psychology thesis structure

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Love research? Interested in taking what you learned in a PSYCH 4998 lab further? Consider completing a undergraduate thesis in psychology!

To Graduate “With Research Distinction in Psychology” a Student Must:  

• Be a psychology major (if you are an honors student, see "Honors Research Distinction in Psychology" below
• Graduate with at least a 3.0 overall GPA
• Take PSYCH 4999.01 and 4999.02 (Both of these course are  only  offered in Spring semester)
• Write and successfully defend a Psychology Thesis

The Thesis is independent research conducted by the student and supervised by a psychology faculty member. The Psychology Department requires completion of a two-course sequence (PSYCH 4999.01 and 4999.02). Each course is taught in subsequent spring semesters. For example, students on a traditional four-year plan would take Psychology 4999.01 in spring semester of their junior year and PSYCH 4999.02 in spring semester of their senior year. However, with support of the Faculty Thesis Advisor, a students may begin a Thesis and Psychology 4999.01 in spring of their sophomore year.

To Graduate “With Honors Research Distinction in Psychology” a Student Must:  

• Be a psychology major
• Be a member of the Arts and Sciences Honors Program
• Graduate with at least a 3.4 overall GPA
• Complete the psychology major Honors Contract Requirements
• Take PSYCH 4999.01H and 4999.02H (Both of these courses are  only  offered in Spring semester)
• Write and successfully defend a Psychology Honors Thesis

The Honors Thesis is independent research conducted by the student and supervised by a psychology faculty member (only tenured or tenure-track faculty may advise an Honors Thesis). The Psychology Department requires completion of a two-course sequence (PSYCH 4999.01H and 4999.02H). Each course is taught in subsequent spring semesters. For example, a student on a traditional four-year plan would take PSYCH 4999.01H in spring semester of their junior year and PSYCH 4999.02H in spring semester of their senior year. However, with support of the Faculty Honors Thesis Advisor, a student may begin an Honors Thesis and Psychology 4999.01H in spring of their sophomore year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Talk to your psychology advisor, attend our annual Psychology Enrichment Program “Getting Involved in Research in the Psychology Department,” attend the annual Psychology Undergraduate Research Colloquium, explore the PSYCH 4998 opportunities, or talk to your fellow students who are in research labs.

Students interested in pursuing a Thesis or Honors Thesis should begin participating in research (PSYCH 4998) no later than their sophomore year.

Students should secure a Faculty Thesis Advisor by fall semester of the junior year (typically this will be a faculty member with whom you completed 4998 research).

Go to the Be a Research Assistant webpage and find a project that sparks your interest. Check out the lab websites and start applying. It is recommended to apply to 5-7 labs. Once accepted, you can negotiate your hours and responsibilities (this will determine the number of credit hours you receive), have the faculty member sign a course enrollment form (s/he will have the class number), take the course enrollment form to the Psychology Advising Office (PS 015) or email it to [email protected] .

To enroll in PSYCH 4999.01 or 4999.01H, students should complete the Psychology Thesis/Honors Thesis Application. The application requires the signature of the Faculty Thesis Advisor. Once this is turned in to [email protected], students will be enrolled in PSYCH 4999.01 or 4999.01H.

For non-Honors students:

You must submit a Thesis Application with the  College of Arts and Sciences  (under Research Distinction) at least one term before your graduating term. You will need to submit a research proposal and your Faculty Thesis Advisor’s signature on the application form. You will need to schedule an appointment with your Psychology Advisor to complete the Major Program Form on the application.

For Honors students:

The application to graduate with Honors Research Distinction is available from the  Arts and Sciences Honors Office . You will need to submit a research proposal and your Faculty Thesis Advisor’s signature on the application form. If you do not have an approved Honors Contract on file at the Honors Office, you will need to call (614) 292-5750 to schedule an appointment with the Psychology Honors Advisor to complete the Major Program Form of the application (you will have to complete the psychology major contract requirements).

After you have successfully completed your written Thesis document, you will have an hour-long meeting with your Faculty Thesis Advisor and one other faculty member. You will describe your Thesis project to them, and they will ask you questions about your work. You must defend your Thesis at least two weeks before the end of the term you graduate.

UCL Doctorate In Clinical Psychology

Guidelines for Writing and Presenting the Thesis

The DClinPsy thesis has two volumes. The major research project forms Volume 1; Volume 2 contains the four case reports and the service-related research report. These guidelines describe what goes into each part of the thesis and how it all fits together. They mostly focus on Volume 1, which is covered in the following section; the later section on layout and formatting covers both volumes.

What goes in Volume 1

Volume 1, the research component of the thesis, has a three-part structure, consisting of a literature review paper, an empirical paper and a critical appraisal. In addition, from June 2018 onwards, UCL regulations stipulate that the thesis should contain a brief (≤500 words)  Impact Statement , explaining how the work in the thesis could be put to beneficial use inside and outside of academia.

The first two parts (the literature review and the empirical paper) are in the form of papers that might be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal; the third part (the critical appraisal) is not intended for publication, but aims to give you an opportunity to reflect critically on the research that you carried out. Each part is described below.

There will inevitably be some overlap between each of the three parts: for example, the introduction section of the empirical paper may partly be condensed from the literature review paper, and the critical appraisal may address in greater detail some of the issues raised in the discussion section of the empirical paper. However, overlap should generally be minimal, and the same sentences should not normally be repeated in different parts of the thesis.

The regulations state that the length of the research thesis shall be approximately 25,000 words, with a maximum of 40,000 words; there is no minimum word count. We suggest that you aim for about 20,000 to 25,000 words. Conciseness of expression is greatly valued by the examiners, who may require overly wordy theses to be shortened.

We strongly encourage you to start writing drafts of your thesis early on, as this is an essential way to clarify your thoughts. It is a bad idea to leave a lot of the writing until late in the project, since this usually leads to a rushed, poor quality thesis.

Part 1. Review paper

The review paper (of approximately 8,000 words not including tables and references) is a focused review of a body of literature relevant to the research topic. It is not necessary to address the literature for every aspect of your empirical study (the introduction section of your empirical paper will provide the necessary background). The review paper should either be a stand-alone paper in its own right, which should pose a question and then systematically examine the empirical literature that addresses that question OR a Conceptual Introduction which reviews the evidence in a more narrative fashion. Guidance for both formats is avaiable on this website.

The structure that follows is for the stand alone paper - for a conceptual introduction you are free to organise it how you wish (see suggestions in the more detailed guidance in the Literature Review section of the website here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/clinical-psychology-doctorate/guidance-conceptual-... ):

• A structured Abstract (of about 200 words), with headings of Aims, Method, Results, Conclusions. It should specify the number of papers reviewed.
• The Introduction gives the background to the topic and ends with a clearly specified question that the review will address.
• The Method section specifies the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the studies to be reviewed and the search strategy for locating them. The latter should indicate which databases you used, with which search terms, and specify other search limits, e.g. date or publication type. You should also describe how you narrowed down the studies from the initial (usually large) number of hits generated by the search to the final set of studies that you focus on. The steps in the narrowing down process are usually illustrated by a flowchart.
• The Results section reviews the assembled studies. It is usually helpful to include a table listing their important characteristics and findings. The review should not be simply descriptive; it should weigh up the evidence, taking into account the methodological soundness of the studies, and take a critical perspective on the evidence base as a whole. It is often helpful to use a structured critical appraisal checklist -- there are several in the literature (see the list on Moodle).
• The Discussion section addresses what can be concluded from the body of studies reviewed. It should draw on the methodological critique of the studies in order to evaluate the quality of the evidence. It should also address the limitations of the review, draw any clinical implications and make suggestions for further research (that may, by remarkable coincidence, bear considerable similarity to the empirical project reported in the second part of the thesis).
• The References.
• Any appendices are placed at the end of Volume 1 (see section below on layout).

One model for the stand-alone paper style of this part of the thesis is articles in  Clinical Psychology Review . You could also look at any theoretical or review article in other clinical psychology journals. However, these published review papers, particularly those in prestigious journals, are usually much more ambitious in terms of quantity, scope and method than is possible within the constraints of the DClinPsy.

Part 2. Empirical paper

The empirical paper (of approximately 8,000 words not including tables and references) reports on your study. Its structure follows the usual research article format, although the length of each section will vary according to the nature of the project, and additional detail may need to be provided in the Method or Results sections (or in an Appendix). You can model it on papers in any mainstream peer-reviewed clinical psychology journal, e.g. the  British Journal of Clinical Psychology  or the  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , or a specialist journal in your particular research area. As a rough guide, each of the four main sections is usually in the range of about 1,500 to 2,500 words, with the Results section usually being longer than the other three. The structure is as follows:

• A structured  Abstract  (of about 200 words), with headings of Aims, Method, Results, Conclusions.
• Introduction . A brief review of the literature, which shows the flow of ideas leading to your research questions. The rationale for the study should be clearly articulated. The Introduction ends with your research questions or hypotheses.
• Method . A description of participants, procedures, design and measures. The methods should be described in sufficient detail to enable the reader to understand what was done and potentially to be able to replicate the study. For quantitative studies, the statistical power analysis should normally be reported. Descriptions of measures need to include sample items, response options, scoring methods and psychometric properties. There will also be a section on ethics, saying where approval was obtained and discussing any ethical issues in the study. For confidentiality reasons, no names of services where participants were recruited should be given.
• Results . The findings and any statistical analyses should be presented with the aid of tables and, if necessary, figures. It should be possible for the reader to evaluate the data from which your conclusions are drawn. Qualitative papers will include quotes to illustrate each of the themes.
• Discussion . An examination of the research questions in the light of the results obtained and the methods used. It will interpret the findings in the context of the research questions and the wider theoretical context in which the work was carried out, including a consideration of alternative explanations, methodological limitations and reasons for unexpected results. It will conclude with a discussion of the scientific and professional implications of the findings.
• References . A list of all references cited.

Part 3. Critical appraisal

The final part of the thesis (of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 words not including tables and references) is intended to encourage critical reflection on the whole process of doing the research. Its structure and content are more flexible than those of the other two parts. You could, for example, discuss how your previous experiences or theoretical orientation might have influenced how you set about the study, how the process of doing the research might have modified your views (it is often helpful to draw on your research journal here), how you dealt with any dilemmas or methodological choices that arose during the course of the study, and what you might have done differently and why. You could also include an expanded discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the study, its clinical and scientific implications, and future directions for research (depending on how extensively each of these areas is covered in the discussion section of the empirical paper). It is essential, however, to ensure that all important points are mentioned in your empirical paper first – this is not the place to introduce significant limitations of the study or different ways of interpreting the findings. Whilst it is less formal than the other two parts, the critical appraisal should not be overly personal; it should ideally be addressed to an audience of fellow researchers who might benefit from your considered thoughts about conducting the research.

