Dissertation Conclusion and Recommendations
The final stage and chapter in your dissertation research paper is the conclusion and this is where you’re most likely going to be making recommendations, whether these be for future research, a government body or a corporations.
These recommendations probably won’t form an additional chapter in your research paper as they come after concluding summary.

Key parts of the chapter
The key area here is to understand that this chapter concludes (ends) your dissertation. You aren’t offering conclusions here, as these are already provided to the reader throughout the other various chapters in your work.
There are differences between a ‘conclusion’ and ‘conclusions’. How? A conclusion is just what you’re writing about in this chapter: what did you set out to accomplish (hypothesis/hypotheses), what did you do (research data), how did you do it (methodology), what did you find out (data analyses).
Conclusions, on the other hand, are made throughout your paper. Such as whether a hypothesis was proven right or wrong, or whether your data collection method was proven correct, valid and reliable, etc.
The most important part of this chapter is to not introduce anything new . It cannot do that. You must use it as a summary-type chapter that brings the paper to a close.
Keep in Mind
When you’re concluding the different parts of your dissertation project, keep in mind that the reader should be reading a snapshot of the different aspects contained in your research of the project and the key findings that were realized and identified.
You should also review each stage. Check that you’ve noted what has happened and explain why, in brief. However, be conscious that this chapter should be clean and crisp, and you should deliver your points to the reader (your supervisor/marker) in the best possible way: straight to the point.

What is included in the Chapter?
It might be advisable to break the chapter down into a number of subsections. (You wouldn’t actually create the sub-headings though.):
Introduction
Introduce the chapter to the reader – just as you have with the others (remember: signposts in your paper are good points of reference and help the reader) – and include such things as “…this chapter will review and summarize the dissertation research, identify the main methods used and discuss their implications in the study” or similar. Note that you shouldn’t copy this word-for-word, but it gives you an understanding.
Problem Statement and Methodology
In this part you will be presenting the problem statement as you have presented it in the first chapter (what was the problem and what did you want to achieve). You should then review the methodology, in detail, but without repeating anything that you have already said.
You don’t want to draw on in this part and you should get right to the point, but you will need to understand that you will need to review the methodology so that it provides enough information to the reader about the methodology so that they don’t have to go and read this chapter independently.
Results of Summary
You should keep this section brief and identify the result with a general statement paragraph which it then followed by another paragraph that supports the evidence collected. You should avoid interpretation here and thus be objective about the results.
Discussion of Results
You should discuss the meaning of the results here, in brief, and highlight any important areas that you have identified. You should also look at the different things that the study means and how this is evaluated to the overall understanding in your dissertation.
Recommendations (How To Write Them)
These could be to your employer or to the academic community. You will want to keep this section brief and maybe to one paragraph or two, and explain what, from the research that has been conducted, there will be recommendations to the organizations or, if you are presenting to academia, then what further research should be conducted in the future.
After you have seen the above it may become clear that it isn’t overly hard to establish the different parts of this chapter to round off your dissertation.
20 thoughts to “Dissertation Conclusion and Recommendations”
thank you more than words, this will me more the conculusion and recomendation section of my study.
You are welcome. It’s always good to see that even one unversity/college students gets a helping hand from the content that I’ve written. Some people do say that the conclusions and recommendations section really do make or break a dissertation research paper and I believe this to be so true – if you have strong arguments throughout your paper but then don’t bring them together to a neat, meaningful and compelling close, then your dissertation supervisor could end up feeling as though you could have done more. This results in the effect that you receive a lower mark for your work and could miss out on a higher grade and thus classification.
Oh, and good luck. Jane.
please help me with my study to be honest i really dont know how to make a research paper its my first time rather so can you help me how to make recommendation and background of the study my topic is about SAFETY PRATICES AND USES OF MECHANICAL TOOLS thank u for advance
Thanks for your contribution for helping mankind in the best way you think you can positively contribute. I wish you are remembered for your kindness at all times. What you have contributed could send relief and comfort to millions of candidates who see some steps in research work as cloudy space which may take quite a lot of time to clear for navigation. But with someone like you out there, nursing the feelings of others’ likely difficulties, and then provide this piece, I say more grease to your elbow and God bless you all the time of your life.
this is great, it has really help me in writing my project work. God should add more knowledge to what u have and continue to help others to write their research work. thank u very much and keep it up
Thanks for sharing and I will follow your instructions. I’m in the process of writing my final chapter for my dissertation.
thank you for summing it up so well
Thanks. Will write the conclusion now.
Am worried i want to present my final paper i need to dissertation help me
Mary, it’s best to send me a message through my contact form: https://dissta.com/contact/
Thanks dear Jane for this page. This is my first time of writing a project and I’m writing on . “Menace Of Computer Crime”. But I have some problems writing the recommendation and reverence part. Please I need your help. Thanks a lot.
Send me a message using the contact form on this page: https://dissta.com/contact/ and I will help you if I can.
Thank you so much for your time and effort! Brilliantly written.
So refreshing to know there’s people out ther who actually genuinely want kt help xx
You’re welcome, Ammarah.
I’m currently looking to add a lot more resources and helpful advice to Dissta. Thank you for your kind words and I hope some of the information you have read here will help you in your time in academia.
Thank you very much. This article was very helpful. I was writing my final year dissertation. Doing BSc in business computing with IT. I was stucked on the conclusion and i went online to do some research. I found a couple things but believe me or not, when i read your article, wow it was like open door to heaven lol. Thanks guy. I do really appreciate thatand it means a lot to me that people like you are out there to help. Great job.
Thank you so much for your time and effort!
I enjoyed this, however my conclusion and recommendation section must be 2500 words and you have recommended to keep it short and brief in all of the sections meaning I cannot possibly extend the word count to such a figure?
it is really beneficial. Thanks a lot for your effort.
Thank You… I have learned a lot to write my final chapter.
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Formatting Your Dissertation
On this page:
Language of the Dissertation
Page and text requirements, body of text, tables, figures, and captions, dissertation acceptance certificate, copyright statement.
- Table of Contents
Front and Back Matter
Supplemental material, dissertations comprising previously published works, top ten formatting errors, further questions.
Related Contacts and Forms
When preparing the dissertation for submission, students must follow strict formatting requirements. Any deviation from these requirements may lead to rejection of the dissertation and delay in the conferral of the degree.
The language of the dissertation is ordinarily English, although some departments whose subject matter involves foreign languages may accept a dissertation written in a language other than English.
Most dissertations are 100 to 300 pages in length. All dissertations should be divided into appropriate sections, and long dissertations may need chapters, main divisions, and subdivisions.
- 8½ x 11 inches, unless a musical score is included
At least 1 inch for all margins
Body of text: double spacing
Block quotations, footnotes, and bibliographies: single spacing within each entry but double spacing between each entry
Table of contents, list of tables, list of figures or illustrations, and lengthy tables: single spacing may be used
FONTS AND POINT SIZE
Use 10-12 point size. Fonts must be embedded in the PDF file to ensure all characters display correctly.
Recommended Fonts
If you are unsure whether your chosen font will display correctly, use one of the following fonts:
If fonts are not embedded, non-English characters may not appear as intended. Fonts embedded improperly will be published to DASH as-is. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that fonts are embedded properly prior to submission.
Instructions for Embedding Fonts
To embed your fonts in recent versions of word, follow these instructions from microsoft:.
Click the File tab and then click Options .
In the left column, select the Save tab.
At the bottom, under Preserve fidelity when sharing this document , select the Embed fonts in the file check box.
Clear the Do not embed common system fonts check box.
For reference, below are some instructions from ProQuest UMI for embedding fonts in older file formats:
To embed your fonts in Microsoft Word 2010:
In the File pull-down menu click on Options .
Choose Save on the left sidebar.
- Check the box next to Embed fonts in the file.
- Click the OK button.
- Save the document.
Note that when saving as a PDF, make sure to go to “more options” and save as “PDF/A compliant”
To embed your fonts in Microsoft Word 2007:
- Click the circular Office button in the upper left corner of Microsoft Word.
- A new window will display. In the bottom right corner select Word Options .
- Choose Save from the left sidebar.
Using Microsoft Word on a Mac:
Microsoft Word 2008 on a Mac OS X computer will automatically embed your fonts while converting your document to a PDF file.
If you are converting to PDF using Acrobat Professional (instructions courtesy of the Graduate Thesis Office at Iowa State University):
- Open your document in Microsoft Word.
- Click on the Adobe PDF tab at the top. Select "Change Conversion Settings."
- Click on Advanced Settings.
- Click on the Fonts folder on the left side of the new window. In the lower box on the right, delete any fonts that appear in the "Never Embed" box. Then click "OK."
- If prompted to save these new settings, save them as "Embed all fonts."
- Now the Change Conversion Settings window should show "embed all fonts" in the Conversion Settings drop-down list and it should be selected. Click "OK" again.
- Click on the Adobe PDF link at the top again. This time select Convert to Adobe PDF. Depending on the size of your document and the speed of your computer, this process can take 1-15 minutes.
- After your document is converted, select the "File" tab at the top of the page. Then select "Document Properties."
- Click on the "Fonts" tab. Carefully check all of your fonts. They should all show "(Embedded Subset)" after the font name.
- If you see "(Embedded Subset)" after all fonts, you have succeeded.
The font used in the body of the text must also be used in headers, page numbers, and footnotes. Exceptions are made only for tables and figures created with different software and inserted into the document.
Tables and figures must be placed as close as possible to their first mention in the text. They may be placed on a page with no text above or below, or they may be placed directly into the text. If a table or a figure is alone on a page (with no narrative), it should be centered within the margins on the page. Tables may take up more than one page as long as they obey all rules about margins. Tables and figures referred to in the text may not be placed at the end of the chapter or at the end of the dissertation.
Given the standards of the discipline, dissertations in the Department of History of Art and Architecture and the Department of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning often place illustrations at the end of the dissertation.
Figure and table numbering must be continuous throughout the dissertation or by chapter (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, etc.). Two figures or tables cannot be designated with the same number. If you have repeating images that you need to cite more than once, label them with their number and A, B, etc.
Headings should be placed at the top of tables. While no specific rules for the format of table headings and figure captions are required, a consistent format must be used throughout the dissertation (contact your department for style manuals appropriate to the field).
Captions should appear at the bottom of any figures. If the figure takes up the entire page, the caption should be placed alone on the preceding page, centered vertically and horizontally within the margins.
Each page receives a separate page number. When a figure or table title is on a preceding page, the second and subsequent pages of the figure or table should say, for example, “Figure 5 (Continued).” In such an instance, the list of figures or tables will list the page number containing the title. The word “figure” should be written in full (not abbreviated), and the “F” should be capitalized (e.g., Figure 5). In instances where the caption continues on a second page, the “(Continued)” notation should appear on the second and any subsequent page. The figure/table and the caption are viewed as one entity and the numbering should show correlation between all pages. Each page must include a header.
Landscape orientation figures and tables must be positioned correctly and bound at the top so that the top of the figure or table will be at the left margin. Figure and table headings/captions are placed with the same orientation as the figure or table when on the same page. When on a separate page, headings/captions are always placed in portrait orientation, regardless of the orientation of the figure or table. Page numbers are always placed as if the figure were vertical on the page.
If a graphic artist does the figures, GSAS will accept lettering done by the artist only within the figure. Figures done with software are acceptable if the figures are clear and legible. Legends and titles done by the same process as the figures will be accepted if they too are clear, legible, and run at least 10 or 12 characters per inch. Otherwise, legends and captions should be printed with the same font used in the text.
Original illustrations, photographs, and fine arts prints may be scanned and included, centered between the margins on a page with no text above or below.
Use of Third-Party Content
In addition to the student's own writing, dissertations often contain third-party content or in-copyright content owned by parties other than you, the student who authored the dissertation. The Office for Scholarly Communication recommends consulting the information below about fair use, which allows individuals to use in-copyright content, on a limited basis and for specific purposes, without seeking permission from copyright holders.
Because your dissertation will be made available for online distribution through DASH , Harvard's open-access repository, it is important that any third-party content in it may be made available in this way.
Fair Use and Copyright
What is fair use?
Fair use is a provision in copyright law that allows the use of a certain amount of copyrighted material without seeking permission. Fair use is format- and media-agnostic. This means fair use may apply to images (including photographs, illustrations, and paintings), quoting at length from literature, videos, and music regardless of the format.
How do I determine whether my use of an image or other third-party content in my dissertation is fair use?
There are four factors you will need to consider when making a fair use claim.
1) For what purpose is your work going to be used?
Nonprofit, educational, scholarly, or research use favors fair use. Commercial, non-educational uses, often do not favor fair use.
A transformative use (repurposing or recontextualizing the in-copyright material) favors fair use. Examining, analyzing, and explicating the material in a meaningful way, so as to enhance a reader's understanding, strengthens your fair use argument. In other words, can you make the point in the thesis without using, for instance, an in-copyright image? Is that image necessary to your dissertation? If not, perhaps, for copyright reasons, you should not include the image.
