name of the dissertation

How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

• Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
• Find a unique and valuable research topic
• Craft a convincing research proposal
• Write up a strong introduction chapter
• Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
• Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
• Present the findings of your research
• Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

• Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
• See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
• If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
• Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

• Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
• Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
• Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
• Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

Need a helping hand?

Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

• You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
• You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
• You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

• A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
• A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
• Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
• The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

• You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
• You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
• You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

• Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
• Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
• Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
• Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

• If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
• If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

• If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
• If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
• If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

• Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
• Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

• Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
• Find a unique (original) and important research topic
• Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
• Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
• Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
• Undertake your own research
• Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

Psst… there’s more (for free)

This post is part of our dissertation mini-course, which covers everything you need to get started with your dissertation, thesis or research project. 

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20 Comments

thankfull >>>this is very useful

Thank you, it was really helpful

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Thanks Derek Jansen|GRADCOACH, I find it very useful guide to arrange my activities and proceed to research!

Thank you so much for such a marvelous teaching .I am so convinced that am going to write a comprehensive and a distinct masters dissertation

It is an amazing comprehensive explanation

This was straightforward. Thank you!

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Very educating.

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

Thank you 💕😊 very much. I was confused but your comprehensive explanation has cleared my doubts of ever presenting a good thesis. Thank you.

thank you so much, that was so useful

Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

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• GETTING STARTED
• Introduction
• FUNDAMENTALS
• Acknowledgements
• Research questions & hypotheses
• Concepts, constructs & variables
• Research limitations
• Getting started
• Sampling Strategy
• Research Quality
• Research Ethics
• Data Analysis

Dissertation titles

The dissertation title is your first opportunity to let the reader know what your dissertation is about. With just a few words, the title has to highlight the purpose of the study, which can often include its context, outcomes, and important aspects of the research strategy adopted. But a poorly constructed title can also mislead the reader into thinking the study is about something it is not, confusing them from the very start.

In our articles on EXPECTATIONS and LEARNING , we explain what the reader expects and learns from your dissertation title, before setting out the major COMPONENTS that can be included in dissertation titles. Finally, since your dissertation title should follow a specific written style, which explains when to capitalise words, which words to capitalise, how to deal with quotation marks, abbreviations, numbers, and so forth, we provide some guidance in our article on STYLES .

• EXPECTATIONS: What readers "expect" from a dissertation title
• LEARNING: What the reader "learns" from a dissertation title
• COMPONENTS: The main "components" of a dissertation title
• STYLES: Make sure your title uses the correct "style"

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Thesis and Dissertation Guide

• « Thesis & Dissertation Resources
• The Graduate School Home

• Introduction

Copyright Page

Dedication, acknowledgements, preface (optional), table of contents.

• List of Tables, Figures, and Illustrations

List of Abbreviations

List of symbols.

• Non-Traditional Formats
• Font Type and Size
• Spacing and Indentation
• Tables, Figures, and Illustrations
• Formatting Previously Published Work
• Internet Distribution
• Open Access
• Registering Copyright
• Using Copyrighted Materials
• Use of Your Own Previously Published Materials
• Submission Steps
• Submission Checklist
• Sample Pages

I. Order and Components

Please see the sample thesis or dissertation pages throughout and at the end of this document for illustrations. The following order is required for components of your thesis or dissertation:

• Dedication, Acknowledgements, and Preface (each optional)
• Table of Contents, with page numbers
• List of Tables, List of Figures, or List of Illustrations, with titles and page numbers (if applicable)
• List of Abbreviations (if applicable)
• List of Symbols (if applicable)
• Introduction, if any
• Main body, with consistent subheadings as appropriate
• Appendices (if applicable)
• Endnotes (if applicable)
• References (see section on References for options)

Many of the components following the title and copyright pages have required headings and formatting guidelines, which are described in the following sections.

Please consult the Sample Pages to compare your document to the requirements. A Checklist is provided to assist you in ensuring your thesis or dissertation meets all formatting guidelines.

The title page of a thesis or dissertation must include the following information:

• The title of the thesis or dissertation in all capital letters and centered 2″ below the top of the page.
• Your name, centered 1″ below the title. Do not include titles, degrees, or identifiers. The name you use here does not need to exactly match the name on your university records, but we recommend considering how you will want your name to appear in professional publications in the future.

