , the Methodology chapter might have a different title such as ‘Conducting Research’.
In experiment-based or dissertations by compilation , each study or experiment might contain its own methodology or methods section.

Step 1: Explain your research design/approach

This commonly includes a restatement of the research aim(s) , a justification of choice of research methods , overview of specific method(s) used .

Step 2: Explain your methods of data collection

This involves explaining how the research was conducted and how the data were obtained . It requires a detailed description of processes and procedures and a justification of the reasons for doing so . This might include describing:

How was the data collection tool designed
How participants were obtained and how was the sample drawn
The location in which the data collection took place
The themes covered during the data collection or any variables and measures
Any piloting, adjustments made and reasons behind those
Ethical considerations and any obstacles faced and how those were addressed

Step 3: Explain your methods of data analysis

This involves explaining how you processed and analysed the data. However, do not start discussing the results unless you are combining results and discussion into one chapter (commonly seen in qualitative research). For example, you might want to include:

How you prepared the data before analysis (e.g., checking for missing data, removing outliers)
The software used to analyse the data (e.g., SPSS, Atlas.ti)
The methods used to analyse the data (e.g., regression analysis, thematic analysis)

[Adapted from: https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/methodology/ AND Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language: A Handbook for Students and their Supervisors ]

For more information on language used in methodology chapters have a look at our page Language used in dissertations .

Writing a Results Chapter

What is a results chapter?
Structuring your results
Presenting your results
Using tables & figures

The results chapter is a crucial section of any piece of research, as it presents and interprets the findings obtained from the study. This chapter allows you to communicate the outcomes of your investigation, analyse the data, and draw meaningful conclusions . Crafting an effective results chapter requires careful planning, organization, and attention to detail. This guide aims to provide you with a step-by-step approach to writing a results chapter that effectively communicates your research findings.

The results section of your dissertation is where you report the findings of your study based upon the information gathered as a result of the methodology you applied.
The results section should simply state the findings , without bias or interpretation, and arranged in a logical sequence .
The results section should always be written in the past tense .
The page length of this section is set by the amount and types of data to be reported. Try to be concise and use non-textual elements .
Avoid providing data that is not critical to answering the research question(s).

The results chapter, as any other chapters of your dissertation except the introduction and conclusion chapters, consists of 3 main sections: introduction, main body and conclusion/summary.

Introduction

This might include:

A brief reminder of the methodological approach or methods.
A preview of the chapter: outline the organisation and state the scope (What is included? How is the chapter organised?)

The order of results can vary. Some suggestions are:

From most important to least important.
As a logical response to the research questions or problems you are trying to answer or solve.
If you are using a range of methods or a number of experimental elements , group the method/procedure together with the relevant results.
In quantitative research , the descriptive statistics are generally presented first, then the results of each of the hypotheses or research questions that were tested.
The information in the results section should be organised to show how the data tests the research questions or hypotheses , and should be presented sequentially to respond to each research question or hypothesis.

Conclusion or Chapter Summary

A brief summary of the key results.
Signpost how these will be discussed in the following chapter (leads to your discussion chapter).

Describe the findings of the study, but do not start to interpret the results . This will take place in the discussion section, which comes next, unless you decide to combine results and discussion, which is common in qualitative research.

Presenting Qualitative Results

Structure your results around key themes .
For each theme, make general observations about what the data showed.
Support these points with direct quotations .
If possible, include a brief conclusion (‘so what?’) to the observation and highlight any links with other findings.
Repeat this process as many times as necessary.
Further information can be included in an appendix .

Presenting Quantitative Results

Structure your results around your research sub-questions .
For each sub-question, present the relevant results , including any statistical analysis you conducted, and briefly evaluate their significance.
Highlight the most important trends , differences, and relationships among the data, but do not speculate on their meaning or consequences.
If you have results that are not directly relevant to answering your questions, or any extra information that will help the reader understand how you gathered the data, you can include them in an appendix .

The description of tables and figures in academic written texts commonly includes two different elements:

Location or summary statement: identifies the table or figure and indicates its content.
Highlighting statement or statements: point out and describe the relevant or significant data.

Dos and don'ts of using tables and figures

For more information on the language used in results chapters see the Language section of this guide.

You can use the checklist below to ensure your results chapter includes all relevant information:

Writing a Discussion Chapter

What is a discussion chapter.

Structuring your discussion
Dos and don'ts

The discussion chapter of a dissertation is an essential component that showcases your ability to analyse and interpret your research findings, draw meaningful conclusions, and provide valuable insights into the broader academic and practical implications of your study. This guide aims to provide you with a comprehensive overview of how to write a compelling and well-structured discussion chapter that strengthens the overall impact of your dissertation.

Explains what the results mean;
Interprets and discusses the data;
Compares it with other research (literature review);
Evaluates its importance;
Points out the limitations of your research;
Raises questions for future directions .

Tip: When writing your discussion chapter, you might want to revisit your literature review chapter and ensure that the relevant literature included in this chapter has been already presented in the Literature Review.

The discussion chapter, as any other chapters of your dissertation except the introduction and conclusion chapters, consists of 3 main sections: introduction, main body and conclusion/summary.

[Adapted from: Succeeding with your Master’s Dissertation: A step-by-step handbook ]

Your discussion should focus on explaining and evaluating your findings, displaying their connection to the previous literature (i.e., your literature review ) and research questions , as well as presenting a persuasive argument to support your overall conclusion. While there are many different ways to write this section, you can focus your discussion around three key aspects:

Interpretations: What is the meaning behind the results?
Implications: Why do the results matter? Why are the results relevant?
Limitations: What can’t the results tell us? What are the constraints or limitations of the results in terms of what they can reveal?

This can be done following the 5 steps below:

Step 1: Summarise your findings

You can begin this section by reiterating your research problem and providing a succinct overview of your main findings. Do not just repeat all the data that you have already reported in the previous chapter, instead present a clear statement that directly addresses your research questions.

Step 2: Interpret your findings

While the significance of your results may appear apparent to you, it is crucial to explicitly articulate their importance for your reader by demonstrating how they directly address your research question. The manner in which you interpret the data will vary depending on the type of research conducted. However, some common approaches to interpreting the data include:

Recognizing correlations, patterns, and relationships within the data
Analysing whether the results align with your expectations or support your hypotheses
Placing your findings within the context of prior research and established theories
Elucidating unexpected results and assessing their significance
Considering alternative explanations and presenting a compelling argument in favour of your position.

Step 3: Place your findings in context (literature review)

A helpful way to place your findings within context and identifying how your findings agree or disagree with the previous literature is to use a summary table such as the one below:

This can result in a paragraph like: The importance of timely feedback in block has also been stressed by students and faculty as one of the reasons as to why single assessments at the end of the module, and more specifically exams, are the least accurate method in block delivery. Although exams were considered by some participants as necessary in certain disciplines, participants agreed that this assessment type does not show knowledge depth as indicated by Dang et al. (2022) and students might receive limited or no feedback as highlighted by Race (2015). Therefore, incorporating frequent and a variety of assessments with timely feedback into block delivery could enhance student learning outcomes and improve the accuracy of assessments.

Step 4: Acknowledge the limitations

Every piece of research has limitations and acknowledging these is crucial for establishing the credibility of the study. The purpose of discussing these limitations is not to highlight errors, but rather to provide an accurate understanding of the conclusions that can and cannot be drawn from the study, as well as to highlight further areas for research on the topic. Limitations might relate to your research design, methodological choices, or unforeseen challenges encountered during the research process. Here are some examples:

If the sample size was small or limited to a specific group of individuals, it is necessary to explain how the generalizability of the findings is constrained.
If difficulties were encountered during data collection or analysis, it is important to elucidate how these challenges might have impacted the results.
If there are potential confounding variables that could not be controlled, it is essential to acknowledge the potential effects they might have had.

