Academic Writing
Genres in academic writing: Research dissertations & theses
Examples of dissertation & thesis structure
A: Williams, Bethell, Lawton, Parfitt-Brown, Richardson & Rowe (2011, chap. 9) give the following examples of thesis structure:
1 Social Science (Education)
Title Page Abstract Acknowledgements Contents Page |
|
2. Main text | 1. Introduction 2. Research Question/Statement of Problem 3/4. Literature Review 5. Methodology 6/7. Results 8. Discussion/Implications 9. Conclusion |
3. End matter | Bibliography/References Appendices |
2 Arts (Dance)
Title Page Abstract Contents Page |
|
2. Main text | 1. Introduction 2. Literature Review & Methodology 3(-7). Themed Content Chapters 8. Conclusion |
3. End matter | Bibliography |
3 Science (Primary Cognition)
1. Preliminaries | Title Page Abstract Acknowledgements Contents: List of Appendices, Tables & Figures |
2. Main text | 1. Introduction 2. Methods 1 3. Methods 2 4. Experiment 1 5. Experiment 2 6. Experiment 3 7. Conclusions |
3. End matter | Appendices Acknowledgments Bibliography/References |
See: Williams, Bethell, Lawton, Parfitt-Brown, Richardson & Rowe (2011, chap. 9) for more information.
4 Business & Management
Horn (2012) provides the following macro structure for dissertations in business and management:
Title Abstract Acknowledgments Table of Contents Table of Figures & Illustrations |
|
Main text | Introduction Literature Review Methodology: {modal index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=861&catid=153&Itemid=568|width=600|height=300}More details{/modal} Data Collection Analysis of Data Findings from Data Conclusion/Findings |
Bibliography Appendices |
and further details on the methodology section: Writing Genre Theses 3
B: Other writers (e.g. Cooley & Lewkowicz, 2003; Murray & Beglar, 2009; Paltridge & Starfield, 2007; Thomas, 2011) offer the following structures for the main text:
1. Traditional: Simple
(for e.g. experimental studies in the sciences and social sciences)
Chapter 1 | Introduction |
Chapter 2 | Literature Review |
Chapter 3 | Materials & Methods |
Chapter 4 | Results |
Chapter 5 | Discussion |
Chapter 6 | Conclusion(s) |
2. Complex/Multiple Study Dissertation
(for e.g. experimental studies in the sciences and social sciences)
Chapter 1 | Introduction |
Chapter 2 | Background to Study and Literature Review |
Chapter 3 | (Background Theory) |
Chapter 4 | (General Methods) |
Chapter 5 | Study 1: Introduction Methods Results Discussion and Conclusion(s) |
Chapter 6 | Study 2: Introduction Methods Results Discussion and Conclusion(s) |
Chapter 7 | Study 3: Introduction Methods Results Discussion and Conclusion(s) |
… | … |
Chapter X-1 | Overall Discussion |
Chapter X | General Conclusion(s) |
3. Topic-Based Organisation
(for e.g. humanities)
Chapter 1 | Introduction |
Chapter 2 | Topic 1: Introduction Analysis/Discussion of Topic/Text etc. |
Chapter 3 | Topic 2: Introduction Analysis/Discussion of Topic/Text etc |
Chapter 4 | Topic 3: Introduction Analysis/Discussion of Topic/Text etc |
… | … |
Chapter X | Conclusion(s) |
C: For a topic-based thesis, Carter, Kelly & Brailsford (2012, pp. 39-41) suggest the following ways for organising the topics: chronological, least to most important, external to internal, theory to practice, old pattern to new material, general to specific, thesis as an hour glass, and international to local.
D: Murray (2011) gives the following to be used as a starting point
Generic Thesis Structure |
Introduction/Background/Review of Literature Define the gap in the literature |
Theory/Approach/Method/Materials/Subjects Method of inquiry |
Analysis/Results Document the analysis, showing how you carried it out |
Interpretation/Discussion Justify your interpretation |
Conclusions/Implications/Recommendations For future practice |
E: British Standard BS 4821: Presentation of Theses and Dissertations (1990) gives the following main elements for the presentation of thesem dissertations and similar documents.