Notes on this statement:

• When indicating your degree in the second bracketed space, use the full degree name (i.e., Doctor of Philosophy, not Ph.D. or PHD; Master of Public Health, not M.P.H. or MPH; Master of Social Work, not M.S.W. or MSW).
• List your department, school, or curriculum rather than your subject area or specialty discipline in the third bracketed space. You may include your subject area or specialty discipline in parentheses (i.e., Department of Romance Languages (French); School of Pharmacy (Molecular Pharmaceutics); School of Education (School Psychology); or similar official area).
• If you wish to include both your department and school names, list the school at the end of the statement (i.e., Department of Pharmacology in the School of Medicine).
• A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Public Policy.
• A thesis submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the School of Dentistry (Endodontics).
• A thesis submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health.
• A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education (Cultural Studies and Literacies).
• The words “Chapel Hill” must be centered 1″ below the statement.
• One single-spaced line below that, center the year in which your committee approves the completed thesis or dissertation. This need not be the year you graduate.
• Approximately 2/3 of the way across the page on the right-hand side of the page, 1″ below the year, include the phrase “Approved by:” (with colon) followed by each faculty member's name on subsequent double-spaced lines. Do not include titles such as Professor, Doctor, Dr., PhD, or any identifiers such as “chair” or “advisor” before or after any names. Line up the first letter of each name on the left under the “A” in the “Approved by:” line. If a name is too long to fit on one line, move this entire section of text slightly to the left so that formatting can be maintained.
• No signatures, signature lines, or page numbers should be included on the title page.

Include a copyright page with the following information single-spaced and centered 2″ above the bottom of the page:

© Year Author's Full Name (as it appears on the title page) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

This page immediately follows the title page. It should be numbered with the lower case Roman numeral ii centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

Inclusion of this page offers you, as the author, additional protection against copyright infringement as it eliminates any question of authorship and copyright ownership. You do not need to file for copyright in order to include this statement in your thesis or dissertation. However, filing for copyright can offer other protections.

See Section IV for more information on copyrighting your thesis or dissertation.

Include an abstract page following these guidelines:

• Include the heading “ABSTRACT” in all capital letters, and center it 2″ below the top of the page.
• One double-spaced line below “ABSTRACT”, center your name, followed by a colon and the title of the thesis or dissertation. Use as many lines as necessary. Be sure that your name and the title exactly match the name and title used on the Title page.
• One single-spaced line below the title, center the phrase “(Under the direction of [advisor's name])”. Include the phrase in parentheses. Include the first and last name(s) of your advisor or formal co-advisors. Do not include the name of other committee members. Use the advisor's name only; do not include any professional titles such as PhD, Professor, or Dr. or any identifiers such as “chair” or “advisor”.
• Skip one double-spaced line and begin the abstract. The text of your abstract must be double-spaced and aligned with the document's left margin with the exception of indenting new paragraphs. Do not center or right-justify the abstract.
• Abstracts cannot exceed 150 words for a thesis or 350 words for a dissertation.
• Number the abstract page with the lower case Roman numeral iii (and iv, if more than one page) centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

Please write and proofread your abstract carefully. When possible, avoid including symbols or foreign words in your abstract, as they cannot be indexed or searched. Avoid mathematical formulas, diagrams, and other illustrative materials in the abstract. Offer a brief description of your thesis or dissertation and a concise summary of its conclusions. Be sure to describe the subject and focus of your work with clear details and avoid including lengthy explanations or opinions.

Your title and abstract will be used by search engines to help potential audiences locate your work, so clarity will help to draw the attention of your targeted readers.

You have an option to include a dedication, acknowledgements, or preface. If you choose to include any or all of these elements, give each its own page(s).

A dedication is a message from the author prefixed to a work in tribute to a person, group, or cause. Most dedications are short statements of tribute beginning with “To…” such as “To my family”.

Acknowledgements are the author's statement of gratitude to and recognition of the people and institutions that helped the author's research and writing.

A preface is a statement of the author's reasons for undertaking the work and other personal comments that are not directly germane to the materials presented in other sections of the thesis or dissertation. These reasons tend to be of a personal nature.

