dissertation nur rite

Writing Nursing Dissertations, Theses, & Scholarly Projects (Step-by-Step Guide)

dissertation nur rite

Are you a doctoral, master's, or undergraduate nursing student? If yes, this guide has been made with love for you! As long as you will be handling a nursing scholarly project or dissertation, you have all the reasons to fall in love with this well-thought-guide.

The dissertation writing process is complicated to follow for most DNP nursing students. So, we made this guide to simplify it; we created this guide to make life a bit easier for you.

Although this step-by-step guide will not help you design and execute clinical research or implement quality improvement processes, it will help you successfully plan, organize, and write your nursing dissertation or scholarly project.

Let's begin.

What Is a Nursing Dissertation?

A nursing dissertation is a comprehensive research project a doctoral nursing student must complete to graduate. The centerpiece of the research project is the paper documenting the entire thing, and this paper is what is known as a dissertation.

Some nursing programs allow master's and undergraduate students to write dissertation-style scholarly projects.

Generally, nursing dissertations are between 5,000 to 15,000 words long. The length of your dissertation will largely be determined by the dissertation requirements set by your nursing school, and it will take you between three to twelve months to write your dissertation, depending on its length and complexity.

A typical nursing dissertation comprises several chapters, a references section, and an appendices section. And it is formatted following the APA manual. Therefore, when writing your paper, strictly adhere to the APA stylebook or Harvard formatting style (if you study in Australia or UK).

Before you commence your dissertation project, you will be assigned a supervisor. The supervisor is supposed to provide you with the guidance (mentorship) you need to make your dissertation a robust academic paper.

Therefore, you and them will have to meet regularly to discuss your dissertation from start to finish. So if you were very worried about the dissertation writing process thinking you may fail, you now know there will be someone to hold your hand and get you back on track in case you deviate.

As you may have noticed from the information shared above, a nursing dissertation is a complex paper requiring plenty of work and effort, and you must be at the top of your game to write a solid dissertation paper.

Get professional dissertation assistance from us if you need it at any point.

Structure of Nursing Dissertation

The typical nursing dissertation has the following chapters.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Your nursing dissertation paper has to start with an introduction chapter. In the chapter, you have to provide the reader with background information on the topic of your paper.

The chapter introduces your topic and makes a case for its significance. Any reader reading your nursing dissertation should tell the topic by reading the first two sentences.

Therefore, if you are handling a topic related to CAUTIs, make the first sentence about CAUTIs. A good way is to give statistics or statements about the CAUTIs issue in healthcare settings. You can describe the affected population, the depth of the issue, mortality and morbidity rates, and whether the problem is increasing or its impact is becoming greater.

Beginning the introduction with general to specific ideas help you settle in your readers. Therefore, the first paragraph of the introduction chapter should state the problem and its prevalence while making a general statement on its impact. In your succeeding paragraphs, you will have finer details through your problem statement, purpose statement, research or PICOT question, rationale, and aims/objectives. Giving appropriate background information is critical.

When writing the introduction, you should answer four fundamental questions:

  • What is happening?
  • Why should we care?
  • What do we know currently?
  • What do we need to find out and why?

Answering these questions should lead to a statement otherwise referred to as the purpose statement. A clear and concise purpose statement is vital to your dissertation introduction. Below is an example of a nursing dissertation purpose statement.

This quality improvement project aims to reduce the number of adverse events resulting from medical errors within 90 days.

This study aims to determine whether educating mothers about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding at a local maternity facility will increase adherence and acceptance to exclusive breastfeeding of newborns rather than relying on alternatives such as supplements.

Sometimes, you might be required to write a PICOT-based problem statement, especially if you are doing quantitative research or a quality improvement project.

PICOT stands for:

  • Population: Who is the focus of the project or study?
  • Intervention: What activity/behavior is being tested?
  • Comparison: What group are you comparing your population to?
  • Outcome: What are the outcomes you are examining?
  • Time: What is the duration of the intervention or study?

Related Reading: Formulating PICOT questions plus examples.

Since patients with heart failure have high readmission rates, I propose implementing a discharge follow-up program that encompasses a bi-weekly post-discharge home visit by nurse practitioners within two weeks after hospital discharge. I will compare 40-day readmission rates for the patients during the six months before and after the introduction of the program.

Note that not all the purpose statements for nursing dissertations can be formulated as PICOT problem statement the same way; not all nursing research questions can be PICOT questions. If you are doing a qualitative study, you might sometimes not have time for the comparison, outcome, and intervention.

The purpose statement is followed immediately with a brief description of how you plan to accomplish it. If you are researching, detail your methodological approach, including the design, population, data collection and analysis methods, and your research timeline.

You can also state your hypotheses in the last section of your paragraph. It is also wise to include measurable objectives. Below is an example:

In the six months following the implementation of nurse practitioner-led post-discharge home visits, the average 40-day heart failure readmission rate will be lower than 15%.

You can then reformulate the purpose statement into a specific research question or question. For example:

Will biweekly home visits by nursing practitioners for two weeks post-hospital discharge reduce the readmission rates of heart failure patients?

You also have to provide the reader with an explanation of what is known and what is not known. Lastly, it would be best to clarify what you are investigating, why it is important, and how you will do it.

A good dissertation introduction convinces the reader of the importance of the study or project, includes clear and concise background information and a purpose statement, and identifies the research gap. It also has research questions, hypotheses, and aims/objectives as needed.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

In this chapter, you have to provide definitions for concepts and variables, and you also have to provide the theoretical framework for your dissertation. Your chapter two or the literature review should help the readers understand everything you are researching, the issue you are addressing, and why. It offers the context of the study or project and establishes the significance of the topic and the rationale for your study. A comprehensive literature review helps you critically analyze or synthesize all the available information on your topic. Focusing on peer-reviewed scholarly articles published in the last five years is important. You can also include seminal and classic articles. If you have gray literature, identify it as such in your literature review. The gray literature includes non-peer-reviewed articles,

technical reports, conference reports, reports from recognized organizations working in the topic area (such as NGOs), committee reports, white papers, or unpublished research report

Note that chapters one and two of the dissertation are the same as your proposal (if you were initially asked to write one). It should explain your chosen theoretical model or conceptual framework in depth. You can include your search strategy in the literature review, especially for doctoral programs.

Wrap up the literature review by stating the research gaps you identified that your current study would address.

As the literature review is the longest chapter in a dissertation, you can use subheadings to organize information and guide the readers through complex concepts.

Of course, your lit review must have a review of the literature, and you must provide a comprehensive and analytical review of the literature in this chapter, followed by a summary and an identification of the research gaps.

Chapter 3: Methodology

The methodology chapter is one of the most important chapters of a nursing dissertation because it is the chapter where the design of the study is revealed. So you have to discuss the design of your project in this chapter.

The discussion should include your planning activities, the setting, the people, the sample, the ethical considerations, the data collection, the instruments, the data analysis, the anticipated and actual barriers, the strategic plan, the budget, and the project timeline.

As you can see, many important project elements are to be covered in this chapter. Do not forget any of them if you want to ensure your dissertation is not rejected.

Chapter 4: Results/Findings

This chapter is just as crucial as the chapter above, and it is where you discuss the results of your project. The must-have elements of this chapter include the response rate, the sample size, the demographics, the preliminary statistical tests, the final statistical tests/analyses, the qualitative tests, and the project implementation outcomes.

This chapter is written at a sweet time when you have already collected and analyzed your data or fully implemented your science project. Writing it is all about detailing what you did and the outcomes.

Chapter 6: Discussion, Conclusion, and Recommendation

After detailing what you found out in your project, you must discuss it. This is where the rubber meets the road - you show the world you are a worthy doctoral nursing student. The essential elements you should have in this chapter include a summary of the problem, your key findings, what the findings mean, the implications of the findings, recommendations for future studies, the limitations of the study, and your conclusion.

Unlike the previous chapters, this chapter needs a lot of thinking and a lot of interpretation. Therefore, many students consider it challenging to write. Nevertheless, it is just a chapter like the others, so it can be written. It may take some time, but it can be written.

References Section

The references section of your dissertation is where you make clear the sources you used. Here, you must correctly include the citations for all the sources you have used in your dissertation.

You do this to credit other researchers who have worked hard like you to do their research. You also do it to avoid plagiarism, and your dissertation can be dismissed if you are found to have used sources without referencing.

Appendices Section

The appendices section of your dissertation provides your reader with all the images, tables, and other raw data you used in your dissertation.

You do this to enable the reader to find out more without distracting them from the main objective of your paper.

Steps for Writing the Perfect Nursing Dissertation

Follow the steps below to write a brilliant nursing dissertation.

1. Choose A Topic

This may sound easy, but it is not because your chosen topic will determine whether your dissertation is successful. To choose the perfect topic for your dissertation, you need to do a lot of brainstorming.

Do this by thinking about your areas of interest in nursing. What would you like to improve or to know more about? Note down everything significant that comes to mind. Then proceed to look at recently published journal articles in nursing and note down interesting gaps in the research.

All the things you have noted are potential topics for your dissertation. Identify the three most interesting ones and present them to your dissertation supervisor for a discussion. They will help to settle on the perfect topic for your nursing dissertation.

Related Reading:

  • Capstone project ideas and topics
  • Tips for choosing a nursing dissertation topic
  • Epidemiology nursing topics
  • Mental health nursing topics
  • Nursing informatics topics
  • Steps for writing a nursing philosophy statement
  • Nursing research topics for nursing papers and essays.

