differents types de dissertations

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Les types de plan de dissertation

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• Application mobile
• Construire une réflexion personnelle.
• Développer son argumentation.
• Il existe quatre types de plan : thématique, dialectique, analytique et comparatif.
• C'est l'analyse du sujet et de la consigne qui doit mener au choix de tel ou tel plan.
• La dissertation
• Analyser un sujet de dissertation

Le choix d'un type de plan particulier dépend avant tout du sujet posé, du type de réflexion auquel invite le sujet. Ce n'est qu'après une analyse précise de la consigne que l'on peut choisir un type de plan, car bien souvent la consigne indique la démarche à suivre de manière explicite.

On ne peut pas appliquer un type de plan systématiquement à n'importe quelle sorte de sujet. De même, il est clair que certains sujets peuvent être traités selon des plans différents.

C'est le type de plan le plus simple et le plus courant. Il permet d'exposer un thème et de le développer selon différents points de vue . On l'appelle thématique parce qu'il s'organise autour de parties qui examinent les différents aspects d'une même question.

Ce type de plan répond aux sujets qui appellent une définition d'un sentiment, d'un rôle, d'une notion.

Il est nécessaire d'adopter ce type de plan lorsque le sujet demande de discuter une idée ou invite à vérifier et / ou à corriger une définition, une affirmation ou la réalité d'un fait. Il peut également être utilisé lorsque le sujet propose de mesurer les avantages et les inconvénients de tel ou tel phénomène.

Ce type de plan se construit ainsi :

• la thèse (= l'exposé argumenté d'une idée) ;
• l’ antithèse (= la présentation d'arguments opposés) ;
• la synthèse (= tentative de conciliation des deux positions, ou un jugement personnel).

Le plan dialectique requiert de la nuance . De même, faire une synthèse ne consiste pas à affirmer que tous les points de vue se valent, mais à formuler une réponse complémentaire par rapport aux opinions développées dans les deux premières parties.

Ce type de plan répond aux sujets qui appellent une réponse par « oui » ou par « non ».

Ce plan décrit, dans un premier temps, le problème posé ou les formes d'un phénomène, puis en étudie les causes avant d'évoquer ses conséquences ou d'éventuelles solutions.

Ce plan convient, comme son nom l'indique, pour traiter les sujets qui invitent à analyser un fait et / ou à réfléchir sur un problème général.

Ce plan se construit sur une comparaison pour faire apparaitre les similitudes et les différences d'une notion, d'un phénomène, etc.

Il procède donc à une confrontation dans les deux premières parties, avant d'envisager un éventuel bilan ou un dépassement de ces deux oppositions.

Il existe quelques règles à respecter qui sont étroitement liées à la construction d'un devoir et au type de plan choisi. Dans un devoir, il convient d'annoncer dans l'introduction le plan du développement, c'est-à-dire les différentes parties qui vont être exposées : connaitre le type de plan adopté permet une meilleure présentation de sa réflexion.

Il ne faut pas oublier de lier les différentes parties de son plan par une transition qui résume ce qui vient d'être développé et annonce ce qui va suivre. Le recours aux connecteurs logiques appropriés, marquant soit la conséquence, l'opposition ou l'addition, est alors souhaité.

De même, il faut toujours séparer les différentes étapes du développement par une espace, c'est-à-dire sauter des lignes : cela permet une meilleure lisibilité du plan.

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La médiane de 6 notes est 13. Cela signifie que :

la majorité des notes est 13.

la somme des 6 notes est égale au produit de 13 par 6.

il y a 3 notes inférieures ou égales à 13 et 3 notes supérieures ou égales à 13.

On a obtenu la série statistique suivante :

Combien vaut la médiane ?

environ 36,9

On a obtenu la série ci-dessous :

Quelle est la médiane de cette série ?

On a relevé les tailles en cm des élèves d’une classe :

Parmi les propositions suivantes, laquelle est vraie ?

La classe modale de cette série est [150 ; 155[.

Le mode de cette série est 150.

Le mode de cette série est 9.

Les notes en français de deux classes littéraires sont données dans le tableau suivant :

Quelle est la note médiane ?

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The Top 3 Types of Dissertation Research Explained

Preparing for your doctoral dissertation takes serious perseverance. You’ve endured years of studies and professional development to get to this point. After sleepless nights and labor-intensive research, you’re ready to present the culmination of all of your hard work. Even with a strong base knowledge, it can be difficult — even daunting — to decide how you will begin writing.

By taking a wide-lens view of the dissertation research process , you can best assess the work you have ahead of you and any gaps in your current research strategy. Subsequently, you’ll begin to develop a timeline so you can work efficiently and cross that finish line with your degree in hand.

What Is a Dissertation?

A dissertation is a published piece of research on a novel topic in your chosen field. Students complete a dissertation as part of a doctoral or PhD program. For most students, a dissertation is the first substantive piece of academic research they will write. 

Because a dissertation becomes a published piece of academic literature that other academics may cite, students must defend it in front of a board of experts consisting of peers in their field, including professors, their advisor, and other industry experts. 

For many students, a dissertation is the first piece of research in a long career full of research. As such, it’s important to choose a topic that’s interesting and engaging.

Types of Dissertation Research

Dissertations can take on many forms, based on research and methods of presentation in front of a committee board of academics and experts in the field. Here, we’ll focus on the three main types of dissertation research to get you one step closer to earning your doctoral degree.

1. Qualitative

The first type of dissertation is known as a qualitative dissertation . A qualitative dissertation mirrors the qualitative research that a doctoral candidate would conduct throughout their studies. This type of research relies on non-numbers-based data collected through things like interviews, focus groups and participant observation. 

The decision to model your dissertation research according to the qualitative method will depend largely on the data itself that you are collecting. For example, dissertation research in the field of education or psychology may lend itself to a qualitative approach, depending on the essence of research. Within a qualitative dissertation research model, a candidate may pursue one or more of the following:

• Case study research
• Autoethnographies
• Narrative research 
• Grounded theory 

Although individual approaches may vary, qualitative dissertations usually include certain foundational characteristics. For example, the type of research conducted to develop a qualitative dissertation often follows an emergent design, meaning that the content and research strategy changes over time. Candidates also rely on research paradigms to further strategize how best to collect and relay their findings. These include critical theory, constructivism and interpretivism, to name a few. 

Because qualitative researchers integrate non-numerical data, their methods of collection often include unstructured interview, focus groups and participant observations. Of course, researchers still need rubrics from which to assess the quality of their findings, even though they won’t be numbers-based. To do so, they subject the data collected to the following criteria: dependability, transferability and validity. 

When it comes time to present their findings, doctoral candidates who produce qualitative dissertation research have several options. Some choose to include case studies, personal findings, narratives, observations and abstracts. Their presentation focuses on theoretical insights based on relevant data points. 

2. Quantitative

Quantitative dissertation research, on the other hand, focuses on the numbers. Candidates employ quantitative research methods to aggregate data that can be easily categorized and analyzed. In addition to traditional statistical analysis, quantitative research also hones specific research strategy based on the type of research questions. Quantitative candidates may also employ theory-driven research, replication-based studies and data-driven dissertations. 

When conducting research, some candidates who rely on quantitative measures focus their work on testing existing theories, while others create an original approach. To refine their approach, quantitative researchers focus on positivist or post-positivist research paradigms. Quantitative research designs focus on descriptive, experimental or relationship-based designs, to name a few. 

To collect the data itself, researchers focus on questionnaires and surveys, structured interviews and observations, data sets and laboratory-based methods. Then, once it’s time to assess the quality of the data, quantitative researchers measure their results against a set of criteria, including: reliability, internal/external validity and construct validity. Quantitative researchers have options when presenting their findings. Candidates convey their results using graphs, data, tables and analytical statements.

3. Mixed-Method

Many PhD candidates also use a hybrid model in which they employ both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. Mixed dissertation research models are fairly new and gaining traction. For a variety of reasons, a mixed-method approach offers candidates both versatility and credibility. It’s a more comprehensive strategy that allows for a wider capture of data with a wide range of presentation optimization. 

In the most common cases, candidates will first use quantitative methods to collect and categorize their data. Then, they’ll rely on qualitative methods to analyze that data and draw meaningful conclusions to relay to their committee panel. 

With a mixed-method approach, although you’re able to collect and analyze a more broad range of data, you run the risk of widening the scope of your dissertation research so much that you’re not able to reach succinct, sustainable conclusions. This is where it becomes critical to outline your research goals and strategy early on in the dissertation process so that the techniques you use to capture data have been thoroughly examined. 

How to Choose a Type of Dissertation Research That’s Right for You

After this overview of application and function, you may still be wondering how to go about choosing a dissertation type that’s right for you and your research proposition. In doing so, you’ll have a couple of things to consider: 

• What are your personal motivations? 
• What are your academic goals? 

It’s important to discern exactly what you hope to get out of your doctoral program . Of course, the presentation of your dissertation is, formally speaking, the pinnacle of your research. However, doctoral candidates must also consider:

• Which contributions they will make to the field
• Who they hope to collaborate with throughout their studies
• What they hope to take away from the experience personally, professionally and academically

Personal Considerations

To discern which type of dissertation research to choose, you have to take a closer look at your learning style, work ethic and even your personality. 

Quantitative research tends to be sequential and patterned-oriented. Steps move in a logical order, so it becomes clear what the next step should be at all times. For most candidates, this makes it easier to devise a timeline and stay on track. It also keeps you from getting overwhelmed by the magnitude of research involved. You’ll be able to assess your progress and make simple adjustments to stay on target. 

On the other hand, maybe you know that your research will involve many interviews and focus groups. You anticipate that you’ll have to coordinate participants’ schedules, and this will require some flexibility. Instead of creating a rigid schedule from the get-go, allowing your research to flow in a non-linear fashion may actually help you accomplish tasks more efficiently, albeit out of order. This also allows you the personal versatility of rerouting research strategy as you collect new data that leads you down other paths. 

After examining the research you need to conduct, consider more broadly: What type of student and researcher are you? In other words, What motivates you to do your best work? 

You’ll need to make sure that your methodology is conducive to the data you’re collecting, and you also need to make sure that it aligns with your work ethic so you set yourself up for success. If jumping from one task to another will cause you extra stress, but planning ahead puts you at ease, a quantitative research method may be best, assuming the type of research allows for this. 

Professional Considerations

The skills you master while working on your dissertation will serve you well beyond the day you earn your degree. Take into account the skills you’d like to develop for your academic and professional future. In addition to the hard skills you will develop in your area of expertise, you’ll also develop soft skills that are transferable to nearly any professional or academic setting. Perhaps you want to hone your ability to strategize a timeline, gather data efficiently or draw clear conclusions about the significance of your data collection. 

If you have considerable experience with quantitative analysis, but lack an extensive qualitative research portfolio, now may be your opportunity to explore — as long as you’re willing to put in the legwork to refine your skills or work closely with your mentor to develop a strategy together. 

Academic Considerations

For many doctoral candidates who hope to pursue a professional career in the world of academia, writing your dissertation is a practice in developing general research strategies that can be applied to any academic project. 

Candidates who are unsure which dissertation type best suits their research should consider whether they will take a philosophical or theoretical approach or come up with a thesis that addresses a specific problem or idea. Narrowing down this approach can sometimes happen even before the research begins. Other times, candidates begin to refine their methods once the data begins to tell a more concrete story.

Next Step: Structuring Your Dissertation Research Schedule

Once you’ve chosen which type of dissertation research you’ll pursue, you’ve already crossed the first hurdle. The next hurdle becomes when and where to fit dedicated research time and visits with your mentor into your schedule. The busyness of day-to-day life shouldn’t prevent you from making your academic dream a reality. In fact, search for programs that assist, not impede, your path to higher levels of academic success. 

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Comment faire un plan de dissertation ?

Tu passes le bac de français ? CLIQUE ICI et deviens membre de commentairecompose.fr ! Tu accèderas gratuitement à tout le contenu du site et à mes meilleures astuces en vidéo.

Trouver le plan de sa dissertation est l’une des étapes fondamentales de la méthode de la dissertation .

Tes professeurs évoquent souvent les différents types de plans – dialectique, thématique, analytique – et autres appellations barbares.

Mais que signifient réellement ces termes ? Et comment choisir le plan de dissertation qui se prête à ton sujet ?

Voici un tour d’horizon des plans de dissertation pour faire le bon choix.

Il existe trois types de plan de dissertation.

Il existe trois types de plan de dissertation, mais pour le bac de français, tu n’as besoin de ne maîtriser que les deux premiers : le plan dialectique et le plan thématique.

Chacun type de plan de dissertation correspond à un type de sujet . Tu ne peux donc pas choisir n’importe quel plan pour n’importe quel sujet.

C’est comme un jeu d’association : tu dois marier ton sujet avec le plan de dissertation qui lui correspond.

Il existe un test imparable : celui de la question ouverte ou fermée qui te permet de savoir si tu dois t’orienter vers un plan thématique ou dialectique.

Je t’explique tout :

Plan de dissertation n°1 : Le plan dialectique

Le plan dialectique se résume souvent par la formule : thèse / antithèse / synthèse.

Mais attention : le plan dialectique ne fonctionne pas pour tous les sujets de dissertation littéraire !

Le plan dialectique est pertinent lorsque le sujet de dissertation invite au débat, à la confrontation.

Ton sujet de dissertation doit donc poser une question fermée , c’est à dire une question à laquelle tu peux répondre par oui ou par non.

Astuce : Deux personnes pourraient-elles se crêper le chignon parce qu’elles n’ont pas le même avis sur la question posée par votre dissertation ? Si oui, votre sujet de dissertation se prête à une discussion et donc à un plan dialectique .

Sujets de dissertation se prêtant à un plan dialectique :

• On emploie parfois l’expression « créer un personnage » au sujet d’un acteur qui endosse le rôle pour la première fois. Selon vous, peut-on dire que c’est l’acteur qui crée le personnage ? ( annales du bac de français 2009, série L)

→ On peut très bien imaginer deux camps distincts prêts à se crêper le chignon sur la question : ceux qui croient que l’acteur crée le personnage, ceux qui croient que l’acteur ne crée pas le personnage.

On peut donc recourir à un plan dialectique .

• Au théâtre, la dénonciation passe-t-elle uniquement par la violence de la parole ?

→ Ce sujet se prête à une discussion , à un échange de deux points de vue opposés : d’une part, ceux qui pensent que la dénonciation au théâtre passe uniquement par la violence de la parole, d’autre part ceux qui pensent que ce n’est pas le cas.

Un plan dialectique va alors permettre d’examiner ces points de vue antagonistes.

Mais attention : le plan dialectique n’est pas si simple qu’il y paraît !

Tu dois apprendre à l’utiliser avec subtilité, comme je te le montre dans ma méthode détaillée du plan dialectique .

Plan de dissertation n°2 : Le plan thématique

Les sujets de dissertation ne correspondent pas toujours à des questions fermées, auxquelles on peut répondre par oui ou par non.

Le libellé du sujet appelle parfois à une réponse ouverte .

Par exemple, si je te demande « Quelles sont les fonctions de la poésie ? », il t’est impossible de répondre par oui ou par non.

La question est donc une question ouverte qui appelle un plan thématique (ou plan notionnel ).

Dans un plan thématique, les grandes parties de ton plan correspondent à des réponses possibles, à des arguments.

C’est donc le plan de dissertation le plus difficile car sa réussite repose entièrement sur tes connaissances et tes idées sur le sujet.

Tu peux trouver ici ma méthode détaillée du plan thématique .

Sujet de dissertation se prêtant à un plan thématique:

• Comment l’évocation de situations difficiles peut-elle amener le lecteur à une réflexion sur l’homme ?

→ Il n’est pas possible de répondre par oui ou par non à cette question. Ce sujet n’invite donc pas à une discussion. Il s’agit d’une question ouverte appelant à un plan thématique.

L’enjeu va donc être d’explorer les différents moyens dont dispose la littérature pour faire réfléchir et argumenter.

• En quoi la poésie permet-elle de porter un regard renouvelé sur le monde ?

→ La question est ouverte et n’invite pas à une prise de position, à une confrontation. Ce sujet de dissertation se prête donc à un plan thématique.

L’enjeu ici est d’ examiner la thèse de la question (« la poésie permet de porter un regard renouvelé sur le monde ») et d’ étayer cette thèse avec des arguments et des exemples.

Plan de dissertation n°3 : Le plan analytique (pour les autres matières que le français)

Le plan analytique n’est pas un plan qui sert en littérature. Tu n’en as donc pas besoin au bac de français .

Je l’évoque toutefois ici car le plan analytique est utile dans d’autres matières, comme l’ économie, l’histoire-géographie, la culture générale, le droit.

Le plan analytique vise à examiner un problème en profondeur. Il explore les différents aspects d’un sujet, décrit un problème, en suivant souvent la structure «  Problèmes – causes- conséquences ou solutions « .

Il ne s’agit donc plus de peser le pour ou le contre comme dans le plan dialectique ou d’explorer toutes les facettes d’une notions comme dans le plan thématique.

Exemple de sujet (non littéraire) amenant à un plan analytique :

• La puissance des Etats-Unis

→ Un tel sujet t’invite à examiner les différents aspects de la puissance des Etas-Unis (puissance économique, culturelle, politique…)

Saurais-tu trouver le bon plan de dissertation littéraire ?

Teste-toi facilement avec mon quiz spécial plan de dissertation .

Pour aller plus loin :

♦ Analyser un sujet de dissertation (méthode en 5 étapes) ♦ L’introduction de la dissertation ♦ Comment faire une conclusion de dissertation ♦ Exemple de dissertation

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• La technique INCONTOURNABLE pour faire décoller tes notes en commentaire [vidéo]
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• Comment trouver un plan de dissertation ? [vidéo]

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Qui suis-je ?

Amélie Vioux

Je suis professeur particulier spécialisée dans la préparation du bac de français (2nde et 1re).

Sur mon site, tu trouveras des analyses, cours et conseils simples, directs, et facilement applicables pour augmenter tes notes en 2-3 semaines.

Je crée des formations en ligne sur commentairecompose.fr depuis 12 ans.

Tu peux également retrouver mes conseils dans mon livre Réussis ton bac de français 2024 aux éditions Hachette.

J'ai également publié une version de ce livre pour les séries technologiques ici.

94 commentaires

Peut on avoir des consignes qui peuvent nous aider à cerner un plan dialectique du plan analytique ? Par exemple : commentez et discutez ; montrer ; justifier,…

Bonjour, Amélie,

Merci pour ces cours et quizz de qualité qui m’ont enfin permise de comprendre la différence entre plan analytique et thématique !

Bonne continuation,

Bonjour, en classe on nous parle du plan concessif. Est ce que c’est un 4èm plan ? Merci d’avance

Bonjour j’ai besoin d’aide s’il vous plaît , je ne sais pas quelle plan ( dialectique,thématique ou analitique) utiliser pour mon sujet ,j’ai fait plusieurs recherches mais je ne trouve toujours pas.Voila la consigne : Michel Tournier a dit, à propos du personnage de Robinson Crusoé, lors d’un entretien radiophonique : « C’est ça qui est incroyable, dans le personnage de Robinson, c’est qu’il parle à tous les hommes, quel que soit le point de vue sous lequel on l’observe : il y a le technicien et l’administrateur, il y a le colonisateur puis le poète, l’homme de l’île déserte, le philosophe de la solitude et il y a le lecteur de la Bible. » Après avoir commenté cette citation de Michel Tournier, vous direz si selon vous Michel Tournier a réussi à parler à tous les hommes à travers son personnage de Robinson.

Le plan analytique

Bonjour qu’est ce que le « dépassement de la question » dans le plan analytique ?

Bonjour ! J’ai une question sur la méthode de la dissertation. Est-ce que dans chaque sous-partie, il ne doit y avoir qu’un seul exemple ou on peut en faire figurer par exemple 2 qui sont tous les 2 en rapport avec l’idée de la sous-partie ? Merci d’avance ! Et bravo pour votre site, il est extrement utile pour le bac de français.

Bonjour, j’ai une dissertation avec la problématique suivante : Dans qu’elle mesure le statut de l’écrivain lui permet-il de jouer un rôle spécifique dans la défense d’une cause. Cependant le terme « dans qu’elle mesure » me pose des problèmes sur le choix de mon plan. Pourriez-vous m’aider. Cordialement

Coucou Victoria, j’ai moi aussi une dissertation avec cette problématique: « Pensez-vous que le statut de l’écrivain lui permet de dire le monde ». Mais moi, je ne comprends pas ce qu’est le statut de l’écrivain (romancier, poète, dramaturge ou influence sur le peuple ?)

Bonjour Lisa, Il faut t’aider d’un dictionnaire pour définir les mots que tu ne comprends pas. C’est un impératif pour réussir une dissertation. Le statut d’une personne, c’est la position d’une personne dans la société. Ensuite, « l’écrivain » est la personne qui écrit des ouvrages littéraires. Il n ‘y a aucune raison de vouloir distinguer le type d’œuvres (poésie, théâtre, roman). Pars de la définition que tu trouves dans le dictionnaire.

Bonjour, j’ai une petite question : peut-on faire référence à des oeuvres artistiques dans une dissertation si elles ont un lien avec le sujet ou doit-on prendre seulement comme exemple des oeuvres littéraires ? Merci d’avance !

Bonjour Camille, Tu peux faire référence à des œuvres artistiques uniquement si elles sont en lien avec le sujet . Ce ne sera pas le cas lorsque le sujet vous impose de vous référer à un genre précis (par exemple la poésie, le roman ou le théâtre).

Sujet: pourquoi refuse-t-on là conscience à l’animal?

Svp ce sujet nous conduit à quel genre de plan?

Bonjour, j’aurais besoin de votre aide, en effet je suis en première et je fais une prépa tremplin pour pouvoir me préparer au concours science po. J’ai une dissertation à rédiger et le sujet est: « Le monde de l’hyper communication est un monde séduisant mais dangereux, dans lequel la communication entre les Hommes est réduite à presque rien. » C’est une citation de François Bayrou. J’ai choisis comme problématique: » Dans quelle mesure l’hypercommunication est-elle paradoxale? ». Ma problématique semble-t-elle intéressante? Quel plan dois-je suivre? Merci d’avance!

slt, je prépare un concours d’intégration pour les grandes écoles de France. Et parmi les épreuves à affronter il y a bien évidemment et comme toujours la dissertation. Ainsi je sollicite votre aide pour un meilleur apprentissage des techniques de dissertation. je vous remercie d’avance

Bonsoir Amelie, je doit réaliser une dissertation sur le sujet : « dites en quoi certaines productions artistiques ont pus changer votre vie ? » je n’y arrive pas trop car c’est la première que je fais pourriez vous m’aidez à trouver le thermes du sujet et le plans ? Merci d’avance

Je ne peux pas faire d’aide aux devoirs dans les commentaires de mon site. Mes articles sont là pour vous aider et vous montrer comment faire, mais si tu as besoin d’un accompagnement de A à Z sur un sujet, il faut te tourner vers un professeur particulier.

Bonsoir Amélie, j’ai fait une dissertation sur le sujet : “En quoi la littérature peut nous aider à mieux connaitre l’homme ?“. J’ai donc choisit un plan thématique mais d’autres élèves ont choisit un plan dialectique. Les deux étaient donc possible ?

Un plan thématique est plus approprié pour cette question.

Bonjour pouvez vous me rééxpliquer le plan analytique? Je ne l’ai pas compris.

Bonsoir Amélie comment connait-on qu’un sujet qui m’est donné demande un plan analitique ou c’est un autre

olalala trop utile cest trop super génial grace a vous jai eu 19,5 au bac de français merci beaucoup je recommande ce site pour toutes personnes en difficulté

Je suis désolée de poser autant de question ! Je passe le bac de français cette année et c’est la 1ere fois que je fais une dissertation; L’an dernier nous n’en avons fait aucune.

Mais est ce qu’on ne pourrait pas écrire en grand un : les écrivains qui réfléchissent à la question de l’Homme se réfèrent souvent à une nature originelle ? Et en grand deux : les écrivains qui réfléchissent à la question de l’Homme se réfèrent également à une nature inaccessible ?

Bonsoir Amélie, Vous m’avez dit qu’il faut que, pour ma dissertation j’utilise un plan thématique, pourrais-je savoir la raison ? Car si un jour je retombe sur un sujet comme celui là, je saurais ce qu’il faudra faire, je connaîtrais la méthode 🙂

Je n’ai fait qu’appliquer la méthode que j’explique dans cet article. Ta question est une question ouverte (on ne peut pas y répondre par oui ou non) et aucun plan n’est suggéré dans la formulation. Chaque partie de ta dissertation correspond donc à un argument que tu dois trouver seul : tu suis donc un plan thématique.

D’accord merci !

S’il vous plaît j’ai VRAIMENT besoin d’aide !!

Bonjour Amélie ! Vos vidéos m’aident beaucoup dans mes révisions depuis que j’ai découvert le site ! Heureusement que vous avez crée ce blog

J’aurai également besoin d’aide svp !!! J’ai une dissertation a faire et j’y ai passé beaucoup de temps dessus, seulement je ne sais pas si le plan que j’ai est correcte. Voici le sujet : « Montrez que les écrivains qui réfléchissent à la question de l’Homme se réfèrent souvent à une nature originelle et inaccessible. Vous pouvez vous reporter à Montaigne mais aussi à d’autres auteurs, poètes, philosophes, romancier, … » Au départ, je pensais qu’il fallait utiliser un plan thématique, après, comme le sujet commence par « Montrez que » je pense qu’il faut plutôt utiliser un plan analytique sauf que je n’en suis pas süre. Pouvez vous me dire si je suis sur la bonne voie en voulant utiliser un plan analytique svp ?

Ta question invite à un plan thématique : organise ta dissertation autour de 2 à 3 arguments permettant de démontrer la pertinence de la thèse qu’on te demande de défendre. Bon courage !

Bonjour j’ai besoin d’aide c’est urgent s’il vous plaît ! J’ai une dissertation à faire pour demain mais je n’arrive pas à trouver le plan qui correspond au sujet… Je suppose que c’est un plan thématique ? Voilà mon sujet: « Pour interpréter la société, pour éveiller la conscience humaine, que gagne l’écrivain à s’exprimer dans une forme poétique ? » Ce sujet est accompagné de trois textes différents. Je suis en 1ere S. En vous remerciant.

Ton sujet invite bien à un plan thématique. Mais tu t’y prends tard si tu dois le rendre demain. Analyse le sujet, revois l’objet d’étude poésie, réfléchis à ce que peut apporter le choix d’écrire dans une forme poétique (par rapport à d’autres formes d’écriture).

Merci beaucoup

bonsoirs pourrais tu mettre la méthode de la question sur corpus merci

Bonjour Amélie! J’ai une petite question pour toi. Une formule qui nous interroge directement (du type « Pensez-vous » « Selon vous » « Attendez-vous »), implique-t-elle de répondre avec un plan analytique? Merci d’avance.

Bonjour ! mon professeur nous a donné un sujet de dissertation sur le film Into the wild pour lequel je n’arrive pas à choisir de plan … le voici : « admettre que la vie humaine peut-être gouvernée par la raison, c’est détruire toute possibilté de vie ». En quoi selon vous, cette citation, tirée du roman Guerre et paix de Léon Tolstoï, et figurant dans la première partie du film, peut-elle se rapporter au parcours de Christopher MacCandless ? pourriez-vous m’aider ?

Bonjour, je viens de lire tout l’article mais la clairement je sèche: la question : Pensez-vous que la poésie permette le dépassement d’une épreuve ? On a en texte Victor Hugo les contemplations IV, Dany Laferrière paris 1983, et Louis Aragon Elsa « un homme pense sous sa fenêtre et chante ». Pouvez vous m’éclaire afin de trouver un plan merci

Bonjour Amélie Je viens de tomber sur votre site qui est très sympathique !

Alors je ne suis pas étudiante je prépare le concours d’aide soignante, je dois faire un exposé sur une image qui représente le ventre d’une femme entouré de ses mains et où il est écrit  » Mon corps , Mon droit  » cela m’a tout de suite fait penser à lavortement mais quel plan choisir ? Merci de votre aide

Bonjour j’ai une dissertation à fair mais j’ai peur de me tromper dans le plan. A l’ère de l’Internet et de la communication virtuelle dans un monde envahi d’image diffusée sur des écrans multiples quel plaisir peut il y avoir encore à lire ? C’est un plan analytique ?

Il faut t’orienter vers un plan thématique . Bon courage !

salut mme amélie je voulais te demander si tu pouvais m’aider à trouver une problematique pour une dissertation à faire sur Bel Ami mais le sujet est les Femmes de Georges Duroy

Bonjour Amélie! Je voulais tout d’abord que j’adore ton site, il est clair beau et tes exemples sont parlant et illustrés. Après avoir lu ton articles sur les plans, je voudrais savoir si j’ai bien tout compris. Si ma question est  » En quoi les œuvres littéraires permettent-elles de construire une réflexion sur la condition de l’homme » c’est un plan analytique( on peut par répondre par oui ou par non) mais je n’arrive pas à trouver un plan… Ce serait: I- Les oeuvres littéraires construisent une réflexion II- Les oeuvres littéraires contruisent la condition humaine? Désolé de t’embêter mais c’est ma toute première dissertation et le prof nous a pas fait de méthode…

Bonjour Anna, Ta questions suggère plutôt un plan thématique (plan n°3) : il s’agit d’une question ouverte mais le plan n’est pas suggéré dans la question (il n’est pas judicieux de séparer le terme « réflexion » de celui de « condition humaine »). C’est à toi de trouver des réponses à cette question puis de les organiser de la plus simple à la plus complexe (pour faire deux ou trois parties).

Bonjour , je ne sais pas si ce site est toujours occupé , je suis en 1èreL et on m’a donné comme question « dans quelle mesure l’écrivain ou l’artiste qui critique son époque et la société de son temps peut-il faire réfléchir le lecteur sur la question de l’homme en général? » j’en déduis que la question appelle à un plan analytique mais je n’ai aucune idée de la façon dont je dois présenter mon plan, aucune idée de parties..

Je dois participer à une épreuve écrite de réflexion à partir d’un document pour une entrée en formation..Cela signifie-t-il que je dois faire mon plan uniquement à travers ce document ou aussi à partir de mes connaissances personnelles ? Aussi est-ce obligatoire de faire 3 parties ?

Bonjour, j’aimerai savoir si le dépassement est obligatoire dans une dissertation de type dialectique puisque mon professeur nous a expliqué que si la conclusion comprenait un début de dépassement cela suffisait. Merci de votre réponse

Bonjour, mon sujet de dissertation est : Comment le théâtre représente t il la complexité des relations amoureuses? C’est donc un plan analytique, ainsi j’ai répondu de la manière suivante:

I- Le théâtre rend l’intériorité des personnages visibles A) Les règles du théâtre classiques du 17ème B) Les paroles des personnages C) Les didascalies

II- Le théâtre représente les sentiments amoureux pour rendre l’homme meilleur A) miroir du monde B) identification C) corriger l’homme

Pouvez-vous me dire ce qu’il y a à refaire, je voulais mettre dans le grand I- le « comment? » et dans le grand II- le « pourquoi? » mais du coup cela sépare les outils des thèmes..Comment pourrais-je l’arranger?

Slu je voudrais quel est le theme et la problematique de CE sujet:Demain le travail a la carte ?

Bonsoir Amélie

Tout d’abord merci beaucoup pour votre site, vos leçons ! J’aimerais savoir si la problématique « Qu’apportent, selon vous, au texte théâtral, le jeu des personnages et les choix de mise en scène ?  » amène bien à un plan thématique car il faudrait énoncer les apports de la représentation théâtrale par rapport au texte théâtral, ou si le « selon vous » amène à la discussion, au quel cas il faut utiliser un plan dialectique ? Je ne sais pas si je suis très claire… En tout cas encore une fois merci, bonne soirée !

Je suis membre depuis quelques heures seulement et j’ai beaucoup aimé votre blogue ! 🙂 Néanmoins j’ai un soucis dans les dissertations au sujet de la troisième partie : le dépassement de la question. Je ne sais pas en faire, si vous pouviez y remédier cela serait formidable !

Coucou . 🙂 Il me semble que tu as confondu le mot « dialectique » et analytique en parlant du plan Analytique car tu as dis  » Vous ne pouvez donc pas penser le pour et le contre AVEC un plan DIALECTIQUE! » Ou peut etre que c’est moi qui n’est rien compris au cours.. Lol ^^’ Sa m’a induit en erreur du coup :$ En tout cas je suis contente d’avoir tes cours à disposition pour réviser mon bac! 🙂

C’est une étourderie de ma part, qui est corrigée.

Bonjour ! Je m’interroge à propos de la question de dissertation suivante : Dans quelle mesure la forme littéraire peut-elle rendre une argumentation plus efficace ?

Doit-on citer les éléments qui font que la forme littéraire rend une argumentation efficace ou faut il faire un plan du type : I) la forme littéraire rend une argu efficace II) D’autres formes d’art rendent une argu efficace

Merci beaucoup !

Bonjour Amélie, Je voulais savoir s’il faut toujours faire un dépassement du sujet quelque soit le type de plan. Aussi, aurais-tu un conseil pour vite trouver un dépassement de sujet ? Je te remercie d’avance. M9ne

Bonjour Amélie, ton site m’a beaucoup aidé, je t’en remercie, j’ai juste une dernière question pour la dissertation ; Est-il possible d’utiliser des exemples d’auteurs qui ne sont pas français ? Par exemple, les Poétesses de Kaboul.

Je te remercie d’avance

Bonjour chere Amélie , j’ai juste une question concernant la dissertation en même temps le commentaire composé , ça va paraitre bête mais je veux savoir si pendant uue dissertation au bac, on écrit les titres sur sur sa copie , du genre Introduction, I)….. 1)…… A)…. a) … conclusion, mentionner les grands titres aussi commen on le voit dans les explication, je demande parceque je compose en candidat libre cette année apres des années a l’etranger et des amis avec qui j’ai revisé une fois m’ont mit ce doute si non personnellement je contente simplement de paragraphes espacés en fonction des parties , je serai tres heureux que vous m’enleviez ce doute avant les epreuves dans quelques jours merci

Bonjour chere Amélie , j’ai juste une question concernant la dissertation en même temps le commentaire composé , ça va paraitre bête mais je veux savoir si pendant uue dissertation au bac, on écrit les titres sur sur sa copie , du genre Introduction, I)….. 1)…… A)…. a) … conclusion, je demande parceque je compose en candidat libre cette année apres des années a l’etranger et des amis avec qui j’ai revisé une fois m’ont mit ce doute si non personnellement je contente simplement de paragraphes espacés en fonction des parties , je serai tres heureux que vous m’enleviez ce doute avant les epreuves dans quelques jours merci

Bonjours, voilà , j’ai beaucoup de mal avec mes corpus. Je me demandais si vous pourriez faire des tutoriels sur cela, car grâce à vous je comprend mieux le commentaire… Merci pour toute vos vidéos.

