Have a Look at These Formats for Dissertation!

There are various formats for writing dissertations. Which method and style you will opt for depends upon your research field as well as your university’s guidelines. The more explicitly you can identify your dissertation pattern, the sooner you can decode the tacit rules about writing.

Every research field has a specific template, a method for reviewing literature, a style for dissertation writing, and a method for the dissertation defence. Understand the format for your dissertation writing that is acceptable by your university. Three formats are widely accepted for humanities and social science dissertation: thematic, data analytics, and journal article dissertation.

Thematic Dissertation

A thematic dissertation is most common in the humanities field. The first chapter of this dissertation is the “Introduction’ and the last chapter is the “Conclusion”. Other chapters focus on various themes related to your subject topic. However, many departments are now moving away from this style of writing a dissertation where published books are an expected part of academic life. Instead, they are accepting dissertation in a format that is reflecting manuscript style which shortens the time to transform a dissertation into a book.

Thematic dissertation format:

• Chapter 1 – Introduction
• Chapter 2 – Theme 1
• Chapter 3 – Theme 2
• Chapter 4 – Theme 3
• Chapter 5 – Discussion

Data Analytic Dissertation

Data analytic dissertation is most common in the social science field. The first chapter is the “Introduction” that is followed by “Literature review”, and the third chapter is “Methods” followed by the “Results” section and the last chapter is for discussion and conclusion.

Journal Article Dissertation

The journal article dissertation is acceptable for both the humanities and social science realms. You should consider this style of dissertation writing if you are required to have journal articles published. In this format, the first chapter is the “Introduction”. The second chapter is “Literature Review” followed by standalone manuscripts which can be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. The final chapter will be the conclusion and discussion where you identify and address the implications that span various manuscripts.