Dissertation plan
By Carrie Winstanley. Outlining your dissertation involves two main aspects: a practical list of what you need to do and a sketch of what you want to say. First, there is a list of 31 items that you can use as the basis of your own to-do list. Writing your to-do list is the easiest part of your dissertation, being just a list of tasks. This helps you to write a dissertation with a clear, tight structure and avoiding repetition and confusion. A well-structured outline leads to a coherent dissertation.
Planning the Perfect Dissertation
Start early and allow yourself some time for reading around topics that interest you and scoping out the kinds of sources that are available.
A dissertation is an extended piece of written work which communicates the results of independent research into a topic of your own choice. Ask if you can have a look at finished dissertations from your department to get an idea of how they look and what they should contain. Finding the topic and question for your dissertation can take longer than you think.
You shouldn't feel worried if you don't hit on the ideal topic straight away… you have enough time to be creative and enjoy exploring your subject. At this stage no ideas are barred! Good sources of ideas are:. Thinking outside your subject area may also help — are there any current affairs issues or controversies that you can apply your subject to? It's never too early to start thinking of ideas. At this early stage, find out the word length and deadline for your dissertation — note them down somewhere obvious — this will influence the size of project you undertake.
A dissertation question is not the same as a topic…it has to be phrased so that it can be answered in a specific and focused way. There are various ways that you can get from your topic to a question:.
Question: Does the depiction of women in TV advertising influence women's perceptions of their bodies. It is a good idea before you make any final decisions to discuss your choice of question with your supervisor, as they will have the academic experience to know what kinds of questions will be manageable, and which will need more refining. Check what you will have to include in a dissertation proposal. It should contain a clear summary of what, why and how you are going to do your research.
You may be asked to give a presentation on your work in the early stages of your dissertation. Treat this as an opportunity to:.
Remember that you're not presenting the end result of your research, but work-in-progress. Think about including some questions for your audience to encourage useful feedback. Home Planning your dissertation Introduction What does a dissertation look like? Finding a topic Going from a topic to a question Dissertation presentations Researching your dissertation Managing your data Writing up your dissertation Useful links for dissertations and major projects Study Advice Guide: Dissertations and Major Projects Download a printable PDF version of this guide.
Study Advice Helping students to achieve study success with guides, video tutorials, seminars and one-to-one advice sessions. Maths Support Centre Help with the maths and statistics you need to succeed in your studies. Academic writing LibGuide Expert guidance on punctuation, grammar, writing style and proof-reading. Guide to citing references Includes guidance on why, when and how to use references correctly in your academic writing. The Final Chapter An excellent guide from the University of Leeds on all aspects of research projects.
Academic Phrasebank Use this site for examples of linking phrases and ways to refer to sources. What does a dissertation look like? At one level all dissertations ask you to do broadly the same things: Formulate a clear question that your dissertation seeks to answer Review the relevant literature in your field Engage in independent thought and research Explain and justify whatever methods you use Present your findings clearly and demonstrate how they relate to your original question What does your department do…?
Finding a topic Finding the topic and question for your dissertation can take longer than you think. What does your department do…? Starting research for your dissertation video Watch this brief video tutorial for more on the topic. Starting research for your dissertation transcript Read along while watching the video tutorial. Going from a topic to a question A dissertation question is not the same as a topic…it has to be phrased so that it can be answered in a specific and focused way.
There are various ways that you can get from your topic to a question: Do some reading around your topic — are there any gaps in current research that could provide a question? Think of two factors that might influence your topic — could they be put together to make a question? Before settling on a question — ask yourself: "Will it keep me interested for a long period? Defining your research question video Watch this brief video tutorial for more on the topic.
Defining your research question transcript Read along while watching the video tutorial. Dissertation presentations You may be asked to give a presentation on your work in the early stages of your dissertation. Treat this as an opportunity to: explain why your chosen topic is interesting; show how it fits into the context of your course generally; try out your plan for how to tackle the research.
