If you are reading this article, it means you want to learn how to write a dissertation and get a top score on it. We know, there is a lot of information out there – and much of it is simply inaccurate. To date, we have helped hundreds of students understand what a dissertation is, how it should be written, and what needs to be done to make it perfect. In this article, you will find all the necessary information you need to get started on this difficult project.
Yes, you will learn how to write a dissertation step by step. Our guide lists the dissertation steps, so it applies to every field and every topic. We can’t provide you with more in-depth information here because every topic is different. However, we will give you the best tips and tricks we know. And if you need some professional help, we can write a custom dissertation for scratch for you in no time.
So, What Is A Dissertation Paper?
What is a dissertation? I don’t know how to write one! We know you probably haven’t written anything this complex in college or university. Don’t panic; we will give you all the details about this academic paper below. But first, what is a dissertation paper? Before you learn how to write dissertation you need to understand what it is and why you need to write one.
Basically, a dissertation is a complex piece of academic writing that is usually required to get your PhD (or Master’s degree in some cases). This paper is perhaps the most complex academic paper you will ever have to write. Why? Because it must be based on 100% original research. Unlike in most other papers, you can’t use other peoples’ research in this one.
As you might have guessed, you need to follow a set of very specific guidelines to research and write the paper. Also, you need to include all the mandatory sections. If you take a look at a sample dissertation online, you will see that this paper is not easy to write by any means. Merely researching the topic adequately can take months (if not years). Yes, you will most likely have to set up your own experiments, gather the data, analyze it and then interpret it to support your thesis.
Most Common Dissertation Structure
But I don’t even how to start a dissertation! No problem, this is precisely the reason why you are reading this guide. We will now show you what to include in a dissertation. The good news is that the dissertation structure has not changed for many years. There are some sections you need to include in your paper, regardless of field or school. Of course, some universities may ask for one or two additional sections, as you can see in the list below. For now, here are the main sections you will need to include in your dissertation:
- Title page
- Acknowledgements page (this is not mandatory, depending on your school guidelines)
- Abstract (not every school asks for an abstract)
- Table of Contents
- Dissertation introduction.
- Literature Review section.
- Methodology section.
- Results section.
- Discussion section.
- Conclusion section.
- Reference list
- The Appendix (only if necessary)
Some schools may ask you to include a Personal Reflection chapter in your dissertation. This is easy to do, so you shouldn’t worry about it right now. Also, some universities require students to merge the Results and Discussion chapters into one. This shouldn’t change anything though, because the overarching flow remains the same.
Our Quick Dissertation Writing Guide
Now, let’s get to the fun part of our guide. Let’s show you the order of the steps in thesis writing. AS we’ve said before, this dissertation writing guide applies to most dissertations – regardless of their subject or topic. To make things even clearer, we have also written an example for you. Each step will contain a sample text to help you write your paper even faster. Let’s get started:
- Write the introduction. This part will most likely start with a thesis statement (which you need to find by yourself). Provide ample information about the subject and topic so that your audience understands why your research is so important. You can present examples and various types of data to make everything as clear as possible. Here is a good dissertation introduction example:
Psychological theories regarding human learning fall into four wide perspectives – behaviourism, cognitive learning, humanistic and social perspectives (Cooper, 2013). Behaviorism focuses on behavior that can be observed, cognitive learning focuses on mental and neurological processes, humanistic learning looks at how emotions play a role in learning, and lastly, social learning is the perspective that humans learn through group activities.
Behaviorism was developed in the early 20th Century by John B. Watson and represents the first formulation of learning theory in the contemporary western society. Other perspectives soon followed. Some theories were formulated as a negative reaction or criticism to earlier ones while some used preceding theories as a foundation. Introductory texts in philosophy often begin with behaviourism as one of the theories of mind is obsolete, however, behaviourism is still very relevant and influential (Byrne, 1994).
Behaviourism covers a wide range of views with the common underlying thread of regarding that sees the mind as being defined by external behavior (Hauser, n.d.). Behaviourism has had a very significant influence on several fields of human endeavor including education, psychotherapy and research. The goal of this paper is to discuss the concept of behaviourism as well as explore the contributions of Ivan Pavlov and B.F Skinner to behaviorism.
- Write the Literature Review section. This part of the dissertation must discuss the current literature available on the topic you are researching. It must establish whether the literature is lacking or not. Ask yourself this: how does your work fit into the available literature? What knowledge gap do you want to fix? Our experts have written an example literature review for you, so feel free to follow this example:
Within the dissertation titled, Improving Virtual Teams through Knowledge Management, Laughridge (2012) discusses the importance of virtual teams in order to gauge the operating environment of dynamic globalized systems. While there are rapid improvements that are made in technology on a daily basis, performance of virtual teams are sometimes challenged due to a lack of communication, improper coordination and a limited capabilities with regard to sharing information. This is why the author conducted interviews with 21 members from specific virtual teams in order to understand the experiences and the perceptions of members who are on virtual teams. On a cross-organizational basis, both private and public sectors were assessed and many fields were taken into consideration. This played a role in broadening the field of knowledge especially pertaining to the validity of the results in the end (Laughridge, 2012).
