dissertation best tips

Dissertation Strategies

What this handout is about.

This handout suggests strategies for developing healthy writing habits during your dissertation journey. These habits can help you maintain your writing momentum, overcome anxiety and procrastination, and foster wellbeing during one of the most challenging times in graduate school.

Tackling a giant project

Because dissertations are, of course, big projects, it’s no surprise that planning, writing, and revising one can pose some challenges! It can help to think of your dissertation as an expanded version of a long essay: at the end of the day, it is simply another piece of writing. You’ve written your way this far into your degree, so you’ve got the skills! You’ll develop a great deal of expertise on your topic, but you may still be a novice with this genre and writing at this length. Remember to give yourself some grace throughout the project. As you begin, it’s helpful to consider two overarching strategies throughout the process.

First, take stock of how you learn and your own writing processes. What strategies have worked and have not worked for you? Why? What kind of learner and writer are you? Capitalize on what’s working and experiment with new strategies when something’s not working. Keep in mind that trying out new strategies can take some trial-and-error, and it’s okay if a new strategy that you try doesn’t work for you. Consider why it may not have been the best for you, and use that reflection to consider other strategies that might be helpful to you.

Second, break the project into manageable chunks. At every stage of the process, try to identify specific tasks, set small, feasible goals, and have clear, concrete strategies for achieving each goal. Small victories can help you establish and maintain the momentum you need to keep yourself going.

Below, we discuss some possible strategies to keep you moving forward in the dissertation process.

Pre-dissertation planning strategies

Get familiar with the Graduate School’s Thesis and Dissertation Resources .

Create a template that’s properly formatted. The Grad School offers workshops on formatting in Word for PC and formatting in Word for Mac . There are online templates for LaTeX users, but if you use a template, save your work where you can recover it if the template has corrruption issues.

Learn how to use a citation-manager and a synthesis matrix to keep track of all of your source information.

Skim other dissertations from your department, program, and advisor. Enlist the help of a librarian or ask your advisor for a list of recent graduates whose work you can look up. Seeing what other people have done to earn their PhD can make the project much less abstract and daunting. A concrete sense of expectations will help you envision and plan. When you know what you’ll be doing, try to find a dissertation from your department that is similar enough that you can use it as a reference model when you run into concerns about formatting, structure, level of detail, etc.

Think carefully about your committee . Ideally, you’ll be able to select a group of people who work well with you and with each other. Consult with your advisor about who might be good collaborators for your project and who might not be the best fit. Consider what classes you’ve taken and how you “vibe” with those professors or those you’ve met outside of class. Try to learn what you can about how they’ve worked with other students. Ask about feedback style, turnaround time, level of involvement, etc., and imagine how that would work for you.

Sketch out a sensible drafting order for your project. Be open to writing chapters in “the wrong order” if it makes sense to start somewhere other than the beginning. You could begin with the section that seems easiest for you to write to gain momentum.

Design a productivity alliance with your advisor . Talk with them about potential projects and a reasonable timeline. Discuss how you’ll work together to keep your work moving forward. You might discuss having a standing meeting to discuss ideas or drafts or issues (bi-weekly? monthly?), your advisor’s preferences for drafts (rough? polished?), your preferences for what you’d like feedback on (early or late drafts?), reasonable turnaround time for feedback (a week? two?), and anything else you can think of to enter the collaboration mindfully.

Design a productivity alliance with your colleagues . Dissertation writing can be lonely, but writing with friends, meeting for updates over your beverage of choice, and scheduling non-working social times can help you maintain healthy energy. See our tips on accountability strategies for ideas to support each other.

Productivity strategies

Write when you’re most productive. When do you have the most energy? Focus? Creativity? When are you most able to concentrate, either because of your body rhythms or because there are fewer demands on your time? Once you determine the hours that are most productive for you (you may need to experiment at first), try to schedule those hours for dissertation work. See the collection of time management tools and planning calendars on the Learning Center’s Tips & Tools page to help you think through the possibilities. If at all possible, plan your work schedule, errands and chores so that you reserve your productive hours for the dissertation.

Put your writing time firmly on your calendar . Guard your writing time diligently. You’ll probably be invited to do other things during your productive writing times, but do your absolute best to say no and to offer alternatives. No one would hold it against you if you said no because you’re teaching a class at that time—and you wouldn’t feel guilty about saying no. Cultivating the same hard, guilt-free boundaries around your writing time will allow you preserve the time you need to get this thing done!

Develop habits that foster balance . You’ll have to work very hard to get this dissertation finished, but you can do that without sacrificing your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Think about how you can structure your work hours most efficiently so that you have time for a healthy non-work life. It can be something as small as limiting the time you spend chatting with fellow students to a few minutes instead of treating the office or lab as a space for extensive socializing. Also see above for protecting your time.

Write in spaces where you can be productive. Figure out where you work well and plan to be there during your dissertation work hours. Do you get more done on campus or at home? Do you prefer quiet and solitude, like in a library carrel? Do you prefer the buzz of background noise, like in a coffee shop? Are you aware of the UNC Libraries’ list of places to study ? If you get “stuck,” don’t be afraid to try a change of scenery. The variety may be just enough to get your brain going again.

Work where you feel comfortable . Wherever you work, make sure you have whatever lighting, furniture, and accessories you need to keep your posture and health in good order. The University Health and Safety office offers guidelines for healthy computer work . You’re more likely to spend time working in a space that doesn’t physically hurt you. Also consider how you could make your work space as inviting as possible. Some people find that it helps to have pictures of family and friends on their desk—sort of a silent “cheering section.” Some people work well with neutral colors around them, and others prefer bright colors that perk up the space. Some people like to put inspirational quotations in their workspace or encouraging notes from friends and family. You might try reconfiguring your work space to find a décor that helps you be productive.

Elicit helpful feedback from various people at various stages . You might be tempted to keep your writing to yourself until you think it’s brilliant, but you can lower the stakes tremendously if you make eliciting feedback a regular part of your writing process. Your friends can feel like a safer audience for ideas or drafts in their early stages. Someone outside your department may provide interesting perspectives from their discipline that spark your own thinking. See this handout on getting feedback for productive moments for feedback, the value of different kinds of feedback providers, and strategies for eliciting what’s most helpful to you. Make this a recurring part of your writing process. Schedule it to help you hit deadlines.

Change the writing task . When you don’t feel like writing, you can do something different or you can do something differently. Make a list of all the little things you need to do for a given section of the dissertation, no matter how small. Choose a task based on your energy level. Work on Grad School requirements: reformat margins, work on bibliography, and all that. Work on your acknowledgements. Remember all the people who have helped you and the great ideas they’ve helped you develop. You may feel more like working afterward. Write a part of your dissertation as a letter or email to a good friend who would care. Sometimes setting aside the academic prose and just writing it to a buddy can be liberating and help you get the ideas out there. You can make it sound smart later. Free-write about why you’re stuck, and perhaps even about how sick and tired you are of your dissertation/advisor/committee/etc. Venting can sometimes get you past the emotions of writer’s block and move you toward creative solutions. Open a separate document and write your thoughts on various things you’ve read. These may or may note be coherent, connected ideas, and they may or may not make it into your dissertation. They’re just notes that allow you to think things through and/or note what you want to revisit later, so it’s perfectly fine to have mistakes, weird organization, etc. Just let your mind wander on paper.

Develop habits that foster productivity and may help you develop a productive writing model for post-dissertation writing . Since dissertations are very long projects, cultivating habits that will help support your work is important. You might check out Helen Sword’s work on behavioral, artisanal, social, and emotional habits to help you get a sense of where you are in your current habits. You might try developing “rituals” of work that could help you get more done. Lighting incense, brewing a pot of a particular kind of tea, pulling out a favorite pen, and other ritualistic behaviors can signal your brain that “it is time to get down to business.” You can critically think about your work methods—not only about what you like to do, but also what actually helps you be productive. You may LOVE to listen to your favorite band while you write, for example, but if you wind up playing air guitar half the time instead of writing, it isn’t a habit worth keeping.

The point is, figure out what works for you and try to do it consistently. Your productive habits will reinforce themselves over time. If you find yourself in a situation, however, that doesn’t match your preferences, don’t let it stop you from working on your dissertation. Try to be flexible and open to experimenting. You might find some new favorites!

Motivational strategies

Schedule a regular activity with other people that involves your dissertation. Set up a coworking date with your accountability buddies so you can sit and write together. Organize a chapter swap. Make regular appointments with your advisor. Whatever you do, make sure it’s something that you’ll feel good about showing up for–and will make you feel good about showing up for others.

Try writing in sprints . Many writers have discovered that the “Pomodoro technique” (writing for 25 minutes and taking a 5 minute break) boosts their productivity by helping them set small writing goals, focus intently for short periods, and give their brains frequent rests. See how one dissertation writer describes it in this blog post on the Pomodoro technique .

Quit while you’re ahead . Sometimes it helps to stop for the day when you’re on a roll. If you’ve got a great idea that you’re developing and you know where you want to go next, write “Next, I want to introduce x, y, and z and explain how they’re related—they all have the same characteristics of 1 and 2, and that clinches my theory of Q.” Then save the file and turn off the computer, or put down the notepad. When you come back tomorrow, you will already know what to say next–and all that will be left is to say it. Hopefully, the momentum will carry you forward.

Write your dissertation in single-space . When you need a boost, double space it and be impressed with how many pages you’ve written.

Set feasible goals–and celebrate the achievements! Setting and achieving smaller, more reasonable goals ( SMART goals ) gives you success, and that success can motivate you to focus on the next small step…and the next one.

Give yourself rewards along the way . When you meet a writing goal, reward yourself with something you normally wouldn’t have or do–this can be anything that will make you feel good about your accomplishment.

Make the act of writing be its own reward . For example, if you love a particular coffee drink from your favorite shop, save it as a special drink to enjoy during your writing time.

Try giving yourself “pre-wards” —positive experiences that help you feel refreshed and recharged for the next time you write. You don’t have to “earn” these with prior work, but you do have to commit to doing the work afterward.

Commit to doing something you don’t want to do if you don’t achieve your goal. Some people find themselves motivated to work harder when there’s a negative incentive. What would you most like to avoid? Watching a movie you hate? Donating to a cause you don’t support? Whatever it is, how can you ensure enforcement? Who can help you stay accountable?

Affective strategies

Build your confidence . It is not uncommon to feel “imposter phenomenon” during the course of writing your dissertation. If you start to feel this way, it can help to take a few minutes to remember every success you’ve had along the way. You’ve earned your place, and people have confidence in you for good reasons. It’s also helpful to remember that every one of the brilliant people around you is experiencing the same lack of confidence because you’re all in a new context with new tasks and new expectations. You’re not supposed to have it all figured out. You’re supposed to have uncertainties and questions and things to learn. Remember that they wouldn’t have accepted you to the program if they weren’t confident that you’d succeed. See our self-scripting handout for strategies to turn these affirmations into a self-script that you repeat whenever you’re experiencing doubts or other negative thoughts. You can do it!

Appreciate your successes . Not meeting a goal isn’t a failure–and it certainly doesn’t make you a failure. It’s an opportunity to figure out why you didn’t meet the goal. It might simply be that the goal wasn’t achievable in the first place. See the SMART goal handout and think through what you can adjust. Even if you meant to write 1500 words, focus on the success of writing 250 or 500 words that you didn’t have before.

Remember your “why.” There are a whole host of reasons why someone might decide to pursue a PhD, both personally and professionally. Reflecting on what is motivating to you can rekindle your sense of purpose and direction.

Get outside support . Sometimes it can be really helpful to get an outside perspective on your work and anxieties as a way of grounding yourself. Participating in groups like the Dissertation Support group through CAPS and the Dissertation Boot Camp can help you see that you’re not alone in the challenges. You might also choose to form your own writing support group with colleagues inside or outside your department.

Understand and manage your procrastination . When you’re writing a long dissertation, it can be easy to procrastinate! For instance, you might put off writing because the house “isn’t clean enough” or because you’re not in the right “space” (mentally or physically) to write, so you put off writing until the house is cleaned and everything is in its right place. You may have other ways of procrastinating. It can be helpful to be self-aware of when you’re procrastinating and to consider why you are procrastinating. It may be that you’re anxious about writing the perfect draft, for example, in which case you might consider: how can I focus on writing something that just makes progress as opposed to being “perfect”? There are lots of different ways of managing procrastination; one way is to make a schedule of all the things you already have to do (when you absolutely can’t write) to help you visualize those chunks of time when you can. See this handout on procrastination for more strategies and tools for managing procrastination.

Your topic, your advisor, and your committee: Making them work for you

By the time you’ve reached this stage, you have probably already defended a dissertation proposal, chosen an advisor, and begun working with a committee. Sometimes, however, those three elements can prove to be major external sources of frustration. So how can you manage them to help yourself be as productive as possible?

Managing your topic

Remember that your topic is not carved in stone . The research and writing plan suggested in your dissertation proposal was your best vision of the project at that time, but topics evolve as the research and writing progress. You might need to tweak your research question a bit to reduce or adjust the scope, you might pare down certain parts of the project or add others. You can discuss your thoughts on these adjustments with your advisor at your check ins.

Think about variables that could be cut down and how changes would affect the length, depth, breadth, and scholarly value of your study. Could you cut one or two experiments, case studies, regions, years, theorists, or chapters and still make a valuable contribution or, even more simply, just finish?

Talk to your advisor about any changes you might make . They may be quite sympathetic to your desire to shorten an unwieldy project and may offer suggestions.

Look at other dissertations from your department to get a sense of what the chapters should look like. Reverse-outline a few chapters so you can see if there’s a pattern of typical components and how information is sequenced. These can serve as models for your own dissertation. See this video on reverse outlining to see the technique.

Managing your advisor

Embrace your evolving status . At this stage in your graduate career, you should expect to assume some independence. By the time you finish your project, you will know more about your subject than your committee does. The student/teacher relationship you have with your advisor will necessarily change as you take this big step toward becoming their colleague.

Revisit the alliance . If the interaction with your advisor isn’t matching the original agreement or the original plan isn’t working as well as it could, schedule a conversation to revisit and redesign your working relationship in a way that could work for both of you.

Be specific in your feedback requests . Tell your advisor what kind of feedback would be most helpful to you. Sometimes an advisor can be giving unhelpful or discouraging feedback without realizing it. They might make extensive sentence-level edits when you really need conceptual feedback, or vice-versa, if you only ask generally for feedback. Letting your advisor know, very specifically, what kinds of responses will be helpful to you at different stages of the writing process can help your advisor know how to help you.

Don’t hide . Advisors can be most helpful if they know what you are working on, what problems you are experiencing, and what progress you have made. If you haven’t made the progress you were hoping for, it only makes it worse if you avoid talking to them. You rob yourself of their expertise and support, and you might start a spiral of guilt, shame, and avoidance. Even if it’s difficult, it may be better to be candid about your struggles.

Talk to other students who have the same advisor . You may find that they have developed strategies for working with your advisor that could help you communicate more effectively with them.

If you have recurring problems communicating with your advisor , you can make a change. You could change advisors completely, but a less dramatic option might be to find another committee member who might be willing to serve as a “secondary advisor” and give you the kinds of feedback and support that you may need.

Managing your committee

Design the alliance . Talk with your committee members about how much they’d like to be involved in your writing process, whether they’d like to see chapter drafts or the complete draft, how frequently they’d like to meet (or not), etc. Your advisor can guide you on how committees usually work, but think carefully about how you’d like the relationship to function too.

