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What is a Dissertation?
Dissertations are more than just extended essays. It is the written presentation and discussion of the results of your own research. The dictionary definition of dissertation is ‘discussion’ or ‘discourse’ (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary). However, the term ‘dissertation’ can be used in various ways by academic institutions. Some institutions refer to postgraduate work as ‘dissertations’ and others may even refer to a PhD as dissertations or thesis. These terms have different definitions, but they are used interchangeably in some contexts. Most commonly in the UK, dissertations are an independently planned and researched undergraduate assignment.
The degree of independence and originality required depends on the qualification for which it is being submitted. If it is for a PhD, the standard requirement is that it makes an original contribution to knowledge in a particular field. If it is for a masters or postgraduate diploma the dissertation must have an element of originality and, as it is usually much longer than undergraduate dissertations, it is an opportunity to explore an issue or question in more depth using more advanced understanding. To summarise: a dissertation is not just a long essay; it is the presentation of a topic that is independently chosen, planned and researched by the student.
What Makes a Dissertation Subject Strong?
The most important element of all dissertations – the subject – needs to be decided long before you start to write. No matter how beautifully you write, if your subject is weak, your dissertation will be poor. It is therefore essential that you consult your supervisor or tutor at the earliest stage for dissertation help.
A strong dissertation subject is well defined, has sufficient scope to address the key elements of the question, but is narrow enough to enable an in-depth examination and discussion of the issues. Furthermore, it must have a thesis from the start. That means you need to decide upon a question or problem to address.
Dissertation help at this stage is crucial. How can you turn a general interest into a strong dissertation subject? This partly depends on your knowledge and training: you must have sufficient background knowledge and research skills to address your topic and thesis using an appropriate methodology. In other words, when planning dissertations it is not the time to start delving into a completely new subject or experimenting with interdisciplinary work (unless your degree has been interdisciplinary). You need to be sure of your territory before setting yourself a challenge within it. So, choose a topic that you already know something about and that you have the academic or professional experience to examine. For example, a Bachelor of Education student interested in primary sector education might choose to research the subject ‘literacy rates in UK primary schools’ but, as it stands, this lacks a thesis or question. ‘What are the literacy rates in UK primary schools?’ is a question, but still lacks a thesis or problem. A stronger subject would be ‘the effects of early exposure to synthetic phonics on pupil literacy rates in UK primary schools’ or ‘the influences of class size and teaching methods on literacy rates in UK primary schools.’ These are strong because they allow for scope and depth of research, but they also have clear parameters and have a thesis/question.
To summarise: a strong dissertation subject is not necessarily of current interest to the media, or a controversial theme and it does not need to be a totally new idea. It does need to have scope, depth and clear parameters. Most important of all, it must have a thesis at its heart.
How to Write a Dissertation
Once you have decided on a subject and thesis, you need to plan your research. What will your methodology be? Is this appropriate for the time scale and resources you have? If you are going to use questionnaires, what is the best way to use them? Face to face? Or by post? Is your research observational or experimental? Qualitative or quantitative? If you are unsure of your methodology you must seek dissertation help as early as you can in order to avoid wasting valuable time on research and findings that will not be used.
How you actually write your dissertations are, to some degree, dependent on the conventions within your discipline, your institution and your choice of methodology. For example, science-based dissertations will usually be set out as follows:
Abstract (summary)
Contents (as standard)
Introduction (define your terms and justify your research)
Literature Review (what research exists and what else has been published on this subject?)
Methodology (how are you going to actually carry out the research?)
Findings/Results (present your results as they are, with no discussion)
Discussion (analyse and discuss your results; refer to authors mentioned in your literature review)
Conclusion (what conclusions have you come to and what further research could be conducted)
References (authors and organisations you have actually cited in your work)
Bibliography (this is where you list all other sources that may have had an influence on your work, but were not directly cited in the body of the dissertation)
Appendices (samples of what you used to attain your results, for example, your questionnaire, if you used one)
Also arts-based dissertations might be organised like this:
Abstract
Contents
Introduction, including the literature review and methodology. This is where you situate your work in relation to other research
Chapters discussing thesis itself
Conclusion
References
Bibliography
However you choose to write and present your dissertations, it is essential to remain focussed and to stay in touch with your supervisor or tutor for regular dissertation help. Remember the importance of spelling, punctuation and grammar. If these are not your strong points, employ someone else to proof-read it, including the references and bibliography. Finally, a word of advice: you cannot over-plan dissertations, but you can severely under-plan them and spend weeks, months or years struggling unnecessarily.
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