2) What is the nature of the work to be used?
Published, fact-based content favors fair use and includes scholarly analysis in published academic venues.
Creative works, including artistic images, are afforded more protection under copyright, and depending on your use in light of the other factors, may be less likely to favor fair use; however, this does not preclude considerations of fair use for creative content altogether.
3) How much of the work is going to be used?
Small, or less significant, amounts favor fair use. A good rule of thumb is to use only as much of the in-copyright content as necessary to serve your purpose. Can you use a thumbnail rather than a full-resolution image? Can you use a black-and-white photo instead of color? Can you quote select passages instead of including several pages of the content? These simple changes bolster your fair use of the material.
4) What potential effect on the market for that work may your use have?
If there is a market for licensing this exact use or type of educational material, then this weighs against fair use. If however, there would likely be no effect on the potential commercial market, or if it is not possible to obtain permission to use the work, then this favors fair use.
For further assistance with fair use, consult the Office for Scholarly Communication's guide, Fair Use: Made for the Harvard Community and the Office of the General Counsel's Copyright and Fair Use: A Guide for the Harvard Community .
What are my options if I don’t have a strong fair use claim?
Consider the following options if you find you cannot reasonably make a fair use claim for the content you wish to incorporate:
Seek permission from the copyright holder.
Use openly licensed content as an alternative to the original third-party content you intended to use. Openly-licensed content grants permission up-front for reuse of in-copyright content, provided your use meets the terms of the open license.
Use content in the public domain, as this content is not in-copyright and is therefore free of all copyright restrictions. Whereas third-party content is owned by parties other than you, no one owns content in the public domain; everyone, therefore, has the right to use it.
For use of images in your dissertation, please consult this guide to Finding Public Domain & Creative Commons Media , which is a great resource for finding images without copyright restrictions.
Who can help me with questions about copyright and fair use?
Contact your Copyright First Responder . Please note, Copyright First Responders assist with questions concerning copyright and fair use, but do not assist with the process of obtaining permission from copyright holders.
Pages should be assigned a number except for the Dissertation Acceptance Certificate . Preliminary pages (abstract, table of contents, list of tables, graphs, illustrations, and preface) should use small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.). All pages must contain text or images.
Count the title page as page i and the copyright page as page ii, but do not print page numbers on either page .
For the body of text, use Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) starting with page 1 on the first page of text. Page numbers must be centered throughout the manuscript at the top or bottom. Every numbered page must be consecutively ordered, including tables, graphs, illustrations, and bibliography/index (if included); letter suffixes (such as 10a, 10b, etc.) are not allowed. It is customary not to have a page number on the page containing a chapter heading.
Check pagination carefully. Account for all pages.
A copy of the Dissertation Acceptance Certificate (DAC) should appear as the first page. This page should not be counted or numbered. The DAC will appear in the online version of the published dissertation.
The dissertation begins with the title page; the title should be as concise as possible and should provide an accurate description of the dissertation.
- Do not print a page number on the title page: It is understood to be page i for counting purposes only.
A copyright notice should appear on a separate page immediately following the title page and include the copyright symbol ©, the year of first publication of the work, and the name of the author:
© [ year ] [ Author’s Name ] All rights reserved.
Alternatively, students may choose to license their work openly under a Creative Commons license. The author remains the copyright holder while at the same time granting up-front permission to others to read, share, and (depending on the license) adapt the work, so long as proper attribution is given. (By default, under copyright law, the author reserves all rights; under a Creative Commons license, the author reserves some rights.)
- Do not print a page number on the copyright page. It is understood to be page ii for counting purposes only.
An abstract, numbered as page iii , should immediately follow the copyright page and should state the problem, describe the methods and procedures used, and give the main results or conclusions of the research. The abstract will appear in the online and bound versions of the dissertation and will be published by ProQuest. There is no maximum word count for the abstract.
- double-spaced
- left-justified
- indented on the first line of each paragraph
- The author’s name, right justified
- The words “Dissertation Advisor:” followed by the advisor’s name, left-justified (a maximum of two advisors is allowed)
- Title of the dissertation, centered, several lines below author and advisor
Dissertations divided into sections must contain a table of contents that lists, at minimum, the major headings in the following order:
- Front Matter
- Body of Text
- Back Matter
Front matter includes (if applicable):
acknowledgements of help or encouragement from individuals or institutions
a dedication
a list of illustrations or tables
a glossary of terms
one or more epigraphs.
Back matter includes (if applicable):
bibliography
supplemental materials, including figures and tables
an index (in rare instances).
Supplemental figures and tables must be placed at the end of the dissertation in an appendix, not within or at the end of a chapter. If additional digital information (including audio, video, image, or datasets) will accompany the main body of the dissertation, it should be uploaded as a supplemental file through ProQuest ETD . Supplemental material will be available in DASH and ProQuest and preserved digitally in the Harvard University Archives.
As a matter of copyright, dissertations comprising the student's previously published works must be authorized for distribution from DASH. The guidelines in this section pertain to any previously published material that requires permission from publishers or other rightsholders before it may be distributed from DASH. Please note:
Authors whose publishing agreements grant the publisher exclusive rights to display, distribute, and create derivative works will need to seek the publisher's permission for nonexclusive use of the underlying works before the dissertation may be distributed from DASH.
Authors whose publishing agreements indicate the authors have retained the relevant nonexclusive rights to the original materials for display, distribution, and the creation of derivative works may distribute the dissertation as a whole from DASH without need for further permissions.
It is recommended that authors consult their publishing agreements directly to determine whether and to what extent they may have transferred exclusive rights under copyright. The Office for Scholarly Communication (OSC) is available to help the author determine whether she has retained the necessary rights or requires permission. Please note, however, the Office of Scholarly Communication is not able to assist with the permissions process itself.
Missing Dissertation Acceptance Certificate. The first page of the PDF dissertation file should be a scanned copy of the Dissertation Acceptance Certificate (DAC). This page should not be counted or numbered as a part of the dissertation pagination.
Conflicts Between the DAC and the Title Page. The DAC and the dissertation title page must match exactly, meaning that the author name and the title on the title page must match that on the DAC. If you use your full middle name or just an initial on one document, it must be the same on the other document.
Abstract Formatting Errors. The advisor name should be left-justified, and the author's name should be right-justified. Up to two advisor names are allowed. The Abstract should be double spaced and include the page title “Abstract,” as well as the page number “iii.” There is no maximum word count for the abstract.
Pagination
The front matter should be numbered using Roman numerals (iii, iv, v, …). The title page and the copyright page should be counted but not numbered. The first printed page number should appear on the Abstract page (iii).
The body of the dissertation should be numbered using Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, …). The first page of the body of the text should begin with page 1. Pagination may not continue from the front matter.
All page numbers should be centered either at the top or the bottom of the page.
Figures and tables Figures and tables must be placed within the text, as close to their first mention as possible. Figures and tables that span more than one page must be labeled on each page. Any second and subsequent page of the figure/table must include the “(Continued)” notation. This applies to figure captions as well as images. Each page of a figure/table must be accounted for and appropriately labeled. All figures/tables must have a unique number. They may not repeat within the dissertation.
Horizontal Figures and Tables
Any figures/tables placed in a horizontal orientation must be placed with the top of the figure/ table on the left-hand side. The top of the figure/table should be aligned with the spine of the dissertation when it is bound.
Page numbers must be placed in the same location on all pages of the dissertation, centered, at the bottom or top of the page. Page numbers may not appear under the table/ figure.
Supplemental Figures and Tables. Supplemental figures and tables must be placed at the back of the dissertation in an appendix. They should not be placed at the back of the chapter.
Permission Letters Copyright. permission letters must be uploaded as a supplemental file, titled ‘do_not_publish_permission_letters,” within the dissertation submission tool.
DAC Attachment. The signed Dissertation Acceptance Certificate must additionally be uploaded as a document in the "Administrative Documents" section when submitting in Proquest ETD . Dissertation submission is not complete until all documents have been received and accepted.
Overall Formatting. The entire document should be checked after all revisions, and before submitting online, to spot any inconsistencies or PDF conversion glitches.
You can view dissertations successfully published from your department in DASH . This is a great place to check for specific formatting and area-specific conventions.
Contact the Office of Student Affairs with further questions.
CONTACT INFO
Office of Student Affairs

#HenleyMBA:
How to craft an a-grade recommendations chapter.

So, let’s have a look at the 6 components of a solid recommendations chapter.
#1: Directly address the key issues from your analysis chapter.
It sounds obvious, but all too often, there is a disconnect between the analysis chapter and the recommendations chapter. In other words, students start solving problems that didn’t exist in the analysis and ignore those that did.
Simply put, there should be a firm, intuitive, logical link between the end of your analysis chapter and the beginning of your recommendations chapter. There should really be no surprise for the reader – in fact, they should pretty much be able to anticipate what you’ll prescribe. To highlight this link, you should have a brief summary (in bullet point or visual format) at the end of your analysis chapter that reminds the reader of your key findings. Then, your recommendations chapter should directly address the issues/shortcomings highlighted there.
There’s always a temptation to digress into the irrelevant when writing assignments. Don’t create new issues and don’t present new information – stay focused on the key issues raised in your analysis. Keep yourself on track by regularly checking whether your recommendations directly link to the issues you found in your analysis. If not, it’s time to kill your darlings.

#2: Explicitly discuss the “what”.
Another obvious sounding one, but one which is no less common in assignments. All too often, I read lengthy recommendations that roll on for pages and pages, and I’m still left asking myself, “but what exactly are you recommending be done?”.
Simply put, students are not specific and detailed enough regarding their recommendations. They speak at a high level, very conceptually and theoretically, but not practically. There is not enough real-world detail and, as a result, it’s unclear what exactly is being recommended. They might draw on plenty theory, but there’s no real-world application – resulting in limited marks.
Here’s an example:
“The reward structure must be strategically realigned to encourage and incentivise staff behaviours which are required by the organisation’s strategy (Higgs, 2006).”
Sounds great, right? It even includes the word “strategically”! But what does it mean? There are no specifics, no details. It means nothing.
Compare it to the following:
“The focus of the reward structure must be shifted from the top left quadrant (pay structure) to the bottom right quadrant (work environment) to encourage collective behaviours (teamwork), intrinsic motivation and discretionary behaviour, as required by the organisation’s innovation-centric strategy (Higgs, 2016). For example, leadership communication could be improved by…”
The difference is in the level of detail. Notice how the latter example explicitly states what must be shifted, from where to where, and what the outcome is expected to be. Additionally, it provides a practical example, linking theory to practice , the conceptual world to the real world.
For complex recommendations, you might also consider presenting a revised model or framework, visually demonstrating the recommended change(s). In other words, you’ll have a “before and after” type presentation . For example, if your recommendation was to revise a process map (which you presented previously in the analysis), you could present the new and improved process map in the recommendations chapter. Oftentimes, visual representations can save you a good deal of word count, while also aiding marker comprehension and breaking “walls of text” – so make use of this approach wherever you can.
#3: Justify your recommendations both practically and theoretically.
You’ll notice that the last example also touched on the “why?” – in other words, the justification for the recommendation. It’s critically important that your recommendations are justified . There are, however, two forms of justification – practical and theoretical:
Practical justification : which problem (identified in your analysis chapter) does this solve? Be very explicit about which problem(s) each recommendation solves, so that you systematically resolve as many of the highlighted issues as possible. Also, briefly explain how this solves the problem – it might be obvious, but don’t leave it to the markers imagination. This needn’t be lengthy and detailed, for example:
“This recommendation resolves the key issue of X by ensuring that…”
Short and sweet.
Another aspect of the practical justification is (very brief) consideration of the feasibility . In other words, how likely is it that the organisation can pull it off. Naturally, good recommendations are realistic ones, so make it clear how each recommendation is feasible in the real world. Again, this can be a one-liner, something like this:
“This recommendation can be implemented using the organisation’s existing resources, including X and Y.”
Don’t get into an implementation discussion (this is typically a separate chapter, if at all) – just demonstrate that your recommendation is not a far-fetched pipe dream.
Theoretical justification : simply put, I’m talking about citations/references here. Whenever you make a recommendation, be sure to credit the author of the underlying theory . While some of your recommendations may just be common sense or logical deductions, it’s still likely that you came to each conclusion as a result of a model, framework or theory, which needs to be cited. By citing generously, you’ll demonstrate the link between theory and practice, which will earn you marks.
#4: Aim for a handful of key recommendations.
Typically, you should aim to present 3-5 hearty key recommendations, as opposed to a list of 10-15 lightweight recommendations. In other words, go deep, not broad.
If you have a long list of recommendations, run through them and bundle them into homogenous groups . By doing so, you’ll add more depth to each recommendation, while also making your overall argument easier for the marker to digest. Aim for quality, not quantity. Also, note that some assignments may require that you only make “one key recommendation” (for example, MP). In such cases, you need to think very carefully about how you package your recommendation to earn good marks.