Keep in regular contact with your committee , even if they don’t want to see your work until it has been approved by your advisor. Let them know about fellowships you receive, fruitful research excursions, the directions your thinking is taking, and the plans you have for completion. In short, keep them aware that you are working hard and making progress. Also, look for other ways to get facetime with your committee even if it’s not a one-on-one meeting. Things like speaking with them at department events, going to colloquiums or other events they organize and/or attend regularly can help you develop a relationship that could lead to other introductions and collaborations as your career progresses.

Share your struggles . Too often, we only talk to our professors when we’re making progress and hide from them the rest of the time. If you share your frustrations or setbacks with a knowledgeable committee member, they might offer some very helpful suggestions for overcoming the obstacles you face—after all, your committee members have all written major research projects before, and they have probably solved similar problems in their own work.

Stay true to yourself . Sometimes, you just don’t entirely gel with your committee, but that’s okay. It’s important not to get too hung up on how your committee does (or doesn’t) relate to you. Keep your eye on the finish line and keep moving forward.

Helpful websites:

Graduate School Diversity Initiatives : Groups and events to support the success of students identifying with an affinity group.

Graduate School Career Well : Extensive professional development resources related to writing, research, networking, job search, etc.

CAPS Therapy Groups : CAPS offers a variety of support groups, including a dissertation support group.

Advice on Research and Writing : Lots of links on writing, public speaking, dissertation management, burnout, and more.

How to be a Good Graduate Student: Marie DesJardins’ essay talks about several phases of the graduate experience, including the dissertation. She discusses some helpful hints for staying motivated and doing consistent work.

Preparing Future Faculty : This page, a joint project of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the Council of Graduate Schools, and the Pew Charitable Trusts, explains the Preparing Future Faculty Programs and includes links and suggestions that may help graduate students and their advisors think constructively about the process of graduate education as a step toward faculty responsibilities.

Dissertation Tips : Kjell Erik Rudestam, Ph.D. and Rae Newton, Ph.D., authors of Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process.

The ABD Survival Guide Newsletter : Information about the ABD Survival Guide newsletter (which is free) and other services from E-Coach (many of which are not free).

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

*The Caveat *

In this post, we’ll be discussing a traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout, which is generally used for social science research across universities, whether in the US, UK, Europe or Australia. However, some universities may have small variations on this structure (extra chapters, merged chapters, slightly different ordering, etc).

So, always check with your university if they have a prescribed structure or layout that they expect you to work with. If not, it’s safe to assume the structure we’ll discuss here is suitable. And even if they do have a prescribed structure, you’ll still get value from this post as we’ll explain the core contents of each section.  

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

• Acknowledgements page
• Abstract (or executive summary)
• Table of contents , list of figures and tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Results
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• Reference list

As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure. For example, they want an additional “personal reflection chapter”, or they might prefer the results and discussion chapter to be merged into one. Regardless, the overarching flow will always be the same, as this flow reflects the research process , which we discussed here – i.e.:

• The introduction chapter presents the core research question and aims .
• The literature review chapter assesses what the current research says about this question.
• The methodology, results and discussion chapters go about undertaking new research about this question.
• The conclusion chapter (attempts to) answer the core research question .

In other words, the dissertation structure and layout reflect the research process of asking a well-defined question(s), investigating, and then answering the question – see below.

To restate that – the structure and layout of a dissertation reflect the flow of the overall research process . This is essential to understand, as each chapter will make a lot more sense if you “get” this concept. If you’re not familiar with the research process, read this post before going further.

Right. Now that we’ve covered the big picture, let’s dive a little deeper into the details of each section and chapter. Oh and by the way, you can also grab our free dissertation/thesis template here to help speed things up.

The title page of your dissertation is the very first impression the marker will get of your work, so it pays to invest some time thinking about your title. But what makes for a good title? A strong title needs to be 3 things:

• Succinct (not overly lengthy or verbose)
• Specific (not vague or ambiguous)
• Representative of the research you’re undertaking (clearly linked to your research questions)

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

• The broader area of the research (i.e. the overarching topic)
• The specific focus of your research (i.e. your specific context)
• Indication of research design (e.g. quantitative , qualitative , or  mixed methods ).

For example:

A quantitative investigation [research design] into the antecedents of organisational trust [broader area] in the UK retail forex trading market [specific context/area of focus].

Again, some universities may have specific requirements regarding the format and structure of the title, so it’s worth double-checking expectations with your institution (if there’s no mention in the brief or study material).

Acknowledgements

This page provides you with an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped you along your research journey. Generally, it’s optional (and won’t count towards your marks), but it is academic best practice to include this.

So, who do you say thanks to? Well, there’s no prescribed requirements, but it’s common to mention the following people:

• Your dissertation supervisor or committee.
• Any professors, lecturers or academics that helped you understand the topic or methodologies.
• Any tutors, mentors or advisors.
• Your family and friends, especially spouse (for adult learners studying part-time).

There’s no need for lengthy rambling. Just state who you’re thankful to and for what (e.g. thank you to my supervisor, John Doe, for his endless patience and attentiveness) – be sincere. In terms of length, you should keep this to a page or less.

Abstract or executive summary

The dissertation abstract (or executive summary for some degrees) serves to provide the first-time reader (and marker or moderator) with a big-picture view of your research project. It should give them an understanding of the key insights and findings from the research, without them needing to read the rest of the report – in other words, it should be able to stand alone .

For it to stand alone, your abstract should cover the following key points (at a minimum):

• Your research questions and aims – what key question(s) did your research aim to answer?
• Your methodology – how did you go about investigating the topic and finding answers to your research question(s)?
• Your findings – following your own research, what did do you discover?
• Your conclusions – based on your findings, what conclusions did you draw? What answers did you find to your research question(s)?

So, in much the same way the dissertation structure mimics the research process, your abstract or executive summary should reflect the research process, from the initial stage of asking the original question to the final stage of answering that question.

In practical terms, it’s a good idea to write this section up last , once all your core chapters are complete. Otherwise, you’ll end up writing and rewriting this section multiple times (just wasting time). For a step by step guide on how to write a strong executive summary, check out this post .

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

This section is straightforward. You’ll typically present your table of contents (TOC) first, followed by the two lists – figures and tables. I recommend that you use Microsoft Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate your TOC. If you’re not familiar with this functionality, the video below explains it simply:

If you find that your table of contents is overly lengthy, consider removing one level of depth. Oftentimes, this can be done without detracting from the usefulness of the TOC.

Right, now that the “admin” sections are out of the way, its time to move on to your core chapters. These chapters are the heart of your dissertation and are where you’ll earn the marks. The first chapter is the introduction chapter – as you would expect, this is the time to introduce your research…

It’s important to understand that even though you’ve provided an overview of your research in your abstract, your introduction needs to be written as if the reader has not read that (remember, the abstract is essentially a standalone document). So, your introduction chapter needs to start from the very beginning, and should address the following questions:

• What will you be investigating (in plain-language, big picture-level)?
• Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original?
• What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter).
• What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will and won’t you cover ?
• How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt?
• How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

These are just the bare basic requirements for your intro chapter. Some universities will want additional bells and whistles in the intro chapter, so be sure to carefully read your brief or consult your research supervisor.

If done right, your introduction chapter will set a clear direction for the rest of your dissertation. Specifically, it will make it clear to the reader (and marker) exactly what you’ll be investigating, why that’s important, and how you’ll be going about the investigation. Conversely, if your introduction chapter leaves a first-time reader wondering what exactly you’ll be researching, you’ve still got some work to do.

Now that you’ve set a clear direction with your introduction chapter, the next step is the literature review . In this section, you will analyse the existing research (typically academic journal articles and high-quality industry publications), with a view to understanding the following questions:

• What does the literature currently say about the topic you’re investigating?
• Is the literature lacking or well established? Is it divided or in disagreement?
• How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
• How does your research contribute something original?
• How does the methodology of previous studies help you develop your own?

Depending on the nature of your study, you may also present a conceptual framework towards the end of your literature review, which you will then test in your actual research.

Again, some universities will want you to focus on some of these areas more than others, some will have additional or fewer requirements, and so on. Therefore, as always, its important to review your brief and/or discuss with your supervisor, so that you know exactly what’s expected of your literature review chapter.

Now that you’ve investigated the current state of knowledge in your literature review chapter and are familiar with the existing key theories, models and frameworks, its time to design your own research. Enter the methodology chapter – the most “science-ey” of the chapters…

In this chapter, you need to address two critical questions:

• Exactly HOW will you carry out your research (i.e. what is your intended research design)?
• Exactly WHY have you chosen to do things this way (i.e. how do you justify your design)?

Remember, the dissertation part of your degree is first and foremost about developing and demonstrating research skills . Therefore, the markers want to see that you know which methods to use, can clearly articulate why you’ve chosen then, and know how to deploy them effectively.

Importantly, this chapter requires detail – don’t hold back on the specifics. State exactly what you’ll be doing, with who, when, for how long, etc. Moreover, for every design choice you make, make sure you justify it.

In practice, you will likely end up coming back to this chapter once you’ve undertaken all your data collection and analysis, and revise it based on changes you made during the analysis phase. This is perfectly fine. Its natural for you to add an additional analysis technique, scrap an old one, etc based on where your data lead you. Of course, I’m talking about small changes here – not a fundamental switch from qualitative to quantitative, which will likely send your supervisor in a spin!

You’ve now collected your data and undertaken your analysis, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In this chapter, you’ll present the raw results of your analysis . For example, in the case of a quant study, you’ll present the demographic data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics , etc.

Typically, Chapter 4 is simply a presentation and description of the data, not a discussion of the meaning of the data. In other words, it’s descriptive, rather than analytical – the meaning is discussed in Chapter 5. However, some universities will want you to combine chapters 4 and 5, so that you both present and interpret the meaning of the data at the same time. Check with your institution what their preference is.

Now that you’ve presented the data analysis results, its time to interpret and analyse them. In other words, its time to discuss what they mean, especially in relation to your research question(s).

What you discuss here will depend largely on your chosen methodology. For example, if you’ve gone the quantitative route, you might discuss the relationships between variables . If you’ve gone the qualitative route, you might discuss key themes and the meanings thereof. It all depends on what your research design choices were.

Most importantly, you need to discuss your results in relation to your research questions and aims, as well as the existing literature. What do the results tell you about your research questions? Are they aligned with the existing research or at odds? If so, why might this be? Dig deep into your findings and explain what the findings suggest, in plain English.

The final chapter – you’ve made it! Now that you’ve discussed your interpretation of the results, its time to bring it back to the beginning with the conclusion chapter . In other words, its time to (attempt to) answer your original research question s (from way back in chapter 1). Clearly state what your conclusions are in terms of your research questions. This might feel a bit repetitive, as you would have touched on this in the previous chapter, but its important to bring the discussion full circle and explicitly state your answer(s) to the research question(s).

Next, you’ll typically discuss the implications of your findings . In other words, you’ve answered your research questions – but what does this mean for the real world (or even for academia)? What should now be done differently, given the new insight you’ve generated?

Lastly, you should discuss the limitations of your research, as well as what this means for future research in the area. No study is perfect, especially not a Masters-level. Discuss the shortcomings of your research. Perhaps your methodology was limited, perhaps your sample size was small or not representative, etc, etc. Don’t be afraid to critique your work – the markers want to see that you can identify the limitations of your work. This is a strength, not a weakness. Be brutal!

This marks the end of your core chapters – woohoo! From here on out, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

The reference list is straightforward. It should contain a list of all resources cited in your dissertation, in the required format, e.g. APA , Harvard, etc.

It’s essential that you use reference management software for your dissertation. Do NOT try handle your referencing manually – its far too error prone. On a reference list of multiple pages, you’re going to make mistake. To this end, I suggest considering either Mendeley or Zotero. Both are free and provide a very straightforward interface to ensure that your referencing is 100% on point. I’ve included a simple how-to video for the Mendeley software (my personal favourite) below:

Some universities may ask you to include a bibliography, as opposed to a reference list. These two things are not the same . A bibliography is similar to a reference list, except that it also includes resources which informed your thinking but were not directly cited in your dissertation. So, double-check your brief and make sure you use the right one.

The very last piece of the puzzle is the appendix or set of appendices. This is where you’ll include any supporting data and evidence. Importantly, supporting is the keyword here.

Your appendices should provide additional “nice to know”, depth-adding information, which is not critical to the core analysis. Appendices should not be used as a way to cut down word count (see this post which covers how to reduce word count ). In other words, don’t place content that is critical to the core analysis here, just to save word count. You will not earn marks on any content in the appendices, so don’t try to play the system!

Time to recap…

And there you have it – the traditional dissertation structure and layout, from A-Z. To recap, the core structure for a dissertation or thesis is (typically) as follows:

• Acknowledgments page

Most importantly, the core chapters should reflect the research process (asking, investigating and answering your research question). Moreover, the research question(s) should form the golden thread throughout your dissertation structure. Everything should revolve around the research questions, and as you’ve seen, they should form both the start point (i.e. introduction chapter) and the endpoint (i.e. conclusion chapter).

I hope this post has provided you with clarity about the traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or feel free to get in touch with us. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the  Grad Coach Blog .

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

Glad to hear that, Arun. Good luck writing your dissertation.

Such clear practical logical advice. I very much needed to read this to keep me focused in stead of fretting.. Perfect now ready to start my research!

what about scientific fields like computer or engineering thesis what is the difference in the structure? thank you very much

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

Very helpful and accessible. What I like most is how practical the advice is along with helpful tools/ links.

Thanks Ade!

Thank you so much sir.. It was really helpful..

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

You’re most welcome. Good luck with your dissertation.

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

Many times Clarity and vision of destination of dissertation is what makes the difference between good ,average and great researchers the same way a great automobile driver is fast with clarity of address and Clear weather conditions .

I guess Great researcher = great ideas + knowledge + great and fast data collection and modeling + great writing + high clarity on all these

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

Morning. Where will I write the definitions of what I’m referring to in my report?

Thank you so much Derek, I was almost lost! Thanks a tonnnn! Have a great day!

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

This was very helpful. Clear and concise. I know exactly what to do now.

Thank you for allowing me to go through briefly. I hope to find time to continue.

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

Very interesting! It will definitely set me and many more for success. highly recommended.

Thank you soo much sir, for the opportunity to express my skills

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

My stress level just dropped at least 15 points after watching this. Just starting my thesis for my grad program and I feel a lot more capable now! Thanks for such a clear and helpful video, Emma and the GradCoach team!

Do we need to mention the number of words the dissertation contains in the main document?

It depends on your university’s requirements, so it would be best to check with them 🙂

Such a helpful post to help me get started with structuring my masters dissertation, thank you!

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Thesis and Dissertation: Getting Started

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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The resources in this section are designed to provide guidance for the first steps of the thesis or dissertation writing process. They offer tools to support the planning and managing of your project, including writing out your weekly schedule, outlining your goals, and organzing the various working elements of your project.

Weekly Goals Sheet (a.k.a. Life Map) [Word Doc]

This editable handout provides a place for you to fill in available time blocks on a weekly chart that will help you visualize the amount of time you have available to write. By using this chart, you will be able to work your writing goals into your schedule and put these goals into perspective with your day-to-day plans and responsibilities each week. This handout also contains a formula to help you determine the minimum number of pages you would need to write per day in order to complete your writing on time.

Setting a Production Schedule (Word Doc)

This editable handout can help you make sense of the various steps involved in the production of your thesis or dissertation and determine how long each step might take. A large part of this process involves (1) seeking out the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding specific document formatting requirements, (2) understanding research protocol limitations, (3) making note of deadlines, and (4) understanding your personal writing habits.