All appendices are placed at the end of Volume 1. Include here any additional material related to the empirical study, or to the other two parts if needed. Essential material to append includes: the official letter giving ethical approval, sample letters to participants, participant information sheet, informed consent form, instruction sheets, questionnaires, interview schedules and any measures not in common use. Measures that are sensitive or copyrighted will eventually need to be removed. Raw data and computer printouts are not normally needed. However, for qualitative studies, examples of the procedures of analysis should be included.

Confidentiality and privacy

Once your thesis is completed it will effectively become a public document, available on the internet via the UCL's e-thesis repository (UCL Discovery). Therefore it is essential when presenting your work that your participants' right to confidentiality and privacy be upheld. In particular, students writing up small-N and qualitative studies should be especially careful to ensure that no participants are identifiable from the thesis.

Layout and formatting

The text should be double-spaced on plain, white A4 paper. Both sides of the paper may be used - you can choose whether to print the thesis single-sided or double-sided. Margins at the binding edge should be 4cm. The other margins (i.e. top, bottom and unbound side) should be 2.5cm. Remember, if you include a table or figure that uses a landscape page setup then the margins need to be adjusted accordingly, i.e. 4cm becomes the top margin.

Number pages on the bottom right or bottom centre of the page. Page 1 is the title page (although it looks tidier if you suppress the page numbering for that page only).

For general guidance on formatting, follow  APA style , as set out in the  APA Publication Manual  (7th edition). It is essential to use APA citation and referencing style (see the course document on Moodle), and also to lay out tables in APA format. Heading formats can depart slightly from APA style (e.g. you can use italicised headings, or adopt a numbering system if you wish): what is important is to adopt a systematic hierarchy of headings within each part of the thesis. Look at recent theses for models of layout and formatting (ask your UCL supervisor to recommend one or two). Pay meticulous attention to spelling, grammar, punctuation and format: poorly presented theses give an impression of carelessness and will be referred for revision.

The thesis is more easily readable if you left justify the text and use a standard font. We recommend Times New Roman 12 point or Arial 11 point for the main body of the text, although tables and figures can be set in a smaller font size if necessary, as long as they are readable. In accordance with APA style, the best way to indicate a new paragraph in double-spaced text is to indent its first word; there is then no need to leave a blank line between paragraphs.

Tables and figures are numbered (Table 1 etc.) and usually placed on their own separate pages, although smaller ones can be embedded in the text, usually just below the paragraph that first refers to them (in contrast to APA format for submitted journal articles, where the tables and figures are at the end of the paper).

Volume 1 is laid out in the following order:

• the  Title Page  gives the title (usually the same as that of the empirical paper), your name, and lower down on the page, the words "DClinPsy thesis (Volume 1), [year of submission]" and on the line below "University College London". The title page is justified as centred. You can use a slightly larger font if you wish.
• a  Signed Declaration  that the work presented is your own. The professional doctorate regulations specify that this be inserted right after the title page of the thesis There is a  declaration form  on the course website.
• an  Overview  (up to 250 words), giving a summary of the contents of all three parts of the thesis. (Note that this will ultimately be used by the library to catalogue your thesis, and it will form part of the meta-data that will be seen first by people searching for your thesis.)
• an  Impact Statement  that describes, in no more than 500 words, how the expertise, knowledge, analysis, discovery or insight presented in your thesis could be put to a beneficial use. Please see  guidance  from the UCL Doctoral School on this.
• the  Table of Contents  covers all three parts of Volume 1, including the appendices, and gives a separate list of tables and figures.
• the  Acknowledgements  page mentions everyone whose contribution to the work you wish to recognise.
• Part 1  (the literature review) with a title page and abstract (both on separate pages) and references. The title page should say “Part 1: Literature Review” and then give the title of the review paper on a separate line.
• Part 2  (the empirical paper) with a title page and abstract (both on separate pages) and references. The title page should say “Part 2: Empirical Paper” and then give the title of the empirical paper on a separate line. The text of the main body of the paper should run continuously: the main sections (Methods, Results, Discussion) should not start on new pages. Tables and figures should be numbered afresh for the empirical paper, so the first table in the empirical paper is Table 1, even if there is also a Table 1 in the literature review.
• Part 3  (the critical appraisal) with a title page (just saying “Part 3: Critical Appraisal”), and references.
• the  Appendices , each with their own title page. (There’s no need to number the pages within the appendices if this is fiddly.) There is only one set of appendices for all of Volume 1, placed at the end of the volume. They are numbered in the order in which they appear in the thesis. (If there is only one appendix, just call it Appendix, with no number.)

If your research is part of a joint project (e.g. with another trainee or with a PhD student), you must state this in the Overview and in the Method section of your empirical paper, and include an Appendix setting out each person’s contribution to the project. Please see the course document on  submission of joint theses .

Volume 2 (no longer submitted but you should assemble it as a document as follows)

Volume 2 begins with a title page, which says "Case Reports and Service-Related Research Project", then lists on separate lines your name, "D.Clin.Psy. thesis (Volume 2), [year of submission]" and "University College London". On the next page there is the table of contents, giving the full title, as below; there is no need to list tables and appendices. Then follows each of the four case reports and the service-related research report, in the order in which each was submitted. For case reports, the title page gives the submission number, your own title and the type of case report, e.g., Case report 4: "An angry young man" (Completed Clinical Intervention). For the service-related research it has the words "Service Related Research Report (submitted as Case Report x)"; the title of the report is then listed on a new line. Word counts and trainee code numbers should be omitted. After the title page comes the body of the report, its references, and then any appendices pertaining to that report. Each case report is a stand-alone entity, so tables and appendices are numbered afresh (i.e. each report could have a Table 1, etc.). As described above, Volume 2 is separately paginated.

Handing in before the viva

Electronic submission.

You need to submit an electronic version of Volume 1 in pdf format. Send it to the Research Administrator at  [email protected]   via the  Moodle submission link  with a file name of Thesis_submission_volume1_[yourlastname] (e.g. Thesis_submission_volume1_Smith).

NOTE -  Volume 2 does not need to be submitted at this point but must be made available on request.

Running volume 1 through turnitin.

In addition to the procedures outlined above for submission of the thesis, we require that Volume 1 of the thesis be submitted via Turnitin, a plagiarism-detection programme.

As with case reports, submission of Volume 1 of the thesis to Turnitin is done via Moodle. The link for thesis submission on your Moodle homepage is called ‘Thesis Volume 1 Submission’.

When uploading Volume 1 please call the file ‘Volume 1 [First name] [Family name]’. For example, ‘Volume 1 Ed Miliband’ or ‘Volume 1 Nicola Sturgeon’. You should upload your full Volume 1 (as outlined in the section above called ‘Volume 1’) as a word document.

Turnitin is being used to promote good academic practice, not to catch students out. For this reason the system has been configured so that you can submit your Volume 1, look at the Turnitin report to identify any sections where there may be potential plagiarism, delete the submission and submit a revised report.

Resubmissions can be made up to 14.00 on the day on which theses are due, although in practice it is strongly recommended that Turnitin submissions are made well before then: it will be important to leave yourself time to submit to Turnitin before you submit your final version of Volume 1. Also, please note that Turnitin can take upto 24 hours to generate a similarity report for each submission, so you will need to factor this in to any plans for checking and resubmission. 

How to judge the Turnitin report to decide whether the thesis needs to be amended?

Turnitin will give your Volume 1 an originality score, but this tells you very little about whether there are any problems with plagiarism in your thesis. That is because theses contain copies of measures, participant information sheets, references and so on, which inflate the Turnitin originality score.

Trainees need to use their own judgement to decide whether they should amend their thesis because of inadvertent plagiarism. The key principle is that ideas and quotations are appropriately referenced.  Please look at the guidance about plagiarism on the UCL  website , which is also reproduced in Section 23 of the Training Handbook.

If you have any queries about using Turnitin as part of the thesis submission, please contact Priya Dey, the Research Administrator, in the first instance. 

After the viva

Ongoing access to ucl library resources.

All DClinPsy students continue to have access to UCL library resources after the viva, whilst they work on any required thesis revisions. Once you have have completed any revisions, had them approved and submitted your thesis, your access to the library as a UCL student will come to an end. However, the good news is that UCL alumni are entitled to library access after they complete their studies. You just need to re-register, following the instructions given on the  UCL library website .   

You need to submit two electronic copies of Volume 1 in pdf format:

1. One e-copy to the Research Administrator with a filename of Thesis_final_volume1_[yourlastname] 

2. One e-copy to UCL's e-thesis repository (UCL Discovery) via the  Research Publication Service . The library have produced a useful document (available on the Project Support  Moodle  site) outlining the e-thesis submission procedure.

Once the Research Administrator can confirm that you have completed all other components of the course, they will inform the HCPC that you have satisfied all the course requirements. However, before the Research Administrator can report to UCL that you have completed the course, you also need to have submitted the e-thesis copy to UCL Discovery. Once this is done, you will get a letter from the Course Directors confirming that you have passed the DClinPsy.

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Psychology Undergraduate Program

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• Thesis Advising

If you're thinking of writing a thesis as part of your Psychology concentration, the first thing you'll want to do is check out the Undergraduate Office's  thesis manual . You can find it on the Honors Thesis section of this website! Then, you should contact Psychology's Thesis Tutorial Instructor.  

Statistics Consulting

Statistics and coding may seem overwhelming at first, especially if the thesis project will be your first time working with your own data. For guidance, senior thesis students should reach out to the Department's  Statistics Consultant . The Consultant holds individual meetings with students to provide input on statistical methods, writing analysis, and experimental results for thesis projects.  

Kirsten Morehouse, Data and Statistics Consultant (2023-2024)

How to Meet with the Data and Statistics Consultant: Please email Kirsten directly ( [email protected] ) with the following info:

• 3 specific dates and blocks of time that work for you
• A summary of the questions you'd like to discuss 
• A copy of your most recent thesis proposal/prospectus (including background and proposed analyses)
• A copy of your data (or mock dataset that shows your expected data structure)
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Scholars' Bank

Psychology theses and dissertations.

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This collection contains some of the theses and dissertations produced by students in the University of Oregon Psychology Graduate Program. Paper copies of these and other dissertations and theses are available through the UO Libraries .