[Adapted from: https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/discussion/ ]

For more information on the language used in discussions, have a look at our Language used in dissertations guide

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Thesis Structure: Writing Guide For Your Success

If you are about to start writing your thesis, then it is extremely important to know as much as possible about the thesis structure. Learning the main thesis chapters should enable you to quickly structure your academic paper. Keep in mind that not structuring the paper correctly usually leads to severe penalties. We know some of you are probably having questions about numbering dissertation chapters. Basically, you just need to give all the major sections consecutive numbers. Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, and so on). Check out the most frequently asked questions and them move on to the 7 parts of the thesis or dissertation structure.

Thesis Structure Frequently Asked Questions

What is a basic good structure for a thesis? A: The best structure is the one listed below. It contains the 7 important parts any thesis should have.
What does “the structure of this dissertation is in manuscript style” mean? A: It means that the thesis includes one or more manuscripts that have been written in a way that facilitates publication. The thesis can, in this case, be a collection of papers that have been written or co-authored by the student.
Which chapters of dissertation are mandatory? A: All the 7 chapters below are necessary, if you want to get a top score on your paper.
Where can I get a thesis structure template? A: You can quickly get a thesis structure example from one of our seasoned academic writers. Don’t base your thesis on mediocre samples you find online.
What is the preferred thesis sentence structure? A: There is no set sentence structure that you have to follow. Just make sure your writing is organized in a logical manner and that all complex terms are explained the first time you use them.

Thesis Abstract

The first part of the thesis structure is the abstract. It is basically an overview of the entire paper. There is no set dissertation abstract structure. It is just a summary of your thesis and it should be just 200 to 300 words long.

Thesis Introduction

The introduction is one of the most important dissertation chapters. It should contain all of the following information:

A bit of background about the topic. Some information about the current knowledge. The aim of your research (the gap in knowledge that prompted you to write the thesis).

Remember that the introduction must present the thesis statement. It is very important to learn more about the thesis statement structure. A great thesis statement will pique the interest of the evaluation committee.

Thesis Literature Review

Many students who are looking to learn how to structure a thesis don’t know about the Literature Review section. Why? Because many people prefer to include it into the introduction. However, by separating the literature review from the intro, you can focus more on why your research is important. You can evaluate the most important research on your topic and clearly show the gap in knowledge.

Thesis Methods

In most cases, the Methods section is the easiest part of the structure of a thesis. All you have to do is present the method or methods you chose for the research. Don’t forget to also explain why you chose that specific research method. Your audience needs to understand that the chosen method is the best for the task.

Thesis Results

This is one of the most important chapters of a dissertation. In the Results chapter, you need to present your findings. Remember that written text is not enough. You need figures, stats, graphs, and other forms of data. This section contains all the facts of your research and should be written in an objective, neutral manner. It would be unusual for your to discuss your findings in this section.

Thesis Discussion

The Discussion chapter is very important in the dissertation chapters structure. It is the reason why you didn’t discuss your findings in the Results section. This is the section you can use to talk about your findings and provide your own opinions about the results. Here is what you can do in the discussion section:

Explain to the audience what your results mean for the scientific community. Comment on each of the results and discuss how your findings support your thesis. Explain any unexpected results so the evaluation committee can see that you know what you’re doing. Interpret the results and tie them with other research on the subject. How does your research help the academic community?

Thesis Conclusion

While not the most important chapter, the conclusion is one of the important chapters in a dissertation. It is the part where you can show your readers that you have achieved your research objectives. You can talk a bit about what you’ve learned in the process and even make some suggestions regarding the need for future research. In most cases, students also reiterate the thesis statement at the beginning of the conclusion, followed by a short summary of the paper’s most important chapters.

Still Not Sure How to Structure Thesis?

In case you are still struggling to find the best history dissertation structure, you should get some help as fast as possible. Remember that writing a thesis takes weeks, if not months. Don’t spend too much time trying to find the best structure. Instead, get in touch with a reliable academic company and get some quick assistance. For examples, one of our writers can create a thesis outline for you. You can just follow the outline and everything will be just fine.

Of course, you can also get some help with the thesis formatting. Citations and references can be difficult to master. Each academic writing style (MLA, Chicago, APA, etc.) has its own requirements. The way you format your academic paper is very important. Bolding and italicizing can emphasize certain ideas. A professional editor can help you make the thesis stand out from the rest. After all, a pleasantly-formatted dissertation that impresses the evaluation committee with its structure and quality of content has a very high chance of getting a top score.

Dissertation Structure and Presentation

First Online: 24 March 2020

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Aarthi Ramlaul 2

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In this chapter guidance on the structure and presentation of a final written document is provided. The various sections contained within a dissertation are explained. The presentation of the sections is detailed in relation to their order and format. Good practice tips for an academically well-structured and presented dissertation are integrated throughout.

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Alan Castle is thanked for his work on the original chapter. Many illustrations have been retained within this new version.

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Ramlaul, A. (2020). Dissertation Structure and Presentation. In: Ramlaul, A. (eds) Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy Research: Skills and Strategies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37944-5_17

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Dissertation Structure: Explaining Chapters of Your Dissertation

Many postgraduate students feel daunted by the required length of the Master’s Dissertation . The thought of writing 20,000 – 50,000 words can strike fear into the heart of even the most dedicated scholar! One way to get to grips with this new level of writing is to understand the typical dissertation structure used by most students (sometimes called the ‘thesis structure’). This breaks your task down into many smaller, more manageable chunks.

Standard Dissertation Structure

Dissertation structures vary from discipline to discipline, but the following sections will be found in almost all UK dissertations. The length of each section and its level of critical analysis will depend on your specific research area and degree programme. For example, in the Humanities and Social Sciences, you will be expected to devote a significant portion of the thesis to your philosophical context. This will not be necessary for a UK Masters Thesis in most Science subjects, where you will focus instead on the methodological choices you’ve made and the validity of results.

The Dissertation Abstract is a short introductory statement that contextualises your research, outlines your methodology and summarises findings. An Abstract should be concise but it should include the most interesting and innovative points of your work – think of it as the academic equivalent of a film trailer, except in the Abstract you’ll give away the ending of the “story” before readers choose whether or not to go further. A good dissertation should start from an abstract that clearly explains your research focus and conclusions.

To find out more, read our article on How to write an abstract for a dissertation .

Introduction

All Masters-level studies begin with an Introduction, which is an essential part of the dissertation structure. The introductory chapter is longer and more detailed than the Abstract and includes some information about your research context and overall aims. This chapter should set the tone for the remainder of the Dissertation, by conveying informed, critical thinking around your subject. It is less analytical than other chapters, but still scholarly in tone.

Find out more about an Introduction in our article on How to write a dissertation introduction .

Literature Review

A Literature Review is usually the second dissertation chapter , and as the title suggests it provides an overview of the major theories and philosophies related to your topic. The literature review is very important to the rest of the dissertation structure because it provides the context for your own research and outlines the key theories that your own work will be supported by. The kinds of literature you will cover in a Literature Review will vary according to your discipline; in Humanities subjects you might pay more attention to philosophical works, for example, while Science topics might require more coverage of methodological theories.

To find out more about a Literature Review, read our article on How to write a literature review for a dissertation .

Methodology

The Methodology Chapter of your dissertation will outline the methods that you choose for your research. More importantly though, it will provide a justification for your chosen methodology and a detailed explanation of its practical application. For example, it is not enough to tell readers that you will be using questionnaires as your major methodology; you should also explain why you think this is the best approach, and discuss the design and distribution of the questionnaires.

