How to write a Dissertation

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How to write a Dissertation

• Suliman Al-Hawamdeh
• Division of Information Studies
• Nanyang Technological University

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I realize that you dont know much about research
and writing dissertations. But tell you what, we
better start now before it is too late
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LOVE IT or Hate IT

• I love writing
• I love researching
• I learn to write and I write to learn

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How shall I torture you today. Put you in
boiling oil or .. hmmI think I make you write
a dissertation..
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Getting Started

• Research Topic
• Research Proposal
• Literature Review
• Method, Procedure and Analysis

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Getting Started

• Avoid this type of Jargon
• "bad", "good", "nice", "terrible", "stupid"
• A scientific dissertation does not make moral
  judgments
• "perfect"
• Nothing is perfect.
• "an ideal solution"
• You're judging again
• "lots of, kind of, type of, something like
• vague colloquial
• "actually, really"
• define terms precisely to eliminate the need to
  clarify

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Style and Structure

• It is recommended that you follow certain
  convention to facilitate the writing process and
  make your dissertation readable.
• It is useful to look at other dissertation and
  get an idea about the approach that people adopt
  to present their findings and arguments.
• Do not wait for your supervisor to tell you what
  fonts, size and spacing you should use. That is a
  a waste of time and it shows that you did not do
  your homework.
• Sample dissertations are available from the
  ISLAB, you can check them out.

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Font, Spacing and Length

• The preferred typeface is Times Roman (11 or 12
  points).
• Other typefaces are acceptable (check with your
  supervisor).
• Use 1.5 or double-line spacing for the
  dissertation text.
• Each page must have a left margin of 3.7 cm to
  allow for binding.
• The top, bottom and right margin shall all be 2.5
  cm.
• Justify all your text in the dissertation body.

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Font, Spacing and Length

• The dissertation must not exceed 15,000 words
  (excluding tables, figures and appendices).
• Most dissertations are between 40 and 80 pages
  (double spaced).
• Figures inserted in the dissertation should
  appear close to where they are referenced in the
  text.
• The usual convention of the figure followed by
  the figure title shall be followed.
• Use the Chapter/Figure number convention to label
  the figures in the dissertation. For example,
  Figure 1.2 refers to the second figure of chapter
  1.
• A List of Figures and Tables must be included
  after the content page of dissertation

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Documentation Style

• Select documentation style and apply it
  consistently and carefully throughout your
  dissertation.
• For simplicity and consistency, we recommend APA
  style. Recommended manuals include
• American Psychological Association. Publication
  Manual. 4th ed. Washington, D.C. APA, 1994.
• Modern Language Association. MLA Handbook for
  Writers of Research Papers. 4th ed. New York
  MLA, 1995.
• Turabian, Kate. A Manual For Writers Of Term
  Papers, Theses And Dissertations. 6th ed.
  Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1996.
• NTU Library Link http//www.ntu.edu.sg/library/i
  ndex-s.htm

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Order of Presentation

• Title Page Follow exactly the NTU format.
  Acknowledgments A brief thank you
• Abstract
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Content of Dissertation
• References
• Appendices

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Chapter 1 Introduction and Statement of the
Problem

• Introduce the subject area (Overview and
  definition) and explain the research topic.
• State your research question(s) or research
  objective(s).
• Scope and limitations of the study.
• Importance of the topic you have selected.
• This Chapter should be revised after writing
  Chapter 2 (Literature Review)
• Keep introduction shorts and focused

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Chapter 2 Review of the Literature

• It is a review of what has been published on that
  topic so that you do not duplicate someone elses
  work.
• Conduct a thorough literature search before
  designing your methodology and collecting your
  data.
• The literature review should provide context and
  clarify the relationship between your topic and
  previous work in that area.
• When writing the literature review, present major
  themes, theories, and ideas that have been
  published in the area, and the findings of
  related studies.
• Conclude the review of the literature with a
  short section that describes your topic,
  highlighting why it is important to address the
  problem you have investigated.

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Chapter 3 Methodology

• This chapter describes exactly the steps that you
  took to investigate your research problem.
• Explains your research design
• the methodology that you selected (survey,
  interviews, historical research, document
  analysis or extended literature review for
  example),
• the instruments that you used and how they were
  developed, the sample that you selected, and the
  description of your data collection process.
• Copies of correspondence, instruments if you used
  any (questionnaires or interview scripts), raw
  data if appropriate and other items relating to
  the methodology are included as appendices, with
  references from the appropriate place in this
  chapter.

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Findings Chapter

• It describes what you found in your research,
  without discussion, interpretation or reference
  to the literature.
• Just the facts, presented as tables, figures,
  interview summaries and/or descriptions of what
  you found that is important and noteworthy.
• The objective is to present a simple, clear and
  complete account of the results of your research.

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Discussion Chapter

• Relate your findings to your original statement
  of the problem and your literature review.
• Begin by briefly summarizing the previous
  chapters, then discuss what you found.
• Ask yourself why the results were what they were,
  and then try to provide meaningful answers to the
  question.
• Feel free to interpret objectively and
  subjectively and to make references to what
  others have said on the subject.
• Make sure that every conclusion you draw is
  defensible and not just your own personal
  opinion.

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Conclusion and Recommendations Chapter

• Summarize your conclusions from the discussion
  chapter.
• Note the limitations of your study.
• Show that you are aware of the methodological
  limitations of your study, for example the small
  size of your sample, or the fact that you set out
  to examine only one part of a bigger problem.
  Make recommendations relating to the problem that
  you investigated, for example by making practical
  suggestions on how to improve the situation in
  the organization in which your research took
  place.
• Make recommendations for areas that require
  further study.

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Final Remarks

• The final dissertation (3 copies) should be
  hard-cover bounded using a Dark Blue cover with
  Gold lettering (not exceeding 16 pts).
• The year (i.e MSc (19xx)) denotes the year when
  the dissertation is submitted.
• The author's name is abbreviated on the spine in
  the order of full surname and initials of middle
  and first names.
• The title may need to be abbreviated if it is too
  long to fit the spine. Get the approval from
  your supervisor on the abbreviated title.

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100 points, you will pass your dissertation.