Recent Submissions

• When “Self-Harm” Means “Suicide”: Adolescent Online Help-Seeking for Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors  Lind, Monika ( University of Oregon , 2024-03-25 ) The sensitive period of adolescence facilitates key developmental tasks that equip young people to assume adult roles. Adolescence features important strengths, like the need to contribute, and some risks, like vulnerability ...
• Stereotypes and Social Decisions: The Interpersonal Consequences of Socioeconomic Status  Hughes, Bradley ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) Interpersonal perceptions of socioeconomic status (SES), those formed in face-to-face interactions, can perpetuate inequality if they influence interpersonal interactions in ways that disadvantage people with low SES. There ...
• Utilization of Linguistic Markers in Differentiation of Internalizing Disorders, Suicidality, and Identity Distress  Ivie, Elizabeth ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) The adolescent period of development is associated with a significant increase in the occurrence of mental illness. In addition, death by suicide is one of the leading causes of death amongst adolescents. Identity formation ...
• The Role of Fractal Fluency on Visual Perception  Robles, Kelly ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) From quarks to galaxies, the natural world is organized with fractal geometry. Fractal fluency theory suggests that due to their omnipresence in our visual world, fractals are more fluently processed by the visual system ...
• The Anatomy of Antagonism: Exploring the Relations of 20 Lexical Factors of Personality with Machiavellianism, Grandiose Narcissism, and Psychopathy  Kay, Cameron ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) Despite being the focus of extensive research over the past two decades, the structure of the “Dark Triad”—or, as I will refer to it here, the “Aversive Triad”—is still shrouded in confusion. Much of this confusion stems ...
• Content Representation in Lateral Parietal Cortex  Zhao, Yufei ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) While the lateral parietal cortex (LPC) in the human brain is traditionally investigated for its functions in visual perception, more recent evidence has highlighted its substantial contribution to supporting human episodic ...
• Sociocultural Contexts of Emotion Socialization in BIPOC Families  Lee, Angela ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) Having effective emotion regulation skills is critical to socioemotional well-being, and parents play a key role in the development of children’s emotion regulation through emotion socialization behaviors. However, since ...
• Cross-ideological Communication: The Impact of Real Conversations Compared to Imagined Ones  Niella, Tamara ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) Political polarization has visibly increased in the last few years. A sense of divisiveness has been exacerbated by a surge in social media communication about contentious issues which has been replacing face-to-face ...
• Inflammation, Mental Health, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study with Child Welfare Service Involved Families  Horn, Sarah ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has posited unique challenges for families and significantly disrupted several aspects of children’s environments. The pandemic is an ongoing risk experience, with young children being ...
• Testing Novel Norm Interventions for Promoting Pro-environmental Consumption  Lieber, Sara ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) The purpose of the current project was to investigate how a social psychology approach could be used to develop an effective climate-change mitigation tool. A commonly used technique in the social psychology literature for ...
• Understanding the Misunderstood Emotion: A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Variants of Anger  Razavi, Pooya ( University of Oregon , 2023-07-06 ) In cultural accounts and scholarly writings about anger, we see conceptualizations that reflect the existence of two variants: an anger perceived as moral, appropriate, and justified; and an anger considered wrong and ...
• Measuring long-term memories at the feature level reveals mechanisms of interference resolution  Drascher, Maxwell ( University of Oregon , 2023-07-06 ) When memories share similar features, this can lead to interference, and ultimately forgetting. At the same time, many highly similar memories are remembered vividly for years to come. Understanding what causes interference ...
• The Role of Hierarchical Structures in Cognition  Moss, Melissa ( University of Oregon , 2023-07-06 ) Individuals routinely execute complex tasks that involve multiple, dependent levels of information, such as driving a car or cooking dinner. It is amazing that our cognitive system is able to represent such complex, ...
• A Contextual Psychology Approach to Improving Health Outcomes in the Perinatal Period  Lightcap, April ( University of Oregon , 2023-07-06 ) The United States holds alarming records for highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the developed world. The US infant mortality rate is on par with many low and middle income countries, and despite the decline in ...
• The Study of Behavior Settings as an Aid in Mental Hospital Analysis: A Methodological Exploration  Rose, David William ( University of Oregon , 1969-06 ) The ultimate goal of all mental hospital analyses is to provide information which by direct implication or through analysis might act as a guide in restructuring environment in which the mental patient lives. The goal of ...
• Personality-Driven Social Media Curation: How Personality Traits Affect Following Decisions on Twitter  Bedford-Petersen, Cianna ( University of Oregon , 2023-03-24 ) As social media occupies an increasingly important place in people’s lives, new opportunities are presented for people to select and modify their online environments. On many platforms, users have significant control over ...
• Stability of Mind-Mindedness Across the Transition to Motherhood and its Longitudinal Association with Children’s Theory of Mind & Executive Function  Gluck, Stephanie ( University of Oregon , 2023-03-24 ) Parental mind-mindedness refers to caregivers’ propensity to attribute mind-like and intentional qualities in their interactions with or representation of their young children. It is proposed to be associated with positive ...
• Dating and Mating in Adolescence: How Hormones and Puberty Influence Adolescent Mating Motivation  Donaldson, Sarah ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Puberty marks the physical transition towards sexual maturity, culminating in the ability to reproduce. It follows that maturing cognitive, affective, and social skills develop concurrently to support reproductive competence, ...
• Individual Differences in Memory Functions and Their Relation to Hippocampal Connectivity  Frank, Lea ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) The hippocampus plays an important role in many aspects of learning and memory. It is most known for its role in episodic memory and spatial navigation, though it has also been shown to contribute to other processes like ...
• Collective Ongoing Betrayal Trauma: Gendered and Racialized Police Violence toward the Black Community  Barnes, Melissa ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Racialized and gendered police violence is a pernicious problem for Black communities. For my dissertation, I empirically tested a novel theoretical concept, Collective Ongoing Betrayal Trauma (COBT). COBT integrates the ...

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Tips for Surviving (and Thriving in) Your Psychology Thesis

A little planning and consistency can make it all a lot less painful..

Posted May 8, 2020

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Writing (and defending) a thesis or dissertation can be a daunting process. However, some careful planning and consistency can make it all a lot less painful. Better yet, it can be actually pretty rewarding.

Having just gone through the writing and defending process myself, I’ve reflected on 16 of the lessons I learned along the way:

1. Read other theses and dissertations. I cannot stress enough how helpful it is to scan other finished documents to get a sense of what makes a strong (and less strong) body of work. You’ll also learn about different ways to structure your document and what kinds of sections to include. Search for research that is related to your topic, methodology, and epistemology to see how other students have approached these areas.

2. Don’t underestimate the literature review. By the time students reach graduate school, it’s expected that they know how to write a solid literature review. However, Boote and Beile (2005) argued that many students have never actually been taught how to compose a critical synthesis of the literature. They argued that students need to become “scholars before researchers”; that is, instead of offering simple summaries of existing studies, it is important to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the body of work. They proffer further that this step is critical to identify important research problems.

Not totally sure where to start with your review? Don’t be too hard on yourself – Boote and Beile argued that few faculty members have even mastered the task. I recommend tracking down some resources on how to write a good literature review; try Galvan and Galvan’s (2017) book, Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences.

3. Know your APA style. Buy the Publication Manual . Learn to love it. (I also like the Purdue Online Writing Lab if you need to look up a rule in a hurry.)

4. Cite mindfully. Your supervisor can help you identify a few key articles that will be critical to cite in your document; for example, seminal works or the most recent contributions to your area. While it’s important to ensure that you’re citing the most up-to-date studies in your literature review (e.g., those published in the past 10 years), it is also essential to acknowledge the early scholars who paved the way for your work. Be careful to not only cite “supportive sources”; your committee will expect you to discuss opposing views. Carefully explaining how your work intentionally departs from these studies will strengthen your arguments.

It has been well-documented that women and authors of colour are cited less frequently than men or white authors (Davis & Craven, 2016). Thus, as feminist anthropologists Davis and Craven (2016) argued, “it is important to keep in mind that who we cite – and equally important who we do not cite – shapes our projects in important ways” (p. 66). Especially if you are engaging in feminist or critical research, it becomes “our business to seek out, and incorporate, innovative research from scholars whose work is often ignored because of structural inequities” (p. 67).

5. Try not to over-quote other authors. I used to be a chronic over-quoter. However, I received enough feedback from enough different professors to finally quell this habit. Using too many direct quotations not only prevents you from using your own critical thinking skills, but it also reduces your credibility as an analytical, innovative researcher. Save your direct quotes for the real “gems” and remember that paraphrasing is your friend.

6. Remember that editing is easier than writing . Get your thoughts down without worrying too much (at first, that is) about style and grammar. Author Anne Lamott (2005) wrote that perfectionism is the “main obstacle between you and a sh*tty first draft” (p. 27). And that’s what most first drafts are. But once you’ve crossed that first big hurtle, it’s easier to face the less-daunting task of editing and fine-tuning.

7. Craft your document like you’re preparing for your defense. With every decision you make (e.g., how many participants to include, your methodology, even your title), ask yourself why. Even if you’re not including these “whys” in your document, jot down your answers and save them to refer back to when you are prepping for your defense. You’ll thank yourself later on!

8. Update your reference list as you go. Nothing is more frustrating than forgetting where you found a certain reference or from which page you took a quote. Keeping up with your references diligently as you go saves unnecessary work later on (again, your future self will thank you!).

9. Overcome procrastination . Unfortunately, waiting to feel inspired to work on your dissertation is (typically) a futile exercise. Instead, scheduling time to work each day helps keep you on track and your mind in the game. Princeton University has offered some good tips for understanding and overcoming procrastination; I also like the Pomodoro technique and ensuring at least some of my work time is “unplugged.”

10. Refer to your epistemology throughout . Your epistemology shouldn’t just be something that is stated in your intro and promptly forgotten about. It is the heart of your research; your understanding of what makes something true. As such, it should inform everything from your methodology to your epigraph to how you position yourself in your work.

11. Keep a research journal. Jot down all of your decisions and “aha” moments. Document the things that challenge you, the things that surprise you, the things you’re proud of, and the things you would have done differently. You never know what might be useful material when it comes to crafting your discussion or preparing for a conference presentation.

12. Prepare your elevator speech. Be able to discuss your topic in layman terms in three minutes or less. This exercise is incredibly useful for understanding your work in a concise and useable way.

13. Proofread with fresh eyes . Once you’ve finished a draft of each chapter or section, leave it for a day or two (deadlines permitting) to review it with a new perspective. Do the same once you’re done the entire document. Proofreading printed pages is often easier than electronic versions to catch those pesky typos.

14. Find some editors. We can get so “close” to our research that we miss our blind-spots. I recommended asking (or kindly bribing) both “insiders” (like a classmate) and “outsiders” (like a friend in a totally different field) to read your work, to get a different set of perspectives.

15. Be kind to yourself. It’s a cheesy but important one. This is likely your first time tackling a research project of this size. You’re going to feel frustrated, overwhelmed, and confused at times. Take a deep breath and keep in mind that this is all part of the process. Remember that writing your thesis or dissertation should never trump all other aspects of your self-care; taking care of your physical wellbeing, relationships, and mental health are always priorities.

16. Find meaning in the process. It’s OK if your thesis or dissertation doesn’t represent your lifelong passion or ultimate life purpose. If academia is your long-term goal, you have your entire career to refine your program of study. And if research is absolutely not in the long-term cards for you, then seeing your thesis as a means to an end is OK, too. That said, finding a way to make the process meaningful will makes things a lot more enjoyable. Although a good thesis is a done thesis, your research also has the opportunity to contribute to theory, practice, and policy in important ways – so try not to underestimate your ability to create a really meaningful body of work.

Boote, D. N., & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertation literature review in research preparation. Educational Researcher, 32(6), 3-15. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X034006003

Davis, D., & Craven, C. (2016). Feminist ethnography: Thinking through methodologies, challenges, and possibilities. Rowman & Littlefield.