Creating a Roadmap (PDF)

Part of organizing your writing involves having a clear sense of how the different working parts relate to one another. Creating a roadmap for your dissertation early on can help you determine what the final document will include and how all the pieces are connected. This resource offers guidance on several approaches to creating a roadmap, including creating lists, maps, nut-shells, visuals, and different methods for outlining. It is important to remember that you can create more than one roadmap (or more than one type of roadmap) depending on how the different approaches discussed here meet your needs.

How to Write a Dissertation

Published September 27, 2020. Updated May 4, 2022.

Dissertation Definition

A dissertation is a long work of original research.

Overview of a Dissertation

The dissertation is one of many requirements for a PhD. It is also one of the most demanding. The word “dissertation” comes from the Latin root word “dissertare,” which means “to debate.” The reference to a “debate” points to how students must “defend” their arguments before a committee of professors after writing a dissertation.

Students arrange dissertations differently depending on their discipline. Regardless, creating an outline beforehand ensures a well-structured paper.

A dissertation demonstrates that you are not simply another entry-level student. Rather, a dissertation shows you are a scholar meaningfully contributing new ideas and sound research to the academic community .

This page covers the following points:

Key Takeaways

What is a dissertation, what is the difference between a dissertation and an essay, why are dissertations important, planning your dissertation, writing your dissertation, additional tips for writing your dissertation, examples of good dissertations.

• PhD programs require students to write dissertations to complete the graduate program. Dissertations are long original research papers written by PhD candidates.
• Choose a dissertation topic you are passionate and knowledgeable about and that makes a meaningful contribution to scholarship in your subject.
• Writers structure dissertations differently depending on the discipline. Regardless, creating an outline beforehand ensures a well-structured paper.
• The main components of most dissertations include an introduction, a literature review or theoretical framework, research methods, results, discussion, conclusions, and references.

A dissertation is a long work of original research. Graduate students submit a dissertation to fulfill one of the requirements for a doctoral degree at most North American universities. Once admitted to a doctoral program, a PhD candidate must propose a topic for their dissertation. Candidates form a committee of faculty to oversee the project. They then choose a dissertation advisor who will work closely with them on each chapter.

The dissertation is one of many requirements for a PhD, and it’s one of the most demanding. The word “dissertation” comes from the Latin root word “dissertare,” which means “to debate.” This alludes to how students must “defend” their arguments before a committee of their professors after finishing the dissertation.

Worried about your writing? Submit your paper for a Chegg Writing essay check , or for an Expert Check proofreading . Both can help you find and fix potential writing issues.

Essays are typically shorter papers assigned by professors as part of a class. Undergraduate and graduate students often write essays in a similar style. However, graduate students pursuing a PhD typically write dissertations.

Dissertations focus on a topic you propose. Faculty qualified in your area of research must approve the dissertation topic. The approval process can be lengthy and complex, differing according to academic discipline and institution.

A dissertation demonstrates that you’re not simply another entry-level student. Rather, you are a scholar who is meaningfully contributing new ideas and sound research to the academic community.

A well-written dissertation is important for many reasons:

• Highlights your knowledge of a given subject and your ability to conduct rigorous, original research.
• Gives you the opportunity to show off your critical analysis skills.
• Introduces a new idea and opinion to the scholarly community.

Finally, a dissertation is important because it’s the only way to earn your doctoral (or “terminal”) degree. Without a dissertation under your belt, you’re considered “ABD” (all but dissertation). Approximately 50% of doctoral students complete their dissertation, though this percentage varies according to discipline .

The Initial Stages

One of the first steps is to find funding. Writing your dissertation is essentially a full-time job, so you need a source of income while you focus on this task. Try applying for grants, scholarships, and fellowships instead. Many universities offer internal funding opportunities for their graduate students.

Next, choose a topic for your dissertation. The best dissertations open up an entirely new line of thought, ideally leading to the creation of 3-4 other dissertations by future students.

Choose a topic that you have experience with. You should also choose a subject that you personally find interesting, as you’ll be spending countless hours on it.

Think about problems within your field and whether new lines of research can solve these problems. Aim to make a strong impact on your area of study. Provide evidence on topics lacking strong evidence.

If you’re not exactly sure which topic to choose, don’t worry. The first step is to create a general idea in your mind and begin your research. As you delve deeper into your research, you’ll start to narrow down your idea and hopefully discover an argument never made in your field.

Another important initial step is to form a committee of experts within your field of study. Your committee must accept your dissertation’s topic and agree to work with you throughout the approval process. Committee members may also provide you with a reading list related to your topic before you start writing your dissertation.

Finally, it’s important to choose a good advisor. Your advisor is the committee member who works with you most closely as you research and write your dissertation. Advisors guide you every step of the way and ensure you stay on track.

Don’t ignore the advice of your advisor and committee. Allow them to play a role in shaping your dissertation during these initial stages. You can benefit from their expertise.

Create an Outline

Creating an outline is another crucial first step when planning your dissertation. If you figure out the structure of your work beforehand, writing the main chapters becomes easier.

Be aware that not all dissertations are structured the same way. Different disciplines require different information (a dissertation for English vs. chemistry would be very different). Universities and schools within universities may also have their own requirements. Consult your advisor or school for their specific dissertation details.

Here are some main sections of a standard dissertation. Some are essential to every dissertation. (Again, note that your outline will vary depending on your program’s requirements.)

Acknowledgments

• Table of contents
• List of figures and tables (sometimes split into separate sections)
• List of abbreviations

Introduction

• Literature review or theoretical framework
• Research methods

Conclusion(s)

The general structure of a dissertation in the sciences or social sciences is as follows:

• Literature review
• Methodology

To further illustrate the structure above, here is a dissertation paper template .

Conducting Research

Consult your advisor before starting research. Advisors usually give you some tips about where to begin. A solid first step is to skim the titles of research papers related to your chosen topic and see where that takes you. Carefully review the reading list provided by your committee.

You will also need to collect data during the research phase. Make sure to carefully define the extent and limitations of your research before collecting data. If you’re too hasty, you risk collecting data that is irrelevant to your dissertation. Create a system that allows for easy and accurate storing of data. Don’t be afraid to speak to your advisor about the best methods for recording data.

As you research your topic, take plenty of notes and jot down any ideas that come to mind. Keep a notebook or laptop handy and refer back to these ideas while you write.

You’ll need to come up with a title for your dissertation. Choose something catchy and interesting—but also consider how easy your paper will be to find on Google or in academic databases. Your title page must adhere to strict formatting guidelines set forth by your institution. Requirements usually include your name, department, institution, and degree program. An ideal title should state the overall result of your research in fewer than eight words.

The acknowledgments page is optional, but it’s a great opportunity to thank anyone who helped you along the way. This might include certain professors, your advisor, or even family and friends.

Although the abstract usually comes first in the reading order of your dissertation, write this section last. The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually between 150 and 300 words. The abstract contains a short summary of the following:

• Conclusions

Table of Contents

The first “official” page of your dissertation is the table of contents. Every section should be included in your table of contents, so readers can easily navigate the document.

List of Figures and Tables

Separate from the table of contents are the lists of tables and figures. This page is only necessary if you have included a multitude of figures, tables, and graphs in your dissertation.

List of Abbreviations

Including a list of abbreviations makes your dissertation easier to read. A list is especially helpful for readers who are unfamiliar with your field.

A glossary allows the reader to easily discover the definitions of specialized terms they may not be familiar with. List each term alphabetically and include a brief definition.

The introduction should lay out your topic and let the reader know what to expect throughout the dissertation. The introduction should accomplish the following:

• Describe your research topic
• Define the extent and limitations of your research
• Mention existing research on your topic and its impact
• Lay out your research objectives
• Let the reader know how the paper is structured
• Mention the “what,” “how,” and “why” of your topic

The main goal of the introduction is to “hook” the reader and get them interested. You can easily intimidate readers with overly complex language, so keep it simple to encourage them to keep reading.

Literature Review or Theoretical framework

The literature review or theoretical framework highlights research you’ve done to prepare for your dissertation. However, a literature review isn’t just a list of books and articles you read while researching. Instead, it focuses on the most relevant sources. You need to establish connections between different lines of research and evaluate the existing literature related to your topic.

If you discovered gaps in existing research, now’s the time to mention them. Always connect your research back to your topic or argument. How do these sources support your claims? Does the existing literature provide a foundation for your new ideas?

Research Methods

Research methods are all about how you conducted your research. The reader should be able to determine whether your research is reliable based on this section. Methods should include the following:

• The type of research you conducted
• How you collected data
• How you analyzed the data
• What materials, tools, and devices you used to conduct research
• Problems you encountered in your research
• A self-evaluation of your methods and whether they were reliable

When laying out results in this section, only include data relevant to your hypotheses, questions, or overall topic. Results often include graphs, tables, and charts. In some disciplines, the results section and the discussion section are combined.

The discussion section is one of the most important parts of your dissertation, as you’ll be exploring the implications of your results. How do the results relate to your topic? Were any of the results unexpected?

Instead of interpreting your results in one way, explore all the possible ways someone could draw conclusions from the data. In addition, highlight the limitations of your results.

The conclusion is a concise, clear answer to the original question posed in the introduction. Finalize your argument and leave the reader with a clear understanding of how the research has impacted your point of view.

The conclusion also highlights your contribution to existing knowledge within your field. How has your research impacted the subject you chose to explore? Why was this line of research important in the first place?

This section may also include recommendations, or “Recommendations” may also be its own section.

Also known as a “works cited” or bibliography, the reference list contains all cited sources. Make sure to closely follow your discipline’s citation style.

Only use relevant data and information in the main body of your dissertation. That being said, you need to include the data, tables, interviews, etc. in their entirety within the appendices section.

• Edit and proofread the dissertation
• Write in the correct tense and voice (different disciplines use different tenses)
• Use decisive language. You are arguing your point of view, so be confident and professional
• Cite your sources
• Eliminate passive voice and excessive adverbs and adjectives
• Get tons of feedback from others
• Stick to the formatting requirements
• Avoid plagiarism at all costs

Before you turn in that paper, don’t forget to cite your sources in APA format , MLA format , or a style of your choice.

Dissertation example from the  liberal arts/humanities:

Albarran, Louis. “The Face of God at the End of the Road: The Sacramentality of Jack Kerouac in Lowell, America, and Mexico.” Electronic Thesis or Dissertation. University of Dayton, 2013. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. 10 Aug 2020.

Full Text: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_fileaccession=dayton1375235381&disposition=inline

Dissertation example from the social sciences:

Simon, L. S. (2011). From Negative Act to Negative Relationship: Understanding How Patterns of Abusive Supervision Emerge and Develop over Time. (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Florida. Retrieved from https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0042895

https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0042895/00001

There are numerous online resources for searching dissertation topics, titles, and examples. If you are interested in browsing these resources, most college or university libraries provide access to students to at least one or more of these databases.

In addition, you could try searching a free, open-sourced database, like these two:

• EBSCO Open Dissertations Project: https://biblioboard.com/opendissertations/
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations archive: https://oatd.org/

Example Dissertation Template

By Andy Block. Andy received his B.A. in English from the University of South Carolina and his M.A. in comparative literature from the University of New Mexico. After teaching ESL in Asia and Europe as well as public school in New York City, Andy taught writing at a community college for more than a decade before transitioning to a new career in EdTech.

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How to write a masters dissertation or thesis: top tips.

It is completely normal to find the idea of writing a masters thesis or dissertation slightly daunting, even for students who have written one before at undergraduate level. Though, don’t feel put off by the idea. You’ll have plenty of time to complete it, and plenty of support from your supervisor and peers.

One of the main challenges that students face is putting their ideas and findings into words. Writing is a skill in itself, but with the right advice, you’ll find it much easier to get into the flow of writing your masters thesis or dissertation.

We’ve put together a step-by-step guide on how to write a dissertation or thesis for your masters degree, with top tips to consider at each stage in the process.

1. Understand your dissertation or thesis topic

There are slight differences between theses and dissertations , although both require a high standard of writing skill and knowledge in your topic. They are also formatted very similarly.

At first, writing a masters thesis can feel like running a 100m race – the course feels very quick and like there is not as much time for thinking! However, you’ll usually have a summer semester dedicated to completing your dissertation – giving plenty of time and space to write a strong academic piece.

By comparison, writing a PhD thesis can feel like running a marathon, working on the same topic for 3-4 years can be laborious. But in many ways, the approach to both of these tasks is quite similar.

Before writing your masters dissertation, get to know your research topic inside out. Not only will understanding your topic help you conduct better research, it will also help you write better dissertation content.

Also consider the main purpose of your dissertation. You are writing to put forward a theory or unique research angle – so make your purpose clear in your writing.

Top writing tip: when researching your topic, look out for specific terms and writing patterns used by other academics. It is likely that there will be a lot of jargon and important themes across research papers in your chosen dissertation topic. 

2. Structure your dissertation or thesis

Writing a thesis is a unique experience and there is no general consensus on what the best way to structure it is. 

As a postgraduate student , you’ll probably decide what kind of structure suits your research project best after consultation with your supervisor. You’ll also have a chance to look at previous masters students’ theses in your university library.

To some extent, all postgraduate dissertations are unique. Though they almost always consist of chapters. The number of chapters you cover will vary depending on the research. 

A masters dissertation or thesis organised into chapters would typically look like this: 

Write down your structure and use these as headings that you’ll write for later on.

Top writing tip : ease each chapter together with a paragraph that links the end of a chapter to the start of a new chapter. For example, you could say something along the lines of “in the next section, these findings are evaluated in more detail”. This makes it easier for the reader to understand each chapter and helps your writing flow better.

3. Write up your literature review

One of the best places to start when writing your masters dissertation is with the literature review. This involves researching and evaluating existing academic literature in order to identify any gaps for your own research.

Many students prefer to write the literature review chapter first, as this is where several of the underpinning theories and concepts exist. This section helps set the stage for the rest of your dissertation, and will help inform the writing of your other dissertation chapters.

What to include in your literature review

The literature review chapter is more than just a summary of existing research, it is an evaluation of how this research has informed your own unique research.

Demonstrate how the different pieces of research fit together. Are there overlapping theories? Are there disagreements between researchers?

Highlight the gap in the research. This is key, as a dissertation is mostly about developing your own unique research. Is there an unexplored avenue of research? Has existing research failed to disprove a particular theory?

Back up your methodology. Demonstrate why your methodology is appropriate by discussing where it has been used successfully in other research.

4. Write up your research

For instance, a more theoretical-based research topic might encompass more writing from a philosophical perspective. Qualitative data might require a lot more evaluation and discussion than quantitative research. 

Methodology chapter

The methodology chapter is all about how you carried out your research and which specific techniques you used to gather data. You should write about broader methodological approaches (e.g. qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods), and then go into more detail about your chosen data collection strategy. 

Data collection strategies include things like interviews, questionnaires, surveys, content analyses, discourse analyses and many more.

Data analysis and findings chapters

The data analysis or findings chapter should cover what you actually discovered during your research project. It should be detailed, specific and objective (don’t worry, you’ll have time for evaluation later on in your dissertation)

Write up your findings in a way that is easy to understand. For example, if you have a lot of numerical data, this could be easier to digest in tables.

This will make it easier for you to dive into some deeper analysis in later chapters. Remember, the reader will refer back to your data analysis section to cross-reference your later evaluations against your actual findings – so presenting your data in a simple manner is beneficial.

Think about how you can segment your data into categories. For instance, it can be useful to segment interview transcripts by interviewee. 

Top writing tip : write up notes on how you might phrase a certain part of the research. This will help bring the best out of your writing. There is nothing worse than when you think of the perfect way to phrase something and then you completely forget it.