Read our article on How to write the methodology for a dissertation for more information.

Main Body / Analysis of Findings

After the standard Abstract, Introduction and Methodology chapters you will need to write the main body of your dissertation, which will provide a discussion of your own research and explain and analyse your results. This can take the form of more than one dissertation chapter, depending on the complexity of your methodology and findings. The length and nature of these chapters will also vary depending on the area of your studies – in MSc subjects you would be less likely to present conclusions in these chapters, focusing instead on the data from your empirical research. However, in Humanities and Social Sciences, your theoretical conclusions should be woven into your overall analysis of data. In all cases, you should be sure to refer back to the works cited in your literature review and use them to support your analysis.

The Conclusion should provide a brief but thorough overview of your research project as a whole, and give special attention to the significance of your results. This chapter provides a final opportunity for you to contextualise and justify your research, so use it wisely to ‘sell’ your ideas to your audience. However, be sure to avoid both sweeping statements and meaningless clichés – instead aim for an honest summary and assessment. Try to address any potential criticisms of your research. Discuss any inconsistencies or anomalies that you’ve uncovered, and be specific about what kinds of further research may be needed. Avoid the temptation to make rhetorical flourishes in your final paragraphs and end simply, clearly and factually.

Find out more about the Conclusion in our article on How to write a dissertation conclusion .

Bibliography

The Bibliography of the Master’s Dissertation will vary depending on the citation style prescribed for your university and discipline. Details of the style guidelines will be made available to you by your institution, and most can be found online. Be sure to pay careful attention to the details of the style conventions and avoid costly errors.

Some Masters Dissertations will also include an Appendix or Appendices. These give you an opportunity to provide additional details to readers. An Appendix might include charts, tables or figures that you refer to in your text, or essential documents that are not readily available to readers.

Together these sections form the standard UK Dissertation structure, which is almost universal across disciplines. To learn about the variations in structure that are specific to your discipline, talk to your supervisors and view previous students’ dissertations in the library. As long as you include each of the sections above you will be well on your way to a successful UK Masters Dissertation! In case you need more information, please read our guide on How to write a disseration .

Writing the Dissertation - Guides for Success: The Methodology

Writing the Dissertation Homepage
Overview and Planning
The Literature Review
The Methodology
The Results and Discussion
The Conclusion
The Abstract
Getting Started
What to Avoid

Overview of writing the methodology

The methodology chapter precisely outlines the research method(s) employed in your dissertation and considers any relevant decisions you made, and challenges faced, when conducting your research. Getting this right is crucial because it lays the foundation for what’s to come: your results and discussion.

Disciplinary differences

Please note: this guide is not specific to any one discipline. The methodology can vary depending on the nature of the research and the expectations of the school or department. Please adapt the following advice to meet the demands of your dissertation and the expectations of your school or department. Consult your supervisor for further guidance; you can also check out our Writing Across Subjects guide .

Guide contents

As part of the Writing the Dissertation series, this guide covers the most common conventions found in a methodology chapter, giving you the necessary knowledge, tips and guidance needed to impress your markers! The sections are organised as follows:

Getting Started - Defines the methodology and its core characteristics.
Structure - Provides a detailed walk-through of common subsections or components of the methodology.
What to Avoid - Covers a few frequent mistakes you'll want to...avoid!
FAQs - Guidance on first- vs. third-person, secondary literature and more.
Checklist - Includes a summary of key points and a self-evaluation checklist.

Training and tools

The Academic Skills team has recorded a Writing the Dissertation workshop series to help you with each section of a standard dissertation, including a video on writing the method/methodology .
For more on methods and methodologies, you can check out USC's methodology research guide and Huddersfield's guide to writing the methodology of an undergraduate dissertation .
The dissertation planner tool can help you think through the timeline for planning, research, drafting and editing.
iSolutions offers training and a Word template to help you digitally format and structure your dissertation.

What is the methodology?

The methodology of a dissertation is like constructing a house of cards. Having strong and stable foundations for your research relies on your ability to make informed and rational choices about the design of your study. Everything from this point on – your results and discussion – rests on these decisions, like the bottom layer of a house of cards.

The methodology is where you explicitly state, in relevant detail, how you conduced your study in direct response to your research question(s) and/or hypotheses. You should work through the linear process of devising your study to implementing it, covering the important choices you made and any potential obstacles you faced along the way.

Methods or methodology?

Some disciplines refer to this chapter as the research methods , whilst others call it the methodology . The two are often used interchangeably, but they are slightly different. The methods chapter outlines the techniques used to conduct the research and the specific steps taken throughout the research process. The methodology also outlines how the research was conducted, but is particularly interested in the philosophical underpinning that shapes the research process. As indicated by the suffix, -ology , meaning the study of something, the methodology is like the study of research, as opposed to simply stating how the research was conducted.

This guide focuses on the methodology, as opposed to the methods, although the content and guidance can be tailored to a methods chapter. Every dissertation is different and every methodology has its own nuances, so ensure you adapt the content here to your research and always consult your supervisor for more detailed guidance.

What are my markers looking for?

Your markers are looking for your understanding of the complex process behind original (see definition) research. They are assessing your ability to...

Demonstrate an understanding of the impact that methodological choices can have on the reliability and validity of your findings, meaning you should engage with ‘why’ you did that, as opposed to simply ‘what’ you did.
Make informed methodological choices that clearly relate to your research question(s).

But what does it mean to engage in 'original' research? Originality doesn’t strictly mean you should be inventing something entirely new. Originality comes in many forms, from updating the application of a theory, to adapting a previous experiment for new purposes – it’s about making a worthwhile contribution.

Structuring your methodology

The methodology chapter should outline the research process undertaken, from selecting the method to articulating the tool or approach adopted to analyse your results. Because you are outlining this process, it's important that you structure your methodology in a linear way, showing how certain decisions have impacted on subsequent choices.

Scroll to continue reading, or click a link below to jump immediately to that section:

The 'research onion'

To ensure you write your methodology in a linear way, it can be useful to think of the methodology in terms of layers, as shown in the figure below.

Oval diagram with these layers from outside to in: philosophy, approach, methodological choice, strategies, time horizon, and techniques/procedures.

Figure: 'Research onion' from Saunders et al. (2007).

You don't need to precisely follow these exact layers as some won't be relevant to your research. However, the layered 'out to in' structure developed by Saunders et al. (2007) is appropriate for any methodology chapter because it guides your reader through the process in a linear fashion, demonstrating how certain decisions impacted on others. For example, you need to state whether your research is qualitative, quantitative or mixed before articulating your precise research method. Likewise, you need to explain how you collected your data before you inform the reader of how you subsequently analysed that data.

Using this linear approach from 'outer' layer to 'inner' layer, the next sections will take you through the most common layers used to structure a methodology chapter.

Introduction and research outline

Like any chapter, you should open your methodology with an introduction. It's good to start by briefly restating the research problem, or gap, that you're addressing, along with your research question(s) and/or hypotheses. Following this, it's common to provide a very condensed statement that outlines the most important elements of your research design. Here's a short example:

This study adopted qualitative research through a series of semi-structured interviews with seven experienced industry professionals.

Like any other introduction, you can then provide a brief statement outlining what the chapter is about and how it's structured (e.g., an essay map ).

Restating the research problem (or gap) and your research question(s) and/or hypotheses creates a natural transition from your previous review of the literature - which helped you to identify the gap or problem - to how you are now going to address such a problem. Your markers are also going to assess the relevance and suitability of your method and methodological choices against your research question(s), so it's good to 'frame' the entire chapter around the research question(s) by bringing them to the fore.