Any of the pages must be prepared following these guidelines:

• Do not place a heading on the dedication page.
• The text of short dedications must be centered and begin 2″ from the top of the page.
• Headings are required for the “ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS” and “PREFACE” pages. Headings must be in all capital letters and centered 2″ below the top of the page.
• The text of the acknowledgements and preface pages must begin one double-spaced line below the heading, be double-spaced, and be aligned with the document's left margin with the exception of indenting new paragraphs.
• Subsequent pages of text return to the 1″ top margin.
• The page(s) must be numbered with consecutive lower case Roman numerals (starting with the page number after the abstract) centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

Include a table of contents following these guidelines:

• Include the heading “TABLE OF CONTENTS” in all capital letters, and center it 2″ below the top of the page.
• Include one double-spaced line between the heading and the first entry.
• The table of contents should not contain listings for the pages that precede it, but it must list all parts of the thesis or dissertation that follow it.
• If relevant, be sure to list all appendices and a references section in your table of contents. Include page numbers for these items but do not assign separate chapter numbers.
• Entries must align with the document's left margin or be indented to the right of the left page margin using consistent tabs.
• Major subheadings within chapters must be included in the table of contents. The subheading(s) should be indented to the right of the left page margin using consistent tabs.
• If an entry takes up more than one line, break up the entry about three-fourths of the way across the page and place the rest of the text on a second line, single-spacing the two lines.
• Include one double-spaced line between each entry.
• Page numbers listed in the table of contents must be located just inside the right page margin with leaders (lines of periods) filling out the space between the end of the entry and the page number. The last digit of each number must line up on the right margin.
• Information included in the table of contents must match the headings, major subheadings, and numbering used in the body of the thesis or dissertation.
• The Table of Contents page(s) must be numbered with consecutive lower case Roman numerals centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

Lists of Tables, Figures, and Illustrations

If applicable, include a list of tables, list of figures, and/or list of illustrations following these guidelines:

• Include the heading(s) in all capital letters, centered 1″ below the top of the page.
• Each entry must include a number, title, and page number.
• Assign each table, figure, or illustration in your thesis or dissertation an Arabic numeral. You may number consecutively throughout the entire work (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.), or you may assign a two-part Arabic numeral with the first number designating the chapter in which it appears, separated by a period, followed by a second number to indicate its consecutive placement in the chapter (e.g., Table 3.2 is the second table in Chapter Three).
• Numerals and titles must align with the document's left margin or be indented to the right of the left page margin using consistent tabs.
• Page numbers must be located just inside the right page margin with leaders (lines of periods) filling out the space between the end of the entry and the page number. The last digit of each number must line up on the right margin.
• Numbers, titles, and page numbers must each match the corresponding numbers, titles, and page numbers appearing in the thesis or dissertation.
• All Lists of Tables, Figures, and Illustrations page(s) must be numbered with consecutive lower case Roman numerals centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

If you use abbreviations extensively in your thesis or dissertation, you must include a list of abbreviations and their corresponding definitions following these guidelines:

• Include the heading “LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS” in all capital letters, and center it 1″ below the top of the page.
• Arrange your abbreviations alphabetically.
• Abbreviations must align with the document's left margin or be indented to the right of the left page margin using consistent tabs.
• If an entry takes up more than one line, single-space between the two lines.
• The List of Abbreviations page(s) must be numbered with consecutive lower case Roman numerals centered with a 1/2″ margin from the bottom edge.

If you use symbols in your thesis or dissertation, you may combine them with your abbreviations, titling the section “LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS”, or you may set up a separate list of symbols and their definitions by following the formatting instructions above for abbreviations. The heading you choose must be in all capital letters and centered 1″ below the top of the page.

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Perfect Dissertation Title – Create A Great First Impression With It

Table of Contents

• 1. What is a dissertation title?
• 2. Components of A Thesis Title
• 3.1. APA Dissertation Title Page
• 3.2. AMA Style Thesis Title Page
• 4. How Do You Choose a Thesis Title
• 5. General Thesis Title Examples
• 6. PhD Dissertation Title Examples

What Is A Dissertation Title?

As a rule, the dissertation title serves as the means of telling the reader about the general purpose of your dissertation. However, it does more than just tell your readers the subject of your thesis.

If you are at a stage where you are wondering about how to make a dissertation title, ask yourself if your title is able to convey the following:

Does your thesis title highlight the purpose of the study? Is the context included? Does the reader get an idea of the outcome of the thesis? Is your research strategy highlighted?

While it may seem like a lot, the goal is to use just a few words in your Ph.D. Dissertation Title to make your thoughts and intentions as clear as possible.