Galvan, J. L., & Galvan, M. (2017). Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences (Vol. 7). Taylor & Francis.

Lamott, A. (1995). Bird by bird: Some instructions on writing and life. Anchor.

Amy Green, M.A., is a doctoral student in Counselling Psychology at the University of Calgary.

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Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

*The Caveat *

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

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

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

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

For example:

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

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

Acknowledgements

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

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

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

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

Abstract or executive summary

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

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

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

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

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

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time to recap…

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

• Acknowledgments page

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

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

Psst… there’s more (for free)

This post is part of our dissertation mini-course, which covers everything you need to get started with your dissertation, thesis or research project. 

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36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

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

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

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

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

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

Thanks Ade!

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

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

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

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

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

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

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

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

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

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

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

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

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

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

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

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

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

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

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

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

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

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

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

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How to Write a Dissertation | A Guide to Structure & Content

A dissertation or thesis is a long piece of academic writing based on original research, submitted as part of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

The structure of a dissertation depends on your field, but it is usually divided into at least four or five chapters (including an introduction and conclusion chapter).

The most common dissertation structure in the sciences and social sciences includes:

• An introduction to your topic
• A literature review that surveys relevant sources
• An explanation of your methodology
• An overview of the results of your research
• A discussion of the results and their implications
• A conclusion that shows what your research has contributed

Dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a long essay , building an argument by analysing primary and secondary sources . Instead of the standard structure outlined here, you might organise your chapters around different themes or case studies.

Other important elements of the dissertation include the title page , abstract , and reference list . If in doubt about how your dissertation should be structured, always check your department’s guidelines and consult with your supervisor.

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Table of contents

Acknowledgements, table of contents, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review / theoretical framework, methodology, reference list.

The very first page of your document contains your dissertation’s title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo. Many programs have strict requirements for formatting the dissertation title page .

The title page is often used as cover when printing and binding your dissertation .

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The acknowledgements section is usually optional, and gives space for you to thank everyone who helped you in writing your dissertation. This might include your supervisors, participants in your research, and friends or family who supported you.

The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about 150-300 words long. You should write it at the very end, when you’ve completed the rest of the dissertation. In the abstract, make sure to:

• State the main topic and aims of your research
• Describe the methods you used
• Summarise the main results
• State your conclusions

Although the abstract is very short, it’s the first part (and sometimes the only part) of your dissertation that people will read, so it’s important that you get it right. If you’re struggling to write a strong abstract, read our guide on how to write an abstract .

In the table of contents, list all of your chapters and subheadings and their page numbers. The dissertation contents page gives the reader an overview of your structure and helps easily navigate the document.

All parts of your dissertation should be included in the table of contents, including the appendices. You can generate a table of contents automatically in Word.

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If you have used a lot of tables and figures in your dissertation, you should itemise them in a numbered list . You can automatically generate this list using the Insert Caption feature in Word.

If you have used a lot of abbreviations in your dissertation, you can include them in an alphabetised list of abbreviations so that the reader can easily look up their meanings.

If you have used a lot of highly specialised terms that will not be familiar to your reader, it might be a good idea to include a glossary . List the terms alphabetically and explain each term with a brief description or definition.

In the introduction, you set up your dissertation’s topic, purpose, and relevance, and tell the reader what to expect in the rest of the dissertation. The introduction should:

• Establish your research topic , giving necessary background information to contextualise your work
• Narrow down the focus and define the scope of the research
• Discuss the state of existing research on the topic, showing your work’s relevance to a broader problem or debate
• Clearly state your objectives and research questions , and indicate how you will answer them
• Give an overview of your dissertation’s structure

Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant to your research. By the end, the reader should understand the what , why and how of your research. Not sure how? Read our guide on how to write a dissertation introduction .

Before you start on your research, you should have conducted a literature review to gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on your topic. This means:

• Collecting sources (e.g. books and journal articles) and selecting the most relevant ones
• Critically evaluating and analysing each source
• Drawing connections between them (e.g. themes, patterns, conflicts, gaps) to make an overall point

In the dissertation literature review chapter or section, you shouldn’t just summarise existing studies, but develop a coherent structure and argument that leads to a clear basis or justification for your own research. For example, it might aim to show how your research:

• Addresses a gap in the literature
• Takes a new theoretical or methodological approach to the topic
• Proposes a solution to an unresolved problem
• Advances a theoretical debate
• Builds on and strengthens existing knowledge with new data

The literature review often becomes the basis for a theoretical framework , in which you define and analyse the key theories, concepts and models that frame your research. In this section you can answer descriptive research questions about the relationship between concepts or variables.

The methodology chapter or section describes how you conducted your research, allowing your reader to assess its validity. You should generally include:

• The overall approach and type of research (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, experimental, ethnographic)
• Your methods of collecting data (e.g. interviews, surveys, archives)
• Details of where, when, and with whom the research took place
• Your methods of analysing data (e.g. statistical analysis, discourse analysis)
• Tools and materials you used (e.g. computer programs, lab equipment)
• A discussion of any obstacles you faced in conducting the research and how you overcame them
• An evaluation or justification of your methods

Your aim in the methodology is to accurately report what you did, as well as convincing the reader that this was the best approach to answering your research questions or objectives.

Next, you report the results of your research . You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses, or topics. Only report results that are relevant to your objectives and research questions. In some disciplines, the results section is strictly separated from the discussion, while in others the two are combined.

For example, for qualitative methods like in-depth interviews, the presentation of the data will often be woven together with discussion and analysis, while in quantitative and experimental research, the results should be presented separately before you discuss their meaning. If you’re unsure, consult with your supervisor and look at sample dissertations to find out the best structure for your research.

In the results section it can often be helpful to include tables, graphs and charts. Think carefully about how best to present your data, and don’t include tables or figures that just repeat what you have written  –  they should provide extra information or usefully visualise the results in a way that adds value to your text.

Full versions of your data (such as interview transcripts) can be included as an appendix .

The discussion  is where you explore the meaning and implications of your results in relation to your research questions. Here you should interpret the results in detail, discussing whether they met your expectations and how well they fit with the framework that you built in earlier chapters. If any of the results were unexpected, offer explanations for why this might be. It’s a good idea to consider alternative interpretations of your data and discuss any limitations that might have influenced the results.

The discussion should reference other scholarly work to show how your results fit with existing knowledge. You can also make recommendations for future research or practical action.

The dissertation conclusion should concisely answer the main research question, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of your central argument. Wrap up your dissertation with a final reflection on what you did and how you did it. The conclusion often also includes recommendations for research or practice.

In this section, it’s important to show how your findings contribute to knowledge in the field and why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known?

You must include full details of all sources that you have cited in a reference list (sometimes also called a works cited list or bibliography). It’s important to follow a consistent reference style . Each style has strict and specific requirements for how to format your sources in the reference list.

The most common styles used in UK universities are Harvard referencing and Vancouver referencing . Your department will often specify which referencing style you should use – for example, psychology students tend to use APA style , humanities students often use MHRA , and law students always use OSCOLA . M ake sure to check the requirements, and ask your supervisor if you’re unsure.

To save time creating the reference list and make sure your citations are correctly and consistently formatted, you can use our free APA Citation Generator .

Your dissertation itself should contain only essential information that directly contributes to answering your research question. Documents you have used that do not fit into the main body of your dissertation (such as interview transcripts, survey questions or tables with full figures) can be added as appendices .

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Digital Commons @ USF > College of Arts and Sciences > Psychology > Theses and Dissertations

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2023 2023.

Improving the Subjective Well-Being of Autistic Youth Utilizing a Positive Psychology Intervention , Nicolette Bauermeister

An Experimental Study of Negative Performance Feedback: Consideration of a Cognitive Pathway and Individual Difference Factors , Ansley M. Bender

A Critical Analysis of the Graduate Socialization of Racially Minoritized School Psychology Students , Tatiana J. Broughton

The Influence of COVID-19 on Tobacco Racial Health Disparities: Testing the Differential Effects of COVID-19 on Smoking Motivation Variables across Black and White Smokers , Patricia F. Calixte-Civil

An Evaluation of Measurement Invariance of DSM-5 Borderline Personality Disorder Criteria Across Heterosexual, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults , E. Elisa Carsten

The Development of a Behaviorally Based Mentoring Workplace Scale , Christina N. Falcon

Examining the Role of Executive Functions on the Intention-Behavior Gap of Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy Use , Becky K. Gius

The Effect of Psychopathy Trait Descriptions on Mock Juror Decision-Making , Bailey A. Hall

Context matters: Profiles of emotion regulation at work and home , Roxanne C. Lawrence

Planning to Behave Impulsively to Feel Better: An EMA Study of College Students' Nonsuicidal Self-Injury, Binge Eating, and Exercise Behaviors , Rose H. Miller

One Year Impact of the Advancing Coping and Engagement (ACE) Program on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Student Success , Amanda C. Moseley

The Effects of Divided Attention in Free Recall: Affecting Trace Accumulation by Dividing Attention , Anne Olsen

Investigating Risk Factors of the Development of Compulsive Exercise and Eating Disorder Symptoms in College Students , Madeline Palermo

Invisible Families, Clear Consequences: Work-Family Integration Among Employees in Same Gender Presenting Romantic Relationships , Joseph Regina

Threats to School Safety: Examining Levels of Community Violence and Its Relation to School-Related Threats , Dorie Ross

The Social Anxiety Stigma Scale (SASS): Development, Factor Structure, and Validation , Ruba Rum

Socio-emotional effects of rejection: An experience-sampling examination , Gabriella Silva

Observed Error Monitoring as an Index of Theory of Mind , Kipras Varkala

I'll Make a Man Out of You: Precarious Manhood Beliefs among Heterosexual-Cisgender Men and Queer Men , Serena L. Wasilewski

From Other and From World: Expanding the Current Model of Existential Isolation , Roger Young Jr.