Research philosophy

A research philosophy is an underlying belief that shapes the way research is conducted. For this reason, as featured in the 'research onion' above, the philosophy should be the outermost layer - the first methodological issue you deal with following the introduction and research outline - because every subsequent choice, from the method employed to the way you analyse data, is directly influenced by your philosophical stance.

You can say something about other philosophies, but it's best to directly relate this to your research and the philosophy you have selected - why the other philosophy isn't appropriate for you to adopt, for instance. Otherwise, explain to your reader the philosophy you have selected (using secondary literature), its underlying principles, and why this philosophy, therefore, is particularly relevant to your research.

The research philosophy is sometimes featured in a methodology chapter, but not always. It depends on the conventions within your school or discipline , so only include this if it's expected.

The reason for outlining the research philosophy is to show your understanding of the role that your chosen philosophy plays in shaping the design and approach of your research study. The philosophy you adopt also indicates your worldview (in the context of this research), which is an important way of highlighting the role you, the researcher, play in shaping new knowledge.

Research method

This is where you state whether you're doing qualitative, quantitative or mixed-methods research before outlining the exact instrument or strategy (see definition) adopted for research (interviews, case study, etc.). It's also important that you explain why you have chosen that particular method and strategy. You can also explain why you're not adopting an alternate form of research, or why you haven't used a particular instrument, but keep this brief and use it to reinforce why you have chosen your method and strategy.

Your research method, more than anything else, is going to directly influence how effectively you answer your research question(s). For that reason, it's crucial that you emphasise the suitability of your chosen method and instrument for the purposes of your research.

Data collection

The data collection part of your methodology explain the process of how you accessed and collected your data. Using an interview as a qualitative example, this might include the criteria for selecting participants, how you recruited the participants and how and where you conducted the interviews. There is often some overlap with data collection and research method, so don't worry about this. Just make sure you get the essential information across to your reader.

The details of how you accessed and collected your data are important for replicability purposes - the ability for someone to adopt the same approach and repeat the study. It's also important to include this information for reliability and consistency purposes (see validity and reliability on the next tab of this guide for more).

Data analysis

After describing how you collected the data, you need to identify your chosen method of data analysis. Inevitably, this will vary depending on whether your research is qualitative or quantitative (see note below).

Qualitative research tends to be narrative-based where forms of ‘coding’ are employed to categorise and group the data into meaningful themes and patterns (Bui, 2014). Quantitative deals with numerical data meaning some form of statistical approach is taken to measure the results against the research question(s).

Tell your reader which data analysis software (such as SPSS or Atlast.ti) or method you’ve used and why, using relevant literature. Again, you can mention other data analysis tools that you haven’t used, but keep this brief and relate it to your discussion of your chosen approach. This isn’t to be confused with the results and discussion chapters where you actually state and then analyse your results. This is simply a discussion of the approach taken, how you applied this approach to your data and why you opted for this method of data analysis.

Detail of how you analysed your data helps to contextualise your results and discussion chapters. This is also a validity issue (see next tab of guide), as you need to ensure that your chosen method for data analysis helps you to answer your research question(s) and/or respond to your hypotheses. To use an example from Bui (2014: 155), 'if one of the research questions asks whether the participants changed their behaviour before and after the study, then one of the procedures for data analysis needs to be a comparison of the pre- and postdata'.

Validity and reliability

Validity simply refers to whether the research method(s) and instrument(s) applied are directly suited to meet the purposes of your research – whether they help you to answer your research question(s), or allow you to formulate a response to your hypotheses.

Validity can be separated into two forms: internal and external. The difference between the two is defined by what exists inside the study (internal) and what exists outside the study (external).

Internal validity is the extent to which ‘the results obtained can be attributed to the manipulation of the independent variable' (Salkind, 2011: 147).
External validity refers to the application of your study’s findings outside the setting of your study. This is known as generalisability , meaning to what extent are the results applicable to a wider context or population.

Reliability

Reliability refers to the consistency with which you designed and implemented your research instrument(s). The idea behind this is to ensure that someone else could replicate your study and, by applying the instrument in the exact same way, would achieve the same results. This is crucial to quantitative and scientific based research, but isn’t strictly the case with qualitative research given the subjective nature of the data.

With qualitative data, it’s important to emphasise that data was collected in a consistent way to avoid any distortions. For example, let’s say you’ve circulated a questionnaire to participants. You would want to ensure that every participant receives the exact same questionnaire with precisely the same questions and wording, unless different questionnaires are required for different members of the sample for the purposes of the research.

Ethical considerations

Any research involving human participants needs to consider ethical factors. In response, you need to show your markers that you have implemented the necessary measures to cover the relevant ethical issues. These are some of the factors that are typically included:

How did you gain the consent of participants, and how did you formally record this consent?
What measures did you take to ensure participants had enough understanding of their role to make an informed decision, including the right to withdraw at any stage?
What measures did you take to maintain the confidentiality of participants during the research and, potentially, for the write-up?
What measures did you take to store the raw data and protect it from external access and use prior to the write-up?

These are only a few examples of the ethical factors you need to write about in your methodology. Depending on the nature of your research, ethical considerations might form a significant part of your methodology chapter, or may only constitute a few sentences. Either way, it’s imperative that you show your markers that you’ve considered the relevant ethical implications of your research.

Limitations

Don’t make the mistake of ignoring the limitations of your study (see the next tab, 'What to Avoid', for more on this) – it’s a common part of research and should be confronted. Limitations of research can be diverse, but tend to be logistical issues relating to time, scope and access . Whilst accepting that your study has certain limitations, the key is to put a positive spin on it, like the example below:

Despite having a limited sample size compared to other similar studies, the number of participants is enough to provide sufficient data, whilst the in-depth nature of the interviews facilitates detailed responses from participants.

Bui, Y. N. (2014) How to Write a Master’s Thesis. 2dn Edtn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Guba, E. G. and Lincoln, Y. S. (1994) ‘Competing paradigms in qualitative research’, in Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, N. S. (eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 105-117.
Salkind, N. J. (2011) ‘Internal and external validity’, in Moutinho, L. and Hutchenson, G. D. (eds.) The SAGE Dictionary of Quantitative Management Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 147-149.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2007) Research Methods for Business Students . 4th Edtn. Harlow: Pearson.

What to avoid

This portion of the guide will cover some common missteps you should try to avoid in writing your methodology.

Ignoring limitations

It might seem instinctive to hide any flaws or limitations with your research to protect yourself from criticism. However, you need to highlight any problems you encountered during the research phase, or any limitations with your approach. Your markers are expecting you to engage with these limitations and highlight the kind of impact they may have had on your research.

Just be careful that you don’t overstress these limitations. Doing so could undermine the reliability and validity of your results, and your credibility as a researcher.

Literature review of methods

Don’t mistake your methodology chapter as a detailed review of methods employed in other studies. This level of detail should, where relevant, be incorporated in the literature review chapter, instead (see our Writing the Literature Review guide ). Any reference to methodological choices made by other researchers should come into your methodology chapter, but only in support of the decisions you made.

Unnecessary detail

It’s important to be thorough in a methodology chapter. However, don’t include unnecessary levels of detail. You should provide enough detail that allows other researchers to replicate or adapt your study, but don’t bore your reader with obvious or extraneous detail.

Any materials or content that you think is worth including, but not essential in the chapter, could be included in an appendix (see definition). These don’t count towards your word count (unless otherwise stated), and they can provide further detail and context for your reader. For instance, it’s quite common to include a copy of a questionnaire in an appendix, or a list of interview questions.

Q: Should the methodology be in the past or present tense?

A: The past tense. The study has already been conducted and the methodological decisions have been implemented, meaning the chapter should be written in the past tense. For example...

Data was collected over the course of four weeks.

