Writing a dissertation is frequently very different from the routine essays you were used to writing in high school and while earning your bachelor’s degree. This makes it difficult for many students to identify the pertinent chapters of a dissertation.
This article will examine the chapters in a dissertation, the length of each section, and what each chapter comprises to assist you to sort out any misunderstanding if you’re having trouble figuring out the sections of a dissertation.
How many chapters are in a dissertation?
A dissertation typically has five chapters. If your institution counts the abstract as a chapter and the conclusion and discussion as separate sections, this number could imply eight dissertation chapters.
What are the chapters of a dissertation?
Depending on your faculty’s guidelines, the dissertation chapter format may vary slightly. As a result, the initial step in preparing your paper is to review the dissertation chapters and information suggested for each area in your faculty manual.
Without further ado, let’s examine the different dissertation chapters and what they cover.
- The title page
Your title page includes administrative details such as your name, the unit code and title, the professor’s name, and the due date. The title is crucial in this area because it delivers the details the reader needs to assess the paper’s applicability to their needs.
Therefore, ensure to create an informative title that encapsulates all the relevant information regarding your topic.
- Abstract
The abstract, which is the first chapter of your paper, provides a summary of your main points to help the reader understand what your work is about. This chapter highlights the research gap, your important findings, the research methodology, the findings, and the conclusion of your essay.
To give the reader a quick overview of the research topic, the abstract should be brief and no longer than 5% of the total word count. Some professors may also advise you to include the keywords you used in the paper to raise its search engine positioning.
- Introduction
More information about the context of your paper is given in the introduction than in the abstract. This part summarizes the main research issues of your essay as well as the research gaps that were addressed in your work.
Additionally, the introduction defines your thesis statement and aids in illustrating to the reader the flow of your arguments. If you want to draw readers’ attention to the topic when writing your opening paragraph, think about utilizing a hook.
- Literature review
This chapter provides critiques of the sources you utilized to organize your arguments, enabling you to specify the knowledge gaps you want to fill. This chapter comprises up to 25% of the total word count and is marginally longer than the introduction.
- Methodology
This chapter should include your research strategy, the data collection, and the analysis process, as well as a brief assessment of the validity of the methodologies you have chosen. This section should also include specifics of your research to allow replication when someone wants to verify your findings.
- Results
The results chapter includes justifications and illustrations illustrating the connections between different factors from your study. Regardless of whether the information supports your thesis or not, this chapter should cover all material that is pertinent to the subject.
However, you shouldn’t detail how your results relate to the hypothesis in the results section since this comes in the discussion.
- Discussion
Your dissertation’s discussion is crucial since it includes the assessment and interpretation of your research problem. This chapter summarizes the implications of your findings with pertinent evidence from reliable sources and links the findings to your hypothesis, demonstrating whether they confirm or refute it.
- Conclusion
This chapter concludes your essay by illustrating how your conclusions relate to the primary research issue. To emphasize how you have addressed the research and the findings from your inquiry, focus on the research objectives while discussing your conclusion.
The recommendations for future research and ideas to enhance studies in your subject could also be highlighted in your conclusion.
Additional sections
The aforementioned chapters are among the essential ones that frequently appear in dissertations from different faculties. The references and appendices sections, however, should appear after these chapters to make it easier for the reader to track down supporting evidence and learn more about your research.