Thoughts on Writing Your Dissertation

After the information for a dissertation is collected and organized, the arduous task of writing commences. Though the internal structure of individual chapters is up to the writer, most dissertation review panels require a specific exoskeleton structure for the dissertation. A point of confusion exists, however. The order of the dissertation’s final form is usually not the logical or most effective order for it to be written. Most dissertations are written from the inside out. Even with this understanding, additional guidance is necessary for a successful dissertation.

The Basic Concept Thesis

Students will normally begin the dissertation process by preparing and submitting a thesis statement and proposal. The thesis statement and proposal establishes what the student is seeking to prove or argue and outlines the sources of information and methods of research that are being planned. Students should be cautious when establishing their thesis. Too broad or complex a topic may prove overwhelming and beyond the current capabilities of the student, yet too narrow a topic may end up with limited historic evidence to create a sufficient background or basis for the student’s proposed research. Rarely does this rule not apply as there are few ideas that have appeared historically that did not seem to have precursor scientific thought.

The Literature Review

The first section of the actual dissertation written, in most cases, is the literature review. The literature review is a disclosure of past research, publications and developments that have led to or influenced the current research or thoughts. The review establishes the framework for the development of the dissertation. While preparing the review, the writer should never overlook evidence or opinions that contradict his or her hypothesis or opinion. Inclusion of contradictory evidence shows that the student is attempting to view the issue or topic objectively. Academic instructors are well familiar with the fact that no scientific thought or original idea stands without some kind of opposition. Therefore, omission of contradictory evidence is considered an indication that the dissertation is more subjective than objective. Many times dissertations end up rejected over this issue alone.

Students must show that their thoughts and ideas can stand against the glaring light of contradiction or that the student has taken the contradictions into account in his or her dissertation development by showing the contradictory evidence to either be in error, or that it is irrelevant to the position or findings of his or her research.

Research Methodology

When planning and executing their research methods, students must be aware of the strengths and weaknesses in their own methods. Research methods typically fit into one of two categories, qualitative or quantitative. The primary distinction between the two methodologies is the role of the researcher. Under qualitative research, the researcher is directly active, gathering facts in persons through laboratory experimentation or field observation. Qualitative research is used when the researcher is unsure of what will be found or how it relates to his or her work. In quantitative research, the researcher is indirectly involved, utilizing surveys and other indirect evidence collection. In Quantitative research, the research knows what he or she is looking for and is seeking to gather the proof of his or her theory or idea.

Collecting Terms and Definitions

As the student works to prepare the preceding sections, he or she should also be collecting any terms, phrases or concepts that the readers and reviewers of the dissertation may not understand. Not every reader will be in the student’s specific discipline, nor will those within the same discipline necessarily have the same knowledge as the student preparing the dissertation. Never assume your readers are as knowledgeable of your subject matter as you are. The explanation of these terms, phrases or concepts will be contained in a chapter early in the dissertation presentation. This is necessary to ensure the reader understands the terms, phrases or concepts used within the dissertation without having to refer to another resource or to a glossary chapter at the end of the dissertation.

The definitions should never be presented as a simple list, as in a glossary. Each definition should be established as a mini-essay within the dissertation to create a proper understanding within the mind of the reader. The writer should also review the dissertation and ensure that each use of the defined term, phrase or concept adheres to the definition or explanation that has been given. This process should be done for every technical term, phrase or concept, even if it is used in a discipline-accepted or generally conventional manner. Again, never assume your reader will automatically know what you are talking about or understand a given technical term or phrase.

Finishing the Dissertation

Once the body of the dissertation is completed, it is time to prepare the conclusion, and introduction and to finalize and verify the bibliographic materials and citation references. As you can see, at this point the dissertation has been written from the middle material of the finished dissertation outwards in both directions.

In the conclusion, the student reviews his or her original thesis, discusses how the pre-existing materials influenced his or her thinking and plans regarding the avenues and intent of the dissertation research, and reviews the meaning and ramifications of the resultant research. Additionally, the student should discuss what potential future research and development he or she anticipates may be necessary or desirable. The conclusion is written from a past-perspective (“the research showed …”). For the introduction, the student writes a description of the thesis, the pre-existing materials and the research they have done, though this should be written from a future perspective (“the methods and results of the research will show...”). Unlike the conclusion, the introduction does not discuss potential future research or development, nor does it discuss the ramifications of the dissertation’s findings.

At this point, work on the bibliographic materials should be little more than making sure they are in the correct format as the information itself should have been collected and organized as the dissertation was being prepared. The student should review the in-text references, both existing and potential, to ensure the dissertation is fully documented.

Optional Materials

Two potential optional materials are frequently found in dissertations … gratuitous mentions and content indexes. Gratuitous mentions are simply giving thanks to college professors and other outside sources for the help or support they gave in the completion of the dissertation. A content index is identical to a book index, containing a list of words or phrases and the pages upon which they are used or mentioned.

Winding Things Up

Finally, the student should prepare his or her title page, abstract and table of contents. Requirement details for the title page and table of contents should be discussed and verified with your dissertation advisor. The abstract will disclose the contents of the dissertation in one to three paragraphs, typically running 200 to 300 words, focusing on the core thesis and significance of the dissertation in relation to that thesis.

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