Components of A Thesis Title

Your title is the most important component of your dissertation title page. There are three important components that you should include:

• Purpose of the Thesis:

There are two purposes of any thesis or dissertation. First, it covers the area of interest of the reader. Second, the aspects of the subject that it covers.

• The outcome of the research:

With a quick glance at your dissertation titles, the learnings of your research should be highlighted. If you feel that your dissertation title has any particularly important outcome, it must be highlighted. These outcomes can be the fundamental part of the design of the study or just a part of it.

• The research design and methodology

You can use different research strategies to prepare your dissertation. This includes the use of longitudinal date, a sampling strategy focused on a particular group or region, qualitative studies, data analysis, comparative studies etc. The reader should be able to understand what types of research guided you through your dissertation.

To understand the components of your dissertation title, let us take use one of the most popular English literature dissertation titles:

The Influences of the Holy Bible on Milton: A detailed analysis of Paradise Lost and redemption poetry in the 17 th century.

In this title, Milton and his poetry is the area of interest while the focus is on the Holy Bible. The learning or the outcome of this paper is to study the influences of the Holy Bible. Lastly, this is an analytical thesis paper that uses references and date from different poems by Milton in the 17 th century.

The title gives the reader all the information that he or she needs to understand if the paper interests him or her or not.

Style of Your Dissertation Title Page

Ph.D. Titles or other dissertation titles must match the writing style of the paper as mentioned below:

APA Dissertation Title Page:

If you are using the American Psychological Association style, the title must follow this format:

• The first letter of the title and subtitle must be capitalized.
• Articles, prepositions with less than three letters and conjunctions should not be capitalized.
• All quotation marks used should be double.
• Numerical must be used only for numbers above 10.
• Numbers must be spelt when the numbers are under 10, are at the beginning of the title or represent common fractions.
• In case of hyphenated compounds, both the letters should be capitalised.

AMA Style Thesis Title Page

In case of American Medical Association style, the format is as follows:

• Articles, prepositions with less than three letters, infinitives and conjunctions should not be capitalized.
• Names of city, country, provide etc. should only be used when necessary.
• Numbers must be spelt when they are at the beginning of the title or are part of the subtitle. To understand the use of a numerical refer to the AMA style guide.
• Abbreviations must be avoided unless the subject is best known by its acronym. For instance, “AIDS”
• Approved, generic names of drugs must be used wherever possible.

You also have an MLA style of writing which is quite similar to the APA style. For details, refer to the style guide to make sure that your title is in the right format.

How Do You Choose a Thesis Title

The next step is to understand how do you choose a thesis title:

• Choose a title which is relevant to the current times.
• The dissertation must be an attempt to answer certain questions rather than just explain a certain subject.
• The title must spark a question in the mind of your reader.
• Use the three-part structure if your dissertation topic covers several subjects. For example: Labour, Communism and Iron: The evolution of industrialization in the Soviet Union.”
• The title should not be too short.
• Anchor the content of your dissertation to certain keywords of the title to keep it relevant.

General Thesis Title Examples

If you are still unable to narrow down on what is a good title, here are 10 general ideas or examples for you:

• Online education v/s the traditional classroom for adult learners: A comparative study
• Detailed analysis of factors influencing the minds of students to move overseas for higher studies.
• Why can’t you just plug it in: The challenges of integrating computers into a curriculum
• HIV positive Employees: Is termination of employment valid or not?
• US copyright laws: A qualitative study of its effectiveness with respect to user rights.
• Use of social media by international companies: Review of EA sales strategies.
• Online shopping: Analysis of consumer perception of safety with online transactions.
• The rise of Hollywood: A historical context
• Italian prisons during the 19 th century: A study of management system after Unification.
• Technology secrecy and its effects during the Second World War: A review of US Patent and Office Trademark Special War Technologies.

PhD Dissertation Title Examples

Whether you are looking for a PhD title for humanities, social sciences, literature or any other subject, here are some examples that will help you understand how to title dissertation paper:

• Balance of Deterrence and Power between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Post-Arab Uprising.
• Detailed study of the Formation Period and Home Rule in Washington State.
• The Use of Bio-Climatic Indicators in the Cultivation of Tea: Extensive Study of the Uji Area.
• Methods of Candidate Selection: A Review of “Democratization” of These Methods.
• Review of the Asbestos Disaster with emphasis on the evolution of the Asbestos Industry.
• Virtue, Property and Honour: Study of Edmund Burke on the Government
• A Wasted Resource: Factors That Affect The Use of Calculators in the Classroom
• Injustice and Brutality: A Study of Symbolism in “The Animal Farm” by George Orwell.
• The Voice of Women: The Transformation of Girls into Women in 17 th Century Fiction.

