A thesis or dissertation is a long piece of academic writing based on original research work. It is usually submitted by research scholars and sometimes master’s degree scholars.
Your thesis or dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you’ve ever done, and it can be intimidating to know where to start. This article helps you work out exactly what you should include and where to include it.
In OPJS University, the structure or format of the thesis or dissertation exactly remains same. Your thesis or dissertation should generally contain all of the following elements.
If in doubt about how your thesis or dissertation should be structured, always check your university’s guidelines and consult with your supervisor (Guide).
Title page
- The very first page of your thesis or dissertation contains your research project's title, your name, department, institution, degree program, registration number, supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo.
Acknowledgements
- The acknowledgements section is where you thank those who have helped and supported you during the research work and writing process. This section is compulsory, but should be no longer than one page.
- Move from thanking the people most formally involved (supervisors, academics) to those who have supported you in other ways (friends and family).
In acknowledgements section, make sure to thank your supervisor, head of the department and other academics!
List of Tables
- If you have used a table in your thesis or dissertation, you should itemize them in a numbered list.
List of Figures
- A list of figures is included if you’ve used a figure (e.g. graphs, images, illustrations) in your thesis or dissertation. It lists the figures in the same numbered order as they appear in the thesis or dissertation, and can be auto-generated in the same way as the table of contents.
List of Abbreviations
- The list of abbreviations should be included if you use a lot of abbreviations that are likely to be unfamiliar to readers.
Table of Contents
- In the section of table of contents, list all of your chapters and subheadings and their page numbers. The table of contents page gives the reader an overview of your structure and helps easily navigate the document. All parts of your thesis or dissertation should be included in the table of contents except title page, acknowledgements, or abstract.
Abstract
The abstract is a short summary of your entire thesis or dissertation, usually about 150–300 words long. You should write it at the very end, when you’ve completed the rest of the thesis or dissertation. In the abstract, make sure to:
- State the main topic and aims of your research
- State your research problem and objectives
- Describe how data was gathered and analyzed
- Highlight the most important findings of the research
- Mention any important limitations or recommendations
Introduction
In the Introduction section, you set up your thesis or dissertation’s topic, purpose, and relevance, and tell the reader what to expect in the rest of the thesis or dissertation. The introduction should:
- Establish your research topic, giving necessary background information to contextualize 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 research questions and objectives
- Give an overview of your dissertation’s structure
Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant to your research project. By the end, the reader should understand the what, why and how of your research.
Literature review / Theoretical framework
Before you start on your research project, you should have conducted a literature review to gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on your research topic. This means:
- Collecting sources (e.g. books and journal articles) and selecting the most relevant ones
- Critically evaluating and analyzing each source
- Drawing connections between them (e.g. themes, patterns, conflicts, gaps) to make an overall point.
In the thesis or dissertation literature review chapter or section, you shouldn’t just summarize 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 analyze the key theories, concepts and models that frame your research project.
Materials and Methods
The Materials and Methods 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 analyzing 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.
Results and Discussion
In Results and Discussion section, you report the results of your research project. You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses, or themes.
- In some disciplines, the results section is strictly separated from the discussion, while in others the two are combined. For example, in qualitative methods like ethnography, the presentation of the data will often be woven together with discussion and analysis.
- However, in quantitative and experimental research, the results should be presented separately before you discuss their meaning:
- Concisely state each relevant result, including relevant descriptive statistics (e.g. means, standard deviations) and inferential statistics (e.g. test statistics, p-values).
- Briefly state how the result relates to the question or whether the hypothesis was supported.
- Include tables and figures if they help the reader understand your results.
- Report all results that are relevant to your research questions, including any that did not meet your expectations.
ü Don’t include subjective interpretations or speculation.
Additional data (including raw numbers, full questionnaires, or interview transcripts) can be included as an appendix.
Summary, Conclusion and Future Prospects
- The thesis or dissertation conclusion should concisely answer the main research question, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of your central argument and emphasizing what your research has contributed.
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- In this chapter, it’s important to leave the reader with a clear impression of why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known?
References/Bibliography
- You must include full details of all sources that you have cited in a reference list/bibliography. It’s important to follow a consistent citation style. Each style has strict and specific requirements for how to format your sources in the reference list.
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- Common styles include APA and MLA, but your program will often specify which citation style you should use – make sure to check the requirements, and ask your supervisor if you’re unsure.
Appendices including certificates of analysis/Authentication drug or plant etc. (If applicable)
Your thesis or 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.
Publications of The Candidate’s Work
- In this section, you have to attach 2 Paper Publications (with ISSN Number) with certificate.
Plagiarism Report
- Here, you have to attach first page of your thesis or dissertation's Plagiarism Report (Only Turnitin or Urkund Software).
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