Writing a dissertation is not as complicated as it may seem. However, the success is guaranteed only if the consistent approach to working on it is adopted. One of them is to take small a step at a time and keep up with the schedule. While the schedule is usually individualized and depends on one’s time management skills and habits, the steps to take are mostly the same for everybody. The tips below will help to go through each of them.
Some ideas to help you survive dissertations writing:
- The working process should start with selecting variables, specifically independent and dependent ones. Afterward, they should be operationalized and defined into measurable factors.
- Next, you should generate a claim and include it in either the introduction or the first chapter. The argument and goal of the research should be stated and explained directly as soon as possible since hints, plot twists, and intrigue are not acceptable in such kind of papers. A reader should not wonder what the dissertation is about until the last page.
- To place the issues under consideration in context, you should be prepared to analyze numerous sources relevant to the topic and compose a literature review section. The purpose of this part is to enable you to discuss the results later and help you understand the current perception and criticism of the chosen problem. Your audience should get an impression that you have thoroughly studied all the works cited. Therefore, try not to miss any important detail that you have discovered during the research but remember to assess the information critically, not only review it.
- One of the most challenging tasks in the writing process is to develop a strong claim for your research that is also impressive and captivating. Frequently, after skimming a dissertation, a person thinks about the reasons to continue to read. Hence, irrespective of the subject matter of the research, you should do your best at persuading readers that your dissertation will be beneficial to them.
- Be careful with putting forward some hypotheses. Primarily, explain the main concepts and reasons for measuring them in detail as well as check whether there are quantitative or qualitative relationships between the chosen variables. The research design should be meticulously selected in order to enable you to receive and convey a fresh vision of the issue.
- Apply graphics to express ideas in your dissertation. Readers usually prefer papers with visuals over those having text only. Such an approach will help you to achieve the main purpose of your research, namely to deliver your arguments to the audience. Absent any illustration, even well written dissertations may not reach the minds of others.
- Always keep in mind the requested word count and never exceed the limit. Your dissertation should be both short and to the point. Thus, if the requirement is to write 12,000 words, it does not mean that you cannot write less. Provided that you have managed to develop your arguments in 10,000 words, you may stop writing. The worst thing one can do when creating a dissertation is to expand it by adding unnecessary details. On the other hand, if you reach the word limit and understand that there is a lot more to be said, you clearly misinterpreted professor’s instructions and went beyond the scope of the topic. To mitigate the situation, you will need to re-analyze the topic and delete unnecessary information while editing the dissertation.
There are no one-size-fits-all rules regarding the structure of your research. The main task is to follow the instructions given by your professor. If they were not provided, the following format tips may be helpful. Since it is not required to adhere to the order of these elements strictly, you can arrange them depending on your needs and the peculiarities of your research.
- Introduction . In this part of the research, you will be expected to explain what aims you are trying to achieve with this work, provide definitions for the chosen variables, and operationalize them. Besides, you have to create questions that will be answered in your paper.
- Literature review . Here, you should keep in mind the suggestions regarding analyzing relevant books and articles, which were mentioned above.
- Theoretical background . This element of the dissertation should show that you have critically assessed recent literature related to the topic of your choice, found areas that are not yet studied, and are able to suggest solutions to the existing problems.
- Results. This part should consist of variables measurement, samples, and hypotheses testing.
- Discussion . After you have completed all the parts above, you should discuss how your ideas and research results correlate with the evidence from the books and articles analyzed in the literature review section.
- Conclusion . This final element of the dissertation should present the results of the research in a brief manner and provide some suggestions for further study or practical application.
