dissertation format example free
Dissertation is an essential part of the final stage of university education in accomplishment of university degree. In this context graduate students conduct an extensive research studies on a specific topic relevant to the area of interest. Dissertation writing is therefore converged to the scope of their research findings in accordance with a mandated format. Adherence to dissertation format is specifically a standard requirement in fulfillment of prescribed dissertation writing. But most students find it rather confusing and difficult to comprehend the numerous formatting requirements of a dissertation.
The format for the dissertation will be prescribed by the university depending upon the department of study. Management studies choose Harvard system while the science department would choose APA system. Law school will prescribe Blue book and the Arts faculties usually prefer Chicago system. Which ever the system is to be adhered to, the standards should be comprehensively understood because it can certainly be considered as the skeleton of the dissertation. The format generally confines to a standard frame of essential components and the pagination, referencing, quoting and other similar presentation standards. Title page, acknowledgement, approval page, abstract, contents, Introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, reference and appendix are the main components of a dissertation format. Dissertation committee tends to be very stringent on upholding the requirement of dissertation formatting and as such students should make sure to strictly follow the dissertation guidelines in the process of dissertation formatting.
Dissertation writing experts thoroughly study the dissertation format prior to embarking on the writing of the dissertation. The significance placed upon the matter will increased with progression of the academic level of the degree program and especially in some of the distinguished fields of studies such as the humanities and the sciences departments.
Despite each system’s differences, there are some basic areas in which dissertation formatting plays a key role. These include the citing of sources and formulating the reference list. Citing sources and quotes is a critical aspect in writing a dissertation properly. Each system prescribes a different citation style. The Harvard system calls for Author and date and if directly quoted material is involved, the page number. APA style also calls for author and date in the in-text citations. Parenthetical citations usually cite only up to two author’s names and if more are involves, use the notation “et.al.” preceded by the first author’s name. The reference list is also formatted differently depending upon the system used. For instance, the entries of Harvard system reference list has author, date and then publication details with double space. The second and subsequent lines of an APA reference lines are placed on a hanging indent.
The headings and title numbers will vary as per level of the heading. The level will dictate the position as center or left flush, the font size, the bold facing or italicizing of the text content of the title. This is a complex standard which students must master in order to place headings and subheadings when needed. The formatting of the body will have various other numbering and page margin or font size requirements. If formatted as per APA style, the running header should appear along with the page number at the top of each page. Each system follows a different style for headings. There are different levels of headings and depending on the
These are just a few points in dissertation format process. There are many more to adhere to and it is important that they complied with fully. Therefore, students should make sure to get themselves thoroughly familiarized with these requirements or make use of a dissertation editing service and request for the formatting requirements to be complied with. Even though formatting the dissertation as per required standards may appear a nuisance, it is in fact this stringent adherence which makes the vast body of scholastic investigations to be useful for reference as they all comply with a certain set of standards in structure and presentation, thanks to dissertation formatting.
A dissertation project is a complex and challenging academic undertaking which is to be completed as a compulsory requirement of degree programs. The writing of the dissertation is an important element in attaining a degree as it test a multiple array of skills in the student. It is an imperative that this document is written and submitted as per a set of rules and guidelines which are formally codified in to a dissertation guide by each educational institution. It is vital that students ensure that their dissertation studies comply with the requirements fully when it comes to design, execution, analysis and the final reporting of the study. When it comes to the reporting phase, there are many guidelines to writing a dissertation. Among them, the dissertation format is one of the most critical factors that need to be paid attention to.
Common Formatting Requirements
All dissertations regardless of type, is double spaced with the exception of the approval page, the title page, foot notes, end notes and headings and quotations. The same font size which usually is size 11 or 12 may be used for the entire length of the dissertation paper but it is advised to check with the dissertation advisor as to what size is most suitable for the dissertation. Margins for the dissertation will be set at 1.5 inches on the left and 1" margins on the other three sides of the paper. Dissertations should be printed on one side of white A4 paper.
The title page of the dissertation will include the title of the work, the name of author, and the university name. All these text should be centered with 2-3 spaces between the title and the authors name and then the university name. The title of the work should have the first letter of each word capitalized. The degree program should be mentioned along with university name.
This section is by far the most enjoyable to write as it involves the acknowledgment of the support and contribution made by various people and organisations in the dissertation writing process. This is usually a few lines and certainly no more than half a page. Lighter language can be used but still maintaining the formality of the entire paper.
This will consist of one paragraph which is not more than 350 words – which will summarize the contents of the dissertation. A brief description of the dissertation methodology and the findings of the study will be included in an abstract.
