How to Write a Dissertation in 7 Easy Steps
Dissertation writing is one of the major components of many degree courses. To write a dissertation perfectly, you need time, energy, and willpower to pass your course.
Many students find it difficult in writing and often relate it as a painful process as they have to first understand how to write a dissertation and possess a deep understanding of their subject.
In this blog post, we have listed out 7 steps to help you write a dissertation, irrespective of whether you are writing an undergraduate, Master or PhD dissertation.
Step 1: Understand what is dissertation
A dissertation is a formal piece of research done to reflect the standard research process. And, the research process involves 4 steps:
- Ask a specific question about your research area.
- See what other researchers are saying about your subject area and which topics they’ve already researched and answered.
- If you find any topic area that they haven’t written about, you can choose to write on it and undertake your data collection.
- Based on your research, answer the original question.
In short, the research process is all about asking and answering questions in a systematic order.
Step 2: Choose your research topic carefully
You must choose an engaging and meaningful topic for your dissertation. With the help of your dissertation topic, you can showcase your thoughts and ideas, and investigate deeper into your subject area. Choosing a topic area that you are genuinely interested in will keep you motivated for your topic.
For topic ideas, you can research in newspapers, academic journals, and other media to look for the current issue that is related to your field, as well as readers, can find inspiration from it.
Step 3: Craft a powerful introduction chapter
Once you are ready with your topic and your proposal has been approved, it’s time to write the actual dissertation.
The first thing is to set the scene for your research and write about what you will be researching and why it is important. In other words, it must cover the same thing as your dissertation proposal and must justify your chosen topic.
Make sure to include these important things in your introduction section:
- A brief about the study and explanation of the overall research you will be showing ahead.
- A problem statement that explains the problem you will discuss and where the knowledge gap exists.
- The research questions you have including the questions of your study to seek an answer.
- The importance of your study and why it’s useful in the world.
Step 4: Literature review / Theoretical framework that surveys relevant sources
Before you start your dissertation writing, you must have conducted a literature review to earn a complete understanding of the academics that exists on your topic. It must include:
- Collection of relevant sources (such as books and journal articles)
- Critically assessing and scrutinising each source
- Illustrate any connections between them to make a prevailing point
In the dissertation literature review, you should create a readable structure and statement that justifies your research.
Step 5: Explanation of your Methodology
The methodology chapter or section of your dissertation describes well how you conduct research that helps readers to assess easily. To write an effective methodology, you must include:
- The general approach and type of research such as quantitative, qualitative, experimental, or ethnographic.
- Your methods of collecting data such as surveys, case studies, or interviews.
- Detail about your research and where it has been taken.
- The methods used to analyze data such as statistical analysis.
- Tools and materials used such as computer programs.
- Discussion on any obstacle you face while doing research and how you solved it.
- Assessment or justification of methods used.
You must accurately report about your process and convince the readers that you have used the best approach in researching your objectives.
Step 6: Demonstrate your findings
After you have completed your analysis, you can present your findings. In the dissertation, generally, you will have to present your findings in two chapters which include a discussion chapter and a result chapter.
Although both these chapters are similar still there is a slight difference. The result chapter will present processed data neatly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story about the data and offers an interpretation of the results.
Step 7: Conclude and discuss the implications
The last part of your dissertation should be wrapped with a conclusion chapter. In this chapter, you will highlight the key findings of your study and explain the importance of these findings.
You will have to tell about your findings that directly relate to your research questions and overall research objectives. The implications will explain what your findings mean for the research in your field.
So, get started with dissertation writing or if you still need help, you can look for a dissertation writer for hire and get your dissertation written in no time.