What is the first step to begin with your dissertation? You must know the correct structure of the dissertation. Since a dissertation is a lengthy document, it is divided into different chapters and each chapter has its own importance. Once you are thorough with the structure of the dissertation you can find relevant information according to the purpose of each chapter and hence begin with your dissertation writing. So here’s the ideal structure of a dissertation. 

• The Title Page 

It is the very first page of the dissertation and hence contains the title of the dissertation, student information such as name, department, details of the institution, supervisor’s name, etc. 

• Acknowledgement

This page is written to thank all those who have helped you in creating the dissertation. You can mention your supervisor, friends, editors, family and any other people who provided you with the support to complete your dissertation on time. 

• Abstract

The abstract is presented early in the dissertation structure but it is written at the end. It is a short summary of your paper that covers its purpose, methodology, conclusion and results. 

• Introduction

This forms the basis of your paper as it introduces the topic to the readers. It establishes the scope of the research by stating the objectives and the problem statement. It is the only way to attract and convince the readers to dive into your paper. 

• Literature Review

This is an important part of the dissertation and might take a lot of your time. The literature review is written to explain the information that is already existing about your dissertation topic. It also mentions the gaps in the research that has been done and builds a debate to explain why you took up the topic. 

• Methodology

Data plays a significant role in research. This section explains how the data collection and analysis is done and what tools have been used to aid the research. Justification is also added here to support why those specific tools and methods were chosen. 

• Results and Discussion

As the name suggests, this chapter includes the results that you obtained in your research. It also includes diagrams, tables, and graphs to support your results. Then you explain whether your results actually met your expectations and how well they justify your research problem.

• Conclusion

Do not confuse this chapter with the results as this marks an ending of your complete paper and gives them a short summary of what you did and what results were achieved. You interpret your results here and give the reader something to take away with them.  

• References

Any resources that you have mentioned in your dissertation are included in the references section. The resources are arranged alphabetically and numbered. All in-text citations are included in this section. 

The ideal dissertation structure includes all these chapters along with the table of contents, abbreviations list, figures and tables, glossary and bibliography.