On a related presentation note, you should aim to maintain a consistent structure and argumentative approach for each recommendation. In other words, for each recommendation, structure the discussion in the same order. For example:
- A detailed explanation of what is being recommended.
- Identification of what issue(s) it resolves.
- Explanation of how it resolves the issue(s), including examples.
Consistency is more important than order here. Pick any order that works for you, but be sure to apply it consistently.
#5: Summarise at the end of the chapter.
In common with the introduction chapter, you should provide a concise summary of your key recommendations at the end of the chapter to aid digestibility of your full argument. Remember, while this is the umpteenth time you’ve read your assignment, it’s the first time for the marker. Make it easy for them to understand and recall your key points. After all, this is what they’ll mark you on…
In terms of presentation, there is nothing wrong with using bullet points to summarise previously discussed content, as long as you are not presenting new information. Alternatively, if you used a particular model or framework to summarise your analysis issues, you could again present a “before and after” figure, detailing how your recommendations resolve the issues.
Here’s an example:

#6: Note the assumptions and limitations.
Last but not least, you need to briefly acknowledge the assumptions and limitations of your recommendations. Every argument features assumptions and qualifications , and as a result, has limitations. Therefore, it’s important to acknowledge the assumptions that went into your analysis and consequently recommendations, and the resultant limitations these create. Highlighting the potential shortcomings of your work is not a weakness , but rather a strength in academia. It shows that you can think critically, not just of other’s points, but of your own.
That said, there’s no need to go deconstruct and discredit your entire argument. Just include a concise paragraph highlighting the key assumptions and limitations. You might also mention how these could be resolved with further data or fieldwork.
Let’s recap…
Incorporate these 6 practices into your next recommendations chapter and you will no doubt increase your mark earning capability. To recap:
- Directly address the key issues highlighted in your analysis.
- Explicitly discuss the “what”.
- Justify your recommendations both practically and theoretically.
- Group similar recommendations and apply a consistent structure.
- Summarise your key recommendation at the end of the chapter.
- Note the assumptions and limitations.
Have a question or suggestion? We’d love to hear from you. Simply leave a comment below or get in touch with us.
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10 Comments
Very helpful Derek. Thank you very timely advice.
My pleasure! Glad you found it useful 🙂
Thanks Derek! I appreciate your tips…
It’s a pleasure, Thomas.
Thanks Derek, this is refreshing. Relevant for both the Assignment and Dissertation.
Thank you Derek. This will be extremely useful as a guide to structure my assignment writing and important points for client reports also.
That’s great, Judy. Thanks for the feedback.
Thank very much for the writing tips I have just read they been beneficial to me because am a distance law school student. Thanks, Derek, keep it up.
My pleasure Rebeca – all the best with your degree!
Thanks Derek. Extremely useful for my MBA assignment.
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Dissertation Discussion, Recommendations, and Limitations

Discussion, Recommendations, and Limitations
I’ve previously written about the discussion chapter , and also the conclusions chapter. However, I recently went on some training to look deeper into how the best students gain more marks for these sections. Here are some additional pointers for each of these vital sub-chapters. It is important to get deeply into your Dissertation Discussion, Recommendations, and Limitation chapters.
Dissertation Discussion
Previously I’d advised students to discuss the literature, discuss the methods, discuss their results, and/or discuss the case studies. Here are some more pointers to make for a deeper dissertation discussion section:
- How does your project achieve each of your research objectives?
- What is your literature gap? How does your research fill this literature gap?
- To what extent is the literature gap filled?
- If you didn’t fill the gap – what further research is required? (a nice link to Further Work!)
- What problem does your project address? How does your research help to solve this problem?
- What are some limitations to your research? Why are these limitations? How much do they limit your work?
- What are some opportunities for future research based on your project?
If the ‘Analysis Chapter ‘ interprets the findings/results, then the ‘Discussion Chapter’ will discuss the implication of those findings.
In effect you are asking:
“What can I do, knowing what I know now?”
Dissertation Discussion is certainly more than a description. Discussion is an expansion of the analysis. It will include the ‘How?’ and the ‘Why?’.
Recommendation
Recommendations are “What a business should do as a result of your research”. They need to be more than a short list of bullet points. Certainly structuring this section to be easy to read might use bullet points. However there is so much more that can be added for each recommendation bullet:
- Not just what the recommendations are, but how they could be implemented
- The barriers to implementing the recommendation
- The impact on an organisations resources as the recommendations are considered
- The roles and & responsibilities for those implementing the recommendation
- A timeline for the implementation. How long might implementation take?
Justify why the recommendation (from your research) is better than other options or solutions. Remember that these are your proposed recommendations to the problem. What else could be implemented? What changes might result at both a local organisational level. Also consider the wider industrial/business benefits of the research.
This section may be easier if you are working, or have worked in an organisation in the area of your research. The barriers to implementation may be clearer if you have first-hand experience of an organisation. If you have collected data from an organisation or interviewed people as part of your research, then the practical implementation of your recommendations become more relevant and important.
Limitations
Finally some more pointers on the limitations:
- What are the limitations to the research design, in the data collected, and in the results?
- Are there any limitations in the case studies?
- How did you try to resolve the limitations? Did this work?
- How could the limitations be resolved in the future? (A nice link to Further Work!)
- What would you do differently if the research was repeated?
All research will have limitations. A good researcher will identify and address all of the different limitations. Remember that even if your research is very limited, recognising that fact is important. Ignoring limitations is a sign of poor research.
There is a lot of work in writing the dissertation discussion and final chapters. (And a lot of marks – always check the marking scheme!). All too often I see a discussion chapter that is far too short. Then a generic list of recommendation bullet points taking up just half of a side, and no limitations/further work.
I hope this blog helps you to improve your work!
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Chapter 5: Results, Conclusions, and Recommendations, Dissertation – Conclusion Example
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Introduction
Thus far, the research conducted has thoroughly indicated that labeling an individual as a sex offender will create long term negative effects and lead to consequences that are often times beyond the control of the individuals, as well as their families. Because of these consequences and long term negative effects, there are often high stress levels associated with the sex offender status. These will often serve as risk factors in alcohol abuse (Dion & Earn, 1975). Also, there are individuals who cope with these negative life circumstances by using drugs and alcohol to offset the stereotypes that society has placed upon them. They also use the drugs and alcohol in many cases to cope with various issues in their daily lives as well as subpar living conditions. These individuals participate in self-medication to alleviate the psychological distress brought about by a culmination of indicators that are described in the preceding sections of this paper (Hall & Queener, 2007).
The review of the literature indicated that the experience of specific incidents of treatment deemed by Landrine and Knonoff (1996) as unfair may generate stress and have negative ramifications on the general health of sex offenders. The sex offender label in itself will most likely have an impact on the opportunities an individual and his family have as far as relationships, housing, and employment, which are an important part of the sex offender’s reintegration into mainstream society.
These factors are closely associated with poor mental health and increased stress levels (Tewksbury, 2005). In addition, Mexican-Americans have a higher rate of alcohol-related problems compared to the overall population. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2008)] estimates that 24% of Mexican-Americans participate in binge drinking and over 5% are heavy drinkers when alcohol is concerned.
The purpose of this study was to examine the connection between psychological distress associated with the sex offender label and the increase in the consumption of alcohol after that label has been assigned among Mexican-American Sex Offenders. The study sample consisted of adult male Mexican Americans who have been arrested for a sexual offenses. A better understanding of the relationship among stigma, alcohol use, and stress was explored by using the self-medication hypothesis (SMH) as an explanation for the use of alcohol as a way of coping with high levels of stress. The overall mental health of sex offenders is paramount because Hispanics, especially those of Mexican descent, are one of the fastest growing demographic populations in the United States. The research hypothesis that framed this study was:-
Hypothesis 1: It is hypothesized that the relationship between stigma and alcohol use is fully mediated by the experience of stress such that if level of stress is taken into account, the relationship between stigma and alcohol abuse is no longer significant. This was assessed through the testing of the null hypothesis:
Null Hypothesis 1 (H01): After taking into account the mediating effect of stress, there is no significant relationship between stigma and alcohol use.
The research hypothesis was assessed through analysis of quantitative data from a sample of 86 adult male Mexican Americans who have been arrested for a sexual offense. Participants were recruited from the Community Supervision and Corrections Department (CSCD). Participants were invited to participate in the study during their monthly visit to the department.
Summary of Findings
The study sample consisted of 86 Mexican American Sex Offenders (MASO). Of this sample the majority were High School Diploma (52.3%). 60.5% of MASO spoke English as their primary language. 39.5% were married and 74.4% were legal residents or born United States of America.
The research hypothesis was assessed by conducting two mediation analyses to statistically test if stress mediates a significant relationship between stigma and alcohol use. The criterion variables were participants’ level of alcohol use before and after their sex offense conviction. Analysis 1 assessed alcohol use before their conviction while Analysis 2 assessed alcohol use after their conviction. The variables were measured by 10 items on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Participants responded twice to each of the ten questions to assess their alcohol use prior to and after their sex offense conviction. The predictor variable for Analyses 1 and 2 was participants’ perceived social stigma (Stigma) as measured by the 10-item Stigmatization Scale (SS). The mediating variable was participants’ perceived level of stress (Stress) as measured by the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).
The research hypothesis was:
Alternative Hypothesis 1 (HA1): After taking into account the mediating effect of stress, there is a significant relationship between stigma and alcohol use.
Mediation Analysis 1
Results indicated that one significant relationship existed in Steps A. That is, Stigma and Alcohol Use before Conviction were significant and positively related ( R2 = .050, p = .041 ). Meaning, as Stigma increased, the participants’ Alcohol Use before Conviction increased as well. Results from Steps B and C indicated no significant relationships between Stigma and Stress (R2 = .012, p = .341 ) and Stress and Alcohol Use before conviction (R2 = .020, p = .197). Additionally, the multiple regression analysis found that stress did not mediate a significant relationship between Stigma and Alcohol Use before conviction; R = .253, ∆R2 = .064, F (2, 81) = 2.771, p = .069 (two-tailed). This result does not support the presence of a mediating effect.
Mediation Analysis 2
Analysis 2 was assessed using mediation analysis. Results indicated that no significant relationships existed in Steps A-C. That is, Stigma and Alcohol Use after Conviction were not significantly related (R2 = .002, p = .702); Stress and Stigma were not significantly related (R2 = .012, p = .314 ); and Stress and Alcohol Use after Conviction were not significantly related (R2 = .016, p = .248 ). Additionally, the multiple regression analysis found that stress did not mediate a significant relationship between Stigma and Alcohol Use After Conviction ; R = .139, ∆R2 = .019, F(2, 81) = 0.804, p = .451 (two-tailed). This result does not support the presence of a mediating effect.
Exploratory ANOVA Analysis
Using IBM SPSS 20, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to determine if a significant difference in alcohol use existed prior to and after a sexual offense conviction. The criterion variable was Alcohol Use and the predictor variable was the time period (Time Period) in relation to the participants’ sex offense conviction (before conviction and after conviction). Results from the ANOVA test revealed that a significant difference in Alcohol Use did exist between time periods; F (1, 166) = 18.502, p < .001 , partial eta-squared = .100. Before Conviction mean scores (M = 5.90, SD = 5.322) were significantly lower than after conviction mean scores (M = 10.08, SD = 7.138). These results indicate that participant’s alcohol use significantly increased after their sex offense conviction.
Conclusions and Implications
The theoretical premise of this study lays in The Self-Medication Hypothesis (SMH) w formulated by Edward Khantzian, in 1985. Assumptions are that “specific psychotropic effects of drugs on psychological disturbances and painful affect states make them compelling in susceptible individuals” (Khantzian, 1985 p. 1259). Conger’s tension reducing hypothesis, stating that “alcohol serves to reduce tension or distress, possibly because of the depressing and tranquilizing effects of alcohol on the nervous system. Drinking is thus reinforced by the tension reduction effects obtained” (Conger, 1956, p. 175) was also considered very useful in linking alcohol with sex offender tendencies among Mexican American.
Therefore, alcohol use (and use of other substances) is a responsive reaction to negative personal states. This negative state can be due to the experience of unpleasant and painful physical or psychological states. While physical pain will usually lead sex offenders to seek the assistance of a physician, psychological pain or distress may lead attempting or actual illegal sexual activity.
Results from this quantitative analysis revealed there was no significant relationship between stigma and alcohol use as mediated by stress. Additionally, there were no relationships between stigma and alcohol use, stress and stigma, and stress and alcohol use observed. Precisely, stress did not mediate a significant relationship between stigma and alcohol use. Notably, however, a significant difference between the amount of alcohol used before and after conviction was identified.
The implication of this finding is that alcohol use in itself did not create a feeling of stigmatization. This was true of stress as well. More so, stress did not correlate with exceptional alcohol consumption nor did it mediate the effect of stigmatization on alcohol consumption. Given that before conviction mean scores (M = 5.90, SD = 5.322) were significantly lower than after conviction mean scores (M = 10.08, SD = 7.138).
