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1
A Complete Dissertation
The Big Picture
Objectives
Chapter 1 Objectives
• Provide a cursory glance at the constitution o an entire dissertation
• er a comprehensive outline o all e elements or each section o the dissertation—that is
a precursor o hat is to come ith each element eing more ull developed and e
plained
urther along in the oo
• or each e element e
plain reason or inclusion ualit mar ers and reuent or common
errors
OVERVIEW FRONT MATTER
Following is a road map that briefly outlines Order and format of front matter may vary
the contents of an entire dissertation. This is by institution and department.
a comprehensive overview, and as such is
helpful in making sure that at a glance you • Title page
understand up front the necessary elements • Copyright page (optional)
that will constitute each section of your • Abstract
dissertation. This broad overview is a prelude • Dedication (optional)
to the steps involved in each of the chapters • Acknowledgments (optional)
that are described and demonstrated in Part II. • Table of contents
While certain elements are common to most • List of tables and figures (only those in
dissertations, please note that dissertation chapters, not those in appendices)
requirements vary by institution. Toward
that end, students should always consult 1. Title Page
with their advisor and committee members
to ascertain any details that might be specific The title gives a clear and concise descrip-
or particular to institutional or departmental tion of the topic/problem and the scope of
requirements. the study. The title page will show the title;
3
4 PART I. TAKING CHARGE OF YOURSELF AND YOUR WORK
the author’s full name; the degree to be con- The copyright symbol (©) should appear
ferred; the university, department, and col- with author’s name and year centered
lege in which the degree is earned; and the between the margins on the lower half of the
month and year of approval. Margins for the backside of the title page. Below the copy-
title page and the entire document are right line, include the statement “All Rights
left—1.5 inches; right, top, and bottom— Reserved.”
1 inch. Also, the title should be in all capitals.
© Carla Nicole Bloomberg
Reason All Rights Reserved
The title both guides and reflects the pur-
pose and content of the study, making its 3. Abstract
relevance apparent to prospective readers. The abstract, limited to 350 words, is a
The title is also important for retrieval pur- concise summary description of the study,
poses enabling other researchers to locate it including statement of the problem, pur-
through a literature search. pose, scope, research tradition, data sources,
methodology, key findings, and implica-
Quality Markers tions. The abstract is written after the dis-
sertation is completed, and is written from
A well-crafted title conveys the essence the perspective of an outside reader (i.e., not
and purpose of the study. The title should “My dissertation examines” but “An exami-
include the type of study (“An Analysis”) nation of . . .”).
and the participants. Use of keywords will The page numbers before the text are in
promote proper categorization into data- Roman numerals. The abstract page is the
bases such as ERIC (the Education Resources first page to be numbered, but as iii. All
Information Center) and Dissertation Roman numerals should be centered between
Abstracts International. the left and right margins, and 1 inch from
the bottom of the page. The title of the page,
Frequent Errors “ABSTRACT,” should be in all capitals and
centered between the left and right margins,
Frequent title errors include the use of and 2 inches from the top.
trendy, elaborate, nonspecific, or literary
language, and grandiose or unrealistic expec- Reason
tations (e.g., “Finally, a Solution to . . .”).
The abstract’s inclusion in Dissertation
2. Copyright Page (optional) Abstracts International (which mandates a
350-word limit) makes it possible for other
Copyright is the legal right of an owner of researchers to determine the relevance of this
created material to control copying and own- work to their own studies. Over 95% of
ership of that material. Authors of research American dissertations are included in Dis-
documents who wish to protect their writing sertation Abstracts International.
through copyright may do so. A student may
file a claim to copyright by corresponding Quality Markers
directly with the U.S. Copyright Office
(Library of Congress, 101 Independence Marks of quality include conciseness and
Avenue S.E., Washington, DC 20559-6000). accuracy. The abstract should also be written
Chapter 1. A Complete Dissertation 5
in the third person (active voice without the The heading “TABLE OF CONTENTS”
personal pronouns I and we). Generally, the is centered between the left and right mar-
first sentence of an abstract describes the gins, 2 inches from the top of the page. The
entire study; subsequent sentences expand on listing begins one double space below and
that description. even with the left margin. Leader dots are
placed from the end of each listing to the cor-
Frequent Errors responding page number. All major titles are
typed exactly as they appear in the text.
