overview of thesis sample

Thesis Summary

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Considering that you have finished writing your thesis, it is high time that you started working on your thesis summary or abstract as the last and final part of your research paper before submitting it to your instructor. Writing an abstract is actually the simplest way for your audience, the teachers and the panel of publishers (if you wish for it to be published) to know what your research paper is about without going through the bulk of your paper.

What is an Abstract?

According to an article found in the Simon Fraser University database, the abstract is deemed a critical part of your thesis and it is presented at the beginning of the thesis, as it is a summary of the whole thesis. The thesis summary is a substantive description of your work read by an external examiner by presenting all the major elements of your work in a highly condensed form.

Size and Structure

Normally, a thesis summary would only contain 120 or less (for undergraduate theses), 150 words (for Masters theses) and 350 words (for a doctoral dissertation).

• For doctoral dissertations, it is best to limit it to only 280 words with a format of one double-spaced page, to preserve visual coherence.
• The structure of the abstract should mirror the structure of the whole thesis, and should represent all its major elements.
• For instance, if your thesis has five chapters (rationale, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion), limit each chapter to only a sentence or two for each chapter in order to maximize some parts that need more substantial backing.

Clearly Specify Your Research Questions

• Research questions are important in making sure that the abstract is coherent and logically structured as they form the backbone to which other elements adhere; they should be presented near the beginning of the abstract.
• Depending on the length of your research paper, there is only room for one to three questions. If there are more than three major research questions in your thesis, try to rearrange them by reducing some to subsidiary status.

Don’t Forget the Results

• One of the most common mistakes in writing abstracts is the failure to indicate the results.
• The primary function of your thesis (and by extension your abstract) is not to tell readers what you did, it is to tell them what you discovered. Other information, such as the account of your research methods, is needed mainly to back the claims you make about your results.
• The final part of your thesis should be about summarizing your results as well as interpreting them.
• Although it is sometimes not necessary, you can choose to add keywords below your abstract as the most important terms that can be found in the thesis.

Listed below are some thesis summary examples:

This study aimed to analyze and identify the most frequent news category and rhetoric of the three local English dailies as well as assess whether they align to the readers’ news preference. These factors served as the sources of the data gathered by the researchers: ninety tertiary students, each local publication’s respective editorial board, and banner stories. Findings indicated that even though the editors would usually select their stories based on impact, the banner story content however focused more on news like crime and politics which are mostly conflict-based issues, instead of human interest stories that readers prefer the most. In conclusion, the respective editorial boards of each publication are not presenting the readers with their main interests in the banner story. Keywords: banner stories, news values, news categories, gatekeeping/gatekeepers, and readers’ preference

An example of a summary format The aim or goal or purpose of this graduation thesis (title) is to … (analyse, characterize, compare, examine, illustrate, present, survey, design, reconstruct) … The graduation thesis is composed of five chapters, each of them dealing with different aspect of … Chapter 1 is introductory and (defines, describes, reviews, deals with) … The chapter is subdivided into two parts. Part 1 describes … and explains … . Part 2 deals with … Chapter 2 examines … . The chapter consists of three parts. Part 1 focuses on … . Part 2 investigates … . Part 3 addresses the issue of … . Chapter 3 is subdivided into two parts and provides an outline of relevant … Part 1 illustrates … . Part 2 looks at … . Chapter 4 concentrates on problems resulting from … Part 1 describes …. Part 2 recommends changes to be made in legislation … Conclusions are drawn in Chapter 5. The main aim of the graduation thesis has been reached. The author suggests that …………………… should be changed/introduced/applied.

The aim of this graduation thesis entitled Development of Yamakawa Technologies to Ascertain the Existence of Cheese on the Moon is to test the use of Yamakawa technologies in ascertaining the existence of cheese on the moon. Yamakawa technologies have been successfully used to test the existence of water in Wakanda, but to date no further applications are known. For this reason the author decided to test further applications, with the aim of describing the technology’s suitability for further development. This thesis first examines the testing procedures for the water in Wakanda experiment, and presents the results. In a second stage several adaptations to Yamakawa for the testing of the existence of cheese on the moon are undertaken. Finally the technology is applied to the question of cheese on the moon, within a six-week testing phase. At the end of each week the testing apparatus is fine tuned, and experiment results are charted every twenty-four hours. The results of the experiment show that Yamakawa technologies are well suited to ascertaining the presence of water in Wakanda, but were unable to be sufficiently modified for the purpose of ascertaining the existence of cheese on the moon. The author recommends further modification to the technology before any other uses are considered.