Bonjour Amélie! Tout d’abord je viens de découvrir ton site, à 1mois et demi du bac de français et je suis très contente! Tes explications sont très claires et aident beaucoup. Alors voila, j’ai une dissertation à faire avec pour sujet : « L’argumentation indirecte est-elle un moyen plus efficace pour traiter la question de l’homme? ». J’ai étudié en cours que des textes sur les sauvages, le cannibalisme, l’esclavagisme etc.. J’en ai dégagé un plan, qu’en penses-tu? I-Certes, l’argumentation indirecte est un moyen efficace pour traiter la question de l’homme II-Cependant, il en existe des limites III-Mais, il existe d’autres moyens aussi très compétents.

Merci d’avance, et bonne continuation.

( comment je peut te parler en priver ? )

ah d’accord merci ; sinon j’ai retravailler le sujet et je peut te reproposer un autre plan (mais détaillé ) cette fois mais en privé . Et j’ai une autre question , est ce que je doit parler de la catharsis dans ma dissertation ( ps je n’ai pas compris vraiment ce qu’est la catharsis) ;

merci d’avance

bonjour amelie j’ai cette dissertation : Aristote dit que le heros tragique doit susciter en nous la crainte et la pitié , dans la mesure ou il est à la fois victime et coupable . En quoi cette définition peut s’appliquer à Meursault ? J’ai fait ce plan : I) Effets sur le lecteur a) crainte b) pitié II) Absurdité du personnage a) victime b) coupable

Qu’est ce que tu en pense ?

( Meursault personnage de l’etranger de camus )

Merci d’avance 🙂

Ton plan répond mal à la question car tu n’as pas questionné le sujet. En effet, crainte/coupable et pitié/victimes sont des expressions qui vont de pair, il n’est donc pas cohérent de les séparer dans des parties différentes car tu répètes deux fois la même chose. Ensuite, il faudrait creuser ta réflexion pour proposer un dépassement en 3ème partie (ou si tu n’y arrives pas, uniquement en conclusion).

je doit parler dans ma dissertation de la catharsis?

Bonjour Amélie, je dois disserter sur cette citation : 《La vraie générosité envers l’avenir consiste à tout donner au présent .》Albert CAMUS l’homme révolté Voici le sujet : En quoi cette phrase résume t elle l’idée d’engagement ? Dissertez par un développement structuré qui s appuiera sur les textes vus en cours et vos connaissances personnelles. J ai compris la citation mais je ne sais pas quel plan utiliser analytique ou thématique et suivant le plan quelles parties utilisee Merci de me repondre au plus vite .

Il s’agit d’un sujet qui invite à un plan thématique puisque la question n’est pas fermée.

Bonsoir, j’ai une dissertation à faire et le sujet est : Les gens ne s’intéressent pas aux héros heureux. Il leur faut du tragique, du mythique, du monstrueux, du terrifiant. constante J. Lacarrière. Expliquez et discutez ce propos. Je pensais faire une partie sur l’explication de la phrase et une deuxième partie sur mon avis (plan que mon professeur de français nous a conseillé) mais je ne suis pas certaine que ce plan tienne la route… Je voulais avoir votre avis car je suis vos conseils depuis un certain temps et ils m’aident vraiment! Merci d’avance!

Bonjour Mel, Je te conseille de suivre le plan que vous conseille votre professeur et qui correspond bien à la consigne (Expliquez (I) et discutez (II). Bon courage !

Bonsoir Amélie et merci pour ces précieux conseils ! Puis-je t’en demander un autre ? (^_^’) Voila j’ai une dissertation à faire et le sujet est le suivant : Le véritable voyage est celui qui permet celon Rousseau de « secouer le joug de l’opinion « . Dans quelle mesure la littérature de voyage au sens large permet-elle de remettre en cause les idées reçue ?

J’ai tout d’abord (grâce à ton aide) choisis un plan thématique puisqu’il s’agit d’une question ouverte, en simplifiant le sujet cela donne : Jusqu’où la littérature de voyage peut-elle de changer les idées reçuts ?

Je voulais donc te demander si ce plan convient : La littérature de voyage permet de changer les idées reçut (I) cependant son action reste limité (II)

merci ( ^o ^) !!

Bonjour Eid, Tu as fait un plan dialectique mais il convient quand même pour ta question.

Bonsoir moi c’est une citation de Elsa Triolet « l’écriture est la plus noble conquête de l’homme.le roman l’intermédiaire entre l’homme et la vie. » J’ai choisi un plan analytique mais je ne suis pas trop sur

Bonjour J’ai une dissertation à faire et le sujet est :  » pensez-vous que pour argumenter , il soit préférable d’avoir recours à des textes typiquement argumentatifs ou à des formes plus littéraires ?  » je pense qu’il faut un plan thématique mais je ne suis pas sûr ! :$ pouvez vous m’aider svp ?

Bonsoir Alex, Ton sujet se prête à un plan analytique : le plan de ta dissertation est en réalité suggéré dans la question (tout au moins les deux premières parties qu’il faudrait ensuite dépasser dans une synthèse).

Bonjour, Dans le plan de type analytique, il est question d’un « dépassement de la question » en troisième partie. Pourriez-vous s’il vous plait expliciter ce point ? Qu’est ce qu’un dépassement de la question, et comment en rédiger un qui soit convenable ? Merci d’avance (et bravo pour ce blog !)

Bonjour Aïda, Dans ma formation gratuite en 10 leçons vidéo, j’explicite davantage ce point. Si tu n’es pas encore inscrite, tu peux le faire en cliquant ici . A bientôt.

Bonjour, j’ai un plan de dissertation a faire le sujet est le suivant « la littérature doit-elle se mêler de la politique ou de la religion » .Selon moi c’est le plan analytique qui convient le mieux mais je ne réussi pas à composé ce plan . Pouvez vous m’aider? Merci d’avance pour votre réponse .

Bonjour Naoufel,

Pour réussir ta dissertation, questionne le sujet : pourquoi le libellé emploie-t-il le verbe devoir (« doit-il ») ? Cela fait-il référence à une obligation, à un devoir ? Pourquoi opposer politique et religion ? Le sujet doit t’étonner : généralement on considère plutôt que la littérature n’a rien à voir avec la politique et la religion…Ainsi quels sont les présupposés de ton sujet ? Ce long travail de questionnement du sujet est primordial : sans lui, impossible de trouver un plan.

Bonjour Amélie ,merci pour votre réponse et je reviens vers vous car je pensais que je pouvais dans mon plan analytique (si c’est le bon plan?)parler de religieux et de politique puisqu’il me semble selon les œuvre que je connais (les juste de Albert Camus ,le père Goriot ,les misérable de Victor Hugo traitent de politique et que Pantagruel ch8 de Rabelais et « sur les cannibale »de Montaigne traitent eux de religion)c’est sur ces axes que j’ai composé mon plan. Bravo pour tout votre travaille et merci d’avance pour les explications que vous pourrez m’apporter .Naoufel

Bonjour Naoufel, Les œuvres que tu cites peuvent constituer de bons exemples. S’agissant de ta dissertation, tu dois opter plutôt pour un plan thématique : en effet, les parties de ta dissertation ne sont pas suggérées dans le libellé (il ne faut surtout par faire une partie sur la politique et une partie sur la religion car ça ne répond pas à la question). Comme je te l’ai expliqué, tu dois questionner le sujet, comprendre ses présupposés pour construire une réponse qui se tienne.

Salut, j’ai besoin d’aide! Je voudrais savoir quel plan choisir pour ma dissertation, ma citation est  » J’ai peur que la grande télévision ne tue la petite qu’il y a en chacun de nous, celle de l’imaginaire » de Devos. Merci

Bonjour Bever, Ta citation n’est-elle pas accompagnée d’une consigne ?

Dans ce cas, tu peux considérer que la consigne implicite de ton sujet est : « Pensez-vous comme Devos que la télévision tue l’imaginaire ? ». Cette question te mène vers un plan dialectique : c’est une question fermée (on peut y répondre par oui ou non) qui prête à discussion.

bonjour est-ce que je pourrais avoir la fiche de lecture de albert camus et l’education sentimentale de Gustave Flaubert et ce que l’auteur defend merci ce site est interresant

Bonjour, Je n’ai fait aucune fiche de lecture sur L’Education sentimentale de Flaubert. Tu peux toutefois trouver des informations sur Camus dans cet article sur l’absurde . A bientôt,

Bonjour amelie , ton site est excellent et jai besoin d’un peu d’aide Voila j ai une problématique pour une dissertation qui est de quel manière le maitre et le valet sont-ils inséparable sur scène mais également complémentaire et oppose ? On m’a demander de la reformuler la problématique cependant je n’arrive pas a la reformuler et a trouver un plan Pouvez-vous m’aider ?

Bonjour Roxane, Je ne peux pas vous aider de façon personnalisée pour faire vos devoirs. Tu as du mal à reformuler ta problématique car tu n’as pas trouvé de plan. Il faut travailler davantage ta dissertation et ton plan afin de mieux formuler tes idées.

Bonjour je voudrais savoir si le sujet est sur le theatre est ce que je peux utiliser en exemple une piece de theatre vu durant l’année (c’est a dire une représentation de theâtre)

Il est nécessaire d’avoir de nombreuses références riches et variés pour réussir la dissertation. Ainsi, citer et analyser des textes de votre connaissance n’est pas seulement une possibilité mais une obligation en dissertation.

Bonsoir, Alors j’ai voulu me faire un quiz en essayant d’identifier les plans dans différent sujet de dissertation mais j’ai un doute pour un sujet,qui est le suivant : » « La poésie n’a pas d’autre but qu’Elle-même. » écrit Beaudelaire. Vous vous interrogerez sur cette déclaration et vous vous demanderez si elle correspond à votre définition de la poésie. » Je pense que c’est un plan thématique mais je ne suis pas sur, qu’en pensez-vous ?

Bonjour Marjorie, C’est bien cela : ta question invite à un plan thématique dans lequel tu vas t’interroger sur les différents buts possibles de la poésie.

Tes méthodes sont vraiment bien, dommage que je t’ai pas comme prof de français parce que tout semble si facile dans tes explications.

très utile franchement merci 🙂

Waou, moi qui sèche sur ma dissert à rendre pour lundi, c’est exactement ce qu’il me fallait, j’avais pas compris les choses aussi clairement avant 🙂 ça va m’aidé pour faire mon plan de dissertation ce week-end, merci !

Laisse un commentaire ! X

Merci de laisser un commentaire ! Pour des raisons pédagogiques et pour m'aider à mieux comprendre ton message, il est important de soigner la rédaction de ton commentaire. Vérifie notamment l'orthographe, la syntaxe, les accents, la ponctuation, les majuscules ! Les commentaires qui ne sont pas soignés ne sont pas publiés.

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• Introduction for Types of Dissertations
• Overview of the Dissertation
• Self-Assessment Exercise
• What is a Dissertation Committee
• Different Types of Dissertations
• Introduction for Overview of the Dissertation Process
• Responsibilities: the Chair, the Team and You
• Sorting Exercise
• Stages of a Dissertation
• Managing Your Time
• Create Your Own Timeline
• Working with a Writing Partner
• Key Deadlines
• Self Assessment Exercise
• Additional Resources
• Purpose and Goals
• Read and Evaluate Chapter 1 Exemplars
• Draft an Introduction of the Study
• Outline the Background of the Problem
• Draft your Statement of the Problem
• Draft your Purpose of the Study
• Draft your Significance of the Study
• List the Possible Limitations and Delimitations
• Explicate the Definition of Terms
• Outline the Organization of the Study
• Recommended Resources and Readings
• Purpose of the Literature Review
• What is the Literature?
• Article Summary Table
• Writing a Short Literature Review
• Outline for Literature Review
• Synthesizing the Literature Review
• Purpose of the Methodology Chapter
• Topics to Include
• Preparing to Write the Methodology Chapter
• Confidentiality
• Building the Components for Chapter Three
• Preparing for Your Qualifying Exam (aka Proposal Defense)
• What is Needed for Your Proposal Defense?
• Submitting Your Best Draft
• Preparing Your Abstract for IRB
• Use of Self-Assessment
• Preparing Your PowerPoint
• During Your Proposal Defense
• After Your Proposal Defense
• Pre-observation – Issues to consider
• During Observations
• Wrapping Up
• Recommended Resources and Readings (Qualitative)
• Quantitative Data Collection
• Recommended Resources and Readings (Quantitative)
• Qualitative: Before you Start
• Qualitative: During Analysis
• Qualitative: After Analysis
• Qualitative: Recommended Resources and Readings
• Quantitative: Deciding on the Right Analysis
• Quantitative: Data Management and Cleaning
• Quantitative: Keep Track of your Analysis
• The Purpose of Chapter 4
• The Elements of Chapter 4
• Presenting Results (Quantitative)
• Presenting Findings (Qualitative)
• Chapter 4 Considerations
• The Purpose of Chapter 5
• Preparing Your Abstract for the Graduate School
• Draft the Introduction for Chapter 5
• Draft the Summary of Findings
• Draft Implications for Practice
• Draft your Recommendations for Research
• Draft your Conclusions
• What is Needed
• What Happens During the Final Defense?
• What Happens After the Final Defense?

Different Types of Dissertations Topic 1: Types of Dissertations

• Cookies & Privacy
• GETTING STARTED
• Introduction
• FUNDAMENTALS

Choosing between types

There are a number of reasons why you may choose one type of dissertation over another. Some are more academic in nature, whilst others tend to be more personal or practical . Academic justifications are important because the person marking your dissertation will expect to see such academic justifications in your final product. Personal and practical justifications are similarly important, not because these are something that a marker is looking for, but because the dissertation process can be tough. As a result, many of the decisions you make throughout the dissertation process (e.g., the choice of sampling strategy or data analysis techniques) will be influenced by factors such as cost, ease, convenience, and what skills you have or can learn in time. We briefly discuss these considerations below, and explain how they may influence the particular choice of dissertation type; after all, the academic, personal and practical justifications for a quantitative dissertation are different for qualitative or mixed methods dissertations.

Academic justifications

You'll almost always been able to find an academic justification for your choice of dissertation, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. These academic justifications include factors that are generally philosophical or theoretical , or which refer to a particular research problem or idea .

The reasons that act as a justification for your dissertation will often become clear when you decide on the route you will follow within one of these three types of dissertation (i.e., a qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods dissertation). We have chosen not to go into any more detail about such academic justifications now because they are so specific to the route that you choose. However, you'll learn about these justifications in detail in the Quantitative Dissertations part of Lærd Dissertation, where you can choose between one of three routes (i.e., Route #1: Replication-based dissertations , Route #2: Data-driven dissertations , and Route #3: Theory-driven dissertations ).

Personal or practical justifications

One of the major challenges of doing a dissertation, especially if you are an undergraduate, is uncertainty : Can I plan out the dissertation process from the start? Will I be able to finish on time? Can I get my head around the research paradigms and research designs that guide my choice of dissertation (i.e., qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods)? Do I have the right skills to analyse qualitative or quantitative data? What software packages will I have to learn to do this, if any?

Dissertations are often worth a good proportion of your final year mark, if not the grade of your entire degree, so how tolerant you are to uncertainty matters. On this basis, think about the following:

Am I a bit of a planning freak?

If you are, you may prefer to take on a quantitative dissertation rather than qualitative dissertation . One of the broad advantages of quantitative dissertations is that they tend to be more sequential in nature, such that you can often set out, right from the start of the dissertation process, the various stages you will need to go through in order to answer your research questions or hypotheses. This is because in quantitative dissertations, it is far less common to change major components of the research process (e.g., your research questions or hypotheses, or research design), after you've decided what these are going to be, which you typically do at the very start of the dissertation process. Not only does this make it possible to plan what you will be doing from month-to-month, but it also reduces the uncertainty through the dissertation process. You'll see in the Quantitative Dissertations section how we have been able to provide comprehensive, step-by-step guides to walk you through the dissertation process, as well as chapter-by-chapter guides to show you how to write up.

By contrast, qualitative dissertations are not sequential, but reflexive and emergent in nature, which means that what you planned to do at the start of the dissertation process is more likely to have to be modified. Such modification takes place because one of the tenets of qualitative research is flexibility to allow for things that are learnt during the research process to be integrated (e.g., initial interviews may suggest that you need to add or omit a particular research question). Whilst such changes may only happen a few times, and may be minor in many cases, they do add an element of uncertainty. At a basic level, imagine the difference between knowing how many participants you need to have to fill in your questionnaire, and therefore, roughly how long this will take (i.e., a quantitative dissertation ), as opposed to being quite uncertain how many interviews you need to arrange to collect sufficient data to answer your research questions (i.e., a qualitative dissertation ). Whilst these might sound like small points, it can mean having to put aside another month to collect sufficient interview data in a qualitative dissertation compared with a quantitative one.

What are my strong points?

Whilst qualitative and quantitative dissertations are more than just the use of qualitative or qualitative research methods and data, there is no escaping the fact that qualitative dissertations use qualitative research methods and collect qualitative data (i.e., from unstructured interviews, focus groups, participant observation, etc.), and quantitative dissertations use quantitative research methods, collecting quantitative data (i.e., from data sets, surveys, structured interviews, structured observation, etc.). If you've spent your degree working with quantitative research designs (e.g., randomized control trials, pre- and post-test designs, relationship-based designs, etc.), as well as quantitative research methods and data, the logical choice might be to take on a quantitative dissertation . The same can be said for qualitative dissertations , since in both cases, the learning curve will be a lot higher if you're completely unaccustomed to the components that make up these different types of dissertation.

What am I interested in?

At the end of the day, the dissertation process is a long one, lasting around 6 months (in most cases). If you're not interested in experimental research, you prefer working with more unstructured research methods (e.g., depth interviews, unstructured observation, etc.), or you hate quantitative data analysis (i.e., any form of statistics), taking on a quantitative dissertation may not be a good idea. The same can be said for qualitative dissertations , which require a lot of perseverance and dedication, especially during the data collection process, which can be time consuming and requires a lot of toeing-and-froing. Choose a type of dissertation that is going to keep you interested, and which you will not find boring or demoralizing.

If you're taking on a qualitative dissertation , we wish you good luck (although you will still be able to learn a little about appropriate research methods and sampling techniques in the Fundamentals section of Lærd Dissertation). However, if you're taking on a quantitative dissertation (or a mixed methods dissertation that is mainly quantitative in its focus), go to the Quantitative Dissertations part of Lærd Dissertation now. We have extensive guides to help you through the process.

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Understanding the Different Types of Dissertations

When it comes to completing a dissertation, there are various approaches that can be employed. Dissertations are complex and lengthy research projects that typically consist of several parts. Depending on the field of study and the topic being researched, different types of dissertations may be more appropriate. Understanding the different types of dissertations and knowing how to choose the most suitable one is essential for successfully completing this academic milestone.

Another type of dissertation is the non-empirical or professional dissertation. This type of dissertation does not involve collecting primary data from participants but instead relies on analyzing events, theories, or existing data. Non-empirical dissertations may be more suitable for students who are researching something beyond the scope of gathering data from participants. It allows for a more flexible approach to the research process while still making use of appropriate theories and methodologies.

Whether you choose an empirical or non-empirical dissertation, it is important to develop a clear understanding of the type of research you are conducting. This will guide your actions in collecting and analyzing data, as well as the variables you will be considering. By carefully planning and structuring your dissertation, you can ensure that your research is of high quality and meets the requirements of your field of study.

In the article, “Understanding the Different Types of Dissertations,” we will provide guidance on how to choose the most suitable type of dissertation for your research topic. We will also discuss the key elements that should be included in each type of dissertation, including the methodology, data analysis, and the presentation of findings. While dissertations can be a challenging task, understanding the different types and their requirements can help you navigate this hurdle with confidence. So, whether you’re an aspiring researcher or a professional in the field, this article will provide you with valuable insights on how to approach your dissertation and produce a research work that is both credible and impactful.

Descriptive Dissertations: Paint a Picture of the Research Subject

When conducting a descriptive dissertation, there are several considerations to keep in mind. Firstly, the choice of research design is important, and a positivist or traditional quantitative approach is often used. This allows the researcher to collect numerical data from various sources, which can then be analyzed using statistical processes.

However, collecting quantitative data is not the only option in a descriptive dissertation. Qualitative methods, such as interviews, focus groups, observations, and document analysis, can also be utilized to gather rich and detailed narratives about the research subject.

One of the main uses of collecting descriptive data is to assist in developing a better understanding of a particular phenomenon or subject. It helps to determine the similarities and differences between cases or events and provides a broader perspective on the research topic.

Dr. Mark Saunders and Dr. Philip Thornhill have explained that a descriptive dissertation does not aim to test explicit hypotheses or establish causal relationships. Instead, it aims to provide a detailed and comprehensive account of the research subject.

When writing a descriptive dissertation, the author should provide a clear and concise abstract that outlines the key aspects of the research subject and the main findings. The author should also take into account the guidelines for proofreading and editing the manuscript to ensure that it is free from errors and mistakes.

Experimental Dissertations: Testing Hypotheses through Controlled Experiments

Experimental dissertations are often used in scientific, social science, and psychological research, where the researcher aims to identify cause-and-effect relationships between variables. These dissertations follow a structured research methodology that involves manipulating independent variables and observing the effects on dependent variables.

Methods Used in Experimental Dissertations

The methods used in experimental dissertations heavily rely on theory-driven research designs. Researchers start by formulating a clear hypothesis, which is a testable statement about the relationship between variables. They then design experimental procedures to systematically manipulate the independent variables while keeping other conditions controlled.

The experimental procedures may include selecting a sample of participants, randomly assigning them to different groups (experimental and control groups), implementing the intervention or treatment in the experimental group, and collecting data through various measurements or observations. These data are then analyzed using statistical techniques to determine the effects of the independent variables on the dependent variables.

Considerations for Choosing Experimental Dissertation

When choosing to conduct an experimental dissertation, there are several important considerations to keep in mind:

• Ensure that your research question is suitable for experimental research. Experimental dissertations are most appropriate when you want to establish causality or determine the effects of specific interventions.
• Consider the resources and time required. Experimental dissertations typically require more resources and time compared to other types of dissertations due to the complex nature of conducting controlled experiments.
• Critically analyze and update relevant theories. Experimental dissertations heavily rely on existing theories to guide the research design and interpretation of results. Therefore, it is crucial to thoroughly analyze and update theories to ensure the validity of the research.
• Use mixed-method approaches. While experimental dissertations are primarily quantitative in nature, incorporating qualitative methods such as interviews or surveys can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the research topic.

Support and Proofreading for Experimental Dissertations

As experimental dissertations involve complex research designs and analyses, it is highly recommended to seek support and proofreading assistance to ensure the quality and accuracy of the study.

At LinkedIn, we provide various resources, such as academic editing and proofreading services, that can assist you in structuring and analyzing your experimental dissertation. Our team of experts understands the distinct requirements of experimental dissertations and can provide valuable insights to enhance the credibility of your research.

Whatever method you choose for your dissertation, it is important to consider the specific requirements of your research topic and align them with the appropriate research design. By understanding the different types of dissertations and their uses, you can make informed decisions to effectively carry out your research and contribute to academic knowledge.

Comparing the 3 Main Types of Dissertations: Differences and Similarities

1. qualitative dissertations.

Qualitative dissertations focus on exploring and understanding phenomena and processes. They go beyond mere facts and figures and delve into the underlying reasons and motivations behind them. These dissertations typically involve in-depth interviews, focus groups, or observations to gather rich and detailed data.

In a qualitative dissertation, the emphasis is on describing and analyzing the data collected rather than formal hypothesis testing. The findings are often presented through narratives, themes, or quotations that capture the essence of the research. This type of dissertation is suitable for research that aims to gain insights into complex social or behavioral phenomena.

2. Empirical Dissertations

3. non-empirical dissertations.

Non-empirical dissertations are different from the other two types because they do not involve the collection of primary data. Instead, they are based on existing literature, theories, or personal experiences. These dissertations focus on critically reviewing and synthesizing the relevant literature in a specific field.

In a non-empirical dissertation, the author usually takes a theory-driven approach to analyze and explain the phenomena under investigation. This type of dissertation may also include interviews or questionnaires, but only as secondary sources to support the arguments. Non-empirical dissertations are suitable for research that aims to provide a broad understanding of a topic or to explore theoretical issues in a specific field.

What are the different types of dissertations?

The different types of dissertations include empirical studies, theoretical papers, mixed-method studies, and meta-analyses.

What is an empirical study dissertation?

An empirical study dissertation is a type of dissertation that involves collecting and analyzing data to answer a research question or test a hypothesis.

What is a theoretical paper dissertation?

A theoretical paper dissertation is a type of dissertation that focuses on developing new theories or frameworks in a particular field of study.

What is a mixed-method study dissertation?

A mixed-method study dissertation is a type of dissertation in which both qualitative and quantitative research methods are used to collect and analyze data.

What is a meta-analysis dissertation?

A meta-analysis dissertation is a type of dissertation that involves analyzing data from multiple studies to draw conclusions and make recommendations.

By Alex Koliada, PhD

Alex Koliada, PhD, is a well-known doctor. He is famous for studying aging, genetics, and other medical conditions. He works at the Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics. His scientific research has been published in the most reputable international magazines. Alex holds a BA in English and Comparative Literature from the University of Southern California , and a TEFL certification from The Boston Language Institute.

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• Dissertation

6 étapes incontournables pour réaliser une dissertation

Publié le 2 octobre 2019 par Justine Debret . Mis à jour le 31 janvier 2024.

En français, la dissertation est un exercice d’argumentation qui se construit en 6 étapes. Nous allons vous expliquer comment faire une dissertation de A à Z.

Pour faire une dissertation, c’est très simple :

• Lire et analyser le sujet
• Trouver la problématique
• Faire le plan de la dissertation
• Rédiger l’introduction
• Rédiger le développement
• Faire la conclusion

Pour tout comprendre sur comment faire une dissertation, nous allons utiliser un exemple concret issu des annales du Bac S de philosophie de 2019.

Table des matières

1. lire et analyser le sujet, 2. trouver la problématique, 3. faire le plan de la dissertation, 4. rédiger l’introduction, 5. rédiger le développement de la dissertation, 6. ecrire la conclusion, présentation gratuite.

Vous allez devoir produire une réflexion organisée sur un sujet spécifique qui vous est imposé.

Le sujet peut être :

• une question
• un thème ou concept
• une citation

Si vous avez le choix entre plusieurs sujets, sélectionnez celui qui vous inspire le plus et sur lequel vous avez le plus de connaissances. Il faudra le choisir rapidement si vous devez faire une dissertation lors d’un examen de quelques heures (dans les 10 premières minutes).

Une fois le sujet choisi, vous allez devoir définir chaque terme présent dans l’intitulé, afin de mieux le comprendre.

Exemple : Reconnaître ses devoirs, est-ce renoncer à sa liberté ?

Essayez ensuite de reformuler le sujet complètement à partir de vos définitions ou de synonymes.

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Lisez plusieurs fois la reformulation du sujet rédigée à partir de vos définitions. Au brouillon, écrivez toutes les idées qui vous viennent à l’esprit sur le sujet (exemples, auteurs, événements, …).

C’est à partir de ces connaissances et votre reformulation que vous allez pouvoir trouver votre problématique.

Petit conseil ! Utilisez cette question clé : à quel(s) problème(s) ces connaissances tentent-elles de répondre ?

Une question centrale va émerger et c’est à partir de cette dernière que votre dissertation va se construire pour créer un débat où s’affrontent des thèses divergentes.

Le plan d’une dissertation peut prendre diverses formes. L’important est qu’il réponde bien à votre problématique pour que vous évitiez le hors-sujet.

• Utilisez votre brouillon initial sur lequel vous avez noté vos idées.
• Classez ensuite ces idées par thématique ou argument.
• Normalement, vous pourrez arriver à deux ou trois idées principales, divisées en deux ou trois sous-parties qui seront illustrées par des exemples concrets.
• N’oubliez pas de rédiger une transition entre chaque grande partie (conclusion de la partie actuelle et introduction de la partie suivante).

I) Les devoirs de l’Homme, une soumission naturelle et nécessaire ?

1) Les devoirs, un concept pluriel et contextuel -> Expliquez ici quels sont les différents devoirs que nous rencontrons et en quoi il divergent en fonction des cultures et systèmes étatiques. -> L’existence de devoirs pluriels (travail, citoyenneté, devoir par rapport à la famille, devoir scolaire, droits et devoirs de l’Homme).

2) L’Homme contraint par nature ? -> Concept de contrainte imposée par la nature sur l’Homme (la nature de l’Homme). -> Hobbes et “l’Homme est un loup pour l’Homme” : il abandonne sa liberté et vit en société pour survivre car la nature de l’Homme est agressive.

3) L’Homme : un animal social contraint pour sa liberté ? -> Aristote parlait du concept d’”animal social”. -> Le devoir de morale et d’empathie chez Rousseau fait qu’un être est humain (naturellement) et sociable. -> Sartre et son concept de liberté et libre arbitre : l’Homme est libre et responsable de ses actes naturellement (c’est inné). C’est pour cela qu’il peut vivre en société.

– TRANSITION –

II) La libération de l’Homme par le devoir

1) La culture libératrice -> Le devoir nous permet de nous cultiver et donc de nous libérer de la nature qui est en nous (Kant). -> L’école et l’éducation, le vote, … sont des droits et devoirs qui nous libèrent de notre ignorance naturelle (innée) et de la contrainte du déterminisme. -> Freud et les pulsions de l’Homme qui sont contrôlées intérieurement pas le surmoi. La pression sociale et les devoirs sociaux nous permettent de nous libérer de nos pulsions et désirs en les rejetant dans le ca.

2) Le travail comme contrainte de libération quotidienne -> Le concept de travail comme contrainte/liberté (apporte l’estime de soi, mais nous contraint lourdement) avec Platon, Marx (“l’opium du peuple”) et Kant.

3) La reconnaissance comme liberté -> Kant définit l’autonomie comme la capacité à se donner ses propres règles et de les suivre. La liberté ne consiste donc pas à échapper à toute règle, à tout devoir, mais à se les donner et à y soumettre ses actes. -> Exemple du devoir de mémoire des survivants de la Seconde Guerre mondiale : processus de libération psychologique personnelle et rôle de devoir citoyen.

L’introduction d’une dissertation doit suivre une structure stricte. Elle introduit le sujet, la problématique et le plan.

Les parties d’une introduction de dissertation sont :

• Une amorce ou phrase d’accroche.
• L’énoncé du sujet.
• La définition des termes et reformulation du sujet.
• La problématique.
• L’annonce du plan.

Le droit de vote est considéré par les institutions comme un devoir moral pour les citoyens, comme le rappelle l’inscription figurant sur les cartes électorales : « Voter est un droit, c’est aussi un devoir civique ».

Les devoirs explicitent un comportement à suivre ou à ne pas suivre. Ils préconisent la conformité avec une règle. Cette notion semble en contradiction avec celle de la liberté, car le devoir s’opposerait à une impulsion ou un désir qui définirait notre liberté.

Toutefois, cette conception de la liberté est naïve et limitée, car être libre ne consiste pas à faire ce que l’on veut. De même, le devoir ne se limite pas à une contrainte imposée de l’extérieur. Il peut s’agit d’une obligation qu l’on décide de s’imposer librement.

Nous questionnons donc ces concepts en essayant de répondre à la problématique suivante : peut-on vraiment dire qu’on renonce à sa liberté quand on fait le choix de se soumettre à ses devoirs, quand on exerce donc sa liberté avec son libre-arbitre ?

Notre raisonnement questionnera tout d’abord les devoirs de l’Homme comme une soumission naturelle et nécessaire (I), avant d’interroger la possible libération de l’Homme par le devoir (II).

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Le développement d’une dissertation comporte toujours deux ou trois parties. Si vous faites une dissertation en deux parties, vous devrez rédiger trois sous-parties pour chacune (deux si vous faites trois grandes parties).

Chaque partie soutient une idée centrale qui répond à la problématique, alors que chaque sous-partie s’articule autour d’un argument qui soutient et illustre l’idée directrice.

Vos arguments doivent absolument être illustrés par un exemple !

Entre chaque partie, vous devez rédiger une transition qui conclut la partie précédente et annonce la partie suivante.

La conclusion d’une dissertation est une brève synthèse du développement en indiquant nettement la réponse à la question posée dans l’introduction. Il est aussi possible d’ajouter une ouverture à la fin.

Notre étude a montré qu’au-delà du poids contraignant des devoirs que l’on peut sentir au premier abord, ils n’entravent pas notre réelle liberté. Bien au contraire, nos devoirs nous libèrent de la nature humaine qui est en nous et qui nous rend esclave de nos pulsions, désirs et violence interne. Reconnaître ses devoirs et les accepter, contribue à entretenir notre puissance d’agir et donc notre liberté.

Le concept de devoir reste très lié à celui de droit dans les démocraties occidentales. Le droit de vote est-il libérateur ?

Voici une présentation que vous pouvez utiliser pour vous améliorer ou partager nos conseils méthodologiques sur la dissertation. N’hésitez pas à la partager ou à l’utiliser lors de vos cours :).

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Debret, J. (2024, 31 janvier). 6 étapes incontournables pour réaliser une dissertation. Scribbr. Consulté le 18 mars 2024, de https://www.scribbr.fr/dissertation-fr/comment-faire-une-dissertation/

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• How it works

Research Methods for Dissertation – Types with Comparison

Published by Carmen Troy at August 13th, 2021 , Revised On June 14, 2023

Introduction

“Research methods for a dissertation refer to the specific approaches, procedures, and techniques employed by researchers to investigate and gather data for their dissertation projects.”

These methods provide a systematic and structured framework for conducting research, ensuring the reliability, validity, and rigour of the study.

What are the different research methods for the dissertation, and which one should I use?

Choosing the right research method for a dissertation is a grinding and perplexing aspect of the dissertation research process. A well-defined  research methodology  helps you conduct your research in the right direction, validates the  results  of your research, and makes sure that the study you’re conducting answers the set  research questions .

The research  title,  research questions,  hypothesis , objectives, and study area generally determine the best research method in the dissertation.

This post’s primary purpose is to highlight what these different  types of research  methods involve and how you should decide which type of research fits the bill. As you read through this article, think about which one of these research methods will be the most appropriate for your research.

The practical, personal, and academic reasons for choosing any particular method of research are also analysed. You will find our explanation of experimental , descriptive , historical , quantitative , qualitative , and mixed research methods useful regardless of your field of study.

While choosing the right method of research for your own research, you need to:

• Understand the difference between research methods and  methodology .
• Think about your research topic, research questions, and research objectives to make an intelligent decision.
• Know about various types of research methods so that you can choose the most suitable and convenient method as per your research requirements.

Research Methodology Vs. Research Methods

A well-defined  research methodology  helps you conduct your research in the right direction, validates the  results  of your research, and makes sure that the study you are conducting answers the set  research questions .

Research methods are the techniques and procedures used for conducting research. Choosing the right research method for your writing is an important aspect of the  research process .

You need to either collect data or talk to the people while conducting any research. The research methods can be classified based on this distinction.