I informed participants of their right to withdraw at any time.

The surveys included ten questions about job satisfaction and ten questions about familial life (see Appendix).

Q: Should the methodology include secondary literature?

A: Yes, where relevant. Unlike the literature review, the methodology is driven by what you did rather than what other people have done. However, you should still draw on secondary sources, when necessary, to support your methodological decisions.

Q: Do you still need to write a methodology for secondary research?

A: Yes, although it might not form a chapter, as such. Including some detail on how you approached the research phase is always a crucial part of a dissertation, whether primary or secondary. However, depending on the nature of your research, you may not have to provide the same level of detail as you would with a primary-based study.

For example, if you’re analysing two particular pieces of literature, then you probably need to clarify how you approached the analysis process, how you use the texts (whether you focus on particular passages, for example) and perhaps why these texts are scrutinised, as opposed to others from the relevant literary canon.

In such cases, the methodology may not be a chapter, but might constitute a small part of the introduction. Consult your supervisor for further guidance.

Q: Should the methodology be in the first-person or third?

A: It’s important to be consistent , so you should use whatever you’ve been using throughout your dissertation. Third-person is more commonly accepted, but certain disciplines are happy with the use of first-person. Just remember that the first-person pronoun can be a distracting, but powerful device, so use it sparingly. Consult your supervisor for further guidance.

It’s important to remember that all research is different and, as such, the methodology chapter is likely to be very different from dissertation to dissertation. Whilst this guide has covered the most common and essential layers featured in a methodology, your methodology might be very different in terms of what you focus on, the depth of focus and the wording used.

What’s important to remember, however, is that every methodology chapter needs to be structured in a linear, layered way that guides the reader through the methodological process in sequential order. Through this, your marker can see how certain decisions have impacted on others, showing your understanding of the research process.

Here’s a final checklist for writing your methodology. Remember that not all of these points will be relevant for your methodology, so make sure you cover whatever’s appropriate for your dissertation. The asterisk (*) indicates any content that might not be relevant for your dissertation. You can download a copy of the checklist to save and edit via the Word document, below.

Methodology self-evaluation checklist

<< Previous: The Literature Review
Next: The Results and Discussion >>
Last Updated: Apr 19, 2024 12:38 PM
URL: https://library.soton.ac.uk/writing_the_dissertation

winning dissertation ideas & samples

Dissertation Structure & Layout Explained + Examples

How do you write a dissertation chapter structure? Which chapter comes first and which one comes last? What do you write in your dissertation chapters and how do you write them? In this article, you will be getting the answers to all of these questions so keep reading.

Dissertation Chapters Outline

Chapter One: Introduction

The dissertation chapter 1 outline basically comprises a hook, a background, the research aims/questions and the topic. In your dissertation chapter 1, the first thing you should write is the hook. The hook is what will determine whether the reader will be interested in further reading or get bored or confused with your dissertation. So, try to make your hook as interesting, controversial, or bold as possible.

After your hook, the next thing to do is write the background for your topic. This will let the reader relate to your topic as they can now understand what events led to it.

Next, state your research aims or questions. It is always best to break these into a list of numbered items.

Finally, introduce your topic and the other chapters. You may also choose to introduce your topic in the middle of the introduction or at the end of your dissertation chapter 1 example.

Note: Your reader must be able to fully understand the intent of your dissertation just by reading your introduction. What many students do not know is that the introduction, the methodology and the analysis chapters get the most points. So, you have to write them well.

Chapter Two: Review of Literature

In this chapter, you will discuss your sources and show how their information is relevant to your topic. The dissertation chapter 2 outline consists of showing the relevance of other literature to your research work, why you chose them, how your dissertation differs from them, and your theoretical framework.

In your dissertation chapter 2, you should also critique this literature and point out the research gaps in them.

Now it is important to mention that you should only cite academic materials in your literature review and your entire dissertation. Citing sources from random blogs or websites may cost you some marks. Also, you do not have to limit your sources to written texts, you can use videos but do not forget to cite according to your school’s reference system.

Chapter Three: Methodology

After writing your chapter two, the next chapter to write is your methodology chapter in your dissertation chapters structure. Here, you will explain your research design, the tools you use, and why you chose them. You will also mention if you encountered any challenges in the course of your research and what you did about them. Finally, you will write your ethical considerations. The ethical considerations usually entail proof that you did not force participants (if any) without their consent to fill questionnaires or partake in interviews. Also, you will mention if you employed the help of other researchers during your research.

Here, in your methodology chapter, you may need to use graphs, charts, tables, or any relevant image to give a visual representation of what you are explaining. Lastly, you will also tell if there is any new data or information you added to your research (that was not in your research proposal) and why you added them. Similarly, if you removed any data or information, you should state so in this chapter.

Now for some students, your methodology chapter may be as few as 1000 words while for some others, it may be as much as 3000 words. This depends on how much you have to write.

Chapter Four: Analysis

In this chapter, you will present the data you have gotten during your research. You will carefully analyze each one of them from relevant to irrelevant. You will also point out any flaws or perfection in the data you have written. Your analysis chapter has to be well-written, detailed, and easy to understand as it is this chapter that most markers usually award the most points.

It is also in this chapter that you may use the most word count. You may also use the most word count in your results and discussion chapter. However, this is not always the case.

Chapter Five: Results and Discussion

In this chapter, you present the results of your analysis and you discuss them. For some students, the results and discussion chapter may be merged with the analysis chapter to become one. In this chapter, you will discuss in detail the results you got from analyzing all the data you discovered. You will also point out research gaps, flaws, or perfection in your results. Make sure your interpretation of your analysis is broken down in a manner that your reader can understand.

Chapter Six: Conclusion

Lastly, write the conclusion of your dissertation. Your conclusion is almost like writing your introduction. However, you will show what you have done rather than what you will do. That means you may use more past tense. Here, you will start from the beginning of what your dissertation aimed to do. Next, you will summarize the literature review, your methodology, and your analysis chapters. You will also make recommendations to future researchers that may use your research work for reference.

Writing a dissertation chapter outline does not have to be confusing or terrifying to you. Simply follow the steps and instructions in this article and you will find it easier to write.

LW - My thesis (Algorithmic Bayesian Epistemology) explained in more depth by Eric Neyman The Nonlinear Library