After writing the said abstract in your research paper, then congratulations! You are now ready to move to the next step of your thesis journey, defending it. Just remember this, always know your thesis by heart. Believe me, if you do, you will not have a hard time and eventually, you will learn to enjoy it too. Good luck!

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• Academic essay overview
• The writing process
• Structuring academic essays
• Types of academic essays
• Academic writing overview
• Sentence structure
• Academic writing process
• Improving your academic writing
• Stylistic devices
• Titles and headings
• APA style overview
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• College essay overview
• Application
• How to write a college essay
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• Definitions
• Dissertation overview
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Dissertation Overview — Guide With Examples

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A dissertation (a.k.a. a thesis or final year project ) is a long-form academic essay on a niche subject that requires original, primary research alongside an extensive discussion of existing topical secondary works. Your dissertation grade will usually weigh heavily (40%~70%) on your final award. Ideally, your dissertation needs to be your masterpiece.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 Dissertation Overview – In a Nutshell
• 2 Definition: Dissertation overview
• 3 Dissertation overview: Research proposal
• 4 Dissertation overview: The structure
• 5 Dissertation overview: Title page
• 6 Dissertation overview: Preface
• 7 Dissertation overview: Abstract
• 8 Dissertation overview: Tables and lists
• 9 Dissertation overview: Introduction
• 10 Dissertation overview: Literature review
• 11 Dissertation overview: Methodology
• 12 Dissertation overview: Results
• 13 Dissertation overview: Discussion
• 14 Dissertation overview: Conclusion
• 15 Dissertation overview: The final pages
• 16 Dissertation overview: Proofreading and editing
• 17 Dissertation overview: Dissertation defense

Dissertation Overview – In a Nutshell

The following article covers:

• Dissertation overview – General help and guidance
• Dissertation overview – Components, layouts, and structure
• Special features, proofreading , referencing, and polish of a dissertation overview
• Example of dissertations

Definition: Dissertation overview

• The overwhelming majority of undergraduate and postgraduate taught courses require the submission of a dissertation to pass.
• A dissertation will take ca. 6~18 months to complete, usually covering ca. 5000-15,000 words . You can expect to receive your assignment and deadline during the last third of your timetable.
• What you study (within reason) is up to you. Pre-made questions and projects might also be available if sources and inspiration are lacking.
• Your assigned dissertation supervisor will provide valuable input, insight, and advice on structure and substance . Make sure to update them regularly.
• Your deadline will likely coincide with the end of your last academic year . Extensions may be allowed to account for personal setbacks, travel, or complex research projects .

Dissertation research plans are kept deliberately formulaic. Every dissertation develops as so:

• Initial research Potential areas of interest are shortlisted.
• Establishing a question What exactly will the dissertation ask?
• Initial proposal Viability testing and hypothesis fine-tuning.
• Source analysis Collection, exploration, and discussion of sources.
• Writing A dissertation overview begins to form.
• Development Content, polish, detail, and nuance.
• Editing Trimming, referencing, and error checking.
• Submission The dissertation is marked.

There are also slight differences in how British and US academia use the word dissertation. Remember that:

Dissertation overview: Research proposal

Before you start with the dissertation overview, write a draft dissertation research proposal , refine it, and get it approved by your supervisor(s).

Your draft will broadly cover why you want to research your topic , your plan or methodology , and why your dissertation would benefit academia.

Academic discussion at this stage is critical. Considering constructive advice and ideas from your tutors and field experts helps highlight productive questions.

Better planning usually results in a better end mark.

In practice, your research proposal will be a short paper (ca. 500~2000 words) explaining your ambitions. It contains:

• Introduction: A dissertation overview.
• Background review : A guide to your area of study.
• Literature review : An overview of Existing Sources.
• Methodology : Your main question(s) and research plan.
• Implications : How your research will contribute.
• Conclusion:  A summary recap.

