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A dissertation—a lengthy written piece that presents original research work carried out by a candidate as part of a doctoral degree—is meant to serve as evidence not only of contribution to knowledge but also of mastery of the technique of research itself, an entry point to a career in research. Incidentally, a dissertation is different from a thesis, which is shorter and less rigorous, and is a requirement for a master’s degree. Note that the two terms are often reversed in Europe and the UK: for example, to earn a doctorate from Yale or Harvard, candidates submit a dissertation; to earn a doctorate from Cambridge or Oxford, they submit a thesis. This article follows the American usage.
Types of Dissertations
The type of research, more specifically the type of data being reported in a dissertation, determines its type: qualitative, quantitative, or mixed. Qualitative research is more common in the humanities field, quantitative research is typically used in the physical and biological sciences, and mixed methods are often implemented in the social sciences.
Whereas this classification assumes that the dissertation will be based on new data collected as part of the research, another classification considers whether the dissertation is based on any fresh data at all. Accordingly, the alternatives are
(1) theoretical, wherein the research involves analysis of existing literature and theories, or
(2) empirical or experimental, wherein the research involves collecting fresh data—qualitative or quantitative—and drawing conclusions based on the data.
A radically different type is often referred to as 3-paper dissertation, more common in the field of engineering. Such a dissertation comprises three published papers based on the research carried out by the candidate, preceded by an introduction and followed by conclusions.
Anatomy of a Dissertation
Because a dissertation is meant to prepare you for a career in research, the structure of a dissertation, at least in the physical and biological sciences, typically follows the IMRaD format of a research paper, namely introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion. A major difference, however, is the chapter titled ‘Review of literature’ that appears in dissertations; in research papers, it is usually the introduction that touches upon this aspect, namely earlier work related to the topic of the dissertation: how others have tried to approach the problem and how your work differs from theirs.
Secondly, because the dissertation is part of the formal process of earning a doctorate, it also features in its preliminary pages a certificate—the dissertation acceptance certificate—to the effect that the dissertation is original work carried out under the supervision of the research guide and signed by the guide or sometimes by all members of the research advisory committee.
Each of the other chapter answers a different question, as shown here.
1. The introductory chapter answers the question WHY. This chapter gives some background to the topic of the dissertation, the reasons that led to the choice of the topic, and some evidence, preferably backed by relevant statistics, on why the topic is important. In writing the introduction, visualize a funnel: broad at the top and gradually narrowing down to a small opening. The broad part is the setting of context in which you situate the topic of the dissertation within its broader aspects. For example, if your dissertation is about a novel approach to making sea water potable, you may begin by writing about the growing scarcity of potable water, the abundance of sea water, the problems in making it potable, and so on. End the chapter with specific details of your method, for example using a particular catalyst combined with solar energy.
2. The review of literature presents details of earlier research on the problem, the approaches and the methods used, the findings, and a critique of that work, leading logically to the approach and the methods you chose to solve the problem.
3. Materials and methods answer the question HOW. You set out in detail how you went about your research. The key is to supply all the relevant details for anyone who wishes to repeat your work. Such details include the make and model of any sophisticated instruments you used (for example, a Zeiss GeminiSEM, a ThermoFisher Scientific Prisma E, or a Hitachi FlexSEM 1000 II are all scanning electron microscopes), the geographic location and the season (if relevant), sampling method and sample size (if the research involved sampling), the ‘control’ against which the results were compared (in research on the efficacy of a particular new drug, for example, the control will be the group of patients who did not take the drug in question or were given the drug in common use in treating the ailment), and so on.
4. Results answer the question WHAT. Now that readers of your dissertation know the why and the how, you tell them what you found. This section presents the data and is the most objective part of the dissertation. Because it is often data intensive, tables and figures are commonly used for presenting the data. Remember to stick to facts—it is the job of the next section to explain them.
5. The Discussion section answers the all-important question SO WHAT. Now that the readers know what you found, you must explain to them what the results mean: whether they support your hypothesis, whether they are consistent with earlier work and if they are not, what may explain the differences, whether you offer a solution to the problem you chose to tackle in your research, and so on. This section also delivers on the promise you made toward the end of the introduction.
6. References is the last section, perhaps the easiest but the most tedious to write. The body of your dissertation contains citations, which are pointers to the information provided in the references, and take the form of either simple numerals given sequentially (the Vancouver style of citations) or the names of authors and the year of publication, as in ‘Watson and Crick 1953’ (the Harvard style of citations). Accordingly, the references section is either a numbered list or an unnumbered list arranged alphabetically by the names of authors whose work has been cited within the dissertation. Make sure that you get the bibliographic elements (such as the authors and their initials, the year of publication, the title of the article, the source of the article, and so on) exactly right, present them in the correct order, separate them with the recommended punctuation, and set them in the recommended style (bold, italics, within quotation marks, etc.).
How to Write a Dissertation
A dissertation is often your first major academic composition and is bound to appear a daunting challenge. The key is to remember that it is not a sprint event but a marathon: you must prepare for it slowly and steadily.
- As the first step, find out exactly what is required by way of formatting your dissertation and stick to the format from the beginning.1 Examine the requirements no matter how trivial or how arbitrary they may be.
- Start writing early. Do not wait until all your research work is over, the results are in, and your analysis is complete; instead, start writing the methods section as you are conducting your research because you will have all the details fresh in your mind. Similarly, start tabulating your results early on as and when you get them. This way, you will have more time to write the introduction and the discussion sections, which are the hardest to write.
- Remember to record all the relevant details of all the sources you consult, especially as you write the review of literature, which will be dense with citations. If you have studied the recommended format for references beforehand, you will know what details to record.
- Set aside a specific time each day or each week for writing—and stick to that. You may spend minutes simply staring at the blank screen of your desktop or laptop, but that does not mean you can use that time to do something else. Even better, set a goal for each writing session in terms of the number of words: 500 words a session is a reasonable target.
Forewarned is forearmed. Now that you know what a dissertation is and how to tackle the task of writing one, you are prepared for that task. Happy writing!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is the difference between a dissertation and a thesis?
A: A dissertation is a lengthy written document that presents original research work conducted by a doctoral candidate. A thesis, on the other hand, is shorter and comparatively less rigorous and is a requirement for a master’s degree.
Q2: Is a PhD just a dissertation?
A: No, a dissertation is just one part of the PhD program. Getting your doctorate degree involves a ton of comprehensive course work, exams, conference presentations, authoring & publishing research papers, and even part-time teaching.
Q3: How long does a dissertation take?
A: Writing a dissertation can take several months, considering the time required to identify the research topic, gather data, perform the analysis, and interpret the findings. This often depends on the subject area, the field of study, the discipline, and the level of degree (e.g., undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral).
Q4: How do I write my dissertation?
A: Start writing your dissertation while conducting your research instead of waiting for the research to complete. Especially the Methods and Results chapters can be written as and when you tabulate the data. The Introduction and Discussion chapters can be completed later. Always record the sources you referenced during your research so that listing of references becomes easy.
Reference
1. Sample dissertation format https://registrar.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum1531/files/fasro/files/
sample_dissertation_05012023.pdf
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