As a whole, it should be known that virtual teams are individuals who utilize certain aspects of technology in order to collaborate with each other, especially from a variety of locations (Laughridge, 2012). In essence, an organization’s agility can be determined based on the extent of work that goes on within a virtual team. However, as seen in the dissertation, there are many virtual teams that use an abundance of technology in order to exploit knowledge that may be attained by members or by local organizations. This creates an increase in competitiveness and even vulnerability because many team members may fail in trying to adopt specific protocol accordingly.
Based on the study, the author explored the challenges as seen within virtual teams addressed how those issues could possibly be mitigated. With the use of interviews that were semi-structured and open-ended, perspectives and beliefs were taken into consideration. Based on the results, each team member was able to describe the many modes of technology that was utilized within their specific workforce. Examples of those descriptions included internet-based conferencing, teleconferencing, email, scribes and shared-network drives. Furthermore, about 57% of the participants claimed that there was a utilization of formal meetings that were held outside of the team in order to accomplish tasks as necessary (Laughridge, 2012).
It was then found that 71% of the participants claimed that the concept of continuity helps keeping the virtual team together and allows for effective strategies in order to get work done in an adequate amount of time. However, while this is the case, 57% of those members believed that interpersonal relationships play a significant role in the way that a virtual team is guided. Therefore, as a whole, the author indicates that there is still a dire need for knowledge transfer on the ability for virtual teams to operate successfully. With improved continuity and proper responsiveness from the organizations, the teams can thrive.
While virtual teams are present in almost every organization, it is also beneficial to analyze a program known as Knowledge Forum that serves as a collaborative tool for knowledge management in organizations such as communities and schools. In the qualitative dissertation titled, Conceptual models for knowledge management: An empirical study using Knowledge Forum, six participants were interviewed in order to understand the benefits of using conceptual models such as Knowledge Forum. It should be known that the program is a large database that contains static information with dynamic capabilities where individuals can facilitate on-going dialogue, utilize note-taking functions, develop action plans, etc. (Mylopoulos, 2009).
In essence, the productivity of workers can be assessed through Knowledge Forum since there is a strong capability to streamline the processes of a business and to reduce overall costs that have been increasing throughout the years. As the business field continues to shift, so does knowledge management. Innovation is highly enabled, however the creation of knowledge continues to be a challenge that many leaders are facing. Within the dissertation, the team of six individuals was asked to develop a model of goals, and events for a specific project. The model was implemented through Knowledge Forum and divided accordingly. It was ultimately found that that the Knowledge Life Cycle could be applied which helps to exchange and refine ideas across a broad field. The researcher found that both explicit knowledge as well as tacit were necessary in order to drive an organization for ultimate growth. Once knowledge is flowing and acquired by the pertinent individuals, there is a heavy allowance for persistence especially in the future (Myopoulos, 2009).
Finally, with regard to knowledge management and the case studies that surround the field, there is a need to understand the concept of Customer Relationship Management or CRM which is a model that is used by a variety of organizations. Within the dissertation titled, Knowledge Management Driving Customer Behavior, Ventaligio (2013) uses a qualitative methodology in order to explore CRM based on knowledge management based on the perceptions of employees. As a whole, the significance of the overall study is three-fold and the aim is to understand possible competitive tendencies that businesses tend to utilize.
It should be known that CRM plays a major role in gaining successful endeavors when dealing with information resources and knowledge management. There is an aim to assist in creating applicable storage transfer as well as knowledge transfer so that customers can be impacted in a positive manner as well. The author of the dissertation points out that CRM is a management intervention system that has the ability to improve the loyalty of customers and to value the creation of several models. Throughout the years, many studies have shown that knowledge management can further improve the basics of business when integrated with CRM and the ability for competitive advantage increases as well (Ventaligio (2013). The study indicates that CRM affects the field of knowledge management to a broad extent due to the specific parameters that are involved. They include a customer centric approach, the value of creation, the loyalty of customers and the management systems that are related to the relationships of customers.
- Write the Methodology section. This is the part where you explain how you have carried out the research and why you chose some methods over others. Be very specific and don’t leave anything out. A researcher must be able to replicate your experiments after reading this section. To make things clearer, here is a methodology example section:
A qualitative case study will be conducted in order to answer the research question, “What are the perceptions of adolescents diagnosed with ASD regarding the benefits of the completed interventions in the areas of social and pragmatic skills?” The qualitative methodology is ideal for this type of study as it serves to allow the researcher to explore the totality of the area of interest, collecting information that is not found in a numerical format (Creswell, 2013). Given the fact that the information being collected from participants is information on participant perspectives, a qualitative study was the most appropriate choice for the methodology of this study (Creswell, 2013; 2014; Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012; Merriam & Tisdell, 2015).