This section should outline all the major headings of the dissertation, separated by chapters. The list of figures, list of tables and a list of appendices should be included within the table of contents. The front matter of the report should be numbered in lower case Roman numerals while the body will be numbered with Arabic numerals. The appendices are to be numbered as A, B, C etc…
Body of the dissertation is formatted with five chapters in general including the introduction, literature review, methodology, analysis and discussion and the conclusion. Each section should have its sub headings and these headings will require to be formatted as per specified formatting systems. The in-text citations as well as quotations have their own specifications in formatting.
All information which was taken from sources should be cited in this section of the dissertation. It is vital that this section be done in compliance with the formatting style. Each system, be it APA , Harvard or Chicago will use different formatting for reference entries. Non compliance with the stipulated format can reduce valuable marks for the project.
Any additional information and statistics which were not included in the dissertation will be presented in this section of the dissertation.
A good dissertation paper will be written conforming to all the rules of writing which are in the guide. However, simply adhering to the format rules will not be sufficient. Students need to ensure that the content and the analysis as well as the findings are impressive. If students have any concerns with their formatting they should seek the advice of the dissertation advisor or a custom dissertation writing service that can guide them in the correct path. With a good understanding of the dissertation format, students can write a dissertation that is both professional in its image and cohesive in its structure and flow.
A university education can never be complete without submitting a Dissertation. This is one of the final requirements for students to fulfill in order to achieve a university degree. Students are required to conduct an extensive research studies on a specific topic relevant to their field of interest. Their Dissertation is a final output of all their research findings presented in a universally acclaimed format.
Following the universally acclaimed format is a standard requirement that students will have to ensure for the effective completion of their Dissertation. However, most students find themselves in a conundrum, as each field of study has different standardized formats that need to be followed to the latter.
Universities assign a standardized format based on the field of study for different departments. Likewise, each department is assigned with a unique format that at times is not similarly shared between two departments. For instance, the Harvard format system is followed by Management studies, while the APA system is the preferred choice for Science. Similarly, students of Law are to follow Blue book format, whereas students of Arts prefer the Chicago system... the list is endless
No matter which system it is, students need to completely understand the format in order to effectively craft their dissertation. The format of a Dissertation is the comprehensive map of the dissertation which adequately frames all the components, references, quotes, pages etc. Important aspects such as the title page, table of contents, preface or introduction, the content itself, literature review, discussion, results, methodology, acknowledgement section, approval page, references and appendix etc are to be presented as per the prescribed format.
Following the Dissertation format is important as the Dissertation review committee is very peculiar as far as following the standard format is concerned. Students are therefore required to ensure that the formatting guidelines are followed to the latter. It will be helpful if students are familiarized with these formatting guidelines by examining any previous dissertations of their particular fields of study for reference. Another way is to obtain assistance from a dissertation editing service and ask them to fulfill the standard formatting requirements.
Ensuring the dissertation format is followed without fail sounds like a tiresome and annoying activity, however, students need to realize that strict adherence to formatting standards not only ensure that the Dissertation Review Committee not raise any objections, but also allows the particular dissertation to be forever immortalized as reference material for future students that will need to refer to it.
Research format is very necessary to make a plan about the approach that you are going to take to solve the research problem statement. It will help you to decide in advance the literature survey method, sampling and data collection method and the analysis method that you are going to do to complete the research paper.
There are different types of research design methods. The classical experimental design of J.S.Mill is a development from both the positive and negative canons. It attempts to avoid their weakness. In a simplified form Mill called it the “method of differences”. For example, it may be stated that there are two or more cases and in one of them the observation Z can be made while in the other it can’t and if factor C occurs when observation Z is made and doesn’t occur when observation Z is not made then it can be asserted that there is a causal relationship between C and Z. To develop the classical design of proof one needs two series of observations, one set is the control series where the cause is not present and another set is the experimental series where the causative factor is present. For example, if it is assumed that a boy gets unsatisfactory grades in his courses where he has not done his home work and gets satisfactory grades in some courses where he has done his home work, then the matter of boy’s doing his home work is the causative factor and is present in the experimental series. Thus in a study on treatment of malaria, two series of groups of persons are watched in all other health factors while one group is administered with Atabrine. The control series is left on its own. If malaria gets cured in the experimental group then Atabrine is thought up as a cure for malaria.
The components of any research format are as follows:
1) to select a problem and to define
2) to make a hypothesis
3) Object of study- whether the design aims at a theoretical understanding or presupposes an existing notion must be explicit at this point. Stating the object of the study aids not only in clarity of the design but also in a sincere response from the respondents.
4) Temporal context- the geographical limit of the design should also be referred to at this stage so that the research related to hypothesis is applicable to particular limit only.
5) Sampling techniques to be used- In most of the researches census technique is impossible to use. It should be very clear that is will not be possible for you to check each and every object of the research universe. So an appropriate sampling technique is very effective to save cost, time and energy and also to get precise result.
6) Data collection methods to be used- The requirement of the research and the sampling technique will determine what kind of data, in what quantity and from where is needed.
7) The analysis tools to be used.
