Crafting a dissertation
Ronan Fitzpatrick
June 2007
Overview
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Structure
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Content
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of dissertation
of individual chapters
of chapter sections
of dissertation
of individual chapters
of chapter sections
Format
Life cycle
Incubation
Proposal
Research
Contribution
Validation
Presentation
Dissertation
Dissemination
Application
New Hypothesis
Structure
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of dissertation - 1
Cover page (Title and Author details)
Certificate of own work
Abstract
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Abbreviations.
Structure
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of dissertation - 2
Introduction chapter
Dissertation chapters 2, 3, …n
Your contribution chapter
Validation/evaluation chapter
Conclusion chapter
References
Appendix.
Structure
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of individual chapters
Introduction
Background
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Sub-sections
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Conclusion.
Structure
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of chapter sections
A sentence or two to introduce the
section
Write the section
Make any arguments or draw any
conclusions at the end of the section.
Structure
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Keep in mind:
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Handholding and signposting for your
readers
Avoiding the ‘So What’ trap
Building on each chapter deliverable as
your dissertation advances.
Structure
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of chapters
How big/small is a chapter?
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Is 3 pages too small?
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If you have an Introduction and a Conclusion
there won’t be much in between.
Is a 3-page chapter appropriate to an MSc?
Is 50 pages too big?
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Would it be better to have written two
chapters?
Is 50 pages half a dissertation?
Structure
Any questions on structure?
Content
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Overview of the dissertation
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- Abstract
Weave topics and keywords into an
overview
No citations
Limit to one page.
First thing to be read, last thing to be
written.
Content
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- Acknowledgements
Institute and any funding body
Supervisors and Lecturers
Academics, practitioners and world
experts
Family, colleagues and friends.
Content
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– Table of Contents
Limit to three levels
Use numbering (e.g., 5, 5.1, 5.1.1).
Content
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– List of Tables and Figures
By chapter
Use chapter number in table and figure
captions, e.g., Figure 7.4 is the fourth
figure in Chapter 7.
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Note spellings of chapter (use the big C to refer
to a specific chapter).
Content
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- Abbreviations
List all abbreviations with their full
expression
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Always use full expression first in the text.
Content
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– Introduction chapter
This chapter explains what the
dissertation is all about, why you are
doing it, who would find the content
interesting, how you went about things,
when you did the work, where you did
any special research, what you
discovered, and how you’ve presented it
in this dissertation document.
Content
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PESTLE
W6h.
– of a dissertation
Content
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– Introduction chapter
Introduction
Project background
Project aim and objectives
Project challenge (need, and intellectual)
Reader audience
Methodology
Research program
Project deliverables
Structure of this dissertation
Chapter conclusion.
Chapter 1
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– Think about
What the dissertation is about?
Why are you doing it?
Who are you doing the dissertation for?
What value will it have for them?
What is the challenge (problem) of the dissertation?
How will your solution differ from existing solutions?
Who else will the dissertation be of interest to?
What value will it have for them?
Chapter 1
- Think about
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How do you plan to do it?
What do you hope to deliver at the end of the
project?
What will the timescale be?
What you will gain from doing this dissertation?
Any experimental or prototype work you have done
Include the titles of your remaining chapters
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State what your dissertation will NOT do.
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Content
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Chapter Introduction
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W6h for the chapter
Chapter signposting
Chapter topic explained
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– Dissertation chapters 2, 3, …n
Literature review of chapter topic
…
Argument & Critique
Deliverable
Discussion (optional)
Conclusion
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Summarise and draw conclusions.
Repeat to Chapter n
Content
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- Contribution chapter
Building on chapter deliverables
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A synthesis of deliverables from each
chapter
Framework, model, method, set of
guidelines, Critical Success Factors,
checklist
Proof of concept by prototype
implementation.
Content
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– Validation/evaluation chapter
Completing the circle
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Build a tool of criteria for evaluating your
contribution
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Manual or electronic
Return to Academic, practitioner or world
expert for comment
Incorporate findings and feedback.
Content
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Summary
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Summarise what you’ve done
Restate Aim and objectives
Emphasise your contribution
State the benefits of your research
State the difficulties you encountered
Conclusions
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– Conclusion chapter
Emphasise your findings and conclusions
Critique the current state of the art
Comment on your own work
Identify future work.