Giving presentations LibGuide Expert guidance on producing and delivering presentations at university. Report a problem. Keep asking yourself "what in particular about this do I want to study? Question: What do retired people think of the service they get in warden-controlled residential care homes?
Make an outline plan. The general essay structure is as follows: • Introduction – say what you are going to say • Main body –. Plan the overall structure of your dissertation – create outlines for each chapter. If your writing is not flowing by this stage, have a go at starting your introduction/.
Anything you work on that has a solid structure and foundation will minimize your time and effort while maximizing your results. On the other hand, any initiative lacking a sound structure will create many problems down the line. Therefore, when the time to start on your dissertation is approaching, you can make the entire dissertation process so much easier on yourself if you work carefully on laying a strong foundation for your study. Doing this will bring wonders for you throughout the dissertation process. In this article, we will show you how to lay that solid foundation and structure for your dissertation.
Start early and allow yourself some time for reading around topics that interest you and scoping out the kinds of sources that are available. A dissertation is an extended piece of written work which communicates the results of independent research into a topic of your own choice.
It's probably the most important piece of research and writing you will undertake during your undergraduate career — so the thought of writing your dissertation can be daunting. Starting out with a robust plan will focus your research, use your time efficiently and keep the task manageable. First things first: what topics have you most enjoyed on your course?
How to plan your dissertation
Before you even get near your research proposal , you need to have a topic in mind. Mind mapping is a great way to organise and visualise your early ideas when developing your dissertation topic. This free toolset lets users save text notes, web pages, photos, and screenshots with a comprehensive search feature so that you can retrieve your ideas quickly and easily. Compiling a bibliography in the required format can be a time consuming task at the end of a dissertation, especially if you haven't kept track whilst writing. Fortunately there are free tools available which help you to store your citations from the beginning of your project and retrieve them in a number of commonly use formats. Alternatively, you could use Zotero 's browser extension for Firefox which can automatically sync your data with multiple computers.
How to Create Your Dissertation Outline
This article helps you work out exactly what you should include and where to include it. For example, dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a long essay , building an overall argument to support a central thesis , with chapters organized around different themes or case studies. In many cases, each will be a separate chapter, but sometimes you might combine them. For example, in certain kinds of qualitative social science, the results and discussion will be woven together rather than separated. The order of sections can also vary between fields and countries. For example, some universities advise that the conclusion should always come before the discussion. The acknowledgements section is usually optional, and gives space for you to thank everyone who helped you in writing your dissertation. This might include your supervisors, participants in your research, and friends or family who supported you. The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about words long.
A dissertation or thesis is a long piece of academic writing based on original research, submitted as part of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. The structure of a dissertation depends on your field, but it is usually divided into at least four or five chapters including an introduction and conclusion chapter.
Your approach to one of the most important challenges of your academic career will determine the quality of your finished work - discover how to devise and stick to a work schedule. Devoting sufficient time to planning and structuring your written work while at university is important, but when it comes to that all-encompassing dissertation, it's essential that you prepare well. From settling on a topic and coming up with a title, to the moment you hand it in, the process is guaranteed to give you feelings of excitement, self-doubt, panic and euphoria.
How to structure a dissertation
Read the narrative for this stage on the University of Minnesota UMN website, then use the links listed below to update the links in the narrative and to locate UCF resources equivalent to those described for UMN. Search this Guide Search. Dissertation Calculator based on the Dissertation Calculator University of Minnesota -- "breaks down the dissertation process into manageable deadlines and provides you with important resources and advice". Stage 7: Creating a work plan. Step 2: Think about the "big picture. Step 4: Think about the "little picture. Step 6: Create systems that work for you. Step 7: Expect and accept occasional setbacks and delays. Step 8: Reward yourself for meeting goals and forgive your lapses. Understand departmental and college expectations and demands Stage 1. Bibliography of dissertation writing resources.
Planning and conducting a dissertation research project
Skip to content. Skip to navigation. It aims to help you develop a clear sense of direction early on in the project, and to support you in organising, planning, and monitoring your project. The companion guide Writing a dissertation focuses on the preparation of the written report or thesis. A dissertation is a particular kind of academic task.