Dissertation is an essential part of the final stage of university education in accomplishment of university degree. In this context graduate students conduct an extensive research studies on a specific topic relevant to the area of interest. Dissertation writing is therefore converged to the scope of their research findings in accordance with a mandated format. Adherence to dissertation format is specifically a standard requirement in fulfillment of prescribed dissertation writing. But most students find it rather confusing and difficult to comprehend the numerous formatting requirements of a dissertation.
The format for the dissertation will be prescribed by the university depending upon the department of study. Management studies choose Harvard system while the science department would choose APA system. Law school will prescribe Blue book and the Arts faculties usually prefer Chicago system. Which ever the system is to be adhered to, the standards should be comprehensively understood because it can certainly be considered as the skeleton of the dissertation. The format generally confines to a standard frame of essential components and the pagination, referencing, quoting and other similar presentation standards. Title page, acknowledgement, approval page, abstract, contents, Introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, reference and appendix are the main components of a dissertation format. Dissertation committee tends to be very stringent on upholding the requirement of dissertation formatting and as such students should make sure to strictly follow the dissertation guidelines in the process of dissertation formatting.
Dissertation writing experts thoroughly study the dissertation format prior to embarking on the writing of the dissertation. The significance placed upon the matter will increased with progression of the academic level of the degree program and especially in some of the distinguished fields of studies such as the humanities and the sciences departments.
Despite each system’s differences, there are some basic areas in which dissertation formatting plays a key role. These include the citing of sources and formulating the reference list. Citing sources and quotes is a critical aspect in writing a dissertation properly. Each system prescribes a different citation style. The Harvard system calls for Author and date and if directly quoted material is involved, the page number. APA style also calls for author and date in the in-text citations. Parenthetical citations usually cite only up to two author’s names and if more are involves, use the notation “et.al.” preceded by the first author’s name. The reference list is also formatted differently depending upon the system used. For instance, the entries of Harvard system reference list has author, date and then publication details with double space. The second and subsequent lines of an APA reference lines are placed on a hanging indent.
The headings and title numbers will vary as per level of the heading. The level will dictate the position as center or left flush, the font size, the bold facing or italicizing of the text content of the title. This is a complex standard which students must master in order to place headings and subheadings when needed. The formatting of the body will have various other numbering and page margin or font size requirements. If formatted as per APA style, the running header should appear along with the page number at the top of each page. Each system follows a different style for headings. There are different levels of headings and depending on the
These are just a few points in dissertation format process. There are many more to adhere to and it is important that they complied with fully. Therefore, students should make sure to get themselves thoroughly familiarized with these requirements or make use of a dissertation editing service and request for the formatting requirements to be complied with. Even though formatting the dissertation as per required standards may appear a nuisance, it is in fact this stringent adherence which makes the vast body of scholastic investigations to be useful for reference as they all comply with a certain set of standards in structure and presentation, thanks to dissertation formatting.
A dissertation project is a complex and challenging academic undertaking which is to be completed as a compulsory requirement of degree programs. The writing of the dissertation is an important element in attaining a degree as it test a multiple array of skills in the student. It is an imperative that this document is written and submitted as per a set of rules and guidelines which are formally codified in to a dissertation guide by each educational institution. It is vital that students ensure that their dissertation studies comply with the requirements fully when it comes to design, execution, analysis and the final reporting of the study. When it comes to the reporting phase, there are many guidelines to writing a dissertation. Among them, the dissertation format is one of the most critical factors that need to be paid attention to.
Common Formatting Requirements
All dissertations regardless of type, is double spaced with the exception of the approval page, the title page, foot notes, end notes and headings and quotations. The same font size which usually is size 11 or 12 may be used for the entire length of the dissertation paper but it is advised to check with the dissertation advisor as to what size is most suitable for the dissertation. Margins for the dissertation will be set at 1.5 inches on the left and 1" margins on the other three sides of the paper. Dissertations should be printed on one side of white A4 paper.
The title page of the dissertation will include the title of the work, the name of author, and the university name. All these text should be centered with 2-3 spaces between the title and the authors name and then the university name. The title of the work should have the first letter of each word capitalized. The degree program should be mentioned along with university name.
This section is by far the most enjoyable to write as it involves the acknowledgment of the support and contribution made by various people and organisations in the dissertation writing process. This is usually a few lines and certainly no more than half a page. Lighter language can be used but still maintaining the formality of the entire paper.
This will consist of one paragraph which is not more than 350 words – which will summarize the contents of the dissertation. A brief description of the dissertation methodology and the findings of the study will be included in an abstract.