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Types of Research Methods

Research methods are broadly divided into six main categories.

Experimental Research Methods

Descriptive research methods, historical research methods, quantitative research methods, qualitative research methods, mixed methods of research.

Experimental research  includes the experiments conducted in the laboratory or observation under controlled conditions. Researchers try to study human behavior by performing various experiments. Experiments can vary from personal and informal natural comparisons. It includes three  types of variables;

• Independent variable
• Dependent variable
• Controlled variable

Types of Experimental Methods

Laboratory experiments

The experiments were conducted in the laboratory. Researchers have control over the variables of the experiment.

Field experiment

The experiments were conducted in the open field and environment of the participants by incorporating a few artificial changes. Researchers do not have control over variables under measurement. Participants know that they are taking part in the experiment.

Natural experiments

The experiment is conducted in the natural environment of the participants. The participants are generally not informed about the experiment being conducted on them.

Example : Estimating the health condition of the population.

Quasi-experiments

A quasi-experiment is an experiment that takes advantage of natural occurrences. Researchers cannot assign random participants to groups.

Example: Comparing the academic performance of the two schools.

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Descriptive research aims at collecting the information to answer the current affairs. It follows the Ex post facto research, which predicts the possible reasons behind the situation that has already occurred. It aims to answer questions like how, what, when, where, and what rather than ‘why.’

In  historical research , an investigator collects, analyses the information to understand, describe, and explain the events that occurred in the past. Researchers try to find out what happened exactly during a certain period of time as accurately and as closely as possible. It does not allow any manipulation or control of variables.

Quantitative research  is associated with numerical data or data that can be measured. It is used to study a large group of population. The information is gathered by performing statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques.

Quantitative research isn’t simply based on  statistical analysis or quantitative techniques but rather uses a certain approach to theory to address research hypotheses or research questions, establish an appropriate research methodology, and draw findings &  conclusions .

Some most commonly employed quantitative research strategies include data-driven dissertations, theory-driven studies, and reflection-driven research. Regardless of the chosen approach, there are some common quantitative research features as listed below.

• Quantitative research is based on testing or building on existing theories proposed by other researchers whilst taking a reflective or extensive route.
• Quantitative research aims to test the research hypothesis or answer established research questions.
• It is primarily justified by positivist or post-positivist research paradigms.
• The  research design can be relationship-based, quasi-experimental, experimental, or descriptive.
• It draws on a small sample to make generalisations to a wider population using probability sampling techniques.
• Quantitative data is gathered according to the established research questions and using research vehicles such as structured observation, structured interviews, surveys, questionnaires, and laboratory results.
• The researcher uses  statistical analysis  tools and techniques to measure variables and gather inferential or descriptive data. In some cases, your tutor or members of the dissertation committee might find it easier to verify your study results with numbers and statistical analysis.
• The accuracy of the study results is based on external and internal validity and the authenticity of the data used.
• Quantitative research answers research questions or tests the hypothesis using charts, graphs, tables, data, and statements.
• It underpins  research questions  or hypotheses and findings to make conclusions.
• The researcher can provide recommendations for future research and expand or test existing theories.

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It is a type of scientific research where a researcher collects evidence to seek answers to a  question . It is associated with studying human behaviour from an informative perspective. It aims at obtaining in-depth details of the problem.

As the term suggests,  qualitative research  is based on qualitative research methods, including participants’ observations, focus groups, and unstructured interviews.

Qualitative research is very different in nature when compared to quantitative research. It takes an established path towards the  research process , how  research questions  are set up, how existing theories are built upon, what research methods are employed, and how the  findings  are unveiled to the readers.

You may adopt conventional methods, including phenomenological research, narrative-based research, grounded theory research,  ethnographies ,  case studies , and auto-ethnographies.

Again, regardless of the chosen approach to qualitative research, your dissertation will have unique key features as listed below.

• The research questions that you aim to answer will expand or even change as the  dissertation writing process continues. This aspect of the research is typically known as an emergent design where the research objectives evolve with time.
• Qualitative research may use existing theories to cultivate new theoretical understandings or fall back on existing theories to support the research process. However, the original goal of testing a certain theoretical understanding remains the same.
• It can be based on various research models, such as critical theory, constructivism, and interpretivism.
• The chosen research design largely influences the analysis and discussion of results and the choices you make. Research design depends on the adopted research path: phenomenological research, narrative-based research, grounded theory-based research, ethnography, case study-based research, or auto-ethnography.
• Qualitative research answers research questions with theoretical sampling, where data gathered from an organisation or people are studied.
• It involves various research methods to gather qualitative data from participants belonging to the field of study. As indicated previously, some of the most notable qualitative research methods include participant observation, focus groups, and unstructured  interviews .
• It incorporates an  inductive process where the researcher analyses and understands the data through his own eyes and judgments to identify concepts and themes that comprehensively depict the researched material.
• The key quality characteristics of qualitative research are transferability, conformity, confirmability, and reliability.
• Results and discussions are largely based on narratives, case study and personal experiences, which help detect inconsistencies, observations, processes, and ideas.s
• Qualitative research discusses theoretical concepts obtained from the results whilst taking research questions and/or hypotheses  to draw general  conclusions .

Now that you know the unique differences between quantitative and qualitative research methods, you may want to learn a bit about primary and secondary research methods.

Here is an article that will help you  distinguish between primary and secondary research and decide whether you need to use quantitative and/or qualitative primary research methods in your dissertation.

Alternatively, you can base your dissertation on secondary research, which is descriptive and explanatory in essence.

Types of Qualitative Research Methods

Action research

Action research  aims at finding an immediate solution to a problem. The researchers can also act as the participants of the research. It is used in the educational field.

A  case study  includes data collection from multiple sources over time. It is widely used in social sciences to study the underlying information, organisation, community, or event. It does not provide any solution to the problem. Researchers cannot act as the participants of the research.

Ethnography

In  this type of research, the researcher examines the people in their natural environment. Ethnographers spend time with people to study people and their culture closely. They can consult the literature before conducting the study.

When you combine quantitative and qualitative methods of research, the resulting approach becomes mixed methods of research.

Over the last few decades, much of the research in academia has been conducted using mixed methods because of the greater legitimacy this particular technique has gained for several reasons including the feeling that combining the two types of research can provide holistic and more dependable results.

Here is what mixed methods of research involve:

• Interpreting and investigating the information gathered through quantitative and qualitative techniques.
• There could be more than one stage of research. Depending on the research topic, occasionally it would be more appropriate to perform qualitative research in the first stage to figure out and investigate a problem to unveil key themes; and conduct quantitative research in stage two of the process for measuring relationships between the themes.

Note: However, this method has one prominent limitation, which is, as previously mentioned, combining qualitative and quantitative research can be difficult because they both are different in terms of design and approach. In many ways, they are contrasting styles of research, and so care must be exercised when basing your dissertation on mixed methods of research.

When choosing a research method for your own dissertation, it would make sense to carefully think about your  research topic ,  research questions , and research objectives to make an intelligent decision in terms of the philosophy of  research design .

Dissertations based on mixed methods of research can be the hardest to tackle even for PhD students.

Our writers have years of experience in writing flawless and to the point mixed methods-based dissertations to be confident that the dissertation they write for you will be according to the technical requirements and the formatting guidelines.

Read our guarantees  to learn more about how you can improve your grades with our  dissertation services.

Please Find Below an Example of Research Methods Section in a Dissertation or Thesis.

Background and Problem

Diversity management became prominent in the late twentieth century, with foundations in America. Historically homogeneous or nondiverse nations, such as Finland, have not yet experienced the issues associated with rising cultural and ethnic diversity in the workforce. Regardless of the environment, workforce diversity garners greater attention and is characterised by its expanding relevance due to globalised and international companies, global and national worker mobility, demographic shifts, or enhancing productivity.

As a result, challenges of diversity management have been handled through legal, financial, and moral pressures (Hayes et al., 2020). The evolving structure of the working population in terms of language, ethnic background, maturity level, faith, or ethnocultural history is said to pose a challenge to human resource management (HRM) in utilising diversity: the understanding, abilities, and expertise prospects of the entire workforce to deal with possible developments.

The European approach to diversity management is regarded as growing. However, it is found to emphasise the relationship to business and lack competence in diversity management problems. Mass immigration concentrates variety, sometimes treated as cultural minority issues, implying the normalisation of anti-discrimination actions (Yadav and Lenka, 2020).

These causes, in turn, have provided the basis of comprehensive diversity research, which has generated different theories, frameworks, concepts, and guidelines from interdisciplinary viewpoints, such as industrial and organisational psychology and behaviour (OB), cultural studies, anthropology, migration, economics, postcolonialism, and so on. And in the form of international, social and cultural, organisational, group, and individual scale diversity analysis. This dissertation focuses on diversity concerns from impression management, specifically from HRM as an executive-level phenomenon (Seliverstova, 2021).

As conceptual frameworks, organisational structures concentrating on the production of diversity and social psychology, notably social identity theory with diverse ‘identities’ of persons or intergroup connections, are primarily employed. The study’s primary goal in the workplace is to discover inequities or examine the effects of diversity on workplace outcomes.

Individual study interests include behaviours, emotions, intelligence, intercultural skills or competencies, while group research interests include group dynamics, intergroup interactions, effectiveness, and cooperation or collaboration. Organisational studies address themes such as workforce composition, workplace equality, and diversity challenges and how they may be managed accordingly. Domestic diversity, omitting national distinctions, or global diversity, about diverse country cultures, might be studied further (AYDIN and ÖZEREN, 2018).

Diversity is a context-dependent, particular, comparative, complicated, plural phrase or idea with varying interpretations in different organisations and cultures and no unified definition. As a result, in addition to many internal and external elements, diversity may be managed, individuals taught, and organisations have grown in various ways. This dissertation considers diversity in an organisational environment as a construct of ‘differences’ to be handled (Cummings, 2018).

Various management systems have grown in stages, bringing diverse diversity management concepts. Equality/equal opportunities (EO) legislation and diversity management are the two conventional approaches and primary streams with differing theoretical foundations for managing and dealing with workforce diversity challenges (DM).

These approaches relate to whether diversity is handled by increasing sameness by legal pressures or by voluntarily respecting people’s differences, which shows an organisation’s responsiveness and proactivity toward managing diversity. But most of the literature in this area has avoided the impression management theories (Coad and Guenther, 2014). Therefore, this study will add a new dimension in this area by introducing impression management analysis.

Research Aim and Objectives

This research aims to analyse the impact of organisational structure on human resources diversification from the viewpoint of impression managerial theory. It has the following objectives:

• It will examine the existing impression management literature to draw insights into the relationship under consideration.
• It will identify various factors such as competency, social inclusion, etc., affecting the management’s decision to recruit diverse human resources.
• It will recommend appropriate organisational structures and HR policies to improve diversification of HR by reviewing impression management theories.

Research Questions

This research will answer the following questions:

• How does organisational structure affect human resources diversification from the viewpoint of impression managerial theory?
• What factors such as competency, social inclusion, etc., affect the management decision to recruit diverse human resources?
• What are appropriate organisational structures and HR policies to improve diversification of HR by reviewing impression management theories?

Research Hypothesis

The organisational structure significantly impacts the recruitment of diverse human resources.

Literature Review

According to Staniec and Zakrzewska-Bielawska (2010), considering strategy-oriented activities and organisational components are the critical foundation in the organisational structure required to align structure strategy. Each company’s internal organisation is somewhat distinctive, resulting from various corporate initiatives and historical conditions.

Furthermore, each design is based on essential success elements and vital tasks inherent in the firm plan. This article offers empirical research on unique organisational structure elements in Polish firms in the context of concentration and diversification tactics. And companies that adopted concentration techniques mainly used functional organisational structures.

Tasks were primarily classified and categorised based on functions and phases of the technical process, with coordination based on hierarchy. Jobs were also highly centralised and formalised. Organisational structures of an active type were also prevalent in many firms. Only a handful of the evaluated organisations possessed flexible contemporary divisional or matrix structures appropriate to differentiation. However, it appears that even such organisations should adjust their organisational solutions to perform successfully in an immensely complex and chaotic environment.

Similarly, according to Yang and Konrad (2011), diversity management techniques are the institutionalised methods created and applied by organisations to manage diversity among all organisational shareholders. They examined the existing research on the causes and significance of diversity management approaches.

They construct a research model indicating many potential routes for future study using institutional and resource-based theories. They also offer prospective avenues for study on diversity management techniques to further the two theoretical viewpoints. The findings indicate that research on diverse management practises might provide perceptions into the two ideologies. Diversity management provides a method for reconciling the agency vs structure issue for institutional concept.

Furthermore, diversity management is a suitable framework for studying how institutional pressures are translated into organisational action and the relationship between complying with institutional mandates and attaining high performance. Research on diversity management raises the importance of environmental normative elements in resource-based reasoning.

It allows for exploring essential resource sources and the co-evolution of diversity resources and management capacities, potentially developing dynamic resource-based theory. Furthermore, a review of the existing research on diversity management practices reveals that research in this field has nearly entirely concentrated on employee-related activities.

However, in establishing the idea of diversity management practises, we included the practises that companies put in place to manage diversity across all stakeholder groups on purpose. Management techniques for engaging with consumers, dealers, supervisors, board directors, and community members are critical for meeting institutional theory’s social and normative commitments.

Moreover, according to Sippola (2014), this research looks at diversity management from the standpoint of HRM. The study aims to discover the effects of expanding workforce diversity on HRM inside firms. This goal will be accomplished through four papers examining diversity management’s impacts on HRM from various viewpoints and mostly in longitudinal contexts.

The purpose of the first article, as a pilot survey, is to determine the reasons, advantages, and problems of rising cultural diversity and the consequences for HRM to get a preliminary grasp of the issue in the specific setting. According to the report, diversity is vital for productivity but is not often emphasised in HRM strategy.

The key areas that were changed were acquisition, development, and growth. The second article examines how different diversity management paradigms recognised in businesses affect HRM. It offers an experimentally verified typology that explains reactive or proactive strategic and operational level HRM activities in light of four alternative diversity management perspectives.

The third essay will examine how a ‘working culture bridge group’ strategy fosters and enhances workplace diversity. The research looks into how development goals are defined, what training and development techniques are used, and the consequences and causal factors when an analysis measures the training and development approach.

The primary goal of article four is to establish which components of diversity management design are globally integrated into multinational corporations (MNCs) and which integrating (delivery) methods are employed to facilitate it. Another goal is to identify the institutional problems faced by the Finnish national diversity setting during the integration process.

The findings show that the example organisation achieved more excellent global uniformity at the level of diversification concept through effective use of multiple frameworks but was forced to rely on a more multinational approach to implementing diversification policies and procedures. The difficulties faced emphasised the distinctiveness of Finland’s cognitive and normative institutional setting for diversity.

Furthermore, according to Guillaume et al. (2017), to compensate for the dual-edged character of demographic workplace diversity impacts on social inclusion, competence, and well-being-related factors, research has shifted away from straightforward main effect methods and begun to investigate factors that moderate these effects.

While there is no shortage of primary research on the circumstances that lead to favourable or poor results, it is unknown which contextual elements make it work. Using the Classification framework as a theoretical lens, they examine variables that moderate the impacts of workplace diversity on social integration, performance, and well-being outcomes, emphasising characteristics that organisations and managers can influence.

They suggest future study directions and end with practical applications. They concluded that faultlines, cross-categorisation, and status variations across demographic groupings highlight variety. Cross-categorisation has been proven to reduce intergroup prejudice while promoting social inclusion, competence, and well-being. Whether faultlines and subgroup status inequalities promote negative or good intergroup interactions and hinder social integration, performance, and well-being depends on whether situational factors encourage negative or positive intergroup connections. The impacts were not mitigated by team size or diversity type.

Furthermore, our data demonstrate that task characteristics are essential for workgroup diversity. Any demographic diversity in workgroups can promote creativity, but only when combined with task-relevant expertise improves the performance of teams undertaking complicated tasks. The type of team and the industrial context do not appear to play an effect. It is unclear if these findings apply to relational demography and organisational diversity impacts. There is some evidence that, under some settings, relational demography may increase creativity, and, as previously said, demographic variety may help firms function in growth-oriented strategy contexts.

Likewise, according to Ali, Tawfeq, and Dler (2020), diversity management refers to organisational strategies that strive to increase the integration of people from diverse backgrounds into the framework of corporate goals. Organisations should develop productive ways to implement diversity management (DM) policies to establish a creative enterprise that can enhance their operations, goods, and services.

Furthermore, human resource management HRM is a clever tool for any firm to manage resources within the company. As a result, this article explores the link between DM, HR policies, and workers’ creative work-related behaviours in firms in Kurdistan’s Fayoum city. According to the questionnaire, two hypotheses were tested: the influence of HRM on diversity management, HRM on innovation, and the impact of diversity management on innovation.

The first premise is that workplace diversity changes the nature of working relationships, how supervisors and managers connect, and how workers respond to one another. It also addresses human resource functions such as record-keeping, training, recruiting, and employee competence needs. The last premise on the influence of diversity management on innovation is that workplace diversity assists a business in hiring a diverse range of personnel.

In other words, a vibrant population need individuals of varied personalities. Workplace diversity refers to a company’s workforce consisting of employees of various genders, ages, faiths, races, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, religions, dialects, training, capabilities, etc. According to the study’s findings, human resource management strategies have a substantial influence on diversity management.

Second, diversity management was found to have a considerable impact on creativity. Finally, human resource management techniques influenced innovation significantly. Based on the findings, it was discovered that diversity management had a more significant influence on creation than human resource management.

Lastly, according to Li et al. (2021), the universal trend of rising workplace age diversity has increased the study focus on the organisational effects of age-diverse workforces. Prior research has mainly concentrated on the statistical association between age diversity and organisational success rather than experimentally examining the probable processes behind this relationship.

They argue that age diversity influences organisational performance through human and social capital using an intellectual capital paradigm. Moreover, they investigate workplace functional diversity and age-inclusive management as two confounding factors affecting the benefits of age diversity on physical and human capital.

Their hypotheses were evaluated using data from the Association for Human Resource Management’s major manager-reported workplace survey. Age diversity was favourably linked with organisational performance via the mediation of higher human and social capital. Furthermore, functional diversity and age-inclusive management exacerbated the favourable benefits of age variety on human and social capital. Their study gives insight into how age-diverse workforces might generate value by nurturing knowledge-based organisational resources.

Research Gap/ Contribution

Although there is a vast body of research in diversity in the human resource management area, many researchers explored various dimensions. But no study explicitly discovers the impact of organisational culture on human resource diversification. Moreover, no researchers examined the scope of impression management in this context.

Therefore, this research will fill this considerable literature gap by finding the direct impact of organisational structure on human resource diversification. Secondly, by introducing a new dimension of impression management theory. It will open new avenues for research in this area, and it will help HR managers to formulate better policies for a more inclusive organisational structure.

Research Methodology

It will be mixed quantitative and qualitative research based on the secondary data collected through different research journals and case studies of various companies. Firstly, the quantitative analysis will be conducted through a regression analysis to show the organisational structure’s impact on human resource diversification.

The dummy variable will be used to show organisational structure, and diversification will be captured through the ethnic backgrounds of the employees. Moreover, different variables will be added to the model, such as competency, social inclusion, etc. It will fulfil the objective of identifying various factors which affect the management decision to recruit diverse human resources. Secondly, a systematic review of the literature will be conducted for qualitative analysis to add the impression management dimension to the research. Google Scholar, JSTOR, Scopus, etc., will be used to search keywords such as human resource diversity, impression management, and organisation structure.

Research Limitation

Although research offers a comprehensive empirical analysis on the relationship under consideration due to lack of resources, the study is limited to secondary data. It would be better if the research would’ve been conducted on the primary data collected through the organisations. That would’ve captured the actual views of the working professionals. It would’ve increased the validity of the research.

Ali, M., Tawfeq, A., & Dler, S. (2020). Relationship between Diversity Management and Human Resource Management: Their Effects on Employee Innovation in the Organizations. Black Sea Journal of Management and Marketing, 1 (2), 36-44.

AYDIN, E., & ÖZEREN, E. (2018). Rethinking workforce diversity research through critical perspectives: emerging patterns and research agenda. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 6 (3), 650-670.

Coad, A., & Guenther, C. (2014). Processes of firm growth and diversification: theory and evidence. Small Business Economics, 43 (4), 857-871.

Cummings, V. (2018). Economic Diversification and Empowerment of Local Human Resources: Could Singapore Be a Model for the GCC Countries?. In. Economic Diversification in the Gulf Region, II , 241-260.

Guillaume, Y., Dawson, J., Otaye‐Ebede, L., Woods, S., & West, M. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38 (2), 276-303.

Hayes, T., Oltman, K., Kaylor, L., & Belgudri, A. (2020). How leaders can become more committed to diversity management. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 72 (4), 247.

Li, Y., Gong, Y., Burmeister, A., Wang, M., Alterman, V., Alonso, A., & Robinson, S. (2021). Leveraging age diversity for organizational performance: An intellectual capital perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106 (1), 71.

Seliverstova, Y. (2021). Workforce diversity management: a systematic literature review. Strategic Management, 26 (2), 3-11.

Sippola, A. (2014). Essays on human resource management perspectives on diversity management. Vaasan yliopisto.

Staniec, I., & Zakrzewska-Bielawska, A. (2010). Organizational structure in the view of single business concentration and diversification strategies—empirical study results. Recent advances in management, marketing, finances. WSEAS Press, Penang, Malaysia .

Yadav, S., & Lenka, U. (2020). Diversity management: a systematic review. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal .

Yang, Y., & Konrad, A. (2011). Understanding diversity management practices: Implications of institutional theory and resource-based theory. Group & Organization Management, 36 (1), 6-38.

FAQs About Research Methods for Dissertations

What is the difference between research methodology and research methods.

Research methodology helps you conduct your research in the right direction, validates the results of your research and makes sure that the study you are conducting answers the set research questions.

Research methods are the techniques and procedures used for conducting research. Choosing the right research method for your writing is an important aspect of the research process.

What are the types of research methods?

The types of research methods include:

•     Experimental research methods.
•     Descriptive research methods
•     Historical Research methods

What is a quantitative research method?

Quantitative research is associated with numerical data or data that can be measured. It is used to study a large group of population. The information is gathered by performing statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques.

What is a qualitative research method?

It is a type of scientific research where a researcher collects evidence to seek answers to a question . It is associated with studying human behavior from an informative perspective. It aims at obtaining in-depth details of the problem.

What is meant by mixed methods research?

Mixed methods of research involve:

• There could be more than one stage of research. Depending on the research topic, occasionally, it would be more appropriate to perform qualitative research in the first stage to figure out and investigate a problem to unveil key themes; and conduct quantitative research in stage two of the process for measuring relationships between the themes.

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Experimental research refers to the experiments conducted in the laboratory or under observation in controlled conditions. Here is all you need to know about experimental research.

This post provides the key disadvantages of secondary research so you know the limitations of secondary research before making a decision.

In correlational research, a researcher measures the relationship between two or more variables or sets of scores without having control over the variables.

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Key Types Of Dissertation Research

• Posted on February 7, 2023
• / Under General

Are you preparing for your doctoral dissertation? Then you’ll agree that it requires serious perseverance. You spent many years on the journey of your professional development and studies. From the sleepless nights to the labor-intensive research and all of the hard work. Everything can be super difficult and daunting. Even with the most outstanding base knowledge, starting a dissertation can be really daunting.

One of the first things that you should understand is that there are different types of dissertations, and this article will focus on three of the main types of dissertations that you should know, especially for a doctoral degree.

Qualitative Dissertation

This is the first type that you should know, and it basically mirrors qualitative research that a student will help people throughout their academic journey. The research utilizes non-number-based data collection that is done through focus groups, participant observations, and interviews. Also, the data you collect is the main factor that determines whether you model your dissertation according to the qualitative method.

Another key thing to note is that there are different aspects of the qualitative dissertation, and this includes the following:

• Grounded theory
• Narrative research
• Autoethnographic
• Case study research

As mentioned earlier, a qualitative dissertation does not involve numerical data, so the method of collecting data is usually based on participant observation, focus groups, and unstructured interviews. However, the researcher will also need rubrics to help them assess the quality of their findings.

Quantitative Dissertation

This type of dissertation focuses on numbers, and it uses quantitative research methods to aggregate data so that they can be analyzed and categorized. Apart from the conventional statistical analysis, it’s important to note that quantitative research also uses key strategies that depend on the type of questions asked. This type of dissertation can also employ the use of replication-based studies, data-driven dissertations, and theory-driven research.

When performing this type of research, candidates can utilize quantitative measures that allow them to test different theories, even as they try to make their approach original. Another thing worth noting is that quantitative dissertations focus on post-positivist and positivist research paradigms. The focus is also on experimental, relationship-based, or descriptive designs.

Surveys, data sets, structured interviews and observations, questionnaire, and lab-based testing methods do data collection. In addition, qualitative researchers also measure results based on criteria like construct validity, internal validity, external validity, and reliability.

Mixed-Method Dissertation

The hybrid method is also a strategy that is commonly used by most researchers. This is a mix of both the qualitative and quantitative dissertation methods mentioned above. However, this is a relatively new option, and it’s still gaining popularity. The main benefit of this approach is that it offers more credibility and versatility. Also, it’s a more comprehensive approach that makes it possible for researchers to obtain a wider array of information and a larger range of optimization.

Most candidates prefer to collect data first with quantitative methods and categorize the data. After that, they proceed to collect data using qualitative methods and analyze the collected data. With that, they can start drawing meaningful conclusions about the collected data.

The mixed-method approach allows candidates to collect and analyze more data. With this, they can easily increase the scope of their dissertation and reach a more sustainable and succinct conclusion. If you’re using this form of dissertation, one of the most important things you’ll need to do is to make an outline of your research goals and strategy, and this should be as early as possible, especially at the beginning of the dissertation process. With that, you can easily capture only the data that you need.

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• What Is a Thesis? | Ultimate Guide & Examples

What Is a Thesis? | Ultimate Guide & Examples

Published on September 14, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on November 21, 2023.

A thesis is a type of research paper based on your original research. It is usually submitted as the final step of a master’s program or a capstone to a bachelor’s degree.

Writing a thesis can be a daunting experience. Other than a dissertation , it is one of the longest pieces of writing students typically complete. It relies on your ability to conduct research from start to finish: choosing a relevant topic , crafting a proposal , designing your research , collecting data , developing a robust analysis, drawing strong conclusions , and writing concisely .

Thesis template

You can also download our full thesis template in the format of your choice below. Our template includes a ready-made table of contents , as well as guidance for what each chapter should include. It’s easy to make it your own, and can help you get started.

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Table of contents

Thesis vs. thesis statement, how to structure a thesis, acknowledgements or preface, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review, methodology, reference list, proofreading and editing, defending your thesis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about theses.

You may have heard the word thesis as a standalone term or as a component of academic writing called a thesis statement . Keep in mind that these are two very different things.

• A thesis statement is a very common component of an essay, particularly in the humanities. It usually comprises 1 or 2 sentences in the introduction of your essay , and should clearly and concisely summarize the central points of your academic essay .
• A thesis is a long-form piece of academic writing, often taking more than a full semester to complete. It is generally a degree requirement for Master’s programs, and is also sometimes required to complete a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts colleges.
• In the US, a dissertation is generally written as a final step toward obtaining a PhD.
• In other countries (particularly the UK), a dissertation is generally written at the bachelor’s or master’s level.

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The final structure of your thesis depends on a variety of components, such as:

• Your discipline
• Your theoretical approach

Humanities theses are often structured more like a longer-form essay . Just like in an essay, you build an argument to support a central thesis.

In both hard and social sciences, theses typically include an introduction , literature review , methodology section ,  results section , discussion section , and conclusion section . These are each presented in their own dedicated section or chapter. In some cases, you might want to add an appendix .

Thesis examples

We’ve compiled a short list of thesis examples to help you get started.

• Example thesis #1:   “Abolition, Africans, and Abstraction: the Influence of the ‘Noble Savage’ on British and French Antislavery Thought, 1787-1807” by Suchait Kahlon.
• Example thesis #2: “’A Starving Man Helping Another Starving Man’: UNRRA, India, and the Genesis of Global Relief, 1943-1947″ by Julian Saint Reiman.

The very first page of your thesis contains all necessary identifying information, including:

• Your full title
• Your full name
• Your department
• Your institution and degree program
• Your submission date.

Sometimes the title page also includes your student ID, the name of your supervisor, or the university’s logo. Check out your university’s guidelines if you’re not sure.

Read more about title pages

The acknowledgements section is usually optional. Its main point is to allow you to thank everyone who helped you in your thesis journey, such as supervisors, friends, or family. You can also choose to write a preface , but it’s typically one or the other, not both.

Read more about acknowledgements Read more about prefaces

An abstract is a short summary of your thesis. Usually a maximum of 300 words long, it’s should include brief descriptions of your research objectives , methods, results, and conclusions. Though it may seem short, it introduces your work to your audience, serving as a first impression of your thesis.

Read more about abstracts

A table of contents lists all of your sections, plus their corresponding page numbers and subheadings if you have them. This helps your reader seamlessly navigate your document.

Your table of contents should include all the major parts of your thesis. In particular, don’t forget the the appendices. If you used heading styles, it’s easy to generate an automatic table Microsoft Word.

Read more about tables of contents

While not mandatory, if you used a lot of tables and/or figures, it’s nice to include a list of them to help guide your reader. It’s also easy to generate one of these in Word: just use the “Insert Caption” feature.

Read more about lists of figures and tables

If you have used a lot of industry- or field-specific abbreviations in your thesis, you should include them in an alphabetized list of abbreviations . This way, your readers can easily look up any meanings they aren’t familiar with.

Read more about lists of abbreviations

Relatedly, if you find yourself using a lot of very specialized or field-specific terms that may not be familiar to your reader, consider including a glossary . Alphabetize the terms you want to include with a brief definition.

Read more about glossaries

An introduction sets up the topic, purpose, and relevance of your thesis, as well as expectations for your reader. This should:

• Ground your research topic , sharing any background information your reader may need
• Define the scope of your work
• Introduce any existing research on your topic, situating your work within a broader problem or debate
• State your research question(s)
• Outline (briefly) how the remainder of your work will proceed

In other words, your introduction should clearly and concisely show your reader the “what, why, and how” of your research.

Read more about introductions

A literature review helps you gain a robust understanding of any extant academic work on your topic, encompassing:

• Selecting relevant sources
• Determining the credibility of your sources
• Critically evaluating each of your sources
• Drawing connections between sources, including any themes, patterns, conflicts, or gaps

A literature review is not merely a summary of existing work. Rather, your literature review should ultimately lead to a clear justification for your own research, perhaps via:

• Addressing a gap in the literature
• Building on existing knowledge to draw new conclusions
• Exploring a new theoretical or methodological approach
• Introducing a new solution to an unresolved problem
• Definitively advocating for one side of a theoretical debate

Read more about literature reviews

Theoretical framework

Your literature review can often form the basis for your theoretical framework, but these are not the same thing. A theoretical framework defines and analyzes the concepts and theories that your research hinges on.

Read more about theoretical frameworks

Your methodology chapter shows your reader how you conducted your research. It should be written clearly and methodically, easily allowing your reader to critically assess the credibility of your argument. Furthermore, your methods section should convince your reader that your method was the best way to answer your research question.

A methodology section should generally include:

• Your overall approach ( quantitative vs. qualitative )
• Your research methods (e.g., a longitudinal study )
• Your data collection methods (e.g., interviews or a controlled experiment
• Any tools or materials you used (e.g., computer software)
• The data analysis methods you chose (e.g., statistical analysis , discourse analysis )
• A strong, but not defensive justification of your methods

Read more about methodology sections

Your results section should highlight what your methodology discovered. These two sections work in tandem, but shouldn’t repeat each other. While your results section can include hypotheses or themes, don’t include any speculation or new arguments here.

Your results section should:

• State each (relevant) result with any (relevant) descriptive statistics (e.g., mean , standard deviation ) and inferential statistics (e.g., test statistics , p values )
• Explain how each result relates to the research question
• Determine whether the hypothesis was supported

Additional data (like raw numbers or interview transcripts ) can be included as an appendix . You can include tables and figures, but only if they help the reader better understand your results.

Read more about results sections

Your discussion section is where you can interpret your results in detail. Did they meet your expectations? How well do they fit within the framework that you built? You can refer back to any relevant source material to situate your results within your field, but leave most of that analysis in your literature review.

For any unexpected results, offer explanations or alternative interpretations of your data.

Read more about discussion sections

Your thesis conclusion should concisely answer your main research question. It should leave your reader with an ultra-clear understanding of your central argument, and emphasize what your research specifically has contributed to your field.

Why does your research matter? What recommendations for future research do you have? Lastly, wrap up your work with any concluding remarks.

Read more about conclusions

In order to avoid plagiarism , don’t forget to include a full reference list at the end of your thesis, citing the sources that you used. Choose one citation style and follow it consistently throughout your thesis, taking note of the formatting requirements of each style.

Which style you choose is often set by your department or your field, but common styles include MLA , Chicago , and APA.

Create APA citations Create MLA citations

In order to stay clear and concise, your thesis should include the most essential information needed to answer your research question. However, chances are you have many contributing documents, like interview transcripts or survey questions . These can be added as appendices , to save space in the main body.

Read more about appendices

Once you’re done writing, the next part of your editing process begins. Leave plenty of time for proofreading and editing prior to submission. Nothing looks worse than grammar mistakes or sloppy spelling errors!

Consider using a professional thesis editing service or grammar checker to make sure your final project is perfect.

Once you’ve submitted your final product, it’s common practice to have a thesis defense, an oral component of your finished work. This is scheduled by your advisor or committee, and usually entails a presentation and Q&A session.

After your defense , your committee will meet to determine if you deserve any departmental honors or accolades. However, keep in mind that defenses are usually just a formality. If there are any serious issues with your work, these should be resolved with your advisor way before a defense.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Research bias

• Survivorship bias
• Self-serving bias
• Availability heuristic
• Halo effect
• Hindsight bias
• Deep learning
• Generative AI
• Machine learning
• Reinforcement learning
• Supervised vs. unsupervised learning

 (AI) Tools

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Text Summarizer
• AI Detector
• Plagiarism Checker
• Citation Generator

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5–7% of your overall word count.

If you only used a few abbreviations in your thesis or dissertation , you don’t necessarily need to include a list of abbreviations .

If your abbreviations are numerous, or if you think they won’t be known to your audience, it’s never a bad idea to add one. They can also improve readability, minimizing confusion about abbreviations unfamiliar to your reader.

When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as:

• Your anticipated title
• Your abstract
• Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.)

A thesis is typically written by students finishing up a bachelor’s or Master’s degree. Some educational institutions, particularly in the liberal arts, have mandatory theses, but they are often not mandatory to graduate from bachelor’s degrees. It is more common for a thesis to be a graduation requirement from a Master’s degree.