5. Discuss and evaluate

Once you’ve presented your findings, it’s time to evaluate and discuss them.

It might feel difficult to differentiate between your findings and discussion sections, because you are essentially talking about the same data. The easiest way to remember the difference is that your findings simply present the data, whereas your discussion tells the story of this data.

Your evaluation breaks the story down, explaining the key findings, what went well and what didn’t go so well.

In your discussion chapter, you’ll have chance to expand on the results from your findings section. For example, explain what certain numbers mean and draw relationships between different pieces of data.

Top writing tip: don’t be afraid to point out the shortcomings of your research. You will receive higher marks for writing objectively. For example, if you didn’t receive as many interview responses as expected, evaluate how this has impacted your research and findings. Don’t let your ego get in the way!

6. Write your introduction

Your introduction sets the scene for the rest of your masters dissertation. You might be wondering why writing an introduction isn't at the start of our step-by-step list, and that’s because many students write this chapter last.

Here’s what your introduction chapter should cover:

Problem statement

Research question

Significance of your research

This tells the reader what you’ll be researching as well as its importance. You’ll have a good idea of what to include here from your original dissertation proposal , though it’s fairly common for research to change once it gets started.

Writing or at least revisiting this section last can be really helpful, since you’ll have a more well-rounded view of what your research actually covers once it has been completed and written up.

Masters dissertation writing tips

When to start writing your thesis or dissertation.

When you should start writing your masters thesis or dissertation depends on the scope of the research project and the duration of your course. In some cases, your research project may be relatively short and you may not be able to write much of your thesis before completing the project. 

But regardless of the nature of your research project and of the scope of your course, you should start writing your thesis or at least some of its sections as early as possible, and there are a number of good reasons for this:

Academic writing is about practice, not talent. The first steps of writing your dissertation will help you get into the swing of your project. Write early to help you prepare in good time.

Write things as you do them. This is a good way to keep your dissertation full of fresh ideas and ensure that you don’t forget valuable information.

The first draft is never perfect. Give yourself time to edit and improve your dissertation. It’s likely that you’ll need to make at least one or two more drafts before your final submission.

Writing early on will help you stay motivated when writing all subsequent drafts.

Thinking and writing are very connected. As you write, new ideas and concepts will come to mind. So writing early on is a great way to generate new ideas.

How to improve your writing skills

The best way of improving your dissertation or thesis writing skills is to:

 Finish the first draft of your masters thesis as early as possible and send it to your supervisor for revision. Your supervisor will correct your draft and point out any writing errors. This process will be repeated a few times which will help you recognise and correct writing mistakes yourself as time progresses.

If you are not a native English speaker, it may be useful to ask your English friends to read a part of your thesis and warn you about any recurring writing mistakes. Read our section on English language support for more advice. 

Most universities have writing centres that offer writing courses and other kinds of support for postgraduate students. Attending these courses may help you improve your writing and meet other postgraduate students with whom you will be able to discuss what constitutes a well-written thesis.

Read academic articles and search for writing resources on the internet. This will help you adopt an academic writing style, which will eventually become effortless with practice.

Keep track of your bibliography 

The easiest way to keep the track of all the articles you have read for your research is to create a database where you can summarise each article/chapter into a few most important bullet points to help you remember their content. 

Another useful tool for doing this effectively is to learn how to use specific reference management software (RMS) such as EndNote. RMS is relatively simple to use and saves a lot of time when it comes to organising your bibliography. This may come in very handy, especially if your reference section is suspiciously missing two hours before you need to submit your dissertation! 

Avoid accidental plagiarism

Plagiarism may cost you your postgraduate degree and it is important that you consciously avoid it when writing your thesis or dissertation. 

Occasionally, postgraduate students commit plagiarism unintentionally. This can happen when sections are copy and pasted from journal articles they are citing instead of simply rephrasing them. Whenever you are presenting information from another academic source, make sure you reference the source and avoid writing the statement exactly as it is written in the original paper.

What kind of format should your thesis have?

Read your university’s guidelines before you actually start writing your thesis so you don’t have to waste time changing the format further down the line. However in general, most universities will require you to use 1.5-2 line spacing, font size 12 for text, and to print your thesis on A4 paper. These formatting guidelines may not necessarily result in the most aesthetically appealing thesis, however beauty is not always practical, and a nice looking thesis can be a more tiring reading experience for your postgrad examiner .

When should I submit my thesis?

The length of time it takes to complete your MSc or MA thesis will vary from student to student. This is because people work at different speeds, projects vary in difficulty, and some projects encounter more problems than others. 

Obviously, you should submit your MSc thesis or MA thesis when it is finished! Every university will say in its regulations that it is the student who must decide when it is ready to submit. 

However, your supervisor will advise you whether your work is ready and you should take their advice on this. If your supervisor says that your work is not ready, then it is probably unwise to submit it. Usually your supervisor will read your final thesis or dissertation draft and will let you know what’s required before submitting your final draft.

Set yourself a target for completion. This will help you stay on track and avoid falling behind. You may also only have funding for the year, so it is important to ensure you submit your dissertation before the deadline – and also ensure you don’t miss out on your graduation ceremony ! 

To set your target date, work backwards from the final completion and submission date, and aim to have your final draft completed at least three months before that final date.

Don’t leave your submission until the last minute – submit your work in good time before the final deadline. Consider what else you’ll have going on around that time. Are you moving back home? Do you have a holiday? Do you have other plans?

If you need to have finished by the end of June to be able to go to a graduation ceremony in July, then you should leave a suitable amount of time for this. You can build this into your dissertation project planning at the start of your research.

It is important to remember that handing in your thesis or dissertation is not the end of your masters program . There will be a period of time of one to three months between the time you submit and your final day. Some courses may even require a viva to discuss your research project, though this is more common at PhD level . 

If you have passed, you will need to make arrangements for the thesis to be properly bound and resubmitted, which will take a week or two. You may also have minor corrections to make to the work, which could take up to a month or so. This means that you need to allow a period of at least three months between submitting your thesis and the time when your program will be completely finished. Of course, it is also possible you may be asked after the viva to do more work on your thesis and resubmit it before the examiners will agree to award the degree – so there may be an even longer time period before you have finished.

How do I submit the MA or MSc dissertation?

Most universities will have a clear procedure for submitting a masters dissertation. Some universities require your ‘intention to submit’. This notifies them that you are ready to submit and allows the university to appoint an external examiner.

This normally has to be completed at least three months before the date on which you think you will be ready to submit.

When your MA or MSc dissertation is ready, you will have to print several copies and have them bound. The number of copies varies between universities, but the university usually requires three – one for each of the examiners and one for your supervisor.

However, you will need one more copy – for yourself! These copies must be softbound, not hardbound. The theses you see on the library shelves will be bound in an impressive hardback cover, but you can only get your work bound like this once you have passed. 

You should submit your dissertation or thesis for examination in soft paper or card covers, and your university will give you detailed guidance on how it should be bound. They will also recommend places where you can get the work done.

The next stage is to hand in your work, in the way and to the place that is indicated in your university’s regulations. All you can do then is sit and wait for the examination – but submitting your thesis is often a time of great relief and celebration!

Some universities only require a digital submission, where you upload your dissertation as a file through their online submission system.

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How to Write a Dissertation Proposal | A Step-by-Step Guide

Published on 14 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 11 November 2022.

A dissertation proposal describes the research you want to do: what it’s about, how you’ll conduct it, and why it’s worthwhile. You will probably have to write a proposal before starting your dissertation as an undergraduate or postgraduate student.

A dissertation proposal should generally include:

• An introduction to your topic and aims
• A literature review  of the current state of knowledge
• An outline of your proposed methodology
• A discussion of the possible implications of the research
• A bibliography  of relevant sources

Dissertation proposals vary a lot in terms of length and structure, so make sure to follow any guidelines given to you by your institution, and check with your supervisor when you’re unsure.

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Table of contents

Step 1: coming up with an idea, step 2: presenting your idea in the introduction, step 3: exploring related research in the literature review, step 4: describing your methodology, step 5: outlining the potential implications of your research, step 6: creating a reference list or bibliography.

Before writing your proposal, it’s important to come up with a strong idea for your dissertation.

Find an area of your field that interests you and do some preliminary reading in that area. What are the key concerns of other researchers? What do they suggest as areas for further research, and what strikes you personally as an interesting gap in the field?

Once you have an idea, consider how to narrow it down and the best way to frame it. Don’t be too ambitious or too vague – a dissertation topic needs to be specific enough to be feasible. Move from a broad field of interest to a specific niche:

• Russian literature 19th century Russian literature The novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky
• Social media Mental health effects of social media Influence of social media on young adults suffering from anxiety

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Like most academic texts, a dissertation proposal begins with an introduction . This is where you introduce the topic of your research, provide some background, and most importantly, present your aim , objectives and research question(s) .

Try to dive straight into your chosen topic: What’s at stake in your research? Why is it interesting? Don’t spend too long on generalisations or grand statements:

• Social media is the most important technological trend of the 21st century. It has changed the world and influences our lives every day.
• Psychologists generally agree that the ubiquity of social media in the lives of young adults today has a profound impact on their mental health. However, the exact nature of this impact needs further investigation.

Once your area of research is clear, you can present more background and context. What does the reader need to know to understand your proposed questions? What’s the current state of research on this topic, and what will your dissertation contribute to the field?

If you’re including a literature review, you don’t need to go into too much detail at this point, but give the reader a general sense of the debates that you’re intervening in.

This leads you into the most important part of the introduction: your aim, objectives and research question(s) . These should be clearly identifiable and stand out from the text – for example, you could present them using bullet points or bold font.

Make sure that your research questions are specific and workable – something you can reasonably answer within the scope of your dissertation. Avoid being too broad or having too many different questions. Remember that your goal in a dissertation proposal is to convince the reader that your research is valuable and feasible:

• Does social media harm mental health?
• What is the impact of daily social media use on 18– to 25–year–olds suffering from general anxiety disorder?

Now that your topic is clear, it’s time to explore existing research covering similar ideas. This is important because it shows you what is missing from other research in the field and ensures that you’re not asking a question someone else has already answered.

You’ve probably already done some preliminary reading, but now that your topic is more clearly defined, you need to thoroughly analyse and evaluate the most relevant sources in your literature review .

Here you should summarise the findings of other researchers and comment on gaps and problems in their studies. There may be a lot of research to cover, so make effective use of paraphrasing to write concisely:

• Smith and Prakash state that ‘our results indicate a 25% decrease in the incidence of mechanical failure after the new formula was applied’.
• Smith and Prakash’s formula reduced mechanical failures by 25%.

The point is to identify findings and theories that will influence your own research, but also to highlight gaps and limitations in previous research which your dissertation can address:

• Subsequent research has failed to replicate this result, however, suggesting a flaw in Smith and Prakash’s methods. It is likely that the failure resulted from…

Next, you’ll describe your proposed methodology : the specific things you hope to do, the structure of your research and the methods that you will use to gather and analyse data.

You should get quite specific in this section – you need to convince your supervisor that you’ve thought through your approach to the research and can realistically carry it out. This section will look quite different, and vary in length, depending on your field of study.

You may be engaged in more empirical research, focusing on data collection and discovering new information, or more theoretical research, attempting to develop a new conceptual model or add nuance to an existing one.

Dissertation research often involves both, but the content of your methodology section will vary according to how important each approach is to your dissertation.

Empirical research

Empirical research involves collecting new data and analysing it in order to answer your research questions. It can be quantitative (focused on numbers), qualitative (focused on words and meanings), or a combination of both.

With empirical research, it’s important to describe in detail how you plan to collect your data:

• Will you use surveys ? A lab experiment ? Interviews?
• What variables will you measure?
• How will you select a representative sample ?
• If other people will participate in your research, what measures will you take to ensure they are treated ethically?
• What tools (conceptual and physical) will you use, and why?

It’s appropriate to cite other research here. When you need to justify your choice of a particular research method or tool, for example, you can cite a text describing the advantages and appropriate usage of that method.

Don’t overdo this, though; you don’t need to reiterate the whole theoretical literature, just what’s relevant to the choices you have made.

Moreover, your research will necessarily involve analysing the data after you have collected it. Though you don’t know yet what the data will look like, it’s important to know what you’re looking for and indicate what methods (e.g. statistical tests , thematic analysis ) you will use.

Theoretical research

You can also do theoretical research that doesn’t involve original data collection. In this case, your methodology section will focus more on the theory you plan to work with in your dissertation: relevant conceptual models and the approach you intend to take.

For example, a literary analysis dissertation rarely involves collecting new data, but it’s still necessary to explain the theoretical approach that will be taken to the text(s) under discussion, as well as which parts of the text(s) you will focus on:

• This dissertation will utilise Foucault’s theory of panopticism to explore the theme of surveillance in Orwell’s 1984 and Kafka’s The Trial…

Here, you may refer to the same theorists you have already discussed in the literature review. In this case, the emphasis is placed on how you plan to use their contributions in your own research.

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You’ll usually conclude your dissertation proposal with a section discussing what you expect your research to achieve.

You obviously can’t be too sure: you don’t know yet what your results and conclusions will be. Instead, you should describe the projected implications and contribution to knowledge of your dissertation.

First, consider the potential implications of your research. Will you:

• Develop or test a theory?
• Provide new information to governments or businesses?
• Challenge a commonly held belief?
• Suggest an improvement to a specific process?

Describe the intended result of your research and the theoretical or practical impact it will have:

Finally, it’s sensible to conclude by briefly restating the contribution to knowledge you hope to make: the specific question(s) you hope to answer and the gap the answer(s) will fill in existing knowledge:

Like any academic text, it’s important that your dissertation proposal effectively references all the sources you have used. You need to include a properly formatted reference list or bibliography at the end of your proposal.

Different institutions recommend different styles of referencing – commonly used styles include Harvard , Vancouver , APA , or MHRA . If your department does not have specific requirements, choose a style and apply it consistently.

A reference list includes only the sources that you cited in your proposal. A bibliography is slightly different: it can include every source you consulted in preparing the proposal, even if you didn’t mention it in the text. In the case of a dissertation proposal, a bibliography may also list relevant sources that you haven’t yet read, but that you intend to use during the research itself.

Check with your supervisor what type of bibliography or reference list you should include.

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Caulfield, J. (2022, November 11). How to Write a Dissertation Proposal | A Step-by-Step Guide. Scribbr. Retrieved 26 August 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/proposal/

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7 Top Tips for Picking a Dissertation Title

• 3-minute read
• 9th July 2015

You only get once chance to make a first impression, so when writing a dissertation it helps if you pick a good title. And while the title of your paper won’t determine whether you pass or fail, the information you provide therein can make your work easier to follow for the reader.

To make sure you set out on the right foot, the title of your dissertation should be clear and informative. It helps to think about what you want your reader to know from the moment they pick up your work (unlike a good novel, your dissertation doesn’t need a twist ending). So here are a few things to consider when picking a title for your dissertation.

1. What Is Your Research About?

The most vital thing that any dissertation title can do is communicate the topic and focus of your research. This includes the general area you’re researching and the specific aspect of this being investigated.

For instance, in a dissertation called “Barriers to Using Social Media in Marketing a Luxury Fashion Brand,” the topic is the marketing of luxury fashion brands and the focus is the factors preventing the use of social media.

2. Your Research Approach

Your research approach has a major impact on the results you achieve and it can help to include this in your title. For example, if you have conducted a large-scale survey of management strategy, you might pick a title such as “Management Strategy: A Quantitative Study of Current Practice.”

3. The Outcomes of Your Research

More specific is better when it comes to the results of your research.