2. Conduct Pre-Research

After settling on the perfect topic for your dissertation, you should research your topic. This research aims to help you refine your topic and your potential research question.

The most efficient way to conduct pilot research into your chosen topic is to find and review relevant scholarly literature. Find the literature by searching your topic or its keywords in broad scholarly databases such as Google Scholar and CINAHL.

Take plenty of notes as you review the literature to understand the topic better.

3. Conduct Deep Research

A nursing dissertation is an opportunity to show your readers (professors) your nursing knowledge, research, and writing skills. And the only way you can confidently do this is by reading a lot of literature on the topic you want to write about.

So conduct deep research into your chosen topic to find relevant literature for your dissertation. Use the notes you took in the step above to conduct the research. And conduct the research into as many nursing databases as you have access to � Google Scholar, CINAHL, Embase, the Cochrane Library, ClinicalKey, PubMed, etc.

As you conduct deep research into the topic, take plenty of notes. Your goal during this step should be to know your topic inside-out, which will help you think clearly about it and know what exactly you need to do.

4. Write A Research Proposal

Before writing your dissertation, you will need to write a research proposal. Your supervisor will assess the proposal, and the format and all the other requirements will be made clear by your supervisor.

The proposal aims to show you understand what you want to investigate and discuss in your dissertation. Therefore, make sure it discusses your dissertation research topic, proposed methodology, and the key literature reviewed. In this step, you will have to think of the best methodology to use for your research.

Upon assessing your proposal, your supervisor will give you feedback on whether you are on the right track. They will tell you what to do to ensure your dissertation is perfect.

5. Research A Lot

After getting feedback from your supervisor, you should incorporate their feedback and then embark on research. Research differentiates an ordinary dissertation from an extraordinary one, so ensure your research is thorough.

What are you researching in this step? You are researching similar dissertations to the one you have proposed, and you should use resources like ProQuest Dissertations to find them.

The purpose of researching similar dissertations to what you have is to understand what it takes to develop an outstanding dissertation. You most likely have never read a published dissertation before. So read several and look at the language, the formatting, the methodology, the discussion, and so on to find out what you need to do.

6. Start Writing

This is where you start pulling everything together. Start writing your introduction chapter, the next chapter, and the next until you conclude. Writing the thousands of words you need to complete your dissertation will take time and effort. Have this in mind when you start writing to avoid getting frustrated.

As you are writing, make sure you properly organize your chapters. If you are unsure what chapter to write next or what to write in a chapter, refer to the outline/structure provided in this post.

One more thing to remember is that each chapter is a building block to your entire research. Therefore, it must agree with the rest of the chapters; nothing in it must sound off or out of place.

7. Present Your Paper to Your Supervisor

After you write your dissertation or thesis paper, present it to your supervisor for discussion. You now have something to show and something concrete for them to assess. Send it to them and await their feedback.

They will assess your dissertation and give you feedback. Upon receiving the feedback, you need to incorporate the feedback into your dissertation. This will ensure your final paper/dissertation is perfect or near perfect.

8. Proofread and Polish Your Dissertation

After incorporating the feedback given by your professor, proceed to proofread and polish your dissertation. Since your dissertation is thousands of words long, you should proofread and polish it chapter by chapter.

Remember, it usually takes days to proofread and polish a dissertation. Therefore, do not feel pressured or frustrated if you feel as if you are moving slowly. Just push forward, and you will get to the end.

9. Make Sure Your Dissertation Is Well-Formatted

After polishing your paper, ensure your dissertation is well-formatted. You need to be very careful when formatting. Do not forget to apply any APA rule to your dissertation.

Move methodically and apply every relevant formatting rule to your paper. Do not forget to correctly add all the references and appendices to your dissertation.

10. Present Your Dissertation to Your Supervisor

After you complete the step above, you will be all but done with writing your dissertation. What you need to do now is to present your dissertation to your supervisor one more time.

They will give you their feedback and help you prepare to defend your dissertation. Of course, you must incorporate their feedback into your academic writing before starting any dissertation defense preparations.

Once you are done with this step, you are done writing your dissertation.

Tips for Writing an Excellent Dissertation for Nursing

Follow the 20 tips below to write a brilliant nursing dissertation paper.

1. Start Immediately

When you know your school's guidelines for writing a nursing dissertation, you should start working toward choosing a dissertation topic. After choosing a topic, you should begin taking steps to prepare your dissertation writing, and then you should go ahead and start writing it.

Students often assume they have much time to write their dissertations, which is frequently untrue. Time flies when you are a DNP student; before you know it, you will have only a few short months to start and complete your dissertation.

2. Cite All the Sources You Use

When writing your dissertation, cite all the sources you use. A dissertation is an opportunity for you to show not only your academic knowledge but also your academic integrity. And academic integrity is all about honesty.

You need to cite all the sources you use. Never present someone else's work as your own. Always cite the source where you've taken information. Failure to cite correctly can result in your dissertation being rejected. Most professors are rigorous on this.

3. Make Sure Your Topic Is Specific

When choosing a topic for your dissertation, ensure it is very specific. Making sure your topic is particular will make your research easier, and it will also make your dissertation much easier to write and better to read.

In contrast, if your topic is too big or ambitious, you will end up with a situation where your dissertation sounds too broad. You will find it somewhat difficult to cover your topic as in-depth as you like. So be realistic and make your topic specific.

4. Don't Use Big Words When Simple Words Can Do

Some students think a dissertation is an opportunity to show how clever or sophisticated they are. Therefore, they use big words, jargon, and complicated sentences to try and prove this. This is unnecessary because it usually doesn't make their work any better.

Using big words, jargon, and complicated sentences will most likely make your work difficult to read and affect the flow of your work. So use simple words instead of big words whenever you can.

5. Save Your Progress Often and in Multiple Places

Starting and completing a dissertation is a massive undertaking. This is because a typical dissertation research project takes months to complete. The number of words to be typed to complete a dissertation is in the thousands, and the formatting is usually a pain in the *ss.

Because starting and completing a dissertation is difficult, you should save your work often and in multiple places. Send it to yourself in your email, WhatsApp, etc. These backup copies will ensure all your hard work is NOT lost in case you lose your laptop to a virus or a thief.

6. Plan Your Dissertation Writing Process

There is a common saying about planning that is almost cliche; failure to plan is planning to fail. If you don't plan for something, you unknowingly plan to fail. In other words, planning is essential for success.

So once you have been given the departmental guidelines for writing your dissertation, you should create a comprehensive plan with deadlines to help you complete your dissertation project. If you create a good plan, you will find the dissertation writing process easier to manage.

7. Make Sure Your Major Decisions Are Research-Informed

Every big decision you make in your paper is informed by research. For example, before you decide on your dissertation's focus, research more about what you want to write about. Before you decide on the methodology, you will use research to discover the most appropriate methods.

Making sure your significant decisions are backed up by research, as shown in the two examples above, will make it very easy for you to explain why you made the decisions to your reader. It will also make your paper more scientific, accurate, and academically sound.

8. Don't Panic If Your Results Are Not What You Expected

If, after the careful planning and execution of your research project, you get unexpected results, do not panic. Unexpected results are as valuable as expected results. The key is to ensure you do more research to explain why you think you got the results in your discussion section.

By carefully explaining your unexpected results, you will show your professors you researched and understood the topic you decided to investigate. This will make your dissertation more likely to get an excellent mark/grade.

9. Show Awareness of Your Research Limits

No matter how good your research skills are, it would help if you showed awareness of your research limits. In other words, you should indicate the limitations of your research. Of course, the limitations you note should be backed by research.

It is essential to show the limitations of your project to let the reader know that you fully understood what you were doing. It will also help the reader better contextualize your results and findings.

10. Take It Easy

Dissertation writing is hard work full of pressure and frustrations. However, it would help if you didn't let all that get to you. Remember, calm heads always prevail in one way or another. So keep your cool no matter how difficult and frustrating things get.

Keeping your cool no matter what will help you to push forward with your dissertation and to complete it successfully. On the other hand, getting frustrated will make you get stuck, which could result in you being among the many students that do not complete their dissertations.

11. First Draft Isn't Perfect

When writing your dissertation, please do not feel too much pressure to perfect it. Your goal should be simple; to complete your first draft, and your goal should be to complete your first draft to get a psychological boost and not make the first draft perfect.

The first draft isn't perfect and doesn't need to be. If you make peace with this, writing and completing your first draft will be easier. The right time to perfect your dissertation is when you proofread and edit it. You will likely need to rewrite huge parts of your first draft to make it brilliant.

12. Be Flexible

You don't need to write the chapters in a perfect sequence when writing your essay. Some students think they must do this to create a good dissertation flow. However, this is unnecessary. You create flow by making sure your sentences and paragraphs are easy to understand and by using transition words and sentences generously.

Write your chapters in any way you like. Write the easiest chapters first to gain momentum in your dissertation. This momentum will make it easier for you to write the trickier chapters.

13. Talk to Your Supervisor Regularly

Your dissertation supervisor/advisor is there to help you. You should plan to meet them biweekly or more frequently to discuss your dissertation and the progress you have made.

Do not be afraid or shy to ask your supervisor questions or clarifications. Your supervisor is there to help you and guide you through your work, and they are there to ensure you stay on track. So meet them regularly and show them your work to get all the tips and advice you need to remain on the proper path.