Therefore, the theory ‘alcohol reduces tension or distress, possibly due to the depressing and tranquilizing effects of alcohol on the nervous system seems related to these findings. The fact that the relationship between stigma and pre-conviction alcohol use was significant, whereas the relationship between stigma and post-conviction alcohol use was not, can be explained by the increase in alcohol use witnessed. The lower levels of pre-conviction alcohol use may have driven the relationship witness with stigma, while post-conviction levels were considerably higher. The implication is that post-conviction alcohol use is high, regardless of perceived stigma.
Evidence from the literature review reveled that historically, Mexican-American adults have been known to be at a higher risk than the rest of the population for alcohol-related problems (National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, 2009). They reported a prevalence rate of alcoholism in an average of four percent of Mexican Americans during the years 2001-2002 (Blume et al., 2009).
According to Gonzalez et.al (2011) the hopelessness among Mexican-Americans due to socioeconomic factors such as living conditions, poor wages, and an overall poor lifestyle has been known to be a large contributor to depression and this has been believed to help lead to a lifestyle of drinking and alcoholism.
However, Results from the present study neither support nor contradict Gonzalez et al.’s (2011) findings. While present results indicated alcohol consumption rate increased after conviction, it was not found that this increase was related to an increase in stress levels. This does not, however, imply that increased alcohol consumption is not due to increased depression among this group. Mexican-Americans experience greater depression and hopelessness after conviction due to consequences in regards to lifestyle.
An important focal point of this study is the inclusion of Mexican American sex offenders as participants. Data from foregoing literature review showed where most of the current theories in sex offender treatments focused on the Caucasian population, but it was necessary to have a diverse competency in the ability to treat sex offenders of every culture and ethnicity because whether African-American or Mexican-American sex offenders there appears to be significant differences in the way sex offenders are treated based on ethnicity. It is a limitation in this study because there was little scope in comparison with other ethnic groups. The inclusion of non-Caucasian participants broadens the scope of the literature as a whole.
Additionally, Mexican-American sex offenders are sometimes categorized as Caucasian-Americans or at times not categorized at all. This makes it difficult to directly compare results of this study with those mentioned in the literature review. These misclassifications result inaccurate data concerning the amount of MASO in the United States (Siese, 2012).
Recommendations for Further Study
Further research is recommended as to the necessity of sex offender labeling. That is does labeling help reduce recidivism among sex offenders? If this is the case, this may lead to further research, such as whether a similar labeling system for offenders of other crimes, such as murder, drug abuse; domestic violence and larceny would be beneficial.
Research is necessary to further investigate the finding that stigma and alcohol use prior to conviction were related, yet stigma was not related to alcohol use post-conviction. Additional research should also be conducted to determine what other factors may affect the change in alcohol use found in the present sample. Given the implications by Gonzalez et al. (2011) that high alcohol use among Mexican Americans may be due to feelings of hopelessness and depression, it may be of value to assess depression levels against alcohol use among convicted sex offenders (Gonzalez et. al, 2011)
While this study was not a comparative analysis of Mexican-American versus Caucasian sex offenders’ treatment and likelihood of being convicted, the literature review highlighted studies that Mexican Americans experience higher conviction rates. Spohn and Holleran (2000) found that Mexican-Americans were 15.3% more likely to be convicted of felonies than Caucasians in Chicago and they were 10.3% more likely in Miami. Spohn and Holleran (2000) also found that in cases of sexual assault where the victim is Caucasian and the defendant is not, there is a much greater chance of conviction, as well as longer sentences and a decreased chance of early parole (Spohn and Holleran, 2000)
Ulmer and Johnson (2004) similarly found that in areas of Pennsylvania where there was is a high ratio of Mexican-Americans to Caucasian Mexican-Americans received harsher sentences they received upon conviction were harsher sentences upon conviction (Ulmer & Johnson, 2004). Further research should be conducted.
. Recommendations for Practice
Based on the research findings, it is recommended that alcohol abuse programs be openly available and attendance at such programs encouraged among convicted Mexican-American sex offenders. Given that alcohol use rates increase significantly post-conviction, encouraging or even mandating attendance at either alcohol abuse groups or a responsible alcohol use educational seminar may be of value to help these individuals moderate their alcohol intake.
More often form a psychological perspective labeling has a fulfilling prophesy effect on individuals. These sex offenders evidently do confirm to this label. Psychologist ought to recognize this dysfunction as a vital to the intervention. Therefore when designing programs the a major goal should be to remove these debilitating psychological effects first.
Obviously alcohol abuses after conviction reflects the outcome of fulfilling this prophesy. If they were labeled alcoholics before it is only fitting to be that now they have been ascribed the added label of sex offender. This could also delay the respond to mediation since it all embodied in the psychology of labeling.
Restatement of Limitations
Since all participants were derived from a population within the Community Supervisions and Corrections Department (CSCD), the sample included just sex offenders who were currently being supervised in the community. The selection criteria were sexual offense was for which participants were arrested. It was, however, difficult to determine due to denials by sex offenders. This could have resulted in alterations in the extent of the offense reported by many participants. Date of placement in community supervision was the criteria used in establishing the initial labeling date for the purposes of data gathering.
This sampling technique limited the quality and quantity to those who were currently on community supervision, excluding those who were not. A large number of participants under community supervision were identified by the CSCD. A self-reporting data collection technique was adapted for offense, demographic, and criteria data. Results were generalized to men who had sexually abused and those not arrested. However, due to the limited number of adult female MASO on community supervision, they were excluded in the study. According to Vandiver (2010), sex offenders are typically committed by males; females account for only a small proportion of offenses. For example, of the 14,299 individuals arrested for sexual offenses in 2004, 8% (1,159) were females (U.S. Department of Justice, 2005b).
This aim of this study was to examine a connection between psychological distress associated with the sex offender label and the consumption of alcohol among Mexican-American Sex Offenders. According to the 2010 United States Census, Mexican-Americans are the minority population with the most rapid growth rate. It is therefore, crucial to understand problems associated with sex offenders among the Mexican-American population because as the general population increases, so does the number of MASO (Lowe, Pavkov, Casanova, & Wetchler, 2005). Results from the sample studied indicated that use of alcohol significantly increased after sex offender conviction among Mexican-Americans.
However, stress was not found to moderate the relationship between stigma associated with sex offender label and alcohol use. Further research is encouraged to determine whether depression plays a role in sex offender alcohol use, as is suggested by Gonzalez, as well as effects of consequences to labeling, such as deprived social interactions. It is also recommended based on the findings that alcohol abuse and responsible drinking programs be available to offenders.
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Dissertation Advisors
Help for Stressed & Struggling Graduate Students
Writing Chapter 5: Discussion and Recommendations
Last Updated on December 13, 2020 by Ayla Myrick
Open this chapter by reminding the reader of the purpose of the study.
Methods and Procedures
Summarize the approach.
Major Findings
Summarize the Chapter 4: Results.
Refer to the hypotheses, objectives, or questions. Assess the meaning of the results by evaluating and interpreting. Speculation should be reasonable, firmly justified, and subject to test. This is the hardest part to write because committees may challenge the interpretation of the data in the Defense. List the primary research questions from Chapter 1 and answer them with the results. Cite several studies from Chapter 2 for comparison and contrast with the results.
Conclusions
The conclusions relate directly to the research questions or objectives. They represent the contribution to the knowledge . They also relate directly to the significance of the study, which is always, in some way, to improve the human condition. These are the major generalizations, the answer to the problem(s) revealed in Chapters 1 and 2. For the first time in the dissertation, the researcher can state a personal opinion when the collected data support it.
Recommendations
These can take two forms: recommendations for further study, or recommendations for change, or both. Each recommendation should trace directly to a conclusion.
These will follow the specific format of an individual style guide, such as APA, Chicago, or other. Every name and year in the body of the text should be repeated in the list of references with no exceptions.
In a qualitative or quantitative, if the study involves an organization, a letter of permission to conduct the study is required from the appropriate administrator at the organization. In a qualitative study, a letter of invitation and consent form from all adult participants is included, and a letter of permission from parents if minors are involved. Data collection instruments are included. Some institutions require a vita at the end.
Our consultants can assist students to find the meaning of the information they have collected and to present it in a manner that can be defended.
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Required sections, guidelines, and suggestions.
Beyond those noted on the Formatting Requirements page , the Graduate School has no additional formatting requirements. The following suggestions are based on best practices and historic requirements for dissertations and theses but are not requirements for submission of the thesis or dissertation. The Graduate School recommends that each dissertation or thesis conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.
For both master’s and doctoral students, the same basic rules apply; however, differences exist in some limited areas, particularly in producing the abstract and filing the dissertation or thesis.
- Information in this guide that pertains specifically to doctoral candidates and dissertations is clearly marked with the term “ dissertation ” or “ doctoral candidates .”
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Required? Yes.
Suggested numbering: Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page.
The following format for your title page is suggested, but not required.
- The title should be written using all capital letters, centered within the left and right margins, and spaced about 1.5 inches from the top of the page. (For an example, please see the template .)
- Carefully select words for the title of the dissertation or thesis to represent the subject content as accurately as possible. Words in the title are important access points to researchers who may use keyword searches to identify works in various subject areas.
- Use word substitutes for formulas, symbols, superscripts, Greek letters, etc.
- Below the title, at the vertical and horizontal center of the margins, place the following five lines (all centered):
Line 1: A Dissertation [or Thesis]
Line 2: Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School
Line 3: of Cornell University
Line 4: in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Line 5: Doctor of Philosophy [or other appropriate degree]
- Center the following three lines within the margins:
Line 2: Primary or Preferred Name [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office and displayed in Student Center]
Line 3: month and year of degree conferral [May, August, December; no comma between month and year]
Copyright Page
Suggested numbering: Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page
The following format for your copyright page is suggested, but not required.
- A notice of copyright should appear as the sole item on the page centered vertically and horizontally within the margins: © 20__ [Primary or Preferred Name [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office]. Please note that there is not usually a page heading on the copyright page.
- The copyright symbol is a lowercase “c,” which must be circled. (On Macs, the symbol is typed by pressing the “option” and “g” keys simultaneously. If the font does not have the © symbol, type the “c” and circle it by hand. On PCs, in the insert menu, choose “symbol,” and select the © symbol.)
- The date, which follows the copyright symbol, is the year of conferral of your degree.
- Your name follows the date.
Required? Yes.
Suggested numbering: Page(s) not counted, not numbered
Abstract formats for the doctoral dissertation and master’s thesis differ greatly. The Graduate School recommends that you conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.
Doctoral candidates:
- TITLE OF DISSERTATION
- Student’s Primary or Preferred Name, Ph.D. [as registered with the University Registrar’s Office]
- Cornell University 20__ [year of conferral]
- Following the heading lines, begin the text of the abstract on the same page.
- The abstract states the problem, describes the methods and procedures used, and gives the main results or conclusions of the research.
- The abstract usually does not exceed 350 words in length (about one-and-one-half correctly spaced pages—but not more than two pages).
Master’s candidate:
- In a thesis, the page heading is simply the word “ABSTRACT” in all capital letters and centered within the margins at the top of the page. (The thesis abstract does not display the thesis title, author’s name, degree, university, or date of degree conferral.)
- The abstract should state the problem, describe the methods and procedures used, and give the main results or conclusions.
- The abstract usually does not exceed 600 words in length, which is approximately two-and-one-half to three pages of correctly spaced typing.
- In M.F.A. theses, an abstract is not required.
Biographical Sketch
Suggested numbering: iii (may be more than one page)
- Type number(s) on page(s).
The following content and format are suggested:
- The biographical sketch is written in third-person voice and contains your educational background. Sometimes additional biographical facts are included.
- As a page heading, use “BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
- Number this page as iii.
Required? Optional.
Suggested numbering: iv (may be more than one page)
The dedication page is not required and can contain whatever text that you would like to include. Text on this page does not need to be in English.
Acknowledgements
Suggested numbering: v (may be more than one page)
The following content and format are suggested, not required.
- The acknowledgements may be written in first-person voice. If your research has been funded by outside grants, you should check with the principal investigator of the grant regarding proper acknowledgement of the funding source. Most outside funding sources require some statement of acknowledgement of the support; some also require a disclaimer from responsibility for the results.
- As a page heading, use “ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Table of Contents
Suggested numbering: vi (may be more than one page)
The following are suggestions.
- As a page heading, use “TABLE OF CONTENTS” in all capital letters and centered on the page.
- List the sections/chapters of the body of the dissertation or thesis. Also, list preliminary sections starting with the biographical sketch. (Title page, copyright page, and abstract are not listed.)
- For theses and dissertations, the conventional format for page numbers is in a column to the right of each section/chapter title. The first page of each chapter/section is stated with a single number. Table of contents usually do not include a range of page numbers, such as 7-22.
- The table of contents is often single-spaced.