Even if not mandatory, you may want to consider writing a thesis if you:

• Plan to attend graduate school soon
• Have a particular topic you’d like to study more in-depth
• Are considering a career in research
• Would like a capstone experience to tie up your academic experience

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Frequently asked questions

How is a dissertation different from an essay.

The main difference is in terms of scale – a dissertation is usually much longer than the other essays you complete during your degree.

Another key difference is that you are given much more independence when working on a dissertation. You choose your own dissertation topic , and you have to conduct the research and write the dissertation yourself (with some assistance from your supervisor).

Frequently asked questions: Knowledge Base

Methodology refers to the overarching strategy and rationale of your research. Developing your methodology involves studying the research methods used in your field and the theories or principles that underpin them, in order to choose the approach that best matches your objectives.

Methods are the specific tools and procedures you use to collect and analyse data (e.g. interviews, experiments , surveys , statistical tests ).

In a dissertation or scientific paper, the methodology chapter or methods section comes after the introduction and before the results , discussion and conclusion .

Depending on the length and type of document, you might also include a literature review or theoretical framework before the methodology.

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.

Quantitative methods allow you to test a hypothesis by systematically collecting and analysing data, while qualitative methods allow you to explore ideas and experiences in depth.

Reliability and validity are both about how well a method measures something:

• Reliability refers to the  consistency of a measure (whether the results can be reproduced under the same conditions).
• Validity   refers to the  accuracy of a measure (whether the results really do represent what they are supposed to measure).

If you are doing experimental research , you also have to consider the internal and external validity of your experiment.

A sample is a subset of individuals from a larger population. Sampling means selecting the group that you will actually collect data from in your research.

For example, if you are researching the opinions of students in your university, you could survey a sample of 100 students.

Statistical sampling allows you to test a hypothesis about the characteristics of a population. There are various sampling methods you can use to ensure that your sample is representative of the population as a whole.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarise yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a dissertation , thesis, research paper , or proposal .

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your  dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.

Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

A bibliography should always contain every source you cited in your text. Sometimes a bibliography also contains other sources that you used in your research, but did not cite in the text.

MHRA doesn’t specify a rule about this, so check with your supervisor to find out exactly what should be included in your bibliography.

Footnote numbers should appear in superscript (e.g. 11 ). You can use the ‘Insert footnote’ button in Word to do this automatically; it’s in the ‘References’ tab at the top.

Footnotes always appear after the quote or paraphrase they relate to. MHRA generally recommends placing footnote numbers at the end of the sentence, immediately after any closing punctuation, like this. 12

In situations where this might be awkward or misleading, such as a long sentence containing multiple quotations, footnotes can also be placed at the end of a clause mid-sentence, like this; 13 note that they still come after any punctuation.

When a source has two or three authors, name all of them in your MHRA references . When there are four or more, use only the first name, followed by ‘and others’:

Note that in the bibliography, only the author listed first has their name inverted. The names of additional authors and those of translators or editors are written normally.

A citation should appear wherever you use information or ideas from a source, whether by quoting or paraphrasing its content.

In Vancouver style , you have some flexibility about where the citation number appears in the sentence – usually directly after mentioning the author’s name is best, but simply placing it at the end of the sentence is an acceptable alternative, as long as it’s clear what it relates to.

In Vancouver style , when you refer to a source with multiple authors in your text, you should only name the first author followed by ‘et al.’. This applies even when there are only two authors.

In your reference list, include up to six authors. For sources with seven or more authors, list the first six followed by ‘et al.’.

The words ‘ dissertation ’ and ‘thesis’ both refer to a large written research project undertaken to complete a degree, but they are used differently depending on the country:

• In the UK, you write a dissertation at the end of a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and you write a thesis to complete a PhD.
• In the US, it’s the other way around: you may write a thesis at the end of a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and you write a dissertation to complete a PhD.

Dissertation word counts vary widely across different fields, institutions, and levels of education:

• An undergraduate dissertation is typically 8,000–15,000 words
• A master’s dissertation is typically 12,000–50,000 words
• A PhD thesis is typically book-length: 70,000–100,000 words

However, none of these are strict guidelines – your word count may be lower or higher than the numbers stated here. Always check the guidelines provided by your university to determine how long your own dissertation should be.

At the bachelor’s and master’s levels, the dissertation is usually the main focus of your final year. You might work on it (alongside other classes) for the entirety of the final year, or for the last six months. This includes formulating an idea, doing the research, and writing up.

A PhD thesis takes a longer time, as the thesis is the main focus of the degree. A PhD thesis might be being formulated and worked on for the whole four years of the degree program. The writing process alone can take around 18 months.

References should be included in your text whenever you use words, ideas, or information from a source. A source can be anything from a book or journal article to a website or YouTube video.

If you don’t acknowledge your sources, you can get in trouble for plagiarism .

Your university should tell you which referencing style to follow. If you’re unsure, check with a supervisor. Commonly used styles include:

• Harvard referencing , the most commonly used style in UK universities.
• MHRA , used in humanities subjects.
• APA , used in the social sciences.
• Vancouver , used in biomedicine.
• OSCOLA , used in law.

Your university may have its own referencing style guide.

If you are allowed to choose which style to follow, we recommend Harvard referencing, as it is a straightforward and widely used style.

To avoid plagiarism , always include a reference when you use words, ideas or information from a source. This shows that you are not trying to pass the work of others off as your own.

You must also properly quote or paraphrase the source. If you’re not sure whether you’ve done this correctly, you can use the Scribbr Plagiarism Checker to find and correct any mistakes.

In Harvard style , when you quote directly from a source that includes page numbers, your in-text citation must include a page number. For example: (Smith, 2014, p. 33).

You can also include page numbers to point the reader towards a passage that you paraphrased . If you refer to the general ideas or findings of the source as a whole, you don’t need to include a page number.

When you want to use a quote but can’t access the original source, you can cite it indirectly. In the in-text citation , first mention the source you want to refer to, and then the source in which you found it. For example:

It’s advisable to avoid indirect citations wherever possible, because they suggest you don’t have full knowledge of the sources you’re citing. Only use an indirect citation if you can’t reasonably gain access to the original source.

In Harvard style referencing , to distinguish between two sources by the same author that were published in the same year, you add a different letter after the year for each source:

• (Smith, 2019a)
• (Smith, 2019b)

Add ‘a’ to the first one you cite, ‘b’ to the second, and so on. Do the same in your bibliography or reference list .

To create a hanging indent for your bibliography or reference list :

• Highlight all the entries
• Click on the arrow in the bottom-right corner of the ‘Paragraph’ tab in the top menu.
• In the pop-up window, under ‘Special’ in the ‘Indentation’ section, use the drop-down menu to select ‘Hanging’.
• Then close the window with ‘OK’.

Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference in meaning:

• A reference list only includes sources cited in the text – every entry corresponds to an in-text citation .
• A bibliography also includes other sources which were consulted during the research but not cited.

It’s important to assess the reliability of information found online. Look for sources from established publications and institutions with expertise (e.g. peer-reviewed journals and government agencies).

The CRAAP test (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, purpose) can aid you in assessing sources, as can our list of credible sources . You should generally avoid citing websites like Wikipedia that can be edited by anyone – instead, look for the original source of the information in the “References” section.

You can generally omit page numbers in your in-text citations of online sources which don’t have them. But when you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from a particularly long online source, it’s useful to find an alternate location marker.

For text-based sources, you can use paragraph numbers (e.g. ‘para. 4’) or headings (e.g. ‘under “Methodology”’). With video or audio sources, use a timestamp (e.g. ‘10:15’).

In the acknowledgements of your thesis or dissertation, you should first thank those who helped you academically or professionally, such as your supervisor, funders, and other academics.

Then you can include personal thanks to friends, family members, or anyone else who supported you during the process.

Yes, it’s important to thank your supervisor(s) in the acknowledgements section of your thesis or dissertation .

Even if you feel your supervisor did not contribute greatly to the final product, you still should acknowledge them, if only for a very brief thank you. If you do not include your supervisor, it may be seen as a snub.

The acknowledgements are generally included at the very beginning of your thesis or dissertation, directly after the title page and before the abstract .

In a thesis or dissertation, the acknowledgements should usually be no longer than one page. There is no minimum length.

You may acknowledge God in your thesis or dissertation acknowledgements , but be sure to follow academic convention by also thanking the relevant members of academia, as well as family, colleagues, and friends who helped you.

All level 1 and 2 headings should be included in your table of contents . That means the titles of your chapters and the main sections within them.

The contents should also include all appendices and the lists of tables and figures, if applicable, as well as your reference list .

Do not include the acknowledgements or abstract   in the table of contents.

To automatically insert a table of contents in Microsoft Word, follow these steps:

• Apply heading styles throughout the document.
• In the references section in the ribbon, locate the Table of Contents group.
• Click the arrow next to the Table of Contents icon and select Custom Table of Contents.
• Select which levels of headings you would like to include in the table of contents.

Make sure to update your table of contents if you move text or change headings. To update, simply right click and select Update Field.

The table of contents in a thesis or dissertation always goes between your abstract and your introduction.

An abbreviation is a shortened version of an existing word, such as Dr for Doctor. In contrast, an acronym uses the first letter of each word to create a wholly new word, such as UNESCO (an acronym for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

Your dissertation sometimes contains a list of abbreviations .

As a rule of thumb, write the explanation in full the first time you use an acronym or abbreviation. You can then proceed with the shortened version. However, if the abbreviation is very common (like UK or PC), then you can just use the abbreviated version straight away.

Be sure to add each abbreviation in your list of abbreviations !

If you only used a few abbreviations in your thesis or dissertation, you don’t necessarily need to include a list of abbreviations .

If your abbreviations are numerous, or if you think they won’t be known to your audience, it’s never a bad idea to add one. They can also improve readability, minimising confusion about abbreviations unfamiliar to your reader.

A list of abbreviations is a list of all the abbreviations you used in your thesis or dissertation. It should appear at the beginning of your document, immediately after your table of contents . It should always be in alphabetical order.

Fishbone diagrams have a few different names that are used interchangeably, including herringbone diagram, cause-and-effect diagram, and Ishikawa diagram.

These are all ways to refer to the same thing– a problem-solving approach that uses a fish-shaped diagram to model possible root causes of problems and troubleshoot solutions.

Fishbone diagrams (also called herringbone diagrams, cause-and-effect diagrams, and Ishikawa diagrams) are most popular in fields of quality management. They are also commonly used in nursing and healthcare, or as a brainstorming technique for students.

Some synonyms and near synonyms of among include:

• In the company of
• In the middle of
• Surrounded by

Some synonyms and near synonyms of between  include:

• In the space separating
• In the time separating

In spite of   is a preposition used to mean ‘ regardless of ‘, ‘notwithstanding’, or ‘even though’.

It’s always used in a subordinate clause to contrast with the information given in the main clause of a sentence (e.g., ‘Amy continued to watch TV, in spite of the time’).

Despite   is a preposition used to mean ‘ regardless of ‘, ‘notwithstanding’, or ‘even though’.

It’s used in a subordinate clause to contrast with information given in the main clause of a sentence (e.g., ‘Despite the stress, Joe loves his job’).

‘Log in’ is a phrasal verb meaning ‘connect to an electronic device, system, or app’. The preposition ‘to’ is often used directly after the verb; ‘in’ and ‘to’ should be written as two separate words (e.g., ‘ log in to the app to update privacy settings’).

‘Log into’ is sometimes used instead of ‘log in to’, but this is generally considered incorrect (as is ‘login to’).

Some synonyms and near synonyms of ensure include:

• Make certain

Some synonyms and near synonyms of assure  include:

Rest assured is an expression meaning ‘you can be certain’ (e.g., ‘Rest assured, I will find your cat’). ‘Assured’ is the adjectival form of the verb assure , meaning ‘convince’ or ‘persuade’.

Some synonyms and near synonyms for council include:

There are numerous synonyms and near synonyms for the two meanings of counsel :

AI writing tools can be used to perform a variety of tasks.

Generative AI writing tools (like ChatGPT ) generate text based on human inputs and can be used for interactive learning, to provide feedback, or to generate research questions or outlines.

These tools can also be used to paraphrase or summarise text or to identify grammar and punctuation mistakes. Y ou can also use Scribbr’s free paraphrasing tool , summarising tool , and grammar checker , which are designed specifically for these purposes.

Using AI writing tools (like ChatGPT ) to write your essay is usually considered plagiarism and may result in penalisation, unless it is allowed by your university. Text generated by AI tools is based on existing texts and therefore cannot provide unique insights. Furthermore, these outputs sometimes contain factual inaccuracies or grammar mistakes.

However, AI writing tools can be used effectively as a source of feedback and inspiration for your writing (e.g., to generate research questions ). Other AI tools, like grammar checkers, can help identify and eliminate grammar and punctuation mistakes to enhance your writing.

The Scribbr Knowledge Base is a collection of free resources to help you succeed in academic research, writing, and citation. Every week, we publish helpful step-by-step guides, clear examples, simple templates, engaging videos, and more.

The Knowledge Base is for students at all levels. Whether you’re writing your first essay, working on your bachelor’s or master’s dissertation, or getting to grips with your PhD research, we’ve got you covered.

As well as the Knowledge Base, Scribbr provides many other tools and services to support you in academic writing and citation:

• Create your citations and manage your reference list with our free Reference Generators in APA and MLA style.
• Scan your paper for in-text citation errors and inconsistencies with our innovative APA Citation Checker .
• Avoid accidental plagiarism with our reliable Plagiarism Checker .
• Polish your writing and get feedback on structure and clarity with our Proofreading & Editing services .

Yes! We’re happy for educators to use our content, and we’ve even adapted some of our articles into ready-made lecture slides .

You are free to display, distribute, and adapt Scribbr materials in your classes or upload them in private learning environments like Blackboard. We only ask that you credit Scribbr for any content you use.

We’re always striving to improve the Knowledge Base. If you have an idea for a topic we should cover, or you notice a mistake in any of our articles, let us know by emailing [email protected] .

The consequences of plagiarism vary depending on the type of plagiarism and the context in which it occurs. For example, submitting a whole paper by someone else will have the most severe consequences, while accidental citation errors are considered less serious.

If you’re a student, then you might fail the course, be suspended or expelled, or be obligated to attend a workshop on plagiarism. It depends on whether it’s your first offence or you’ve done it before.

As an academic or professional, plagiarising seriously damages your reputation. You might also lose your research funding or your job, and you could even face legal consequences for copyright infringement.

Paraphrasing without crediting the original author is a form of plagiarism , because you’re presenting someone else’s ideas as if they were your own.

However, paraphrasing is not plagiarism if you correctly reference the source . This means including an in-text referencing and a full reference , formatted according to your required citation style (e.g., Harvard , Vancouver ).

As well as referencing your source, make sure that any paraphrased text is completely rewritten in your own words.

Accidental plagiarism is one of the most common examples of plagiarism . Perhaps you forgot to cite a source, or paraphrased something a bit too closely. Maybe you can’t remember where you got an idea from, and aren’t totally sure if it’s original or not.

These all count as plagiarism, even though you didn’t do it on purpose. When in doubt, make sure you’re citing your sources . Also consider running your work through a plagiarism checker tool prior to submission, which work by using advanced database software to scan for matches between your text and existing texts.

Scribbr’s Plagiarism Checker takes less than 10 minutes and can help you turn in your paper with confidence.

The accuracy depends on the plagiarism checker you use. Per our in-depth research , Scribbr is the most accurate plagiarism checker. Many free plagiarism checkers fail to detect all plagiarism or falsely flag text as plagiarism.

Plagiarism checkers work by using advanced database software to scan for matches between your text and existing texts. Their accuracy is determined by two factors: the algorithm (which recognises the plagiarism) and the size of the database (with which your document is compared).

To avoid plagiarism when summarising an article or other source, follow these two rules:

• Write the summary entirely in your own words by   paraphrasing the author’s ideas.
• Reference the source with an in-text citation and a full reference so your reader can easily find the original text.

Plagiarism can be detected by your professor or readers if the tone, formatting, or style of your text is different in different parts of your paper, or if they’re familiar with the plagiarised source.

Many universities also use   plagiarism detection software like Turnitin’s, which compares your text to a large database of other sources, flagging any similarities that come up.

It can be easier than you think to commit plagiarism by accident. Consider using a   plagiarism checker prior to submitting your essay to ensure you haven’t missed any citations.

Some examples of plagiarism include:

• Copying and pasting a Wikipedia article into the body of an assignment
• Quoting a source without including a citation
• Not paraphrasing a source properly (e.g. maintaining wording too close to the original)
• Forgetting to cite the source of an idea

The most surefire way to   avoid plagiarism is to always cite your sources . When in doubt, cite!

Global plagiarism means taking an entire work written by someone else and passing it off as your own. This can include getting someone else to write an essay or assignment for you, or submitting a text you found online as your own work.

Global plagiarism is one of the most serious types of plagiarism because it involves deliberately and directly lying about the authorship of a work. It can have severe consequences for students and professionals alike.

Verbatim plagiarism means copying text from a source and pasting it directly into your own document without giving proper credit.

If the structure and the majority of the words are the same as in the original source, then you are committing verbatim plagiarism. This is the case even if you delete a few words or replace them with synonyms.

If you want to use an author’s exact words, you need to quote the original source by putting the copied text in quotation marks and including an   in-text citation .

Patchwork plagiarism , also called mosaic plagiarism, means copying phrases, passages, or ideas from various existing sources and combining them to create a new text. This includes slightly rephrasing some of the content, while keeping many of the same words and the same structure as the original.

While this type of plagiarism is more insidious than simply copying and pasting directly from a source, plagiarism checkers like Turnitin’s can still easily detect it.

To avoid plagiarism in any form, remember to reference your sources .

Yes, reusing your own work without citation is considered self-plagiarism . This can range from resubmitting an entire assignment to reusing passages or data from something you’ve handed in previously.

Self-plagiarism often has the same consequences as other types of plagiarism . If you want to reuse content you wrote in the past, make sure to check your university’s policy or consult your professor.

If you are reusing content or data you used in a previous assignment, make sure to cite yourself. You can cite yourself the same way you would cite any other source: simply follow the directions for the citation style you are using.

Keep in mind that reusing prior content can be considered self-plagiarism , so make sure you ask your instructor or consult your university’s handbook prior to doing so.

Most institutions have an internal database of previously submitted student assignments. Turnitin can check for self-plagiarism by comparing your paper against this database. If you’ve reused parts of an assignment you already submitted, it will flag any similarities as potential plagiarism.

Online plagiarism checkers don’t have access to your institution’s database, so they can’t detect self-plagiarism of unpublished work. If you’re worried about accidentally self-plagiarising, you can use Scribbr’s Self-Plagiarism Checker to upload your unpublished documents and check them for similarities.

Plagiarism has serious consequences and can be illegal in certain scenarios.

While most of the time plagiarism in an undergraduate setting is not illegal, plagiarism or self-plagiarism in a professional academic setting can lead to legal action, including copyright infringement and fraud. Many scholarly journals do not allow you to submit the same work to more than one journal, and if you do not credit a coauthor, you could be legally defrauding them.

Even if you aren’t breaking the law, plagiarism can seriously impact your academic career. While the exact consequences of plagiarism vary by institution and severity, common consequences include a lower grade, automatically failing a course, academic suspension or probation, and even expulsion.

Self-plagiarism means recycling work that you’ve previously published or submitted as an assignment. It’s considered academic dishonesty to present something as brand new when you’ve already gotten credit and perhaps feedback for it in the past.

If you want to refer to ideas or data from previous work, be sure to cite yourself.

Academic integrity means being honest, ethical, and thorough in your academic work. To maintain academic integrity, you should avoid misleading your readers about any part of your research and refrain from offences like plagiarism and contract cheating, which are examples of academic misconduct.

Academic dishonesty refers to deceitful or misleading behavior in an academic setting. Academic dishonesty can occur intentionally or unintentionally, and it varies in severity.

It can encompass paying for a pre-written essay, cheating on an exam, or committing plagiarism . It can also include helping others cheat, copying a friend’s homework answers, or even pretending to be sick to miss an exam.

Academic dishonesty doesn’t just occur in a classroom setting, but also in research and other academic-adjacent fields.

Consequences of academic dishonesty depend on the severity of the offence and your institution’s policy. They can range from a warning for a first offence to a failing grade in a course to expulsion from your university.

For those in certain fields, such as nursing, engineering, or lab sciences, not learning fundamentals properly can directly impact the health and safety of others. For those working in academia or research, academic dishonesty impacts your professional reputation, leading others to doubt your future work.

Academic dishonesty can be intentional or unintentional, ranging from something as simple as claiming to have read something you didn’t to copying your neighbour’s answers on an exam.

You can commit academic dishonesty with the best of intentions, such as helping a friend cheat on a paper. Severe academic dishonesty can include buying a pre-written essay or the answers to a multiple-choice test, or falsifying a medical emergency to avoid taking a final exam.

Plagiarism means presenting someone else’s work as your own without giving proper credit to the original author. In academic writing, plagiarism involves using words, ideas, or information from a source without including a citation .

Plagiarism can have serious consequences , even when it’s done accidentally. To avoid plagiarism, it’s important to keep track of your sources and cite them correctly.

Common knowledge does not need to be cited. However, you should be extra careful when deciding what counts as common knowledge.

Common knowledge encompasses information that the average educated reader would accept as true without needing the extra validation of a source or citation.

Common knowledge should be widely known, undisputed, and easily verified. When in doubt, always cite your sources.

Most online plagiarism checkers only have access to public databases, whose software doesn’t allow you to compare two documents for plagiarism.

However, in addition to our Plagiarism Checker , Scribbr also offers an Self-Plagiarism Checker . This is an add-on tool that lets you compare your paper with unpublished or private documents. This way you can rest assured that you haven’t unintentionally plagiarised or self-plagiarised .

Compare two sources for plagiarism

The research methods you use depend on the type of data you need to answer your research question .

• If you want to measure something or test a hypothesis , use quantitative methods . If you want to explore ideas, thoughts, and meanings, use qualitative methods .
• If you want to analyse a large amount of readily available data, use secondary data. If you want data specific to your purposes with control over how they are generated, collect primary data.
• If you want to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables , use experimental methods. If you want to understand the characteristics of a research subject, use descriptive methods.

Methodology refers to the overarching strategy and rationale of your research project . It involves studying the methods used in your field and the theories or principles behind them, in order to develop an approach that matches your objectives.

Methods are the specific tools and procedures you use to collect and analyse data (e.g. experiments, surveys , and statistical tests ).

In shorter scientific papers, where the aim is to report the findings of a specific study, you might simply describe what you did in a methods section .

In a longer or more complex research project, such as a thesis or dissertation , you will probably include a methodology section , where you explain your approach to answering the research questions and cite relevant sources to support your choice of methods.

In mixed methods research , you use both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods to answer your research question .

Data collection is the systematic process by which observations or measurements are gathered in research. It is used in many different contexts by academics, governments, businesses, and other organisations.

There are various approaches to qualitative data analysis , but they all share five steps in common:

• Prepare and organise your data.
• Review and explore your data.
• Develop a data coding system.
• Assign codes to the data.
• Identify recurring themes.

The specifics of each step depend on the focus of the analysis. Some common approaches include textual analysis , thematic analysis , and discourse analysis .

There are five common approaches to qualitative research :

• Grounded theory involves collecting data in order to develop new theories.
• Ethnography involves immersing yourself in a group or organisation to understand its culture.
• Narrative research involves interpreting stories to understand how people make sense of their experiences and perceptions.
• Phenomenological research involves investigating phenomena through people’s lived experiences.
• Action research links theory and practice in several cycles to drive innovative changes.

Hypothesis testing is a formal procedure for investigating our ideas about the world using statistics. It is used by scientists to test specific predictions, called hypotheses , by calculating how likely it is that a pattern or relationship between variables could have arisen by chance.

Operationalisation means turning abstract conceptual ideas into measurable observations.

For example, the concept of social anxiety isn’t directly observable, but it can be operationally defined in terms of self-rating scores, behavioural avoidance of crowded places, or physical anxiety symptoms in social situations.

Before collecting data , it’s important to consider how you will operationalise the variables that you want to measure.

Triangulation in research means using multiple datasets, methods, theories and/or investigators to address a research question. It’s a research strategy that can help you enhance the validity and credibility of your findings.

Triangulation is mainly used in qualitative research , but it’s also commonly applied in quantitative research . Mixed methods research always uses triangulation.

These are four of the most common mixed methods designs :

• Convergent parallel: Quantitative and qualitative data are collected at the same time and analysed separately. After both analyses are complete, compare your results to draw overall conclusions. 
• Embedded: Quantitative and qualitative data are collected at the same time, but within a larger quantitative or qualitative design. One type of data is secondary to the other.
• Explanatory sequential: Quantitative data is collected and analysed first, followed by qualitative data. You can use this design if you think your qualitative data will explain and contextualise your quantitative findings.
• Exploratory sequential: Qualitative data is collected and analysed first, followed by quantitative data. You can use this design if you think the quantitative data will confirm or validate your qualitative findings.

An observational study could be a good fit for your research if your research question is based on things you observe. If you have ethical, logistical, or practical concerns that make an experimental design challenging, consider an observational study. Remember that in an observational study, it is critical that there be no interference or manipulation of the research subjects. Since it’s not an experiment, there are no control or treatment groups either.

The key difference between observational studies and experiments is that, done correctly, an observational study will never influence the responses or behaviours of participants. Experimental designs will have a treatment condition applied to at least a portion of participants.

Exploratory research explores the main aspects of a new or barely researched question.

Explanatory research explains the causes and effects of an already widely researched question.

Experimental designs are a set of procedures that you plan in order to examine the relationship between variables that interest you.

To design a successful experiment, first identify:

• A testable hypothesis
• One or more independent variables that you will manipulate
• One or more dependent variables that you will measure

When designing the experiment, first decide:

• How your variable(s) will be manipulated
• How you will control for any potential confounding or lurking variables
• How many subjects you will include
• How you will assign treatments to your subjects

There are four main types of triangulation :

• Data triangulation : Using data from different times, spaces, and people
• Investigator triangulation : Involving multiple researchers in collecting or analysing data
• Theory triangulation : Using varying theoretical perspectives in your research
• Methodological triangulation : Using different methodologies to approach the same topic

Triangulation can help:

• Reduce bias that comes from using a single method, theory, or investigator
• Enhance validity by approaching the same topic with different tools
• Establish credibility by giving you a complete picture of the research problem

But triangulation can also pose problems:

• It’s time-consuming and labour-intensive, often involving an interdisciplinary team.
• Your results may be inconsistent or even contradictory.

A confounding variable , also called a confounder or confounding factor, is a third variable in a study examining a potential cause-and-effect relationship.

A confounding variable is related to both the supposed cause and the supposed effect of the study. It can be difficult to separate the true effect of the independent variable from the effect of the confounding variable.

In your research design , it’s important to identify potential confounding variables and plan how you will reduce their impact.

In a between-subjects design , every participant experiences only one condition, and researchers assess group differences between participants in various conditions.

In a within-subjects design , each participant experiences all conditions, and researchers test the same participants repeatedly for differences between conditions.

The word ‘between’ means that you’re comparing different conditions between groups, while the word ‘within’ means you’re comparing different conditions within the same group.

A quasi-experiment is a type of research design that attempts to establish a cause-and-effect relationship. The main difference between this and a true experiment is that the groups are not randomly assigned.

In experimental research, random assignment is a way of placing participants from your sample into different groups using randomisation. With this method, every member of the sample has a known or equal chance of being placed in a control group or an experimental group.

Quasi-experimental design is most useful in situations where it would be unethical or impractical to run a true experiment .

Quasi-experiments have lower internal validity than true experiments, but they often have higher external validity  as they can use real-world interventions instead of artificial laboratory settings.

Within-subjects designs have many potential threats to internal validity , but they are also very statistically powerful .

Advantages:

• Only requires small samples
• Statistically powerful
• Removes the effects of individual differences on the outcomes

Disadvantages:

• Internal validity threats reduce the likelihood of establishing a direct relationship between variables
• Time-related effects, such as growth, can influence the outcomes
• Carryover effects mean that the specific order of different treatments affect the outcomes

Yes. Between-subjects and within-subjects designs can be combined in a single study when you have two or more independent variables (a factorial design). In a mixed factorial design, one variable is altered between subjects and another is altered within subjects.

In a factorial design, multiple independent variables are tested.

If you test two variables, each level of one independent variable is combined with each level of the other independent variable to create different conditions.

While a between-subjects design has fewer threats to internal validity , it also requires more participants for high statistical power than a within-subjects design .

• Prevents carryover effects of learning and fatigue.
• Shorter study duration.
• Needs larger samples for high power.
• Uses more resources to recruit participants, administer sessions, cover costs, etc.
• Individual differences may be an alternative explanation for results.

Samples are used to make inferences about populations . Samples are easier to collect data from because they are practical, cost-effective, convenient, and manageable.

Probability sampling means that every member of the target population has a known chance of being included in the sample.

Probability sampling methods include simple random sampling , systematic sampling , stratified sampling , and cluster sampling .

In non-probability sampling , the sample is selected based on non-random criteria, and not every member of the population has a chance of being included.

Common non-probability sampling methods include convenience sampling , voluntary response sampling, purposive sampling , snowball sampling , and quota sampling .

In multistage sampling , or multistage cluster sampling, you draw a sample from a population using smaller and smaller groups at each stage.

This method is often used to collect data from a large, geographically spread group of people in national surveys, for example. You take advantage of hierarchical groupings (e.g., from county to city to neighbourhood) to create a sample that’s less expensive and time-consuming to collect data from.

Sampling bias occurs when some members of a population are systematically more likely to be selected in a sample than others.

Simple random sampling is a type of probability sampling in which the researcher randomly selects a subset of participants from a population . Each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. Data are then collected from as large a percentage as possible of this random subset.

The American Community Survey  is an example of simple random sampling . In order to collect detailed data on the population of the US, the Census Bureau officials randomly select 3.5 million households per year and use a variety of methods to convince them to fill out the survey.

If properly implemented, simple random sampling is usually the best sampling method for ensuring both internal and external validity . However, it can sometimes be impractical and expensive to implement, depending on the size of the population to be studied,

If you have a list of every member of the population and the ability to reach whichever members are selected, you can use simple random sampling.

Cluster sampling is more time- and cost-efficient than other probability sampling methods , particularly when it comes to large samples spread across a wide geographical area.

However, it provides less statistical certainty than other methods, such as simple random sampling , because it is difficult to ensure that your clusters properly represent the population as a whole.

There are three types of cluster sampling : single-stage, double-stage and multi-stage clustering. In all three types, you first divide the population into clusters, then randomly select clusters for use in your sample.

• In single-stage sampling , you collect data from every unit within the selected clusters.
• In double-stage sampling , you select a random sample of units from within the clusters.
• In multi-stage sampling , you repeat the procedure of randomly sampling elements from within the clusters until you have reached a manageable sample.

Cluster sampling is a probability sampling method in which you divide a population into clusters, such as districts or schools, and then randomly select some of these clusters as your sample.

The clusters should ideally each be mini-representations of the population as a whole.

In multistage sampling , you can use probability or non-probability sampling methods.

For a probability sample, you have to probability sampling at every stage. You can mix it up by using simple random sampling , systematic sampling , or stratified sampling to select units at different stages, depending on what is applicable and relevant to your study.

Multistage sampling can simplify data collection when you have large, geographically spread samples, and you can obtain a probability sample without a complete sampling frame.

But multistage sampling may not lead to a representative sample, and larger samples are needed for multistage samples to achieve the statistical properties of simple random samples .

In stratified sampling , researchers divide subjects into subgroups called strata based on characteristics that they share (e.g., race, gender, educational attainment).

Once divided, each subgroup is randomly sampled using another probability sampling method .

You should use stratified sampling when your sample can be divided into mutually exclusive and exhaustive subgroups that you believe will take on different mean values for the variable that you’re studying.

Using stratified sampling will allow you to obtain more precise (with lower variance ) statistical estimates of whatever you are trying to measure.

For example, say you want to investigate how income differs based on educational attainment, but you know that this relationship can vary based on race. Using stratified sampling, you can ensure you obtain a large enough sample from each racial group, allowing you to draw more precise conclusions.

Yes, you can create a stratified sample using multiple characteristics, but you must ensure that every participant in your study belongs to one and only one subgroup. In this case, you multiply the numbers of subgroups for each characteristic to get the total number of groups.

For example, if you were stratifying by location with three subgroups (urban, rural, or suburban) and marital status with five subgroups (single, divorced, widowed, married, or partnered), you would have 3 × 5 = 15 subgroups.

There are three key steps in systematic sampling :

• Define and list your population , ensuring that it is not ordered in a cyclical or periodic order.
• Decide on your sample size and calculate your interval, k , by dividing your population by your target sample size.
• Choose every k th member of the population as your sample.

Systematic sampling is a probability sampling method where researchers select members of the population at a regular interval – for example, by selecting every 15th person on a list of the population. If the population is in a random order, this can imitate the benefits of simple random sampling .

Populations are used when a research question requires data from every member of the population. This is usually only feasible when the population is small and easily accessible.

A statistic refers to measures about the sample , while a parameter refers to measures about the population .

A sampling error is the difference between a population parameter and a sample statistic .

There are eight threats to internal validity : history, maturation, instrumentation, testing, selection bias , regression to the mean, social interaction, and attrition .

Internal validity is the extent to which you can be confident that a cause-and-effect relationship established in a study cannot be explained by other factors.

Attrition bias is a threat to internal validity . In experiments, differential rates of attrition between treatment and control groups can skew results.

This bias can affect the relationship between your independent and dependent variables . It can make variables appear to be correlated when they are not, or vice versa.

The external validity of a study is the extent to which you can generalise your findings to different groups of people, situations, and measures.

The two types of external validity are population validity (whether you can generalise to other groups of people) and ecological validity (whether you can generalise to other situations and settings).

There are seven threats to external validity : selection bias , history, experimenter effect, Hawthorne effect , testing effect, aptitude-treatment, and situation effect.

Attrition bias can skew your sample so that your final sample differs significantly from your original sample. Your sample is biased because some groups from your population are underrepresented.

With a biased final sample, you may not be able to generalise your findings to the original population that you sampled from, so your external validity is compromised.

Construct validity is about how well a test measures the concept it was designed to evaluate. It’s one of four types of measurement validity , which includes construct validity, face validity , and criterion validity.

There are two subtypes of construct validity.

• Convergent validity : The extent to which your measure corresponds to measures of related constructs
• Discriminant validity: The extent to which your measure is unrelated or negatively related to measures of distinct constructs

When designing or evaluating a measure, construct validity helps you ensure you’re actually measuring the construct you’re interested in. If you don’t have construct validity, you may inadvertently measure unrelated or distinct constructs and lose precision in your research.

Construct validity is often considered the overarching type of measurement validity ,  because it covers all of the other types. You need to have face validity , content validity, and criterion validity to achieve construct validity.

Statistical analyses are often applied to test validity with data from your measures. You test convergent validity and discriminant validity with correlations to see if results from your test are positively or negatively related to those of other established tests.

