Dissertation Template
Dissertation guide
Chapter 1: Nature of the Study
[Brief introduction of topic and layout of chapter 1. This section should NOT be labeled Introduction.]
[Insert Background text. NOTE: The background section should be a well-supported essay that establishes that the topic is important and that ties the topic to the literature. This means you will need to have conducted much of your review of the literature prior to writing the Background section. Ideally, the theoretical lens will be addressed as well. Ensure that all assertions are well supported with citations. This section should lead logically into the problem statement.]
[Insert Problem Statement text. NOTE: Clearly define the problem that prompted the study. Use citations to support facts, statistics, and assertions. Include your rationale for choosing the problem. The problem statement is most successful when it intensely focuses on the problem, which means it should be clear and succinct and meaningfully related to the professional and academic fields.]
[Insert Purpose Statement text. NOTE: Clearly define the purpose of the study. What purpose will your findings have? For what purpose are you undertaking the study? Why are you collecting data? Why will it matter to your population of focus? Describe the general purpose of the study, the sample, and how you will examine the phenomenon by stating the specific research approach, proposed participants, and location/setting.].
Research Questions/Research Questions and Hypotheses
[Insert RQs. NOTE: Adjust the heading title here as needed. Quantitative studies will carry the heading Research Questions and Hypotheses. Qualitative studies will carry the heading Research Questions. For quantitative studies, present your research questions and hypotheses in a corresponding manner. For instance:
RQ1: What is the relationship between writing groups and time to degree completion for dissertation writers?
Ho1: Writing groups have no effect on time to degree completion for dissertation writers.
H11: Writing groups have a positive effect on time to degree completion for dissertation writers.
RQ2: What is the relationship between writing groups and graduation rates for students in the social sciences?
Ho1: Writing groups have no effect on graduation rates for students in the social sciences.
H12: Writing groups have a positive effect on graduation rates for students in the social sciences.
You should work with your chair and methodologist to determine how best to present your questions and hypotheses.
There are no hypotheses with qualitative studies. Instead, present the primary guiding research question (or questions) and any subquestions that stem from it. Qualitative questions should be open-ended and exploratory in nature. A typical presentation of qualitative questions is a brief paragraph presenting the main question followed by the subquestions in a seriated list. For example:
The guiding question for this study is/was as follows: What are the perceptions of dissertation writers as they begin to revise their proposals? The study is/was further grounded by two subquestions:
- How do dissertators feel about revision?
- In what ways do dissertators energize themselves to write?
You will work with your chair to draft and revise your research questions.].
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
[Insert Framework text. NOTE: Select a theoretical framework (quantitative) or conceptual framework (qualitative) that is aligned with your proposed topic. Be sure your heading title reflects which you are using! This framework will assist you with responding to the research questions as well as help you analyze your results. Although the theoretical/conceptual framework should also be aligned with your methodology, it is separate from the methodology and should be used to ground your study.
Literature citations are essential in this section. For quantitative studies, you will present a theoretical framework showing the reader in which theories your study is grounded. Keep in mind that this is an introduction and detailed information will be presented in the literature review.
Qualitative studies have a conceptual framework: theories, models, and ideas that will ground your study. Again, this is an introduction to these concepts as more detailed information will be presented in your literature review.
Steps to follow when developing your theoretical or conceptual framework:
- Clearly state the phenomenon you want to address in your study.
- Search and review theories, concepts, or models that explain some part (if not all) of your study.
- Take note of the strengths and limitations of the theories, concepts, or models in terms of which best explain the phenomenon or aspects of the phenomenon.
- Put the pieces of the theories, concepts, and/or models together with the aim of explaining or describing the phenomenon or aspects of the phenomenon.
- After synthesizing, you may identify/create a theory you would want to test or you may recognize a gap (i.e., unexplained phenomenon or aspects of the phenomenon), which your study would attempt to fill.
- If possible, create a diagram to show the relationship among the various concepts, theories, and/or models.].
