How to Write a Dissertation
12 Best Steps to Dissertation Writing
It always brings an obvious confusion when you face the question - How to Write a Dissertation. To write a very long piece of academic research study – Dissertation, you need patience. In order to gain your Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or Doctoral degree, it is mandatory to submit a dissertation with highly competitive food for thought.
In order to resolve the prevalent confusions, this article has narrowed by the core elements that you need to add to a dissertation. In a very step-by-step manner, you will realise that in the academic field, dissertation writing process can be worth your efforts. A quick look at the figure noted below, will give you the road map.
Choose Research Topic
This is the first stage of dissertation writing process. As you thrive to get an answer to - How to Write a Dissertation, this is the most confusing stage. To make a decision about the research topic brings in great anxiety to the researcher. For this purpose it is always recommended that you read innumerable books and articles to understand your field of research. Remembers, at this stage, ‘more is really less’. As you study latest published journal articles and the peer-reviews, you will understand the gap thatis yet to be explored in the respective field. It is at this juncture that you get ideas to select your research topic.
Identify Purpose of the Dissertation
It is very important to identify the purpose of your dissertation. You must understand step-by-step to write a dissertation. Dissertation writing is actually an opportunity whereby you get a chance to express your innovative ideas and critical thinking in a very logically structured way.The purpose of the dissertation should be such that the reader attains new ideas and solutions for the pre-existing issues. There should be an effort to resolve the detected problem in the particular field. This is also known as the Research Rationale. This is a declaration that the researcher needs to make in the 1st chapter of the dissertation.it is based on this purpose or rationale that the entire research aims to meet the research objectives.
Check Data Sources & Target
Prior to the initiation of a dissertation the researcher needs to investigate the issues from the practical fields. Collection of data sources – from both secondary and primary, are subject to get analysed on the basis of their validity and authenticity. For reliability all the collected data must be from legitimate sources. In the process to dissertation writing, the researcher should never compromise in collecting data from authorised sources. Moreover, there should be a clear understanding about the research target and the kind of concerns that will be resolved through critical investigations. The process of data collection must be initiated as per the target or aim of the research.
Identify the Goal
As we talk about the aim of the research, it is the ultimate goal of the entire study. Based on this goal the researcher needs to enlist the objectives and the sources of collecting relevant data. Extensive reading and learning for this identification is the core way to deliver a quality dissertation. Considering both theoretical and empirical ways of investigating the data sources can act as the foreground for building a valuable goal to a dissertation. You can always take some professional help from the supervisor and the librarian of your University. Thus, the process to identify the goal of a dissertation is to undergo the means of voracious reading and expert consultations.
Construct the Process
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The process of a leading a dissertation must be very comprehensive and systematic. It should be structured in such a way that the researcher can reveal the entire approach of the research in a much synchronised manner. For this purpose the researcher needs tofollow the recommended guidelines as noted below-
As the researcher follows the aforementioned step-by-step to write a dissertation. It is meant to lead the study from the phase of reading to submitting. In this dissertation writing process, there will a great amount of growth noted in creating a valued dissertation.
Write down all the Information
When you adopt the process to dissertation writing, you are instructed to write about all the information. It means that you need to undergo the following process-
As illustrated in the figure above, the researcher must read all kinds of relevant secondary data and collect all kinds of primary information. After that, the researcher needs to keep only those information that are relevant to the research question and objectives. Rest of the information must be discarded as they can deviate the research objectives in a different direction.
In this process, it is important for the researcher to maintain the ethical protocols as decided by the faculty.
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Keep on Questioning
As the research is in its process, it is the responsibility of the researcher to keep on questioning on everything that comes in the way. There should be a critical process of looking into every collected data.You need to keep on asking yourself – Am I strongly convinced with this information or interpretation? Along with this question, there should be a prolonged process of asking almost all the ‘Wh’ questions- what, who, where, when, whom, whose, why, which and how. These questions should be asked in relation with research question and the research objectives. That is how the process to dissertation writing leads.
Keep on Evaluating
The process of evaluation every information and interpretation will bring in a very strong base for the dissertation. As the Supervisor/s, will check the dissertation, they will try to understand your process of evaluation. Role of the primary and the empirical data sources are very significant in this matter. Though you also need to be very cautious about the data collected from secondary sources, yet appropriate evaluation is a mandatory practice, which you need to consider.
Connect the Goal and Derivations
The systematic persuasion of the dissertation process must be managed in such a manner that all the derivations must get connected to the research goal. Any kind of gaps identified at this level can be referred to future study. However, for a valued-based acceptance, the dissertation must be able to connect every relevant data to the research goal. The target must be met with all kinds of evidences.
Construct the Dissertation
As the process to dissertation writing gets constructed, the researcher must make detailed declarations of the data sources, follow the instructions as mentioned in the module handbooks and add the references as per the selected referencing style. In case of the referencing style, the style must be selected as per your selected field of research. Here, is the quick declaration about the important referencing styles as per major subjects-
The follow ups with the referencing style for both in-text and Reference list citations is one of the major aspect that the researcher must consider with grave seriousness. Any mistake in citation style can lead to rejection of the dissertation after final submission.
Edit and Proofread
As the entire dissertation gets constructed, it must undergo rigorous process of editing and proofreading. This is a very significant stage in the making of a dissertation. The points to be noted in this process are –
- Synchronisation of all the collected data
- Well-structured compilation of the Chapters
- Maintenance of absolute coherence throughout the dissertation
- Checking every sentence for grammatical correction
- Avoiding any kind of spelling errors
Feel the Bliss of Accomplishment
As you accomplish through all the stages of the process to dissertation writing mentioned above, your dissertation is ready for final submission. As the Supervisor approves and includes your dissertation in the official document list, you will feel a great sense of relief. Your dissertation will be recognised as a property of your University and that is a matter of great pride. As the University will allow other researcher to use your dissertation you will realise the actual value of your hard work and that is a bliss indeed.