Temporal and Spatial Properties of Orientation Summary Statistic Representations , Jacob S. Zepp

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Boredom, Interoceptive Ability, and Emotional Eating , Erica Ahlich

Environmental Transmission of Career Interests Through a Genetic Lens: Understanding the Confounding Around Parental Occupation , Tyler Allan

Do Suicide Attempt Survivors Have Reduced Long-Term Well-Being? A Study of Veterans Across Three Nationally Representative Cohorts , Bradley A. Brown

Depersonalized, Dysregulated, and Demanded: The Impact of Burnout on Appraisal and Emotional Events , Katrina M. Conen

Breast Health Esteem to Motivate Breast Health Behavioral Intentions: An Application of the Terror Management Health Model , Emily P. Courtney

Gender Differences in College Drinkers: The Role of Masculine Norms , Jared A. Davis

Prevalence and Predictors of Careless Responding in Experience Sampling Research , Alexander J. Denison

Perceptions of Workplace Discrimination: A Closer Look , Jeremiah Doaty

The Impact of Cannabis on Motivational Processes for Smoked Tobacco and Cigarettes , Claire M. Gorey

Outcomes of a Telehealth Adaptation of a Trauma-Based Parent Training Program , Holland Hayford

Why Don’t They Just Ask?: Barriers to Directly Requesting Affirmative Sexual Consent by Gender and Sexual Orientation , Jessica A. Jordan

Examining the Social Validity of Parent Training: Post-Participation Parent Perceptions and Reflections of Group Triple P , Nycole C. Kauk

Individual Differences in Response to Hostile and Benevolent Sexism in a STEM Interview Context: The Moderating Role of Behavioral Activation , Elizabeth Kiebel

Do Sociability Expectancies Moderate Social Anxiety Predicting Alcohol Consumption Following a Social Stressor Speech Task , Jacob A. Levine

An Object for Sexual Pleasure: Does Viewing Sexualized Media Predict Increases in Self and Partner Objectification Impacting Feelings of Sexual and Romantic Closeness? , Kaitlyn Ligman

Influences of Sentence Context and Individual Differences in Lexical Quality on Early Phonological Processing during Silent Reading , Sara Milligan

Testing the Effects of Social Exclusion on Emotional Arousal: An Examination of the Effects of Psychological Pain and Rumination , Amanda L. Peterson

Creating a Short, Public-Domain Version of the CPAI-2: Using an Algorithmic Approach to Develop Public-Domain Measures of Indigenous Personality Traits , Mukhunth Raghavan

Equitable Implementation of the Good Behavior Game , Faith D. Reynolds

Ethnic-Racial Minoritized Adolescents’ Perceptions of Cyberhate, School Connectedness, Ethnic-Racial Identity, and Life Satisfaction , Alexis Taylor

Predicting Future Well-Being Among United States Youth Who Attempted Suicide and Survived , Bingjie Tong

Approach and Avoidance Food Craving: A Dual Cue Reactivity Investigation , Christina Lee Verzijl

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

School Professional Coaching on Facilitation of Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) Model for Students with Persistent Problem Behavior , Rachel Ayres

Influencing Motivation for Alcohol through Social Bonding , Bryan Benitez

Case Studies in Applied Behavior Analysis: Using a Desensitization Procedure to Decrease Problem Behavior Towards Peers and Using a Treatment Package to Increase Time Spent in a Small Group , Mallamy I. Camargo Pena

Testing the Congruence of Espousals and Enactments Predicting Team Innovation , Rylan M. Charlton

The General Psychopathology Factor ( p ) From Adolescence to Adulthood: Disentangling the Developmental Trajectories of p Using a Multi-Method Approach , Alexandria M. Choate

An Ecological Momentary Assessment of Disordered Eating Behaviors within Alcohol Use Episodes: Determining Temporal Sequencing in Food and Alcohol Disturbance , Emily M. Choquette

The Influence of Maternal Body-Shaming Comments and Bodily Shame on Portion Size , Savannah R. Flak

Mental Health Problems, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Offending Behavior Among Persons Incarcerated in a County Jail , Lauren F. Fournier

The Adaptive, Social, Communication, and Cognitive Skills of Monolingual and Bilingual Toddlers with Autism , Marcela A. Galicia

Good Intentions Go Awry: Investigation of Unhelpful Supportive Leadership , Cheryl E. Gray

Hello Traitor: An Examination of Individual Differences in Perceptions of Technology-Related Incivility , David J. Howard

Measuring State Empathy: Exploring the Efficacy of a Film Clip Task and Examining Individual Differences in Empathic Responding , Stephanie R. Hruza

The Relationship of Hope to Goals and Psychological Outcomes in Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer: A Test of Hope Theory , Kelly A. Hyland

Decisions and How Doctors Make Them: Modeling Multilevel Decision-Making within Diagnostic Medicine , Michelle S. Kaplan

Cultural Values as a Moderator of the Emotion Suppression to Strain Relationship: A Comparison of Two Dominant Theoretical Mechanisms , Roxanne C. Lawrence

How Enduring is Global Precedence? , Jong Lee

Cool Under Fire: Psychopathic Traits and Decision-Making in Law Enforcement-Oriented Populations , Sean J. McKinley

Cognitive Ability and Ambivalence toward Alcohol: An Examination of Working Memory Capacity’s Influence on Drinking Behavior , Emily T. Noyes

The Relationship Between Parenting Stress, Attendance, and Attrition in a Group-Based Parent Management Training Program , David Rubio Jr.

Unintended Consequences? Testing the Effects of Adolescent-Targeted Anti-Vaping Media upon Adult Smokers , Leslie E. Sawyer

“Just Joking”: Women’s Cardiovascular Responses to Sexist Humor , Samantha Shepard

Negative Performance Feedback and the Self-Regulatory Benefits of Mindfulness , Jeremiah Slutsky

Examining the Potential Interactions of Expectancies and Disordered Eating Behavior , Cody B. Staples

The nature of resilience: A person-centered approach using latent profile analysis , Yuejia Teng

Evaluation of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Fit Indices in Distinguishing between Circumplex and Other Factor Models , Andrew J. Thurston

Comparison of Parameter Estimation Approaches for Multi-Unidimensional Pairwise Preference Tests , Naidan Tu

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

The Impact of Cues on Autobiographical Memory Recall in Depression , Ena Begovic

Perfectionism, Negative Life Events, and Cognitive Appraisal: A Contextual Model of Perfectionism’s Maladaptive Nature , Ansley M. Bender

The Effect of Acute Interpersonal Racial Discrimination on Smoking Motivation and Behavior among Black Smokers , Patricia F. Calixte-Civil

Parent Coping and Sibling Relationship Quality in Pediatric Cancer: The Moderating Effects of Parental Emotion Socialization Beliefs , Esther Davila

Higher Sense of Control Predicts Long-term Well-being After Depression , Andrew R. Devendorf

Villains or Vermin? The Differential Effects of Discrimination and Dehumanization on Immigrant Cardiovascular Responses , Mona El-Hout

Alcohol Expectancy Associates as a Probe of the Motivational Processes that Lead to Drinking , Daniel C. Faraci

Features of borderline personality and related psychopathologies as a contemporaneously and temporally connected network , Haya Fatimah

Editing the Self Away: The Effects of Photo Manipulation on Perceptions of the Self , Roxanne N. Felig

Motivation Matters: The Interaction of Approach and Avoidance Alcohol Motivation and Self-Control Demands in College Drinkers , Becky K. Gius

Facilitators and Barriers to Treatment Engagement in a Behavioral Parent Training Program , Holland Hayford

Effects of Inter-Male Status Challenge and Psychopathic Traits on Sexual Aggression , Amy M. Hoffmann

If at First You Don’t Succeed...Your Coworkers Just Might Be Pleased: A Story of Workplace Schadenfreude , Kim Johnson

Motivation to Volunteer , Lendi N. Joy

Exploration of Drive for Leanness in Relation to Drives for Thinness and Muscularity, as well as their Concurrent Associations with Health-Related Outcomes , Brittany Lang

Affect and Craving: Examining the Differential Influences of Positive and Negative Affect on Inclinations to Approach and Avoid Alcohol Use , Jacob A. Levine

Threat-Induced Alterations in Cognition and Associations with Disinhibited Behavior , Julia B. McDonald

A Prospective Examination of Psychosocial Outcomes Following Gynecomastia Surgery , D. Luis Ordaz

Assessing the Impacts of Sensorimotor Stimuli and Nicotine Content on Cravings and Other Outcomes of E-Cigarette Use , Amanda M. Palmer

The Threat of Virality: Digital Outrage Combats the Spread of Opposing Ideas , Curtis Puryear

Why Are Women Leaving STEM? An Examination of Workplace Rivalry , Joseph Regina

A Fidelity-based Integration Model for Explicit and Implicit Ensemble Coding , Ke Tong

Care in Context: Constructing a Theory of Care in One Fifth Grade Classroom , Emily J. Wingate

Depression, Music Choice, and Affective Outcomes in Daily Life , Sunkyung Yoon

The Immediate Effect of a Brief Mindfulness Intervention on Attention and Acceptance , Xiaoqian Yu

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Understanding the Mechanisms Between Job Stress and Employee Sleep: A Daily Diary Study , Marijana L. Arvan

The Effects of Mortality Salience on Interest in Death (and Life) Among High Openness Individuals , Patrick Boyd

Linking Sleep and Aggression: The Role of Response Inhibition and Emotional Processing , Melanie L. Bozzay

Mapping Reward Values to Cues, Locations, and Objects: The Influence of Reward Associations on Visual Attention , Constanza de Dios

From C++ to Conscientiousness: Modeling the Psychosocial Characteristics Influencing Cybersecurity Personnel Performance , Rachel C. Dreibelbis

Personality and Process: The Role of Dyadic Homophily , Christina N. Falcon

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Writing Research Papers

• Writing a Literature Review

When writing a research paper on a specific topic, you will often need to include an overview of any prior research that has been conducted on that topic.  For example, if your research paper is describing an experiment on fear conditioning, then you will probably need to provide an overview of prior research on fear conditioning.  That overview is typically known as a literature review.  

Please note that a full-length literature review article may be suitable for fulfilling the requirements for the Psychology B.S. Degree Research Paper .  For further details, please check with your faculty advisor.

Different Types of Literature Reviews

Literature reviews come in many forms.  They can be part of a research paper, for example as part of the Introduction section.  They can be one chapter of a doctoral dissertation.  Literature reviews can also “stand alone” as separate articles by themselves.  For instance, some journals such as Annual Review of Psychology , Psychological Bulletin , and others typically publish full-length review articles.  Similarly, in courses at UCSD, you may be asked to write a research paper that is itself a literature review (such as, with an instructor’s permission, in fulfillment of the B.S. Degree Research Paper requirement). Alternatively, you may be expected to include a literature review as part of a larger research paper (such as part of an Honors Thesis). 

Literature reviews can be written using a variety of different styles.  These may differ in the way prior research is reviewed as well as the way in which the literature review is organized.  Examples of stylistic variations in literature reviews include: 

• Summarization of prior work vs. critical evaluation. In some cases, prior research is simply described and summarized; in other cases, the writer compares, contrasts, and may even critique prior research (for example, discusses their strengths and weaknesses).
• Chronological vs. categorical and other types of organization. In some cases, the literature review begins with the oldest research and advances until it concludes with the latest research.  In other cases, research is discussed by category (such as in groupings of closely related studies) without regard for chronological order.  In yet other cases, research is discussed in terms of opposing views (such as when different research studies or researchers disagree with one another).

Overall, all literature reviews, whether they are written as a part of a larger work or as separate articles unto themselves, have a common feature: they do not present new research; rather, they provide an overview of prior research on a specific topic . 

How to Write a Literature Review

When writing a literature review, it can be helpful to rely on the following steps.  Please note that these procedures are not necessarily only for writing a literature review that becomes part of a larger article; they can also be used for writing a full-length article that is itself a literature review (although such reviews are typically more detailed and exhaustive; for more information please refer to the Further Resources section of this page).

