Dissertation Structure

A Brief Into the Importance of Dissertation Structure

A dissertation structure is the outline of the paper a student submits at the end of his academic year. Students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees are required to submit a dissertation- an approximate 10,000 words document based on the research they conducted during their academic year under the guidance of the faculty in their university. The purpose of this document is to assess the student's knowledge. Now, when this serves such an important task, it is mandatory that you submit it with perfection. Thus, the way it looks also matters, and hence it is very important to follow the right structure while drafting this document. Now, let's take a look at how to structure a dissertation, the steps to follow, and the chapters to include. So, let's get started!

How to Structure a Dissertation? Steps by Steps

Though the structure of a dissertation varies from subject-to-subject, there are a few chapters that remain unchanged. This section will look into those chapters of the dissertation structure UK- which are familiar, and important, and not-so-important. Are you confused? Read along to get better clarity.

1. Title Page

As the name suggests, this page is the cover page of your document and should include only mandatory and minimum information. If you are wondering how to structure dissertation, especially the title page, then this is no rocket science; it just includes the title of the document, submitted by, submitted to, from the department, and university name. Here is a sample of how you can draft the title section in your dissertation:

• Add a title and subtitle (if any)
• Include the name of the student
• Add the name of the writing type
• Include "submitted to" details
• Add the name of the university
• Include the details of the degree
• Add the date and year of submission/publishing

2. Acknowledgement

On this page, you show your gratitude towards the people who helped you complete this task on time, such as parents, spouse, friends, family, faculty, and so on. This isn't a mandatory page, but it can add value to your work is included.

There are basically 2 types of acknowledgment that you can include in your dissertation structure template- professional and personal. The professional acknowledgment covers areas like funding bodies, supervisors, professors, colleagues, classmates, librarians, lab assistants, editors, proofreaders, survey participants, etc. On the other hand, personal acknowledgment is for family or friends only.

You might now be wondering how to start the acknowledgment as this is one of the toughest parts, right? But, don't worry; we have your back. Here are a few kick-starts that our experts use on your page for better connectivity with the audience:

• I would like to acknowledge
• Thanks to Almighty
• I admire the work and guidance of
• Iam thankful to
• I thank my
• I would like to thank
• Thank you Mr. John
• A thank you to

3. Abstract

This is the abstract page of your dissertation structure template. Here, you provide brief information on your topic to give an insight into your work to the reader so that they know what to expect from the main document.

Writing an abstract is not an easy job since it gives insight to the reader into your actual document; it is mandatory that this is drafted well. Are you stressed about it? Don't worry; even our writers used to go through the same, and then they drafted these 'Do's and Don'ts,' which, when followed, helped them a lot.

4. Table of Contents

This section is dedicated to listing all the chapters and topics in the document. This can be used for easy guidance to find the required topic from anywhere in the dissertation. This page includes the page numbers of all topics that makes it easy to find them from the actual document. Here are a few elements that we do not miss in this section:

Serial Number - The count of the titles/chapters

Title/Topic Name - Name of the title whose information is provided in the document

Page Number - Number of the page/s where this information is included in the document

The above 3 are mandatory elements of the page, but you can include others as well, such as; these are a few sub categories that you can include in this:

Glossary - This is a list of some jargon/technical terms or difficult words with their meaning that are used in this document.

List of Tables - This is a complete list of tables that are used in this entire document.

List of Figures - This is a list of all figures that are used in your whole dissertation structure.

5. Introduction

Many students are bothered about how to structure a dissertation introduction. The answer to this is that the introduction is like the headlight of any vehicle; it shows the path to be followed. Similarly, it helps one set a foundation and clear the path for further content. When writing an introduction, we cover 4Ws (What, Why, Where, When) & 1 H (How) in it. Other than this, we also focus on other factors that impact it. Wondering what they are, find out more below:

• Aim of the research
• An overview of the structure
• Context it is referring to
• Focus of the research
• Objectives to meet
• Scope in the provided topic
• Topic of the dissertation
• Topic relevance with study field

6. Literature Review

This is the section that bridges the gap between previous researches and the current research. This section includes information that can be used to analyze the research conducted previously on similar topics, their outcomes, and how they can be used for this research.

If you are wondering the reason or why we should write a literature review in the first place, then here are some answers to it:

• To develop a theoretical framework and methodology on this topic
• To book a place for yourself among other researchers and theorists.
• To explain the familiarity of this research topic with scholarly content.
• To represent the way it makes a contribution to other works.
• To elaborate the way this addresses the literature gap

Now that you know why you should write a literature review, you might be wondering how to structure a literature review dissertation or the steps to follow for it, right? So, here are the 4 steps that we follow for productive results:

• Research for relatable literature reviews
• Analyze the findings for better understanding
• Prepare an outline based on the research
• Write down the literature review using reference

7. Methodology

The dissertation structure methodology section of a document is a crucial area. This includes all the information about what methods were used, how they were chosen, how to implement them, and the ways, tips, or do's and don't follow while using those methods.

When writing this section, our experts make sure to cover some mandatory points in it, which are:

The type of research you did to study

This covers all the different types of research that you've conducted to collect the data for studying this topic. It includes qualitative research, quantitative research, and others.

The process of collecting the data

This includes the processes followed to collect data for this research. It covers the primary data sources, secondary data sources, and tertiary data sources along with their process.

The process of analyzing the data

This includes the processes followed to analyze the collected data. It covers the methods used and steps followed to analyze the data for deriving a result or conclusion of the study.