You can also use regression analyses to assess whether your measure is actually predictive of outcomes that you expect it to predict theoretically. A regression analysis that supports your expectations strengthens your claim of construct validity .

Face validity is about whether a test appears to measure what it’s supposed to measure. This type of validity is concerned with whether a measure seems relevant and appropriate for what it’s assessing only on the surface.

Face validity is important because it’s a simple first step to measuring the overall validity of a test or technique. It’s a relatively intuitive, quick, and easy way to start checking whether a new measure seems useful at first glance.

Good face validity means that anyone who reviews your measure says that it seems to be measuring what it’s supposed to. With poor face validity, someone reviewing your measure may be left confused about what you’re measuring and why you’re using this method.

It’s often best to ask a variety of people to review your measurements. You can ask experts, such as other researchers, or laypeople, such as potential participants, to judge the face validity of tests.

While experts have a deep understanding of research methods , the people you’re studying can provide you with valuable insights you may have missed otherwise.

There are many different types of inductive reasoning that people use formally or informally.

Here are a few common types:

• Inductive generalisation : You use observations about a sample to come to a conclusion about the population it came from.
• Statistical generalisation: You use specific numbers about samples to make statements about populations.
• Causal reasoning: You make cause-and-effect links between different things.
• Sign reasoning: You make a conclusion about a correlational relationship between different things.
• Analogical reasoning: You make a conclusion about something based on its similarities to something else.

Inductive reasoning is a bottom-up approach, while deductive reasoning is top-down.

Inductive reasoning takes you from the specific to the general, while in deductive reasoning, you make inferences by going from general premises to specific conclusions.

In inductive research , you start by making observations or gathering data. Then, you take a broad scan of your data and search for patterns. Finally, you make general conclusions that you might incorporate into theories.

Inductive reasoning is a method of drawing conclusions by going from the specific to the general. It’s usually contrasted with deductive reasoning, where you proceed from general information to specific conclusions.

Inductive reasoning is also called inductive logic or bottom-up reasoning.

Deductive reasoning is a logical approach where you progress from general ideas to specific conclusions. It’s often contrasted with inductive reasoning , where you start with specific observations and form general conclusions.

Deductive reasoning is also called deductive logic.

Deductive reasoning is commonly used in scientific research, and it’s especially associated with quantitative research .

In research, you might have come across something called the hypothetico-deductive method . It’s the scientific method of testing hypotheses to check whether your predictions are substantiated by real-world data.

A dependent variable is what changes as a result of the independent variable manipulation in experiments . It’s what you’re interested in measuring, and it ‘depends’ on your independent variable.

In statistics, dependent variables are also called:

• Response variables (they respond to a change in another variable)
• Outcome variables (they represent the outcome you want to measure)
• Left-hand-side variables (they appear on the left-hand side of a regression equation)

An independent variable is the variable you manipulate, control, or vary in an experimental study to explore its effects. It’s called ‘independent’ because it’s not influenced by any other variables in the study.

Independent variables are also called:

• Explanatory variables (they explain an event or outcome)
• Predictor variables (they can be used to predict the value of a dependent variable)
• Right-hand-side variables (they appear on the right-hand side of a regression equation)

A correlation is usually tested for two variables at a time, but you can test correlations between three or more variables.

On graphs, the explanatory variable is conventionally placed on the x -axis, while the response variable is placed on the y -axis.

• If you have quantitative variables , use a scatterplot or a line graph.
• If your response variable is categorical, use a scatterplot or a line graph.
• If your explanatory variable is categorical, use a bar graph.

The term ‘ explanatory variable ‘ is sometimes preferred over ‘ independent variable ‘ because, in real-world contexts, independent variables are often influenced by other variables. This means they aren’t totally independent.

Multiple independent variables may also be correlated with each other, so ‘explanatory variables’ is a more appropriate term.

The difference between explanatory and response variables is simple:

• An explanatory variable is the expected cause, and it explains the results.
• A response variable is the expected effect, and it responds to other variables.

There are 4 main types of extraneous variables :

• Demand characteristics : Environmental cues that encourage participants to conform to researchers’ expectations
• Experimenter effects : Unintentional actions by researchers that influence study outcomes
• Situational variables : Eenvironmental variables that alter participants’ behaviours
• Participant variables : Any characteristic or aspect of a participant’s background that could affect study results

An extraneous variable is any variable that you’re not investigating that can potentially affect the dependent variable of your research study.

A confounding variable is a type of extraneous variable that not only affects the dependent variable, but is also related to the independent variable.

‘Controlling for a variable’ means measuring extraneous variables and accounting for them statistically to remove their effects on other variables.

Researchers often model control variable data along with independent and dependent variable data in regression analyses and ANCOVAs . That way, you can isolate the control variable’s effects from the relationship between the variables of interest.

Control variables help you establish a correlational or causal relationship between variables by enhancing internal validity .

If you don’t control relevant extraneous variables , they may influence the outcomes of your study, and you may not be able to demonstrate that your results are really an effect of your independent variable .

A control variable is any variable that’s held constant in a research study. It’s not a variable of interest in the study, but it’s controlled because it could influence the outcomes.

In statistics, ordinal and nominal variables are both considered categorical variables .

Even though ordinal data can sometimes be numerical, not all mathematical operations can be performed on them.

In scientific research, concepts are the abstract ideas or phenomena that are being studied (e.g., educational achievement). Variables are properties or characteristics of the concept (e.g., performance at school), while indicators are ways of measuring or quantifying variables (e.g., yearly grade reports).

The process of turning abstract concepts into measurable variables and indicators is called operationalisation .

There are several methods you can use to decrease the impact of confounding variables on your research: restriction, matching, statistical control, and randomisation.

In restriction , you restrict your sample by only including certain subjects that have the same values of potential confounding variables.

In matching , you match each of the subjects in your treatment group with a counterpart in the comparison group. The matched subjects have the same values on any potential confounding variables, and only differ in the independent variable .

In statistical control , you include potential confounders as variables in your regression .

In randomisation , you randomly assign the treatment (or independent variable) in your study to a sufficiently large number of subjects, which allows you to control for all potential confounding variables.

A confounding variable is closely related to both the independent and dependent variables in a study. An independent variable represents the supposed cause , while the dependent variable is the supposed effect . A confounding variable is a third variable that influences both the independent and dependent variables.

Failing to account for confounding variables can cause you to wrongly estimate the relationship between your independent and dependent variables.

To ensure the internal validity of your research, you must consider the impact of confounding variables. If you fail to account for them, you might over- or underestimate the causal relationship between your independent and dependent variables , or even find a causal relationship where none exists.

Yes, but including more than one of either type requires multiple research questions .

For example, if you are interested in the effect of a diet on health, you can use multiple measures of health: blood sugar, blood pressure, weight, pulse, and many more. Each of these is its own dependent variable with its own research question.

You could also choose to look at the effect of exercise levels as well as diet, or even the additional effect of the two combined. Each of these is a separate independent variable .

To ensure the internal validity of an experiment , you should only change one independent variable at a time.

No. The value of a dependent variable depends on an independent variable, so a variable cannot be both independent and dependent at the same time. It must be either the cause or the effect, not both.

You want to find out how blood sugar levels are affected by drinking diet cola and regular cola, so you conduct an experiment .

• The type of cola – diet or regular – is the independent variable .
• The level of blood sugar that you measure is the dependent variable – it changes depending on the type of cola.

Determining cause and effect is one of the most important parts of scientific research. It’s essential to know which is the cause – the independent variable – and which is the effect – the dependent variable.

Quantitative variables are any variables where the data represent amounts (e.g. height, weight, or age).

Categorical variables are any variables where the data represent groups. This includes rankings (e.g. finishing places in a race), classifications (e.g. brands of cereal), and binary outcomes (e.g. coin flips).

You need to know what type of variables you are working with to choose the right statistical test for your data and interpret your results .

Discrete and continuous variables are two types of quantitative variables :

• Discrete variables represent counts (e.g., the number of objects in a collection).
• Continuous variables represent measurable amounts (e.g., water volume or weight).

You can think of independent and dependent variables in terms of cause and effect: an independent variable is the variable you think is the cause , while a dependent variable is the effect .

In an experiment, you manipulate the independent variable and measure the outcome in the dependent variable. For example, in an experiment about the effect of nutrients on crop growth:

• The  independent variable  is the amount of nutrients added to the crop field.
• The  dependent variable is the biomass of the crops at harvest time.

Defining your variables, and deciding how you will manipulate and measure them, is an important part of experimental design .

Including mediators and moderators in your research helps you go beyond studying a simple relationship between two variables for a fuller picture of the real world. They are important to consider when studying complex correlational or causal relationships.

Mediators are part of the causal pathway of an effect, and they tell you how or why an effect takes place. Moderators usually help you judge the external validity of your study by identifying the limitations of when the relationship between variables holds.

If something is a mediating variable :

• It’s caused by the independent variable
• It influences the dependent variable
• When it’s taken into account, the statistical correlation between the independent and dependent variables is higher than when it isn’t considered

A confounder is a third variable that affects variables of interest and makes them seem related when they are not. In contrast, a mediator is the mechanism of a relationship between two variables: it explains the process by which they are related.

A mediator variable explains the process through which two variables are related, while a moderator variable affects the strength and direction of that relationship.

When conducting research, collecting original data has significant advantages:

• You can tailor data collection to your specific research aims (e.g., understanding the needs of your consumers or user testing your website).
• You can control and standardise the process for high reliability and validity (e.g., choosing appropriate measurements and sampling methods ).

However, there are also some drawbacks: data collection can be time-consuming, labour-intensive, and expensive. In some cases, it’s more efficient to use secondary data that has already been collected by someone else, but the data might be less reliable.

A structured interview is a data collection method that relies on asking questions in a set order to collect data on a topic. They are often quantitative in nature. Structured interviews are best used when:

• You already have a very clear understanding of your topic. Perhaps significant research has already been conducted, or you have done some prior research yourself, but you already possess a baseline for designing strong structured questions.
• You are constrained in terms of time or resources and need to analyse your data quickly and efficiently
• Your research question depends on strong parity between participants, with environmental conditions held constant

More flexible interview options include semi-structured interviews , unstructured interviews , and focus groups .

The interviewer effect is a type of bias that emerges when a characteristic of an interviewer (race, age, gender identity, etc.) influences the responses given by the interviewee.

There is a risk of an interviewer effect in all types of interviews , but it can be mitigated by writing really high-quality interview questions.

A semi-structured interview is a blend of structured and unstructured types of interviews. Semi-structured interviews are best used when:

• You have prior interview experience. Spontaneous questions are deceptively challenging, and it’s easy to accidentally ask a leading question or make a participant uncomfortable.
• Your research question is exploratory in nature. Participant answers can guide future research questions and help you develop a more robust knowledge base for future research.

An unstructured interview is the most flexible type of interview, but it is not always the best fit for your research topic.

Unstructured interviews are best used when:

• You are an experienced interviewer and have a very strong background in your research topic, since it is challenging to ask spontaneous, colloquial questions
• Your research question is exploratory in nature. While you may have developed hypotheses, you are open to discovering new or shifting viewpoints through the interview process.
• You are seeking descriptive data, and are ready to ask questions that will deepen and contextualise your initial thoughts and hypotheses
• Your research depends on forming connections with your participants and making them feel comfortable revealing deeper emotions, lived experiences, or thoughts

The four most common types of interviews are:

• Structured interviews : The questions are predetermined in both topic and order.
• Semi-structured interviews : A few questions are predetermined, but other questions aren’t planned.
• Unstructured interviews : None of the questions are predetermined.
• Focus group interviews : The questions are presented to a group instead of one individual.

A focus group is a research method that brings together a small group of people to answer questions in a moderated setting. The group is chosen due to predefined demographic traits, and the questions are designed to shed light on a topic of interest. It is one of four types of interviews .

Social desirability bias is the tendency for interview participants to give responses that will be viewed favourably by the interviewer or other participants. It occurs in all types of interviews and surveys , but is most common in semi-structured interviews , unstructured interviews , and focus groups .

Social desirability bias can be mitigated by ensuring participants feel at ease and comfortable sharing their views. Make sure to pay attention to your own body language and any physical or verbal cues, such as nodding or widening your eyes.

This type of bias in research can also occur in observations if the participants know they’re being observed. They might alter their behaviour accordingly.

As a rule of thumb, questions related to thoughts, beliefs, and feelings work well in focus groups . Take your time formulating strong questions, paying special attention to phrasing. Be careful to avoid leading questions , which can bias your responses.

Overall, your focus group questions should be:

• Open-ended and flexible
• Impossible to answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ (questions that start with ‘why’ or ‘how’ are often best)
• Unambiguous, getting straight to the point while still stimulating discussion
• Unbiased and neutral

The third variable and directionality problems are two main reasons why correlation isn’t causation .

The third variable problem means that a confounding variable affects both variables to make them seem causally related when they are not.

The directionality problem is when two variables correlate and might actually have a causal relationship, but it’s impossible to conclude which variable causes changes in the other.

Controlled experiments establish causality, whereas correlational studies only show associations between variables.

• In an experimental design , you manipulate an independent variable and measure its effect on a dependent variable. Other variables are controlled so they can’t impact the results.
• In a correlational design , you measure variables without manipulating any of them. You can test whether your variables change together, but you can’t be sure that one variable caused a change in another.

In general, correlational research is high in external validity while experimental research is high in internal validity .

A correlation coefficient is a single number that describes the strength and direction of the relationship between your variables.

Different types of correlation coefficients might be appropriate for your data based on their levels of measurement and distributions . The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r ) is commonly used to assess a linear relationship between two quantitative variables.

A correlational research design investigates relationships between two variables (or more) without the researcher controlling or manipulating any of them. It’s a non-experimental type of quantitative research .

A correlation reflects the strength and/or direction of the association between two or more variables.

• A positive correlation means that both variables change in the same direction.
• A negative correlation means that the variables change in opposite directions.
• A zero correlation means there’s no relationship between the variables.

Longitudinal studies can last anywhere from weeks to decades, although they tend to be at least a year long.

The 1970 British Cohort Study , which has collected data on the lives of 17,000 Brits since their births in 1970, is one well-known example of a longitudinal study .

Longitudinal studies are better to establish the correct sequence of events, identify changes over time, and provide insight into cause-and-effect relationships, but they also tend to be more expensive and time-consuming than other types of studies.

Longitudinal studies and cross-sectional studies are two different types of research design . In a cross-sectional study you collect data from a population at a specific point in time; in a longitudinal study you repeatedly collect data from the same sample over an extended period of time.

Cross-sectional studies cannot establish a cause-and-effect relationship or analyse behaviour over a period of time. To investigate cause and effect, you need to do a longitudinal study or an experimental study .

Cross-sectional studies are less expensive and time-consuming than many other types of study. They can provide useful insights into a population’s characteristics and identify correlations for further research.

Sometimes only cross-sectional data are available for analysis; other times your research question may only require a cross-sectional study to answer it.

A hypothesis states your predictions about what your research will find. It is a tentative answer to your research question that has not yet been tested. For some research projects, you might have to write several hypotheses that address different aspects of your research question.

A hypothesis is not just a guess. It should be based on existing theories and knowledge. It also has to be testable, which means you can support or refute it through scientific research methods (such as experiments, observations, and statistical analysis of data).

A research hypothesis is your proposed answer to your research question. The research hypothesis usually includes an explanation (‘ x affects y because …’).

A statistical hypothesis, on the other hand, is a mathematical statement about a population parameter. Statistical hypotheses always come in pairs: the null and alternative hypotheses. In a well-designed study , the statistical hypotheses correspond logically to the research hypothesis.

Individual Likert-type questions are generally considered ordinal data , because the items have clear rank order, but don’t have an even distribution.

Overall Likert scale scores are sometimes treated as interval data. These scores are considered to have directionality and even spacing between them.

The type of data determines what statistical tests you should use to analyse your data.

A Likert scale is a rating scale that quantitatively assesses opinions, attitudes, or behaviours. It is made up of four or more questions that measure a single attitude or trait when response scores are combined.

To use a Likert scale in a survey , you present participants with Likert-type questions or statements, and a continuum of items, usually with five or seven possible responses, to capture their degree of agreement.

A questionnaire is a data collection tool or instrument, while a survey is an overarching research method that involves collecting and analysing data from people using questionnaires.

A true experiment (aka a controlled experiment) always includes at least one control group that doesn’t receive the experimental treatment.

However, some experiments use a within-subjects design to test treatments without a control group. In these designs, you usually compare one group’s outcomes before and after a treatment (instead of comparing outcomes between different groups).

For strong internal validity , it’s usually best to include a control group if possible. Without a control group, it’s harder to be certain that the outcome was caused by the experimental treatment and not by other variables.

An experimental group, also known as a treatment group, receives the treatment whose effect researchers wish to study, whereas a control group does not. They should be identical in all other ways.

In a controlled experiment , all extraneous variables are held constant so that they can’t influence the results. Controlled experiments require:

• A control group that receives a standard treatment, a fake treatment, or no treatment
• Random assignment of participants to ensure the groups are equivalent

Depending on your study topic, there are various other methods of controlling variables .

Questionnaires can be self-administered or researcher-administered.

Self-administered questionnaires can be delivered online or in paper-and-pen formats, in person or by post. All questions are standardised so that all respondents receive the same questions with identical wording.

Researcher-administered questionnaires are interviews that take place by phone, in person, or online between researchers and respondents. You can gain deeper insights by clarifying questions for respondents or asking follow-up questions.

You can organise the questions logically, with a clear progression from simple to complex, or randomly between respondents. A logical flow helps respondents process the questionnaire easier and quicker, but it may lead to bias. Randomisation can minimise the bias from order effects.

Closed-ended, or restricted-choice, questions offer respondents a fixed set of choices to select from. These questions are easier to answer quickly.

Open-ended or long-form questions allow respondents to answer in their own words. Because there are no restrictions on their choices, respondents can answer in ways that researchers may not have otherwise considered.

Naturalistic observation is a qualitative research method where you record the behaviours of your research subjects in real-world settings. You avoid interfering or influencing anything in a naturalistic observation.

You can think of naturalistic observation as ‘people watching’ with a purpose.

Naturalistic observation is a valuable tool because of its flexibility, external validity , and suitability for topics that can’t be studied in a lab setting.

The downsides of naturalistic observation include its lack of scientific control , ethical considerations , and potential for bias from observers and subjects.

You can use several tactics to minimise observer bias .

• Use masking (blinding) to hide the purpose of your study from all observers.
• Triangulate your data with different data collection methods or sources.
• Use multiple observers and ensure inter-rater reliability.
• Train your observers to make sure data is consistently recorded between them.
• Standardise your observation procedures to make sure they are structured and clear.

The observer-expectancy effect occurs when researchers influence the results of their own study through interactions with participants.

Researchers’ own beliefs and expectations about the study results may unintentionally influence participants through demand characteristics .

Observer bias occurs when a researcher’s expectations, opinions, or prejudices influence what they perceive or record in a study. It usually affects studies when observers are aware of the research aims or hypotheses. This type of research bias is also called detection bias or ascertainment bias .

Data cleaning is necessary for valid and appropriate analyses. Dirty data contain inconsistencies or errors , but cleaning your data helps you minimise or resolve these.

Without data cleaning, you could end up with a Type I or II error in your conclusion. These types of erroneous conclusions can be practically significant with important consequences, because they lead to misplaced investments or missed opportunities.

Data cleaning involves spotting and resolving potential data inconsistencies or errors to improve your data quality. An error is any value (e.g., recorded weight) that doesn’t reflect the true value (e.g., actual weight) of something that’s being measured.

In this process, you review, analyse, detect, modify, or remove ‘dirty’ data to make your dataset ‘clean’. Data cleaning is also called data cleansing or data scrubbing.

Data cleaning takes place between data collection and data analyses. But you can use some methods even before collecting data.

For clean data, you should start by designing measures that collect valid data. Data validation at the time of data entry or collection helps you minimize the amount of data cleaning you’ll need to do.

After data collection, you can use data standardisation and data transformation to clean your data. You’ll also deal with any missing values, outliers, and duplicate values.

Clean data are valid, accurate, complete, consistent, unique, and uniform. Dirty data include inconsistencies and errors.

Dirty data can come from any part of the research process, including poor research design , inappropriate measurement materials, or flawed data entry.

Random assignment is used in experiments with a between-groups or independent measures design. In this research design, there’s usually a control group and one or more experimental groups. Random assignment helps ensure that the groups are comparable.

In general, you should always use random assignment in this type of experimental design when it is ethically possible and makes sense for your study topic.

Random selection, or random sampling , is a way of selecting members of a population for your study’s sample.

In contrast, random assignment is a way of sorting the sample into control and experimental groups.

Random sampling enhances the external validity or generalisability of your results, while random assignment improves the internal validity of your study.

To implement random assignment , assign a unique number to every member of your study’s sample .

Then, you can use a random number generator or a lottery method to randomly assign each number to a control or experimental group. You can also do so manually, by flipping a coin or rolling a die to randomly assign participants to groups.

Exploratory research is often used when the issue you’re studying is new or when the data collection process is challenging for some reason.

You can use exploratory research if you have a general idea or a specific question that you want to study but there is no preexisting knowledge or paradigm with which to study it.

Exploratory research is a methodology approach that explores research questions that have not previously been studied in depth. It is often used when the issue you’re studying is new, or the data collection process is challenging in some way.

Explanatory research is used to investigate how or why a phenomenon occurs. Therefore, this type of research is often one of the first stages in the research process , serving as a jumping-off point for future research.

Explanatory research is a research method used to investigate how or why something occurs when only a small amount of information is available pertaining to that topic. It can help you increase your understanding of a given topic.

Blinding means hiding who is assigned to the treatment group and who is assigned to the control group in an experiment .

Blinding is important to reduce bias (e.g., observer bias , demand characteristics ) and ensure a study’s internal validity .

If participants know whether they are in a control or treatment group , they may adjust their behaviour in ways that affect the outcome that researchers are trying to measure. If the people administering the treatment are aware of group assignment, they may treat participants differently and thus directly or indirectly influence the final results.

• In a single-blind study , only the participants are blinded.
• In a double-blind study , both participants and experimenters are blinded.
• In a triple-blind study , the assignment is hidden not only from participants and experimenters, but also from the researchers analysing the data.

Many academic fields use peer review , largely to determine whether a manuscript is suitable for publication. Peer review enhances the credibility of the published manuscript.

However, peer review is also common in non-academic settings. The United Nations, the European Union, and many individual nations use peer review to evaluate grant applications. It is also widely used in medical and health-related fields as a teaching or quality-of-care measure.

Peer assessment is often used in the classroom as a pedagogical tool. Both receiving feedback and providing it are thought to enhance the learning process, helping students think critically and collaboratively.

Peer review can stop obviously problematic, falsified, or otherwise untrustworthy research from being published. It also represents an excellent opportunity to get feedback from renowned experts in your field.

It acts as a first defence, helping you ensure your argument is clear and that there are no gaps, vague terms, or unanswered questions for readers who weren’t involved in the research process.

Peer-reviewed articles are considered a highly credible source due to this stringent process they go through before publication.

In general, the peer review process follows the following steps:

• First, the author submits the manuscript to the editor.
• Reject the manuscript and send it back to author, or
• Send it onward to the selected peer reviewer(s)
• Next, the peer review process occurs. The reviewer provides feedback, addressing any major or minor issues with the manuscript, and gives their advice regarding what edits should be made.
• Lastly, the edited manuscript is sent back to the author. They input the edits, and resubmit it to the editor for publication.

Peer review is a process of evaluating submissions to an academic journal. Utilising rigorous criteria, a panel of reviewers in the same subject area decide whether to accept each submission for publication.

For this reason, academic journals are often considered among the most credible sources you can use in a research project – provided that the journal itself is trustworthy and well regarded.

Anonymity means you don’t know who the participants are, while confidentiality means you know who they are but remove identifying information from your research report. Both are important ethical considerations .

You can only guarantee anonymity by not collecting any personally identifying information – for example, names, phone numbers, email addresses, IP addresses, physical characteristics, photos, or videos.

You can keep data confidential by using aggregate information in your research report, so that you only refer to groups of participants rather than individuals.

Research misconduct means making up or falsifying data, manipulating data analyses, or misrepresenting results in research reports. It’s a form of academic fraud.

These actions are committed intentionally and can have serious consequences; research misconduct is not a simple mistake or a point of disagreement but a serious ethical failure.

Research ethics matter for scientific integrity, human rights and dignity, and collaboration between science and society. These principles make sure that participation in studies is voluntary, informed, and safe.

Ethical considerations in research are a set of principles that guide your research designs and practices. These principles include voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality, potential for harm, and results communication.

Scientists and researchers must always adhere to a certain code of conduct when collecting data from others .

These considerations protect the rights of research participants, enhance research validity , and maintain scientific integrity.

A systematic review is secondary research because it uses existing research. You don’t collect new data yourself.

The two main types of social desirability bias are:

• Self-deceptive enhancement (self-deception): The tendency to see oneself in a favorable light without realizing it.
• Impression managemen t (other-deception): The tendency to inflate one’s abilities or achievement in order to make a good impression on other people.

Demand characteristics are aspects of experiments that may give away the research objective to participants. Social desirability bias occurs when participants automatically try to respond in ways that make them seem likeable in a study, even if it means misrepresenting how they truly feel.

Participants may use demand characteristics to infer social norms or experimenter expectancies and act in socially desirable ways, so you should try to control for demand characteristics wherever possible.

Response bias refers to conditions or factors that take place during the process of responding to surveys, affecting the responses. One type of response bias is social desirability bias .

When your population is large in size, geographically dispersed, or difficult to contact, it’s necessary to use a sampling method .

This allows you to gather information from a smaller part of the population, i.e. the sample, and make accurate statements by using statistical analysis. A few sampling methods include simple random sampling , convenience sampling , and snowball sampling .

Stratified and cluster sampling may look similar, but bear in mind that groups created in cluster sampling are heterogeneous , so the individual characteristics in the cluster vary. In contrast, groups created in stratified sampling are homogeneous , as units share characteristics.

Relatedly, in cluster sampling you randomly select entire groups and include all units of each group in your sample. However, in stratified sampling, you select some units of all groups and include them in your sample. In this way, both methods can ensure that your sample is representative of the target population .

A sampling frame is a list of every member in the entire population . It is important that the sampling frame is as complete as possible, so that your sample accurately reflects your population.

Convenience sampling and quota sampling are both non-probability sampling methods. They both use non-random criteria like availability, geographical proximity, or expert knowledge to recruit study participants.

However, in convenience sampling, you continue to sample units or cases until you reach the required sample size.

In quota sampling, you first need to divide your population of interest into subgroups (strata) and estimate their proportions (quota) in the population. Then you can start your data collection , using convenience sampling to recruit participants, until the proportions in each subgroup coincide with the estimated proportions in the population.

Random sampling or probability sampling is based on random selection. This means that each unit has an equal chance (i.e., equal probability) of being included in the sample.

On the other hand, convenience sampling involves stopping people at random, which means that not everyone has an equal chance of being selected depending on the place, time, or day you are collecting your data.

Stratified sampling and quota sampling both involve dividing the population into subgroups and selecting units from each subgroup. The purpose in both cases is to select a representative sample and/or to allow comparisons between subgroups.

The main difference is that in stratified sampling, you draw a random sample from each subgroup ( probability sampling ). In quota sampling you select a predetermined number or proportion of units, in a non-random manner ( non-probability sampling ).

Snowball sampling is best used in the following cases:

• If there is no sampling frame available (e.g., people with a rare disease)
• If the population of interest is hard to access or locate (e.g., people experiencing homelessness)
• If the research focuses on a sensitive topic (e.g., extra-marital affairs)

Snowball sampling relies on the use of referrals. Here, the researcher recruits one or more initial participants, who then recruit the next ones. 

Participants share similar characteristics and/or know each other. Because of this, not every member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample, giving rise to sampling bias .

Snowball sampling is a non-probability sampling method , where there is not an equal chance for every member of the population to be included in the sample .

This means that you cannot use inferential statistics and make generalisations – often the goal of quantitative research . As such, a snowball sample is not representative of the target population, and is usually a better fit for qualitative research .

Snowball sampling is a non-probability sampling method . Unlike probability sampling (which involves some form of random selection ), the initial individuals selected to be studied are the ones who recruit new participants.

Because not every member of the target population has an equal chance of being recruited into the sample, selection in snowball sampling is non-random.

Reproducibility and replicability are related terms.

• Reproducing research entails reanalysing the existing data in the same manner.
• Replicating (or repeating ) the research entails reconducting the entire analysis, including the collection of new data . 
• A successful reproduction shows that the data analyses were conducted in a fair and honest manner.
• A successful replication shows that the reliability of the results is high.

The reproducibility and replicability of a study can be ensured by writing a transparent, detailed method section and using clear, unambiguous language.

Convergent validity and discriminant validity are both subtypes of construct validity . Together, they help you evaluate whether a test measures the concept it was designed to measure.

• Convergent validity indicates whether a test that is designed to measure a particular construct correlates with other tests that assess the same or similar construct.
• Discriminant validity indicates whether two tests that should not be highly related to each other are indeed not related

You need to assess both in order to demonstrate construct validity. Neither one alone is sufficient for establishing construct validity.

Construct validity has convergent and discriminant subtypes. They assist determine if a test measures the intended notion.

Content validity shows you how accurately a test or other measurement method taps  into the various aspects of the specific construct you are researching.

In other words, it helps you answer the question: “does the test measure all aspects of the construct I want to measure?” If it does, then the test has high content validity.

The higher the content validity, the more accurate the measurement of the construct.

If the test fails to include parts of the construct, or irrelevant parts are included, the validity of the instrument is threatened, which brings your results into question.

Construct validity refers to how well a test measures the concept (or construct) it was designed to measure. Assessing construct validity is especially important when you’re researching concepts that can’t be quantified and/or are intangible, like introversion. To ensure construct validity your test should be based on known indicators of introversion ( operationalisation ).

On the other hand, content validity assesses how well the test represents all aspects of the construct. If some aspects are missing or irrelevant parts are included, the test has low content validity.

Face validity and content validity are similar in that they both evaluate how suitable the content of a test is. The difference is that face validity is subjective, and assesses content at surface level.

When a test has strong face validity, anyone would agree that the test’s questions appear to measure what they are intended to measure.

For example, looking at a 4th grade math test consisting of problems in which students have to add and multiply, most people would agree that it has strong face validity (i.e., it looks like a math test).

On the other hand, content validity evaluates how well a test represents all the aspects of a topic. Assessing content validity is more systematic and relies on expert evaluation. of each question, analysing whether each one covers the aspects that the test was designed to cover.

A 4th grade math test would have high content validity if it covered all the skills taught in that grade. Experts(in this case, math teachers), would have to evaluate the content validity by comparing the test to the learning objectives.

• Discriminant validity indicates whether two tests that should not be highly related to each other are indeed not related. This type of validity is also called divergent validity .

Criterion validity and construct validity are both types of measurement validity . In other words, they both show you how accurately a method measures something.

While construct validity is the degree to which a test or other measurement method measures what it claims to measure, criterion validity is the degree to which a test can predictively (in the future) or concurrently (in the present) measure something.

Construct validity is often considered the overarching type of measurement validity . You need to have face validity , content validity , and criterion validity in order to achieve construct validity.

Attrition refers to participants leaving a study. It always happens to some extent – for example, in randomised control trials for medical research.

Differential attrition occurs when attrition or dropout rates differ systematically between the intervention and the control group . As a result, the characteristics of the participants who drop out differ from the characteristics of those who stay in the study. Because of this, study results may be biased .

Criterion validity evaluates how well a test measures the outcome it was designed to measure. An outcome can be, for example, the onset of a disease.

Criterion validity consists of two subtypes depending on the time at which the two measures (the criterion and your test) are obtained:

• Concurrent validity is a validation strategy where the the scores of a test and the criterion are obtained at the same time
• Predictive validity is a validation strategy where the criterion variables are measured after the scores of the test

Validity tells you how accurately a method measures what it was designed to measure. There are 4 main types of validity :

• Construct validity : Does the test measure the construct it was designed to measure?
• Face validity : Does the test appear to be suitable for its objectives ?
• Content validity : Does the test cover all relevant parts of the construct it aims to measure.
• Criterion validity : Do the results accurately measure the concrete outcome they are designed to measure?

Convergent validity shows how much a measure of one construct aligns with other measures of the same or related constructs .

On the other hand, concurrent validity is about how a measure matches up to some known criterion or gold standard, which can be another measure.

Although both types of validity are established by calculating the association or correlation between a test score and another variable , they represent distinct validation methods.

The purpose of theory-testing mode is to find evidence in order to disprove, refine, or support a theory. As such, generalisability is not the aim of theory-testing mode.

Due to this, the priority of researchers in theory-testing mode is to eliminate alternative causes for relationships between variables . In other words, they prioritise internal validity over external validity , including ecological validity .

Inclusion and exclusion criteria are typically presented and discussed in the methodology section of your thesis or dissertation .

Inclusion and exclusion criteria are predominantly used in non-probability sampling . In purposive sampling and snowball sampling , restrictions apply as to who can be included in the sample .

Scope of research is determined at the beginning of your research process , prior to the data collection stage. Sometimes called “scope of study,” your scope delineates what will and will not be covered in your project. It helps you focus your work and your time, ensuring that you’ll be able to achieve your goals and outcomes.

Defining a scope can be very useful in any research project, from a research proposal to a thesis or dissertation . A scope is needed for all types of research: quantitative , qualitative , and mixed methods .

To define your scope of research, consider the following:

• Budget constraints or any specifics of grant funding
• Your proposed timeline and duration
• Specifics about your population of study, your proposed sample size , and the research methodology you’ll pursue
• Any inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Any anticipated control , extraneous , or confounding variables that could bias your research if not accounted for properly.

To make quantitative observations , you need to use instruments that are capable of measuring the quantity you want to observe. For example, you might use a ruler to measure the length of an object or a thermometer to measure its temperature.

Quantitative observations involve measuring or counting something and expressing the result in numerical form, while qualitative observations involve describing something in non-numerical terms, such as its appearance, texture, or color.

The Scribbr Reference Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.

You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Reference Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .

To paraphrase effectively, don’t just take the original sentence and swap out some of the words for synonyms. Instead, try:

• Reformulating the sentence (e.g., change active to passive , or start from a different point)
• Combining information from multiple sentences into one
• Leaving out information from the original that isn’t relevant to your point
• Using synonyms where they don’t distort the meaning

The main point is to ensure you don’t just copy the structure of the original text, but instead reformulate the idea in your own words.

Plagiarism means using someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own. Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas into your own words.

So when does paraphrasing count as plagiarism?

• Paraphrasing is plagiarism if you don’t properly credit the original author.
• Paraphrasing is plagiarism if your text is too close to the original wording (even if you cite the source). If you directly copy a sentence or phrase, you should quote it instead.
• Paraphrasing  is not plagiarism if you put the author’s ideas completely into your own words and properly reference the source .

To present information from other sources in academic writing , it’s best to paraphrase in most cases. This shows that you’ve understood the ideas you’re discussing and incorporates them into your text smoothly.