If you need any additional dissertation title help , get in touch with our writing experts for cheap, yet professional solutions for all subjects.

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Big research, little time: Medical neuroscience student wins 3 Minute Thesis finals

Mia Samardzic - March 28, 2024

Last week, 10 graduate students took to the stage to compete in Dal’s annual 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, with medical neuroscience PhD student Reynaldo Popoli earning this year’s winning title with his presentation on improving the quality of life for patients living with the neurological disorder ALS.

The 3MT finals, held Tuesday, March 19 in the Dalhousie Student Union Building, challenged competitors to present their research to a non-specialist audience in three engaging minutes or less, using only one static PowerPoint slide as a visual aid.

Five master’s and five PhD students shared their research, representing the Faculties of Medicine, Science and Health. 

Making strides in medicine

Along with taking home the title of Dal’s newest 3MT champion after winning over the judging panel, Popoli won a cash prize of $1,000 and the opportunity to represent Dalhousie at the Eastern 3MT regionals at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique in Quebec this June.

“I feel incredibly grateful, especially to my colleagues that allowed me to practice my presentation and provided invaluable feedback,” he says.

Popoli’s presentation called attention to the devastating impacts of ALS — a disease that affects the cells in our bodies that control our muscles. These cells originate in the brain and spinal cord and travel to the muscles, forming connections called neuromuscular junctions. In ALS, the cells withdraw from the muscles, and these connections are left non-functional.

“The goal of my research is to understand some of the changes that occur in ALS. More precisely, in the connections between the cells that control our movements and their respective muscles. By understanding these changes, we hope we can use different therapeutic approaches to slow down disease progression and improve symptoms,” he says. 

Popoli’s research looks at drugs that help regulate and maintain the integrity of the neuromuscular junction. He has shown that the use of these drugs in ALS make symptoms progress much slower and maintain neuromuscular junctions for longer, allowing for a 10 per cent increase in life expectancy and better quality of life for patients.

“My work is far from over, but I’m hopeful that with this novel research, we’ll be able to find new treatments for this devastating disease.” 

Prize-worthy presentations

Pooyan Moradi, another PhD student in medical neuroscience, and Kaela Trumble, a master’s student in rehabilitation research, were also selected as top finalists by the judging panel. 

Moradi earned second place and a $500 prize, presenting on the use of artificial intelligence to detect seizures in animals and how this model can be applied to better predict epilepsy in humans who have suffered head injuries.

Trumble placed third in the competition and won $250 with a presentation covering the differences in how people develop health problems as they age in relation to heart disease.

The remaining eight finalists each earned $100 prizes for their inspiring presentations.

Also receiving the most votes for the People’s Choice Award, biochemistry and molecular biology master’s student Dina Rogers captivated the crowd when describing a biological recycling process by which PET plastic can be repurposed into new materials by protein engineering to combat climate change. The award, valued at $500, was generously sponsored by Estelle Joubert, assistant dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, and entrepreneur Paul Doerwald.

Recommended reading:   Where experience meets impact: Introducing Dalhousie’s 2023 Top Co‑op Students of the Year

Distilling big ideas

This year's 3MT finals opened with a traditional Mi'kma'ki welcome with Elder Ann LaBillois. The event was enthusiastically hosted by CBC reporter and video journalist Brett Ruskin for a sixth time. 

Judges for the competition were Dr. Frank Harvey, Dal's provost and vice-president academic, Grace Jefferies-Aldridge, Dal’s vice-president, people and culture, and Kristan Hines, senior vice-president of corporate and public affairs at NATIONAL Public Relations.

Organized by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the event served as an opportunity for members of the Dal community and beyond to learn about the impactful work the university’s graduate students are engaged in.

“For many of us, the 3 Minute Thesis competition is the highlight of the year at Dalhousie,” says Dr. Marty Leonard, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. “It challenges students to take what could be very technologically or theoretically complex research — or better yet, both — and make it accessible and interesting to anyone.”