Steps for Writing a Literature Review

1. Identify and define the topic that you will be reviewing.

The topic, which is commonly a research question (or problem) of some kind, needs to be identified and defined as clearly as possible.  You need to have an idea of what you will be reviewing in order to effectively search for references and to write a coherent summary of the research on it.  At this stage it can be helpful to write down a description of the research question, area, or topic that you will be reviewing, as well as to identify any keywords that you will be using to search for relevant research.

2. Conduct a literature search.

Use a range of keywords to search databases such as PsycINFO and any others that may contain relevant articles.  You should focus on peer-reviewed, scholarly articles.  Published books may also be helpful, but keep in mind that peer-reviewed articles are widely considered to be the “gold standard” of scientific research.  Read through titles and abstracts, select and obtain articles (that is, download, copy, or print them out), and save your searches as needed.  For more information about this step, please see the Using Databases and Finding Scholarly References section of this website.

3. Read through the research that you have found and take notes.

Absorb as much information as you can.  Read through the articles and books that you have found, and as you do, take notes.  The notes should include anything that will be helpful in advancing your own thinking about the topic and in helping you write the literature review (such as key points, ideas, or even page numbers that index key information).  Some references may turn out to be more helpful than others; you may notice patterns or striking contrasts between different sources ; and some sources may refer to yet other sources of potential interest.  This is often the most time-consuming part of the review process.  However, it is also where you get to learn about the topic in great detail.  For more details about taking notes, please see the “Reading Sources and Taking Notes” section of the Finding Scholarly References page of this website.

4. Organize your notes and thoughts; create an outline.

At this stage, you are close to writing the review itself.  However, it is often helpful to first reflect on all the reading that you have done.  What patterns stand out?  Do the different sources converge on a consensus?  Or not?  What unresolved questions still remain?  You should look over your notes (it may also be helpful to reorganize them), and as you do, to think about how you will present this research in your literature review.  Are you going to summarize or critically evaluate?  Are you going to use a chronological or other type of organizational structure?  It can also be helpful to create an outline of how your literature review will be structured.

5. Write the literature review itself and edit and revise as needed.

The final stage involves writing.  When writing, keep in mind that literature reviews are generally characterized by a summary style in which prior research is described sufficiently to explain critical findings but does not include a high level of detail (if readers want to learn about all the specific details of a study, then they can look up the references that you cite and read the original articles themselves).  However, the degree of emphasis that is given to individual studies may vary (more or less detail may be warranted depending on how critical or unique a given study was).   After you have written a first draft, you should read it carefully and then edit and revise as needed.  You may need to repeat this process more than once.  It may be helpful to have another person read through your draft(s) and provide feedback.

6. Incorporate the literature review into your research paper draft.

After the literature review is complete, you should incorporate it into your research paper (if you are writing the review as one component of a larger paper).  Depending on the stage at which your paper is at, this may involve merging your literature review into a partially complete Introduction section, writing the rest of the paper around the literature review, or other processes.

Further Tips for Writing a Literature Review

Full-length literature reviews

• Many full-length literature review articles use a three-part structure: Introduction (where the topic is identified and any trends or major problems in the literature are introduced), Body (where the studies that comprise the literature on that topic are discussed), and Discussion or Conclusion (where major patterns and points are discussed and the general state of what is known about the topic is summarized)

Literature reviews as part of a larger paper

• An “express method” of writing a literature review for a research paper is as follows: first, write a one paragraph description of each article that you read. Second, choose how you will order all the paragraphs and combine them in one document.  Third, add transitions between the paragraphs, as well as an introductory and concluding paragraph. 1
• A literature review that is part of a larger research paper typically does not have to be exhaustive. Rather, it should contain most or all of the significant studies about a research topic but not tangential or loosely related ones. 2   Generally, literature reviews should be sufficient for the reader to understand the major issues and key findings about a research topic.  You may however need to confer with your instructor or editor to determine how comprehensive you need to be.

Benefits of Literature Reviews

By summarizing prior research on a topic, literature reviews have multiple benefits.  These include:

• Literature reviews help readers understand what is known about a topic without having to find and read through multiple sources.
• Literature reviews help “set the stage” for later reading about new research on a given topic (such as if they are placed in the Introduction of a larger research paper). In other words, they provide helpful background and context.
• Literature reviews can also help the writer learn about a given topic while in the process of preparing the review itself. In the act of research and writing the literature review, the writer gains expertise on the topic .

Downloadable Resources

• How to Write APA Style Research Papers (a comprehensive guide) [ PDF ]
• Tips for Writing APA Style Research Papers (a brief summary) [ PDF ]
• Example APA Style Research Paper (for B.S. Degree – literature review) [ PDF ]

Further Resources

How-To Videos     

• Writing Research Paper Videos
• UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide: Literature Reviews

External Resources

• Developing and Writing a Literature Review from N Carolina A&T State University
• Example of a Short Literature Review from York College CUNY
• How to Write a Review of Literature from UW-Madison
• Writing a Literature Review from UC Santa Cruz  
• Pautasso, M. (2013). Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review. PLoS Computational Biology, 9 (7), e1003149. doi : 1371/journal.pcbi.1003149

1 Ashton, W. Writing a short literature review . [PDF]     

2 carver, l. (2014).  writing the research paper [workshop]. , prepared by s. c. pan for ucsd psychology.

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• Research Paper Structure
• Formatting Research Papers
• Using Databases and Finding References
• What Types of References Are Appropriate?
• Evaluating References and Taking Notes
• Citing References
• Writing Process and Revising
• Improving Scientific Writing
• Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism
• Writing Research Papers Videos

Home > School, College, or Department > CLAS > Psychology > Dissertations and Theses

Psychology Dissertations and Theses

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

Faculty Mentors' Influence on Latino/a/x STEM Undergraduates' STEM Identity Development , Sandy Cerda-Lezama

Individual and Structural Contributors to Implicit and Explicit Anti-Muslim Bias in the United States , Aeleah M. Granger

It Takes a Village: An Examination of Social Relationships and Mental Health , Em Francis Trubits

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

Examining Factors Impacting the Service Needs of Unhoused Women , Holly Brott

Main, Mediated, and Moderated Effects of Participating in an After-School Social and Emotional Learning Program on Young Children's Development of Social-Emotional Skills , Amy L. Cordier

Who Puts the "Support" in Supportive Housing? The Impact of Housing Staff on Resident's Well-Being, and the Potential Moderating Role of Self-Determination , Kenna Estell Dickard

Motivation to Collaborate: A Qualitative Exploration of the Perspectives of Service Providers on an Alternative First Response Program , Desiree' J. DuBoise

Tell Me, Do You Feel It Too? A Meta-analysis of Dyadic Emotional Contagion in the Workplace , Stefanie Fox

Left on "Read" and All Alone: Instigated Cyber Incivility, Shame, and Experienced Ostracism at Work , Alison Lucia Hunt

Exploring Associations between Military Identity and Well-being Outcomes among Post-9/11 Veterans after Separation , James David Lee

Experiences of People with Serious Mental Illness Seeking Services at Community Mental Health Centers During the COVID-19 Pandemic , Emily Leickly

Why So Serious? Using the Belongingness Need Tenet from the Self-Determination Theory to Examine Workplace Humor and Its Outcomes , Katharine Lucille McMahon

Emotion Knowledge, Its Applications, and Their Associations With African American Children's Social Relationships With Teachers and Peers in Kindergarten and First Grade , Brielle Emily Petit

Stress-Reduction from Positive Support: Impacts of Receiving Partner Capitalization Support on Veteran Stress/Work Stress , MaryAnn Dona Samson

Diversity in Recruitment: The Role of Realistic Website Job Previews for Racial and Ethnic Minority Applicants , Jennifer Saucedo

Antecedents of FSSB: Evaluating the Demographic Basis of Support , Erika Ann Schemmel

A Daily Investigation of the Recovery Paradox: Examining the Dynamic Interplay of Workload, Recovery Experiences, and Microbreaks , Morgan Rose Taylor

Not on the Menu: Customer Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry , Fernanda Wolburg Martinez

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Model.Disclose(): Examination of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Disclosure at Work , Timothy Allen Carsey

Transforming Learning Communities, Transforming Ourselves: A Qualitative Investigation of Identity Processes in a Participatory Action Research-themed Undergraduate Course , Julia Sara Dancis

Clarifying and Measuring Inclusive Leadership , Kelly Mason Hamilton

Intersections of Masculinity, Culturally Relevant Factors, and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among Asian American Men , Jason Z. Kyler-Yano

Sleeping to Support: An Examination of the Relationship Between Leader Sleep and Positive Support Behaviors , Jordyn Jan Leslie

Work-Related IPV Among Latinos: Exploring the Roles of Fatherhood Status, Gendered Expectations, and Support for Intimate Partner's Employment , Adrian Luis Manriquez

Masculinity Instability and Ideologies as Predictors of IPV Perpetration: The Mediating Role of Relationship Power , Emma Christine Marioles O'Connor

The Benefits of Social Support on Health and Well-Being in Military Populations: Examining Mechanisms, Source of Support, and the Reach of a Workplace Well-Being Intervention , AnnaMarie Sophia O'Neill

Do Motives Matter? The Role of Motivation in Shaping the Impact of Mindfulness Training on Teachers' Psychological Distress and Wellbeing , Cristi N. Pinela

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

The Longitudinal Effects of a Family and Sleep Supportive Intervention on Service Member Anger and Resilience , Shalene Joyce Allen

Drug Conviction and Employment Restriction: Experiences of Employees with Drug-Related Criminal Histories , Liana Bernard

Sustaining Boys' Motivation Over the Transition to Middle School: Can Interpersonal Resources Protect Boys from Engagement Declines Across Sixth Grade? , Brandy Anne Brennan

Returning to Rejection: Outcomes and Boundary Conditions of Mental Illness Stereotypes , Stefanie Fox

Guarding Against Strain: The Moderating Role of Nonwork Experiences in the Relationship Between Work-Related Hypervigilance and Strain in Correctional Officers , Samantha Getzen

Anti-Muslim Bias: Investigating Individual Differences, Threat Perceptions, and Emotions in Islamophobic Policy Support , Aeleah M. Granger

Black Children's Development of Self-Regulation within Stressful Contexts of Parenting: Investigating Potential Buffering Effects of a Kindergarten Social-Emotional Learning Program , Eli Labinger

"Like I Was an Actual Researcher": Participation and Identity Trajectories of Underrepresented Minority and First-Generation STEM Students in Research Training Communities of Practice , Jennifer Lynn Lindwall

Claiming Miscommunication to Justify Rape: The Role of Liking the Perpetrator , Alyssa Marie Glace Maryn

An "I" for an "I" : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Instigated and Reciprocal Incivility , Lauren Sarah Park

Parenting and Children's Academic Coping as a Dynamic System: Feedforward, Feedback, and Mediators of Changes Across the School Year , Kristen Elizabeth Raine

Does Experiencing Spousal Support and Strain Impact the Quality of Family-Based Support that Supervisors Provide to Employees? , Joseph Alvin Sherwood