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: My thesis (Algorithmic Bayesian Epistemology) explained in more depth, published by Eric Neyman on May 10, 2024 on LessWrong. In March I posted a very short description of my PhD thesis, Algorithmic Bayesian Epistemology, on LessWrong. I've now written a more in-depth summary for my blog, Unexpected Values. Here's the full post: *** In January, I defended my PhD thesis. My thesis is called Algorithmic Bayesian Epistemology, and it's about predicting the future. In many ways, the last five years of my life have been unpredictable. I did not predict that a novel bat virus would ravage the world, causing me to leave New York for a year. I did not predict that, within months of coming back, I would leave for another year - this time of my own free will, to figure out what I wanted to do after graduating. And I did not predict that I would rush to graduate in just seven semesters so I could go work on the AI alignment problem. But the topic of my thesis? That was the most predictable thing ever. It was predictable from the fact that, when I was six, I made a list of who I might be when I grow up, and then attached probabilities to each option. Math teacher? 30%. Computer programmer? 25%. Auto mechanic? 2%. (My grandma informed me that she was taking the under on "auto mechanic".) It was predictable from my life-long obsession with forecasting all sorts of things, from hurricanes to elections to marble races. It was predictable from that time in high school when I was deciding whether to tell my friend that I had a crush on her, so I predicted a probability distribution over how she would respond, estimated how good each outcome would be, and calculated the expected utility. And it was predictable from the fact that like half of my blog posts are about predicting the future or reasoning about uncertainty using probabilities. So it's no surprise that, after a year of trying some other things (mainly auction theory), I decided to write my thesis about predicting the future. If you're looking for practical advice for predicting the future, you won't find it in my thesis. I have tremendous respect for groups like Epoch and Samotsvety: expert forecasters with stellar track records whose thorough research lets them make some of the best forecasts about some of the world's most important questions. But I am a theorist at heart, and my thesis is about the theory of forecasting. This means that I'm interested in questions like: How do I pay Epoch and Samotsvety for their forecasts in a way that incentivizes them to tell me their true beliefs? If Epoch and Samotsvety give me different forecasts, how should I combine them into a single forecast? Under what theoretical conditions can Epoch and Samotsvety reconcile a disagreement by talking to each other? What's the best way for me to update how much I trust Epoch relative to Samotsvety over time, based on the quality of their predictions? If these sorts of questions sound interesting, then you may enjoy consuming my thesis in some form or another. If reading a 373-page technical manuscript is your cup of tea - well then, you're really weird, but here you go! If reading a 373-page technical manuscript is not your cup of tea, you could look at my thesis defense slides (PowerPoint, PDF),[1] or my short summary on LessWrong. On the other hand, if you're looking for a somewhat longer summary, this post is for you! If you're looking to skip ahead to the highlights, I've put a * next to the chapters I'm most proud of (5, 7, 9). Chapter 0: Preface I don't actually have anything to say about the preface, except to show off my dependency diagram. (I never learned how to make diagrams in LaTeX. You can usually do almost as well in Microsoft Word, with way less effort!) Chapter 1: Introduction "Algorithmic Bayesian epistemology" (the title of the

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How To Write The Results/Findings Chapter

For qualitative studies (dissertations & theses).

By: Jenna Crossley (PhD). Expert Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | August 2021

So, you’ve collected and analysed your qualitative data, and it’s time to write up your results chapter. But where do you start? In this post, we’ll guide you through the qualitative results chapter (also called the findings chapter), step by step.

Overview: Qualitative Results Chapter

What (exactly) the qualitative results chapter is
What to include in your results chapter
How to write up your results chapter
A few tips and tricks to help you along the way
Free results chapter template

What exactly is the results chapter?

The results chapter in a dissertation or thesis (or any formal academic research piece) is where you objectively and neutrally present the findings of your qualitative analysis (or analyses if you used multiple qualitative analysis methods ). This chapter can sometimes be combined with the discussion chapter (where you interpret the data and discuss its meaning), depending on your university’s preference. We’ll treat the two chapters as separate, as that’s the most common approach.

In contrast to a quantitative results chapter that presents numbers and statistics, a qualitative results chapter presents data primarily in the form of words . But this doesn’t mean that a qualitative study can’t have quantitative elements – you could, for example, present the number of times a theme or topic pops up in your data, depending on the analysis method(s) you adopt.

Adding a quantitative element to your study can add some rigour, which strengthens your results by providing more evidence for your claims. This is particularly common when using qualitative content analysis. Keep in mind though that qualitative research aims to achieve depth, richness and identify nuances , so don’t get tunnel vision by focusing on the numbers. They’re just cream on top in a qualitative analysis.

So, to recap, the results chapter is where you objectively present the findings of your analysis, without interpreting them (you’ll save that for the discussion chapter). With that out the way, let’s take a look at what you should include in your results chapter.

Free template for results section of a dissertation or thesis

What should you include in the results chapter?

As we’ve mentioned, your qualitative results chapter should purely present and describe your results , not interpret them in relation to the existing literature or your research questions . Any speculations or discussion about the implications of your findings should be reserved for your discussion chapter.

In your results chapter, you’ll want to talk about your analysis findings and whether or not they support your hypotheses (if you have any). Naturally, the exact contents of your results chapter will depend on which qualitative analysis method (or methods) you use. For example, if you were to use thematic analysis, you’d detail the themes identified in your analysis, using extracts from the transcripts or text to support your claims.

While you do need to present your analysis findings in some detail, you should avoid dumping large amounts of raw data in this chapter. Instead, focus on presenting the key findings and using a handful of select quotes or text extracts to support each finding . The reams of data and analysis can be relegated to your appendices.

While it’s tempting to include every last detail you found in your qualitative analysis, it is important to make sure that you report only that which is relevant to your research aims, objectives and research questions . Always keep these three components, as well as your hypotheses (if you have any) front of mind when writing the chapter and use them as a filter to decide what’s relevant and what’s not.

Need a helping hand?

How do I write the results chapter?

Now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s time to look at how to structure your chapter. Broadly speaking, the results chapter needs to contain three core components – the introduction, the body and the concluding summary. Let’s take a look at each of these.

Section 1: Introduction

The first step is to craft a brief introduction to the chapter. This intro is vital as it provides some context for your findings. In your introduction, you should begin by reiterating your problem statement and research questions and highlight the purpose of your research . Make sure that you spell this out for the reader so that the rest of your chapter is well contextualised.

The next step is to briefly outline the structure of your results chapter. In other words, explain what’s included in the chapter and what the reader can expect. In the results chapter, you want to tell a story that is coherent, flows logically, and is easy to follow , so make sure that you plan your structure out well and convey that structure (at a high level), so that your reader is well oriented.

The introduction section shouldn’t be lengthy. Two or three short paragraphs should be more than adequate. It is merely an introduction and overview, not a summary of the chapter.

Pro Tip – To help you structure your chapter, it can be useful to set up an initial draft with (sub)section headings so that you’re able to easily (re)arrange parts of your chapter. This will also help your reader to follow your results and give your chapter some coherence. Be sure to use level-based heading styles (e.g. Heading 1, 2, 3 styles) to help the reader differentiate between levels visually. You can find these options in Word (example below).

Section 2: Body

Before we get started on what to include in the body of your chapter, it’s vital to remember that a results section should be completely objective and descriptive, not interpretive . So, be careful not to use words such as, “suggests” or “implies”, as these usually accompany some form of interpretation – that’s reserved for your discussion chapter.

The structure of your body section is very important , so make sure that you plan it out well. When planning out your qualitative results chapter, create sections and subsections so that you can maintain the flow of the story you’re trying to tell. Be sure to systematically and consistently describe each portion of results. Try to adopt a standardised structure for each portion so that you achieve a high level of consistency throughout the chapter.

For qualitative studies, results chapters tend to be structured according to themes , which makes it easier for readers to follow. However, keep in mind that not all results chapters have to be structured in this manner. For example, if you’re conducting a longitudinal study, you may want to structure your chapter chronologically. Similarly, you might structure this chapter based on your theoretical framework . The exact structure of your chapter will depend on the nature of your study , especially your research questions.

As you work through the body of your chapter, make sure that you use quotes to substantiate every one of your claims . You can present these quotes in italics to differentiate them from your own words. A general rule of thumb is to use at least two pieces of evidence per claim, and these should be linked directly to your data. Also, remember that you need to include all relevant results , not just the ones that support your assumptions or initial leanings.

In addition to including quotes, you can also link your claims to the data by using appendices , which you should reference throughout your text. When you reference, make sure that you include both the name/number of the appendix , as well as the line(s) from which you drew your data.

As referencing styles can vary greatly, be sure to look up the appendix referencing conventions of your university’s prescribed style (e.g. APA , Harvard, etc) and keep this consistent throughout your chapter.

Section 3: Concluding summary

The concluding summary is very important because it summarises your key findings and lays the foundation for the discussion chapter . Keep in mind that some readers may skip directly to this section (from the introduction section), so make sure that it can be read and understood well in isolation.