14. Don't Forget Your Health and Wellbeing

Just because you are writing your dissertation doesn't mean you have to let your health deteriorate. Ensure you eat well, exercise, sleep well, and stay healthy. Maintaining your physical health will ensure you are always in the right physical condition to continue putting in the hard work you need to complete your project.

Also, take care of your mental health. Your mind is the biggest tool you need for your project. Protect it by taking breaks, relaxing, hanging out with friends, and doing the things you love regularly. The more protected your mind is, the easier it will be for you to write your dissertation.

15. Don't Give Up

Dissertating is extremely difficult, and it takes a lot of physical and mental effort to complete a nursing dissertation successfully. Therefore, you will feel like throwing in the towel in many instances. If you ever feel like this, do not do it.

Don't give up. Choosing not to give up and persevering will give you a sweet psychological victory and make you feel stronger and more capable. It will also ensure you graduate with the master's degree you have sacrificed so much to get.

16. Get Professional Assistance

If you ever need assistance to complete your entire dissertation or a part of it, do not be afraid to get professional assistance. Many dissertation writing services can provide you with the help you need at a small fee, and we are one such service.

We can help you write your entire dissertation paper or any part. We can also help with specific parts of the dissertation writing process, e.g., the research, the introduction, the methodology section, the proofreading/editing, and the incorporation of feedback.

As you Ponder the Steps and Tips ...

We hope we have provided all the information you need to write your nursing dissertation paper. Now it is up to you to step up and start dissertating.

Related Articles:

  • Step-by-step guide for writing a nursing change project
  • A guide for writing a nursing capstone project
  • How to write a perfect Evidence-Based Nursing Paper
  • Tips for making a poster presentation in nursing .

If you need any assistance in any part of the dissertation writing process, please visit our home page to get the assistance you need.

Our writers are experts with multiple years of experience in dissertation writing, formatting, and editing. You can never go wrong with us.

What is a dissertation?

A dissertation is a comprehensive research paper written to fulfill a graduate degree. A dissertation can be required to graduate with a master's degree in the UK or a doctorate in the US.

How long does it take to write a nursing dissertation?

It usually takes between three to twelve months to write a nursing dissertation. Two things largely determine how short or long a dissertation will be - the departmental requirements and the methodology chosen.

Can you write a nursing dissertation in three months?

Yes, you can. It is certainly not impossible, but it will take you every single day and night to write a good dissertation in such a short time. If you don't have enough time to write a dissertation, work with a dissertation writing service to get the desired results quickly.

Related: Is the WGU RN-BSN worth your time and money?

How long is a nursing dissertation?

Most nursing dissertations are between 6000 to 16000 words long. Of course, some are shorter than 6,000 words, and others are longer than 16000 words.

What is the difference between a thesis and a dissertation?

Masters nursing students need to write a thesis to complete their degree, while doctoral nursing students need to write a dissertation to complete their degree.

Is getting help with a nursing dissertation online illegal?

No, it is not. No law prohibits you or anybody else from getting a nursing dissertation online. So if you need dissertation assistance from a dissertation writing business online, feel free to get it.

Can a nursing dissertation be done as a group?

No. Dissertations are individual research projects, and you can get guidance and assistance from anywhere you want, but your dissertation is your project and will only have a single author - you.

Does a nursing dissertation require an abstract poster?

Yes, if it is going to be presented at a conference. The poster should include a title, a summary, an intro, the methodology used, the results, the discussion, and the conclusions. All these things should be less than 300 words.

Do nursing students defend their nursing theses and dissertations?

Yes, they do. In most colleges, nursing students must defend their theses and dissertations before a committee that usually includes faculty members.

Who writes a nursing dissertation?

In the US, a doctoral student writes a nursing dissertation, while a master's student writes a nursing thesis. In the UK, it is the opposite - a master's student writes a nursing dissertation and a doctoral student writes a nursing thesis.

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How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

  • Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
  • Find a unique and valuable research topic
  • Craft a convincing research proposal
  • Write up a strong introduction chapter
  • Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
  • Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
  • Present the findings of your research
  • Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Start writing your dissertation

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

  • Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
  • See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
  • If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
  • Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

 A dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research, reflecting the standard four step academic research process.

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

  • Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
  • Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
  • Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
  • Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

 A dissertation is not an opinion piece, nor a place to push your agenda or try to  convince someone of your position.

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

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Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

  • You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
  • You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
  • You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

  • A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
  • A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
  • Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
  • The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

The introduction chapter is where you set the scene for your research, detailing exactly what you’ll be researching and why it’s important.

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Dissertation Coaching

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

  • You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
  • You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
  • You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

  • Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
  • Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
  • Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
  • Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

  • If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
  • If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

  • If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
  • If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
  • If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

The research philosophy is at the core of the methodology chapter

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

  • Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
  • Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

Your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions. It needs to answer the key questions you asked in your introduction.

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

In the final chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and the implications thereof.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

  • Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
  • Find a unique (original) and important research topic
  • Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
  • Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
  • Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
  • Undertake your own research
  • Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

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This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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20 Comments

Romia

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Madhu

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Elhadi Abdelrahim

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Derek Jansen

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

Writer

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Sam

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Hailu

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Nunurayi Tambala

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Ken

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Osasuyi Blessing

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Dung Doh

Very educating.

Ezra Daniel

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

Nice Edinam Hoyah

Thank you 💕😊 very much. I was confused but your comprehensive explanation has cleared my doubts of ever presenting a good thesis. Thank you.

Sehauli

thank you so much, that was so useful

Daniel Madsen

Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

Emmanuel kKoko

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

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The Write of Passage: Reflections on Writing a Dissertation in Narrative Methodology

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

In this essay I explore, reflect upon and theorize my experiences as a doctoral student writing a dissertation in the field of narrative studies. The inquiry concentrates on the problematic tensions that are unique to academic writing in qualitative disciplines, tensions with which I dealt and grappled extensively during my work. I wish to reflect, through the writing of a theoretically informed autoethnography, on the space inscribed between the proposal and the dissertation, and thus on the young scholar's initiation journey through a constructed, narrative-in-becoming space, and on the relationship between the backpackers' narratives of identity and change, which I researched, and my own. In doing so I will evocatively problematize the epitome of the academic rite-of-passage, i.e. the writing of a modern dissertation, in times of post-modern inquiry and writing. The discussion is informed by the experience of travel and journey which took place between the interviewees' travel narratives and my own (in the form of a dissertation writing); between "field" and "office"; between positivist and interpretive paradigms; between proposal and dissertation, between paternal and maternal sources of writing, and between academic/scientific and poetic expression. The essay offers contributions to the inquiry into reflexivity and subjectivity within the growing paradigm of qualitative methodology, to the inquiry of rites-of-passage into communities and institutions, and it problematizes the possibility that narrative can contain and convey the post-modern, overwhelmed and fractured self.

Original languageAmerican English
Journal
Volume4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2003
Externally publishedYes
  • autoethnography
  • rite-of-passage
  • dissertation
  • post-modern

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  • 10.17169/fqs-4.2.712 License: CC BY
  • https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-4.2.712

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  • Link to publication

T1 - The Write of Passage: Reflections on Writing a Dissertation in Narrative Methodology

AU - Noy, Chaim

PY - 2003/1/1

Y1 - 2003/1/1

N2 - In this essay I explore, reflect upon and theorize my experiences as a doctoral student writing a dissertation in the field of narrative studies. The inquiry concentrates on the problematic tensions that are unique to academic writing in qualitative disciplines, tensions with which I dealt and grappled extensively during my work. I wish to reflect, through the writing of a theoretically informed autoethnography, on the space inscribed between the proposal and the dissertation, and thus on the young scholar's initiation journey through a constructed, narrative-in-becoming space, and on the relationship between the backpackers' narratives of identity and change, which I researched, and my own. In doing so I will evocatively problematize the epitome of the academic rite-of-passage, i.e. the writing of a modern dissertation, in times of post-modern inquiry and writing. The discussion is informed by the experience of travel and journey which took place between the interviewees' travel narratives and my own (in the form of a dissertation writing); between "field" and "office"; between positivist and interpretive paradigms; between proposal and dissertation, between paternal and maternal sources of writing, and between academic/scientific and poetic expression. The essay offers contributions to the inquiry into reflexivity and subjectivity within the growing paradigm of qualitative methodology, to the inquiry of rites-of-passage into communities and institutions, and it problematizes the possibility that narrative can contain and convey the post-modern, overwhelmed and fractured self.

AB - In this essay I explore, reflect upon and theorize my experiences as a doctoral student writing a dissertation in the field of narrative studies. The inquiry concentrates on the problematic tensions that are unique to academic writing in qualitative disciplines, tensions with which I dealt and grappled extensively during my work. I wish to reflect, through the writing of a theoretically informed autoethnography, on the space inscribed between the proposal and the dissertation, and thus on the young scholar's initiation journey through a constructed, narrative-in-becoming space, and on the relationship between the backpackers' narratives of identity and change, which I researched, and my own. In doing so I will evocatively problematize the epitome of the academic rite-of-passage, i.e. the writing of a modern dissertation, in times of post-modern inquiry and writing. The discussion is informed by the experience of travel and journey which took place between the interviewees' travel narratives and my own (in the form of a dissertation writing); between "field" and "office"; between positivist and interpretive paradigms; between proposal and dissertation, between paternal and maternal sources of writing, and between academic/scientific and poetic expression. The essay offers contributions to the inquiry into reflexivity and subjectivity within the growing paradigm of qualitative methodology, to the inquiry of rites-of-passage into communities and institutions, and it problematizes the possibility that narrative can contain and convey the post-modern, overwhelmed and fractured self.

