Gone are the days when school and college assignments were merely a formality to get through. With constantly changing trends and evolving competitive market, it has become inevitable for students to take keen Interest in their academic dissertations. After all, research-based experiential learning adds weight to a person’s CV when he goes out into the job market.
Before we take a look at the essential steps involved in structuring a dissertation, let us first clarify one fundamental thing; what do we call a dissertation?
Well, the term is generally used to present the conclusive and final result of any independent work or research for some undergraduate program. On the other hand, a thesis is usually crafted in order to complete a Master’s degree.
The term dissertation also refers to the final project that is presented by the PhD candidates before obtaining the doctoral degree. No matter if we are discussing a PhD or an undergraduate dissertation, the form of both the assignments is quite similar. However, the PhD project is generally much more serious.
Following are some tips on how to structure your dissertation;
- Research: The topic of the research should be selected It should have relevance with the course that you’re studying. Consider yourself lucky if the course requires you to visit the market and then form a report, based on your findings. Not only does it give a wholesome feel to your assignment but also gives you the taste of how things go about in a professional setup.
- Know the requirements: Students often fail to abide by the instructions provided by their teachers. If not all, some teachers are fairly particular about the way they give instructions and become uncomfortable, if the student does otherwise. Observantly following the instructions saves you some precious time that you may otherwise waste in adding irrelevant material to your assignment. Instead, this time can easily be invested in absolving your assignment of any possible discrepancy.
- Outline: Once the topic has been selected and the requirements are understood, now comes the time to make a final outline. The outline helps to stick to the research topic. It gives you a step by step picture of all the procedures to formulate a dissertation structure.
- The introduction: The introduction provides a background of the problem to be addressed. It also contains a thesis statement, which is a reflection of all the ideas present in the body section of the assignment.
- Literature review: This part is a review of the research process and also serves as the acknowledgement section of your dissertation.
- Methodology: The methodology describes the kind of research you are carrying out. It could be primary or secondary research, qualitative or quantitative. If it is primary research, explain the questionnaires you have used as surveys or personal interviews that you have conducted. If it is secondary research explain all the online and offline sources that you used for the research purpose.
- Findings: This is a crucial part as it showcases your intellectual capacities. Here you explain the findings obtained from the research conducted. In this section, you answer all those questions for which the research was initially conducted.
- The conclusion: This part is a summary of the thesis statement as well as the findings you obtained as a result of the research conducted. The conclusion section describes the future implications of the research work conducted along with its benefits in the long run.
- Bibliography: The bibliography includes the citations of all the online and offline sources that were used and instrumental to your research.
- Proofread: Proofreading is the most important part of your dissertation writing process because it provides you with an opportunity to eliminate all the possible loopholes in your work.
When students come close to the point of writing an impeccable dissertation, they are clearly near the end of a significant stage of their educational journey. The main purpose of asking students to write a dissertation, by teachers, is to check their capacity and skills to conduct research in their preferred discipline.
Teachers demand students to present the results of their research work by crafting a unique and original piece of content, to provide value for the scientific and academic community.
It is a common observation that some candidates start quite enthusiastically but soon enough, this daunting and intimidating task throw them to complete despair. The entire process of planning, research as well as writing becomes the most complex and longest challenge for them to ever commit to.
The very basic fact that most students fail to recognise is that the result of this daunting project is quite rewarding, no matter how many obstacles you go through to reach to that particular point. However, the only way students can get that reward is by avoiding poor practices like procrastination, poor research or writing skills.