Dalhousie President Dr. Kim Brooks invited the crowd to relish the opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary research happening on campus.

“If you have the privilege of spending time in a university, one of the things you get to do often in your academic life is trace an idea back to its origins,” she says. “And almost every time you find a new idea, a unique contribution, and you trace it back to its origins, you find a graduate student.”

See below for a complete list of this year’s 3MT finalists and their presentations:

Dina Rogers , MSc, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Proteins vs. Pollution: A Biochemical Solution to a Brighter Future 

Kateryna Rudenko , MES, Environmental Studies

Weaving Mi’kma’ki from Stories We Share

Joy Liu , MSc, Statistics

From Approximate to Accurate: Improving Sea Scallop Meat Weight Estimates in the Bay of Fundy through Statistical Modeling

Reynaldo Popoli , PhD, Medical Neuroscience

How a life changes forever in just 12 months

Kaela Trumble, MSc, Rehabilitation Research

How will your heart age?

Eniko Zsoldos , PhD, Chemistry

Improving Battery Sustainability by Limiting Charging

Divya Rathore , PhD, Physics and Atmospheric Science

Many Shades of Green

Sophie Inkpen , MSc, Kinesiology

Taking Action Through Activity: A Program for Patients with Acquired Brain Injury

Pooyan Moradi , PhD, Medical Neuroscience

Cloudy with a Chance of Epilepsy

Fatemeh Mahdizadeh Karizaki , PhD in Health

Promoting Health and Wellbeing: Access and Inclusion to Childcare and Early Learning for Children with Disabilities in Nova Scotia

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We encourage commenters to use their real first and last names.

Please note that comments that appear on the site are not the opinion of Dal News or Dalhousie University but only of the comment writer. The editors reserve the right to post, or not to post comments, edit or not edit, at their discretion.

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Doctoral candidate killed in crash weeks before presenting dissertation, family says

AUSTIN, Texas. (Gray News) - A University of Texas at Austin doctoral candidate was killed in a car accident weeks before presenting his dissertation.

Ryan Wallace, a doctoral candidate at the School of Journalism and Media, was on his way to pick up his sister’s kids when he was killed in a crash in Bastrop County, KXAN reports.

Wallace was killed in the crash involving a Hays CISD school bus in Bastrop County. The accident also killed 5-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya.

Wallace’s family told KXAN that he was two weeks away from presenting his dissertation to receive his doctorate.

UT Journalism Professor Kathleen McElroy told KXAN that Wallace was very intelligent and insightful on many subjects.

“He was also a very giving person,” said McElroy. “I think that we all would have enjoyed having him as a faculty member. He would have been a great instructor and researcher in journalism.”

McElroy also started a GoFundMe to help Wallace’s family.

She shared that Wallace was a science writer and editor and he had worked with multiple publications,

Wallace’s committee will still meet on the day he was set to defend his dissertation to honor him.

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UA Little Rock Hosts Graduate Student Carly Machen’s Thesis Exhibition

• March 27, 2024 March 26, 2024
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The School of Art and Design welcomes Carly Machen’s MA Thesis Photography Exhibition, “This is What it Feels Like.” The exhibition will be in the Ann Maners and Alex Pappas Gallery in the Windgate Center of Art and Design until April 21, and it is free and open to the public.

Machen’s artist talk will be held on Thursday, April 4, from 6-7 p.m. in Lecture Room 101 in the Windgate Center of Art and Design, and a reception will follow.

Working toward her Master of Arts with a concentration in visual art, Machen is a student in the School of Art and Design. Her exhibition features 16 photographs taken by Machen herself.

“In these theatrical scenes, I incorporate myself and the ephemera I am drawn to such as old dolls, decaying nature, and broken mannequins,” Machen said in her artist statement. “Many of these items hold symbolic power, functioning as objects do in Baroque Dutch Vanitas paintings.”

Her statement closes with a reflection on the themes of her work: “Thriving and rotting, hope and loss, isolation and connection: these are integral for me in my life-long journey of self-exploration. Through my work, I am able to shine a light on the intricate web of emotions and complex layers of existence.”

You can visit Machen’s exhibition from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, and 2-5 p.m. on Sundays. The gallery is closed on university holidays.

For more information, contact Nathan Larson, interim art gallery director and curator, at 501-916-5104 or [email protected] .

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