KW - narrative

KW - identity

KW - autoethnography

KW - rite-of-passage

KW - writing

KW - dissertation

KW - modern

KW - post-modern

UR - https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/spe_facpub/648

UR - https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-4.2.712

U2 - 10.17169/fqs-4.2.712

DO - 10.17169/fqs-4.2.712

M3 - Article

JO - Forum: Qualitative Social Research

JF - Forum: Qualitative Social Research

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‘Nursing Times wants to ensure that the voices of nurses and midwives are heard’

STEVE FORD, EDITOR

  • You are here: Nurse educators

A practical approach to the process of writing a dissertation

09 October, 2017

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Writing a dissertation does not have to be stressful and should be a vehicle for learning, not a chore. This article offers practical advice for student nurses embarking on the task

While many student nurses find the task daunting, writing a dissertation is essentially a powerful vehicle for learning; it is an opportunity to work on methodology and organisational skills, develop an appreciation of research, and demonstrate critical thinking. With the help of a good supervisor, a carefully planned dissertation will develop almost naturally, as long as students follow a few basic rules. This article considers the essentials of writing a dissertation and offers practical guidance to students.

Citation: Lowry M (2017) A practical approach to the process of writing a dissertation. Nursing Times [online]; 113: 11, 36-39.

Author: Mike Lowry is a freelance writer and former nursing academic.

  • This article has been double-blind peer reviewed
  • Scroll down to read the article or  download a print-friendly PDF here
  • Also read our article Making the most of the relationship with your dissertation supervisor

Introduction

Many student nurses feel overwhelmed by the task of writing a dissertation, uncertain how to approach it and doubtful about their chances of success. Few are fully confident that they know how to go about writing the dissertation, manage the supervisory relationship and highlight the essentials of the topic they wish to examine. However, writing a dissertation is a learning process, and need not be such an onerous task if it is carefully planned.

A dissertation can be defined as the report of a process; it may also be seen as a long essay (Biggam, 2015). By comparison, a thesis is more sophisticated and adds to the knowledge in a field, or challenges accepted norms to bring about changes in established understanding. Undergradu-ates and taught master’s degree students are more likely to produce a dissertation, as do many master’s students, whereas students at doctoral level are more likely to write a thesis.

Writing a dissertation equates to developing an understanding of research or systematic enquiry rather than generating new evidence; that is the purpose of a doctoral thesis. While there are various methods according to the nature of the project, the main purpose of a dissertation is to enable students to demonstrate organisational skills, beginning insights into research, and deeper, more critical understanding of their chosen focal topic. However, there are commonalities be-tween a dissertation and thesis, especially around the importance of good supervisory relationships. This article focuses on dissertations, offering a framework for students embarking on – or stuck in the middle of – the process of writing one.

Purpose of a dissertation

Students are asked to write a dissertation to demonstrate their ability to focus on a subject, examine it in detail through systematic enquiry and identify relevant theories. They need to show they are capable of presenting work in an orderly, academic form, clearly demonstrating a working knowledge of their chosen subject. Equally important is the development of various levels of critical insight, depending on the level of degree for which the dissertation is to be submitted – undergraduate or master’s. Box 1 summarises what is expected from you in a dissertation.

Box 1. What your dissertation must demonstrate

  • Ability to delve into a subject through systematic enquiry
  • Capacity to present written work in an orderly, academic form
  • Working knowledge of a subject
  • Clarity of purpose, clarity of thought and sophistication of argument
  • Ability to focus, plan, organise and work methodically
  • Ability to think critically

Getting started

Acording to Wisker (2013) a dissertation is a large piece of work requiring careful planning, good time management, critical thinking, conceptual understanding and adherence to practices for completion. The time taken initially to decide on the topic, approaches and resources will be time well spent.

Many students consider identifying and refining the topic of their dissertation to be one of the most difficult elements in the process. It is fair to say that once the topic has been defined, the rest unrolls like a carpet – as long as you follow a few basic rules (Box 2).

Box 2. Basic rules for writing a dissertation

  • Refine the topic, spending time with your supervisor at this stage
  • Choose question(s), where relevant, that will likely produce interesting answers
  • Consider resources
  • Do not hesitate to write in the first person if appropriate
  • Put effort and care into every stage of the process
  • Justify your choices rather than simply stating them
  • Produce a lively and informed discussion
  • Follow the format requirements of your institution/supervisor

It is important to avoid chaos and to put effort and care into every stage of the process; the SCARY checklist contains useful advice on what a dissertation should and should not be (Box 3).

Box 3. The SCARY checklist

Your dissertation should be SCARY , in other words:

S traightforward: avoid waffling or overcomplicating ideas; you should, however, demonstrate complexity when discussing findings and literature

C lear and unambiguous: whatever you set out to do must be easily defined and may be trailed for audit

A chievable: within the time frame, limits of the remit, available resources and size limitations

R ecency, ensure that the material you are using to inform the work is current; it might be wise to ensure that all literature dates from the last 10 years or so, depending on the subject matter. Unless older work is seminal, avoid citing it and seek newer material; never use literature just because it is convenient or to hand

Y ours: do not be tempted to claim anyone else’s work as your own

One key piece of advice is that it must be the student’s own work, which means plagiarism must be avoided (Box 4).

Box 4. Plagiarism: do not go there

As Singh and Remenyi (2016) explain, plagiarism is using, in an essay or dissertation, ideas that have been sourced from work published by other authors without acknowledging them. It is academic misconduct to fail to acknowledge the original source, a point echoed by Biggam (2015). In the worst case scenario, plagiarism can lead to the candidate’s work being disallowed.

If you are tempted to use the work of others and claim it for yourself, the advice is simple: do not go there.

The qualities that distinguish an outstanding dissertation from an average one include clarity of purpose, clarity of thought and sophistication of the argument. A first-class submission will be highly organised and focused, clearly demonstrating critical insight, as opposed to a simple, unquestioned description.

Refining the topic

A topic that may seem obvious at the outset can prove to be too vague or too complex. It can be helpful to distil your ideas using a framework such as Lowry’s reflective triangle (Lowry, 2016). Start by making notes on what interests you and why (the ‘case’), then put these into the ‘context’ and consider all the ‘variables’ (Fig 1). For example, you might have an interest in educating patients and want to explore this case in more depth. The context might be your recent experience of a patient being unclear about information on treatment options. Given the importance of patients understanding treatment options so they can make informed decisions, the scenario might appear more complex than it first seemed. You might want to consider the impact on you as a practitioner, who else was involved, what was particularly important and why (the variables). Your reflections will eventually crystallise into a clearer topic and will help you justify your choice.

fig 1

This part of a dissertation is often seen as the most challenging. Without a clear focus, the rest of the process is likely to stall, so spending time with your supervisor at this stage is invaluable. Go it alone if you will, but it is far better to nurture the supervisory relationship (Kimani, 2014).

Determining the research question

Not all dissertations need a question or questions; some can be purely observational – for example if they use grounded theory. When questions are involved, however, these must be relevant and have a reasonable chance of producing answers.

Unless the subject matter makes it impossible, you should never use a closed question (questions starting with “is”, “are”, “does” or “can”), as the answer will inevitably be yes or no. For example, the answer to the question “Is the process of completing a dissertation arduous?” is almost certainly yes, to an extent, so the question has no real value. A more interesting alternative would be to ask “To what extent is completing a dissertation arduous?”. This offers something to explore and play with to produce a discussion. If you study human society in any shape or form, you will quickly discover that it is seldom binary and rarely fits an ‘either/or’ format.

Considering resources

While refining your topic and research question, you also need to identify and justify the resources you may need, such as help from a statistician, support with transcribing data or advice from experts. Consider whether these resources will be available within the time frame and budget. It would be unwise to seek answers to questions that require disproportionate resources.

Using discursive writing

Students tend to avoid discursive writing, preferring to report rather than to argue, but Kamler and Thomson (2006) emphasise the importance of producing lively and informed discussions. There are opportunities for discussion in various sections of a dissertation, including in the literature review, and it can be used throughout your work, starting with the justification of your choice of topic and methods.

Choosing the right pronoun

It has long been debated whether to use the personal pronoun in academic work; the upshot is that, where justified, there is no reason to avoid writing in the first person. As Kamler and Thomson (2006) put it, “‘I’ is not just a matter of personal choice. There are epistemological/methodological and rhetorical reasons for choosing to use the first person pronoun”. Conversely, trying to shoehorn the personal pronoun (or third person) into your writing when it is unnecessary detracts from the intrinsic quality of the dissertation.

Discuss your preference with your supervisor and be ready to argue your case; the reason for your choice must be clear from the outset. Whatever choice you make – first or third person – must be adhered to throughout, so never alternate between pronouns.

Format and elements of a dissertation

Once you have a general feel for what your dissertation is going to look like, you can get started. The requirements for format and what elements the dissertation should include vary according to institutions and supervisors, so be guided by them. More information on the practicalities of pre-paring a research-based dissertation can be found in Bowen (2005). Generally, all the elements described below are needed in one form or another. At each step, remember to justify your choices as opposed to alternatives, rather than simply stating them and moving on. In terms of style, avoid colloquialisms and discipline your thinking to search for relevant illustrative expressions.