Rather than calling your dissertation “Factors Influencing Recovery from Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries,” it makes sense to specify the kind of factors being investigated. Are they success factors? Factors which impede recovery? Stating this in the title means your reader will know immediately.

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Seeking a second opinion on your title can be helpful. Try asking a friend or professor to check it for clarity . If they can tell what your work is about from the title alone, you’re doing a good job. If not, think of how you can make it clearer. It is also advisable to avoid acronyms in titles for this reason.

Overly long titles can be confusing or off-putting. Regardless of how good the work is, for instance, only the most dedicated are going to want to read a paper called “In silico exploration of the fructose-6-phosphate phosphorylation step in glycolysis: genomic evidence of the coexistence of an atypical ATP-dependent along with a PPi-dependent phosphofructokinase in Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii.”

Check your college’s style guide for how to format your title. Different institutions have different requirements when it comes to factors like capitalization, so you’ll need to make sure you get your formatting right.

7. Uniqueness and Humor

Generally, it is good if your title makes your dissertation stand out. It is also tempting to use a humorous title, though this is best saved for when writing for a popular audience. Neither uniqueness nor humor, however, should come at the expense of communicating important details about your work.

Hopefully these tips will have helped you come to a decision over your dissertation title. But if not, then our expert proofreaders can let you know of any issues to do with the title and headings in your dissertation, as well as providing a variety of services to ensure the quality of your work. For more information about writing a dissertation or thesis, read our full dissertation writing guide.

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13 Tips to Prepare for Your PhD Dissertation Defense

How well do you know your project? Years of experiments, analysis of results, and tons of literature study, leads you to how well you know your research study. And, PhD dissertation defense is a finale to your PhD years. Often, researchers question how to excel at their thesis defense and spend countless hours on it. Days, weeks, months, and probably years of practice to complete your doctorate, needs to surpass the dissertation defense hurdle.

In this article, we will discuss details of how to excel at PhD dissertation defense and list down some interesting tips to prepare for your thesis defense.

Table of Contents

What Is Dissertation Defense?

Dissertation defense or Thesis defense is an opportunity to defend your research study amidst the academic professionals who will evaluate of your academic work. While a thesis defense can sometimes be like a cross-examination session, but in reality you need not fear the thesis defense process and be well prepared.

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What are the expectations of committee members.

Choosing the dissertation committee is one of the most important decision for a research student. However, putting your dissertation committee becomes easier once you understand the expectations of committee members.

The basic function of your dissertation committee is to guide you through the process of proposing, writing, and revising your dissertation. Moreover, the committee members serve as mentors, giving constructive feedback on your writing and research, also guiding your revision efforts.

The dissertation committee is usually formed once the academic coursework is completed. Furthermore, by the time you begin your dissertation research, you get acquainted to the faculty members who will serve on your dissertation committee. Ultimately, who serves on your dissertation committee depends upon you.

Some universities allow an outside expert (a former professor or academic mentor) to serve on your committee. It is advisable to choose a faculty member who knows you and your research work.

How to Choose a Dissertation Committee Member?

• Avoid popular and eminent faculty member
• Choose the one you know very well and can approach whenever you need them
• A faculty member whom you can learn from is apt.
• Members of the committee can be your future mentors, co-authors, and research collaborators. Choose them keeping your future in mind.

How to Prepare for Dissertation Defense?

1. Start Your Preparations Early

Thesis defense is not a 3 or 6 months’ exercise. Don’t wait until you have completed all your research objectives. Start your preparation well in advance, and make sure you know all the intricacies of your thesis and reasons to all the research experiments you conducted.

2. Attend Presentations by Other Candidates

Look out for open dissertation presentations at your university. In fact, you can attend open dissertation presentations at other universities too. Firstly, this will help you realize how thesis defense is not a scary process. Secondly, you will get the tricks and hacks on how other researchers are defending their thesis. Finally, you will understand why dissertation defense is necessary for the university, as well as the scientific community.

3. Take Enough Time to Prepare the Slides

Dissertation defense process harder than submitting your thesis well before the deadline. Ideally, you could start preparing the slides after finalizing your thesis. Spend more time in preparing the slides. Make sure you got the right data on the slides and rephrase your inferences, to create a logical flow to your presentation.

4. Structure the Presentation

Do not be haphazard in designing your presentation. Take time to create a good structured presentation. Furthermore, create high-quality slides which impresses the committee members. Make slides that hold your audience’s attention. Keep the presentation thorough and accurate, and use smart art to create better slides.

5. Practice Breathing Techniques

Watch a few TED talk videos and you will notice that speakers and orators are very fluent at their speech. In fact, you will not notice them taking a breath or falling short of breath. The only reason behind such effortless oratory skill is practice — practice in breathing technique.

Moreover, every speaker knows how to control their breath. Long and steady breaths are crucial. Pay attention to your breathing and slow it down. All you need I some practice prior to this moment.

6. Create an Impactful Introduction

The audience expects a lot from you. So your opening statement should enthrall the audience. Furthermore, your thesis should create an impact on the members; they should be thrilled by your thesis and the way you expose it.

The introduction answers most important questions, and most important of all “Is this presentation worth the time?” Therefore, it is important to make a good first impression , because the first few minutes sets the tone for your entire presentation.

7. Maintain Your Own List of Questions

While preparing for the presentation, make a note of all the questions that you ask yourself. Try to approach all the questions from a reader’s point of view. You could pretend like you do not know the topic and think of questions that could help you know the topic much better.

The list of questions will prepare you for the questions the members may pose while trying to understand your research. Attending other candidates’ open discussion will also help you assume the dissertation defense questions.

8. Practice Speech and Body Language

After successfully preparing your slides and practicing, you could start focusing on how you look while presenting your thesis. This exercise is not for your appearance but to know your body language and relax if need be.

Pay attention to your body language. Stand with your back straight, but relax your shoulders. The correct posture will give you the feel of self-confidence. So, observe yourself in the mirror and pay attention to movements you make.

9. Give Mock Presentation

Giving a trial defense in advance is a good practice. The most important factor for the mock defense is its similarity to your real defense, so that you get the experience that prepares for the actual defense.

10. Learn How to Handle Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes. However, it is important to carry on. Do not let the mistakes affect your thesis defense. Take a deep breath and move on to the next point.

11. Do Not Run Through the Presentation

If you are nervous, you would want to end the presentation as soon as possible. However, this situation will give rise to anxiety and you will speak too fast, skipping the essential details. Eventually, creating a fiasco of your dissertation defense .

12. Get Plenty of Rest

Out of the dissertation defense preparation points, this one is extremely important. Obviously, sleeping a day before your big event is hard, but you have to focus and go to bed early, with the clear intentions of getting the rest you deserve.

13. Visualize Yourself Defending Your Thesis

This simple exercise creates an immense impact on your self-confidence. All you have to do is visualize yourself giving a successful presentation each evening before going to sleep. Everyday till the day of your thesis defense, see yourself standing in front of the audience and going from one point to another.

This exercise takes a lot of commitment and persistence, but the results in the end are worth it. Visualization makes you see yourself doing the scary thing of defending your thesis.

If you have taken all these points into consideration, you are ready for your big day. You have worked relentlessly for your PhD degree , and you will definitely give your best in this final step.

Have you completed your thesis defense? How did you prepare for it and how was your experience throughout your dissertation defense ? Do write to us or comment below.

The tips are very useful.I will recomend it to our students.

Excellent. As a therapist trying to help a parent of a candidate, I am very impressed and thankful your concise, clear, action-oriented article. Thank you.

Thanks for your sharing. It is so good. I can learn a lot from your ideas. Hope that in my dissertation defense next time I can pass

The tips are effective. Will definitely apply them in my dissertation.

My dissertation defense is coming up in less than two weeks from now, I find this tips quite instructive, I’ll definitely apply them. Thank you so much.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for watching. Hello, my name is Dr Derek Watson from the University of Sunderland and I've come along here today to talk to you about dissertations or how to successfully complete a dissertation for your undergraduate or postgraduate degree. So what I'm going to be doing is, I'm going to be sharing with you some techniques on how to successfully complete your thesis. First of all, we'll start off with the title. The title of a thesis or your research area is instrumental in two ways. One, you've got to pass your degree, a postgraduate degree and secondly, you've got to create a gateway to employability. So what I'm about to say today is possibly going to shock you or surprise you. Most students will pick a topic of interest to themselves and they pass. But then when they start applying for a career, a credible career, they find that they struggle in the interview. So what I'm suggesting is, pick a topic that will appeal to organisations, almost any type of organisation. So a key area that you might want to think about is potentially quality. It affects all organisations. Or how do we motivate staff without paying them extra? How do you motivate staff through non-monetary mechanisms? But try to pick a topic whereby once you've completed your qualification, you can actually use it. And what I mean by using it is taking your thesis along to an interview and presenting that to the panel so they can see your theme, your topic, your contribution and also the professional structure of what you're capable of doing. So bear that in mind. So after the title, abstract. Abstracts, I would suggest that you leave it till the end. It's the last section that you feed in. Although it's at the beginning of the structure. And it's a bit like going to the movies. You will see clips of future movies to whet your appetite to come along to watch them at a later date. Your abstract has to be concise. It's got to summarise your research contribution. But it's got to be motivating. It's got to inspire the reader, particularly your first marker, your second marker and also your external examiner. And it should be a paragraph, approximately 150 words, rather like the abstracts for journal papers. Next section. Introduction. Introduction has to be very concise. Why are you writing the thesis? What is the purpose of your research? And more importantly, what is the aim and your objectives for researching that particular area? And bear in mind, a future employer may want to read your thesis. Hence the importance of your title. After your introduction, what you have is your literature. Your literature review. Now once again, from experience, and I've read many theses, many dissertations, students tend to, because they've got such easy access to the internet and electronic journals and also through university internal intranets, there's potentially too much information out there. So what I see in many submissions that I haven't supervised is whereby students simply shotgun the information into the literature review. And the literature review has to be concise. You have to justify what are the key things in the literature. So what I recommend students do is create diagrams throughout your thesis. And once again, this will help signpost your assessors and the external examiner on what your thought process is. So the literature review, you'll create a diagram. You will have your question in the middle. And this will be figure one. And what you will do is, from reading the journal papers, your first journal paper, what you'll do, you'll add key themes on that. Then when you come to read your second journal paper, use a different pen. And then, if you come across additional subject areas, you can add to them. However, hopefully, you will be duplicating current themes. And as you build up this diagram, make sure you put your reference, your reference source, so the reader, the examiners, can identify, this is your diagram, this is your question, these are the key themes relevant. And you've duplicated it because you've been reading various journals. And you've identified that these are the key themes. And they're referenced. So what you will then do in your literature review, you will talk about these themes and how they are connected. They're not in isolation. How they are connected in a logical structure within that. Next section is your methodology. Your methodology. And if you can imagine your methodology, which sometimes students struggle with, many students submit theses or dissertations with a weak methodology section and lose marks. So it's critical that your methodology justifies the tools in which you're using. So think about a plumber. A plumber receives a call to go around to a property to fix a leaky pipe or a leaky radiator. The plumber will attend with a box of tools. They are your research tools. The plumber then looks at the problem and decides which tools they are going to use. And it's very similar to your research methodology. You will have to justify your approach. You will have to justify why you are selecting specific tools to answer your research question. In addition to your methodology, you need to think about how we're going to test. This is what we've read about in the literature. This is what the literature says. But what does the commercial environment say? So what we need is gateways to try and collect data. So, for example, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups. And this is one technique that you need to adopt, which will enhance your overall grade. Having looked at your literature review, which have identified key themes, you will then develop a set of questions. And this is what students don't do. Most students don't do. And they're missing out on marks. What they need to do, they need to develop a table. And on the left-hand side, you will write your questions. Questions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, up to 15, 20 questions. Now, these can be open-ended or closed questions. However, these questions have to be linked to your literature review. And many students simply pluck questions out of the air, construct a questionnaire, ship it off to an organisation. But when they come to submit the paper, the thesis, comments come back. Lack of linkage to the literature review. How have you justified these questions? So what I'm proposing is, you list the questions on the left-hand column. On the right-hand column, you justify why you've selected that question. But you also reference it to a reference source which is identifiable in your literature review. There you have the linkage. That's what many students don't do. So let me just repeat that. You justify the tools that you're going to use. You then, having reflected on your literature review, you extract questions. Those questions go into a table. On the right-hand side, you justify a sentence or two sentences. Why have you selected those questions? And you make a reference that you've specifically referenced from your literature review. You have the linkage. Next section. Findings. Or data analysis. Or discussion. Or a combination of all three. But your title is relevant to employability. You've got your introduction, concise, which has identified your introduction, your aims, your objectives. Your literature review has been justified as in figure one. You've got the structure. And you know you're talking about the key areas because you've superimposed different journal papers. And you've identified the relevant areas. From that, you develop questions, which has been identified in your methodology, via the table. Now your findings section. Your findings section is very important. Because it will identify themes. And what many students do is they distribute a questionnaire. They get the responses back from the organisation. And then their findings section is nothing better than a regurgitation of that data. For example, question one responses were, and students do a nice pie chart. 70% of the responses said this. 30% of the responses said X, or the opposite. And they systematically go through each question. A cure for insomnia. And also a mechanism not to demonstrate your analysis. So this is what I suggest. You look at the feedback from the question. And what you've got is you've got various responses. What I suggest that you do. You identify themes. So, for example, theme one could consist of answers one, three, five and six. Theme two, you've clustered the responses into two, four, eleven and fifteen and so on. And what this shows the assessors is that you have the ability to look at raw data and cluster it into key themes. So what you'll do is you'll create a diagram. Or better still, you'll have a diagram where you've got your table. You've got the raw responses. And then you have clustered them into key themes. And when you come to write it up, you've got specific sections or specific paragraphs. Addressing each of these themes going through your finding section. However, what students also fail to do. They will talk about the findings, but they will not link it to the literature review. So what you've got to do as you're working through each of these sections systematically through your finding section. You need to make reference to your literature review. You're not repeating your literature review. But what you're doing is, for example, theme one. The data supports the commentary of. And you link it back to a researcher which you've referenced in your literature review. Theme two, maybe. The data is very interesting. This further supports or casts doubt or raises a question mark about what's being said in the literature. You are demonstrating that you have the ability of analysis and application within that. The next section. Your conclusion section. A bit like a court case where the judge summarises. What are the general findings of the research? What did you find? And what are those implications for an organisation or particular market or service sector? A key area which is also neglected is the recommendation section. Quite often, I will look at theses as an external and I will say, at best, a paragraph. Now, really, to a certain extent, as academics, we know the literature. We know the different types of methodology. We don't know how you can structure the theming. So if you can do that, you're going to get extra marks. Yes, you can demonstrate your ability to summarise in a conclusion, which should be approximately half a page. But then comes the recommendations. And this is the key part of your contribution. It's your thumbprint. It's what you can contribute to the bedrock of knowledge or your community of practice within that. So, recommendations. Recommendations. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to show you a technique to make sure you can't just submit a paragraph. So going back to the diagram of themes. So this could be, if we've got figure one there, this would be figure two. What you would create in here, in your recommendations, is a diagram. And what you would do, you would have theme one, two, three, theme four. They're your issues that you've identified in your findings that are linked to your recommendations. Your recommendations are, well, so what? You've identified the problems. What are you going to recommend? What are your commercial, viable recommendations that you can present to the organisation or to the market sector? So this is what I suggest students do. You create another diagram. You've got your themes there. You create an organisational structure. With STO. S stands for Strategic. T stands for Tactical. O stands for Operational. So what I'm doing is I'm creating a diagram where you've identified the themes. We've got the organisational structure. Strategic, Senior Management. Tactical, Middle Management. Operational, Frontline Staff. On the front line of the organisation. So what we have to do. Theme one. What are our recommendations? What are we going to recommend at a strategic level to resolve this problem? What are we going to resolve or recommend at a tactical and at an operational? Now the reason I'm structuring it like that is any recommendation has to be brought in by the organisation. You've got to get the support from senior management, strategic. You've got to get support from middle management, the tactical. And you've got to get support from the frontline troops interacting on the frontline. What are you going to recommend there? Theme two. What are you going to recommend at a strategic, tactical, operational? Theme three. What are you going to recommend at a strategic, tactical, operational? And last theme. Strategic, tactical, operational. Now your recommendations need to start off by stating. You will be structuring your recommendations under three distinct headings. Strategic, tactical, operational. And justify why you're doing that. You need to do that to get the full commitment of the organisation to buy into your solutions. If you just go for senior management. What about middle management? And the operatives, frontline staff. Everyone needs to be on the same page with the solutions. So what you'll then do is, systematically, you'll have a paragraph or two paragraphs on strategic challenges. Recommendations. Tactical recommendations. And operational recommendations within that. Now, what I do recommend that you do is, in addition, which isn't always asked for, is what we call an action sheet. Meaning, you've done your literature review. You've justified your methodology with your questions linked to your literature review. You've gone through your findings section. You've clustered the key themes together. You've summarised it. You've come up with commercially viable, saleable recommendations. And this is what a future employee will look at. This is what they'll home in on. Has this student or potential candidates got the ability, not just to identify problems, but to structure solutions? But you're going to go the extra nine yards. What you're going to do is, you're going to produce an action sheet. One page, electronic. And what it has is, it's got the issue. And these are the issues that need to be addressed. You've also got person responsible. You've got to give someone the responsibility. You've got the resources required. You've got the cost. And you've also got the time frame. So many theses, dissertations, include recommendations. Although I've said very short recommendations. This avoids it. You've got three distinct sections within your recommendations. So your recommendations should be running approximately two, possibly three pages in length. And then, what you will do, you will have your themes. One, two, three, four. There might be more than four themes. There might be five, six. I wouldn't go above more than six because it would be too bulky. Person responsible. So who do we choose? You're not going to lose marks by identifying somebody in the organisation. Whereby, the ultimate organisation might say, well, that's not specifically for that person. What the examiners and the assessors want to know is, have you identified, say, someone in the, for example, the HR manager? And with regards to, if we run and keep the theme on the HR manager, the resource might be training. One of your recommendations must probably be training or repeat training. It will be, well, if everyone needs to be trained, what, how much is that going to cost? Once again, you're not going to lose marks if you don't get the exact cost right. What the examiners want to see is, have you thought about the cost? So, for example, a member of staff might work out £100 to be trained if you've got a cohort of 15. So what you would do is, you would guesstimate the likely cost. This section here, timeframe, would be short-term, medium-term, long-term. And what I mean by long-term, 12 months. This action sheet involves a 12-month scenario. So short-term could be 1 to 3 months. Medium-term could be 3 to 6 months. Long-term could be 6 months to 12 months. But make sure that you include that. And when that's completed, you can go back and say, right, that's my action sheet, that's the sheet of paper, I could go in on Monday morning and give the organisation. Those themes are linked to these recommendations, which are linked to these themes, which were extracted or clustered in your filing section from your methodology, which you have justified in the table. Your literature review is being justified because it's systematic and you've duplicated, you know these are the common themes from the journal papers which you've read and you've documented. There you can put in your abstract now. You can summarise what was your area of research, what was important about it, what did you contribute within that, in your abstract. So don't forget, your literature review links to your methodology. Your findings section links back to your literature review. Because when you're talking about the themes, you're making reference, you're not rewriting your literature review, you're making reference to your literature review there, just in reference only. Your conclusion links to your findings. Your recommendations link to your findings. And your recommendations are developed into an action sheet within that. And there you have a structured dissertation that links, that demonstrates your analysis, your synthesis, your application of viable commercial recommendations, and the extra bit is your action sheet. One page, 12 months advice, what you would recommend to the organisation to help eradicate these problems. And if you do that, you should pass your dissertation and it should give you a good crack at getting your first job interview. Thank you very much.