Front Matter |
1 Title page 2 Abstract 3 List of contents 4 List of illustrations and tables 5 List of accompanying material 6 Preface, Acknowledgements 7 Author’s declaration 8 Definitions |
Main Body | Text, divided in chapters, sections, etc. |
End Matter |
1 Appendidces 2 Glossary 3 List of references 4 Bibliography 5 Index |
F: Perry (1998,p. 65) suggests the following broad structure:
Chapter 1 | Introduction |
Chapter 2 | Model & hypotheses |
Chapter 3 | Methodology of data collection |
Chapter 4 | Analysis of collected data |
Chapter 5 | Contribution to body of knowledge |
or in more detail, for marketing:
Title page | ||
Abstract (with keywords) | ||
Table of contents | ||
List of tables | ||
List of figures | ||
Abbreviations | ||
Statement of original authorship | ||
Acknowledgements | ||
Introduction | 1 | Introduction |
1.1 | Background to the research | |
1.2 | Research problem and hypotheses | |
1.3 | Justification for the research | |
1.4 | Methodology | |
1.5 | Outline of the report | |
1.6 | Definitions | |
1.7 | Definitions of scope and key assumptions | |
1.8 | Conclusion | |
Research Issues | 2 | Research issues (sections 2.3 & 2.4 might be allotted a chapter to themselves in a PhD thesis) |
2.1 | Introduction | |
2.2 | (Parent disciplines/fields and classification models) | |
2.3 | (Immediate discipline analysis models and research question or hypotheses) | |
2.4 | Conclusion | |
Methodology | 3 | Methodology (there may be separate chapters for the methodologies of stages one and two of a PhD thesis) |
3.1 | Introduction | |
3.2 | Justification for the paradigm and methodology | |
3.3 | (Research procedure) | |
3.4 | Ethical considerations) | |
3.5 | Conclusion | |
Data Analysis | 4 | Analysis of data (this section usually refers to the analysis of the major stages of the research project) |
4.1 | Introduction | |
4.2 | Brief description of subjects | |
4.3 | (Patterns of data for each research question or hypothesis) | |
4.4 | Conclusion | |
Conclusions | 5 | Conclusions and implications |
5.1 | Introduction | |
5.2 | Conclusions about each research question or hypothesis | |
5.3 | Conclusions about the research problem | |
5.4 | Implications for theory | |
5.5 | Implications for policy and practice | |
5.5.1 | Private sector managers | |
5.5.2 | Public sector policy analysts and managers | |
5.6 | Limitations (if this section is necessary) | |
5.7 | ||
Bibliography | ||
Appendices |
G: Naoum (1998) gives the following overall structure for construction students::
1 | Title page |
2 | Summary of figures |
3 | Summary of tables |
4 | Acknowledgements |
5 | Abstract |
6 | Introduction |
7 | Literature review |
8 | Research design and method of analysis |
9 | Analysis of results |
10 | Summary and conclusions |
11 | Recommendations |
12 | References |
13 | Appendices |
H. Mackey & Gass (2005) propose the following structure for a research report in second language acquistion:
Typical Research Paper Format TITLE PAGE ABSTRACT BODY I. Introduction A. Statement of topic area B. Statement of general issues C. General goal of paper D. Literature review 1. Historical overview 2. Major contributions to this research area 3. Statement of purpose, including identification of gaps 4. Hypotheses II. Method A. Participants 1. How many? 2. Characteristics (male/female, proficiency level, native language, etc.) B. Materials 1. What instruments? 2. What sort of test? What sort of task? C. Procedures 1. How is the treatment to be administered? 2. How/when is the testing to be conducted? D. Analysis How will the results be analysed? III. Results Charts, tables, and/or figures accompanied by verbal descriptions IV. Discussion /conclusion (often two separate sections) Common features: • Restatement of the main idea of the study • Summary of the findings • Interpretation of the findings in light of the research questions • Proposed explanation of the findings, usually including information about any findings that were contrary to expectations • Limitations of the study • Suggestions for future research NOTES REFERENCES APPENDIXES |
I. Holliday (2002, p. 48) suggests the following broad outline for qualitative research, where the results and discussion may not be clearly distinct.
Abstract the essential message |
Introduction setting the scene |
Discussion of Issues position with regard to current theory and literature I – related to research subjects II – related to research methodology |
Explanation of Research Procedure |
Data Analysis what has been found |
Implications what it all means |
Conclusion summing up and recommendations |
J. Similarly, Silverman (2000, part 5) suggests the following outline for qualitative research.
The First Few Pages title |
The Literature Review Chapter (if necessary) |
The Methodology Chapter |
The Data Chapters |
The Final Chapter |
Variations across disciplines
Gardner & Holmes (2009) show the following variations in the main body according to discipline.
Biological Science | Computer Science | Engineering | Food Science | Physics | Psychology |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abstract | Abstract | Abstract | Objective | Abstract | Abstract |
Introduction | 1. Introduction | Introduction | Introduction | 1. Introduction | Introduction |
– | 2. Theory | Theory | – | – | |
Materials and method | 3. Design | Apparatus and methods | Method | 2. Experimental details | Method |
Results | 4. Implementation | Observation and results | Results | 3. Results | Results |
Discussion | 5. Results and analysis | Analysis of results | Calculation | 4. Discussion | Discussion |
(Conclusion) | 6. Conclusion | Discussion | Discussion | ||
(Future work) | Conclusion | ||||
References | References | References | References | References | References |
How long should each section be?
MA Dissertation
Thomas (2011) suggests the following rough proportions for a 10,000 word dissertation:
Chapters | Proportion of the whole (%) |
Number of words (10,000 word dissertation) |
---|---|---|
1 Introduction | 5 | 500 |
2 Literature Review | 25 | 2500 |
3 Methodology | 15 | 1500 |
4 Findings | 20 | 2000 |
5 Analysis and discussion | 30 | 3000 |
6 Conclusion | 5 | 500 |
PhD Thesis
Dunleavy (2003, pp. 46-52) argues strongly that – apart from the Introduction and Conclusion – all chapters should be the same length, and recommends between 8,000 and 12,000 words for each chapter in a PhD thesis of 80,000 words. He recommends that there should be 8 chapters, with 5 of these – more than half – dealing with the core – those sections with high research value-added – of the thesis. These are preceded by two lead-in chapters and followed by a conclusion.
Lead-In Materials |
Core |
Lead-Out Materials |
Burton (2000, p. 428) suggests that an example of a word count for a PhD thesis might be:
Introduction |
Literature Review |
Methods |
Results |
Conclusion 7,000 words |
Total – 70,000 words + references