Although the introduction to the dissertation comes first it should be written last, after everything else is complete. Only then will you know exactly what is in your dissertation and how to introduce it.

The background section tells the story of what led you to undertake this work – for example, a recent placement, clinical experience or a presentation in an academic forum. It brings the reader to the table, so to speak.

Aims and objectives

Aims and objectives must be determined at the outset. Have at least one (main) aim and four (contributory) objectives: fewer than four objectives might appear superficial, especially considering that the aim has been deemed interesting enough to merit a study. Objectives must be relevant to the aim(s), and aims and objectives must be clearly stated and explained.

The aim is the overall destination and the objectives are what you need to do to get there; for example, if your aim was to help women to decide what method of contraception to choose, your objectives would include establishing what methods are available, examining the risks and benefits of each, and evaluating different forms of patient information.

Literature review

The literature review – sometimes called literature search or literature enquiry – is crucial. What you have read must be current and relevant, and you need to show that you have examined it critically. If one author’s assertion is contradicted by another, your role is to unravel the arguments and extract meaning from them. The fact that authors have had their work published does not mean they are necessarily right.

Synthesise what you have read, bring the information together and demonstrate how it has contributed to your thinking. From your reading you will develop ideas on how to investigate your topic – including what design best fits your purpose.

Journal articles are generally more focused and detailed than books. Ensure the journals you cite are peer-reviewed: this means its articles have been scrutinised by people with the relevant spe-cialist expertise before being accepted for publication. How many articles or books you include depends on the nature of your work. You are likely to need at least 20 current articles or books to make sense of your topic. Fewer sources may betray an unwillingness to delve into the subject, whereas featuring a huge amount of literature may indicate you have skimmed through it. Be selective and be prepared to justify your choice of included work.

The design – also referred to as approach or method – is the way in which you explore your topic. This section can adopt various presentations but should be clear and succinct, and you should avoid becoming mired in uncertainties. It may feature:

  • The epistemological approach – for example qualitative or quantitative, or perhaps eclectic – and why you made that choice;
  • The method – for example, if you have chosen a quantitative approach your method could be a survey, while a qualitative approach could be the observation of informants and interpretation of their behaviour with the help of follow-up interviews. These methods are by no means exhaustive and relevant texts on research principles, such as Parahoo (2014); Moule and Aveyard (2016); Ellis (2016) will help you select your method.
  • Resources needed for your project;
  • Any perceived limitations, such as availability of informants, response rates or equipment, and how these were dealt with.

Ethical approval

Research is awash with ethical challenges; you need to identify them early and show what steps you have taken to address them. Do refer to the theories on ethics that you have used to guide your thinking. As a general rule, undergraduates should not be encouraged to involve patients in their research projects, but they will still need to secure ethical approval if they intend to involve peers, staff or any other informants who could potentially be harmed. Obtaining ethical approval is a long and sometimes complex process that should not be taken lightly.

This section states what sources you derive information from; for example, this could be literature only, different types of literature, individual informants or observations.

Describe what you have done, what worked and what did not. Do not avoid exploring errors in your work, but when doing so, demonstrate how they have contributed to your understanding.

This is the section where you describe what has emerged from your study and what you think needs to be examined further (and why). Do not merely end with a series of superficial comments about what else could be done, but explain what brought you to these views.

The discussion is your chance to shine. It is likely to be longer than most other sections – if not there may be a problem. Start by stating what resulted from your enquiry, and every time you make a statement, ask yourself: so what? It may seem odd, but this self-enquiry will result in deeper insights, which will impress examiners.

If you want to excel, incorporate the findings from the literature review into your discussion and explore whether the findings from your work concur with or differ from the literature. You can further enhance the discussion by integrating fieldwork, findings and ethical challenges. The more fully you engage with the dissertation at this stage, the more sophisticated the end product will be.

Conclusions

The conclusions (or recommendations) need to be brief, draw everything together and suggest what needs to happen next and why.

Your work must include a carefully compiled list of literature cited in your dissertation. Bear in mind that examiners do check references – especially if they are themselves among the authors cited. They may find incomplete reference lists – or, even worse, their published work misquoted or wrongly interpreted – extremely irritating. Refer to your institution’s guidelines for reference protocols.

A dissertation is a means for students to demonstrate they can work methodically and think critically. It is also a powerful vehicle for learning, and one that may well stimulate students to become further involved with systematic enquiry. At the very least, it will engender an appreciation of the process of research.

  • Many students feel overwhelmed by the task of writing a dissertation
  • A dissertation that has been carefully thought through should develop naturally
  • Time taken initially to decide on the topic, questions and methods will be time well spent
  • Dissertations must be clear, organised and focused, and demonstrate critical insight
  • Plagiarism is academic misconduct and must be avoided

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I am a 3rd year student nurse embarking on my dissertation so found this article interesting. It is true, most students do feel nervous and overwhelmed at the thought of writing a dissertation especially on top of other assignments and being in practice.

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Leadership and management issues within healthcare organizations are common research areas, emphasizing the role of nurse leaders in improving healthcare delivery.

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Nursing research explores the promotion of mental health, the provision of mental healthcare, and strategies to reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues.

8. Patient Safety:

Ensuring patient safety remains a priority, with dissertations examining strategies to reduce medical errors, improve medication administration, and enhance overall patient safety.

9. Global Health Nursing:

Nursing dissertations may investigate global health issues, including international nursing practices, healthcare disparities in different countries, and the role of nursing in global health initiatives.

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Ethical dilemmas in nursing practice and research are explored, emphasizing the importance of ethical decision-making and patient advocacy.

Our expert team at ResearchProspect is well-equipped to guide and support students in addressing these critical issues within nursing through comprehensive and academically rigorous dissertations.

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What is Nursing Dissertation Support Service?

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Nursing dissertations typically includes research guidance, topic selection, literature review, data analysis, and editing services to support students throughout their dissertation journey.

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Yes, seeking help with your nursing dissertation is ethical as long as the assistance is used as a learning aid and reference to improve your own research and writing skills.

Problems You Can Expect to Face When Writing a Nursing Dissertation Paper

Writing a nursing dissertation can be a challenging endeavor, and students often encounter several common problems during the process. Firstly, formulating a precise research question can be difficult as it requires a balance between being specific enough to address a significant issue in nursing while ensuring adequate available literature for review.

Secondly, conducting extensive literature reviews can be time-consuming and overwhelming. Keeping up with the vast body of nursing research and identifying relevant sources can pose a challenge.

Thirdly, data collection and analysis may be hindered by limited access to healthcare settings, patient data, or ethical concerns. Data collection and analysis can also be technically complex.

Additionally, maintaining a consistent focus and organization throughout a lengthy dissertation can be challenging. Nursing dissertations often require clear structure, and students may struggle to ensure that each section contributes effectively to their argument.

Lastly, time management is a perennial issue. Balancing the demands of coursework, clinical practice, and research can be daunting, leading to time constraints that hinder the dissertation process.

To overcome these challenges, it’s essential to seek guidance from faculty members, utilize available resources, and consider professional nursing dissertation assistance if needed. Planning, organization, and persistence are key to successfully addressing these common obstacles in nursing dissertation drafting.

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How to Write Your Nursing Dissertation, 2nd Edition

ISBN: 978-1-119-75773-3

Wiley-Blackwell

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How to Write Your Nursing Dissertation, 2nd Edition

Alan Glasper , Diane Carpenter

How to Write Your Nursing Dissertation provides nursing and healthcare students with authoritative information on developing, writing, and presenting an evidence-based practice healthcare dissertation, project or evidence-informed decision-making assignment. Written by experienced healthcare professionals, this comprehensive textbook offers clear and straightforward guidance on sourcing, accessing, and critically appraising evidence, helping students develop their clinical research and writing skills. The authors address the common difficulties encountered throughout the process of writing a dissertation, project or evidence-informed decision-making assignment, and offer expert tips and practical advice for managing time, developing study skills, interpreting statistics, publishing aspects of the work in a journal or at a conference, and more.

  • Helps students develop and appropriately answer a clear dissertation, project or evidence-informed decision-making assignment
  • Addresses the fundamental aspects of evidence-based practice in an accessible and readable style
  • Features new and updated content on mini dissertations, final assessments, and evidence-informed decision-making projects that many healthcare institutions now require
  • Presents up-to-date information that meets the needs of new healthcare roles, such as the Nursing Associate and Healthcare Assistant
  • Includes access to a companion website containing downloadable information, an unabridged dissertation sample, and links to additional resources

How to Write Your Nursing Dissertation is a must-have guide for nursing and healthcare students, trainees, other healthcare students required to complete an evidence-based practice project, and anyone looking to strengthen their critical appraisal and assignment writing skills.

ALAN GLASPER is Emeritus Professor of Nursing Studies, University of Southampton, UK. He is also the editor-in-chief of the international journal Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Nursing .

DIANE CARPENTER is Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, University of Plymouth, UK.

