Dissertation Methodology
Writing a dissertation proposal is possibly the hardest part of the dissertation writing process. In creating a dissertation proposal you are crafting something out of nothing. Developing an understanding of an issue, identifying, reading and summarizing the relevant literature, and developing your own take on the problem are time consuming and no doubt is a frustrating process. In many ways the dissertation methodology is the easiest part to develop. Once you have a clear idea of the first pieces, the methods should follow easily. Which helps you to answer the question, how to write a dissertation proposal.
For dissertation proposal you need introductory work sufficient to introduce your external readers to the material. This also helps convince your committee that you know enough about the field that you should be allowed to move on to your thesis. You have to write about related work and perform a literature search that proves that your ideas are new, and that you can talk reasonably well about the previous work in this area.
Basically you need to introduce your work. As a rule of thumb, your thesis should cover enough ground to be worthy of three conference papers. Organizing your thesis around three conference submissions may help you progress toward your thesis (it gives you hard deadlines).
Your list of contributions is the most important part of your dissertation help research proposal. This is where you succinctly outline why your work is different than other work on the subject, and why it is worthy of a Ph.D. thesis. This is traditionally in a bulleted list, and should probably be less than a page. It's worth really working on these contributions, because people will inevitably ask what your thesis is about, both in the lab and at conferences. You should be able to give an answer in few seconds, and that answer should come from your contributions page.
You should remember that you are proposing something new. Sure It doesn't have to be complete but It's probably somewhat better if it isn't complete, because it shows that you can talk intelligently about what work you plan to do before you do it. Here is a standard dissertation outline
1. Introduction
a. Summary of the larger puzzles and issues
b. Locating your work in a larger issue
c. Main research question
2. Problem Statement
a. What is the issue?
b. What are the specific questions?
c. What is the context and background?
d. Why does this matter?
3. Conceptual Framework
a. How do you look at this puzzle?
b. What is the theoretical framework (what is this a case of?)?
c. What are the key constructs?
d. What are specific terms you are using and how do you define them?
e. Model of what you think is going on
4. Methods
a. What do you plan to do and why
b. How do they link to the questions and the CF?
5. Bibliography
6. Appendices
a. Survey drafts
b. Pilot data
c. Timeline
Therefore a properly written proposal must demonstrate that you:
1. Able to explain the importance of the problem issue to a person no familiar with it;
2. Have managed to define and delimit and interesting and fascinating research question;
3. Able to formulate testable hypotheses;
4. Have worked out a detailed plan that will test your hypothesis.
Dissertation format and layout requirements differ considerably depending on the type of essay being written and its aim. However, there are general specifications and formatting rules that are a good idea to adhere to, unless you are advised otherwise that is.
Your dissertation should be double spaced throughout, with the exception of the approval page, the title page, figure headings, end notes, foot notes, and extensive quotations. You can usually use any standard font, as long as you use the same font all the way through. Italics are usually restricted to book titles, foreign words, letters and references.
Margins are usually set up to have a 1.5 left margin, with the right, top and bottom margin all being 1. Normally, white 11” 8.5 paper is used, apart from the use of pocket materials or photographs. The paper your dissertation is printed on should be of relatively high quality, if possible. This is so that the writing cannot be seen through the different pages. Take care to make sure that the pages attach together and look neat and tidy, as the appearance of your final paper is important.
Your entire paper should be of uniform darkness. For this reason, it is advisable to use a new cartridge to print your paper, so that the last pages are not lighter than the first. Make sure you save your work, in case it does not print well. Some students recommend printing onto low quality paper and photocopying it onto better quality paper, this is because photocopiers tend to use much darker ink, and keep the colour consistent.
Make sure that your paper is free from errors, and make all corrections before you print. Showing that you’ve noticed a mistake isn’t enough, it needs to be corrected and reprinted. Do not make any cross outs, overstrikes or corrections in the final copy, these will lower your score no matter how good your content is. The appearance of your work is what makes people read it, and if there are mistakes, then your reader may presume your content contains mistakes too.
Most dissertations will contain the following pages:
Abstract – This should be a synopsis of the whole document, which should allow the reader to gain an understanding of the objectives and outcome. Keep this brief and to the point, and less than 150 words.
Contents Page – List the major parts, with subsections, and their page numbers. Use just one page.
Introduction – Provide a detailed and focused overview of the background of the topic and the structure you will follow. Write as if this is a journey by the reader, explaining where they are, where they are going and what other things they will find out.
Literature Review – This includes a review of all previous researches that have been undertaken that will support the hypothesis (or hypotheses) of your dissertation.
Methodology – Show what methods you will use, and why they are the best ones for the job.
Data Analysis – Present the data you have collected in your primary research and the main issues that have arisen. You should use graphs, charts and diagrams to illustrate your points and to communicate understanding of your research.