In this section, you need to remind the reader of the key findings. That is, the results that directly relate to your research questions and that you will build upon in your discussion chapter. Remember, your reader has digested a lot of information in this chapter, so you need to use this section to remind them of the most important takeaways.

Importantly, the concluding summary should not present any new information and should only describe what you’ve already presented in your chapter. Keep it concise – you’re not summarising the whole chapter, just the essentials.

Tips for writing an A-grade results chapter

Now that you’ve got a clear picture of what the qualitative results chapter is all about, here are some quick tips and reminders to help you craft a high-quality chapter:

Your results chapter should be written in the past tense . You’ve done the work already, so you want to tell the reader what you found , not what you are currently finding .
Make sure that you review your work multiple times and check that every claim is adequately backed up by evidence . Aim for at least two examples per claim, and make use of an appendix to reference these.
When writing up your results, make sure that you stick to only what is relevant . Don’t waste time on data that are not relevant to your research objectives and research questions.
Use headings and subheadings to create an intuitive, easy to follow piece of writing. Make use of Microsoft Word’s “heading styles” and be sure to use them consistently.
When referring to numerical data, tables and figures can provide a useful visual aid. When using these, make sure that they can be read and understood independent of your body text (i.e. that they can stand-alone). To this end, use clear, concise labels for each of your tables or figures and make use of colours to code indicate differences or hierarchy.
Similarly, when you’re writing up your chapter, it can be useful to highlight topics and themes in different colours . This can help you to differentiate between your data if you get a bit overwhelmed and will also help you to ensure that your results flow logically and coherently.

If you have any questions, leave a comment below and we’ll do our best to help. If you’d like 1-on-1 help with your results chapter (or any chapter of your dissertation or thesis), check out our private dissertation coaching service here or book a free initial consultation to discuss how we can help you.

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

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Quantitative results chapter in a dissertation

20 Comments

This was extremely helpful. Thanks a lot guys

Hi, thanks for the great research support platform created by the gradcoach team!

I wanted to ask- While “suggests” or “implies” are interpretive terms, what terms could we use for the results chapter? Could you share some examples of descriptive terms?

I think that instead of saying, ‘The data suggested, or The data implied,’ you can say, ‘The Data showed or revealed, or illustrated or outlined’…If interview data, you may say Jane Doe illuminated or elaborated, or Jane Doe described… or Jane Doe expressed or stated.

I found this article very useful. Thank you very much for the outstanding work you are doing.

What if i have 3 different interviewees answering the same interview questions? Should i then present the results in form of the table with the division on the 3 perspectives or rather give a results in form of the text and highlight who said what?

I think this tabular representation of results is a great idea. I am doing it too along with the text. Thanks

That was helpful was struggling to separate the discussion from the findings

this was very useful, Thank you.

Very helpful, I am confident to write my results chapter now.

It is so helpful! It is a good job. Thank you very much!

Very useful, well explained. Many thanks.

Hello, I appreciate the way you provided a supportive comments about qualitative results presenting tips

I loved this! It explains everything needed, and it has helped me better organize my thoughts. What words should I not use while writing my results section, other than subjective ones.

Thanks a lot, it is really helpful

Thank you so much dear, i really appropriate your nice explanations about this.

Thank you so much for this! I was wondering if anyone could help with how to prproperly integrate quotations (Excerpts) from interviews in the finding chapter in a qualitative research. Please GradCoach, address this issue and provide examples.

what if I’m not doing any interviews myself and all the information is coming from case studies that have already done the research.

Very helpful thank you.

This was very helpful as I was wondering how to structure this part of my dissertation, to include the quotes… Thanks for this explanation

This is very helpful, thanks! I am required to write up my results chapters with the discussion in each of them – any tips and tricks for this strategy?

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A change of mind, heart, and soul

Julia Tellides.

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Tracing largely forgotten history of major community

Julia Tellides explored shifts, upheavals of Thessaloniki between two wars

Christy DeSmith

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Part of the Commencement 2024 series

A collection of stories covering Harvard University’s 373rd Commencement.

Julia Tellides discovered the rich Jewish heritage of Thessaloniki two years ago on a Harvard Summer School Study Abroad program.

“It was the first time I heard about there being a large Jewish community anywhere in Greece,” said the graduating senior, a joint history and classics concentrator. “I thought, why have I never heard about this before? If anyone should know about this history, it’s me.”

Tellides, who grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, with a Greek father and Jewish mother, went on to devote her senior thesis to the city’s politically active Jewish residents during a period of upheaval in the early 20th century. Once home to the largest Sephardic Jewish population in Europe, Thessaloniki (traditionally known as Salonica or Salonika) proved a gold mine of Jewish culture and resistance, with Tellides surfacing new insights on the community’s struggle for survival.

“For an undergraduate to have gone into such depth, and with such originality, is remarkable,” said Tellides’ thesis adviser Derek Penslar , the William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History and director of Harvard’s Center for Jewish Studies .

Greece’s second-largest city, situated 300 miles north of Athens on the Aegean Sea, once served as an economic and cultural crossroads. “It was one of the most important ports in the Ottoman Empire,” Tellides explained. It was also a melting pot where Jews, Muslims, and Christians coexisted in relative peace.

That changed when the Greek government took control in the early 20th century, with Thessaloniki changing from “a multicultural, multireligious empire to a Christian nation-state,” said Tellides, whose second thesis adviser was Paul J. Kosmin , the Philip J. King Professor of Ancient History.

According to a 1913 census, the Jewish population in Thessaloniki numbered around 90,000 . Tellides’ scholarship focused on the community’s activism in the years between World Wars I and II, with Jewish residents organizing in opposition to rising antisemitism and discriminatory public policy. One example is a 1924 mandate for all businesses to remain closed on Sundays.

“Other historians have acknowledged the significance of the Sunday closing law — if Jews observed the Sabbath they effectively lost a day of work, which made it very hard to make a living,” Penslar noted. “Julia’s original contribution was depicting how the Jewish community reacted to the crisis, how they interceded with the Greek government, and even more interestingly how they interceded with international organizations in the spirit of the Minority Rights Treaties created after World War I.”

Tellides, a history lover from childhood, also examined a moment in the 1930s when the Greek government sought to take over the city’s vast Jewish cemetery, with more than 350,000 graves dating as far back as the Roman era. “They wanted to build a university campus on top of it,” she said.

With support from Harvard’s Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies , Center for Jewish Studies , and Department of the Classics , the Leverett House resident traveled to Thessaloniki last summer to conduct archival research and explore the city. But Tellides, who bolstered her Greek skills with coursework at Harvard, quickly found herself unable to decipher materials written in Ladino, a Romance language developed by Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in the late 15th century.

“Many of these spaces commemorate the community’s death rather than its life.”

“What I read instead was their correspondence with international Jewish organizations,” shared Tellides, who plans to teach English to kindergarteners in Athens following graduation. “They were desperately trying to overturn these laws through diplomatic channels, political pressure — anything they could possibly do.”

As Tellides walked the streets of Thessaloniki, she found little that celebrated the city’s Jewish heritage. All that exists are a couple of Holocaust memorials, two surviving synagogues, and a small but impressive Jewish museum .

“Many of these spaces commemorate the community’s death rather than its life,” she writes in her thesis before calling for more memorials to the lasting influence of Jewish residents.

One thing the city has in abundance are vestiges of the ancient Jewish cemetery, which was in fact dismantled during the Holocaust. “They used the tombstones to rebuild after World War II,” Tellides said. “They’re built into landscaping walls and parks. One of the biggest churches has Hebrew inscriptions in its floor.”

That harrowing chapter wasn’t a focus for Tellides, but it was impossible to set aside entirely. Thousands of Jews had already left Thessaloniki by the 1940s. During Nazi occupation, about 96 percent of the remaining population was deported and killed in concentration camps.