"B-ing Flexible" : Examining Creativity in Bisexual Employees , Megan Jane Snoeyink

Exploring the Relationships Between Community Experiences and Well-Being among Youth Experiencing Homelessness , Katricia Stewart

Mothers' Drinking Motives , Sheila Kathleen Umemoto

An Examination of Nurses' Schedule Characteristics, Recovery from Work, and Well-Being , Sarah Elizabeth Van Dyck

Preventing Sexual Violence Through Understanding Perceptions of Sexual Offenders , Judith G. Zatkin

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Examining Employee Needs at Work and Home: a Self-Determination Theory Perspective , Dana Anuhea Auten

Trajectories, Time Windows, and Alternative Pathways of Engagement: Motivational Resources Underlying Academic Development during Middle School , Heather Anne Brule

Examining Mindfulness Training for Teachers: Theoretical and Methodological Extensions of Intervention Effectiveness , Jaiya Rae Choles

Detecting Reinforcement Patterns in the Stream of Naturalistic Observations of Social Interactions , James Lamar DeLaney 3rd

An Investigation of the Temporal Relationship Between Agitation and Sleep Disturbances , Emily Catherine Denning

Peers' Academic Coping as a Resource for Academic Engagement and Motivational Resilience in the First Year of Middle School , Daniel Lee Grimes

Home Resources Supporting Workplace Resources: an Investigation of Moderated Intervention Effects From the Study for Employment Retention of Veterans (SERVe) , Sarah Nielsen Haverly

"It Puts a Face to All the Knowledge We've Gotten" : a Program of Research on Intimate Partner Violence Surrogate Impact Panels , Kate Louise Sackett Kerrigan

A Daily Examination of Anger and Alcohol Use Among Post-9/11 Veterans , James David Lee

An Examination of Daily Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors, Perceived Supervisor Responsiveness and Job Satisfaction , Luke Daniel Mahoney

Nurse Can't Even: the Immediate Impact of Incivility on Affect, Well-being, and Behavior , Katharine Lucille McMahon

Perceptions of Police Use of Force at the Intersection of Race and Pregnancy , Emma Elizabeth Lee Money

The Impact of Paternal Caregivers for Youth Who Commit Sexual Offenses , Miranda Hope Sitney

Human Energy in the Workplace: an Investigation of Daily Energy Management Strategies, Job Stressors and Employee Outcomes , Morgan Rose Taylor

Individual and Community Supports that Impact Community Inclusion and Recovery for Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses , Rachel Elizabeth Terry

Investigating Sexual Fantasy and Sexual Behavior in Adolescent Offenders , Hayley Lauren Tews

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Integrating Work Ability into the Organizational Science Literature: Advancing Theory and Developing the Nomological Network , Grant Brady

Family Linked Workplace Resources and Contextual Factors as Important Predictors of Job and Individual Well-being for Employees and Families , Jacquelyn Marie Brady

The Role of Teacher Autonomy Support Across the Transition to Middle School: its Components, Reach, and Developmental Effects , Julia Sara Dancis

Does X Mark the Applicant? Assessing Reactions to Gender Non-Binary Job Seekers , Kelly Mason Hamilton

Urbanicity as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Stigma and Well-being Outcomes for Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses , Emily Leickly

The Relationship Between Undergraduate Research Training Programs and Motivational Resources for Underrepresented Minority Students in STEM: Program Participation, Self-efficacy, a Sense of Belonging, and Academic Performance , Jennifer Lindwall

Perceived Partner Responsiveness, Sleep and Pain: a Dyadic Study of Military-Connected Couples , AnnaMarie Sophia O'Neill

Recruitment Marketing: How Do Wellness and Work-Life Benefits Influence Employer Image Perceptions, Organizational Attraction, and Job Pursuit Intentions? , Amy Christine Pytlovany

The Combined Effects of Parent and Teacher Involvement on the Development of Adolescents' Academic Engagement , Nicolette Paige Rickert

Examining the Development and Classroom Dynamics of Student Disaffection Over Multiple Time Periods: Short-term Episodes and Long-term Trajectories , Emily Anne Saxton

Drinking on a Work Night: a Comparison of Day and Person-Level Associations with Workplace Outcomes , Brittnie Renae Shepherd

Development and Validation of the Workplace Mental Illness Stigma Scale (W-MISS) , Nicholas Anthony Smith

Relational Thriving in Context: Examining the Roles of Gratitude, Affectionate Touch, and Positive Affective Variability in Health and Well-Being , Alicia Rochelle Starkey

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse and Juvenile Offending Through Parental Monitoring , Kelly E. Stewart

"To Call or Not to Call?" The Impact of Supervisor Training on Call Center Employee Attitudes and Well-Being , Whitney Elan Schneider Vogel

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

The Impact of Leader Race and Gender on Perceptions of Organizations in Response to Corporate Error , Nicolas Derek Brown

Impacts of Mindfulness Training on Mechanisms Underlying Stress Reduction in Teachers: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial , Jaiya Rae Choles

Student Motivation Profiles as a Diagnostic Tool to Help Teachers Provide Targeted Support , Cailin Tricia Currie

Insufficient Effort Responding on Mturk Surveys: Evidence-Based Quality Control for Organizational Research , Lee Cyr

Affirmative Consent Endorsement and Peer Norms Supporting Sexual Violence Among Vulnerable Students on College Campuses , Alyssa Marie Glace

Gendered Partner-Ideals, Relationship Satisfaction, and Intimate Partner Violence , Sylvia Marie Ferguson Kidder

Organizational Calling and Safety: the Role of Workload and Supervisor Support , Layla Rhiannon Mansfield

Bystander Intervention to Prevent Campus Sexual Violence: the Role of Sense of Community, Peer Norms, and Administrative Responding , Erin Christine McConnell

Benevolent Sexism and Racial Stereotypes: Targets, Functions, and Consequences , Jean Marie McMahon

Perceived Overqualification and Withdrawal Among Seasonal Workers: Would Work Motivation Make a Difference? , Anthony Duy Nguyen

Differential Well-Being in Response to Incivility and Surface Acting among Nurses as a Function of Race , Lauren Sarah Park

Financial Strain and the Work-Home Interface: a Test of the Work-Home Resources Model from the Study for Employment Retention of Veterans (SERVe) , MacKenna Laine Perry

Neighbor Perceptions of Psychiatric Supportive Housing : the Role of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors , Amy Leigh Shearer

The Role of Caregiver Disruption in the Development of Juvenile Sexual Offenders , Miranda Sitney

Intrapersonal and Social-Contextual Factors Related to Psychological Well-being among Youth Experiencing Homelessness , Katricia Stewart

Age-based Differences in the Usefulness of Resources: a Multi-Study Investigation of Work and Well-being Outcomes , Lale Muazzez Yaldiz

Pathways to Kindergarten Growth: Synthesizing Theories of the Kindergarten Transition to Support Children's Development , Rita Yelverton

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

The Force of Manhood: the Consequences of Masculinity Threat on Police Officer Use of Force , Aurelia Terese Alston

Supervisor Mindfulness and Its Association with Leader-Member Exchange , Dana Anuhea Auten

Combat Experiences, Iso-strain, and Sleep Quality Affect Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress among Working Post-9/11 Veterans , Gilbert Patrick Brady Jr.

A Study of Shame-proneness, Drinking Behaviors, and Workplace Role Ambiguity Among a Sample of Student Workers , Sarah Nielsen Haverly

Intraminority Support For and Participation In Race-Based Collective Action Movements: an Intersectional Perspective , Jaboa Shawntaé Lake

Patients and Nurses and Doctors Oh My!: Nurse Retention from a Multi-Foci Aggression Perspective , Kevin Oliver Novak

Intimate Partner Violence Impact Panels for Batterer Intervention: a Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a Restorative Justice Process , Kate Louise Sackett

Investigating the Relationship Between Supervisor Status and the Modus Operandi of Juvenile Sexual Offenders: a Routine Activity Theory Perspective , Kelly E. Stewart

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How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Introduction

Published on September 7, 2022 by Tegan George and Shona McCombes. Revised on November 21, 2023.

The introduction is the first section of your thesis or dissertation , appearing right after the table of contents . Your introduction draws your reader in, setting the stage for your research with a clear focus, purpose, and direction on a relevant topic .

Your introduction should include:

• Your topic, in context: what does your reader need to know to understand your thesis dissertation?
• Your focus and scope: what specific aspect of the topic will you address?
• The relevance of your research: how does your work fit into existing studies on your topic?
• Your questions and objectives: what does your research aim to find out, and how?
• An overview of your structure: what does each section contribute to the overall aim?

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Table of contents

How to start your introduction, topic and context, focus and scope, relevance and importance, questions and objectives, overview of the structure, thesis introduction example, introduction checklist, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about introductions.

Although your introduction kicks off your dissertation, it doesn’t have to be the first thing you write — in fact, it’s often one of the very last parts to be completed (just before your abstract ).

It’s a good idea to write a rough draft of your introduction as you begin your research, to help guide you. If you wrote a research proposal , consider using this as a template, as it contains many of the same elements. However, be sure to revise your introduction throughout the writing process, making sure it matches the content of your ensuing sections.

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Begin by introducing your dissertation topic and giving any necessary background information. It’s important to contextualize your research and generate interest. Aim to show why your topic is timely or important. You may want to mention a relevant news item, academic debate, or practical problem.

After a brief introduction to your general area of interest, narrow your focus and define the scope of your research.

You can narrow this down in many ways, such as by:

• Geographical area
• Time period
• Demographics or communities
• Themes or aspects of the topic

It’s essential to share your motivation for doing this research, as well as how it relates to existing work on your topic. Further, you should also mention what new insights you expect it will contribute.

Start by giving a brief overview of the current state of research. You should definitely cite the most relevant literature, but remember that you will conduct a more in-depth survey of relevant sources in the literature review section, so there’s no need to go too in-depth in the introduction.

Depending on your field, the importance of your research might focus on its practical application (e.g., in policy or management) or on advancing scholarly understanding of the topic (e.g., by developing theories or adding new empirical data). In many cases, it will do both.

Ultimately, your introduction should explain how your thesis or dissertation:

• Helps solve a practical or theoretical problem
• Addresses a gap in the literature
• Builds on existing research
• Proposes a new understanding of your topic

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Perhaps the most important part of your introduction is your questions and objectives, as it sets up the expectations for the rest of your thesis or dissertation. How you formulate your research questions and research objectives will depend on your discipline, topic, and focus, but you should always clearly state the central aim of your research.

If your research aims to test hypotheses , you can formulate them here. Your introduction is also a good place for a conceptual framework that suggests relationships between variables .

• Conduct surveys to collect data on students’ levels of knowledge, understanding, and positive/negative perceptions of government policy.
• Determine whether attitudes to climate policy are associated with variables such as age, gender, region, and social class.
• Conduct interviews to gain qualitative insights into students’ perspectives and actions in relation to climate policy.