Two-Volume Theses or Dissertations
If the dissertation or thesis consists of two volumes, it is recommended, but not required, that you list “Volume II” as a section in the table of contents.
List of Figures, Illustrations, and Tables
Suggested numbering: vii (may be more than one page)
- If included, type number(s) on page(s).
As described in the formatting requirements above, figures and tables should be consecutively numbered. The Graduate School recommends that you conform to the styles set by the leading academic journals in your field. The items below are formatting suggestions based on best practices or historic precedents.
Table of contents format:
- As a page heading, use “LIST OF FIGURES,” “LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,” or “LIST OF TABLES” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
- There should be separate pages for “LIST OF FIGURES,” “LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,” or “LIST OF TABLES” even if there is only one example of each.
- The list should contain enough of the titles or descriptions so readers can locate items using the list. (It may not be necessary to include entire figure/illustration/table captions.)
- The list should contain the page number on which each figure, illustration, or table is found, as in a table of contents.
- The list of figures/illustrations/tables may be single-spaced.
Page format:
- Figures/illustrations/tables should be placed as close as possible to their first mention in the text. They may be placed on a page with no text above or below, or placed directly into the text. If a figure/illustration/table is placed directly into the text, text may appear above or below the figure/illustration/table; no text may wrap around the figure/illustration/table.
- If a figure/illustration/table appears on a page without other text, it should be centered vertically within the page margins. Figures/illustrations/tables should not be placed at the end of the chapter or at the end of the dissertation or thesis.
- Figure/illustration/table numbering should be either continuous throughout the dissertation or thesis, or by chapter (e.g. 1.1, 1.2; 2.1, 2.2, etc.). The word “Figure,” “Illustration,” or “Table” must be spelled out (not abbreviated), and the first letter must be capitalized.
- A caption for a figure/illustration should be placed at the bottom of the figure/illustration. However, a caption for a table must be placed above the table.
- If the figure/illustration/table, not including the caption, takes up the entire page, the figure/illustration/table caption should be placed alone on the preceding page and centered vertically and horizontally within the margins. (When the caption is on a separate page, the List of Figures or List of Illustrations or List of Tables can list the page number containing the caption.)
- If the figure/illustration/table, not including the caption, takes up more than two pages, it should be preceded by a page consisting of the caption only. The first page of the figure/illustration/table must include the figure/illustration/table (no caption), and the second and subsequent pages must also include, at the top of the figure/illustration/table, words that indicate its continuance—for example, “Figure 5 (Continued)”—and on these pages the caption is omitted.
- If figures/illustrations/tables are too large, they may be reduced slightly so as to render a satisfactory product or they must either be split into several pages or be redone. If a figure/illustration/table is reduced, all lettering must be clear, readable, and large enough to be legible. All lettering, including subscripts, must still be readable when reduced 25% beyond the final version. All page margin requirements must be maintained. Page numbers and headings must not be reduced.
- While there are no specific rules for the typographic format of figure/illustration/table captions, a consistent format should be used throughout the dissertation or thesis.
- The caption of a figure/illustration/table should be single-spaced, but then captions for all figures/illustrations/tables must be single-spaced.
- Horizontal figures/illustrations/tables should be positioned correctly—i.e., the top of the figure/illustration/table will be at the left margin of the vertical page of the dissertation or thesis (remember: pages are bound on the left margin). Figure/illustration/table headings/captions are placed with the same orientation as the figure/illustration/table when they are on the same page as the figure/illustration/table. When they are on a separate page, headings and captions are always placed in vertical orientation, regardless of the orientation of the figure/illustration/table. Page numbers are always placed as if the figure/illustration/table was vertical on the page.
Photographs should be treated as illustrations. To be considered archival, photographs must be black-and-white. (If actual color photographs are necessary, they should be accompanied by black-and-white photographs of the same subject.) Color photos obtained digitally do not need to be accompanied by a black-and-white photograph. Make a high-resolution digital version of each photograph and insert it into your electronic document, following the guideline suggestions for positioning and margins.

Optional Elements
List of abbreviations.
As a page heading, use “LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
List of Symbols
As a page heading, use “LIST OF SYMBOLS” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Suggested numbering: xi (may be more than one page)
As a page heading, use “PREFACE” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Body of the Dissertation or Thesis: Text
Suggested numbering: Begin page number at 1
- Text (required)
- Appendix/Appendices (optional)
- Bibliography, References, or Works Cited (required)
Please note that smaller font size may be appropriate for footnotes or other material outside of the main text. The following suggestions are based on best practice or historic precedent, but are not required.
- Chapter headings may be included that conform to the standard of your academic field.
- Textual notes that provide supplementary information, opinions, explanations, or suggestions that are not part of the text must appear at the bottom of the page as footnotes. Lengthy footnotes may be continued on the next page. Placement of footnotes at the bottom of the page ensures they will appear as close as possible to the referenced passage.
Appendix (or Appendices)
An appendix (-ces) is not required for your thesis or dissertation. If you choose to include one, the following suggestions are based on best practice or historic precedent.
- As a page heading, use “APPENDIX” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
- Place in an appendix any material that is peripheral, but relevant, to the main text of the dissertation or thesis. Examples could include survey instruments, additional data, computer printouts, details of a procedure or analysis, a relevant paper that you wrote, etc.
- The appendix may include text that does not meet the general font and spacing requirements of the other sections of the dissertation or thesis.
Bibliography (or References or Works Cited)
A bibliography, references, or works cited is required for your thesis or dissertation. Please conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.
- As a page heading, use “BIBLIOGRAPHY” (or “REFERENCES” or “WORKS CITED”) in all capital letters, centered on the page. The bibliography should always begin on a new page.
- Bibliographies may be single-spaced within each entry but should include 24 points of space between entries.
Suggested numbering: Continue page numbering from body
If you choose to include a glossary, best practices and historic precedent suggest using a page heading, use “GLOSSARY” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Suggested numbering: Continue page numbering from glossary
If you choose to include one, best practices and historic precedent suggest using a page heading, use “INDEX” in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Font Samples
Sample macintosh fonts.
- Palatino 12
- Garamond 14
- New Century School Book
- Helvetica 12 or Helvetica 14
- Times New Roman 12
- Times 14 (Times 12 is not acceptable)
- Symbol 12 is acceptable for symbols
Sample TeX and LaTeX Fonts
- CMR 12 font
- Any font that meets the above specifications
Sample PC Fonts
- Helvetica 12
- How it works

A Step-By-Step Guide To Write The Perfect Dissertation
“A dissertation or a thesis is a long piece of academic writing based on comprehensive research.”
The significance of dissertation writing in the world of academia is unparalleled. A good dissertation paper needs months of research and marks the end of your respected academic journey. It is considered the most effective form of writing in academia and perhaps the longest piece of academic writing you will ever have to complete.
This thorough step-by-step guide on how to write a dissertation will serve as a tool to help you with the task at hand, whether you are an undergraduate student or a Masters or PhD student working on your dissertation project. This guide provides detailed information about how to write the different chapters of a dissertation, such as a problem statement , conceptual framework , introduction , literature review, methodology , discussion , findings , conclusion , title page , acknowledgements , etc.
What is a Dissertation? – Definition
Before we list the stages of writing a dissertation, we should look at what a dissertation is.
The Cambridge dictionary states that a dissertation is a long piece of writing on a particular subject, especially one that is done to receive a degree at college or university, but that is just the tip of the iceberg because a dissertation project has a lot more meaning and context.
To understand a dissertation’s definition, one must have the capability to understand what an essay is. A dissertation is like an extended essay that includes research and information at a much deeper level. Despite the few similarities, there are many differences between an essay and a dissertation.
Another term that people confuse with a dissertation is a thesis. Let's look at the differences between the two terms.
What Is The Difference Between a Dissertation and a Thesis?
Dissertation and thesis are used interchangeably worldwide (and may vary between universities and regions), but the key difference is when they are completed. The thesis is a project that marks the end of a degree program, whereas the dissertation project can occur during the degree. Hanno Krieger (Researchgate, 2014) explained the difference between a dissertation and a thesis as follows:
“Thesis is the written form of research work to claim an academic degree, like PhD thesis, postgraduate thesis, and undergraduate thesis. On the other hand, a dissertation is only another expression of the written research work, similar to an essay. So the thesis is the more general expression.
In the end, it does not matter whether it is a bachelor's, master or PhD dissertation one is working on because the structure and the steps of conducting research are pretty much identical. However, doctoral-level dissertation papers are much more complicated and detailed.
Problems Students Face When Writing a Dissertation
You can expect to encounter some troubles if you don’t yet know the steps to write a dissertation. Even the smartest students are overwhelmed by the complexity of writing a dissertation.
A dissertation project is different from any essay paper you have ever committed to because of the details of planning, research and writing it involves. One can expect rewarding results at the end of the process if the correct guidelines are followed. Still, as indicated previously, there will be multiple challenges to deal with before reaching that milestone.
The three most significant problems students face when working on a dissertation project are the following.
Poor Project Planning
Delaying to start working on the dissertation project is the most common problem. Students think they have sufficient time to complete the paper and are finding ways to write a dissertation in a week, delaying the start to the point where they start stressing out about the looming deadline. When the planning is poor, students are always looking for ways to write their dissertations in the last few days. Although it is possible, it does have effects on the quality of the paper.
Inadequate Research Skills
The writing process becomes a huge problem if one has the required academic research experience. Professional dissertation writing goes well beyond collecting a few relevant reference resources.
You need to do both primary and secondary research for your paper. Depending on the dissertation’s topic and the academic qualification you are a candidate for, you may be required to base your dissertation paper on primary research.
In addition to secondary data, you will also need to collect data from the specified participants and test the hypothesis . The practice of primary collection is time-consuming since all the data must be analysed in detail before results can be withdrawn.
Failure to Meet the Strict Academic Writing Standards
Research is a crucial business everywhere. Failure to follow the language, style, structure, and formatting guidelines provided by your department or institution when writing the dissertation paper can worsen matters. It is recommended to read the dissertation handbook before starting the write-up thoroughly.
Steps of Writing a Dissertation
For those stressing out about developing an extensive paper capable of filling a gap in research whilst adding value to the existing academic literature—conducting exhaustive research and analysis—and professionally using the knowledge gained throughout their degree program, there is still good news in all the chaos.
We have put together a guide that will show you how to start your dissertation and complete it carefully from one stage to the next.
Find An Interesting And Manageable Dissertation Topic
A clearly defined topic is a prerequisite for any successful independent research project. An engaging yet manageable research topic can produce an original piece of research that results in a higher academic score.
Unlike essays or assignments, when working on their thesis or dissertation project, students get to choose their topic of research.
You should follow the tips to choose the correct topic for your research to avoid problems later. Your chosen dissertation topic should be narrow enough, allowing you to collect the required secondary and primary data relatively quickly.
Understandably, many people take a lot of time to search for the topic, and a significant amount of research time is spent on it. You should talk to your supervisor or check out the intriguing database of Research Prospect’s free topics for your dissertation.
Alternatively, consider reading newspapers, academic journals, articles, course materials, and other media to identify relevant issues to your study area and find some inspiration to get going.
You should work closely with your supervisor to agree to a narrowed but clear research plan.Here is what Michelle Schneider, learning adviser at the University of Leeds, had to say about picking the research topics,
“Picking something you’re genuinely interested in will keep you motivated. Consider why it’s important to tackle your chosen topic," Michelle added.
Develop A First-Class Dissertation Proposal.
Once the research topic has been selected, you can develop a solid dissertation proposal . The research proposal allows you to convince your supervisor or the committee members of the significance of your dissertation.
Through the proposal, you will be expected to prove that your work will significantly value the academic and scientific communities by addressing complex and provocative research questions .
Dissertation proposals are much shorter but follow a similar structure to an extensive dissertation paper. If the proposal is optional in your university, you should still create one outline of the critical points that the actual dissertation paper will cover. To get a better understanding of dissertation proposals, you can also check the publicly available samples of dissertation proposals .
Typical contents of the dissertation paper are as follows;
- A brief rationale for the problem your dissertation paper will investigate.
- The hypothesis you will be testing.
- Research objectives you wish to address.
- How will you contribute to the knowledge of the scientific and academic community?
- How will you find answers to the critical research question(s)?
- What research approach will you adopt?
- What kind of population of interest would you like to generalise your result(s) to (especially in the case of quantitative research)?
- What sampling technique(s) would you employ, and why would you not use other methods?
- What ethical considerations have you taken to gather data?
- Who are the stakeholders in your research are/might be?
- What are the future implications and limitations you see in your research?
How to Structure the Dissertation Proposal?
Let’s review the structure of the dissertation. Keep the format of your proposal simple. Keeping it simple keeps your readers will remain engaged. The following are the fundamental focal points that must be included:
Title of your dissertation: Dissertation titles should be 12 words in length. The focus of your research should be identifiable from your research topic.
Research aim: The overall purpose of your study should be clearly stated in terms of the broad statements of the desired outcomes in the Research aim. Try and paint the picture of your research, emphasising what you wish to achieve as a researcher.