Tools/materials used for the research

This includes the tools and methods used during the research to conduct the study on the chosen topic. It covers the usage of tools, the requirement of materials, and the way they are used in this process.

The criteria for choosing the methods used

This includes the criteria based on which the methods are chosen to be used in the research study. This includes why a particular method is used and how it is better than the others.

8. Results

The results section is again an important chapter of the dissertation structure and includes the outcome and results of the complete research. This includes the narrowed down points, resultant of the methods used, findings calculated, and other such derivations of the research. Here are a few ways using which we present your results and findings of the research in an innovative style:

• Tables - You can use tables to list down information that you want to bring to the reader's attention. This makes your data look organized and easy to understand.
• Charts - Charts are another mode of presenting data in an interesting way. You can further use any type of chart like pie, bar, column, line, doughnut, bubble, spider, and more.
• Lists - Lists are the minimalist way to sort data and present the results for various stages in a decent way. This is apt for presenting minimum data in an easy-to-read way.
• Infographics - Infographics include a blend of pictures and information for the reader to easily understand the context of the research. These are not just informative but interesting and attractive as well.
• Diagrams - Diagrams are the best way to express the information in fewer words and in easy to understand way. You can try innovative approaches to present the results with the help of diagrams.

9. Discussion

Wondering 'how to structure dissertation discussion?' The discussion is the section of the document where you explain the dissertation's points that need to be described in a broadway. In other words, this is where you can broadly talk about the dissertation to better understand it.

Now the catch here is that students get confused when to stop the discussion or to what extent they should continue it. Here are a few factors/topics that a discussion must include; if they are met, we can end it well.

• What do the results imply?
• What do the results mean?
• What is the use of these results?
• Why do these results make a difference?
• What isn't covered yet in these results?
• What questions arise from these results?
• What are some things to learn from these results?
• Where can these results be used?
• What are some loose holes and loopholes in these results?

10. Conclusion

This section includes the overall conclusion of the research conducted for this dissertation. It includes a brief of the topic, methods used, theorems applied, results found, and the whole process's final summary. It is used to understand the final outcome of the whole research. Here are some important questions to answer in this section of the dissertation conclusion structure that makes it look complete:

• What was the research about?
• What is the clear research question?
• How to summarize the research work?
• What are future recommendations on this topic?
• What new knowledge can be gained from this research?
• What did this research contribute to other related studies?
• Why this research topic is helpful, and how?
• Why this research outcome is important for further studies?

11. Reference List

The reference list of the dissertation structure UK is where you list out all the sources you collected for your research. This is the page that your professor refers to know how good research you have conducted on this topic and its sources. Here is a list of different referencing styles that you can use for in-text and at-the-end citations. We pick the one your university guidelines mentioned and follow the same throughout the document:

Harvard Referencing Guide

MLA Referencing Guide

OSCOLA Referencing Guide

12. Appendix

The appendix is the section of the dissertation, which is used to provide extra information about the research topic. The actual document must include only the required information. If you find more information that can be useful for the reader, you can list them here. Wondering what all you can include in this section of your dissertation structure template? Here are some basic elements that can be listed on this page:

• List of tables
• List of diagrams
• List of survey elements like graphs, charts
• List of abbreviations
• List of Jargon/glossary

These are the total of 12 chapters you can find in any common dissertation structure. Now the catch here is, only 6 of these chapters are core and mandatory while the other 6 are optional; but, it is advised to include all of them for better presentation.

Dissertation Structure: Drafting According to Subjects

Though you might have understood how to structure a dissertation, things get a bit different when it comes to subjective documents. Here are a few things to know and remember when writing subjective documents:

History Dissertation Structure

Many students get confused about how to structure a history dissertation? This is because of the subject complexity. But, a few tips from experts can help you pass this task without any struggle. Since history is about the things that happened in the past, you need to focus most on the dates part and the places where these events occurred and why-the reason behind that.

Psychology Dissertation Structure

Psychology is the subject of understanding the behavior and thinking of a person. So, when you are writing a dissertation on this subject, make sure you are not missing any important details such as tips and tricks to understand reasoning and logic. Also, the way you write and present your work also plays a crucial role. So, make efforts in dissertation presentation as well.

Law Dissertation Structure

Law dissertation is another crucial task that a legal student needs to complete during his academic life. This is one of the toughest tasks because most of the students make mistakes in this task due to a lack of knowledge about legal codes. So, to avoid such hassles, be prepared with the necessary legal codes, theories, case samples, etc.

Engineering Dissertation Structure

Engineering is a study of multiple branches that are categorized in it. Be it computer science, mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil, or any other, you need to write a dissertation in it when you are pursuing its degree. It is then important that you emphasize your subject topic and stream of study through theories, calculations, and diagrams for better output.

English Dissertation Structure

English is a subject of learning. This is a language and subject both, so the complexity of this subject also increases accordingly. When you are writing a dissertation on this subject, you need to be very sure about the way you write, the tone you follow, grammar, spellings, tense, and everything, as they all matter in English subject.

These are a few tips and points that can be helpful when followed while writing subjective dissertations. However, if you need more assistance or assignment help, you can turn to the below section to better understand the structure of a dissertation.

Stuck with Dissertation Structure? Seek Our Help!

Are you stuck with your dissertation writing task? Need dissertation help in getting it done on time? Don't worry; we are here to help you! We have a team of professionals and experts in their respective fields, all ready to help you at any hour of the day. And the best part is, we are the top academic service providers across the globe who have been in this field for over a decade now. Thus, this gives us a plus point in getting well-acquainted with all the necessary guidelines required for dissertation writing.