A manual to thesis structure
A thesis, also called a dissertation, is a scientific work written by a scientist applying for a degree. The skill of writing such works is formed through writing student papers, but the thesis, unlike them, is serious scientific work and has real value (cheap dissertation writing services rarely, if ever, offer that). It is customary to divide the dissertation into the following parts:
- Introduction;
- Main part;
- Conclusion.
After the conclusion you can often find such additional parts as the bibliographic section and appendices. We shall consider each of the parts in detail.
Introduction
The length of the introduction is typically from 10 to 15 pages. The mandatory elements of the introduction are the following: the importance of the problem, the study of the problem in other works, the depth of scientific sources on the research topic, the current state of the chosen scientific discipline. From all this, it is necessary to deduce the goal, objectives, object and subject of research. In addition, there must necessarily be a working hypothesis, which we will defend in the research process. Then the research methodology is formulated and a set of sources is determined, which will be used to substantiate our hypothesis.
Main part
The main part of the thesis can be divided into chapters, and most often it is. Usually, there are at least three chapters, with the following content:
- Chapter 1: Methodology;
- Chapter 2: Main chapter;
- Chapter 3: Results.
The first chapter is essentially an introductory one; here we collect and analyze sources and formulate methods. Here it is necessary to describe the methodological basis and source base stated in the introduction in more detail. In addition, it is here that you should enter some new concepts in the researched problem, describe a certain new method, if any, and combine the new with the already known.
The second chapter is the main one, and it is necessary to provide the bulk of new research here. Here the course of the research itself, all experiments, calculations should be displayed and described in detail. If there are tables and figures that are placed in applications, then they should be referred to from here. Then a generalization of the results is carried out, during which two things must be done. First, it is necessary to compare the data obtained by the author with the results of research by other authors, and secondly, the author should match his theory with already existing theories, and determine whether it is a special case of a well-known theory.
The third chapter summarizes the findings of the author and justifies them, and also here is a brief discussion of the results and their significance for science. Each chapter should end with certain conclusions.
Conclusion
The length of the final part is usually the same as that of the introduction. In general, the conclusion is in some way an echo of the introduction: all the goals and objectives that were in the introduction should be repeated in the conclusion, but here they include the data from the conducted research. In practice, this rule is rarely followed. One conclusion can summarize two objectives, or two conclusions summarize one. This should not be allowed. If such a situation is observed, the introduction should be edited (which is not an uncommon practice in writing dissertations).
Bibliography
The bibliographic section is required in a thesis. In any scientific work, any borrowing from other authors should be provided with a quotation and/or reference, and each source used should be listed in the bibliographic section.