Dissertation overview: The structure

Now you can start filling out the skeletal structure of your dissertation overview. Depending on your style, you may find it productive to create extensive notes before ordering them.

Your research will segment by topic, area, purpose, and theme. Your structure will also vary to match your discipline.

• Dissertations in the humanities often read like lengthy essays, building to a central, final argument.
• Dissertations in the sciences tend to divide mechanically. Methodology, experiments, results, and implications place into different, unique chapters.

The University of Leeds (UK) maintains an online public archive of award-winning dissertations. You can browse excellent dissertation overview examples here .

Try these pieces to start:

An Investigation into the Relationship between Early Exposure and Brand

Loyalty (Psychology)

Image Processing and Analysis of Porous Materials (Material Sciences)

Faith, Selfhood and the Blues in the Lyrics of Nick Cave (English and Media)

Dissertation overview: Title page

Every dissertation overview starts with a title page. The front cover provides vital information about who you are and what you’re about.

A dissertation title page includes:

• Your full name
• Your student and submission numbers (If relevant)
• Your course and projected award (e.g., BSc Hons. Biology)
• A full dissertation title
• Your university (or awarding institution)
• Your department and supervisor
• A university logo
• Your date of final submission

Your dissertation title should always be placed at the top.

Dissertation overview: Preface

The preface of a dissertation overview is a special place to acknowledge crucial institutions, individuals, or experts who helped you. You can also dedicate the work to a loved one.

You should always politely acknowledge your supervisor, your personal tutor, and any labs, libraries, or archives used extensively.

Dissertation overview: Abstract

The abstract is a ca. 150~500-word paragraph dissertation overview briefly summarizing your topic, questions, methodology, and conclusions. It reads as a dissertation overview and a formal blurb for your work that advertises it to new readers. An effective abstract requires a complete and flowing thesis to draw on. Writing your abstract should be your absolute last task.

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Dissertation overview: Tables and lists

Good direction, collation, and indexing help keep your dissertation easy to read, reference, and check for errors. An effective dissertation overview consists of the outline of chapters, inserts, and technical terms.

Dissertation overview: Table of contents

The table of contents tells readers which numbered pages link to which segments. It always appears before the main text. This section helps simplifying your dissertation overview.

Your contents table should cover all chapter headings, major subheadings, and other exceptional points of interest. Page numbers should always follow each entry.

Avoid citing every individual subheading, paragraph, or change of topic. Careful curation of milestones is best.

You can easily use Microsoft Word to autogenerate a table of contents. Remember to activate automatic page numbering.

List of Figures and Tables

Likewise, you should cite all relevant figures, tables, and illustrations here. A table list is optional but highly advisable for a dissertation overview.

Write your items in a numbered list in order of appearance. Again, Microsoft Word can autogenerate this via the Insert Caption feature.

List of Abbreviations

Abbreviations help save space in a packed manuscript. However, unexplained, obscure acronyms can confound even experienced readers.

If your dissertation references unusual, new, or technical abbreviations, include an alphabetical guide that explains their exact meanings. Avoid including commonplace abbreviations (e.g. a.k.a.).

You can also add an explanatory glossary of complex technical names and terms to your dissertation overview. Scientific dissertations may find some (optional) exposition particularly useful.

Again, order your entries by first alphabetical initial and avoid common words. Term descriptions should be 1-3 sentences long.

Dissertation overview: Introduction

Your introduction gives a first glance at your topic, purpose, and impact. Think of it as an expanded abstract. Stay clear, relevant, and assertive – this is your first chance to hook the reader.

Your introduction is also a great chance to make the relevant initial points needed to set up discussion, exploration, and argument. In the dissertation overview, you should:

• Clearly state your research question and objectives
• Set your focus and topical limits
• Detail all necessary background information and context
• Argue why your dissertation is relevant
• Outline your broad structure and methodology

Dissertation overview: Literature review

A topical literature review briefly tells the reader about existing material, comments on relevance, and demonstrates gaps in our collective knowledge.

Your literature review often forms the backbone of your broader theoretical framework in the dissertation overview. Primary, secondary, and meta sources (e.g. commentaries) count as literature.

Dissertation overview: Methodology

In the dissertation overview, your methodology section describes the methods you used to collect and process your research data . Stating your methodology keeps your research credible, verifiable , and transparent.