Content
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- References
A full list of all sources that you have
cited in the text
Alphabetical order
Comply with the Institute standard for
citation and referencing.
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Remember, the objective it to support
future researchers who want to find your
sources.
Content
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- Appendix
Include as necessary
Supplemental information
Don’t hide valuable research in the
appendix.
Content
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– Scholarly & Authoritive coverage
Based on seminal sources (hierarchy)
Repeatable
Dated/modern sources
Depth & breadth
Completeness of research
Content balance
Argument & critique - The ‘so what?’ factor.
Content
– Scholarly & Authoritive coverage
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Domain vocabulary
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English language
– Evidence of having
researched and understood the domain.
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Colloquialisms
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suspect or suspicious or irregular
impressive or significant
One
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Dodgy
Fine/Great
One does not use one in one’s papers or one’s
dissertation
Etc.
Gender-free.
Chapter content
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Examples are key to good explaining
Include them regularly in order to
clarify matters for your readers.
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If you don’t include them
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- Examples
will your readers understand the points you
make?
is it because you don’t understand the points
yourself?
Use relevant examples.
Content
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At MSc level:
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Literature review
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Must be accurate
Must be complete
Ethical practice applies
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Must not be plagiarised
Data must be accurate and true (repeatable)
Findings must be fully reported.
Content
Any questions on content?
Format
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Page setup
Font styles
Heading styles and numbering
Headers and footers
Citations and references
Lists, tables and figures
Spelling and punctuation.
Format
– Page setup
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Top margin:
Bottom margin:
Left margin:
Right margin:
Paper size A4
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Line spacing:
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1½ lines.
Format
– Heading styles and numbering
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Times New Roman 24pt bold Chapter heading
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5.1 Times New Roman 16pt bold first level heading - Numbered
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5.1.1 Times New Roman 14pt bold second level heading – Numbered
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5.1.1.1 Times New Roman 12pt bold third level heading – Numbered
Times New Roman 12pt fourth level heading
Use word processor functionality for
automatic numbering.
Format
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– Font styles
Correct font style for computer code in
a text document
<!-- Access skip content //-->
<div class="alt">
<a href="#nav" title="Skip to main navigation menu"
accesskey="n">Skip to menu</a>
<a href="#content" title="Skip to main body content"
accesskey="c">Skip to body content</a>
</div>
<!-- End access skip content //-->
Format
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– Font styles
Use italic font and quotation marks to
illustrate verbatim reporting, for
example,
"That's one small step for man; one
giant leap for mankind."
Armstrong, 1969
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Use a new line and indent.
Format
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Different first page
1.25 from header edge
1.25 from footer edge
Header
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– Headers and footers
Chapter title - Times New Roman 10pt italics
Footer
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Page number 12pt.
Citing research sources - 1
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You MUST cite your sources
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Should you cite sources every time you
make a statement?
Should you cite sources at the end of a
paragraph?
Let your reader know that this is honest
research and not plagiarism
Don’t rely on just one source.
Citing research sources - 2
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Example 1
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There are numerous definitions of the term
'Data Mining' but the core concept behind them
is the same, that data mining is the exploration
and analysis of large quantities of data in order
to discover meaningful patterns and rules
(Berry, 2004).
Citing research sources - 3
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Alternative to example 1
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There are numerous definitions of the term
'Data Mining' (Berry & LinHoff, 1997; Han &
Kamber, 2000; Ng & Han, 2002; ISO/IEC
13249-6, 2006 p12). However, Berry (2004)
argues that the core concept behind them is the
same, that is, data mining is the exploration and
analysis of large quantities of data in order to
discover meaningful patterns and rules.
Citing research sources - 4
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One problem
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THE seminal publication is missing
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i.e., Fayyad, U., Piatetsky-Shapiro, G. and
Smyth, P. (1996)
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So, researchers need to accurately identify
seminal sources and supervisors need to
be very attentive to what’s written.
Format
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– Citations
(DeMarco, 1982; p3)
(Schneidewind, 1992; Shepperd & Ince,
1993; Churcher & Shepperd, 1995;
Fenton & Pfleeger, 1996)
(Bevan, 1995; Ivory et al., 2001; ISO
9126, 2001).