To help guide your reader, end your introduction with an outline  of the structure of the thesis or dissertation to follow. Share a brief summary of each chapter, clearly showing how each contributes to your central aims. However, be careful to keep this overview concise: 1-2 sentences should be enough.

I. Introduction

Human language consists of a set of vowels and consonants which are combined to form words. During the speech production process, thoughts are converted into spoken utterances to convey a message. The appropriate words and their meanings are selected in the mental lexicon (Dell & Burger, 1997). This pre-verbal message is then grammatically coded, during which a syntactic representation of the utterance is built.

Speech, language, and voice disorders affect the vocal cords, nerves, muscles, and brain structures, which result in a distorted language reception or speech production (Sataloff & Hawkshaw, 2014). The symptoms vary from adding superfluous words and taking pauses to hoarseness of the voice, depending on the type of disorder (Dodd, 2005). However, distortions of the speech may also occur as a result of a disease that seems unrelated to speech, such as multiple sclerosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This study aims to determine which acoustic parameters are suitable for the automatic detection of exacerbations in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by investigating which aspects of speech differ between COPD patients and healthy speakers and which aspects differ between COPD patients in exacerbation and stable COPD patients.

Checklist: Introduction

I have introduced my research topic in an engaging way.

I have provided necessary context to help the reader understand my topic.

I have clearly specified the focus of my research.

I have shown the relevance and importance of the dissertation topic .

I have clearly stated the problem or question that my research addresses.

I have outlined the specific objectives of the research .

I have provided an overview of the dissertation’s structure .

You've written a strong introduction for your thesis or dissertation. Use the other checklists to continue improving your dissertation.

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!

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The introduction of a research paper includes several key elements:

• A hook to catch the reader’s interest
• Relevant background on the topic
• Details of your research problem

and your problem statement

• A thesis statement or research question
• Sometimes an overview of the paper

Don’t feel that you have to write the introduction first. The introduction is often one of the last parts of the research paper you’ll write, along with the conclusion.

This is because it can be easier to introduce your paper once you’ve already written the body ; you may not have the clearest idea of your arguments until you’ve written them, and things can change during the writing process .

Research objectives describe what you intend your research project to accomplish.

They summarize the approach and purpose of the project and help to focus your research.

Your objectives should appear in the introduction of your research paper , at the end of your problem statement .

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.

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FINAL THESIS AT THE CHAIR OF PSYCHOLOGY (BACHELOR/ MASTER)

Are you interested in psychology and looking for an exciting topic for your final thesis ( bachelor/master )? Then apply to the Chair of Psychology! We offer an open and constructive work atmosphere in a young, dynamic, and international team.

We conduct both basic and applied research on the intersection of motivational, industrial, and organizational psychology. Here, we deal with questions regarding implicit and explicit motives, volition (willpower), intrinsic motivation, flow experiences, action regulation, (romantic) workplace relationships, and transformational leadership.

APPLICATION PROCESS

STEP 1: Find your topic and supervisor

Check out all ongoing research projects at the Chair by inspecting each team member’s profile and research interests. Our  team page  can help you in finding the right supervisor with the right topic!

STEP 2: Prepare your application documents and contact us

If you already have a topic for your thesis in mind or are interested in a particular research area offered, please send an email directly to the team member involved in this research field.  Please note:  Your email should include a few setences on your motivation  ("what made you apply?"), how you fulfill the hard criteria stated under "WHAT WE EXPECT" as well as your CV and  transcript of records (one PDF). We will get in touch with you as soon as possible!

STEP 3: "Meet & Greet" with your potential supervisor

Depending on the team member’s capacity, she/he will either send you a rejection email or schedule a “Meet & Greet”-appointment in which you receive more information on her/his research field and the Chair’s thesis procedure. Please note:  In preparation for the meeting, thoroughly read our guidelines and policies made on final theses at the Chair of Psychology (see here ). Since we now encourage manuscript-style theses instead of "classical" theses, some parts might be obsolet (ask your potential supervisor!). However, the document still provides you with a good overview!

STEP 4: Agreement on the topic and type of your thesis

After you have spent some time reading on the topic(s) that aroused your interest, you will meet again with your supervisor and agree not only on your thesis topic but also on the type of thesis (empirical/theoretical and manuscript-style or classic).

STEP 5: Write a short proposal

Before registering your thesis, we want you to write a short thesis proposal of max. 3 pages (see here  for more information). In it, you will refine your research question, build the thesis structure, and organize/schedule milestones for your research work in the form of a timeline. It will also serve as a “contract” for the thesis content after you have registered for your thesis in the next step.

STEP 6: Registration of your thesis

In the last step, your supervisor officially registers your thesis at the Examination Office. Once your thesis is registered, you must submit your bachelor’s/master’s thesis within the next 3/6 months. Please note:  Please read, sign, and send the following  declaration  to your supervisor via email. In case of manuscript-style theses, please read, sign, and send the following additional document .

WHAT WE EXPECT

1) Hard criteria (mandatory):

Prior experience with/knowedlege of  empirical research methods  including basic quantative statistics (descriptive statistics, regression, mediation/moderation, etc.) and their implementation with a software of your choice (SPSS, R, JASP, etc.).

In your first email to your potential supervisor, you need to inform him/her how you fulfill this requirement. Either by providing him/her with convining information on your statistical background or by referring to one of the courses listed below:

• Bachelor's thesis: Successful participation (min. grade 2.3) in the module “ Empirical Research Methods ” (WI000261)
• Master's thesis:  Successful participation (min. grade 2.3) in the module “ Introduction to Statistics Using R ” (MGT001243)  

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• Empirical or theoretical/conceptual thesis in manuscript style suitable for publication
• Preferred language: English
• Time: 3/6 months full time for bachelor’s/master’s theses
• Pages: 20-30 pages for bachelor’s/master’s theses (rule of thumb) in manuscript style suitable for publication
• APA (7 th  Edition) formatting
• Presentation of your thesis in our research colloquium
• Prior experience with psychological/motivational/statistical topics - for instance, gained in one of our seminars/lectures offered by the Chair of Psychology
• Access to rare populations/samples - for example, companies

WHAT WE OFFER

• Insights into psychological/motivational/statistical topics, highly relevant for your future career in or outside of academia
• One-to-one mentoring including regular feedback
• Our greatest attention because your thesis directly supports our research – your success is our goal (win-win situation)
• Access to the Chair’s research laboratory “MotivaTUM” with 20 experimental PCs for empirical research studies
• A challenging but supportive work environment in which having fun never falls too short (see point 6)
• Table soccer and best coffee at TUM

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• Information Sheet - Registering your thesis at TUM SOM
• Information Sheet - Submitting your thesis at TUM SOM

In case you should have general questions concerning final theses at the Chair of Psychology, please do not hesitate to contact us by email!

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How to Write an Introduction for a Psychology Paper

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

• Writing Tips

If you are writing a psychology paper, it is essential to kick things off with a strong introduction. The introduction to a psychology research paper helps your readers understand why the topic is important and what they need to know before they delve deeper.

Your goal in this section is to introduce the topic to the reader, provide an overview of previous research on the topic, and identify your own hypothesis .

At a Glance

Writing a great introduction can be a great foundation for the rest of your psychology paper. To create a strong intro:

• Research your topic
• Outline your paper
• Introduce your topic
• Summarize the previous research
• Present your hypothesis or main argument

Before You Write an Introduction

There are some important steps you need to take before you even begin writing your introduction. To know what to write, you need to collect important background information and create a detailed plan.

Research Your Topic

Search a journal database, PsychInfo or ERIC, to find articles on your subject. Once you have located an article, look at the reference section to locate other studies cited in the article. As you take notes from these articles, be sure to write down where you found the information.

A simple note detailing the author's name, journal, and date of publication can help you keep track of sources and avoid plagiarism.

Create a Detailed Outline

This is often one of the most boring and onerous steps, so students tend to skip outlining and go straight to writing. Creating an outline might seem tedious, but it can be an enormous time-saver down the road and will make the writing process much easier.

Start by looking over the notes you made during the research process and consider how you want to present all of your ideas and research.

Introduce the Topic

Once you are ready to write your introduction, your first task is to provide a brief description of the research question. What is the experiment or study attempting to demonstrate? What phenomena are you studying? Provide a brief history of your topic and explain how it relates to your current research.

As you are introducing your topic, consider what makes it important. Why should it matter to your reader? The goal of your introduction is not only to let your reader know what your paper is about, but also to justify why it is important for them to learn more.

If your paper tackles a controversial subject and is focused on resolving the issue, it is important to summarize both sides of the controversy in a fair and impartial way. Consider how your paper fits in with the relevant research on the topic.

The introduction of a research paper is designed to grab interest. It should present a compelling look at the research that already exists and explain to readers what questions your own paper will address.

Summarize Previous Research

The second task of your introduction is to provide a well-rounded summary of previous research that is relevant to your topic. So, before you begin to write this summary, it is important to research your topic thoroughly.

Finding appropriate sources amid thousands of journal articles can be a daunting task, but there are several steps you can take to simplify your research. If you have completed the initial steps of researching and keeping detailed notes, writing your introduction will be much easier.

It is essential to give the reader a good overview of the historical context of the issue you are writing about, but do not feel like you must provide an exhaustive review of the subject. Focus on hitting the main points, and try to include the most relevant studies.

You might describe previous research findings and then explain how the current study differs or expands upon earlier research.

Provide Your Hypothesis

Once you have summarized the previous research, explain areas where the research is lacking or potentially flawed. What is missing from previous studies on your topic? What research questions have yet to be answered? Your hypothesis should lead to these questions.

At the end of your introduction, offer your hypothesis and describe what you expected to find in your experiment or study.

The introduction should be relatively brief. You want to give your readers an overview of a topic, explain why you are addressing it, and provide your arguments.

Tips for Writing Your Psychology Paper Intro

• Use 3x5 inch note cards to write down notes and sources.
• Look in professional psychology journals for examples of introductions.
• Remember to cite your sources.
• Maintain a working bibliography with all of the sources you might use in your final paper. This will make it much easier to prepare your reference section later on.
• Use a copy of the APA style manual to ensure that your introduction and references are in proper APA format .

What This Means For You

Before you delve into the main body of your paper, you need to give your readers some background and present your main argument in the introduction of you paper. You can do this by first explaining what your topic is about, summarizing past research, and then providing your thesis.

Armağan A. How to write an introduction section of a scientific article ?  Turk J Urol . 2013;39(Suppl 1):8-9. doi:10.5152/tud.2013.046

Fried T, Foltz C, Lendner M, Vaccaro AR. How to write an effective introduction .  Clin Spine Surg . 2019;32(3):111-112. doi:10.1097/BSD.0000000000000714

Jawaid SA, Jawaid M. How to write introduction and discussion .  Saudi J Anaesth . 2019;13(Suppl 1):S18-S19. doi:10.4103/sja.SJA_584_18

American Psychological Association. Information Recommended for Inclusion in Manuscripts That Report New Data Collections Regardless of Research Design . Published 2020.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."