Let the Audience be the Judge

In the opinion of many dissertation reviewers, a scientific dissertation does not make moral judgments. Under this precedent, the use of “incorrect” or “correct” is preferable when speaking of factual correctness, errors or mistakes. When making a comparison between methods, ideas, or topics, the use of precise words or phrases to assess the comparative quality should describe the reason(s) one is better than the first. In general, the doctoral candidate should avoid all qualitative judgments, letting the facts of the comparison stand on their own.

Evidential Value

As the author writes his or her dissertation, care should be taken when referencing evidence, facts and sources. Focus should be placed on the actual contents and evidence, presenting the details thereof and leaving judgment calls of its importance, relevance and value up to the audience. Data should be referenced as evidence that indicates a given position and not as absolute proof of a claim or fact.

Focus on Results

The focus of a dissertation should be kept on the results of the research, experimentation, or conditions, not on the circumstances from which the results were obtained. It may be tempting to document a long series of research or experiments that produced unusable results or an accident or coincidence that triggered an unexpected result. This unnecessary discourse should be avoided. Seemingly mystical or serendipitous occurrences should not be included in the dissertation either. Mystical causes or implication that strange forces affected your results should never be discussed. Stick to the known facts and, if an unexpected result does occur somehow, find out why the result happened. Results should be presented without dwelling on the events that led up to the result and without dwelling on your reactions or emotions related to their discovery.

Vagueness of Results

Dissertations should be phrased in firm absolutes, with few exceptions. An example of this vagueness would be the use of seem phrases (“seems to show”, “seemingly important”, etc). In a dissertation, all that matters are the facts. Appearances or surprise at a particular result are irrelevant. The causes of the appearance or surprise are the only things that matter. Vagueness can also creep in via quantitative or statistical references such as many, a few, a majority, etc. Dissertations should contain specific counts and percentages or, at very least, numeric approximations of the values involved.

The Crime of Self-Assessment

Self-assessment of the author]s abilities and results should be avoided, regardless of their content of praise or criticism. Descriptions of “major breakthroughs” should present only the facts, not the personal opinion of the dissertation author. Limits on the ability of the author are likewise irrelevant and have no place in the dissertation.