If you need to write a dissertation but you are not sure how best to do it, do not worry. We have prepared guidelines from a professional dissertation writer that will give you a complete understanding of how to work with such projects.
There are general rules applicable to writing a scientific dissertation, regardless of its direction and topic:
- Decide on the topic. A postgraduate student is assisted in this matter by a supervisor. For a student who already has practical experience in a particular field of activity, it is best to write a paper based on the collected material. As for the topic, to select it, you need to look through the published scientific works of colleagues, which will confirm the relevance of the issue. If the topic is practically not studied, the student may face the difficulties of an innovator during the defense, but at the same time make a real contribution to science. If the issue has been studied many times, it is important to find convincing arguments regarding novelty in advance.
- Determination of the specific task and purpose of the study. For those who must work on the defense of the master’s thesis, it is important to understand what a doctorate dissertation is, how to write it, and what is the difference from a thesis. If a thesis is supposed to confirm a sufficient level of theoretical knowledge, then scientists are obligated to demonstrate the practical side of the scientific research and the scope of its application in the dissertation. Working on this issue will help get rid of topics that are interesting for the student but not suitable for a dissertation.
- Working with literary sources. This stage is one of the most difficult, since it should include the search and study of the works of authoritative scientists, work with articles presented in scientific publications, monographs, regulations, and archival documents. Specify in advance how many sources should be in your dissertation. The list ranges from 100 to 600 works by other authors and, by an unspoken rule, corresponds to the number of pages in the paper.
- Writing a project plan. As the most important part of the paper, this is where the research will be conducted. Such a plan is necessary to determine the structure of the future scientific paper, namely chapters, paragraphs, and sections. An example of a plan includes an introduction that covers the main topic of the dissertation, the purpose of the research and justification of its relevance, the object and subject of research, presented scientific hypothesis, the methodology used by the author, the conclusions drawn, and the list of literary sources.
- Step-by-step work on each part of the dissertation. If such research includes laboratory and other experiments, start with this section in order to avoid delays associated with funding or the technical side of the issue. It is important to take into account that any experiment should be based on previously conducted scientific research, but using the author’s idea.
- Formatting of a dissertation in accordance with the requirements and mandatory check by an anti-plagiarism program. The paper should be 90-100% unique, and it is desirable to test the paper for repeating paragraphs and rewriting.
Before writing a dissertation, it is necessary to consult with the supervisor. For graduate students, they will select a suitable topic and indicate the relevance of the selected topic.
Typical mistakes when writing a dissertation
- The use of unverified/unreliable materials for the preparation of the dissertation.
- Wrong approach to the choice of topic – a poorly studied or uninteresting topic will lead to problems in the process of writing the paper.
- Failure to meet the deadlines specified in the schedule. To avoid this problem, you should organize your time and present the required information in portions.
- Wrong choice of the dissertation form/inability to correctly formulate the selected type of work (manuscript, monograph, or scientific report).
Follow these guidelines and you will be able to present a high-quality dissertation. Good luck!