[Insert Scope text. NOTE: Declare those characteristics that you have chosen to limit the scope of the inquiry. For example, decisions made throughout the development of the proposal, such as the choice of objectives and questions, areas of interest, and other theoretical perspectives that could have been adopted. Delimitations will be included here, covering who the participants are, geographic region, time bounds, and so forth.]
[Insert Definitions text. NOTE: Definitions should be
Alphabetical. List your terms following this format in alphabetical order. Terms will be those that are unique to your study or uniquely used in your study.
Supported. Most of the terms should be supported with a citation. The exception is if you are operationalizing a term specific to your study. Say, for instance, that you need to define elderly in your study as anyone age 90 years and older.
Uncommon. If using a common definition, there is no need to include the term in this list. Theories should not be included, Acts of Congress should not be included, neither should models, nor commonly used terms related to methodology.].
[Insert Significance text. NOTE: When writing the significance of the study, think of your findings. Who will care about the findings? Who will be interested to learn of your work? How might these findings make an impact on these individuals? How might your findings further the ongoing academic dialogue? Try not to be too grandiose in these thoughts, and instead, think of the individuals who might be affected and how they are affected. Organize the section around the significance of the research, policy, and practice. Aim to present three solid examples of how this study and its findings bear significance.].
[Insert Summary text. NOTE: In two or three paragraphs, summarize the main points of this section and transition into the following sections. Explain how the document is organized; for example, Chapter 2 will present literature related to writing groups and dissertation writing services, and Chapter 3 will present a detailed look at multiple case studies and how this methodology was used to investigate the efficacy of writing groups. For the proposal, you may end here. For the final document, add information about Chapters 4 and 5.].
[Insert Introduction text. NOTE: Here is where you will include a brief introduction; not much is needed because you just spent an entire chapter introducing your topic. Explicitly state the topics that are covered in the review using headings to organize this statement; in other words, your main topics should be noted in this statement. Keep in mind that this chapter serves as a comprehensive essay covering what other researchers have already found and discussed regarding your subject. Therefore, the literature review should be written in a way that compares, contrasts, and analyzes what was found in the existing body of literature as well as in a way that persuades the reader that your study is necessary for filling any gaps.].
[Insert Research Strategy text. NOTE: Include what databases and key terms were used to search for sources. It might also make sense to identify specific periodicals and how many articles these searches produced as well as how your rationale for which articles to include. You should include enough information that your reader could easily replicate your search and find the same articles.]
[Insert text. NOTE: Begin with the body of your literature review organized by main topics. Work to include at least two (ideally more) sources per paragraph. Try to avoid single-source paragraphs and quotes. It’s imperative that you work from an outline and that you have dedicated time to organizing your sources and your notes ahead of time.]
[Insert text. NOTE: APA style headings convey a specific hierarchy of concepts in your paper, so you want to be very intentional with your heading usage. You should not move down to the next heading level, as we have done here, unless you have two or more headings at that level. If you find yourself with only one subtopic, consider adding a second subtopic or moving the subtopic heading to a main topic instead.].
Example Level 3 Heading
[Text begins here. NOTE: Move to these lower-order headings only if breaking the preceding subtopics into two or more subsections.].
Example Level 3 Heading
[Text begins here].
Example Level 4 Heading. [Text begins here].
Example Level 4 Heading. [Text begins here].
Example Level 5 Heading. [Text begins here].
Example Level 5 Heading. [Text begins here].
[Insert text. NOTE: This section outlines the second subtopic that falls under the same umbrella of the above main topic. Note that only heading levels 1 and 2 are in the Table of Contents.].
[Insert text and additional sections as needed.]
[Insert text. NOTE: Within the summary, you can point out the gap in the literature or make it a separate section before the summary and transition. Other items you can include in the literature review (and your chair might require you include) is a more robust look at your theoretical or conceptual framework. If you conducted a quantitative study, your chair might require that you research and organize based on your variables.
No two literature reviews are alike; this is truly your chance to contribute original thought on existing research. Most literature reviews must, though, have the goal of analysis and synthesis of recent (typically within the last 5 years, though this is only a guideline), peer-reviewed literature. Work with your chair to determine the best organization of your literature review and to make sure that you have saturated the literature available.]
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