Discussion – You should present the main findings of your research and refer to the diagrams and graphs that you produced during your data analysis.
Conclusion – Your conclusion should provide the reader with a summary of what you have already said, and what extra research or analysis could be completed to expand on your work.
Bibliography/references section – All the references should be listed alphabetically. Including the authors name, title, place of publication, publisher and date of publication.
Appendices – A place where you can place extra information to keep your dissertation free from clutter. Use it to provide the reader with a fuller picture of the information you are writing about, such as a blank copy of the questionnaire you used in your primary research.
The above template can be modified for each different topic and is a good starting ground for your dissertation format and layout, to ensure that you have produced a thorough and interesting dissertation.
Dissertation ideas are needed to submit before you actually start your research work. The merit of your dissertation ideas will decide whether you will get permission for doing research work or not. That is the reason that you should make your research ideas with utmost care.
The proposal will describe your planned method of study in an abbreviated manner. First of all it will describe the significance of your research subject and the new dimensions those you are going to discover through it. It will describe in an abridged manner some of the sections of your proposed research paper like literature review etc.
The next important part is the research methodology section of your paper. The first item of methodology section is the sampling technique. Sometimes it is possible and practical to examine every person or item in the population we wish to describe. We call this a complete enumeration or census. We use sampling when it is not possible to count or measure every item in the population. We resort to sampling because of two primary reasons namely: Time and Cost. Other factors why we resort to sampling are because of practical problems. We use sampling in our daily lives such as: (a) When we shop we often take a sample of small piece of cheese before purchasing any, then decide from one piece what the larger chunk will taste like. (b) While cooking we sample a small spoon of the dish to check the taste of the dish giving the final ok.
If we taste all the material there will be none left. Testing the entire product often destroys it and is unnecessary. To determine the characteristics of the whole product, we have to sample only a portion of it. The word population is referring not only to people but to all items that have been chosen for study and the word sample to describe a portion chosen from the population. Mathematically, we can describe samples and populations by using measures such as the mean, median, mode and standard deviation; these terms describe the characteristics of a sample, they are called statistics. A statistic is a characteristic of a sample; a parameter is a characteristic of a population. The next important thing is the method of data collection. There are different methods for data collection like-
1) Direct Personal Interview- Here, the investigator personally comes in contact with the units. The investigator interviews or observes the units and extracts the required data from them. Since, the investigator personally collects the data, the data are reliable. The investigator, here, can use his skill in extracting accurate data from the units. He can also collect, if necessary, additional interesting information. This method is costly and time consuming. It can be used only when the number of units to be contacted is small and when they can be reached easily. In this method, there is scope for bias.
There are different other methods also for collection of primary and secondary data.
Dissertation example is one of the most profound compositions amongst all. Such papers are very carefully formulated in accordance to standards. The various sections that are to be taken care are signature page, title, copyright page, acknowledgement page, abstract, table of contents, list of tables and illustrations, introduction and statement of the problem, review of literature and research questions, methodology, results and discussion, references page and appendixes page. All these sections are to be adhered so that it stands as a standard paper depicting all the sections required for enveloping the matter.
The initial requirements are to depict the purpose of the paper which includes the name of the writer, the guide, date of submission, title of the page and all associated signatures. The acknowledgement page is also a preliminary requirement which ensures better degree of concern for the various resources that have contributed towards the development of the composition.
The abstract is the beginning of the paper which needs to be adhered to maximum 100 - 150 words. The primary idea is to gather a glimpse of the subject which needs to be taken care for every paper. It is a precise definition of the entire paper which is distributable and binds all factors together.
The table of contents follows next which details the various contents of the paper and the various sections that are to follow which ensure better distribution of the facts and encourages the illustration of the substance. The list of tables and illustrations enables all such components that are to be taken care. All such tables and diagrams in the entire paper are listed for the user to navigate quickly.
The introduction makes an attempt to discuss the very understanding of the subject and the topic. The understanding of the aims and objectives of the paper is very essential. Such understandings are very crucial to the overall process of writing and hitting the right pace for growth. The problem statement is discussed and the correct understanding is reached at this level. The various sections that are required for the purpose of the paper are also illustrated in this section.
The research questions and the literature review of the similar work are also discussed to gain an insight of the various other works, attitudes and perspectives towards a particular fact. Such conventions are highly taken into account to give a right shape to the paper and its objectives.
The methodology for congregation of data is very essential for the purpose of analyzing the data and the facts. Such attempts are required to stay focused and follow a strategy to analyze the data to pave right way towards the aims set for the paper. Various techniques are followed for the same.
The references page takes into account the illustration of all works of other writers whose work is cited duly for borrowing the concepts in the paper. All such work is duly given importance in the light of the paper and the concepts discussed.
Dissertation examples are for a variety of topics ranging from animals to technology and caters to all industry types.