Format
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– References
DeMarco, T. (1982) Controlling Software Projects:
Management, Measurement & Estimation, Yourdon
Press, New York, USA, p3
Fenton, N.E. and Pfleeger, S.L. (1996) Software
Metrics: A Rigorous and Practical Approach,
International Thomson Computer Press, London, UK
Ivory, M.Y., Sinha, R.R. and Hearst, M. (2001)
Empirically Validated Web Page Design Metrics, in
Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems, CHI Letters 3(1), p53-60
Format
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– References
Start a Reference file on the day you
write your project proposal.
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Author surname, Initial(s), (Year) Title,
Publication, Publisher, City, Country,
Vol(Issue), Page numbers
Use same format for Internet publications
but add the date you access it.
Format
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1.
2.
3.
4.
– Lists, figures and tables
Bullet or number list?
Capital letter and full stop
Topic research
Write the chapter
Deliverable creation
Conclusions.
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Research the topic
Write the chapter
Create a deliverable
Draw conclusions.
Format
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Figure – a diagram or illustration
Caption below figure
Consistent format for fonts, e.g.,
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– Lists, figures and tables
Figure 5.1 – This is the caption of Figure 5.1.
Include chapter number in figure number
Include the source of your illustration.
Format
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Table - contains data that can be
processed mathematically ????
Caption above table
Consistent format for fonts, e.g.,
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– Lists, figures and tables
Table 5.1 – This is the caption of Table 5.1.
Include chapter number in table number.
Format
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– Lists, tables and figures
Including tables and figures
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Must be referenced in the text (reference
first, followed by the table or figure)
Position the table or figure as close as
possible to where it is first mentioned in
the text
Must be explained
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Don’t allow your reader to misinterpret your
tables or figures or to remain ignorant about
their content. You should explain them in full.
Example
Fitzpatrick (2007) presents a life cycle for
progressing MSc research as illustrated in Figure 2.1.
Incubation
Proposal
Research
Contribution
Validation
Presentation
Dissertation
Dissemination
Application
New Hypothesis
Figure 2.1 – MSc Life cycle. (Fitzpatrick 2007)
The Life cycle consists of ten elements …
Using the correct verb
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Another challenge that needs to be
carried out
Format
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– Spelling and punctuation
Consistent spelling, especially new
technical words
Apostrophe of possession
Apostrophe of omission (avoid)
Sentence length
Question mark
Quotation marks
Full stop.
Do
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Write in the passive voice (e.g., the research was
completed)
Write gender-free text (try the plural)
Include examples in order to clarify topics for your
readers
Use a consistent layout for bulleted lists, numbered
lists, figure and table captions
Use consistent spelling for new technical words
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For example, end-user, e-Commerce, Internet
Keep your sentences to under twenty-two words
Proof-read your work for typing errors
Re-read your work for structure, meaning and clarity.
Don’t
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Don’t use the words, etc., one or one’s, basically or
essentially
Don’t write “this chapter will attempt to…” (Write “this
chapter will”)
Don’t write “As already stated...” (Write in “Section X.Y it
was explained”)
Don’t confuse it’s with its, or there with their or they’re
Don’t rely only on a spellchecker
Don’t use dialogue – avoid,
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Welcome to this report”
"In a few moments I will explain"
Don’t include clipart unless it is significant to your research
Don’t be accused of plagiarising some one else’s research.
Make it easy for yourself
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Your supervisor has been through this
process and has successfully produced
a dissertation. That might be a good
starting point for structure and content
headings.
Do yourself justice
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Your dissertation will be available off
the library shelf for many years to
come, so, polish it and present it in its
best light
Avoid submitting a bag of unpolished
diamonds.
Readings

Truss, Lynne (2003) Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The
zero tolerance approach to punctuation, Profile
Books Ltd, London, England
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Fitzpatrick, R. and O'Donnell, K. (2003) Crafting
a research paper
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www.comp.dit.ie/rfitzpatrick/Papers & Publications
Conclusion
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Some thoughts on
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Structure
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Content
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of dissertation
of individual chapters
of chapter sections
of dissertation
of individual chapters
of chapter sections
Format
Questions.