Research objectives: The key research questions you wish to address as part of the project should be listed. Narrow down the focus of your research and aim for at most four objectives. Your research objectives should be linked with the aim of the study or a hypothesis.
Literature review: Consult with your supervisor to check if you are required to use any specific academic sources as part of the literature review process. If that is not the case, find out the most relevant theories, journals, books, schools of thought, and publications that will be used to construct arguments in your literature research.Remember that the literature review is all about giving credit to other authors’ works on a similar topic
Research methods and techniques: Depending on your dissertation topic, you might be required to conduct empirical research to satisfy the study’s objectives. Empirical research uses primary data such as questionnaires, interview data, and surveys to collect.
On the other hand, if your dissertation is based on secondary (non-empirical) data, you can stick to the existing literature in your area of study. Clearly state the merits of your chosen research methods under the methodology section.
Expected results: As you explore the research topic and analyse the data in the previously published papers, you will begin to build your expectations around the study’s potential outcomes. List those expectations here.
Project timeline: Let the readers know exactly how you plan to complete all the dissertation project parts within the timeframe allowed. You should learn more about Microsoft Project and Gantt Charts to create easy-to-follow and high-level project timelines and schedules.
References: The academic sources used to gather information for the proposed paper will be listed under this section using the appropriate referencing style. Ask your supervisor which referencing style you are supposed to follow.
Investigation, Research And Data Collection
This is the most critical stage of the dissertation writing process. One should use up-to-date and relevant academic sources that are likely to jeopardise hard work.
Finding relevant and highly authentic reference resources is the key to succeeding in the dissertation project, so it is advised to take your time with this process. Here are some of the things that should be considered when conducting research.
dissertation project, so it is advised to take your time with this process. Here are some of the things that should be considered when conducting research.
You cannot read everything related to your topic. Although the practice of reading as much material as possible during this stage is rewarding, it is also imperative to understand that it is impossible to read everything that concerns your research.
This is true, especially for undergraduate and master’s level dissertations that must be delivered within a specific timeframe. So, it is important to know when to stop! Once the previous research and the associated limitations are well understood, it is time to move on.
However, review at least the salient research and work done in your area. By salient, we mean research done by pioneers of your field. For instance, if your topic relates to linguistics and you haven’t familiarised yourself with relevant research conducted by, say, Chomsky (the father of linguistics), your readers may find your lack of knowledge disconcerting.
So, to come off as genuinely knowledgeable in your own field, at least don’t forget to read essential works in the field/topic!
Research Strategies For Dissertation
Use an authentic research database to find references..
Most students start the reference material-finding process with desk-based research. However, this research method has its own limitation because it is a well-known fact that the internet is full of bogus information and fake information spreads fasters on the internet than truth does .
So, it is important to pick your reference material from reliable resources such as Google Scholar , Researchgate, Ibibio and Bartleby . Wikipedia is not considered a reliable academic source in the academic world, so it is recommended to refrain from citing Wikipedia content.Never underrate the importance of the actual library. The supporting staff at a university library can be of great help when it comes to finding exciting and reliable publications.
Record as you learn
All information and impressions should be recorded as notes using online tools such as Evernote to make sure everything is clear. You want to retain an important piece of information you had planned to present as an argument in the dissertation paper.
Write A Flawless Dissertation.
Start to write a fantastic dissertation immediately once your proposal has been accepted and all the necessary desk-based research has been conducted. Now we will look at the different chapters of a dissertation in detail. You can also check out the samples of dissertation chapters to fully understand the format and structures of the various chapters.
How To Write A Dissertation Introduction Chapter?
The introduction chapter of the dissertation paper provides the background, problem statement and research questions. Here, you will inform the readers why it was important for this research to be conducted and which key research question(s) you expect to answer at the end of the study.
Definitions of all the terms and phrases in the project are provided in this first chapter of the dissertation paper. The research aim and objectives remain unchanged from the proposal paper and are expected to be listed under this section.
How To Write A Dissertation Literature Review Chapter?
This chapter allows you to demonstrate to your readers that you have done sufficient research on the chosen topic and understand previous similar studies’ findings. Any research limitations that your research incorporates are expected to be discussed in this section.
And make sure to summarise the viewpoints and findings of other researchers in the dissertation literature review chapter. Show the readers that there is a research gap in the existing work and your job is relevant to it to justify your research value.
How to Write Dissertation Methodology?
The methodology chapter of the dissertation provides insight into the methods employed to collect data from various resources and flows naturally from the literature review chapter.Simply put, you will be expected to explain what you did and how you did it, helping the readers understand that your research is valid and reliable. When writing the methodology chapter for the dissertation, make sure to emphasise the following points:
- The type of research performed by the researcher
- Methods employed to gather and filter information
- Techniques that were chosen for analysis
- Materials, tools and resources used to conduct research (typically for empirical research dissertations)
- Limitations of your chosen methods
- Reliability and validity of your measuring tools and instruments (e.g. a survey questionnaire) are also typically mentioned within the mythology section. If you used a pre-existing data collection tool, cite its reliability/validity estimates here, too.Make use of the past tense when writing the methodology chapter.
How to Write Dissertation Findings?
The key results of your research are presented in the dissertation findings chapter . It gives authors the ability to validate their own intellectual and analytical skills
How to Write a Dissertation Conclusion
Cap off your dissertation paper with a study summary and a brief report of the findings. In the concluding chapter , you will be expected to demonstrate how your research will provide value to other academics in your area of study and its implications.It is recommended to include a short ‘recommendations’ section that will elaborate on the purpose and need for future research to elucidate the topic further.
Follow the referencing style following the requirements of your academic degree or field of study. Make sure to list every academic source used with a proper in-text citation. It is important to give credit to other authors’ ideas and concepts.
Note: Keep in mind whether you are creating a reference list or a bibliography. The former includes information about all the various sources you referred to, read from or took inspiration from for your own study. However, the latter contains things you used and those you only read but didn’t cite in your dissertation.
Proofread, Edit And Improve – Don’t Risk Months Of Hard Work.
Experts recommend completing the total dissertation before starting to proofread and edit your work. You need to refresh your focus and reboot your creative brain before returning to another critical stage.
Leave space of at least a few days between the writing and the editing steps so when you get back to the desk, you can recognise your grammar, spelling and factual errors when you get back to the desk.
It is crucial to consider this period to ensure the final work is polished, coherent, well-structured and free of any structural or factual flaws. Daniel Higginbotham from Prospects UK states that:
“Leave yourself sufficient time to engage with your writing at several levels – from reassessing the logic of the whole piece to proofreading to checking you’ve paid attention to aspects such as the correct spelling of names and theories and the required referencing format.”
Editing And Proofreading Your Dissertation Paper
What is the difference between editing and proofreading.
Editing means that you are focusing on the essence of your dissertation paper. In contrast, proofreading is the process of reviewing the final draft piece to ensure accuracy and consistency in formatting, spelling, facts, punctuation, and grammar.
Editing: Prepare your work for submission by condensing, correcting and modifying (where necessary). When reviewing the paper, make sure that there are coherence and consistency between the arguments you presented.
If an information gap has been identified, fill that with an appropriate piece of information gathered during the research process. It is easy to lose sight of the original purpose if you become over-involved when writing.
Cut out the unwanted text and refine it, so your paper’s content is to the point and concise.Proofreading: Start proofreading your paper to identify formatting, structural, grammar, punctuation and referencing flaws. Read every single sentence of the paper no matter how tired you are because a few puerile mistakes can compromise your months of hard work.
Many students struggle with the editing and proofreading stages due to their lack of attention to detail. Consult a skilled dissertation editor if you are unable to find your flaws. You may want to invest in a professional dissertation editing and proofreading service to improve the piece’s quality to First Class.
Tips For Writing A Dissertation
Communication with supervisor – get feedback.
Communicate regularly with your supervisor to produce a first-class dissertation paper. Request them to comprehensively review the contents of your dissertation paper before final submission.
Their constructive criticism and feedback concerning different study areas will help you improve your piece’s overall quality. Keep your supervisor updated about your research progress and discuss any problems that you come up against.
Organising Your Time
A dissertation is a lengthy project spanning over a period of months to years, and therefore it is important to avoid procrastination. Stay focused, and manage your time efficiently. Here are some time management tips for writing your dissertation to help you make the most of your time as you research and write.
- Don’t be discouraged by the inherently slow nature of dissertation work, particularly in the initial stages.
- Set clear goals and work out your research and write up a plan accordingly.
- Allow sufficient time to incorporate feedback from your supervisor.
- Leave enough time for editing, improving, proofreading, and formatting the paper according to your school’s guidelines. This is where you break or make your grade.
- Work a certain number of hours on your paper daily.
- Create a worksheet for your week.
- Work on your dissertation for time periods as brief as 45 minutes or less.
- Stick to the strategic dissertation timeline, so you don’t have to do the catchup work.
- Meet your goals by prioritising your dissertation work.
- Strike a balance between being overly organised and needing to be more organised.
- Limit activities other than dissertation writing and your most necessary obligations.
- Keep ‘tangent’ and ‘for the book’ files.
- Create lists to help you manage your tasks.
- Have ‘filler’ tasks to do when you feel burned out or in need of intellectual rest.
- Keep a dissertation journal.
- Pretend that you are working in a more structured work world.
- Limit your usage of email and personal electronic devices.
- Utilise and build on your past work when you write your dissertation.
- Break large tasks into small manageable ones.
- Seek advice from others, and do not be afraid to ask for help.
Dissertation Examples
Here are some samples of a dissertation to inspire you to write mind-blowing dissertations and to help bring all the above-mentioned guidelines home.
DE MONTFORT University Leicester – Examples of recent dissertations
Dissertation Research in Education: Dissertations (Examples)
How Long Is A Dissertation?
The entire dissertation writing process is complicated and spans over a period of months to years, depending on whether you are an undergraduate, master’s, or PhD candidate. Marcus Beck, a PhD candidate, conducted fundamental research a few years ago, research that didn’t have much to do with his research but returned answers to some niggling questions every student has about the average length of a dissertation.
A software program specifically designed for this purpose helped Beck to access the university’s electronic database to uncover facts on dissertation length.
The above illustration shows how the results of his small study were a little unsurprising. Social sciences and humanities disciplines such as anthropology, politics, and literature had the longest dissertations, with some PhD dissertations comprising 150,000 words or more.Engineering and scientific disciplines, on the other hand, were considerably shorter. PhD-level dissertations generally don’t have a predefined length as they will vary with your research topic. Ask your school about this requirement if you are unsure about it from the start.
Focus more on the quality of content rather than the number of pages.
Phrases to Avoid
No matter the style or structure you follow, it is best to keep your language simple. Avoid the use of buzzwords and jargon.
A Word on Stealing Content (Plagiarism)
Very straightforward advice to all students, DO NOT PLAGIARISE. Plagiarism is a serious offence. You will be penalised heavily if you are caught plagiarising. Don’t risk years of hard work, as many students in the past have lost their degrees for plagiarising. Here are some tips to help you make sure you don’t get caught.
- Copying and pasting from an academic source is an unforgivable sin. Rephrasing text retrieved from another source also falls under plagiarism; it’s called paraphrasing. Summarising another’s idea(s) word-to-word, paraphrasing, and copy-pasting are the three primary forms plagiarism can take.
- If you must directly copy full sentences from another source because they fill the bill, always enclose them inside quotation marks and acknowledge the writer’s work with in-text citations.
Are you struggling to find inspiration to get going? Still, trying to figure out where to begin? Is the deadline getting closer? Don’t be overwhelmed! Research Prospect dissertation writing services have helped thousands of students achieve desired outcomes. Click here to get help from writers holding either a master's or PhD degree from a reputed UK university.
What does a dissertation include?
A dissertation has main chapters and parts that support them. The main parts are:
- Introduction
- Literature review
- Research Methodology
- Your conclusion
Other parts are the abstract, references, appendices etc. We can supply a full dissertation or specific parts of one.
What is the difference between research and a dissertation?
A research paper is a sort of academic writing that consists of the study, source assessment, critical thinking, organisation, and composition, as opposed to a thesis or dissertation, which is a lengthy academic document that often serves as the final project for a university degree.
Can I edit and proofread my dissertation myself?
Of course, you can do proofreading and editing of your dissertation. There are certain rules to follow that have been discussed above. However, finding mistakes in something that you have written yourself can be complicated for some people. It is advisable to take professional help in the matter.
What If I only have difficulty writing a specific chapter of the dissertation?
Research Prospect ensures customer satisfaction by addressing all relevant issues. We provide dissertation chapter-writing services to students if they need help completing a specific chapter. It could be any chapter from the introduction, literature review, and methodology to the discussion and conclusion.
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- How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion
How to Write a Dissertation Conclusion | Checklist and Examples
Published on 9 September 2022 by Tegan George and Shona McCombes. Revised on 10 October 2022.