This section should outline all the major headings of the dissertation, separated by chapters. The list of figures, list of tables and a list of appendices should be included within the table of contents. The front matter of the report should be numbered in lower case Roman numerals while the body will be numbered with Arabic numerals. The appendices are to be numbered as A, B, C etc…
Body of the dissertation is formatted with five chapters in general including the introduction, literature review, methodology, analysis and discussion and the conclusion. Each section should have its sub headings and these headings will require to be formatted as per specified formatting systems. The in-text citations as well as quotations have their own specifications in formatting.
All information which was taken from sources should be cited in this section of the dissertation. It is vital that this section be done in compliance with the formatting style. Each system, be it APA , Harvard or Chicago will use different formatting for reference entries. Non compliance with the stipulated format can reduce valuable marks for the project.
Any additional information and statistics which were not included in the dissertation will be presented in this section of the dissertation.
A good dissertation paper will be written conforming to all the rules of writing which are in the guide. However, simply adhering to the format rules will not be sufficient. Students need to ensure that the content and the analysis as well as the findings are impressive. If students have any concerns with their formatting they should seek the advice of the dissertation advisor or a custom dissertation writing service that can guide them in the correct path. With a good understanding of the dissertation format, students can write a dissertation that is both professional in its image and cohesive in its structure and flow.
A university education can never be complete without submitting a Dissertation. This is one of the final requirements for students to fulfill in order to achieve a university degree. Students are required to conduct an extensive research studies on a specific topic relevant to their field of interest. Their Dissertation is a final output of all their research findings presented in a universally acclaimed format.
Following the universally acclaimed format is a standard requirement that students will have to ensure for the effective completion of their Dissertation. However, most students find themselves in a conundrum, as each field of study has different standardized formats that need to be followed to the latter.
Universities assign a standardized format based on the field of study for different departments. Likewise, each department is assigned with a unique format that at times is not similarly shared between two departments. For instance, the Harvard format system is followed by Management studies, while the APA system is the preferred choice for Science. Similarly, students of Law are to follow Blue book format, whereas students of Arts prefer the Chicago system... the list is endless
No matter which system it is, students need to completely understand the format in order to effectively craft their dissertation. The format of a Dissertation is the comprehensive map of the dissertation which adequately frames all the components, references, quotes, pages etc. Important aspects such as the title page, table of contents, preface or introduction, the content itself, literature review, discussion, results, methodology, acknowledgement section, approval page, references and appendix etc are to be presented as per the prescribed format.
Following the Dissertation format is important as the Dissertation review committee is very peculiar as far as following the standard format is concerned. Students are therefore required to ensure that the formatting guidelines are followed to the latter. It will be helpful if students are familiarized with these formatting guidelines by examining any previous dissertations of their particular fields of study for reference. Another way is to obtain assistance from a dissertation editing service and ask them to fulfill the standard formatting requirements.
Ensuring the dissertation format is followed without fail sounds like a tiresome and annoying activity, however, students need to realize that strict adherence to formatting standards not only ensure that the Dissertation Review Committee not raise any objections, but also allows the particular dissertation to be forever immortalized as reference material for future students that will need to refer to it.
Research format is very necessary to make a plan about the approach that you are going to take to solve the research problem statement. It will help you to decide in advance the literature survey method, sampling and data collection method and the analysis method that you are going to do to complete the research paper.
There are different types of research design methods. The classical experimental design of J.S.Mill is a development from both the positive and negative canons. It attempts to avoid their weakness. In a simplified form Mill called it the “method of differences”. For example, it may be stated that there are two or more cases and in one of them the observation Z can be made while in the other it can’t and if factor C occurs when observation Z is made and doesn’t occur when observation Z is not made then it can be asserted that there is a causal relationship between C and Z. To develop the classical design of proof one needs two series of observations, one set is the control series where the cause is not present and another set is the experimental series where the causative factor is present. For example, if it is assumed that a boy gets unsatisfactory grades in his courses where he has not done his home work and gets satisfactory grades in some courses where he has done his home work, then the matter of boy’s doing his home work is the causative factor and is present in the experimental series. Thus in a study on treatment of malaria, two series of groups of persons are watched in all other health factors while one group is administered with Atabrine. The control series is left on its own. If malaria gets cured in the experimental group then Atabrine is thought up as a cure for malaria.
The components of any research format are as follows:
1) to select a problem and to define
2) to make a hypothesis
3) Object of study- whether the design aims at a theoretical understanding or presupposes an existing notion must be explicit at this point. Stating the object of the study aids not only in clarity of the design but also in a sincere response from the respondents.
4) Temporal context- the geographical limit of the design should also be referred to at this stage so that the research related to hypothesis is applicable to particular limit only.
5) Sampling techniques to be used- In most of the researches census technique is impossible to use. It should be very clear that is will not be possible for you to check each and every object of the research universe. So an appropriate sampling technique is very effective to save cost, time and energy and also to get precise result.
6) Data collection methods to be used- The requirement of the research and the sampling technique will determine what kind of data, in what quantity and from where is needed.
7) The analysis tools to be used.