Your methodology section should cover how and why you made your choices (e.g. longitudinal-isolated, qualitative-quantitative ), your collection methods, and how, where, and when you collected your primary data. Make a solid case for why this was the best technical approach available and address ethical concerns.

You should expect to write a far lengthier methodology for dissertations in the sciences over literary subjects (e.g. History).

Dissertation overview: Results

The results in the dissertation overview is where you list what you (objectively) discovered. Discuss all results – even if the data didn’t match your expectations.

Tables, graphics, and prose summaries relevant to your hypothesis can all be displayed. Make sure to differentiate between sections with labels and subheadings.

Careful selection and curation are good ways to keep text flowing. If your datasets are too extensive, abridge and move them to an appendix . Likewise, it’s usually worth trimming down transcripts to highlights .

Make sure to stick to the facts here. Discussion, speculation, and context will come later. However, feel free to add referenced secondary context (e.g. Reprinted data tables from earlier papers).

Dissertation overview: Discussion

The penultimate section in the dissertation overview should cover your thoughts on your discoveries and how your results fit into your theoretical framework. It’s also a place to discuss any potential implications in depth.

Include thorough but concise callbacks alongside your commentary. Using questions to self-interrogate works well. Ask:

• Why are these results relevant?
• Where do they apply?
• Are they replicable?
• How do they fit existing secondary literature?
• Are there any limitations or drawbacks?

Dissertation overview: Conclusion

In the dissertation overview, the conclusion is your dissertation’s final answer. In 500~1000 words, you’ll respond directly to your initial question(s).

Don’t include any further speculation, results, or analysis here. Other segments can house last-minute additions.

Include your overall impressions of your results and how your findings change our understanding. Briefly reflect too on any further study you think is advantageous. Try to end on a suitably optimistic yet punchy note.

Dissertation overview: The final pages

Dissertation overview done? It’s time to cite all of your sources. Include a blank end page for the back cover, too.

Dissertation overview: References

Make sure to fully reference all sources used in the footnotes and your bibliography. Clear referencing helps researchers and avoids plagiarism.

Stick to one referencing style (e.g. APA style , Chicago style , MLA ) for the entire dissertation. You can find style guides and reference generators online. Your supervisor can recommend a “best practice” referencing style for your project.

Is anything vital left over that would take up too much room? Use an appendix.

Essential methodological work (such as questionnaire templates) and full data tables too bulky for the main text can always be stored here.

Dissertation overview: Proofreading and editing

Once you’ve created your final draft, read it back and edit it. You’ll likely need to trim and refine your text to showcase your best work.

It’s also essential to remove grammatical, style, factual, or spelling errors before submission. Presentation counts heavily towards your final mark.

Set aside at least 10% of your dissertation schedule for checking and polishing. You can use online checkers or pay professional proofreading and editing services (as long as they don’t write for you) to help.

Dissertation overview: Dissertation defense

You may also have to attend a dissertation defense . The defense is a meeting in which you give a closed presentation to a supervisory panel and your peers. It’s also a chance to reveal exciting discoveries.

You’ll be prepared well in advance by your supervisor to defend any contentious points, arguments, or methodological approaches made. Defenses can be rerun with modifications if you fail the first attempt.

Once the panel accepts your argument, you’ve officially passed your dissertation. Congratulations!

How do you start the dissertation introduction?

Cover your topic’s what, why, where, how, and when. Establishing a foundation for your research is crucial.

How should I format my dissertation?

Stick to uniform, commonly known, and easy-to-read black fonts, font sizes, and graphics. Ring or book binding your finished work is advisable.

Why is proper referencing so important?

Unreferenced dissertations may be accused of plagiarism and annulled – wrecking years of hard work. Always cite where and whenever you can.

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Dissertation Structure & Layout 101:

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

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

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

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

For example:

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

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

Acknowledgements

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

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

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

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

Abstract or executive summary

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

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

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

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

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

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time to recap…

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

• Acknowledgments page

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

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

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36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

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

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

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

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

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

Thanks Ade!

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

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

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

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

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

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

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

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

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

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

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

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

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

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

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

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

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

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

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

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

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

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

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

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