It’s appropriate to quote when:

• Changing the phrasing would distort the meaning of the original text
• You want to discuss the author’s language choices (e.g., in literary analysis )
• You’re presenting a precise definition
• You’re looking in depth at a specific claim

A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

Every time you quote a source , you must include a correctly formatted in-text citation . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style .

For example, a direct quote in APA is cited like this: ‘This is a quote’ (Streefkerk, 2020, p. 5).

Every in-text citation should also correspond to a full reference at the end of your paper.

In scientific subjects, the information itself is more important than how it was expressed, so quoting should generally be kept to a minimum. In the arts and humanities, however, well-chosen quotes are often essential to a good paper.

In social sciences, it varies. If your research is mainly quantitative , you won’t include many quotes, but if it’s more qualitative , you may need to quote from the data you collected .

As a general guideline, quotes should take up no more than 5–10% of your paper. If in doubt, check with your instructor or supervisor how much quoting is appropriate in your field.

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarises other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA  recommends retaining the citations as part of the quote:

• Smith states that ‘the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus’ (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted.

If you want to cite an indirect source (one you’ve only seen quoted in another source), either locate the original source or use the phrase ‘as cited in’ in your citation.

A block quote is a long quote formatted as a separate ‘block’ of text. Instead of using quotation marks , you place the quote on a new line, and indent the entire quote to mark it apart from your own words.

APA uses block quotes for quotes that are 40 words or longer.

A credible source should pass the CRAAP test  and follow these guidelines:

• The information should be up to date and current.
• The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.
• The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.
• For a web source, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

Common examples of primary sources include interview transcripts , photographs, novels, paintings, films, historical documents, and official statistics.

Anything you directly analyze or use as first-hand evidence can be a primary source, including qualitative or quantitative data that you collected yourself.

Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles , reviews, essays , and textbooks.

Anything that summarizes, evaluates or interprets primary sources can be a secondary source. If a source gives you an overview of background information or presents another researcher’s ideas on your topic, it is probably a secondary source.

To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself:

• Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you’re studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary), or does it summarize information from other sources (secondary)?
• Are you directly analyzing the source itself (primary), or only using it for background information (secondary)?

Some types of sources are nearly always primary: works of art and literature, raw statistical data, official documents and records, and personal communications (e.g. letters, interviews ). If you use one of these in your research, it is probably a primary source.

Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. However, it’s up to you to ensure the information they provide is reliable and accurate.

Always make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism .

A fictional movie is usually a primary source. A documentary can be either primary or secondary depending on the context.

If you are directly analysing some aspect of the movie itself – for example, the cinematography, narrative techniques, or social context – the movie is a primary source.

If you use the movie for background information or analysis about your topic – for example, to learn about a historical event or a scientific discovery – the movie is a secondary source.

Whether it’s primary or secondary, always properly cite the movie in the citation style you are using. Learn how to create an MLA movie citation or an APA movie citation .

Articles in newspapers and magazines can be primary or secondary depending on the focus of your research.

In historical studies, old articles are used as primary sources that give direct evidence about the time period. In social and communication studies, articles are used as primary sources to analyse language and social relations (for example, by conducting content analysis or discourse analysis ).

If you are not analysing the article itself, but only using it for background information or facts about your topic, then the article is a secondary source.

In academic writing , there are three main situations where quoting is the best choice:

• To analyse the author’s language (e.g., in a literary analysis essay )
• To give evidence from primary sources
• To accurately present a precise definition or argument

Don’t overuse quotes; your own voice should be dominant. If you just want to provide information from a source, it’s usually better to paraphrase or summarise .

Your list of tables and figures should go directly after your table of contents in your thesis or dissertation.

Lists of figures and tables are often not required, and they aren’t particularly common. They specifically aren’t required for APA Style, though you should be careful to follow their other guidelines for figures and tables .

If you have many figures and tables in your thesis or dissertation, include one may help you stay organised. Your educational institution may require them, so be sure to check their guidelines.

Copyright information can usually be found wherever the table or figure was published. For example, for a diagram in a journal article , look on the journal’s website or the database where you found the article. Images found on sites like Flickr are listed with clear copyright information.

If you find that permission is required to reproduce the material, be sure to contact the author or publisher and ask for it.

A list of figures and tables compiles all of the figures and tables that you used in your thesis or dissertation and displays them with the page number where they can be found.

APA doesn’t require you to include a list of tables or a list of figures . However, it is advisable to do so if your text is long enough to feature a table of contents and it includes a lot of tables and/or figures .

A list of tables and list of figures appear (in that order) after your table of contents, and are presented in a similar way.

A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. Your glossary only needs to include terms that your reader may not be familiar with, and is intended to enhance their understanding of your work.

Definitional terms often fall into the category of common knowledge , meaning that they don’t necessarily have to be cited. This guidance can apply to your thesis or dissertation glossary as well.

However, if you’d prefer to cite your sources , you can follow guidance for citing dictionary entries in MLA or APA style for your glossary.

A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. In contrast, an index is a list of the contents of your work organised by page number.

Glossaries are not mandatory, but if you use a lot of technical or field-specific terms, it may improve readability to add one to your thesis or dissertation. Your educational institution may also require them, so be sure to check their specific guidelines.

A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. In contrast, dictionaries are more general collections of words.

The title page of your thesis or dissertation should include your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date.

The title page of your thesis or dissertation goes first, before all other content or lists that you may choose to include.

Usually, no title page is needed in an MLA paper . A header is generally included at the top of the first page instead. The exceptions are when:

• Your instructor requires one, or
• Your paper is a group project

In those cases, you should use a title page instead of a header, listing the same information but on a separate page.

When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organise your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation, such as:

• Your anticipated title
• Your abstract
• Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review, research methods, avenues for future research, etc.)

While a theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work based on existing research, a conceptual framework allows you to draw your own conclusions, mapping out the variables you may use in your study and the interplay between them.

A literature review and a theoretical framework are not the same thing and cannot be used interchangeably. While a theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work, a literature review critically evaluates existing research relating to your topic. You’ll likely need both in your dissertation .

A theoretical framework can sometimes be integrated into a  literature review chapter , but it can also be included as its own chapter or section in your dissertation . As a rule of thumb, if your research involves dealing with a lot of complex theories, it’s a good idea to include a separate theoretical framework chapter.

An abstract is a concise summary of an academic text (such as a journal article or dissertation ). It serves two main purposes:

• To help potential readers determine the relevance of your paper for their own research.
• To communicate your key findings to those who don’t have time to read the whole paper.

Abstracts are often indexed along with keywords on academic databases, so they make your work more easily findable. Since the abstract is the first thing any reader sees, it’s important that it clearly and accurately summarises the contents of your paper.

The abstract is the very last thing you write. You should only write it after your research is complete, so that you can accurately summarize the entirety of your thesis or paper.

Avoid citing sources in your abstract . There are two reasons for this:

• The abstract should focus on your original research, not on the work of others.
• The abstract should be self-contained and fully understandable without reference to other sources.

There are some circumstances where you might need to mention other sources in an abstract: for example, if your research responds directly to another study or focuses on the work of a single theorist. In general, though, don’t include citations unless absolutely necessary.

The abstract appears on its own page, after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents .

Results are usually written in the past tense , because they are describing the outcome of completed actions.

The results chapter or section simply and objectively reports what you found, without speculating on why you found these results. The discussion interprets the meaning of the results, puts them in context, and explains why they matter.

In qualitative research , results and discussion are sometimes combined. But in quantitative research , it’s considered important to separate the objective results from your interpretation of them.

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

• Researchability
• Feasibility and specificity
• Relevance and originality

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

A noun is a word that represents a person, thing, concept, or place (e.g., ‘John’, ‘house’, ‘affinity’, ‘river’). Most sentences contain at least one noun or pronoun .

Nouns are often, but not always, preceded by an article (‘the’, ‘a’, or ‘an’) and/or another determiner such as an adjective.

There are many ways to categorize nouns into various types, and the same noun can fall into multiple categories or even change types depending on context.

Some of the main types of nouns are:

• Common nouns and proper nouns
• Countable and uncountable nouns
• Concrete and abstract nouns
• Collective nouns
• Possessive nouns
• Attributive nouns
• Appositive nouns
• Generic nouns

Pronouns are words like ‘I’, ‘she’, and ‘they’ that are used in a similar way to nouns . They stand in for a noun that has already been mentioned or refer to yourself and other people.

Pronouns can function just like nouns as the head of a noun phrase and as the subject or object of a verb. However, pronouns change their forms (e.g., from ‘I’ to ‘me’) depending on the grammatical context they’re used in, whereas nouns usually don’t.

Common nouns are words for types of things, people, and places, such as ‘dog’, ‘professor’, and ‘city’. They are not capitalised and are typically used in combination with articles and other determiners.

Proper nouns are words for specific things, people, and places, such as ‘Max’, ‘Dr Prakash’, and ‘London’. They are always capitalised and usually aren’t combined with articles and other determiners.

A proper adjective is an adjective that was derived from a proper noun and is therefore capitalised .

Proper adjectives include words for nationalities, languages, and ethnicities (e.g., ‘Japanese’, ‘Inuit’, ‘French’) and words derived from people’s names (e.g., ‘Bayesian’, ‘Orwellian’).

The names of seasons (e.g., ‘spring’) are treated as common nouns in English and therefore not capitalised . People often assume they are proper nouns, but this is an error.

The names of days and months, however, are capitalised since they’re treated as proper nouns in English (e.g., ‘Wednesday’, ‘January’).

No, as a general rule, academic concepts, disciplines, theories, models, etc. are treated as common nouns , not proper nouns , and therefore not capitalised . For example, ‘five-factor model of personality’ or ‘analytic philosophy’.

However, proper nouns that appear within the name of an academic concept (such as the name of the inventor) are capitalised as usual. For example, ‘Darwin’s theory of evolution’ or ‘ Student’s t table ‘.

Collective nouns are most commonly treated as singular (e.g., ‘the herd is grazing’), but usage differs between US and UK English :

• In US English, it’s standard to treat all collective nouns as singular, even when they are plural in appearance (e.g., ‘The Rolling Stones is …’). Using the plural form is usually seen as incorrect.
• In UK English, collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural depending on context. It’s quite common to use the plural form, especially when the noun looks plural (e.g., ‘The Rolling Stones are …’).

The plural of “crisis” is “crises”. It’s a loanword from Latin and retains its original Latin plural noun form (similar to “analyses” and “bases”). It’s wrong to write “crisises”.

For example, you might write “Several crises destabilized the regime.”

Normally, the plural of “fish” is the same as the singular: “fish”. It’s one of a group of irregular plural nouns in English that are identical to the corresponding singular nouns (e.g., “moose”, “sheep”). For example, you might write “The fish scatter as the shark approaches.”

If you’re referring to several species of fish, though, the regular plural “fishes” is often used instead. For example, “The aquarium contains many different fishes , including trout and carp.”

The correct plural of “octopus” is “octopuses”.

People often write “octopi” instead because they assume that the plural noun is formed in the same way as Latin loanwords such as “fungus/fungi”. But “octopus” actually comes from Greek, where its original plural is “octopodes”. In English, it instead has the regular plural form “octopuses”.

For example, you might write “There are four octopuses in the aquarium.”

The plural of “moose” is the same as the singular: “moose”. It’s one of a group of plural nouns in English that are identical to the corresponding singular nouns. So it’s wrong to write “mooses”.

For example, you might write “There are several moose in the forest.”

Bias in research affects the validity and reliability of your findings, leading to false conclusions and a misinterpretation of the truth. This can have serious implications in areas like medical research where, for example, a new form of treatment may be evaluated.

Observer bias occurs when the researcher’s assumptions, views, or preconceptions influence what they see and record in a study, while actor–observer bias refers to situations where respondents attribute internal factors (e.g., bad character) to justify other’s behaviour and external factors (difficult circumstances) to justify the same behaviour in themselves.

Response bias is a general term used to describe a number of different conditions or factors that cue respondents to provide inaccurate or false answers during surveys or interviews . These factors range from the interviewer’s perceived social position or appearance to the the phrasing of questions in surveys.

Nonresponse bias occurs when the people who complete a survey are different from those who did not, in ways that are relevant to the research topic. Nonresponse can happen either because people are not willing or not able to participate.

In research, demand characteristics are cues that might indicate the aim of a study to participants. These cues can lead to participants changing their behaviors or responses based on what they think the research is about.

Demand characteristics are common problems in psychology experiments and other social science studies because they can bias your research findings.

Demand characteristics are a type of extraneous variable that can affect the outcomes of the study. They can invalidate studies by providing an alternative explanation for the results.

These cues may nudge participants to consciously or unconsciously change their responses, and they pose a threat to both internal and external validity . You can’t be sure that your independent variable manipulation worked, or that your findings can be applied to other people or settings.

You can control demand characteristics by taking a few precautions in your research design and materials.

Use these measures:

• Deception: Hide the purpose of the study from participants
• Between-groups design : Give each participant only one independent variable treatment
• Double-blind design : Conceal the assignment of groups from participants and yourself
• Implicit measures: Use indirect or hidden measurements for your variables

Some attrition is normal and to be expected in research. However, the type of attrition is important because systematic research bias can distort your findings. Attrition bias can lead to inaccurate results because it affects internal and/or external validity .

To avoid attrition bias , applying some of these measures can help you reduce participant dropout (attrition) by making it easy and appealing for participants to stay.

• Provide compensation (e.g., cash or gift cards) for attending every session
• Minimise the number of follow-ups as much as possible
• Make all follow-ups brief, flexible, and convenient for participants
• Send participants routine reminders to schedule follow-ups
• Recruit more participants than you need for your sample (oversample)
• Maintain detailed contact information so you can get in touch with participants even if they move

If you have a small amount of attrition bias , you can use a few statistical methods to try to make up for this research bias .

Multiple imputation involves using simulations to replace the missing data with likely values. Alternatively, you can use sample weighting to make up for the uneven balance of participants in your sample.

Placebos are used in medical research for new medication or therapies, called clinical trials. In these trials some people are given a placebo, while others are given the new medication being tested.

The purpose is to determine how effective the new medication is: if it benefits people beyond a predefined threshold as compared to the placebo, it’s considered effective.

Although there is no definite answer to what causes the placebo effect , researchers propose a number of explanations such as the power of suggestion, doctor-patient interaction, classical conditioning, etc.

Belief bias and confirmation bias are both types of cognitive bias that impact our judgment and decision-making.

Confirmation bias relates to how we perceive and judge evidence. We tend to seek out and prefer information that supports our preexisting beliefs, ignoring any information that contradicts those beliefs.

Belief bias describes the tendency to judge an argument based on how plausible the conclusion seems to us, rather than how much evidence is provided to support it during the course of the argument.

Positivity bias is phenomenon that occurs when a person judges individual members of a group positively, even when they have negative impressions or judgments of the group as a whole. Positivity bias is closely related to optimism bias , or the e xpectation that things will work out well, even if rationality suggests that problems are inevitable in life.

Perception bias is a problem because it prevents us from seeing situations or people objectively. Rather, our expectations, beliefs, or emotions interfere with how we interpret reality. This, in turn, can cause us to misjudge ourselves or others. For example, our prejudices can interfere with whether we perceive people’s faces as friendly or unfriendly.

There are many ways to categorize adjectives into various types. An adjective can fall into one or more of these categories depending on how it is used.

Some of the main types of adjectives are:

• Attributive adjectives
• Predicative adjectives
• Comparative adjectives
• Superlative adjectives
• Coordinate adjectives
• Appositive adjectives
• Compound adjectives
• Participial adjectives
• Proper adjectives
• Denominal adjectives
• Nominal adjectives

Cardinal numbers (e.g., one, two, three) can be placed before a noun to indicate quantity (e.g., one apple). While these are sometimes referred to as ‘numeral adjectives ‘, they are more accurately categorised as determiners or quantifiers.

Proper adjectives are adjectives formed from a proper noun (i.e., the name of a specific person, place, or thing) that are used to indicate origin. Like proper nouns, proper adjectives are always capitalised (e.g., Newtonian, Marxian, African).

The cost of proofreading depends on the type and length of text, the turnaround time, and the level of services required. Most proofreading companies charge per word or page, while freelancers sometimes charge an hourly rate.

For proofreading alone, which involves only basic corrections of typos and formatting mistakes, you might pay as little as £0.01 per word, but in many cases, your text will also require some level of editing , which costs slightly more.

It’s often possible to purchase combined proofreading and editing services and calculate the price in advance based on your requirements.

Then and than are two commonly confused words . In the context of ‘better than’, you use ‘than’ with an ‘a’.

• Julie is better than Jesse.
• I’d rather spend my time with you than with him.
• I understand Eoghan’s point of view better than Claudia’s.

Use to and used to are commonly confused words . In the case of ‘used to do’, the latter (with ‘d’) is correct, since you’re describing an action or state in the past.

• I used to do laundry once a week.
• They used to do each other’s hair.
• We used to do the dishes every day .

There are numerous synonyms and near synonyms for the various meanings of “ favour ”:

There are numerous synonyms and near synonyms for the two meanings of “ favoured ”:

No one (two words) is an indefinite pronoun meaning ‘nobody’. People sometimes mistakenly write ‘noone’, but this is incorrect and should be avoided. ‘No-one’, with a hyphen, is also acceptable in UK English .

Nobody and no one are both indefinite pronouns meaning ‘no person’. They can be used interchangeably (e.g., ‘nobody is home’ means the same as ‘no one is home’).

Some synonyms and near synonyms of  every time include:

• Without exception

‘Everytime’ is sometimes used to mean ‘each time’ or ‘whenever’. However, this is incorrect and should be avoided. The correct phrase is every time   (two words).

Yes, the conjunction because is a compound word , but one with a long history. It originates in Middle English from the preposition “bi” (“by”) and the noun “cause”. Over time, the open compound “bi cause” became the closed compound “because”, which we use today.

Though it’s spelled this way now, the verb “be” is not one of the words that makes up “because”.

Yes, today is a compound word , but a very old one. It wasn’t originally formed from the preposition “to” and the noun “day”; rather, it originates from their Old English equivalents, “tō” and “dæġe”.

In the past, it was sometimes written as a hyphenated compound: “to-day”. But the hyphen is no longer included; it’s always “today” now (“to day” is also wrong).

IEEE citation format is defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and used in their publications.

It’s also a widely used citation style for students in technical fields like electrical and electronic engineering, computer science, telecommunications, and computer engineering.

An IEEE in-text citation consists of a number in brackets at the relevant point in the text, which points the reader to the right entry in the numbered reference list at the end of the paper. For example, ‘Smith [1] states that …’

A location marker such as a page number is also included within the brackets when needed: ‘Smith [1, p. 13] argues …’

The IEEE reference page consists of a list of references numbered in the order they were cited in the text. The title ‘References’ appears in bold at the top, either left-aligned or centered.

The numbers appear in square brackets on the left-hand side of the page. The reference entries are indented consistently to separate them from the numbers. Entries are single-spaced, with a normal paragraph break between them.

If you cite the same source more than once in your writing, use the same number for all of the IEEE in-text citations for that source, and only include it on the IEEE reference page once. The source is numbered based on the first time you cite it.

For example, the fourth source you cite in your paper is numbered [4]. If you cite it again later, you still cite it as [4]. You can cite different parts of the source each time by adding page numbers [4, p. 15].

A verb is a word that indicates a physical action (e.g., ‘drive’), a mental action (e.g., ‘think’) or a state of being (e.g., ‘exist’). Every sentence contains a verb.

Verbs are almost always used along with a noun or pronoun to describe what the noun or pronoun is doing.

There are many ways to categorize verbs into various types. A verb can fall into one or more of these categories depending on how it is used.

Some of the main types of verbs are:

• Regular verbs
• Irregular verbs
• Transitive verbs
• Intransitive verbs
• Dynamic verbs
• Stative verbs
• Linking verbs
• Auxiliary verbs
• Modal verbs
• Phrasal verbs

Regular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participle are formed by adding the suffix ‘-ed’ (e.g., ‘walked’).

Irregular verbs are verbs that form their simple past and past participles in some way other than by adding the suffix ‘-ed’ (e.g., ‘sat’).

The indefinite articles a and an are used to refer to a general or unspecified version of a noun (e.g., a house). Which indefinite article you use depends on the pronunciation of the word that follows it.

• A is used for words that begin with a consonant sound (e.g., a bear).
• An is used for words that begin with a vowel sound (e.g., an eagle).

Indefinite articles can only be used with singular countable nouns . Like definite articles, they are a type of determiner .

Editing and proofreading are different steps in the process of revising a text.

Editing comes first, and can involve major changes to content, structure and language. The first stages of editing are often done by authors themselves, while a professional editor makes the final improvements to grammar and style (for example, by improving sentence structure and word choice ).

Proofreading is the final stage of checking a text before it is published or shared. It focuses on correcting minor errors and inconsistencies (for example, in punctuation and capitalization ). Proofreaders often also check for formatting issues, especially in print publishing.

Whether you’re publishing a blog, submitting a research paper , or even just writing an important email, there are a few techniques you can use to make sure it’s error-free:

• Take a break : Set your work aside for at least a few hours so that you can look at it with fresh eyes.
• Proofread a printout : Staring at a screen for too long can cause fatigue – sit down with a pen and paper to check the final version.
• Use digital shortcuts : Take note of any recurring mistakes (for example, misspelling a particular word, switching between US and UK English , or inconsistently capitalizing a term), and use Find and Replace to fix it throughout the document.

If you want to be confident that an important text is error-free, it might be worth choosing a professional proofreading service instead.

There are many different routes to becoming a professional proofreader or editor. The necessary qualifications depend on the field – to be an academic or scientific proofreader, for example, you will need at least a university degree in a relevant subject.

For most proofreading jobs, experience and demonstrated skills are more important than specific qualifications. Often your skills will be tested as part of the application process.

To learn practical proofreading skills, you can choose to take a course with a professional organisation such as the Society for Editors and Proofreaders . Alternatively, you can apply to companies that offer specialised on-the-job training programmes, such as the Scribbr Academy .

Though they’re pronounced the same, there’s a big difference in meaning between its and it’s .

• ‘The cat ate its food’.
• ‘It’s almost Christmas’.

Its and it’s are often confused, but its (without apostrophe) is the possessive form of ‘it’ (e.g., its tail, its argument, its wing). You use ‘its’ instead of ‘his’ and ‘her’ for neuter, inanimate nouns.

Then and than are two commonly confused words with different meanings and grammatical roles.

• Then (pronounced with a short ‘e’ sound) refers to time. It’s often an adverb , but it can also be used as a noun meaning ‘that time’ and as an adjective referring to a previous status.
• Than (pronounced with a short ‘a’ sound) is used for comparisons. Grammatically, it usually functions as a conjunction , but sometimes it’s a preposition .

Use to and used to are commonly confused words . In the case of ‘used to be’, the latter (with ‘d’) is correct, since you’re describing an action or state in the past.

• I used to be the new coworker.
• There used to be 4 cookies left.
• We used to walk to school every day .

A grammar checker is a tool designed to automatically check your text for spelling errors, grammatical issues, punctuation mistakes , and problems with sentence structure . You can check out our analysis of the best free grammar checkers to learn more.

A paraphrasing tool edits your text more actively, changing things whether they were grammatically incorrect or not. It can paraphrase your sentences to make them more concise and readable or for other purposes. You can check out our analysis of the best free paraphrasing tools to learn more.

Some tools available online combine both functions. Others, such as QuillBot , have separate grammar checker and paraphrasing tools. Be aware of what exactly the tool you’re using does to avoid introducing unwanted changes.

Good grammar is the key to expressing yourself clearly and fluently, especially in professional communication and academic writing . Word processors, browsers, and email programs typically have built-in grammar checkers, but they’re quite limited in the kinds of problems they can fix.

If you want to go beyond detecting basic spelling errors, there are many online grammar checkers with more advanced functionality. They can often detect issues with punctuation , word choice, and sentence structure that more basic tools would miss.

Not all of these tools are reliable, though. You can check out our research into the best free grammar checkers to explore the options.

Our research indicates that the best free grammar checker available online is the QuillBot grammar checker .

We tested 10 of the most popular checkers with the same sample text (containing 20 grammatical errors) and found that QuillBot easily outperformed the competition, scoring 18 out of 20, a drastic improvement over the second-place score of 13 out of 20.

It even appeared to outperform the premium versions of other grammar checkers, despite being entirely free.

A teacher’s aide is a person who assists in teaching classes but is not a qualified teacher. Aide is a noun meaning ‘assistant’, so it will always refer to a person.

‘Teacher’s aid’ is incorrect.

A visual aid is an instructional device (e.g., a photo, a chart) that appeals to vision to help you understand written or spoken information. Aid is often placed after an attributive noun or adjective (like ‘visual’) that describes the type of help provided.

‘Visual aide’ is incorrect.

A job aid is an instructional tool (e.g., a checklist, a cheat sheet) that helps you work efficiently. Aid is a noun meaning ‘assistance’. It’s often placed after an adjective or attributive noun (like ‘job’) that describes the specific type of help provided.

‘Job aide’ is incorrect.

There are numerous synonyms for the various meanings of truly :

Yours truly is a phrase used at the end of a formal letter or email. It can also be used (typically in a humorous way) as a pronoun to refer to oneself (e.g., ‘The dinner was cooked by yours truly ‘). The latter usage should be avoided in formal writing.

It’s formed by combining the second-person possessive pronoun ‘yours’ with the adverb ‘ truly ‘.

A pathetic fallacy can be a short phrase or a whole sentence and is often used in novels and poetry. Pathetic fallacies serve multiple purposes, such as:

• Conveying the emotional state of the characters or the narrator
• Creating an atmosphere or set the mood of a scene
• Foreshadowing events to come
• Giving texture and vividness to a piece of writing
• Communicating emotion to the reader in a subtle way, by describing the external world.
• Bringing inanimate objects to life so that they seem more relatable.

AMA citation format is a citation style designed by the American Medical Association. It’s frequently used in the field of medicine.

You may be told to use AMA style for your student papers. You will also have to follow this style if you’re submitting a paper to a journal published by the AMA.

An AMA in-text citation consists of the number of the relevant reference on your AMA reference page , written in superscript 1 at the point in the text where the source is used.

It may also include the page number or range of the relevant material in the source (e.g., the part you quoted 2(p46) ). Multiple sources can be cited at one point, presented as a range or list (with no spaces 3,5–9 ).

An AMA reference usually includes the author’s last name and initials, the title of the source, information about the publisher or the publication it’s contained in, and the publication date. The specific details included, and the formatting, depend on the source type.

References in AMA style are presented in numerical order (numbered by the order in which they were first cited in the text) on your reference page. A source that’s cited repeatedly in the text still only appears once on the reference page.

An AMA in-text citation just consists of the number of the relevant entry on your AMA reference page , written in superscript at the point in the text where the source is referred to.

You don’t need to mention the author of the source in your sentence, but you can do so if you want. It’s not an official part of the citation, but it can be useful as part of a signal phrase introducing the source.

On your AMA reference page , author names are written with the last name first, followed by the initial(s) of their first name and middle name if mentioned.

There’s a space between the last name and the initials, but no space or punctuation between the initials themselves. The names of multiple authors are separated by commas , and the whole list ends in a period, e.g., ‘Andreessen F, Smith PW, Gonzalez E’.

The names of up to six authors should be listed for each source on your AMA reference page , separated by commas . For a source with seven or more authors, you should list the first three followed by ‘ et al’ : ‘Isidore, Gilbert, Gunvor, et al’.

In the text, mentioning author names is optional (as they aren’t an official part of AMA in-text citations ). If you do mention them, though, you should use the first author’s name followed by ‘et al’ when there are three or more : ‘Isidore et al argue that …’

Note that according to AMA’s rather minimalistic punctuation guidelines, there’s no period after ‘et al’ unless it appears at the end of a sentence. This is different from most other styles, where there is normally a period.

Yes, you should normally include an access date in an AMA website citation (or when citing any source with a URL). This is because webpages can change their content over time, so it’s useful for the reader to know when you accessed the page.

When a publication or update date is provided on the page, you should include it in addition to the access date. The access date appears second in this case, e.g., ‘Published June 19, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2022.’

Don’t include an access date when citing a source with a DOI (such as in an AMA journal article citation ).

Some variables have fixed levels. For example, gender and ethnicity are always nominal level data because they cannot be ranked.

However, for other variables, you can choose the level of measurement . For example, income is a variable that can be recorded on an ordinal or a ratio scale:

• At an ordinal level , you could create 5 income groupings and code the incomes that fall within them from 1–5.
• At a ratio level , you would record exact numbers for income.

If you have a choice, the ratio level is always preferable because you can analyse data in more ways. The higher the level of measurement, the more precise your data is.

The level at which you measure a variable determines how you can analyse your data.

Depending on the level of measurement , you can perform different descriptive statistics to get an overall summary of your data and inferential statistics to see if your results support or refute your hypothesis .

Levels of measurement tell you how precisely variables are recorded. There are 4 levels of measurement, which can be ranked from low to high:

• Nominal : the data can only be categorised.
• Ordinal : the data can be categorised and ranked.
• Interval : the data can be categorised and ranked, and evenly spaced.
• Ratio : the data can be categorised, ranked, evenly spaced and has a natural zero.

Statistical analysis is the main method for analyzing quantitative research data . It uses probabilities and models to test predictions about a population from sample data.

The null hypothesis is often abbreviated as H 0 . When the null hypothesis is written using mathematical symbols, it always includes an equality symbol (usually =, but sometimes ≥ or ≤).

The alternative hypothesis is often abbreviated as H a or H 1 . When the alternative hypothesis is written using mathematical symbols, it always includes an inequality symbol (usually ≠, but sometimes < or >).

As the degrees of freedom increase, Student’s t distribution becomes less leptokurtic , meaning that the probability of extreme values decreases. The distribution becomes more and more similar to a standard normal distribution .

When there are only one or two degrees of freedom , the chi-square distribution is shaped like a backwards ‘J’. When there are three or more degrees of freedom, the distribution is shaped like a right-skewed hump. As the degrees of freedom increase, the hump becomes less right-skewed and the peak of the hump moves to the right. The distribution becomes more and more similar to a normal distribution .

‘Looking forward in hearing from you’ is an incorrect version of the phrase looking forward to hearing from you . The phrasal verb ‘looking forward to’ always needs the preposition ‘to’, not ‘in’.

• I am looking forward in hearing from you.
• I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Some synonyms and near synonyms for the expression looking forward to hearing from you include:

• Eagerly awaiting your response
• Hoping to hear from you soon
• It would be great to hear back from you
• Thanks in advance for your reply

People sometimes mistakenly write ‘looking forward to hear from you’, but this is incorrect. The correct phrase is looking forward to hearing from you .

The phrasal verb ‘look forward to’ is always followed by a direct object, the thing you’re looking forward to. As the direct object has to be a noun phrase , it should be the gerund ‘hearing’, not the verb ‘hear’.

• I’m looking forward to hear from you soon.
• I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Traditionally, the sign-off Yours sincerely is used in an email message or letter when you are writing to someone you have interacted with before, not a complete stranger.

Yours faithfully is used instead when you are writing to someone you have had no previous correspondence with, especially if you greeted them as ‘ Dear Sir or Madam ’.

Just checking in   is a standard phrase used to start an email (or other message) that’s intended to ask someone for a response or follow-up action in a friendly, informal way. However, it’s a cliché opening that can come across as passive-aggressive, so we recommend avoiding it in favor of a more direct opening like “We previously discussed …”

In a more personal context, you might encounter “just checking in” as part of a longer phrase such as “I’m just checking in to see how you’re doing”. In this case, it’s not asking the other person to do anything but rather asking about their well-being (emotional or physical) in a friendly way.

“Earliest convenience” is part of the phrase at your earliest convenience , meaning “as soon as you can”. 

It’s typically used to end an email in a formal context by asking the recipient to do something when it’s convenient for them to do so.

ASAP is an abbreviation of the phrase “as soon as possible”. 

It’s typically used to indicate a sense of urgency in highly informal contexts (e.g., “Let me know ASAP if you need me to drive you to the airport”).

“ASAP” should be avoided in more formal correspondence. Instead, use an alternative like at your earliest convenience .

Some synonyms and near synonyms of the verb   compose   (meaning “to make up”) are:

People increasingly use “comprise” as a synonym of “compose.” However, this is normally still seen as a mistake, and we recommend avoiding it in your academic writing . “Comprise” traditionally means “to be made up of,” not “to make up.”

Some synonyms and near synonyms of the verb comprise are:

• Be composed of
• Be made up of

People increasingly use “comprise” interchangeably with “compose,” meaning that they consider words like “compose,” “constitute,” and “form” to be synonymous with “comprise.” However, this is still normally regarded as an error, and we advise against using these words interchangeably in academic writing .

A fallacy is a mistaken belief, particularly one based on unsound arguments or one that lacks the evidence to support it. Common types of fallacy that may compromise the quality of your research are:

• Correlation/causation fallacy: Claiming that two events that occur together have a cause-and-effect relationship even though this can’t be proven
• Ecological fallacy : Making inferences about the nature of individuals based on aggregate data for the group
• The sunk cost fallacy : Following through on a project or decision because we have already invested time, effort, or money into it, even if the current costs outweigh the benefits
• The base-rate fallacy : Ignoring base-rate or statistically significant information, such as sample size or the relative frequency of an event, in favor of  less relevant information e.g., pertaining to a single case, or a small number of cases
• The planning fallacy : Underestimating the time needed to complete a future task, even when we know that similar tasks in the past have taken longer than planned

The planning fallacy refers to people’s tendency to underestimate the resources needed to complete a future task, despite knowing that previous tasks have also taken longer than planned.

For example, people generally tend to underestimate the cost and time needed for construction projects. The planning fallacy occurs due to people’s tendency to overestimate the chances that positive events, such as a shortened timeline, will happen to them. This phenomenon is called optimism bias or positivity bias.

Although both red herring fallacy and straw man fallacy are logical fallacies or reasoning errors, they denote different attempts to “win” an argument. More specifically:

• A red herring fallacy refers to an attempt to change the subject and divert attention from the original issue. In other words, a seemingly solid but ultimately irrelevant argument is introduced into the discussion, either on purpose or by mistake.
• A straw man argument involves the deliberate distortion of another person’s argument. By oversimplifying or exaggerating it, the other party creates an easy-to-refute argument and then attacks it.

The red herring fallacy is a problem because it is flawed reasoning. It is a distraction device that causes people to become sidetracked from the main issue and draw wrong conclusions.

Although a red herring may have some kernel of truth, it is used as a distraction to keep our eyes on a different matter. As a result, it can cause us to accept and spread misleading information.

The sunk cost fallacy and escalation of commitment (or commitment bias ) are two closely related terms. However, there is a slight difference between them:

• Escalation of commitment (aka commitment bias ) is the tendency to be consistent with what we have already done or said we will do in the past, especially if we did so in public. In other words, it is an attempt to save face and appear consistent.
• Sunk cost fallacy is the tendency to stick with a decision or a plan even when it’s failing. Because we have already invested valuable time, money, or energy, quitting feels like these resources were wasted.