There are five primary qualitative research designs that a researcher may consider in determining the most effective means of approaching a qualitative research study; these are the narrative research design, the phenomenological design, the case study, the ethnography, and the grounded theory design (Creswell, 2013; 2014; Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012). Of these, the design that has been selected for implementation for this research study into the improvement of social and pragmatic skills in autistic adolescents is the case study.
The case study research design is ideal when the researcher wishes to explain the circumstances surrounding a given phenomenon, enabling the researcher to contribute to the extant body of literature in terms of the knowledge of a group and its associated phenomena (Yin, 2012; 2013). Given the fact that the extant body of literature indicates that there is a great need for the exploration of the interrelated nature of social skills and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and pragmatic skills and ASD, as well as the relationship between all three, a grounded theory approach is not ideal as that particular research design is used when there is enough literature available on the subject to allow for the creation of a theory through research (Banda, Hart, & Liu-Gitz, 2010; Bellini & Hopf, 2007; Cervantes & Matson, 2015; Creswell, 2013; 2014; Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012).
The ethnography is commonly employed when the researcher acts as a participant observer and is most commonly employed in cultural anthropology studies; as neither of these criteria are present within the current study, the ethnography was deemed an unsuitable research design as well (Creswell, 2013; 2014; Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012). The narrative approach was considered, but the fact that multiple participants from different target groups make up the participant pool, such a design was likewise not the most appropriate choice (Creswell, 2013; 2014; Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012). The phenomenology was considered, as this design allows the researcher to explore a given phenomenon, but considering the nature of the target population and the amount of hours necessary to obtain the research for a phenomenological study, this too was dismissed as being poorly suited to the collection of information necessary to answer the identified research questions (Creswell, 2013; 2014; Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012). This left the case study, which, upon review of its design, was the most appropriate for use within the context of the study (Yin, 2012; 2013).
- Write the Results section. This is where you present your findings. Keep in mind that this is not the place to discuss it. Use tables, graphs, and any other elements you deem necessary to present your data. Here is how a Results section example:
Template analysis includes the great variety of codes investigated. The first stage of codes’ making took place on the second step of data analysis. Reading the transcriptions of the interview’ responses, the researcher made marks on the paper sheet about the things, which appeared the most important and impressive. On this step, there was no need to follow objectivity choosing the codes. The researcher distinguished such codes as French response, German response, Danish response, Cypriot response, UK response, moral rights protection, authors’ reliability, the authors’ category, exercise of moral rights, economic implications, five moral rights, right of access, right of attribution, right of integrity, original work, legislation, harmonisation, EU level, legal tradition, culture, philosophical basis, Internal Market, awareness, rights stipulation, different moral rights standards, free movement of goods and information, irrelevant, public interest, justification of copyright, Internet issues, technology, human rights, intellectual property, competition laws, false attribution, legislature, good to harmonise, common market, common economic area, waiving moral rights, enforcement directive.
This step of coding includes every significant aspect of the responses, which influenced the flow of the interview and results of the study. The chosen codes provide the uniqueness of each respondent’s answer and reveal personal attitude to the copyright moral rights in general and their harmonisation inside the European Union in particular. Having so many codes written down on the paper sheet, the researcher made the connections between them and investigated their causal attributions (Cassell & Symon, 2004). The connections helped to consider the similarities and the differences between the codes. Five respondents answered the same questions, which made possible to highlight similar issues they talked about.
The third step of data analysis implied the codes’ structuring and labelling them into categories (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2009). The participants of the study defined different location of their living. French, German, Danish, Cypriot, and the UK responses can be referred to the category of the responses’ territory. The category of individual location of the response occurred to be dependent on the territory as the new category. The interviews’ transcription made apparent that understanding of the moral rights and copyright depends on the respondent’s location greatly. Thus, the codes, which cover individual thoughts, were labelled into more general categories. The most important codes were moral rights protection, original work, justification of copyright, intellectual property, competition laws, false attribution, waiving moral rights, which have similar meaning. They were labelled into the category Protection of moral rights.
The codes, including authors’ reliability, the authors’ category, awareness were labelled into the category Reliability of authors. Another category, Economic Implications of Moral Rights, include exercise of moral rights, economic implications, free movement of goods and information, common market, common economic area. The codes Internal Market, legal tradition, culture were labelled into the category Moral Rights of Internal Market. The category Harmonisation of Legislation got such codes as five moral rights, right of access, right of attribution, right of integrity, legislation, harmonisation, EU level, irrelevant, legislature, good to harmonise, enforcement directive. The last codes, which were philosophical basis, different moral rights standards, human rights, were labelled into the category Moral Rights Standards. That was the most important step, which resulted in creation of several categories, used for template analysis.