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In higher education, few milestones hold as much significance as the completion of a dissertation. Embarking on a dissertation journey can be both exciting and challenging. To assist students from various academic streams, we have compiled an extensive list of 350 dissertation topic ideas.

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Without further ado, let’s explore the best ideas and examples for dissertation topics for the stream of your choice!

Business management dissertation topics

1. Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Customer Relationship Management: Opportunities and Challenges.

2. Investigating the Role of Emotional Intelligence in Entrepreneurial Success.

3. Analyzing the Influence of Corporate Culture on Innovation and Creativity.

4. Examining the Effectiveness of Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices in Enhancing Organizational Performance.

5. The Rise of Remote Work: Managing Virtual Teams in the Digital Age.

6. Investigating the Role of Corporate Governance in Ensuring Ethical Business Practices.

7. The Impact of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives on Organizational Performance and Employee Engagement.

8. Exploring the Role of Social Media Marketing in Building Brand Loyalty.

9. Assessing the Effectiveness of Change Management Strategies in Successfully Implementing Organizational Change.

10. Investigating the Relationship between Leadership Styles and Employee Motivation in Times of Crisis.

Education dissertation topics

1. The Impact of Gamification on Student Engagement and Learning Outcomes.

2. Exploring the Role of Student Voice in School Decision-Making Processes.

3. Analyzing the Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning in Developing Critical Thinking Skills.

4. Investigating the Benefits and Challenges of Online Learning in K-12 Education.

5. The Influence of Teacher-Student Relationships on Academic Achievement and Well-being.

6. Examining the Role of Emotional Intelligence in Teacher Effectiveness and Classroom Management.

7. The Impact of Inclusive Education on the Social Integration and Academic Performance of Students with Disabilities.

8. Analyzing the Effectiveness of Multicultural Education in Promoting Cultural Awareness and Acceptance.

9. Investigating the Factors Influencing Parental Involvement in Early Childhood Education.

10. Exploring the Role of Technology in Enhancing STEM Education and Career Readiness.

Psychology dissertation topics

1. The Impact of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Stress Reduction and Well-being.

2. Investigating the Relationship between Social Media Use and Body Image Disturbance in Adolescents.

3. Exploring the Role of Resilience in Coping with Trauma and Adversity.

4. The Influence of Parenting Styles on Emotional Regulation and Social Skills in Children.

5. Examining the Effects of Video Games on Cognitive Abilities and Aggression.

6. Investigating the Relationship between Personality Traits and Job Satisfaction across Different Professions.

7. The Role of Attachment Styles in Romantic Relationships: Predictors of Relationship Satisfaction and Stability.

8. Exploring the Impact of Early Life Experiences on Adult Attachment Patterns.

9. The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Treating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

10. Investigating the Relationship between Sleep Quality and Mental Health in College Students.

Leadership dissertation topics

1. The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Effective Leadership Practices.

2. Exploring the Relationship between Authentic Leadership and Employee Engagement.

3. Analyzing the Impact of Transformational Leadership on Organizational Innovation and Change.

4. Investigating the Influence of Cross-Cultural Leadership in Global Organizations.

5. The Role of Ethical Leadership in Fostering Corporate Social Responsibility.

6. Exploring the Effects of Leadership Styles on Team Performance and Productivity.

7. Analyzing the Leadership Challenges and Strategies in Nonprofit Organizations.

8. Investigating the Role of Servant Leadership in Enhancing Employee Well-being and Job Satisfaction.

9. The Impact of Gender and Leadership: Breaking the Glass Ceiling.

10. Exploring the Role of Leadership Development Programs in Nurturing Future Leaders.

Finance dissertation topics

1. The Impact of Financial Technology (Fintech) on Traditional Banking Systems.

2. Analyzing the Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance.

3. Exploring the Determinants of Capital Structure in Small and Medium Enterprises.

4. Investigating the Role of Behavioral Finance in Investment Decision Making.

5. Analyzing the Effectiveness of Risk Management Strategies in Financial Institutions.

6. The Impact of Financial Literacy Education on Personal Financial Management.

7. Exploring the Relationship between Corporate Governance and Firm Value.

8. Investigating the Effectiveness of Financial Regulations in Ensuring Market Stability.

9. The Role of Blockchain Technology in Revolutionizing Financial Transactions.

10. Analyzing the Impact of Macroeconomic Factors on Stock Market Volatility.

Social work dissertation topics

1. The Role of Social Work in Addressing Mental Health Challenges among Underserved Populations.

2. Exploring the Influence of Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice.

3. Investigating the Effectiveness of Trauma-Informed Interventions in Supporting Survivors of Abuse.

4. Analyzing the Role of Social Workers in Promoting Social Justice and Advocacy.

5. Exploring the Impact of Family-Based Interventions in Preventing Juvenile Delinquency.

6. Investigating the Effectiveness of Substance Abuse Treatment Programs in Rehabilitation and Recovery.

7. The Role of Social Work in Addressing Homelessness and Housing Insecurity.

8. Exploring the Relationship between Social Work and Community Development.

9. Investigating the Influence of Social Media on Youth Mental Health and Well-being.

10. The Impact of School Social Work Services on Academic Achievement and Student Success.

History dissertation topics

1. The Role of Women in the Civil Rights Movement: Forgotten Voices and Contributions.

2. Exploring the Impact of Colonialism on Indigenous Cultures: A Comparative Study.

3. Analyzing the Role of Propaganda in Shaping Public Opinion during World War II.

4. Investigating the Influence of Ancient Civilizations on Modern Political Systems.

5. The Evolution of Human Rights: A Historical Analysis from Ancient Times to the Present.

6. Exploring the Cultural Exchange between East and West along the Silk Road.

7. Analyzing the Causes and Consequences of the Industrial Revolution.

8. Investigating the Role of Religion in Shaping Historical Events and Societies.

9. The Impact of Globalization on Historical Preservation and Cultural Identity.

10. Exploring the History and Significance of LGBTQ+ Movements and Activism.

Nursing dissertation topics

1. Exploring the Role of Nurse Practitioners in Primary Care Settings: Challenges and Opportunities.

2. Analyzing the Impact of Technology on Nursing Practice and Patient Outcomes.

3. Investigating the Role of Cultural Competence in Delivering Culturally Sensitive Care.

4. The Influence of Nurse Leadership on Patient Safety and Quality of Care.

5. Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Interprofessional Collaboration in Healthcare.

6. Analyzing the Effectiveness of Evidence-Based Practice in Improving Nursing Care.

7. Investigating the Role of Nurses in Promoting Health Equity and Reducing Health Disparities.

8. Exploring the Impact of Nursing Education on the Readiness for Clinical Practice.

9. The Role of Nurses in Addressing Mental Health in Primary Care Settings.

10. Investigating the Effectiveness of Nurse-led Interventions in Chronic Disease Management.

Fashion dissertation topics

1. The Evolution of Sustainable Fashion: Trends, Challenges, and Future Prospects.

2. Exploring the Influence of Social Media on Fashion Consumption and Trends.

3. Analyzing the Role of Fashion in Shaping Cultural Identity and Expression.

4. Investigating the Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment and Labor Practices.

5. The Relationship between Fashion and Body Image: Exploring the Effects on Self-esteem and Well-being.

6. Exploring the Role of Fashion in Empowering Marginalized Communities.

7. Analyzing the Intersection of Fashion, Technology, and Wearable Devices.

8. Investigating the Influence of Celebrity Endorsements on Consumer Behavior in the Fashion Industry.

9. The Role of Fashion Education in Nurturing Future Designers and Industry Professionals.

10. Exploring the Representation of Diversity and Inclusion in Fashion Advertising and Media.

Law dissertation topics

1. Analyzing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Legal Practice and Ethics.

2. Investigating the Role of International Law in Addressing Global Security Challenges.

3. Exploring the Relationship between Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation.

4. Analyzing the Role of Restorative Justice in Criminal Justice Systems.

5. Investigating the Effectiveness of Cybersecurity Laws in Protecting Digital Privacy.

6. The Influence of Human Rights Law on Refugee and Asylum Policies.

7. Exploring the Intersection of Law and Technology: Legal Implications of Emerging Technologies.

8. Analyzing the Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Business Law and Ethics.

9. Investigating the Effectiveness of Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods in Resolving Legal Disputes.

10. Exploring the Legal and Ethical Implications of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.

English literature dissertation topics

1. The Evolution of Dystopian Themes in Post-Millennial Young Adult Fiction.

2. The Representation of Artificial Intelligence in Science Fiction from the 1950s to the Present.

3. Eco-Criticism and Nature in Contemporary Poetry.

4. The Role of the Byronic Hero in Modern Literature: A Comparative Analysis.

5. The Influence of Folklore on National Identity in 19th Century Literature.

6. Gender and Power Dynamics in the Works of Virginia Woolf.

7. The Literary Significance of Lesser-Known Works of the Harlem Renaissance.

8. Magic Realism and Post-Colonial Narrative: A Study of Salman Rushdie and Gabriel García Márquez.

9. The Intertextuality of Biblical Mythos in 20th-Century American Novels.

10. The Impact of Digital Media on Narrative Structures in 21st Century Fiction.

Public health dissertation topics

1. The Effects of Urbanization on Mental Health Disorders in Developing Countries.

2. The Impact of Climate Change on Vector-Borne Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa.

3. Assessing the Efficacy of Telemedicine in Rural Healthcare Delivery.

4. The Role of Public Health Policies in Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in the United States.

5. Vaccine Hesitancy and Social Media: Analyzing the Spread of Misinformation.

6. The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Obesity Rates in Children.

7. Evaluating Community-Based Interventions to Reduce Health Disparities in Indigenous Populations.

8. The Long-Term Public Health Consequences of Natural Disasters.

9. The Effectiveness of Workplace Wellness Programs on Employee Health and Productivity.

10. Ethical Considerations in the Allocation of Limited Healthcare Resources During Pandemics.

Special education dissertation topics

1. The Impact of Inclusive Education on Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

2. The Efficacy of Assistive Technologies in Supporting Students with Dyslexia.

3. The Influence of Parental Involvement on Educational Outcomes for Children with Down Syndrome.

4. Transition Strategies for Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities Entering the Workforce.

5. The Challenges of Implementing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) in Public Schools.

6. Analyzing Behavioral Intervention Techniques for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.

7. The Role of Art Therapy in Enhancing Communication Skills in Non-Verbal Children with Special Needs.

8. The Effects of Early Intervention on Long-Term Academic Writing for Children with Learning Disabilities.

9. Teacher Training and Preparedness for Handling Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Classrooms.

10. The Social Integration of Children with Special Needs in Multicultural Classrooms.

Social media marketing dissertation topics

1. Analyzing the ROI of Influencer Marketing on Consumer Purchase Decisions.

2. The Impact of Social Media Algorithms on Content Visibility and Brand Engagement.

3. The Role of User-Generated Content in Building Brand Loyalty for an Author Brand .

4. Ethical Considerations in Social Media Marketing: Transparency and Consumer Privacy.

5. The Effectiveness of Real-Time Social Media Analytics for Agile Marketing Strategies.

6. The Influence of Social Media on the Rapid Spread of Fashion Trends.

7. Cross-Cultural Social Media Marketing Strategies for Global Brands.

8. Measuring the Impact of Hashtag Campaigns on Brand Awareness.

9. The Use of AI and Machine Learning in Personalizing Social Media Advertising.

10. The Transition from Social Media Marketing to Social Commerce: Opportunities and Challenges.

Accounting dissertation topics

1. The Role of Forensic Accounting in Combatting White-Collar Crime.

2. The Impact of Automation and Artificial Intelligence on the Accounting Profession.

3. The Influence of Tax Policies on Small Business Growth and Sustainability.

4. Accounting Ethics: A Study of Corporate Scandals and Their Impact on Regulations.

5. The Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Emerging Economies.

6. The Effectiveness of Risk Management Strategies in the Banking Sector.

7. Comparative Analysis of Traditional vs. Activity-Based Costing in Manufacturing.

8. Blockchain Technology and Its Implications for Accounting Transparency and Efficiency.

9. The Future of Audit: The Use of Big Data and Analytics.

10. Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities.