In other words, escalating commitment is a manifestation of the sunk cost fallacy: an irrational escalation of commitment frequently occurs when people refuse to accept that the resources they’ve already invested cannot be recovered. Instead, they insist on more spending to justify the initial investment (and the incurred losses).

When you are faced with a straw man argument , the best way to respond is to draw attention to the fallacy and ask your discussion partner to show how your original statement and their distorted version are the same. Since these are different, your partner will either have to admit that their argument is invalid or try to justify it by using more flawed reasoning, which you can then attack.

The straw man argument is a problem because it occurs when we fail to take an opposing point of view seriously. Instead, we intentionally misrepresent our opponent’s ideas and avoid genuinely engaging with them. Due to this, resorting to straw man fallacy lowers the standard of constructive debate.

A straw man argument is a distorted (and weaker) version of another person’s argument that can easily be refuted (e.g., when a teacher proposes that the class spend more time on math exercises, a parent complains that the teacher doesn’t care about reading and writing).

This is a straw man argument because it misrepresents the teacher’s position, which didn’t mention anything about cutting down on reading and writing. The straw man argument is also known as the straw man fallacy .

A slippery slope argument is not always a fallacy.

• When someone claims adopting a certain policy or taking a certain action will automatically lead to a series of other policies or actions also being taken, this is a slippery slope argument.
• If they don’t show a causal connection between the advocated policy and the consequent policies, then they commit a slippery slope fallacy .

There are a number of ways you can deal with slippery slope arguments especially when you suspect these are fallacious:

• Slippery slope arguments take advantage of the gray area between an initial action or decision and the possible next steps that might lead to the undesirable outcome. You can point out these missing steps and ask your partner to indicate what evidence exists to support the claimed relationship between two or more events.
• Ask yourself if each link in the chain of events or action is valid. Every proposition has to be true for the overall argument to work, so even if one link is irrational or not supported by evidence, then the argument collapses.
• Sometimes people commit a slippery slope fallacy unintentionally. In these instances, use an example that demonstrates the problem with slippery slope arguments in general (e.g., by using statements to reach a conclusion that is not necessarily relevant to the initial statement). By attacking the concept of slippery slope arguments you can show that they are often fallacious.

People sometimes confuse cognitive bias and logical fallacies because they both relate to flawed thinking. However, they are not the same:

• Cognitive bias is the tendency to make decisions or take action in an illogical way because of our values, memory, socialization, and other personal attributes. In other words, it refers to a fixed pattern of thinking rooted in the way our brain works.
• Logical fallacies relate to how we make claims and construct our arguments in the moment. They are statements that sound convincing at first but can be disproven through logical reasoning.

In other words, cognitive bias refers to an ongoing predisposition, while logical fallacy refers to mistakes of reasoning that occur in the moment.

An appeal to ignorance (ignorance here meaning lack of evidence) is a type of informal logical fallacy .

It asserts that something must be true because it hasn’t been proven false—or that something must be false because it has not yet been proven true.

For example, “unicorns exist because there is no evidence that they don’t.” The appeal to ignorance is also called the burden of proof fallacy .

An ad hominem (Latin for “to the person”) is a type of informal logical fallacy . Instead of arguing against a person’s position, an ad hominem argument attacks the person’s character or actions in an effort to discredit them.

This rhetorical strategy is fallacious because a person’s character, motive, education, or other personal trait is logically irrelevant to whether their argument is true or false.

Name-calling is common in ad hominem fallacy (e.g., “environmental activists are ineffective because they’re all lazy tree-huggers”).

Ad hominem is a persuasive technique where someone tries to undermine the opponent’s argument by personally attacking them.

In this way, one can redirect the discussion away from the main topic and to the opponent’s personality without engaging with their viewpoint. When the opponent’s personality is irrelevant to the discussion, we call it an ad hominem fallacy .

Ad hominem tu quoque (‘you too”) is an attempt to rebut a claim by attacking its proponent on the grounds that they uphold a double standard or that they don’t practice what they preach. For example, someone is telling you that you should drive slowly otherwise you’ll get a speeding ticket one of these days, and you reply “but you used to get them all the time!”

Argumentum ad hominem means “argument to the person” in Latin and it is commonly referred to as ad hominem argument or personal attack. Ad hominem arguments are used in debates to refute an argument by attacking the character of the person making it, instead of the logic or premise of the argument itself.

The opposite of the hasty generalization fallacy is called slothful induction fallacy or appeal to coincidence .

It is the tendency to deny a conclusion even though there is sufficient evidence that supports it. Slothful induction occurs due to our natural tendency to dismiss events or facts that do not align with our personal biases and expectations. For example, a researcher may try to explain away unexpected results by claiming it is just a coincidence.

To avoid a hasty generalization fallacy we need to ensure that the conclusions drawn are well-supported by the appropriate evidence. More specifically:

• In statistics , if we want to draw inferences about an entire population, we need to make sure that the sample is random and representative of the population . We can achieve that by using a probability sampling method , like simple random sampling or stratified sampling .
• In academic writing , use precise language and measured phases. Try to avoid making absolute claims, cite specific instances and examples without applying the findings to a larger group.
• As readers, we need to ask ourselves “does the writer demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the situation or phenomenon that would allow them to make a generalization?”

The hasty generalization fallacy and the anecdotal evidence fallacy are similar in that they both result in conclusions drawn from insufficient evidence. However, there is a difference between the two:

• The hasty generalization fallacy involves genuinely considering an example or case (i.e., the evidence comes first and then an incorrect conclusion is drawn from this).
• The anecdotal evidence fallacy (also known as “cherry-picking” ) is knowing in advance what conclusion we want to support, and then selecting the story (or a few stories) that support it. By overemphasizing anecdotal evidence that fits well with the point we are trying to make, we overlook evidence that would undermine our argument.

Although many sources use circular reasoning fallacy and begging the question interchangeably, others point out that there is a subtle difference between the two:

• Begging the question fallacy occurs when you assume that an argument is true in order to justify a conclusion. If something begs the question, what you are actually asking is, “Is the premise of that argument actually true?” For example, the statement “Snakes make great pets. That’s why we should get a snake” begs the question “are snakes really great pets?”
• Circular reasoning fallacy on the other hand, occurs when the evidence used to support a claim is just a repetition of the claim itself.  For example, “People have free will because they can choose what to do.”

In other words, we could say begging the question is a form of circular reasoning.

Circular reasoning fallacy uses circular reasoning to support an argument. More specifically, the evidence used to support a claim is just a repetition of the claim itself. For example: “The President of the United States is a good leader (claim), because they are the leader of this country (supporting evidence)”.

An example of a non sequitur is the following statement:

“Giving up nuclear weapons weakened the United States’ military. Giving up nuclear weapons also weakened China. For this reason, it is wrong to try to outlaw firearms in the United States today.”

Clearly there is a step missing in this line of reasoning and the conclusion does not follow from the premise, resulting in a non sequitur fallacy .

The difference between the post hoc fallacy and the non sequitur fallacy is that post hoc fallacy infers a causal connection between two events where none exists, whereas the non sequitur fallacy infers a conclusion that lacks a logical connection to the premise.

In other words, a post hoc fallacy occurs when there is a lack of a cause-and-effect relationship, while a non sequitur fallacy occurs when there is a lack of logical connection.

An example of post hoc fallacy is the following line of reasoning:

“Yesterday I had ice cream, and today I have a terrible stomachache. I’m sure the ice cream caused this.”

Although it is possible that the ice cream had something to do with the stomachache, there is no proof to justify the conclusion other than the order of events. Therefore, this line of reasoning is fallacious.

Post hoc fallacy and hasty generalisation fallacy are similar in that they both involve jumping to conclusions. However, there is a difference between the two:

• Post hoc fallacy is assuming a cause and effect relationship between two events, simply because one happened after the other.
• Hasty generalisation fallacy is drawing a general conclusion from a small sample or little evidence.

In other words, post hoc fallacy involves a leap to a causal claim; hasty generalisation fallacy involves a leap to a general proposition.

The fallacy of composition is similar to and can be confused with the hasty generalization fallacy . However, there is a difference between the two:

• The fallacy of composition involves drawing an inference about the characteristics of a whole or group based on the characteristics of its individual members.
• The hasty generalization fallacy involves drawing an inference about a population or class of things on the basis of few atypical instances or a small sample of that population or thing.

In other words, the fallacy of composition is using an unwarranted assumption that we can infer something about a whole based on the characteristics of its parts, while the hasty generalization fallacy is using insufficient evidence to draw a conclusion.

The opposite of the fallacy of composition is the fallacy of division . In the fallacy of division, the assumption is that a characteristic which applies to a whole or a group must necessarily apply to the parts or individual members. For example, “Australians travel a lot. Gary is Australian, so he must travel a lot.”

Base rate fallacy can be avoided by following these steps:

• Avoid making an important decision in haste. When we are under pressure, we are more likely to resort to cognitive shortcuts like the availability heuristic and the representativeness heuristic . Due to this, we are more likely to factor in only current and vivid information, and ignore the actual probability of something happening (i.e., base rate).
• Take a long-term view on the decision or question at hand. Look for relevant statistical data, which can reveal long-term trends and give you the full picture.
• Talk to experts like professionals. They are more aware of probabilities related to specific decisions.

Suppose there is a population consisting of 90% psychologists and 10% engineers. Given that you know someone enjoyed physics at school, you may conclude that they are an engineer rather than a psychologist, even though you know that this person comes from a population consisting of far more psychologists than engineers.

When we ignore the rate of occurrence of some trait in a population (the base-rate information) we commit base rate fallacy .

Cost-benefit fallacy is a common error that occurs when allocating sources in project management. It is the fallacy of assuming that cost-benefit estimates are more or less accurate, when in fact they are highly inaccurate and biased. This means that cost-benefit analyses can be useful, but only after the cost-benefit fallacy has been acknowledged and corrected for. Cost-benefit fallacy is a type of base rate fallacy .

In advertising, the fallacy of equivocation is often used to create a pun. For example, a billboard company might advertise their billboards using a line like: “Looking for a sign? This is it!” The word sign has a literal meaning as billboard and a figurative one as a sign from God, the universe, etc.

Equivocation is a fallacy because it is a form of argumentation that is both misleading and logically unsound. When the meaning of a word or phrase shifts in the course of an argument, it causes confusion and also implies that the conclusion (which may be true) does not follow from the premise.

The fallacy of equivocation is an informal logical fallacy, meaning that the error lies in the content of the argument instead of the structure.

Fallacies of relevance are a group of fallacies that occur in arguments when the premises are logically irrelevant to the conclusion. Although at first there seems to be a connection between the premise and the conclusion, in reality fallacies of relevance use unrelated forms of appeal.

For example, the genetic fallacy makes an appeal to the source or origin of the claim in an attempt to assert or refute something.

The ad hominem fallacy and the genetic fallacy are closely related in that they are both fallacies of relevance. In other words, they both involve arguments that use evidence or examples that are not logically related to the argument at hand. However, there is a difference between the two:

• In the ad hominem fallacy , the goal is to discredit the argument by discrediting the person currently making the argument.
• In the genetic fallacy , the goal is to discredit the argument by discrediting the history or origin (i.e., genesis) of an argument.

False dilemma fallacy is also known as false dichotomy, false binary, and “either-or” fallacy. It is the fallacy of presenting only two choices, outcomes, or sides to an argument as the only possibilities, when more are available.

The false dilemma fallacy works in two ways:

• By presenting only two options as if these were the only ones available
• By presenting two options as mutually exclusive (i.e., only one option can be selected or can be true at a time)

In both cases, by using the false dilemma fallacy, one conceals alternative choices and doesn’t allow others to consider the full range of options. This is usually achieved through an“either-or” construction and polarised, divisive language (“you are either a friend or an enemy”).

The best way to avoid a false dilemma fallacy is to pause and reflect on two points:

• Are the options presented truly the only ones available ? It could be that another option has been deliberately omitted.
• Are the options mentioned mutually exclusive ? Perhaps all of the available options can be selected (or be true) at the same time, which shows that they aren’t mutually exclusive. Proving this is called “escaping between the horns of the dilemma.”

Begging the question fallacy is an argument in which you assume what you are trying to prove. In other words, your position and the justification of that position are the same, only slightly rephrased.

For example: “All freshmen should attend college orientation, because all college students should go to such an orientation.”

The complex question fallacy and begging the question fallacy are similar in that they are both based on assumptions. However, there is a difference between them:

• A complex question fallacy occurs when someone asks a question that presupposes the answer to another question that has not been established or accepted by the other person. For example, asking someone “Have you stopped cheating on tests?”, unless it has previously been established that the person is indeed cheating on tests, is a fallacy.
• Begging the question fallacy occurs when we assume the very thing as a premise that we’re trying to prove in our conclusion. In other words, the conclusion is used to support the premises, and the premises prove the validity of the conclusion. For example: “God exists because the Bible says so, and the Bible is true because it is the word of God.”

In other words, begging the question is about drawing a conclusion based on an assumption, while a complex question involves asking a question that presupposes the answer to a prior question.

“ No true Scotsman ” arguments aren’t always fallacious. When there is a generally accepted definition of who or what constitutes a group, it’s reasonable to use statements in the form of “no true Scotsman”.

For example, the statement that “no true pacifist would volunteer for military service” is not fallacious, since a pacifist is, by definition, someone who opposes war or violence as a means of settling disputes.

No true Scotsman arguments are fallacious because instead of logically refuting the counterexample, they simply assert that it doesn’t count. In other words, the counterexample is rejected for psychological, but not logical, reasons.

The appeal to purity or no true Scotsman fallacy is an attempt to defend a generalisation about a group from a counterexample by shifting the definition of the group in the middle of the argument. In this way, one can exclude the counterexample as not being “true”, “genuine”, or “pure” enough to be considered as part of the group in question.

To identify an appeal to authority fallacy , you can ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the authority cited really a qualified expert in this particular area under discussion? For example, someone who has formal education or years of experience can be an expert.
• Do experts disagree on this particular subject? If that is the case, then for almost any claim supported by one expert there will be a counterclaim that is supported by another expert. If there is no consensus, an appeal to authority is fallacious.
• Is the authority in question biased? If you suspect that an expert’s prejudice and bias could have influenced their views, then the expert is not reliable and an argument citing this expert will be fallacious.To identify an appeal to authority fallacy, you ask yourself whether the authority cited is a qualified expert in the particular area under discussion.

Appeal to authority is a fallacy when those who use it do not provide any justification to support their argument. Instead they cite someone famous who agrees with their viewpoint, but is not qualified to make reliable claims on the subject.

Appeal to authority fallacy is often convincing because of the effect authority figures have on us. When someone cites a famous person, a well-known scientist, a politician, etc. people tend to be distracted and often fail to critically examine whether the authority figure is indeed an expert in the area under discussion.

The ad populum fallacy is common in politics. One example is the following viewpoint: “The majority of our countrymen think we should have military operations overseas; therefore, it’s the right thing to do.”

This line of reasoning is fallacious, because popular acceptance of a belief or position does not amount to a justification of that belief. In other words, following the prevailing opinion without examining the underlying reasons is irrational.

The ad populum fallacy plays on our innate desire to fit in (known as “bandwagon effect”). If many people believe something, our common sense tells us that it must be true and we tend to accept it. However, in logic, the popularity of a proposition cannot serve as evidence of its truthfulness.

Ad populum (or appeal to popularity) fallacy and appeal to authority fallacy are similar in that they both conflate the validity of a belief with its popular acceptance among a specific group. However there is a key difference between the two:

• An ad populum fallacy tries to persuade others by claiming that something is true or right because a lot of people think so.
• An appeal to authority fallacy tries to persuade by claiming a group of experts believe something is true or right, therefore it must be so.

To identify a false cause fallacy , you need to carefully analyse the argument:

• When someone claims that one event directly causes another, ask if there is sufficient evidence to establish a cause-and-effect relationship. 
• Ask if the claim is based merely on the chronological order or co-occurrence of the two events. 
• Consider alternative possible explanations (are there other factors at play that could influence the outcome?).

By carefully analysing the reasoning, considering alternative explanations, and examining the evidence provided, you can identify a false cause fallacy and discern whether a causal claim is valid or flawed.

False cause fallacy examples include: 

• Believing that wearing your lucky jersey will help your team win 
• Thinking that everytime you wash your car, it rains
• Claiming that playing video games causes violent behavior 

In each of these examples, we falsely assume that one event causes another without any proof.

The planning fallacy and procrastination are not the same thing. Although they both relate to time and task management, they describe different challenges:

• The planning fallacy describes our inability to correctly estimate how long a future task will take, mainly due to optimism bias and a strong focus on the best-case scenario.
• Procrastination refers to postponing a task, usually by focusing on less urgent or more enjoyable activities. This is due to psychological reasons, like fear of failure.

In other words, the planning fallacy refers to inaccurate predictions about the time we need to finish a task, while procrastination is a deliberate delay due to psychological factors.

A real-life example of the planning fallacy is the construction of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. When construction began in the late 1950s, it was initially estimated that it would be completed in four years at a cost of around $7 million.

Because the government wanted the construction to start before political opposition would stop it and while public opinion was still favorable, a number of design issues had not been carefully studied in advance. Due to this, several problems appeared immediately after the project commenced.

The construction process eventually stretched over 14 years, with the Opera House being completed in 1973 at a cost of over $100 million, significantly exceeding the initial estimates.

An example of appeal to pity fallacy is the following appeal by a student to their professor:

“Professor, please consider raising my grade. I had a terrible semester: my car broke down, my laptop got stolen, and my cat got sick.”

While these circumstances may be unfortunate, they are not directly related to the student’s academic performance.

While both the appeal to pity fallacy and   red herring fallacy can serve as a distraction from the original discussion topic, they are distinct fallacies. More specifically:

• Appeal to pity fallacy attempts to evoke feelings of sympathy, pity, or guilt in an audience, so that they accept the speaker’s conclusion as truthful.
• Red herring fallacy attempts to introduce an irrelevant piece of information that diverts the audience’s attention to a different topic.

Both fallacies can be used as a tool of deception. However, they operate differently and serve distinct purposes in arguments.

Argumentum ad misericordiam (Latin for “argument from pity or misery”) is another name for appeal to pity fallacy . It occurs when someone evokes sympathy or guilt in an attempt to gain support for their claim, without providing any logical reasons to support the claim itself. Appeal to pity is a deceptive tactic of argumentation, playing on people’s emotions to sway their opinion.

Yes, it’s quite common to start a sentence with a preposition, and there’s no reason not to do so.

For example, the sentence “ To many, she was a hero” is perfectly grammatical. It could also be rephrased as “She was a hero to  many”, but there’s no particular reason to do so. Both versions are fine.

Some people argue that you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition , but that “rule” can also be ignored, since it’s not supported by serious language authorities.

Yes, it’s fine to end a sentence with a preposition . The “rule” against doing so is overwhelmingly rejected by modern style guides and language authorities and is based on the rules of Latin grammar, not English.

Trying to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition often results in very unnatural phrasings. For example, turning “He knows what he’s talking about ” into “He knows about what he’s talking” or “He knows that about which he’s talking” is definitely not an improvement.

No, ChatGPT is not a credible source of factual information and can’t be cited for this purpose in academic writing . While it tries to provide accurate answers, it often gets things wrong because its responses are based on patterns, not facts and data.

Specifically, the CRAAP test for evaluating sources includes five criteria: currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose . ChatGPT fails to meet at least three of them:

• Currency: The dataset that ChatGPT was trained on only extends to 2021, making it slightly outdated.
• Authority: It’s just a language model and is not considered a trustworthy source of factual information.
• Accuracy: It bases its responses on patterns rather than evidence and is unable to cite its sources .

So you shouldn’t cite ChatGPT as a trustworthy source for a factual claim. You might still cite ChatGPT for other reasons – for example, if you’re writing a paper about AI language models, ChatGPT responses are a relevant primary source .

ChatGPT is an AI language model that was trained on a large body of text from a variety of sources (e.g., Wikipedia, books, news articles, scientific journals). The dataset only went up to 2021, meaning that it lacks information on more recent events.

It’s also important to understand that ChatGPT doesn’t access a database of facts to answer your questions. Instead, its responses are based on patterns that it saw in the training data.

So ChatGPT is not always trustworthy . It can usually answer general knowledge questions accurately, but it can easily give misleading answers on more specialist topics.

Another consequence of this way of generating responses is that ChatGPT usually can’t cite its sources accurately. It doesn’t really know what source it’s basing any specific claim on. It’s best to check any information you get from it against a credible source .

No, it is not possible to cite your sources with ChatGPT . You can ask it to create citations, but it isn’t designed for this task and tends to make up sources that don’t exist or present information in the wrong format. ChatGPT also cannot add citations to direct quotes in your text.

Instead, use a tool designed for this purpose, like the Scribbr Citation Generator .

But you can use ChatGPT for assignments in other ways, to provide inspiration, feedback, and general writing advice.

GPT  stands for “generative pre-trained transformer”, which is a type of large language model: a neural network trained on a very large amount of text to produce convincing, human-like language outputs. The Chat part of the name just means “chat”: ChatGPT is a chatbot that you interact with by typing in text.

The technology behind ChatGPT is GPT-3.5 (in the free version) or GPT-4 (in the premium version). These are the names for the specific versions of the GPT model. GPT-4 is currently the most advanced model that OpenAI has created. It’s also the model used in Bing’s chatbot feature.

ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, an AI research company. It started as a nonprofit company in 2015 but became for-profit in 2019. Its CEO is Sam Altman, who also co-founded the company. OpenAI released ChatGPT as a free “research preview” in November 2022. Currently, it’s still available for free, although a more advanced premium version is available if you pay for it.

OpenAI is also known for developing DALL-E, an AI image generator that runs on similar technology to ChatGPT.

ChatGPT is owned by OpenAI, the company that developed and released it. OpenAI is a company dedicated to AI research. It started as a nonprofit company in 2015 but transitioned to for-profit in 2019. Its current CEO is Sam Altman, who also co-founded the company.

In terms of who owns the content generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI states that it will not claim copyright on this content , and the terms of use state that “you can use Content for any purpose, including commercial purposes such as sale or publication”. This means that you effectively own any content you generate with ChatGPT and can use it for your own purposes.

Be cautious about how you use ChatGPT content in an academic context. University policies on AI writing are still developing, so even if you “own” the content, you’re often not allowed to submit it as your own work according to your university or to publish it in a journal.

ChatGPT is a chatbot based on a large language model (LLM). These models are trained on huge datasets consisting of hundreds of billions of words of text, based on which the model learns to effectively predict natural responses to the prompts you enter.

ChatGPT was also refined through a process called reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), which involves “rewarding” the model for providing useful answers and discouraging inappropriate answers – encouraging it to make fewer mistakes.

Essentially, ChatGPT’s answers are based on predicting the most likely responses to your inputs based on its training data, with a reward system on top of this to incentivise it to give you the most helpful answers possible. It’s a bit like an incredibly advanced version of predictive text. This is also one of ChatGPT’s limitations : because its answers are based on probabilities, they’re not always trustworthy .

OpenAI may store ChatGPT conversations for the purposes of future training. Additionally, these conversations may be monitored by human AI trainers.

Users can choose not to have their chat history saved. Unsaved chats are not used to train future models and are permanently deleted from ChatGPT’s system after 30 days.

The official ChatGPT app is currently only available on iOS devices. If you don’t have an iOS device, only use the official OpenAI website to access the tool. This helps to eliminate the potential risk of downloading fraudulent or malicious software.

ChatGPT conversations are generally used to train future models and to resolve issues/bugs. These chats may be monitored by human AI trainers.

However, users can opt out of having their conversations used for training. In these instances, chats are monitored only for potential abuse.

Yes, using ChatGPT as a conversation partner is a great way to practice a language in an interactive way.

Try using a prompt like this one:

“Please be my Spanish conversation partner. Only speak to me in Spanish. Keep your answers short (maximum 50 words). Ask me questions. Let’s start the conversation with the following topic: [conversation topic].”

Yes, there are a variety of ways to use ChatGPT for language learning , including treating it as a conversation partner, asking it for translations, and using it to generate a curriculum or practice exercises.

AI detectors aim to identify the presence of AI-generated text (e.g., from ChatGPT ) in a piece of writing, but they can’t do so with complete accuracy. In our comparison of the best AI detectors , we found that the 10 tools we tested had an average accuracy of 60%. The best free tool had 68% accuracy, the best premium tool 84%.

Because of how AI detectors work , they can never guarantee 100% accuracy, and there is always at least a small risk of false positives (human text being marked as AI-generated). Therefore, these tools should not be relied upon to provide absolute proof that a text is or isn’t AI-generated. Rather, they can provide a good indication in combination with other evidence.

Tools called AI detectors are designed to label text as AI-generated or human. AI detectors work by looking for specific characteristics in the text, such as a low level of randomness in word choice and sentence length. These characteristics are typical of AI writing, allowing the detector to make a good guess at when text is AI-generated.

But these tools can’t guarantee 100% accuracy. Check out our comparison of the best AI detectors to learn more.

You can also manually watch for clues that a text is AI-generated – for example, a very different style from the writer’s usual voice or a generic, overly polite tone.

Our research into the best summary generators (aka summarisers or summarising tools) found that the best summariser available in 2023 is the one offered by QuillBot.

While many summarisers just pick out some sentences from the text, QuillBot generates original summaries that are creative, clear, accurate, and concise. It can summarise texts of up to 1,200 words for free, or up to 6,000 with a premium subscription.

Try the QuillBot summarizer for free

Deep learning requires a large dataset (e.g., images or text) to learn from. The more diverse and representative the data, the better the model will learn to recognise objects or make predictions. Only when the training data is sufficiently varied can the model make accurate predictions or recognise objects from new data.

Deep learning models can be biased in their predictions if the training data consist of biased information. For example, if a deep learning model used for screening job applicants has been trained with a dataset consisting primarily of white male applicants, it will consistently favour this specific population over others.

A good ChatGPT prompt (i.e., one that will get you the kinds of responses you want):

• Gives the tool a role to explain what type of answer you expect from it
• Is precisely formulated and gives enough context
• Is free from bias
• Has been tested and improved by experimenting with the tool

ChatGPT prompts are the textual inputs (e.g., questions, instructions) that you enter into ChatGPT to get responses.

ChatGPT predicts an appropriate response to the prompt you entered. In general, a more specific and carefully worded prompt will get you better responses.

Yes, ChatGPT is currently available for free. You have to sign up for a free account to use the tool, and you should be aware that your data may be collected to train future versions of the model.

To sign up and use the tool for free, go to this page and click “Sign up”. You can do so with your email or with a Google account.

A premium version of the tool called ChatGPT Plus is available as a monthly subscription. It currently costs £16 and gets you access to features like GPT-4 (a more advanced version of the language model). But it’s optional: you can use the tool completely free if you’re not interested in the extra features.

You can access ChatGPT by signing up for a free account:

• Follow this link to the ChatGPT website.
• Click on “Sign up” and fill in the necessary details (or use your Google account). It’s free to sign up and use the tool.
• Type a prompt into the chat box to get started!

A ChatGPT app is also available for iOS, and an Android app is planned for the future. The app works similarly to the website, and you log in with the same account for both.

According to OpenAI’s terms of use, users have the right to reproduce text generated by ChatGPT during conversations.

However, publishing ChatGPT outputs may have legal implications , such as copyright infringement.

Users should be aware of such issues and use ChatGPT outputs as a source of inspiration instead.

According to OpenAI’s terms of use, users have the right to use outputs from their own ChatGPT conversations for any purpose (including commercial publication).

However, users should be aware of the potential legal implications of publishing ChatGPT outputs. ChatGPT responses are not always unique: different users may receive the same response.

Furthermore, ChatGPT outputs may contain copyrighted material. Users may be liable if they reproduce such material.

ChatGPT can sometimes reproduce biases from its training data , since it draws on the text it has “seen” to create plausible responses to your prompts.

For example, users have shown that it sometimes makes sexist assumptions such as that a doctor mentioned in a prompt must be a man rather than a woman. Some have also pointed out political bias in terms of which political figures the tool is willing to write positively or negatively about and which requests it refuses.

The tool is unlikely to be consistently biased toward a particular perspective or against a particular group. Rather, its responses are based on its training data and on the way you phrase your ChatGPT prompts . It’s sensitive to phrasing, so asking it the same question in different ways will result in quite different answers.

Information extraction  refers to the process of starting from unstructured sources (e.g., text documents written in ordinary English) and automatically extracting structured information (i.e., data in a clearly defined format that’s easily understood by computers). It’s an important concept in natural language processing (NLP) .

For example, you might think of using news articles full of celebrity gossip to automatically create a database of the relationships between the celebrities mentioned (e.g., married, dating, divorced, feuding). You would end up with data in a structured format, something like MarriageBetween(celebrity 1 ,celebrity 2 ,date) .

The challenge involves developing systems that can “understand” the text well enough to extract this kind of data from it.

Knowledge representation and reasoning (KRR) is the study of how to represent information about the world in a form that can be used by a computer system to solve and reason about complex problems. It is an important field of artificial intelligence (AI) research.

An example of a KRR application is a semantic network, a way of grouping words or concepts by how closely related they are and formally defining the relationships between them so that a machine can “understand” language in something like the way people do.

A related concept is information extraction , concerned with how to get structured information from unstructured sources.

Yes, you can use ChatGPT to summarise text . This can help you understand complex information more easily, summarise the central argument of your own paper, or clarify your research question.

You can also use Scribbr’s free text summariser , which is designed specifically for this purpose.

Yes, you can use ChatGPT to paraphrase text to help you express your ideas more clearly, explore different ways of phrasing your arguments, and avoid repetition.

However, it’s not specifically designed for this purpose. We recommend using a specialised tool like Scribbr’s free paraphrasing tool , which will provide a smoother user experience.

Yes, you use ChatGPT to help write your college essay by having it generate feedback on certain aspects of your work (consistency of tone, clarity of structure, etc.).

However, ChatGPT is not able to adequately judge qualities like vulnerability and authenticity. For this reason, it’s important to also ask for feedback from people who have experience with college essays and who know you well. Alternatively, you can get advice using Scribbr’s essay editing service .

No, having ChatGPT write your college essay can negatively impact your application in numerous ways. ChatGPT outputs are unoriginal and lack personal insight.

Furthermore, Passing off AI-generated text as your own work is considered academically dishonest . AI detectors may be used to detect this offense, and it’s highly unlikely that any university will accept you if you are caught submitting an AI-generated admission essay.

However, you can use ChatGPT to help write your college essay during the preparation and revision stages (e.g., for brainstorming ideas and generating feedback).

ChatGPT and other AI writing tools can have unethical uses. These include:

• Reproducing biases and false information
• Using ChatGPT to cheat in academic contexts
• Violating the privacy of others by inputting personal information

However, when used correctly, AI writing tools can be helpful resources for improving your academic writing and research skills. Some ways to use ChatGPT ethically include:

• Following your institution’s guidelines
• Critically evaluating outputs
• Being transparent about how you used the tool

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When you place an order, you can specify your field of study and we’ll match you with an editor who has familiarity with this area.

However, our editors are language specialists, not academic experts in your field. Your editor’s job is not to comment on the content of your dissertation, but to improve your language and help you express your ideas as clearly and fluently as possible.

This means that your editor will understand your text well enough to give feedback on its clarity, logic and structure, but not on the accuracy or originality of its content.

Good academic writing should be understandable to a non-expert reader, and we believe that academic editing is a discipline in itself. The research, ideas and arguments are all yours – we’re here to make sure they shine!

After your document has been edited, you will receive an email with a link to download the document.

The editor has made changes to your document using ‘Track Changes’ in Word. This means that you only have to accept or ignore the changes that are made in the text one by one.

It is also possible to accept all changes at once. However, we strongly advise you not to do so for the following reasons:

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You choose the turnaround time when ordering. We can return your dissertation within 24 hours , 3 days or 1 week . These timescales include weekends and holidays. As soon as you’ve paid, the deadline is set, and we guarantee to meet it! We’ll notify you by text and email when your editor has completed the job.

Very large orders might not be possible to complete in 24 hours. On average, our editors can complete around 13,000 words in a day while maintaining our high quality standards. If your order is longer than this and urgent, contact us to discuss possibilities.

Always leave yourself enough time to check through the document and accept the changes before your submission deadline.

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If you don’t choose one, your editor will follow the style of English you currently use. If your editor has any questions about this, we will contact you.

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[Dissertation] Les différents types de plan possibles

Partage cet article :

Ah la la ! Les dissertations… c’est compliqué, c’est long, c’est fastidieux mais c’est surtout méthodique. Après une introduction rondement menée avec une belle amorce où tu t’accroches pour la trouver, des définitions connues sur le bout des doigts (n’est-ce-pas ?) et une problématique qui peut vraiment être problématique à formuler, vient l’étape du plan .

« Oh misère » : tu dois te dire ! C’est sûr que cela peut paraître très compliqué mais pas de panique. Chez les Sherpas, on a toujours un ou des plans pour toi et grâce à cet article tu vas avoir plein de bons plans à utiliser.

Bien sûr, le choix de ton plan dépend avant tout du sujet donné et du type de réflexion que le sujet requiert. Ce n’est qu’après une analyse précise du sujet que tu pourras choisir le bon type de plan, car souvent le sujet indique la démarche à suivre explicitement. En aucun cas, tu ne peux en appliquer un toujours, avec n’importe quelle sorte de sujet. De plus, certains sujets peuvent être traités avec des plans différents qu’on va te détailler ci-dessous.

Le plan thématique

Explications.

C’est le plan le plus simple et le plus habituel . En effet, il permet d’exposer un thème et de le développer d’après différents points de vue. Il s’appelle thématique car il s’organise autour de parties examinant les différents aspects d’une même question.

👉 Ce genre de plan répond aux sujets qui appellent une définition d’un sentiment ou/et d’un rôle ou/et d’une notion.

Exemple de sujets qui utilise ce type de plan

Sujet : Quels sont les différents types de mondialisation ? I – La mondialisation de l’économie productive II – La mondialisation financière III – La mondialisation culturelle

Le plan thématique est très présent mais ce n’est pas la panacée…

Trouver le bon plan pour ta dissertation peut être déroutant. Si tu cherches des astuces supplémentaires, considère un cours de soutien scolaire de français en ligne pour maîtriser les techniques de rédaction. 📘

Le plan dialectique ou critique

Définition et explications.

Tu es dans l’obligation d’adopter ce type de plan quand le sujet invite à discuter une idée ou nécessite une vérification et/ou corriger une définition, une affirmation ou la réalité d’un événement. Tu peux aussi l’utiliser lorsque le sujet évoque le fait de mesurer les avantages et les inconvénients de tel ou tel phénomène.

Ce type de plan nécessite l’examen détaillé de deux positions différentes. Alors la dissertation (composition) débute par l’exposé argumenté et réfléchi d’une thèse (d’une idée), se poursuit par la présentation d’arguments opposés, c’est-à-dire l’antithèse; et débouche, enfin, sur une tentative de conciliation des deux positions (ou idées), ou bien sur une prise de position personnelle sous la forme d’une synthèse.