The significant issue of categorization was the researcher’s awareness that the categories were connected with one another and depended on the main, which was Territory of Response. It helped to realize that the results of the study are based on subjective opinions of the respondents. The researcher made the conclusions, highlighting the similarities and differences in answers. Similar meanings led to justification of the copyright moral rights harmonisation on the EU level. Differences in answers demonstrated the weaknesses and limitations of the current study as the important object for further research.
- Write the Discussion chapter. Finally, you can discuss the date you have obtain. Explain everything in great detail and show your audience how your research helped to answer the research questions you’ve presented in the introduction.
- Write the Conclusion chapter. This is the final chapter, but it’s still a very important one. Summarize all the important ideas you’ve discussed and make it clear that your research and analysis has clearly proven or disproven your thesis.
Congratulations! You have just written your very first dissertation! Now, all you have to do is edit and proofread your work – at least twice. Make sure your dissertation looks great and doesn’t contain any mistakes. Also make sure your logic is sound by reading your paper out loud.
What Makes a Good Dissertation: Tips and Tricks
So, what makes a good dissertation? This is probably the very first thing that comes to the mind of every student after reading our guide. To receive the best dissertation help, we have compiled a list of the most useful tips and tricks for students who want to start writing their dissertation. Don’t miss any of these tips and tricks:
- Start as early as possible. Setting up the experiments, doing the research, analyzing the data, and then writing a 250-page-long dissertation takes a lot of time. And keep in mind that there are many things that can cause significant delays.
- You can start with the most important sections and leave the introduction and conclusion until last. Because you will already know everything you’ve written in the paper, writing the intro and the conclusion should then be a piece of cake.
- Keep a record of all your sources. Everything you read should appear in the References section. Forgetting to list some sources can get you penalized.
- Make a list of your objectives and start with an outline. It’s very important to have a general idea of how the final version of the paper should look like. Keep adding sub-chapters to the outline to make the skeleton of your paper.
- Make a schedule. You must work on your dissertation every day if you want to finish quickly. Reserve a couple of hours for this task every single day. If you are on a tight deadline, this may also mean working on it on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Get feedback from your supervisor as early as possible. Don’t wait until you’ve written more than 60% of the paper to get some feedback because you may have to delete half your work. Ask for your supervisor’s opinion as soon as you have a decent outline.
- Take breaks every time you feel swamped or if you have hit a writer’s block. If you can afford a couple of days off, it will help you recover and refill your batteries. It can also help you come up with some new and interesting ideas to write about.
- If you don’t know how to write a conclusion for a dissertation, get a good example. We can help you get one right away, so don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
There are many other tips and tricks that you can apply to your writing. If you need some more ideas, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our experts. We are always happy to help students do a better job on their academic papers.
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Bottom line, we will write you an outstanding custom dissertation that the professors in the evaluation committee will love. In addition, we can help you with researching and editing your paper. Our academic writing agency is your one stop shop for everything related to dissertation and thesis writing. Every student can count on us to get him a top score on his dissertation. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s discuss your project today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions students get about writing a dissertation:
Q: OK, but how long is a dissertation?
A: The length of dissertations varies from field to field and from topic to topic. However, as a general rule of thumb a dissertation should not be shorter than 150 pages or longer than 300 pages. The sweep stop is anywhere between 200 and 250 pages.
Q: But how long to write a dissertation?
A: Truth be told, writing a dissertation can take years. On average, students complete their dissertations anywhere from 13 to 20 months. However, an experienced writer can get it done in as little as 2 months.
Q: Do I need to write an abstract for my dissertation?
A: Not all schools require you to write an abstract for your dissertation. However, it’s a good thing to do because it enables other academics to quickly find what they are looking for in your paper.
Q: OK, so how long should an abstract be?
A: You will be surprised to learn that writing an abstract can be very tough. The abstract needs to be between 200 and 300 words and needs to include all your methodology, results and findings. It’s an extremely compressed version of your paper.
Q: How long should a dissertation introduction be?
A: This depends, of course, on the total length of your paper. In most cases, an introduction should be around 10% of the total word count of the dissertation. This mean anywhere between 8,000 and 10,000 words.
Q: What is the difference between abstract and introduction?
A: The introduction provides background information on the topic and talks about what you aim to achieve with your research. It also presents the thesis of your paper. The abstract, on the other hand, is a condensed version of the dissertation that contains all the major sections.
Q: How quickly can your experts do my dissertation?
A: It’s difficult to give you an estimate without knowing the field, subject and topic of your paper. However, we can assure you that our experts can write your paper 10 times faster than you can. If you are on a tight deadline, we can most definitely help you submit the paper on time – don’t worry about it!