Marketing dissertation topics

1. The Impact of Augmented Reality Advertising on Consumer Purchase Intentions.

2. Sustainability in Marketing: Consumer Perceptions and Brand Performance.

3. The Effectiveness of Nostalgia Marketing in the Digital Age.

4. Consumer Privacy Concerns and Trust in Digital Marketing Campaigns.

5. The Role of Sensory Branding in Creating Customer Experience and Loyalty.

6. Mobile Marketing and Location-Based Services: The New Frontier for Customer Engagement.

7. The Influence of Social Responsibility on Brand Equity in the Fast Fashion Industry.

8. Analyzing the Shift from Omnichannel to Unified Commerce Marketing Strategies .

9. The Use of Neuromarketing to Enhance Customer Engagement and Retention.

10. The Dynamics of Consumer Behavior in Subscription-Based Business Models.

Human resources dissertation topics

1. The Impact of Remote Work on Employee Engagement and Organizational Culture.

2. The Role of HR Analytics in Talent Acquisition and Retention Strategies.

3. Diversity and Inclusion: Assessing the Effectiveness of Current Corporate Policies.

4. The Influence of Employee Well-being Programs on Organizational Performance.

5. The Future of Work: Preparing for the Integration of AI and Human Talent.

6. The Effect of Leadership Development Programs on Succession Planning.

7. Gig Economy and HRM: Adapting Human Resource Practices for a Flexible Workforce.

8. The Relationship Between Employer Branding and Employee Satisfaction.

9. The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives on Employee Motivation.

10. The Role of Psychological Safety in Team Performance and Employee Retention.

Economics dissertation topics

1. The Economic Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture in Developing Countries.

2. Cryptocurrencies and Their Influence on Traditional Financial Markets.

3. The Effects of Universal Basic Income Experiments on Local Economies.

4. The Economics of Pandemics: Lessons Learned from COVID-19.

5. The Role of Innovation and Technology in Economic Growth.

6. Behavioral Economics and Consumer Decision-Making during Economic Recessions.

7. The Impact of Trade Wars on Global Economic Stability.

8. The Effectiveness of Microfinance Institutions in Alleviating Poverty.

9. The Relationship Between Political Instability and Foreign Direct Investment.

10. The Economic Consequences of Aging Populations for Developed Economies.

Statistics dissertation topics

1. The Use of Bayesian Methods in Developing Enhanced Predictive Models.

2. The Application of Statistical Analysis in Genomics and Personalized Medicine.

3. The Role of Statistics in Quality Control and Improvement in the Manufacturing Sector.

4. Advanced Time Series Analysis for Economic and Financial Forecasting.

5. The Impact of Big Data on Statistical Models and Outcomes.

6. The Use of Machine Learning Algorithms in High-Dimensional Data Analysis.

7. Statistical Methods for Analyzing the Impacts of Environmental Policies.

8. The Evaluation of Statistical Literacy Among Non-Statisticians in Research-Intensive Fields.

9. Spatial Statistics: Modeling and Analysis of Geospatial Data.

10. The Challenges of Missing Data in Longitudinal Studies and Approaches for Handling Dropout.

Operations management dissertation topics

1. The Role of Circular Economy in Operations and Supply Chain Management.

2. The Impact of IoT on Inventory Management and Optimization.

3. The Effect of Lean Management on Operations Efficiency in the Service Industry.

4. The Use of Predictive Analytics for Capacity Planning in Manufacturing.

5. The Relationship Between Quality Management Practices and Operational Performance.

6. Supply Chain Resilience: Risk Management Strategies in the Face of Global Disruptions.

7. Operational Challenges and Solutions in the Transition to Sustainable Energy Sources.

8. The Impact of 3D Printing Technology on Production Processes and Supply Chains.

9. The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Enhancing Decision-Making in Operations Management.

10. The Influence of E-commerce on Logistics and Distribution Strategies.

Humanities dissertation topics

1. Digital Humanities and the Transformation of Scholarly Research in the 21st Century.

2. The Intersection of Art and Politics in Street Art Movements Across the Globe.

3. The Influence of Indigenous Storytelling on Contemporary Narrative Structures.

4. The Role of Cultural Heritage in Shaping National Identity in Post-Colonial Societies.

5. The Impact of Language Revitalization Efforts on Community Cohesion.

6. Ethical Implications of AI in the Preservation and Interpretation of Historical Texts.

7. The Evolution of Feminist Thought in Middle Eastern Literature.

8. Interrogating the Concept of the Anthropocene in Environmental Philosophy.

9. The Representation of Disability in Modern Theatre.

10. The Legacy of Colonialism in Contemporary Museum Curation and Artifact Repatriation.

Medical sciences dissertation topics

1. The Role of the Microbiome in the Development of Autoimmune Diseases.

2. Personalized Medicine: Genetic Tailoring of Cancer Therapies.

3. The Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on the Epidemiology of Mental Health Disorders.

4. The Efficacy of Virtual Reality as a Treatment for Chronic Pain.

5. Ethical Considerations in Gene Editing Techniques, such as CRISPR-Cas9.

6. The Relationship Between Sleep Patterns and Cognitive Decline in Aging Populations.

7. The Effects of Health Information Technology on Patient Care and Outcomes.

8. Investigating New Strategies for Antibiotic Stewardship to Combat Resistance.

9. The Role of Stem Cell Therapy in Regenerative Medicine.

10. The Impact of Nutrition on Epigenetic Changes and Human Health.

Engineering dissertation topics

1. The Development of Sustainable Construction Materials with Enhanced Performance.

2. The Use of Nanotechnology for Water Purification in Developing Regions.

3. The Impact of Autonomous Vehicles on Urban Traffic Management.

4. The Role of Advanced Composites in Aerospace Engineering.

5. The Potential of Smart Grid Technologies for Renewable Energy Integration.

6. Bioengineering Approaches to Plastic Waste Degradation.

7. The Application of Robotics in Disaster Response and Recovery Operations.

8. The Design of Resilient Infrastructure to Withstand Climate-Related Disasters.

9. The Advancement of Quantum Computing and its Engineering Challenges.

10. The Integration of 5G Technology in Smart City Solutions.

Computer science dissertation topics

1. The Role of Quantum Algorithms in Advancing Cryptography.

2. Developing Ethical Guidelines for AI in Autonomous Decision-Making Systems.

3. The Impact of Edge Computing on IoT Efficiency and Security.

4. The Use of Machine Learning in Predicting Cybersecurity Threats.

5. The Challenges of Implementing Scalable Blockchain Technologies.

6. The Application of Computer Vision Techniques in Medical Diagnosis.

7. The Evolution of Natural Language Processing and its Human-Computer Interaction Implications.

8. The Effectiveness of Deep Learning in Real-Time Language Translation Devices.

9. The Role of AI in Enhancing the Accessibility of Digital Content for People with Disabilities.

10. The Security Implications of Biometric Authentication Systems.

Mathematics dissertation topics

1. The Applications of Topological Data Analysis in High-Dimensional Data Sets.

2. The Role of Graph Theory in Understanding Social Network Dynamics.

3. The Impact of Fractal Geometry on Modeling Natural Phenomena.

4. Advanced Mathematical Models for Climate Change Prediction and Simulation.

5. The Use of Numerical Methods in Solving Non-linear Differential Equations.

6. Theoretical Approaches to Addressing the P vs NP Problem.

7. The Dynamics of Financial Markets Analyzed Through Stochastic Processes.

8. The Application of Game Theory in Behavioral Economics.

9. The Contributions of Algebraic Geometry to Cryptography and Coding Theory.

10. The Mathematical Understanding of Symmetry and its Role in Physics.

Biology dissertation topics

1. Investigating the Mechanisms of Aging through Telomere Dynamics.

2. The Role of Gut Microbiota in the Development of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders.

3. CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing and its Ethical Implications in Human Embryo Research.

4. The Impact of Climate Change on Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

5. The Evolutionary Biology of Viral Emergence and Host Adaptation.

6. The Molecular Basis of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Potential Therapeutic Targets.

7. Epigenetic Modifications in Response to Environmental Stressors in Plants.

8. The Biogeography and Conservation Genetics of Endangered Species.

9. Investigating the Cellular Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria.

10. The Application of Synthetic Biology in Sustainable Biofuel Production.

Physics dissertation topics

1. The Search for Dark Matter: Theoretical Predictions and Experimental Detection.

2. Quantum Entanglement and its Implications for Information Theory and Cryptography.

3. The Physics of Soft Condensed Matter in Biologically Relevant Systems.

4. Novel Materials for High-Efficiency Photovoltaic Cells.

5. The Role of Neutrinos in the Standard Model of Particle Physics.

6. Investigating the Anomalies of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.

7. The Dynamics of Fluid Turbulence at Different Scales.

8. The Feasibility of Nuclear Fusion as a Sustainable Energy Source.

9. Studying Gravitational Waves as a New Window into the Cosmos.

10. The Impact of Nanotechnology on the Development of Quantum Computing.

Chemistry dissertation topics

1. The Development of Bio-inspired Catalysts for Sustainable Chemical Synthesis.

2. The Role of Molecular Simulations in Understanding Enzyme Mechanisms.

3. Designing Smart Polymers for Targeted Drug Delivery Systems.

4. The Study of Organic Photovoltaics for Improved Solar Energy Conversion.

5. Investigating the Mechanisms of Heavy Metal Toxicity and Chelation Therapy.

6. The Chemistry of Atmospheric Aerosols and their Impact on Climate Change.

7. The Application of Green Chemistry Principles in Industrial Process Design.

8. The Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Inorganic Nanomaterials for Electronics.

9. The Role of Crystal Engineering in the Development of Pharmaceutical Cocrystals.

10. Advanced Spectroscopic Techniques for Probing the Structure of Biomolecules.

Pharmacology dissertation topics

1. The Pharmacogenomics of Chemotherapy Resistance in Cancer Treatment.

2. The Role of Natural Products in the Discovery of New Antimicrobial Agents.

3. The Impact of Opioid Receptor Modulation on Pain Management Strategies.

4. Investigating the Neuropharmacology of Psychedelic Compounds for Psychiatric Disorders.

5. The Cardiovascular Effects of E-cigarettes and Vaping Products.

6. The Mechanisms of Drug-Induced Liver Injury and Potential Protective Strategies.

7. The Development of Targeted Therapies in Personalized Medicine.

8. The Effects of Endocrine Disruptors on Human Health and Reproduction.

9. The Role of Cannabinoids in the Treatment of Neurological Disorders.

10. Addressing the Challenges of Antibiotic Resistance through Novel Drug Development.

Political science dissertation topics

1. The Impact of Social Media on Political Mobilization and Public Opinion.

2. The Effectiveness of International Sanctions on Influencing Domestic Policy Changes.

3. The Role of Identity Politics in Shaping Electoral Outcomes in Multicultural Societies.

4. The Influence of Non-State Actors on Global Environmental Governance.

5. The Politics of Memory: How Historical Narratives Shape National Policy.

6. The Impact of Populism on Traditional Party Systems in Europe.

7. The Role of Technology in State Surveillance and Privacy Rights.

8. The Effect of Political Decentralization on Corruption and Governance.

9. The Relationship Between Economic Inequality and Democratic Stability.

10. Analyzing the Success and Failure of Peacekeeping Missions in Post-Conflict Zones.

Arts dissertation topics

1. The Evolution of Performance Art and its Role in Contemporary Political Discourse.

2. The Influence of Digital Media on Traditional Art Techniques and Aesthetics.

3.  The Intersection of Art and Technology: A Study of Virtual Reality in Installation Art.

4. The Representation of Gender and Sexuality in Modern Sculpture.

5. The Impact of Art Therapy on Mental Health Recovery in Diverse Populations.

6. Postcolonial Perspectives in Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora.

7. The Role of Street Art in Urban Regeneration and Community Identity.

8. The Revival of Analog Photography in the Digital Age: Aesthetic and Cultural Implications.

9. Exploring the Relationship Between Sound Art and Acoustic Ecology.

10. The Use of Sustainable Materials in Fashion Design and its Influence on Consumer Behavior.

Geography dissertation topics

1. The Geopolitical Implications of Melting Ice Caps in the Arctic Region.

2. Analyzing Urban Heat Islands and Mitigation Strategies in Major Global Cities.

3. The Impact of Land Use Change on Flood Risk and Water Management.

4. Cultural Geography: The Role of Festivals in Shaping Urban Identity.

5. Geospatial Analysis of Renewable Energy Potential in Developing Countries.

6. The Influence of Border Landscapes on Migration Patterns and Policies.

7. Mapping the Digital Divide: Geographic Disparities in Internet Access and Usage.

8. The Effects of Tourism on Cultural Landscape Conservation in Heritage Sites.

9. The Role of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Disaster Risk Reduction.

10. Urban Agriculture: Spatial Analysis of Community Gardens and Food Security.

Environmental science dissertation topics

1. The Efficacy of Marine Protected Areas in Biodiversity Conservation and Fisheries Management.

2. The Role of Citizen Science in Monitoring Climate Change Impacts on Local Ecosystems.

3. Evaluating the Ecological Footprint of Fast Fashion on Water Resources.

4. The Impact of Microplastics on Aquatic Food Webs and Human Health.

5. Investigating the Carbon Sequestration Potential of Urban Green Spaces.

6. The Use of Remote Sensing to Assess Deforestation Rates in the Amazon Rainforest.

7. Analyzing the Effectiveness of Policy Interventions in Reducing Air Pollution in Megacities.

8. The Contribution of Indigenous Knowledge to Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategies.

9. The Relationship Between Soil Health and Agricultural Productivity in Organic Farming.

10. Assessing the Environmental and Social Impacts of Hydroelectric Dams in Developing Countries.

Designing dissertation topics

1. The Impact of User Experience (UX) Design on Mobile Application Success.

2. Sustainable Interior Design: Strategies for Reducing Environmental Impact in Commercial Spaces.

3. The Influence of Biophilic Design on Well-being and Productivity in Work Environments.

4. The Role of Graphic Design in Shaping Public Health Campaigns.

5. The Integration of 3D Printing in Product Design and Customization.

6. The Evolution of Typographic Design with the Advent of Digital Media.

7. The Use of Augmented Reality in Enhancing the Retail Shopping Experience.

8. The Principles of Universal Design in Creating Inclusive Public Spaces.

9. The Impact of Color Theory on Brand Identity and Consumer Behavior.

10. The Future of Wearable Technology: Combining Fashion and Functionality.

Artificial intelligence dissertation topics

1. Ethical Considerations in the Deployment of AI for Surveillance and Data Privacy.

2. The Role of AI in Personalizing Education: Adaptive Learning Systems.

3. The Impact of Large Language Models on Predictive Maintenance in Manufacturing.

4. Natural Language Processing and its Application in Sentiment Analysis.

5. The Use of AI in Enhancing Precision Agriculture Techniques.

6. The Development of AI-Driven Assistive Technologies for the Visually Impaired.

7. AI in Space Exploration: Autonomous Rovers and Spacecraft Navigation Systems.

8. The Integration of AI in Creative Industries: Music, Art, and Literature and Story Generation .

9. The Role of Artificial Neural Networks in Financial Market Prediction.

10. The Challenges of Implementing AI in Healthcare: Diagnostics, Treatment, and Patient Privacy.

The 350 dissertation topics presented in this blog are composed to resonate with the diverse interests and scholarly pursuits of graduate students across all streams. In the end, the journey of crafting your dissertation is a unique narrative of personal and academic growth.