The conclusion is the very last part of your thesis or dissertation . It should be concise and engaging, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your main findings, as well as the answer to your research question .
In it, you should:
- Clearly state the answer to your main research question
- Summarise and reflect on your research process
- Make recommendations for future work on your topic
- Show what new knowledge you have contributed to your field
- Wrap up your thesis or dissertation
Table of contents
Discussion vs. conclusion, how long should your conclusion be, step 1: answer your research question, step 2: summarise and reflect on your research, step 3: make future recommendations, step 4: emphasise your contributions to your field, step 5: wrap up your thesis or dissertation, full conclusion example, conclusion checklist, frequently asked questions about conclusion sections.
While your conclusion contains similar elements to your discussion section , they are not the same thing.
Your conclusion should be shorter and more general than your discussion. Instead of repeating literature from your literature review , discussing specific research results , or interpreting your data in detail, concentrate on making broad statements that sum up the most important insights of your research.
As a rule of thumb, your conclusion should not introduce new data, interpretations, or arguments.
Depending on whether you are writing a thesis or dissertation, your length will vary. Generally, a conclusion should make up around 5–7% of your overall word count.
An empirical scientific study will often have a short conclusion, concisely stating the main findings and recommendations for future research. A humanities topic or systematic review , on the other hand, might require more space to conclude its analysis, tying all the previous sections together in an overall argument.
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Your conclusion should begin with the main question that your thesis or dissertation aimed to address. This is your final chance to show that you’ve done what you set out to do, so make sure to formulate a clear, concise answer.
- Don’t repeat a list of all the results that you already discussed
- Do synthesise them into a final takeaway that the reader will remember.
An empirical thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:
A case study –based thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:
In the second example, the research aim is not directly restated, but rather added implicitly to the statement. To avoid repeating yourself, it is helpful to reformulate your aims and questions into an overall statement of what you did and how you did it.
Your conclusion is an opportunity to remind your reader why you took the approach you did, what you expected to find, and how well the results matched your expectations.
To avoid repetition , consider writing more reflectively here, rather than just writing a summary of each preceding section. Consider mentioning the effectiveness of your methodology , or perhaps any new questions or unexpected insights that arose in the process.
You can also mention any limitations of your research, but only if you haven’t already included these in the discussion. Don’t dwell on them at length, though – focus on the positives of your work.
- While x limits the generalisability of the results, this approach provides new insight into y .
- This research clearly illustrates x , but it also raises the question of y .
You may already have made a few recommendations for future research in your discussion section, but the conclusion is a good place to elaborate and look ahead, considering the implications of your findings in both theoretical and practical terms.
- Based on these conclusions, practitioners should consider …
- To better understand the implications of these results, future studies could address …
- Further research is needed to determine the causes of/effects of/relationship between …
When making recommendations for further research, be sure not to undermine your own work. Relatedly, while future studies might confirm, build on, or enrich your conclusions, they shouldn’t be required for your argument to feel complete. Your work should stand alone on its own merits.
Just as you should avoid too much self-criticism, you should also avoid exaggerating the applicability of your research. If you’re making recommendations for policy, business, or other practical implementations, it’s generally best to frame them as ‘shoulds’ rather than ‘musts’. All in all, the purpose of academic research is to inform, explain, and explore – not to demand.
Make sure your reader is left with a strong impression of what your research has contributed to the state of your field.
Some strategies to achieve this include:
- Returning to your problem statement to explain how your research helps solve the problem
- Referring back to the literature review and showing how you have addressed a gap in knowledge
- Discussing how your findings confirm or challenge an existing theory or assumption
Again, avoid simply repeating what you’ve already covered in the discussion in your conclusion. Instead, pick out the most important points and sum them up succinctly, situating your project in a broader context.
The end is near! Once you’ve finished writing your conclusion, it’s time to wrap up your thesis or dissertation with a few final steps:
- It’s a good idea to write your abstract next, while the research is still fresh in your mind.
- Next, make sure your reference list is complete and correctly formatted. To speed up the process, you can use our free APA citation generator .
- Once you’ve added any appendices , you can create a table of contents and title page .
- Finally, read through the whole document again to make sure your thesis is clearly written and free from language errors. You can proofread it yourself , ask a friend, or consider Scribbr’s proofreading and editing service .
Here is an example of how you can write your conclusion section. Notice how it includes everything mentioned above:
V. Conclusion
The current research aimed to identify acoustic speech characteristics which mark the beginning of an exacerbation in COPD patients.
The central questions for this research were as follows: 1. Which acoustic measures extracted from read speech differ between COPD speakers in stable condition and healthy speakers? 2. In what ways does the speech of COPD patients during an exacerbation differ from speech of COPD patients during stable periods?
All recordings were aligned using a script. Subsequently, they were manually annotated to indicate respiratory actions such as inhaling and exhaling. The recordings of 9 stable COPD patients reading aloud were then compared with the recordings of 5 healthy control subjects reading aloud. The results showed a significant effect of condition on the number of in- and exhalations per syllable, the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable, and the ratio of voiced and silence intervals. The number of in- and exhalations per syllable and the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable were higher for COPD patients than for healthy controls, which confirmed both hypotheses.
However, the higher ratio of voiced and silence intervals for COPD patients compared to healthy controls was not in line with the hypotheses. This unpredicted result might have been caused by the different reading materials or recording procedures for both groups, or by a difference in reading skills. Moreover, there was a trend regarding the effect of condition on the number of syllables per breath group. The number of syllables per breath group was higher for healthy controls than for COPD patients, which was in line with the hypothesis. There was no effect of condition on pitch, intensity, center of gravity, pitch variability, speaking rate, or articulation rate.
This research has shown that the speech of COPD patients in exacerbation differs from the speech of COPD patients in stable condition. This might have potential for the detection of exacerbations. However, sustained vowels rarely occur in spontaneous speech. Therefore, the last two outcome measures might have greater potential for the detection of beginning exacerbations, but further research on the different outcome measures and their potential for the detection of exacerbations is needed due to the limitations of the current study.
Checklist: Conclusion
I have clearly and concisely answered the main research question .
I have summarized my overall argument or key takeaways.
I have mentioned any important limitations of the research.
I have given relevant recommendations .
I have clearly explained what my research has contributed to my field.
I have not introduced any new data or arguments.
You've written a great conclusion! Use the other checklists to further improve your dissertation.
In a thesis or dissertation, the discussion is an in-depth exploration of the results, going into detail about the meaning of your findings and citing relevant sources to put them in context.
The conclusion is more shorter and more general: it concisely answers your main research question and makes recommendations based on your overall findings.
While it may be tempting to present new arguments or evidence in your thesis or disseration conclusion , especially if you have a particularly striking argument you’d like to finish your analysis with, you shouldn’t. Theses and dissertations follow a more formal structure than this.
All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the discussion section and results section .) The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.
For a stronger dissertation conclusion , avoid including:
- Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion…”)
- Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g. “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)
Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.
The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5-7% of your overall word count.
The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation should include the following:
- A restatement of your research question
- A summary of your key arguments and/or results
- A short discussion of the implications of your research
Cite this Scribbr article
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.
George, T. & McCombes, S. (2022, October 10). How to Write a Dissertation Conclusion | Checklist and Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 27 February 2023, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/conclusion/
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How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion
Published on September 6, 2022 by Tegan George and Shona McCombes. Revised on November 11, 2022.
The conclusion is the very last part of your thesis or dissertation . It should be concise and engaging, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your main findings, as well as the answer to your research question .
In it, you should:
- Clearly state the answer to your main research question
- Summarize and reflect on your research process
- Make recommendations for future work on your thesis or dissertation topic
- Show what new knowledge you have contributed to your field
- Wrap up your thesis or dissertation
Table of contents
Discussion vs. conclusion, how long should your conclusion be, step 1: answer your research question, step 2: summarize and reflect on your research, step 3: make future recommendations, step 4: emphasize your contributions to your field, step 5: wrap up your thesis or dissertation, full conclusion example, conclusion checklist, frequently asked questions about conclusion sections.
While your conclusion contains similar elements to your discussion section , they are not the same thing.
Your conclusion should be shorter and more general than your discussion. Instead of repeating literature from your literature review , discussing specific research results , or interpreting your data in detail, concentrate on making broad statements that sum up the most important insights of your research.
As a rule of thumb, your conclusion should not introduce new data, interpretations, or arguments.
Depending on whether you are writing a thesis or dissertation, your length will vary. Generally, a conclusion should make up around 5–7% of your overall word count.
An empirical scientific study will often have a short conclusion, concisely stating the main findings and recommendations for future research. A humanities dissertation topic or systematic review , on the other hand, might require more space to conclude its analysis, tying all the previous sections together in an overall argument.
What can proofreading do for your paper?
Scribbr editors not only correct grammar and spelling mistakes, but also strengthen your writing by making sure your paper is free of vague language, redundant words, and awkward phrasing.

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Your conclusion should begin with the main question that your thesis or dissertation aimed to address. This is your final chance to show that you’ve done what you set out to do, so make sure to formulate a clear, concise answer.
- Don’t repeat a list of all the results that you already discussed
- Do synthesize them into a final takeaway that the reader will remember.
An empirical thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:
A case study –based thesis or dissertation conclusion may begin like this:
In the second example, the research aim is not directly restated, but rather added implicitly to the statement. To avoid repeating yourself, it is helpful to reformulate your aims and questions into an overall statement of what you did and how you did it.
Your conclusion is an opportunity to remind your reader why you took the approach you did, what you expected to find, and how well the results matched your expectations.
To avoid repetition , consider writing more reflectively here, rather than just writing a summary of each preceding section. Consider mentioning the effectiveness of your methodology , or perhaps any new questions or unexpected insights that arose in the process.
You can also mention any limitations of your research, but only if you haven’t already included these in the discussion. Don’t dwell on them at length, though—focus on the positives of your work.
- While x limits the generalizability of the results, this approach provides new insight into y .
- This research clearly illustrates x , but it also raises the question of y .
You may already have made a few recommendations for future research in your discussion section, but the conclusion is a good place to elaborate and look ahead, considering the implications of your findings in both theoretical and practical terms.
- Based on these conclusions, practitioners should consider …
- To better understand the implications of these results, future studies could address …
- Further research is needed to determine the causes of/effects of/relationship between …
When making recommendations for further research, be sure not to undermine your own work. Relatedly, while future studies might confirm, build on, or enrich your conclusions, they shouldn’t be required for your argument to feel complete. Your work should stand alone on its own merits.
Just as you should avoid too much self-criticism, you should also avoid exaggerating the applicability of your research. If you’re making recommendations for policy, business, or other practical implementations, it’s generally best to frame them as “shoulds” rather than “musts.” All in all, the purpose of academic research is to inform, explain, and explore—not to demand.
Make sure your reader is left with a strong impression of what your research has contributed to the state of your field.
Some strategies to achieve this include:
- Returning to your problem statement to explain how your research helps solve the problem
- Referring back to the literature review and showing how you have addressed a gap in knowledge
- Discussing how your findings confirm or challenge an existing theory or assumption
Again, avoid simply repeating what you’ve already covered in the discussion in your conclusion. Instead, pick out the most important points and sum them up succinctly, situating your project in a broader context.
The end is near! Once you’ve finished writing your conclusion, it’s time to wrap up your thesis or dissertation with a few final steps:
- It’s a good idea to write your abstract next, while the research is still fresh in your mind.
- Next, make sure your reference list is complete and correctly formatted. To speed up the process, you can use our free APA citation generator .
- Once you’ve added any appendices , you can create a table of contents and title page .
- Finally, read through the whole document again to make sure your thesis is clearly written and free from language errors. You can proofread it yourself , ask a friend, or consider Scribbr’s proofreading and editing service .
Here is an example of how you can write your conclusion section. Notice how it includes everything mentioned above:
V. Conclusion
The current research aimed to identify acoustic speech characteristics which mark the beginning of an exacerbation in COPD patients.
The central questions for this research were as follows: 1. Which acoustic measures extracted from read speech differ between COPD speakers in stable condition and healthy speakers? 2. In what ways does the speech of COPD patients during an exacerbation differ from speech of COPD patients during stable periods?
All recordings were aligned using a script. Subsequently, they were manually annotated to indicate respiratory actions such as inhaling and exhaling. The recordings of 9 stable COPD patients reading aloud were then compared with the recordings of 5 healthy control subjects reading aloud. The results showed a significant effect of condition on the number of in- and exhalations per syllable, the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable, and the ratio of voiced and silence intervals. The number of in- and exhalations per syllable and the number of non-linguistic in- and exhalations per syllable were higher for COPD patients than for healthy controls, which confirmed both hypotheses.
However, the higher ratio of voiced and silence intervals for COPD patients compared to healthy controls was not in line with the hypotheses. This unpredicted result might have been caused by the different reading materials or recording procedures for both groups, or by a difference in reading skills. Moreover, there was a trend regarding the effect of condition on the number of syllables per breath group. The number of syllables per breath group was higher for healthy controls than for COPD patients, which was in line with the hypothesis. There was no effect of condition on pitch, intensity, center of gravity, pitch variability, speaking rate, or articulation rate.