  • Title changed to encompass all healthcare students (although nursing remains the largest market)
  • New co-editor
  • Takes into account the new mini dissertations, ‘final assessments’ and 'evidence informed decision-making projects’ that healthcare students at many institutions now undertake instead.
  • Some of the original online chapters will be brought into the main print book.
  • Will cater for new healthcare roles, such as the Nursing Associate and Healthcare Assistant.
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Note beim Doktorexamen Von summa cum laude bis rite: Was bedeuten die Promotionsnoten?

Wer seine Promotion abschließt, erhält dafür eine Note. Was bedeuten magna cum laude, summa cum laude oder satis bene? Sind die Promotionsnoten verschiedener Fakultäten vergleichbar? Wie wichtig ist eine gute Note in der Dissertation?

Doktoranden und Doktorandinnen feiern ihre gute Promotionsnoten

Promotionsnoten im Überblick

Promotionsnoten: statistik, vergleichbarkeit von promotionsnoten.

  • Relevanz von Promotionsnoten

Dissertationen werden in Deutschland traditionell mit lateinischen Noten bewertet. Wie in der Schule gibt es im Prinzip sechs Noten beim Doktorexamen , sie lauten:

  • summa cum laude,
  • magna cum laude,
  • satis bene,
  • insuffizienter oder non sufficit.

Was sie bedeuten, verrät die folgende Tabelle.

Promotionsnote Bedeutung
Mit höchstem Lob – die bestmögliche Bewertung für eine Doktorarbeit. Verglichen mit Schulnoten wäre dies eine 1+, also ein „sehr gut“ mit Auszeichnung.
Mit großem Lob – immer noch eine hervorragende Note. Übersetzt in das Schulnotensystem entspricht diese Bewertung einem „sehr gut“, also einer glatten 1.
Mit Lob – eine Leistung, die über dem Durchschnitt liegt. In klassischen Schulnoten ausgedrückt entspricht diese Bewertung einem „gut“.
Genügend – eine Leistung, die durchschnittlichen Anforderungen entspricht. Also nicht besonders gut ist, aber auch keine Mängel vorweist. Im Schulnotensystem entspräche das einem „befriedigend“.
Ausreichend – die Leistung reicht trotz Mängeln aus, ist aber nur gerade noch befriedigend. In Schulnoten wäre diese Bewertung eine 3 bis 4, also an der unteren Skala von „befriedigend“ oder „ausreichend“.
Ungenügend – diese Leistung reicht nicht aus, um den Doktortitel zu erlangen. Verglichen mit Schulnoten wäre diese Bewertung „mangelhaft“ oder „ungenügend“.

Im Ausland wird diese differenzierte deutsche Notenskala nur selten verwendet.

Laut Angaben des Statistischen Bundesamts (Bericht „ Prüfungen an Hochschulen “) wurden 2022 in Deutschland insgesamt 27.692 Promotionen abgeschlossen . Davon erhielten die Note

  • Mit Auszeichnung (summa cum laude) : 14,38 Prozent
  • Sehr gut ( magna cum laude ): 55,71 Prozent
  • Gut ( cum laude ): 19,21 Prozent
  • Befriedigend ( satis bene ): 1,97 Prozent
  • Ausreichend ( rite ): 0,21 Prozent

„Endgültig nicht bestanden“ war das Urteil bei 12 Dissertationen (0,04 Prozent); bei 2.360 Disseration ist die Note nicht bekannt (8,52 Prozent).

Scientific Employee / PhD Student (w/m/d) Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Kinderchirurgie

Scientific Employee / PhD Student (w/m/d) Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Kinderchirurgie - Universitätsmedizin Göttingen (UMG) - Logo

Berufsbegleitende Doktorand_innen (m/w/d)

Wissenschaftliche*r mitarbeiter*in (w/m/d) volkswirtschaftslehre (makroökonomik und globalisierung).

Wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in (w/m/d) Volkswirtschaftslehre (Makroökonomik und Globalisierung) - Universität Paderborn - Logo

Zu beachten ist, dass die Bewertungssysteme an den verschiedenen Hochschulen und Fakultäten keinesfalls einheitlich und vergleichbar sind.

  • Nicht jede Promotionsordnung sieht alle Noten vor.
  • Die Übersetzung der lateinischen in klassische Schulnoten kann an den einzelnen Hochschulen bzw. Fakultäten unterschiedlich ausfallen.
  • Die Gewichtung der schriftlichen Arbeit ( Dissertation ) und der mündlichen Prüfung (Verteidigung der Doktorarbeit, Disputation ) ist nicht einheitlich. Macht letztere an manchen Fakultäten bis zu 30 Prozent der Note aus, wirkt sie sich an anderen überhaupt nicht aus (nur bestanden – nicht bestanden).

Hinzu kommt, dass aus der Definition der einzelnen Notenstufe in den jeweiligen Promotionsordnungen der jeweiligen Fakultät oft nur vage hervorgeht, nach welchen Maßstäben die Bewertungen vergeben werden. So kommt es zu einer sehr ungleichen Verteilung der Promotionsnoten – nicht nur abhängig vom Fachbereich, sondern auch vom Hochschulstandort.

An manchen Fakultäten und an einigen Hochschulen scheint die Bestnote summa cum laude beinahe Standard zu sein, an anderen wiederum hat sie Seltenheitswert. In Ermangelung eines einheitlichen Bewertungssystems mit festen Bewertungskriterien lassen sich Promotionsnoten daher kaum objektiv vergleichen . 

Einige Beispiele: 

  • An der Charité wurden 2023 11,49 Prozent der Dissertationen mit der Höchstnote summa cum laude ausgezeichnet. Knapp 52 Prozent erhielten die Note magna cum laude , knapp 35 Prozent schlossen mit cum laude ab und rund zwei Prozent mit rite .
  • Im Bereich Wirtschaftswissenschaften wird über alle deutschen Hochschulen hinweg ein Drittel aller Dissertationen mit der Höchstnote summa cum laude ausgezeichnet. An der Universität Mannheim waren es zwischen 2016 und 2018 knapp 66 Prozent (bei insgesamt 142 Doktorarbeiten), an der Universität Hohenheim war es im selben Zeitraum nur ein Prozent (bei 86 Doktorarbeiten).
  • An der Universität Heidelberg wurden zwischen 2016 und 2018 16 Prozent aller Doktorarbeiten mit summa cum laude bewertet. Im Fachbereich Germanistik waren es 48 Prozent (von insgesamt 40 Doktorarbeiten), im Fachbereich Zahnmedizin nur zwei Prozent (von insgesamt 108 Doktorarbeiten).

Generell erhält ein Großteil aller Dissertationen eine der drei besten Promotionsnoten, die als Prädikatspromotionen gelten. Rite wird kaum noch vergeben und die Durchfallquote bei Doktorarbeiten liegt fächerübergreifend im niedrigen einstelligen Prozentbereich. Diese Verteilung ist auch der engen Abstimmung der Dissertationsschrift mit Doktorvater oder -mutter geschuldet, die später oft in der Prüfungskommission sitzen. Der Professor benotet also auch das Ergebnis der eigenen Betreuungsleistung. So greifen in aller Regel frühe Regulierungsmöglichkeiten, die einem totalen Misserfolg vorbeugen. 

Es wurde allerdings seit den 2000ern ein Trend zu einer immer häufigeren Vergabe der Bestnote summa cum laude beobachtet. Kritiker:innen sprachen von einer Bestnoteninflation. Nach Angaben des Instituts für Forschungsinformation und Qualitätssicherung wurden im Zeitraum von 2001 bis 2003 noch 16 Prozent der Promotionen (ohne Medizin und Pharmazie) mit der Höchstnote ausgezeichnet, von 2010 bis 2012 waren es bereits 21 Prozent.

Auch wenn dieser Trend mittlerweile rückläufig ist, ist die Leistungsdichte an der Spitze enorm eng: 2023 wurden immerhin etwa 70 Prozent der Promotionen mit der Note summa oder magna cum laude , also einer 1, abgeschlossen.

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Wann und wo bestimmte Promotionsnoten wichtig sind

Da sich an den Noten der Dissertationen die Qualität der Doktorarbeit nicht zwingend ablesen lässt, büßt auch deren Bedeutung für den Karriereverlauf in der freien Wirtschaft ein. In manchen Fächern, etwa den Wirtschaftswissenschaften , ist der Anteil der Promotionen mit der Bestnote so hoch, dass ein summa cum laude in Bewerbungen für Führungspositionen keine Besonderheit mehr ist.

Arbeitgeber setzen deshalb immer mehr auf eigene Auswahlverfahren und schenken den Promotionsnoten nur noch untergeordnete Beachtung . Generell kommt der Promotionsnote in Fachbereichen, wo mit der Bestbewertung vergleichsweise sparsam umgegangen wird, eine höhere Bedeutung zu. Das ist beispielsweise in der Biologie, der Medizin oder der Geografie der Fall.

Qualifizierte Promotion in der Wissenschaft: Enorm wichtig

Anders verhält es sich in der Wissenschaft. Hier ist die Bewertung der Promotion ein entscheidender Faktor. Wer eine Karriere als Professor:in anstrebt, der muss die in den Landeshochschulgesetzen festgeschriebenen Zugangsvoraussetzungen erfüllen. Gefordert wird dort eine „qualifizierte Promotion“.

Darunter wird üblicherweise eine Promotionsleistung verstanden, die zumindest mit magna cum laude bewertet wurde. Ein summa cum laude ist in der Regel nicht zwingend vorgeschrieben. Allerdings spielen auch andere Eignungsvoraussetzungen eine Rolle bei der Berufung. So finden sich in der Praxis an Fachhochschulen bzw. HAWs auch Hochschullehrer , die ihrer Tätigkeit mit dem Prädikat cum laude nachgehen.