Inclusion of irrelevant material (i.e., When a title or subtitle exceeds one line, the
examples, information extraneous to the dis- second and succeeding lines are single-spaced
sertation itself), exclusion of necessary mate- and indented two spaces. Double spacing is
rial (i.e., problem, purpose, scope, research used between major titles and between each
tradition, data sources, methodology, key major title and its subtitle.
findings, and implications), and incorrect The table of contents may be followed by
format are frequent abstract errors. any of the following, if needed, and any of
these subsequent lists are formatted in the
4. Dedication and same manner as the table of contents:
Acknowledgments (optional) • List of tables
These pages are optional, although most • List of figures
dissertations include a brief acknowledg- • List of illustrations
ment of the contributions of committee • List of symbols
members, colleagues, friends, and family
members who have supported the students’ Reason
research. “ACKNOWLEDGMENTS” The table of contents assists the researcher
should be capitalized and should appear in organizing the material while promoting
centered between the left and right mar- accessibility for the reader.
gins, 2 inches from the top. Text should
begin two line spaces after “ACKNOWL-
EDGMENTS.” Quality Markers
The dedication page is separate from the The headings and subheadings clearly and
acknowledgments page. If included, the dedi- concisely reflect the material being presented.
cation text should be centered between the Headings and subheadings are parallel gram-
left and right margins and between the top matically (i.e., “Introduction,” “Review of
and bottom margins; it should also reflect a Literature” not “Introduction,” “Reviewing
professional nature. Do not include the title the Literature”). The headings and subhead-
“DEDICATION” on the dedication page. ings in the table of contents are worded
exactly the same as those headings and sub-
5. Table of Contents headings in the text.
An outline of the entire dissertation, list- Frequent Errors
ing headings and subheadings with their
respective page numbers, the table of con- Frequent errors include lack of parallelism
tents lists all chapters and major sections in headings and subheadings, as well as
within chapters and all back matter with wording in the table of contents that does
page numbers. not match wording in text.
6 PART I. TAKING CHARGE OF YOURSELF AND YOUR WORK
DISSERTATION CHAPTERS the research setting, the sample, instrumen-
tation (if relevant), and methods of data
Order and format of dissertation chapters collection and analysis used.
may vary by institution and department. • Rationale and significance: Rationale is the
justification for the study presented as a
1. Introduction logical argument. Significance addresses the
benefits that may be derived from doing
2. Literature review the study, thereby reaffirming the research
3. Methodology purpose.
• Role of the researcher: This section explains
4. Findings the role of the researcher in planning and
5. Analysis and synthesis conducting the study.
• Researcher assumptions: This section
6. Conclusions and recommendations makes explicit relevant researcher assump-
tions, beliefs, and biases (if applicable).
Chapter 1: Introduction • Definition of key terminology: Some terms
may be unfamiliar to readers. Additionally,
This chapter makes a case for the signifi- the meanings of certain terms can vary
cance of the problem, contextualizes the depending on the context, conceptual frame-
study, and provides an introduction to its work, or field of study. Making terms
basic components. It should be informative explicit adds precision and ensures clarity of
and able to stand alone as a document. understanding. These terms should be oper-
ationally defined or explained; that is, make
• Introduction: The introduction includes an clear how these terms are used in your study.
overview of the purpose and focus of the • Organization of the dissertation: This
study, why it is significant, how it was con- brief concluding explanation delineates the
ducted, and how it will contribute to pro- contents of the remaining chapters in the
fessional knowledge and practice. dissertation.
• Problem statement: The problem indicates
the need for the study, describes the issue or Reason
problem to be studied, and situates it in a The introduction sets the stage for the
broader educational or social context. The
problem statement includes a brief, study and directs readers to the purpose and
well-articulated summary of the literature context of the dissertation.
that substantiates the study, with references
to more detailed discussions in Chapter 2. Quality Markers
• Statement of purpose: Describing the research
purpose in a logical, explicit manner, the A quality introduction situates the context
statement of purpose is the major objective or and scope of the study and informs the reader,
intent of the study; it enables the reader to providing a clear and valid representation of
understand the central thrust of the research. what will be found in the remainder of the
• Research question(s): Research questions dissertation. Discussion is concise and precise.
are directly tied to the purpose. They
should be specific, unambiguously stated,
and open ended. These questions cue read- Frequent Errors
ers to the direction the study will take and
help to delineate the scope of the study. Errors occur when the introduction does
• Overview of methodology: This section out- not clearly reflect the study and/or its rela-
lines the methodological type or approach, tionship to the proposed problem and
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