This research has shown that the speech of COPD patients in exacerbation differs from the speech of COPD patients in stable condition. This might have potential for the detection of exacerbations. However, sustained vowels rarely occur in spontaneous speech. Therefore, the last two outcome measures might have greater potential for the detection of beginning exacerbations, but further research on the different outcome measures and their potential for the detection of exacerbations is needed due to the limitations of the current study.
Checklist: Conclusion
I have clearly and concisely answered the main research question .
I have summarized my overall argument or key takeaways.
I have mentioned any important limitations of the research.
I have given relevant recommendations .
I have clearly explained what my research has contributed to my field.
I have not introduced any new data or arguments.
You've written a great conclusion! Use the other checklists to further improve your dissertation.
In a thesis or dissertation, the discussion is an in-depth exploration of the results, going into detail about the meaning of your findings and citing relevant sources to put them in context.
The conclusion is more shorter and more general: it concisely answers your main research question and makes recommendations based on your overall findings.
While it may be tempting to present new arguments or evidence in your thesis or disseration conclusion , especially if you have a particularly striking argument you’d like to finish your analysis with, you shouldn’t. Theses and dissertations follow a more formal structure than this.
All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the discussion section and results section .) The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.
For a stronger dissertation conclusion , avoid including:
- Important evidence or analysis that wasn’t mentioned in the discussion section and results section
- Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion …”)
- Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g., “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)
Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.
The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5–7% of your overall word count.
The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation should include the following:
- A restatement of your research question
- A summary of your key arguments and/or results
- A short discussion of the implications of your research
Cite this Scribbr article
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
George, T. & McCombes, S. (2022, November 11). How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion. Scribbr. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/write-conclusion/
Is this article helpful?
Tegan George
Other students also liked, how to write a discussion section | tips & examples, how to write an abstract | steps & examples, how to write a thesis or dissertation introduction, what is your plagiarism score.

Recommendations Chapter Help
- 1 Get Thesis Recommendations Chapter Help From PhD Thesis Writing Experts
- 2 Why Students Write Thesis Recommendation Chapter?
- 3 How Long Should My Thesis’ Recommendations Chapter Be?
- 4 What To Expect From Our Recommendations Chapter Writing Service?
- 5.1.1 Start With a Brief Introduction
- 5.1.2 List Down the recommendations for your Ph.D thesis
- 5.1.3 Conclude your recommendations chapter
- 6 Engage the Right Recommendations Chapter Writing Service For Perfect Recommendation Chapter
Get Thesis Recommendations Chapter Help From PhD Thesis Writing Experts
Are you writing a thesis, dissertation or capstone project? then you already know that you will have to include recommendation chapter in your paper. However, not everyone needs to engage a recommendations chapter writing service while crafting the 5 th chapter of their thesis. Still, no one prevents you from accessing the little thesis recommendations chapter help you might require to produce outstanding work. The 5 th chapter of your thesis summarizes your findings, presents your conclusions, and reveals your recommendations. If you prefer, you can also present your recommendations chapter separately.
Arguably, the recommendations chapter is the easiest to write, but probably not everyone agrees. If you’re facing difficulties while completing the recommendations chapter, contact us. Helpwithdissertation.com has seen it all. With us, every doctoral candidate who needs a bit of professional Ph.D. thesis writing support easily accesses it. Our PhD thesis recommendation chapter paper writers have assisted hundred of scholars with top notch thesis recommendations chapter help.
Why Students Write Thesis Recommendation Chapter?

Have you been able to settle on a specific topic for your thesis yet? Don’t worry. Consult thesis recommendations chapter help of a couple theses and see if you can fish out a viable idea. Still facing difficulties? Pay someone to write my recommendations chapter. The right compan y exposes y our problems to proven thesis recommendations chapter help, resolving them completely.
It depends on your preferences or those of your department. There’s no specific rule when it comes to how you should treat your recommendations. Some theses have a separate recommendations chapter. And that’s perfectly all right. We’ve also seen countless theses that combined the recommendations section with the summary and conclusion(s) sections. That’s ok, too.
We suggest you consult your thesis supervisor on this matter. Fortunately, the matter is not such a critical issue. In other words, where you position the recommendations section has no effect on the overall quality of the chapter.
But we’re certain you aren’t here to learn where to position your recommendations chapter. Nor do you need to consult a recommendations chapter writing service on the issue. But you might need a bit of thesis recommendations chapter help with organizing the content of this section. When that time comes, simply contact helpwithdissertation.com.
How Long Should My Thesis’ Recommendations Chapter Be?
As long as reason dictates. It mustn’t be too long that no one would be willing to invest their limited time to read it. Nor should it be too short that it omits important pieces of information that’d greatly help future research. Compared to the other sections of your thesis, the recommendations chapter is almost always shorter.
But there’s no specific number of pages to include in your thesis. And that’s kind of disappointing. Luckily, Dr Raghu Korrapati gives us a suggestion. He suggests that the recommendations chapter should be between 2 and 4 pages.
In the end, though, the length of this section depends on the number of research recommendations you have. Still unsure how long your recommendations section should be? Don’t worry. Simply consult a credible recommendations chapter writing service . The right service should be able to provide you with quality and affordable thesis recommendations chapter help.
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Second, we never include recommendations that have nothing to do with your study. You sure have heard your professor say you should never include any new material in your conclusion. Our PhD thesis recommendation chapter writers ensures your recommendations have a clear connection to your thesis.
Finally, we don’t cover findings that contradict your main findings. A small portion of the data you obtain possibly won’t agree with your key findings. How do we treat this data that potentially interferes with the flow of your story? Bring the attention of your readers to that data. That’s plain old honesty, and lots of people today still value it. But remember to explain (not explain away) those small contradictions. That’s how you boost your credibility as a budding researcher.
Unsure about how to handle data that contradicts your main results? Our recommendations chapter writing service can help you. Connect with them now and access the thesis recommendations chapter help you seek.
How To Write Thesis Recommendations Chapter
Tips from our expert phd thesis recommendation chapter writer.
Perhaps you’d love for us to tell you more about what to do while writing your recommendations chapter. Why not contact our t hesis recommendations chapter writing service providers right now? They should instantly provide you with the specific thesis recommendations chapter help you need to deliver work that glitters. Here’s how to write the recommendations section for a thesis:
Start With a Brief Introduction
Tell the reader what you intend to share with them. Luckily for you, you’ve by now learned how to write an introduction . For you, handling the introduction to your recommendations section should be pretty easy.
One important component to include in your introduction is the limitations of your methods/ research . Also, you should provide suggestions as to how future researchers might address the issues you’ve identified. Note : if you’re writing an extended thesis, it’s best to present your recommendations in point form. Bullets will do just fine.
List Down the recommendations for your Ph.D thesis
There’s nothing much to say here. Simply list your recommendations down. But as mentioned elsewhere, your recommendations MUST not be new material that has no connection with your work. Here’s how one doctoral candidate writing an engineering thesis presented one of her recommendations:
- “ The experimental results obtained disagree with the theoretical equations that informed this study. The disagreement might have resulted from the deposits observed inside of the pipe during the experiment. Also, inconsistency in thermocouple temperature possibly contributed to the disagreement . Regular test rig inspection should effectively address this problem.”
Look at that recommendation. The report’s author admitted that the results they obtained didn’t agree with the theoretical equations they were working with. That’s honesty. But the person went further and explained what might have caused the discrepancy. Finally, the author suggested how researchers in the future might get better quality results.
Surely, you can easily handle the recommendations section. But go ahead and engage a credible recommendations chapter writing service if it makes sense for you. Get some quality thesis recommendations chapter help and get finish your paper.
Conclude your recommendations chapter
The conclusion of this chapter should re-state your thesis’ recommendations. You don’t need to re-state all of them, though. Let the number of recommendations you have guide you regarding how many you may re-state. If you have 7 of them, for instance, you can re-state three of them. But they should be the most important ones.
As you describe your recommendations, do it clearly and helpfully. Remember: other researchers in the future will likely read your suggestions for topic ideas. So, be nice. Haven’t other researchers done a lot for your study? You probably found your topic by reviewing other people’s work. So our thesis r ecommendation chapter writers offer recommendations that deliver value.
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IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Recommendations in research are a crucial component of your discussion section and the conclusion of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper. As you conduct your research and analyze the data you collected, perhaps there are ideas or results that don't quite fit the scope of your research topic.
Dissertation Conclusion and Recommendations The final stage and chapter in your dissertation research paper is the conclusion and this is where you're most likely going to be making recommendations, whether these be for future research, a government body or a corporations.
In general, a good dissertation conclusion chapter should achieve the following: Summarise the key findings of the study Explicitly answer the research question (s) and address the research aims Inform the reader of the study's main contributions Discuss any limitations or weaknesses of the study Present recommendations for future research
Figure and table numbering must be continuous throughout the dissertation or by chapter (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, etc.). Two figures or tables cannot be designated with the same number. ... The guidelines in this section pertain to any previously published material that requires permission from publishers or other rightsholders before it may ...
parts: the Introduction (Chapter 1), the Review of Related Literature and/or Research (Chapter 2), and the Methodology (Chapter 3). The completed dissertation begins with the same three chapters and concludes with two additional chapters that report research findings (Chapter 4) and conclusions, discussion, and recommendations (Chapter 5).
Simply put, there should be a firm, intuitive, logical link between the end of your analysis chapter and the beginning of your recommendations chapter. There should really be no surprise for the reader - in fact, they should pretty much be able to anticipate what you'll prescribe.
Recommendation Recommendations are "What a business should do as a result of your research". They need to be more than a short list of bullet points. Certainly structuring this section to be easy to read might use bullet points. However there is so much more that can be added for each recommendation bullet:
Chapter 5: Results, Conclusions, and Recommendations, Dissertation - Conclusion Example Pages: 10 Words: 2719 Dissertation - Conclusion This Dissertation - Conclusion was written by one of our professional writers. You are free to use it as an inspiration or a source for your own work. Need a custom Dissertation - Conclusion written for you?
For the first time in the dissertation, the researcher can state a personal opinion when the collected data support it. Recommendations These can take two forms: recommendations for further study, or recommendations for change, or both. Each recommendation should trace directly to a conclusion. References
1) First of all, you should try to provide a complete detail about the results that you have deduced by conducting an effective research. 2) Secondly, you should try to deduce the conclusions from these results and write down these conclusions in the recommendations and conclusions chapter.
DISSERTATION CHAPTERS Order and format of dissertation chapters may vary by institution and department. 1. Introduction 2. Literature review 3. Methodology 4. Findings 5. Analysis and synthesis 6. Conclusions and recommendations Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter makes a case for the signifi-cance of the problem, contextualizes the
The structure of a dissertation depends on your field, but it is usually divided into at least four or five chapters (including an introduction and conclusion chapter). The most common dissertation structure in the sciences and social sciences includes: An introduction to your topic. A literature review that surveys relevant sources.
The Graduate School recommends that each dissertation or thesis conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field. For both master's and doctoral students, the same basic rules apply; however, differences exist in some limited areas, particularly in producing the abstract and filing the dissertation or thesis.
Step 1: Summarize your key findings Step 2: Give your interpretations Step 3: Discuss the implications Step 4: Acknowledge the limitations Step 5: Share your recommendations Discussion section example Frequently asked questions about discussion sections What not to include in your discussion section
12. Leave time for the chair to read your completed thesis or dissertation . at least twice. before giving it to your committee members. Don't expect to submit the completed thesis or dissertation for the first time to the chair and defend in the same or following week. Also, it is customary to give the thesis or dissertation to committee members
A dissertation is a long-form piece of academic writing based on original research conducted by you. It is usually submitted as the final step in order to finish a PhD program. Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you've ever completed. It requires solid research, writing, and analysis skills, and it can be intimidating ...
Work a certain number of hours on your paper daily. Create a worksheet for your week. Work on your dissertation for time periods as brief as 45 minutes or less. Stick to the strategic dissertation timeline, so you don't have to do the catchup work. Meet your goals by prioritising your dissertation work.
Step 5: Wrap up your thesis or dissertation. The end is near! Once you've finished writing your conclusion, it's time to wrap up your thesis or dissertation with a few final steps: It's a good idea to write your abstract next, while the research is still fresh in your mind. Next, make sure your reference list is complete and correctly ...
Step 1: Answer your research question. Step 2: Summarize and reflect on your research. Step 3: Make future recommendations. Step 4: Emphasize your contributions to your field. Step 5: Wrap up your thesis or dissertation. Full conclusion example. Conclusion checklist. Frequently asked questions about conclusion sections.
The 5 th chapter of your thesis summarizes your findings, presents your conclusions, and reveals your recommendations. If you prefer, you can also present your recommendations chapter separately. Arguably, the recommendations chapter is the easiest to write, but probably not everyone agrees.