Nursing School Theses, Dissertations, and Doctoral Papers

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Jonas Reitz

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Dissertation: The Ground Axiom

dissertation nur rite

Unforcing and the Ground Axiom

My interest in “unforcing,” somehow working backwards from a forcing extension to a ground model, started early in my set theory studies. When I went through the rite of passage of learning Paul Cohen’s forcing – an exercise in induction, with a lovely (and at the time, frustratingly opaque) back-and-forth between technical details and philosophical issues – my initial reaction was “This is a great operation. What’s the inverse?” The resulting discussions with my advisor, Joel David Hamkins , led us eventually to the formulation of the Ground Axiom, a first attempt to explore seriously an aspect of unforcing.

In my dissertation I focussed on models in which the universe is not a forcing extension of an inner model (we say such a model satisfies the Ground Axiom): In order to understand how to “unforce,” let’s first see what it’s like to not be able to do so.

Class forcing from scratch

One of the main tools I used in this work was class forcing, both iterations and products. As a new student of forcing, I was unsatisfied with the expositions of class forcing available in the standard texts – many of them seemed to rely on the offhand “this proof is readily adapted to the class context” or “the class version of this lemma is immediate.” With that in mind, I included an appendix that develops and proves the main results of class forcing, mirroring the structure for development of set forcing but presenting the main arguments in their entirety. Unlike the case of set forcing, for which every partial order preserves ZFC, class forcing requires some additional restrictions to ensure ZFC in the extension, and I focussed on two such restrictions (progressively closed products and iterations) that cover a large variety of class forcings including all those employed in the dissertation.

Abstract. A new axiom is proposed, the Ground Axiom, asserting that the universe is not a nontrivial set-forcing extension of any inner model. The Ground Axiom is first-order expressible, and any model of ZFC has a class-forcing extension which satisfies it. The Ground Axiom is independent of many well-known set-theoretic assertions including the Generalized Continuum Hypothesis, the assertion V=HOD that every set is ordinal definable, and the existence of measurable and supercompact cardinals. The related Bedrock Axiom, asserting that the universe is a set-forcing extension of a model satisfying the Ground Axiom, is also first-order expressible, and its negation is consistent. As many of these results rely on forcing with proper classes, an appendix is provided giving an exposition of the underlying theory of proper class forcing.

Reitz, Jonas, “The Ground Axiom” (2006). CUNY Academic Works , arXiv .

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Generalized cohen iterations, city tech math seminar 4/19: gödel’s incompleteness – the most abused theorem in modern mathematics.

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What Is a Dissertation? | Guide, Examples, & Template

Structure of a Dissertation

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 to know where to begin.

Your department likely has guidelines related to how your dissertation should be structured. When in doubt, consult with your supervisor.

You can also download our full dissertation template in the format of your choice below. The template includes a ready-made table of contents with notes on what to include in each chapter, easily adaptable to your department’s requirements.

Download Word template Download Google Docs template

  • In the US, a dissertation generally refers to the collection of research you conducted to obtain a PhD.
  • In other countries (such as the UK), a dissertation often refers to the research you conduct to obtain your bachelor’s or master’s degree.

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Table of contents

Dissertation committee and prospectus process, how to write and structure a dissertation, acknowledgements or preface, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review, methodology, reference list, proofreading and editing, defending your dissertation, free checklist and lecture slides.

When you’ve finished your coursework, as well as any comprehensive exams or other requirements, you advance to “ABD” (All But Dissertation) status. This means you’ve completed everything except your dissertation.

Prior to starting to write, you must form your committee and write your prospectus or proposal . Your committee comprises your adviser and a few other faculty members. They can be from your own department, or, if your work is more interdisciplinary, from other departments. Your committee will guide you through the dissertation process, and ultimately decide whether you pass your dissertation defense and receive your PhD.

Your prospectus is a formal document presented to your committee, usually orally in a defense, outlining your research aims and objectives and showing why your topic is relevant . After passing your prospectus defense, you’re ready to start your research and writing.

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The structure of your dissertation depends on a variety of factors, such as your discipline, topic, and approach. Dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a long essay , building an overall argument to support a central thesis , with chapters organized around different themes or case studies.

However, hard science and social science dissertations typically include a review of existing works, a methodology section, an analysis of your original research, and a presentation of your results , presented in different chapters.

Dissertation examples

We’ve compiled a list of dissertation examples to help you get started.

  • Example dissertation #1: Heat, Wildfire and Energy Demand: An Examination of Residential Buildings and Community Equity (a dissertation by C. A. Antonopoulos about the impact of extreme heat and wildfire on residential buildings and occupant exposure risks).
  • Example dissertation #2: Exploring Income Volatility and Financial Health Among Middle-Income Households (a dissertation by M. Addo about income volatility and declining economic security among middle-income households).
  • Example dissertation #3: The Use of Mindfulness Meditation to Increase the Efficacy of Mirror Visual Feedback for Reducing Phantom Limb Pain in Amputees (a dissertation by N. S. Mills about the effect of mindfulness-based interventions on the relationship between mirror visual feedback and the pain level in amputees with phantom limb pain).

The very first page of your document contains your dissertation title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo.

Read more about title pages

The acknowledgements section is usually optional and gives space for you to thank everyone who helped you in writing your dissertation. This might include your supervisors, participants in your research, and friends or family who supported you. In some cases, your acknowledgements are part of a preface.

Read more about acknowledgements Read more about prefaces

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The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about 150 to 300 words long. Though this may seem very short, it’s one of the most important parts of your dissertation, because it introduces your work to your audience.

Your abstract should:

  • State your main topic and the aims of your research
  • Describe your methods
  • Summarize your main results
  • State your conclusions

Read more about abstracts

The table of contents lists all of your chapters, along with corresponding subheadings and page numbers. This gives your reader an overview of your structure and helps them easily navigate your document.

Remember to include all main parts of your dissertation in your table of contents, even the appendices. It’s easy to generate a table automatically in Word if you used heading styles. Generally speaking, you only include level 2 and level 3 headings, not every subheading you included in your finished work.

Read more about tables of contents

While not usually mandatory, it’s nice to include a list of figures and tables to help guide your reader if you have used a lot of these in your dissertation. It’s easy to generate one of these in Word using the Insert Caption feature.

Read more about lists of figures and tables

Similarly, if you have used a lot of abbreviations (especially industry-specific ones) in your dissertation, you can include them in an alphabetized list of abbreviations so that the reader can easily look up their meanings.

Read more about lists of abbreviations

In addition to the list of abbreviations, if you find yourself using a lot of highly specialized terms that you worry will not be familiar to your reader, consider including a glossary. Here, alphabetize the terms and include a brief description or definition.

Read more about glossaries

The introduction serves to set up your dissertation’s topic, purpose, and relevance. It tells the reader what to expect in the rest of your dissertation. The introduction should:

  • Establish your research topic , giving the background information needed to contextualize your work
  • Narrow down the focus and define the scope of your research
  • Discuss the state of existing research on the topic, showing your work’s relevance to a broader problem or debate
  • Clearly state your research questions and objectives
  • Outline the flow of the rest of your work

Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant. By the end, the reader should understand the what, why, and how of your research.

Read more about introductions

A formative part of your research is your literature review . This helps you gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on your topic.

Literature reviews encompass:

  • Finding relevant sources (e.g., books and journal articles)
  • Assessing the credibility of your sources
  • Critically analyzing and evaluating each source
  • Drawing connections between them (e.g., themes, patterns, conflicts, or gaps) to strengthen your overall point

A literature review is not merely a summary of existing sources. Your literature review should have a coherent structure and argument that leads to a clear justification for your own research. It may aim to:

  • Address a gap in the literature or build on existing knowledge
  • Take a new theoretical or methodological approach to your topic
  • Propose a solution to an unresolved problem or advance one side of a theoretical debate

Read more about literature reviews

Theoretical framework

Your literature review can often form the basis for your theoretical framework. Here, you define and analyze the key theories, concepts, and models that frame your research.

Read more about theoretical frameworks

Your methodology chapter describes how you conducted your research, allowing your reader to critically assess its credibility. Your methodology section should accurately report what you did, as well as convince your reader that this was the best way to answer your research question.

A methodology section should generally include:

  • The overall research approach ( quantitative vs. qualitative ) and research methods (e.g., a longitudinal study )
  • Your data collection methods (e.g., interviews or a controlled experiment )
  • Details of where, when, and with whom the research took place
  • Any tools and materials you used (e.g., computer programs, lab equipment)
  • Your data analysis methods (e.g., statistical analysis , discourse analysis )
  • An evaluation or justification of your methods

Read more about methodology sections

Your results section should highlight what your methodology discovered. You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses , or themes, but avoid including any subjective or speculative interpretation here.

Your results section should:

  • Concisely state each relevant result together with relevant descriptive statistics (e.g., mean , standard deviation ) and inferential statistics (e.g., test statistics , p values )
  • Briefly state how the result relates to the question or whether the hypothesis was supported
  • Report all results that are relevant to your research questions , including any that did not meet your expectations.