“So much is gone. Not only in terms of the amount of people killed, but all their synagogues, communal centers, and neighborhoods — everything was confiscated or actively destroyed during World War II.”

“So much is gone,” Tellides said. “Not only in terms of the amount of people killed, but all their synagogues, communal centers, and neighborhoods — everything was confiscated or actively destroyed during World War II.”

For Tellides, the scale of loss made it all the more important to focus on the interwar period. “It’s really inspiring, but also difficult to understand how hard they were working to save their community,” she said.

“The thesis is a case study of the failure of the Minority Rights system of the interwar era,” Penslar observed. “Julia catalogs and analyzes Jewish activism and agency in Thessaloniki in ways that go well beyond existing scholarly literature on the subject.”

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How to Structure a Dissertation
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Dissertation Structure & Layout 101 (+ Examples)
Chapter 1: Introduction. 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…
The Dissertation: Chapter Breakdown
Dissertation OverviewThe traditional dissertation is organized into 5 chapters and includes the following elements and pages:Title page (aka cover page) Signature ...
PDF A Complete Dissertation
ationally defined or explained; that is, make clear how these terms are used in your study. • Organization of the dissertation: This brief concluding explanation delineates the contents of the remaining chapters in the dissertation. Reason The introduction sets the stage for the study and directs readers to the purpose and context of the ...
How to Structure a Dissertation
Here, you will be expected to list the aim and key objectives of your research so your readers can easily understand what the following chapters of the dissertation will cover. A good dissertation introduction section incorporates the following information: It provides background information to give context to your research.
How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis
Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal. Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter. Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review. Undertake your own research. Present and interpret your findings. Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications.
How To Write The Methodology Chapter
Do yourself a favour and start with the end in mind. Section 1 - Introduction. As with all chapters in your dissertation or thesis, the methodology chapter should have a brief introduction. In this section, you should remind your readers what the focus of your study is, especially the research aims. As we've discussed many times on the blog ...
What Is a Dissertation?
A dissertation is a long-form piece of academic writing based on original research conducted by you. It is usually submitted as the final step in order to finish a PhD program. Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you've ever completed. It requires solid research, writing, and analysis skills, and it can be intimidating ...
Dissertation Chapters: A Guide to Writing Your Dissertation
Dissertation Chapters. Dissertation Chapter One: Introduction to the Study This chapter includes your problem and purpose statements, research questions, and definitions of key terms examined in your research. Dissertation Chapter Two: Literature Review This section is a deep dive of the extant research on your topic, as well as your ...
How to Write a Dissertation
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.
Dissertation layout and formatting
Next go to "Page layout" and then "Breaks". Next, choose the submenu "Next page". Switch to the side, where the numbering should begin (in this case, page 2). In the edit mode of the header or footer, choose "link to previous", after that click on "Move to footer" and click on the "Link to previous" again.
Stages of a Dissertation
Chapters 1-3 Connections. While each journey is unique the dissertation consists of three phases. The Proposal Phase consisting of Chapters 1, 2 and 3. IRB/Data Collection and Analysis and then the Dissertation Defense which includes the drafting of Chapters 4 and 5. The focus for this presentation is the proposal phase the drafting of Chapters ...
Learning and Teaching: Dissertations: Writing Chapters
In the traditional dissertation, it is commonly a separate chapter preceding the Results chapter. In topic-based dissertations, the Methodology chapter might have a different title such as 'Conducting Research'. In experiment-based or dissertations by compilation, each study or experiment might contain its own methodology or methods section.
Thesis Structure
Thesis Abstract. The first part of the thesis structure is the abstract. It is basically an overview of the entire paper. There is no set dissertation abstract structure. It is just a summary of your thesis and it should be just 200 to 300 words long.
Dissertation Structure and Presentation
A dissertation is a written document in which the background to, process of, and findings, conclusions and recommendations of a project are discussed. It is usually produced for an undergraduate degree or a postgraduate master's degree. A thesis usually refers to a dissertation produced at a doctoral level. In this chapter the term ...
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Dissertation Structure: Explaining Chapters of Your Dissertation. Our academics share their profound experience with you. Written by Emma Taylor. Many postgraduate students feel daunted by the required length of the Master's Dissertation. The thought of writing 20,000 - 50,000 words can strike fear into the heart of even the most dedicated ...
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Craft an enticing and engaging opening section. Provide a background and context to the study. Clearly define the research problem. State your research aims, objectives and questions. Explain the significance of your study. Identify the limitations of your research. Outline the structure of your dissertation or thesis.
What Are the Steps to the Dissertation Process?
The Dissertation Guidebook is one of the essential navigation tools Walden provides to its doctoral candidates. A vital portion of the document details the 15 required steps that take a dissertation from start to finish. Read along with Walden students to learn more about that process: Premise. The dissertation premise is a short document that ...
Writing the Dissertation
Guide contents. As part of the Writing the Dissertation series, this guide covers the most common conventions found in a methodology chapter, giving you the necessary knowledge, tips and guidance needed to impress your markers! The sections are organised as follows: Getting Started - Defines the methodology and its core characteristics.; Structure - Provides a detailed walk-through of common ...
The Elements of Chapter 4
Chapter 4. What needs to be included in the chapter? The topics below are typically included in this chapter, and often in this order (check with your Chair): Introduction. Remind the reader what your research questions were. In a qualitative study you will restate the research questions. In a quantitative study you will present the hypotheses.
Dissertation Structure & Layout Explained + Examples
Chapter One: Introduction. The dissertation chapter 1 outline basically comprises a hook, a background, the research aims/questions and the topic. In your dissertation chapter 1, the first thing you should write is the hook. The hook is what will determine whether the reader will be interested in further reading or get bored or confused with ...
How To Write A Dissertation Discussion Chapter
Step 4: Acknowledge the limitations of your study. The fourth step in writing up your discussion chapter is to acknowledge the limitations of the study. These limitations can cover any part of your study, from the scope or theoretical basis to the analysis method (s) or sample.
LW
This is: My thesis (Algorithmic Bayesian Epistemology) explained in more depth, published by Eric Neyman on May 10, 2024 on LessWrong. In March I posted a very short description of my PhD thesis, Algorithmic Bayesian Epistemology, on LessWrong. I've now written a more in-depth summary for my blog, Unexpected Values. Here's the full post: ***
PDF A Transformer Architecture for Time-Series Data Applied to Stock-Market
Chapter 4 Model Training and Testing This chapter explores key steps in building the time series transformer model. First, the collection of data takes place followed by transforming the data to be ready for time-series transformer. This is followed by introducing the model configuration and using those exact parameters to train the
Dissertation Results & Findings Chapter (Qualitative)
The results chapter in a dissertation or thesis (or any formal academic research piece) is where you objectively and neutrally present the findings of your qualitative analysis (or analyses if you used multiple qualitative analysis methods ). This chapter can sometimes be combined with the discussion chapter (where you interpret the data and ...
Tracing Jewish history of Greek city between world wars
That changed when the Greek government took control in the early 20th century, with Thessaloniki changing from "a multicultural, multireligious empire to a Christian nation-state," said Tellides, whose second thesis adviser was Paul J. Kosmin, the Philip J. King Professor of Ancient History. According to a 1913 census, the Jewish population in Thessaloniki numbered around 90,000.

How to Structure a Dissertation – A Step by Step Guide

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Dissertations: Writing Chapters

Writing Chapters

Writing a Methodology Chapter

Step 1: Explain your research design/approach

Step 2: Explain your methods of data collection

Step 3: Explain your methods of data analysis

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Presenting Quantitative Results

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Step 1: Summarise your findings

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