🚨Le plan dialectique requiert de la nuance car tu ne dois pas développer, dans une première partie, un argument que tu contrediras par la suite. Sache aussi qu’une synthèse ne consiste pas à affirmer que tous les points de vue sont égaux, mais à faire une réponse complémentaire en lien avec les opinions développées dans les deux premières parties.

Exemple de sujet utilisant ce type de plan

Sujet : Selon vous, peut-on considérer le travail comme une drogue ? I. Le travail, lorsqu’on en devient dépendant, peut être considéré comme une drogue. (Thèse) II. Toutefois, le travail peut être une source de liberté. (Antithèse) III. Dans un travail, il faut, avant tout, considérer les conditions dans lesquelles on l’effectue, ainsi que les motivations et les responsabilités de celui qui l’exerce : il y trouvera, selon les cas, épanouissement ou aliénation. (Synthèse)

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Le plan analytique

Ce plan est parfait quand tu as à disserter sur des sujets qui conduisent à analyser un fait et/ou à réfléchir sur un problème global. Il décrit, dans un premier temps, le problème posé ou les formes d’un processus, puis en démontre les causes avant d’analyser les conséquences ainsi que des solutions éventuelles.

Exemple de plan analytique

Sujet : La pollution est-elle selon vous l’une des fatalités du monde moderne ? I – Ce phénomène semble irréversible. II – Cependant, au vu de ses conséquences dévastatrices sur de nombreux plans, des solutions existent. Tu penses qu’il n’existe que trois types de plan ? Eh bien non, quand il y en a plus, il y en a encore.

Le plan comparatif

Comme son nom l’indique, ce plan se réalise grâce à une comparaison afin de faire apparaître les similitudes et les différences d’une notion et/ou d’un phénomène. Donc, si tu choisis ce plan, tu confrontes tes arguments dans les deux premières parties de la dissertation, avant de faire un éventuel bilan ou un dépassement de ces deux oppositions.

Exemple de sujet en lien avec ce plan

Sujet : Un écrivain prétend qu’il n’y a que deux sortes de romans : le roman qui nous fait oublier la vie et le roman qui nous explique la vie. Qu’en pensez-vous ? I. Le roman peut faire oublier la vie. II. Le roman peut expliquer notre vie. III. Les meilleurs romans proposent une sublimation de la vie.

A retenir pour la structure de la dissertation

Tu as quelques règles à respecter dans la construction d’une dissertation et selon le type de plan que tu choisiras. Dans une dissertation, annonce dans l’introduction le plan du développement, c’est-à-dire les différentes parties que tu vas écrire. Sache que connaître le type de plan adopté te permettra une meilleure présentation de ta réflexion.

N’oublie pas de relier les parties de ton plan avec une transition-liaison résumant ce qui tu viens d’être développé et annonce ce qui va suivre grâce aux connecteurs logiques appropriés qui marquent soit la conséquence, soit l’opposition, soit l’addition. Enfin, sépare les différentes étapes du développement par un espace en sautant des lignes car cela permet une meilleure lisibilité du plan.

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Il existe quatre grands types de plans. En effet, il y a les plans thématique, dialectique ou critique, analytique, ou bien encore comparatif. Bien évidemment, l’analyse du sujet et de la consigne doit mener à choisir le bon plan. En espérant t’avoir donné le bon plan pour que tu réussisses à faire un bon plan. L’expression de la fin : ne pas tomber en plan au moment du plan.

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Confused About Different Types of Dissertation and How to Do Research on Them?

Table Of Contents

Introduction to dissertation: a brief explanation, types of dissertation, introduction to research, different types of dissertation research, how to choose right dissertation research method, facing issue in structuring your dissertation ask experts.

A dissertation is an academic task that provides the student's opportunity to write a substantial piece on an interesting topic, or students can also choose from different types of dissertation . This is one of the chances that the students can produce the work of the scholarship using the other academic skills they have developed. When it comes to preparing the doctoral dissertation, then it takes extreme perseverance. Master's or Ph.D. students must submit their dissertation to get their doctoral degrees. So after the sleepless nights and the labor-intensive research, you are ready to present the culmination of your hard work.

For this reason, having a solid knowledge base can be tricky, even though sometimes deciding where to begin and what to write is daunting. University and college students are worried about completing their dissertation writing task and completing their master's or Ph.D. write-up. Also, they must be aware of the things associated with writing the dissertation. One of them is the types of dissertation  and how to conduct the research for the dissertation types. So in this blog, we will provide information about the different types of dissertation .

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Dissertation, whenever students hear this word, they say it is a long piece of the academic write-up. It is based on the original research that the students conducted during the time of the writing task. A dissertation is the final step to finishing the Ph.D. program. For the students, the dissertation is one of the most extended pieces of academic writing they have ever completed. While writing the dissertation requires research, writing, and analysis, skills, and it can be intimidating to know where to start or begin with the write-up. The dissertation has three types, so let's learn about the different types of dissertation .

When it comes to the types of the dissertation, then there are three main types of the dissertation. They are qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods in the dissertation types. Therefore this blog will elaborate on the different types of dissertation by addressing their similarities and differences.

1. Quantitative Dissertation

Several students need clarification when they read or hear the word quantitative and types of methodology in dissertation . Here the word quantitative does not mean that the whole dissertation should be a quantitative research method or the usage of statistical analysis techniques. Instead, it addresses the research questions, hypotheses, or both. This is the type of research that helps to relate to establish the research strategy, conclude results, and make inferences.

2. Qualitative Dissertation

This is the second type of dissertation involving qualitative research methods. These methods are judged in the form of unstructured interviews, focus groups, and participant observation. Although several students use the research methods not employed in the quantitative dissertations, qualitative research is beyond the choice between the research methods. Stuck on how to write dissertation methodology , then consult experts. On the other hand, the research process is differently done by establishing the research questions, developing and utilizing the theoretical methods, and much more in a unique way.

3. Mixed Methods Dissertation

This is the last or third type of dissertation that is mixed methods. There are several reasons why students need to include mixed methods in the form of the thesis and the dissertations with various types of research dissertation . In this type of dissertation, students use both qualitative and quantitative approaches during the research. These types of dissertations are increasingly used with more profound legitimacy, and their components need to be adequately addressed.

Those mentioned above are the three types of dissertation. However, while writing the dissertation, research also plays a vital role. So know what research is and how to use different research methods for dissertation introduction writing .

Also Read:  What to Do If I Fail My Dissertation? What is the Solution?

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Selecting the correct research method for the dissertation is one of the most frustrating tasks for students. However, a student with a well-defined research methodology helps them conduct the research in the right direction. Also, it allows them to validate the results and ensures that the study that students are working on answers the hard research questions to plan your dissertation .

Several things come under the research title, and the research title, questions, hypothesis, objectives, and all the study areas are generally helpful in determining the best research methods. So what are you waiting for? Your professor assigned you the dissertation writing task then it is the right time to choose the  type of dissertations research to make your job easier for you.

Below mentioned are the different types of dissertation methodology that students can conduct while conducting it.

1. Quantitative Research Methods

Numerical data or data that may be quantified are linked to quantitative research. It is employed to research a sizable population. Statistical, mathematical, or computational methods are used to collect the data.

2. Qualitative Research Methods

It is a scientific investigation in which a researcher gathers data to find solutions to a problem. It has to do with learning about human behavior through research. It seeks to understand all the pertinent information about the issue.

3. Mixed Methods of Research

Mixed research methods result from combining quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Much academic research has been undertaken utilising mixed methods over the previous few decades due to the increased legitimacy this specific strategy has earned. It includes the idea that combining the two types of study can produce comprehensive and more reliable results.

4. Experimental Research Methods

Laboratory experiments and observational studies under controlled settings are considered experimental research. Various experiments are carried out to understand human behavior better. Investigations range from simple natural comparisons to personal observations, which helps to prepare a perfect dissertation .

5. Historical Research Methods

In historical research, a researcher gathers and examines data to comprehend, characterise, and justify previous occurrences. Researchers attempt to ascertain precisely and closely what occurred during a specific historical period. It forbids any variable manipulation or control.

6. Descriptive Research Methods

The goal of descriptive research is to gather data to address contemporary issues. It is based on Ex post facto research, which hypothesises potential causes for an already-occurring phenomenon. Instead of managing "why," it seeks to address questions like "how," "what," "when," "where," and "what."

With the help of the above-mentioned details, students can know how many types of research for dissertation are, and they can make the perfect dissertation structure . But some students need help choosing what type of research is best for them and for their write-up. So with the below-mentioned section, you will know how to select the suitable research method for your dissertation.

Also Read:  How to Write a Dissertation Conclusion to Make a Perfect Ending?

Some students need clarification after getting the information about the different dissertation types and research types. But why? They still need clarification on choosing the dissertation research type that is perfect for them. Every student needs to discern what they hope for their doctoral program. At the same time, consider the right dissertation research method. There are a couple of things that need to be considered. So they are:

• What are your motivations, personally or professionally?
• What are your academic goals or dreams?
• Mention the contributions you made to the field
• Want to collaborate with someone throughout the studies
• Things that they want to take away from their experiences, whether they are personal, professional, or academic.

Still, have doubts? If you do not get the correct answer, then do not worry. This is the right time to consult expert writers.

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De la dissertation en Histoire-Géographie (méthode - niveau Licence & Concours / Auteur : Monsieur CORRIGER)

Pierre-Philippe CORRIGER

Une dissertation est une démonstration, avec un traitement problématisé du sujet et une logique démonstrative. L'objectif de cet exercice est d'être capable de parler d'un sujet, en histoire ou en géographie, en faisant une démonstration, c'est-à-dire une rédaction raisonnée et structurée. Il faut que la rédaction soit pertinente et claire : une personne qui ne connaît presque rien au sujet intéressé est censée comprendre tout de suite de quoi il s'agit, simplement en lisant la copie. Pour proposer un raisonnement sur un sujet, il faut d'abord le présenter sommairement à son lecteur, puis le développer dans un plan en deux ou trois grandes parties où l'on apporte des explications et des exemples pour argumenter, avant de conclure, soit de résumer l'analyse. Une bonne dissertation vaut avant tout par la problématique qu'elle est capable de mettre en œuvre et par la cohérence de l'argumentation proposée dans le développement. Il est donc important de la construire, sans se limiter à juxtaposer des idées, et en prenant garde à toujours lier explicitement les arguments avancés avec le sujet.

Related Papers

Rodrigue Diaz

(en majuscule, suivi s'il y a lieu, du nom d'épouse) Prénoms : N° du candidat (le numéro est celui qui figure sur la convocation ou liste d'appel) Né(e) le : Appréciation du correcteur Il est interdit aux candidats de signer leur composition ou d'y mettre un signe quelconque pouvant indiquer sa provenance.

Cafés géographiques

Tratnjek Bénédicte

in W. Feuerhahn, dir., La Politique des chaires au Collège de France, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, « Docet omnia », p. 435-480.

Marie-Claire Robic , Olivier Orain

Entre 1885 et 1976, sept chaires du Collège de France ont porté le mot « géographie » dans leur intitulé. Cette séquence temporelle correspond assez étroitement avec ce que l’on pourrait qualifier de « moment de la géographie-discipline » : période durant laquelle la géographie s’installe peu à peu dans le système universitaire français, tend à se donner un projet spécifique d’intelligibilité du monde, connaît une acmé dans le système universitaire (dans les années 1930-40), avant de connaître des difficultés identitaires croissantes sur fond d’expansion démographique et de transformation de ses marchés, ces difficultés débouchant sur une crise sévère dans les années 1970. Pour cette période longue qui est aussi celle de l’essor des sciences humaines et sociales et de la disciplinarisation, nous disposons là d’une sorte de plan d’expérience permettant d'évaluer la singularité du Collège de France dans le mouvement scientifique et intellectuel, force innovante versus institution plutôt conformiste, reproductrice. En organisant l’analyse en deux moments de cette histoire disciplinaire, l’installation puis la reproduction et les malaises dans la géographie universitaire, nous nous interrogeons sur la nature des intitulés au regard des justifications qui ont été données sur le vif à leur choix et à leur formulation d’une part, et au regard des émergences, des concurrences, des dynamiques collectives que les historiens des sciences peuvent éventuellement détecter, a posteriori, lors de ces épisodes.

Vingtieme Siecle Revue D Histoire

Etienne Bourdon

annales.org

Bernard GUY

Trément F. dir. (2011-2013) Les Arvernes et leurs voisins du Massif Central à l’époque romaine. Une archéologie du développement des territoires. Revue d’Auvergne. Tome 2 : t.127, n°606-607, 2013

Frédéric Trément

Assoukrou René Bérenger Poupoint

TRATNJEK, Bénédicte, 2016, « Géographie et littérature (2/2) » (version actualisée), Cafés géographiques, rubrique « Des dossiers », 2 août 2016, en ligne : http://cafe-geo.net/geographie-et-litterature-2/ Dossier actualisé (1e version : 9 février 2013) de ressources commentées sur les liens entre géographie et littérature à partir des textes des Cafés géographiques, accompagné de sa bibliographie/sitographie complémentaire (nombreuses ressources disponibles en ligne).

Carnets de géographes

Laura Péaud

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La Classe du Littéraire

Explications de textes, biographies d'auteurs, méthodologie, grammaire … Tout pour le Bac de Français et les études littéraires.

La Méthode de la Dissertation pour le Bac de Français

En suivant la bonne méthode, il est tout à fait possible d’ avoir une excellente note à l’épreuve de la dissertation du Bac de Français .

Ceci étant dit, c’est une épreuve complexe, dense, et qui implique de nombreuses compétences. Il est donc nécessaire de la préparer sérieusement tout au long de l’année.

Mais pourquoi travailler toute l’année une épreuve quand on sait qu’on aura le choix entre deux sujets à la fin ?

Pour rappel, l’épreuve écrite du Bac de Français laisse le choix aux candidats entre le commentaire littéraire ou la dissertation sur une oeuvre .

La majorité des élèves choisit le commentaire. Pourtant, une dissertation bien menée permet à certains candidats de tirer leur épingle du jeu et d’avoir une note excellente en se démarquant des autres.

De plus, il est possible de tomber sur un texte très difficile au commentaire … dans ce cas, heureux celui qui sera capable de traiter le sujet de dissertation.

Dans cet article, vous apprendrez les étapes pour rédiger une bonne dissertation littéraire .

À travers cette méthodologie de la dissertation en français , vous découvrirez les bases comme les différents types de sujets , les éléments de l’introduction ou encore la présentation du développement .

Je vous partagerai également des astuces pour éviter d’être en panne d’idées , pour toujours trouver des arguments et, in fine , être capable de rendre une bonne copie à coup sûr !

Méthode Bac Français : Les objectifs de la dissertation

Avant d’entrer dans le détail de cette méthodologie, commençons par comprendre le but de l’épreuve.

Il s’agit de l’une des deux modalités proposées par le ministère pour évaluer les acquis des élèves à l’issue du tronc commun de français.

En d’autres termes, la dissertation littéraire doit permettre au correcteur d’apprécier les compétences développées par le candidat depuis qu’il étudie la littérature française (la grammaire étant évaluée à l’oral).

Mais quelles sont donc ces compétences que tout élève est censé avoir acquis à l’issue de sa scolarité ?

Eh bien tout d’abord, la culture littéraire . En effet, le correcteur s’intéressera aux références mobilisées par le candidat. Après des années à étudier des textes littéraires, il convient au Bac d’être capable de les faire dialoguer.

Ensuite, la dissertation évalue l’élève en tant que lecteur . Dans quelle mesure le candidat s’est-il approprié l’oeuvre au programme ? Est-il capable de faire référence à des passages précis ? Connait-il bien les personnages, les enjeux, le contexte littéraire, l’auteur ?

Enfin, de manière générale, cette épreuve évalue la capacité du candidat a développer une réflexion construite et argumentée . Pour cela, il doit puiser dans différentes compétences comme l’orthographe , la culture et l’esprit de synthèse .

Comprendre et prendre en compte ces objectifs est fondamental pour réussir une bonne dissertation en français.

Donner au correcteur ce qu’il attend, c’est s’assurer une bonne note.

C’est pourquoi il est primordial de comprendre ce qui est attendu d’un exercice avant de chercher à travailler sa méthodologie.

Méthode Bac Français : Les textes officiels sur la dissertation

Plongeons maintenant dans les textes officiels qui nous apprennent en détails ce qui est attendu des élèves lors de la dissertation au bac de français.

Qu’est-ce qu’une dissertation de français ?

La dissertation en français est un exercice argumentatif amenant le candidat à répondre à une question ou à discuter un point de vue en mobilisant sa culture littéraire. La dissertation littéraire peut porter sur une oeuvre ou sur une question littéraire générale.

Dans le cadre des nouveaux programme du Bac, la dissertation en français porte sur l’une des oeuvres au programme et sur le parcours associé.

Comment se passe la dissertation au bac de français ?

La dissertation en français fait l’objet d’une épreuve de 4h se déroulant vers la mi-juin. Les élèves la passent en fin de 1ère. Lors de l’épreuve, ils ont le choix entre plusieurs sujets : un commentaire littéraire ou une dissertation sur l’oeuvre du programme qu’ils ont étudiée.

Comment rédiger une bonne dissertation littéraire ?

Pour rédiger une bonne dissertation littéraire lors du bac de français, il faut développer un raisonnement construit, argumenté, étayé par des références littéraires concrètes liées à l’oeuvre et au parcours étudiés en classe. Le sujet doit être analysé, problématisé et discuté.

Voyons donc d’un peu plus près ce que disent exactement les textes.

La dissertation consiste à conduire une réflexion personnelle organisée sur une question littéraire portant sur l’une des œuvres et sur le parcours associé figurant dans le programme d’œuvres. Le candidat choisit l’un des trois sujets de dissertation, chacun étant en rapport avec l’une des œuvres du programme et son parcours associé. Pour développer son argumentation, le candidat s’appuie sur sa connaissance de l’œuvre et des textes étudiés dans le cadre de l’objet d’étude concerné, ainsi que sur ses lectures et sa culture personnelles. Cette production écrite est notée sur 20. Extrait de la note de service n° 2019-042 du 18 avril 2019

On lit ici clairement une attente forte en termes de culture et de restitution. Le candidat doit mobiliser le fruit de son travail de l’année, mais également des connaissances personnelles.

Des références à des lectures variées ainsi que d’autres types d’oeuvres d’art sont attendues.

Voici les 4 objectifs principaux tels qu’ils sont synthétisés sur éduscol :

• La compréhension du sens et des enjeux du sujet proposé ;
• Un développement pertinent et cohérent, organisé en plusieurs parties, proposant un traitement progressif et argumenté du sujet ;
• Une connaissance suffisamment précise de l’œuvre et de ses contextes pour permettre de justifier et d’exemplifier le propos ;
• Une expression correcte et juste, au service de la réflexion sur la question posée.

On voit que la méthodologie attendue est assez libre. Le développement doit cependant rester “organisé en plusieurs parties” et “cohérent”.

Ainsi, nous travaillerons sur une méthodologie rigoureuse permettant de répondre à chacun des attendus et de guider l’élève dans sa composition.

Pour en savoir plus sur les attendus de correction, vous pouvez consulter le document mis à disposition des professeurs pour le travail de la dissertation .

Méthode Dissertation Français : Le travail préparatoire

Mais assez préambulé ! Il est temps de voir concrètement comment réussir la dissertation du bac de français .

Identifier le type de sujet

Une fois le sujet distribué, vous allez vous retrouver face à une feuille qui ressemblera à ça :

La première chose à faire est de trouver le sujet qui correspond à l’oeuvre que vous avez travaillée.

Pour chaque objet d’étude, il y a 3 oeuvres au choix du professeur. Vous choisirez donc le sujet qui correspond à l’oeuvre étudiée entre les sujets A, B et C.

Une fois le bon sujet trouvé, il s’agit de déterminer s’il porte sur une citation (c’est le cas des sujets A et C) ou sur une question seule.

On regardera également si la question du sujet est ouverte ou fermée. Si on peut répondre par oui / non, la question est fermée, si on ne peut pas, elle est ouverte.

Exemple de question fermée :

Cette première étape d’identification du type de sujet va permettre d’adapter votre plan aux attentes du correcteur.

En effet, dans le cadre d’une question fermée, on adoptera plutôt un plan dialectique alors que pour une question ouverte on choisira un plan thématique.

Voir la section “trouver un plan” ci-dessous pour plus de détails sur les types de plans.

De plus, si le sujet porte sur une citation, il sera nécessaire, si possible, de recontextualiser cette citation, sinon, à minima, de l’analyser en profondeur et de la reformuler.

Exemples de sujets

Pour découvrir davantage d’exemples de sujets, je vous invite à vous rendre sur ce site qui recense toutes les annales de l’épreuve

Analyser le sujet

Une fois le sujet bien lu et bien compris, il va falloir l’analyser. C’est à dire suivre trois étapes importantes :

Éclaircir les références

Le sujet cherche peut-être à activer des connaissances littéraires vues en cours. Il faut trouver lesquelles. Commencez par observer la citation s’il y en a une et demandez-vous si vous l’avez déjà lue.

Si oui, dans quel livre ? Quel passage du livre ? Que voulait dire l’auteur ? À quel contexte historique ou littéraire se référait-il ?

Si vous ne connaissez pas la citation (ce n’est pas grave !), demandez-vous pourquoi elle vous est proposée. Dans l’exemple ci-dessus sur Manon Lescaut, qui est Tiberge ? Quel est son rôle dans le roman ? Qu’a-t-il à voir avec l’idée d’immoralité au centre de la question ?

Définir les mots importants

Un sujet va toujours centrer le questionnement autour d’une idée. Il n’est pas possible de tout dire sur l’oeuvre, et ce n’est pas ce qui est demandé.

Il faut donc identifier les mots qui vous semblent les plus importants, et en noter une définition. Cette étape est importante pour éviter l’écueil du hors-sujet.

Identifier les cas de polysémie

Dans certains sujets, un mot peut avoir plusieurs sens. Identifier cette polysémie permet d’emblée de donner de la consistance à votre réflexion.

Aussi, il ne faut pas chercher à fuir la polysémie, mais au contraire à l’interroger : le mot a plusieurs sens ? Questionnez ce choix sémantique et le lien entre les différents sens et l’oeuvre au programme. Cela vous donnera peut-être des idées d’axes.

Prenons l’exemple du mot “immoralité” dans le sujet sur Manon Lescaut.

Quel est le sens actuel de ce mot ? a-t-il évolué depuis la parution du roman ? les personnages de l’oeuvre se sentent-ils immoraux ? si l’immoralité fait le plaisir de la lecture, l’oeuvre est-elle dessinée à un public de lecteurs sans morale ?

Vous voyez les pistes qui peuvent s’ouvrir à partir d’un seul mot …

Formuler une problématique

Comme dans tout travail argumenté, il est nécessaire de problématiser une dissertation. C’est à dire d’extraire le questionnement contenu dans le sujet.

Cependant, il ne s’agit pas d’une simple reformulation du sujet, mais d’une explicitation du questionnement.

Si le sujet est une citation, il faut reformuler la citation, puis l’exprimer sous la forme d’une question. Il faut envisager dans la problématique l’antithèse, qui n’est pas toujours exprimée dans le sujet.

Par exemple, pour le sujet « l’art doit il rejeter toute forme d’utilité ? » on pourrait imaginer une problématique comme : L’idée d’utilité est-elle obligatoirement en conflit avec l’art ? L’art perd-il son statut dès lors qu’il devient un moyen et non une fin en soi ? etc.

Toujours sur notre sujet sur Manon Lescaut , on pourrait imaginer la problématique suivante :

Dans Manon Lescaut , le personnage de Tiberge incarne la morale et cherche sans cesse à ramener Des Grieux dans le droit chemin en l’éloignant de Manon. C’est ainsi que Musset, dans son poème “Namouna”, en fait un personnage ennuyeux.

Aussi, on peut se demander si ce personnage droit est condamné à la platitude. En d’autres termes, la saveur du personnage de Manon et de la lecture du roman tient-elle à l’immoralité qui y est mise en scène ?

Trouver un plan

Une fois le sujet problématisé, il faut trouver le plan.

Ici, retour à l’analyse du sujet.

En effet, le type de plan choisit dépend du type de sujet proposé.

Il existe 2 types de plan principaux pour la dissertation littéraire.

Le plan dialectique 

Il sert à envisager les deux opinions d’un sujet, puis il les dépasse, ou synthétise, afin d’arriver à une réponse finale construite. 

Il faut essayer de rester fin, la deuxième partie ne doit pas entièrement infirmer la première, il ne s’agit pas de vous contredire, mais de faire avancer le raisonnement.

Enfin, le slogan « thèse, antithèse, synthèse » ne fonctionne pas réellement. Il ne s’agit pas de dire oui, non, un peu oui et un peu non en même temps , mais bien de construire un raisonnement, d’envisager les limites d’une thèse et de les dépasser. 

Il est utilisé pour un sujet qui vous demande d’envisager les deux opinions, ex : le sujet sur Manon Lescaut

• Oui, parce-que …………..
• En revanche il faut garder à l’esprit que ………….
• Finalement, on comprend que l’un n’exclut pas l’autre et que ……………

Le plan thématique

Il permet de décliner différents thèmes pour répondre à un sujet. 

Ce type de plan suppose tout de même une progressivité, on cherche à aller du thème le plus simple et évident au plus complexe.

Il est utilisé dans le cas d’un sujet qui demande d’étayer une thèse et non de la discuter, ex : Le sujet A sur Gargantua

• Parce que …………..

Une fois que l’on a trouvé de quel plan on va avoir besoin, il reste encore à le remplir.

Comment trouver des arguments pour une dissertation ?

Pour trouver des arguments pour une dissertation, on commence par créer un tableau avec les grands axes du plan, puis on cherche les exemples vus en cours et appartenant à notre culture personnelle qui peuvent s’intégrer aux différents axes. Ensuite, on affine et on discute ces exemples.

En d’autres termes, il faut faire feu de tout bois.

C’est à dire noter au brouillon tout ce qu’on se souvient avoir étudié qui peut avoir à voir de près ou de loin à l’oeuvre sur laquelle porte le sujet.

On note ensuite l’ensemble des éléments trouvés sur une feuille, puis on les redistribue aux différents axes du plan.

Normalement, vous travaillez pendant l’année sur un parcours thématique lié à l’oeuvre du programme choisie. Ainsi, tout ce que vous voyez en classe peut être mobilisé pour la dissertation au bac.

Vous verrez qu’une fois vos souvenirs bien creusés, il ne vous reste que peu de trous dans le plan.

C’est à ce moment que vous devez procéder en sens inverse : de quoi ai-je besoin pour remplir cette partie ? Qu’est-ce que je connais qui pourrait répondre à la question ?

Pour trouver des idées, il ne faut pas reculer face aux questions difficiles.

Faites dialoguer les textes, les films, les séries, les tableaux ou les autres oeuvres que vous connaissez. Par exemple, le personnage de Manon Lescaut est immoral, à l’instar du personnage de Georges Duroy dans Bel-Ami de Maupassant.

Leurs différences peuvent être étudiées pour apporter de la profondeur à votre raisonnement.

Un dernier point important : la dissertation vise à vous évaluer, montrez donc tout ce que vous savez, ne vous limitez pas et envisagez tous les aspects de la question qui vous est posée.

Méthode Dissertation Français : La rédaction

Une fois le travail préalable effectué au brouillon, vous avez fait le plus difficile.

Il vous reste à développer vos arguments à l’écrit et à rédiger l’ensemble du devoir en suivant une structure rigoureuse qui reflète votre raisonnement.

Quelle est la structure de la dissertation ?

La structure de la dissertation comprend une introduction en un paragraphe suivie d’au moins 6 paragraphes représentant chacun une sous-partie (3 axes avec 2 sous-parties ou 2 axes avec 3 sous-parties). À la fin vient la conclusion, elle aussi composée d’un seul paragraphe.

Ça vous dit quelque chose ?

C’est normal : c’est la même chose que pour le commentaire littéraire .

Voyons tout cela de plus près :

Chaque paragraphe commence par un alinéa 

• Introduction  :

1 paragraphe (retours à la ligne possibles, mais pas de sauts de ligne)

• Phrase d’accroche
• Citation du sujet
• Analyse des mots clés
• Problématique
• Annonce du plan

Le tout doit être le plus fluide possible, chaque point de l’introduction doit découler du précédent, pour ne pas paraître trop mécanique. 

• Développement  :

Vous rédigez le contenu de votre plan détaillé, attention, il ne faut pas écrire le titre des parties et sous-parties . Seule la construction du devoir et la clarté du découpage en paragraphes des sous-parties permet de reconstituer le plan. 

La fin d’une sous-partie sert de transition à la suivante, en une ou deux phrases pour amener la suite de manière fluide. 

• 1 paragraphe par sous-partie
• 1 ligne entre chaque sous-partie 
• 2 lignes entre chaque grande partie
• Conclusion  :
• Résumé du raisonnement
• Réponse à la problématique
• Éventuellement une ouverture

Pour vous aider à mémoriser, voici un schéma représentant la structure d’une dissertation :

Dernier point important concernant la rédaction d’une dissertation : comme pour le commentaire littéraire, on évite le “je” et on lui préfère la forme impersonnelle : “il” / “on” et éventuellement “nous”.

Méthode : L’introduction de la dissertation en français

L’introduction de votre devoir est la première chose que lira le correcteur.

Certains disent que c’est la partie la plus importante.

Quoi qu’il en soit, il importe d’y apporter un soin particulier, c’est-à-dire de respecter scrupuleusement ses différentes étapes et de soigner votre rédaction et votre style.

• La phrase d’accroche permet situer le sujet dans un contexte plus large (Histoire, chronologie, étymologie, actualité, etc.)
• La citation du sujet permet de faire le pont entre votre accroche générale et la problématique précise à laquelle vous allez répondre
• L’analyse des mots clés du sujet vous permet de lancer la réflexion et de montrer que vous êtes capable d’en proposer une lecture fine
• La problématique va guider tout le reste de votre devoir et montre que le sujet fait sens pour vous et que vous êtes capable de le reformuler
• L’annonce du plan permet à votre correcteur d’avoir une première idée du sens que va prendre votre réflexion

Attention, toutes les étapes de l’introduction doivent s’enchaîner de la manière la plus naturelle possible. Il n’est pas possible d’écrire dans un format prise de notes comme dans l’exemple ci-dessous :

Problématique : l’immoralité de Manon Lescaut fait-elle le plaisir du lecteur ? Plan : I. Oui parce que … II. Non parce que … À ne pas reproduire !

Pour aller plus loin, consultez mon article sur l’introduction de la dissertation en français .

Méthode : Le développement de la dissertation en français

Pour le développement, vous serez évalué sur votre capacité à présenter vos arguments de manière construite et logique.

Chaque idée doit être étayée par un exemple précis, cité, dans la mesure du possible, avec ses sources (auteur, oeuvre, date).

Dans le cadre d’un exemple faisant référence à un passage entier d’une oeuvre, pas besoin de citer mot pour mot le texte, simplement de présenter la situation.

En revanche, quelques citations précises sont attendues.

Quand vous rédigez, gardez bien en tête la structure suivante : Argument – Exemple – Justification

Vous la reproduirez plusieurs fois dans chaque partie, et pouvez par conséquent y apporter des modifications : Argument principal – Exemple 1 – Justification – Exemple 2 – Argument 2 – Justification comparant les 2 exemples .

Une fois encore, tout est question de nuance. Il n’y a qu’en vous exerçant que vous arriverez à développer vos compétences rédactionnelles et logiques !

Méthode : La conclusion de la dissertation en français

Comme dans la plupart des exercices argumentés, la conclusion se compose de 2 étapes nécessaires et d’une étape facultative.

• Le résumé du développement permet de rappeler à la mémoire du correcteur (et à la vôtre après plus de trois heures de travail) les différents arguments mobilisés.
• La réponse à la question permet de faire la synthèse de ces argument pour dégager une réponse claire à la problématique posée en introduction.
• L’ouverture consiste à élargir le raisonnement et le questionnement vers de nouveaux horizons. Vous pouvez vous en servir pour mentionner une autre oeuvre à laquelle le sujet vous fait penser, un sujet d’actualité ou une question proche qui vous semble pertinente.

Ne pas oublier la relecture !

La relecture est primordiale dans tout travail rédigé long.

Gardez au moins 20 minutes en fin d’épreuve pour relire attentivement votre copie.

Procédez en plusieurs relectures : visez d’abord les fautes d’accord, puis les fautes de conjugaison, et enfin les fautes d’orthographe, par exemple.

Vous pouvez aussi accorder une relecture à la syntaxe et à la qualité de l’expression. Vérifiez que vos phrases ne sont pas trop longues, qu’elles sont bien claires et qu’elles n’ont pas de double-sens fortuit.

Enfin, profitez-en pour vous assurer que vous avez bien souligné les titres d’oeuvres et mis les citations entre guillemets.

Quelle que soit la méthode choisie, l’important est de vous relire. Après 3h30 de rédaction, vous pouvez être sûr qu’il reste d’énormes erreurs dans votre travail, même si vous avez une orthographe irréprochable. Alors prenez votre courage à deux mains et traquez ces dernières fautes !

Fiche Méthode Dissertation Français en PDF

J’ai cherché à présenter dans cet article une méthode générale pour la dissertation en français .

Aussi, l’article peut-il sembler long et touffu aux élèves qui débutent dans l’exercice.

C’est pourquoi je vais m’attacher à résumer les étapes importantes ci-dessous, puis les proposer dans une fiche méthode PDF en bas de page.

Résumé de la Méthode de la Dissertation en Français

Voici la méthode de la dissertation pour le bac de français en 9 étapes simples :

• Lire le sujet et entourer les mots importants
• Déterminer si le sujet appelle un plan dialectique (question fermée) ou thématique (question ouverte)
• Reformuler le sujet sous la forme d’une question qui sera la problématique du devoir
• Trouver un plan et l’alimenter avec des idées et exemples issus de vos cours et de votre culture personnelle
• Rédiger l’introduction au brouillon de manière fluide et naturelle (accroche, sujet, définitions, problématique et plan)
• Rédiger au propre le développement (minimum 6 paragraphes au total)
• Rédiger la conclusion (résumé, réponse à la problématique, ouverture)
• Vérifier la structure du devoir (sauts de lignes, alinéas)
• Relire l’ensemble du devoir (orthographe et syntaxe)

Besoin d’une aide personnalisée ?

Je propose également des cours particuliers pour tous niveaux :

• Préparation d’examens
• Stages méthodologiques
• Révisions culture littéraire
• Grammaire et orthographe
• Et bien d’autres possibilités

Le tout en 100% distanciel (par WebCam) à partir de 50 euros / heure .

N’hésitez pas à me contacter ( [email protected] ) pour davantage de renseignements, et pour réserver votre premier cours !

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