To ensure that your work reaches its fullest potential and makes the impact it deserves, consider partnering with professional editing and proofreading services . PaperTrue stands ready to elevate your dissertation to the pinnacle of academic excellence!

Here are some more resources for you:

• Top 10 Dissertation Editing & Proofreading Services
• The Title Page of a Dissertation
• How to Write a Thesis Statement: Examples & Tips
• Top 10 Online Thesis Editing and Proofreading Services

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i choose the best dissertation topic from the list provided, can i combine elements from different topics to create a unique dissertation idea, what should i do if i'm interested in a topic but concerned about the scope of the research.

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Dissertation tips

Hello everyone, I am an upcoming third-year uni student in September. I’ll be starting my dissertation around that time, due to be completed next May. Does anyone have any tips regarding the structure/time-management/research on writing a dissertation please?

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• Knowledge Base

Dissertation layout and formatting

Published on October 21, 2015 by Koen Driessen . Revised on February 20, 2019.

The layout requirements for a dissertation are often determined by your supervisor or department. However, there are certain guidelines that are common to almost every program, such as including page numbers and a table of contents.

If you are writing a paper in the MLA citation style , you can use our  MLA format guide .

Table of contents

Font, font size, and line spacing, tables and figures, referencing, paragraph marks, headers and footers, page numbering, dissertation printing.

Use a clear and professional font. Some examples include Verdana, Times New Roman, and Calibri (which is the default font in Microsoft Word). Font size is best set to 10 or 11.

In scientific articles and theses, a line spacing of 1.15 or 1.5 is generally preferred, as it makes the document more readable and enables your supervisor to post comments between the lines of text.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

With tables, the number and title should be placed above; with figures and all other illustrations, the number and title should be placed below.

Microsoft Word has a feature that can help you to automatically place these numbers and titles in the correct position. Select the graphic, right-click, and choose “Insert Caption…” In the dialogue box that appears, specify whether it is a table or figure and enter a title. Once you click “Okay,” the number and the title will be generated in the right place.

Another advantage of using this Word feature to label your graphics is that you will later be able to generate lists of tables and figures with a push of a button.

Different heading styles are frequently used to help the reader differentiate between chapters, sections, and subsections of your dissertation. For instance, you may choose to bold all chapter headings but to italicize all lower-level headings.

Once you decide on the scheme you will use, it is important that you apply it consistently throughout your entire dissertation. Using the “Styles” feature of Microsoft Word can be very helpful in this regard. After you have created a heading, just highlight it and select a style (such as Heading 1 or Heading 2) from the home tool bar. Keeping a list may help you keep track of what style to use when.

Citing sources in a correct and appropriate manner is crucial in a dissertation, as failing to do so can make you guilty of plagiarism . It is important that these references follow certain standards.

The APA standard is most commonly used. After realizing how difficult it is to create correctly formatted citations manually, we developed the APA Citation Generator  to assist you. You can use this free and simple tool to easily generate citations that follow the official APA style.

We also recommend that you use a plagiarism scanner to check for unintended plagiarism.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Using the “Show paragraph marks” feature can help you to avoid this scenario. To turn it on, click on the paragraph symbol in your home tool bar (as shown in the above illustration). A black paragraph symbol will then be shown after every paragraph and “hard return” in your document, which allows you to see how the layout is constructed.

This can be very helpful when you are trying to determine the cause of mysterious jumps and other problems.

Headers and footers can give your dissertation a very professional look. They also make it immediately clear to readers what document is before them.

A header or footer can be added by double-clicking respectively at the top or bottom of a page in your document. There are generally no firm rules about what you must include; the following are common choices:

• The name/logo of your home educational institution
• The name/logo of the company or organization where you completed a placement
• The title of your dissertation (which may be shortened if necessary)
• Page numbers

Page numbers are commonly placed in the lower right-hand corner of the page. They can easily be added by simply creating a footer. Bear in mind that a page number is usually not included on the title page of a dissertation.

• To ensure that the page numbering doesn’t start on the cover page, but the numbering begins on page 1, place the cursor on the bottom of the page where you want to start with page numbering (if you want to start on page 2, click at the bottom of the first page).
• Next go to “Page layout” and then “Breaks”. Next, choose the submenu “Next page”.
• Switch to the side, where the numbering should begin (in this case, page 2). In the edit mode of the header or footer, choose “link to previous”, after that click on “Move to footer” and click on the “Link to previous” again.
• Now, to add a page number, click on the “Insert” tab, then on the “Header and footer” group, and then click “Page number”. Now you can also choose where the page number should be (top of the page, bottom of the page or page margins) and you can choose a design.
• Finally select the option “format page number” and enter the page numbers, in what page you want the numbering to begin. After you have pressed “ok”, the page number then begins with the number from the previously selected break.

A clear and well-presented title page is a nice finishing touch for your dissertation. Certain information should be included here by default. We have prepared a separate article on title pages that includes a handy checklist you can use to make sure you don’t forget anything.

Always make sure that everything in your dissertation is in the correct order and placed in the appropriate chapter. More information on how to put your document together can be found in our article on structure a dissertation .

If you are interested in seeing how other students have tackled preparing their theses, you may find it useful to check out these dissertation examples .

The last step is usually to prepare a hardcopy of your final document. There are many issues to think about, such as whether you will make it single- or double-sided.

Before you print, however, we recommend that you check one last time that your document meets all of the below requirements!

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Driessen, K. (2019, February 20). Dissertation layout and formatting. Scribbr. Retrieved August 26, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/tips/dissertation-layout-and-formatting/

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Managing the Dissertation Writing Process

Materials from workshop.

• Slides:  https://z.umn.edu/dissworkshopslides
• Revision Memo:  https://z.umn.edu/revisionmemo
• Dissertation Analysis handout (PDF)
• "How to Read like a Writer" (PDF) by Mike Bunn (in  Writing spaces : readings on writing Vol 2 )

Finding Dissertations

• Dissertations and Theses Global This link opens in a new window Collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, offering millions of works from thousands of universities. Each year hundreds of thousands of works are added. Full-text coverage spans from 1743 to the present, with citation coverage dating back to 1637.
• Google Scholar (Setup connection to get to PDFs) Use Google Scholar to find articles from academic publishers, professional societies, research institutes, and scholarly repositories from colleges and universities. If you are using from off-campus access, change the "Library Settings" to University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Look for the "FindIt@U of M Twin Cities" links in your Google Scholar search results to access full text and PDFs. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
• University Digital Conservancy at the University of Minnesota A digital archive of M.A. and PhD theses at the University of Minnesota. The collection in this institutional repository can also be searched by keyword, date, authors and majors.

Sample of project management tools

Tool considerations:

• Devices -- “apps” vs. Laptop 
• Collaboration
• Fewer features vs. lots of features
• Learning curve
• Security/privacy 

More Options

• Open Project:  https://www.openproject.org/
• Redbooth:  https://redbooth.com/
• Notion:  https://www.notion.so/
• Freedcamp:  https://freedcamp.com/
• Smartsheet:  https://www.smartsheet.com/
• Click up:  https://clickup.com/
• Kanboard:  https://kanboard.org/

Student Writing Support from the Center for Writing

Student Writing Support (SWS) offers collaborative one-to-one writing consultations to help student writers develop confidence and effective writing strategies. SWS offers three kinds of consultations:

• walk-in consultations in 15  Nicholson Hall
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Our writing consultants will listen to your goals and concerns, read and respond to your written work, pose questions that help you clarify and articulate your ideas, and affirm the experiences and abilities you bring to your writing. We value your life experiences and languages, and we seek to provide a supportive space for you to share and develop your voice.

Sample of online books

• Restarting stalled research by Paul C. Rosenblatt ISBN: 9781483393551 Publication Date: 2016 Written for researchers and graduate students writing dissertations, this unique book offers detailed advice and perspective on many issues that can stall a research project and reveals what can be done to successfully resume it. Using a direct yet conversational style, author Paul C. Rosenblatt draws on his decades of experience to cover many diverse topics. The text guides readers through challenges such as clarifying the end goal of a project; resolving common and not-so-common writing problems; dealing with rejection and revision decisions; handling difficulties involving dissertation advisers and committee members; coping with issues of researcher motivation or self-esteem; and much more.

Get materials we don't own or from our print collection (Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery)

• InterLibrary Loan & Digital Delivery Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Digital Delivery offers access to materials needed for courses and research, including materials not currently available within the University of Minnesota Libraries, AND digital copies of articles and book chapters from our print and microform collections. Free for currently-affiliated University students, faculty, and staff.

Citation managers

What is a citation manager?

A citation manager is a software tool used to create personalized databases of citation information and notes. They allow you to:

• import and organize citation information from article indexes and other sources,
• export your citations into Word documents or other types of publications,
• format citations for your papers and bibliographies using APA and many other styles, and
• include your own notes.

Choosing a citation manager

• Guide to Citation Managers at UMN
• Wikipedia's comparison of reference management software

Browse scholarly journals available from the UMN Libraries on your tablet device, iPhone, or via the web using BrowZine .

• Read journal articles on your preferred device. 
• Create personal libraries of your favorite journals. 
• Set up alerts for new issues of journals.

For a quick overview, see this one-minute video about BrowZine. For more information, see  the full BrowZine guide.

What’s The Best Time Of Day To Eat Protein?

How to dole out your intake for maximum gains.

So you’ve decided to prioritize protein in your diet. Congrats! You’re one step closer to building muscle and boosting satiety all day long.

It’s not quite as simple as adding an extra smear of peanut butter to your PB&J or throwing another patty on to your cheeseburger to make it a double. No, you’ll need to consider a few best practices as you embark on a protein journey and be strategic about it. That's what WH is here for! First, some common questions....

How much protein should you eat?

Working with an expert can help you figure out the best amount for your lifestyle and fitness goals.

Are animal or plant-based protein sources best?

Depends what you're eating and how you go about it. What you should know is that meat provides all of the essential amino acids your body requires in one fell swoop, but you’ll need to mix and match plant-based sources in order to get the optimal amount of these nine essentials. (Check out some of the best plant-based options if you go that route.)

Meet the experts: Kelly Jones , RD, is a board-certified sports dietitian and the owner of Kelly Jones Nutrition. Tracy Anthony , PhD, is a professor of nutritional sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Ok so what’s the ideal time of day to eat protein?

Generally speaking, the time of day during which you consume protein doesn’t matter, in and of itself, as much as how you distribute your intake throughout the day.

If you’re like most Americans, you’re probably getting the bulk of your protein at dinner. Women between the ages of 20 and 49 were found, on average, to consume about 42 percent of their daily protein at dinner and just 17 percent at breakfast, per a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agriculture Research Service.

What we should be aiming for instead is an equal distribution of protein throughout the day, say experts.

“Research shows spreading out protein intake every three to four hours or so into moderate doses versus a lot at once is associated with more optimal muscle repair and for those who are looking for growth, more optimal growth too,” says Jones.

Indeed, evenly spreading protein consumption among meals, rather than skewing it towards dinner “stimulated 24-hour muscle protein synthesis more effectively,” according to researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch .

Why is it smart to eat protein all day versus in one sitting?

This could be due to the way our body metabolizes protein and its building block, amino acids. Whereas surplus carbohydrates are stored in the body as glycogen and surplus fat as body fat, amino acids aren’t squirreled away as amino acids to be used later.

Rather, after our body has used what it can of the protein we eat at a meal—by supporting metabolism, producing hormones, maintaining bones and, yes, aiding muscle protein synthesis—it is then converted into either fat or glucose.

Research seems to indicate that around 20-25 grams of protein at one time is the upper limit that our body can use in muscle synthesis (though one study put the number closer to 30 grams). Essentially, anything in excess of 20-30 grams at a single meal may not make a huge difference as far as protein actions in the body go.

Another reason you may want to consider equal distribution throughout the day? You’ll probably just get less hangry.

“People notice that when they start to emphasize protein at breakfast and they ensure that it's there at their snack too, they feel more satiated throughout the day,” Jones says. “They're less likely to be distracted by hunger, they're less likely to have blood sugar spikes and crashes.”

Do I need protein right after a workout?

Perhaps you’ve heard the term anabolic or metabolic window (they’re often used interchangeably), which refers to the time period after a workout in which your muscles are repairing themselves and nutrition can play a role in aiding that process.

Depending on who you talk to, you may be told that time period is as brief as 15 minutes. Which would essentially mean you’d have to sip a protein shake while showering in order to get the timing just right.

Thankfully, research has led experts to widen this window considerably, to three or four hours (sometimes even five or six if you’re really pushing it). But both of the experts WH spoke with agreed that within two hours is optimal.

“Don't go longer than two hours, and if you have big goals for gaining muscle and repairing muscle, get it closer to your workout, if you can,” says Jones.

As for the amount of protein, aim for 20-25 grams post-workout, recommends Tracy Anthony , PhD, a professor of nutritional sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

What about pre -sweat protein?

Now, if all of this talk about post-workout fueling has you wondering about pre-workout fueling, we have that answer too. If you’re exercising for an hour or less, you probably don’t need to worry about protein intake ahead of time and can simply focus on getting high-quality protein after, says Jones.

However, if you’re going for, say, a two-hour run or you tend to feel peckish if you don’t eat before exercising, grab a carb-rich snack with a few grams of protein first.

“It will help a little bit with your energy levels and reducing the amount of muscle damage you're going to have go on there too,” Jones says.

What might a day of protein look like?

Keeping with the principle of spreading your protein out, Jones recommends three meals (and potentially two snacks) to keep amino acids steady throughout the day:

• Morning : If you’re planning on waking up and getting an early workout in, nibble on a banana beforehand to stabilize your blood sugar. For a post-workout breakfast (or your first food of the day if you didn’t exercise), Jones suggests a veggie omelet and a slice of avocado toast. If by three hours later it isn’t time for lunch, nibble on a snack of peanuts or pistachios with a side of crackers and hummus, or pair the nuts with a small piece of fruit.
• Afternoon : Cook up either a chicken breast or a salmon filet (or, if you prefer a plant-based protein, tofu), and prepare accompaniments of cooked vegetables and quinoa. (Or you can throw the protein and quinoa on top of a bed of lettuce for a salad and add a little dressing.) If you’re someone who eats a later dinner, you’ll once again want a snack in between meals. Jones suggests roasted edamame with some raisins.
• Evening : For your final meal of the day, opt for a protein you haven’t had yet (either one of the above or shrimp), paired with farro (which is a higher-protein grain) and some roasted broccoli. Since you’ve ensured your protein is spread throughout the day, you hopefully shouldn’t need an evening (or midnight) snack.

Of course, these are just suggestions and everybody’s body will respond to protein amounts and timings differently. (Check out this powerlifter's grocery shopping strategy ; she aims for 130 grams of protein per day.) Anthony suggests a little experimentation to find out what works best for you and your specific goals.

“You can try timing; you can try dosing a little higher and a little lower within that range and see how you feel,” she says. “That's the beauty of personalized nutrition: You have that flexibility because each person is an individual and you don't know until you know.”

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