Additional data (including raw numbers, full questionnaires, or interview transcripts) can be included as an appendix. You can include tables and figures, but only if they help the reader better understand your results. Read more about results sections

Your discussion section is your opportunity to explore the meaning and implications of your results in relation to your research question. Here, interpret your results in detail, discussing whether they met your expectations and how well they fit with the framework that you built in earlier chapters. Refer back to relevant source material to show how your results fit within existing research in your field.

Some guiding questions include:

  • What do your results mean?
  • Why do your results matter?
  • What limitations do the results have?

If any of the results were unexpected, offer explanations for why this might be. It’s a good idea to consider alternative interpretations of your data.

Read more about discussion sections

Your dissertation’s conclusion should concisely answer your main research question, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your central argument and emphasizing what your research has contributed to the field.

In some disciplines, the conclusion is just a short section preceding the discussion section, but in other contexts, it is the final chapter of your work. Here, you wrap up your dissertation with a final reflection on what you found, with recommendations for future research and concluding remarks.

It’s important to leave the reader with a clear impression of why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known? Why is your research necessary for the future of your field?

Read more about conclusions

It is crucial to include a reference list or list of works cited with the full details of all the sources that you used, in order to avoid plagiarism. Be sure to choose one citation style and follow it consistently throughout your dissertation. Each style has strict and specific formatting requirements.

Common styles include MLA , Chicago , and APA , but which style you use is often set by your department or your field.

Create APA citations Create MLA citations

Your dissertation should contain only essential information that directly contributes to answering your research question. Documents such as interview transcripts or survey questions can be added as appendices, rather than adding them to the main body.

Read more about appendices

Making sure that all of your sections are in the right place is only the first step to a well-written dissertation. Don’t forget to leave plenty of time for editing and proofreading, as grammar mistakes and sloppy spelling errors can really negatively impact your work.

Dissertations can take up to five years to write, so you will definitely want to make sure that everything is perfect before submitting. You may want to consider using a professional dissertation editing service , AI proofreader or grammar checker to make sure your final project is perfect prior to submitting.

After your written dissertation is approved, your committee will schedule a defense. Similarly to defending your prospectus, dissertation defenses are oral presentations of your work. You’ll present your dissertation, and your committee will ask you questions. Many departments allow family members, friends, and other people who are interested to join as well.

After your defense, your committee will meet, and then inform you whether you have passed. Keep in mind that defenses are usually just a formality; most committees will have resolved any serious issues with your work with you far prior to your defense, giving you ample time to fix any problems.

As you write your dissertation, you can use this simple checklist to make sure you’ve included all the essentials.

Checklist: Dissertation

My title page includes all information required by my university.

I have included acknowledgements thanking those who helped me.

My abstract provides a concise summary of the dissertation, giving the reader a clear idea of my key results or arguments.

I have created a table of contents to help the reader navigate my dissertation. It includes all chapter titles, but excludes the title page, acknowledgements, and abstract.

My introduction leads into my topic in an engaging way and shows the relevance of my research.

My introduction clearly defines the focus of my research, stating my research questions and research objectives .

My introduction includes an overview of the dissertation’s structure (reading guide).

I have conducted a literature review in which I (1) critically engage with sources, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of existing research, (2) discuss patterns, themes, and debates in the literature, and (3) address a gap or show how my research contributes to existing research.

I have clearly outlined the theoretical framework of my research, explaining the theories and models that support my approach.

I have thoroughly described my methodology , explaining how I collected data and analyzed data.

I have concisely and objectively reported all relevant results .

I have (1) evaluated and interpreted the meaning of the results and (2) acknowledged any important limitations of the results in my discussion .

I have clearly stated the answer to my main research question in the conclusion .

I have clearly explained the implications of my conclusion, emphasizing what new insight my research has contributed.

I have provided relevant recommendations for further research or practice.

If relevant, I have included appendices with supplemental information.

I have included an in-text citation every time I use words, ideas, or information from a source.

I have listed every source in a reference list at the end of my dissertation.

I have consistently followed the rules of my chosen citation style .

I have followed all formatting guidelines provided by my university.

Congratulations!

The end is in sight—your dissertation is nearly ready to submit! Make sure it's perfectly polished with the help of a Scribbr editor.

If you’re an educator, feel free to download and adapt these slides to teach your students about structuring a dissertation.

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  • Dissertation

How to Write a Dissertation | A Guide to Structure & Content

A dissertation or thesis is a long piece of academic writing based on original research, submitted as part of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

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
  • An explanation of your methodology
  • An overview of the results of your research
  • A discussion of the results and their implications
  • A conclusion that shows what your research has contributed

Dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a long essay , building an argument by analysing primary and secondary sources . Instead of the standard structure outlined here, you might organise your chapters around different themes or case studies.

Other important elements of the dissertation include the title page , abstract , and reference list . If in doubt about how your dissertation should be structured, always check your department’s guidelines and consult with your supervisor.

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Table of contents

Acknowledgements, table of contents, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review / theoretical framework, methodology, reference list.

The very first page of your document contains your dissertation’s title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo. Many programs have strict requirements for formatting the dissertation title page .

The title page is often used as cover when printing and binding your dissertation .

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The acknowledgements section is usually optional, and gives space for you to thank everyone who helped you in writing your dissertation. This might include your supervisors, participants in your research, and friends or family who supported you.

The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about 150-300 words long. You should write it at the very end, when you’ve completed the rest of the dissertation. In the abstract, make sure to:

  • State the main topic and aims of your research
  • Describe the methods you used
  • Summarise the main results
  • State your conclusions

Although the abstract is very short, it’s the first part (and sometimes the only part) of your dissertation that people will read, so it’s important that you get it right. If you’re struggling to write a strong abstract, read our guide on how to write an abstract .

In the table of contents, list all of your chapters and subheadings and their page numbers. The dissertation contents page gives the reader an overview of your structure and helps easily navigate the document.

All parts of your dissertation should be included in the table of contents, including the appendices. You can generate a table of contents automatically in Word.

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If you have used a lot of tables and figures in your dissertation, you should itemise them in a numbered list . You can automatically generate this list using the Insert Caption feature in Word.

If you have used a lot of abbreviations in your dissertation, you can include them in an alphabetised list of abbreviations so that the reader can easily look up their meanings.

If you have used a lot of highly specialised terms that will not be familiar to your reader, it might be a good idea to include a glossary . List the terms alphabetically and explain each term with a brief description or definition.

In the introduction, you set up your dissertation’s topic, purpose, and relevance, and tell the reader what to expect in the rest of the dissertation. The introduction should:

  • Establish your research topic , giving necessary background information to contextualise your work
  • Narrow down the focus and define the scope of the research
  • Discuss the state of existing research on the topic, showing your work’s relevance to a broader problem or debate
  • Clearly state your objectives and research questions , and indicate how you will answer them
  • Give an overview of your dissertation’s structure

Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant to your research. By the end, the reader should understand the what , why and how of your research. Not sure how? Read our guide on how to write a dissertation introduction .

Before you start on your research, you should have conducted a literature review to gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on your topic. This means:

  • Collecting sources (e.g. books and journal articles) and selecting the most relevant ones
  • Critically evaluating and analysing each source
  • Drawing connections between them (e.g. themes, patterns, conflicts, gaps) to make an overall point

In the dissertation literature review chapter or section, you shouldn’t just summarise existing studies, but develop a coherent structure and argument that leads to a clear basis or justification for your own research. For example, it might aim to show how your research:

  • Addresses a gap in the literature
  • Takes a new theoretical or methodological approach to the topic
  • Proposes a solution to an unresolved problem
  • Advances a theoretical debate
  • Builds on and strengthens existing knowledge with new data

The literature review often becomes the basis for a theoretical framework , in which you define and analyse the key theories, concepts and models that frame your research. In this section you can answer descriptive research questions about the relationship between concepts or variables.

The methodology chapter or section describes how you conducted your research, allowing your reader to assess its validity. You should generally include:

  • The overall approach and type of research (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, experimental, ethnographic)
  • Your methods of collecting data (e.g. interviews, surveys, archives)
  • Details of where, when, and with whom the research took place
  • Your methods of analysing data (e.g. statistical analysis, discourse analysis)
  • Tools and materials you used (e.g. computer programs, lab equipment)
  • A discussion of any obstacles you faced in conducting the research and how you overcame them
  • An evaluation or justification of your methods

Your aim in the methodology is to accurately report what you did, as well as convincing the reader that this was the best approach to answering your research questions or objectives.

Next, you report the results of your research . You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses, or topics. Only report results that are relevant to your objectives and research questions. In some disciplines, the results section is strictly separated from the discussion, while in others the two are combined.

For example, for qualitative methods like in-depth interviews, the presentation of the data will often be woven together with discussion and analysis, while in quantitative and experimental research, the results should be presented separately before you discuss their meaning. If you’re unsure, consult with your supervisor and look at sample dissertations to find out the best structure for your research.

In the results section it can often be helpful to include tables, graphs and charts. Think carefully about how best to present your data, and don’t include tables or figures that just repeat what you have written  –  they should provide extra information or usefully visualise the results in a way that adds value to your text.

Full versions of your data (such as interview transcripts) can be included as an appendix .

The discussion  is where you explore the meaning and implications of your results in relation to your research questions. Here you should interpret the results in detail, discussing whether they met your expectations and how well they fit with the framework that you built in earlier chapters. If any of the results were unexpected, offer explanations for why this might be. It’s a good idea to consider alternative interpretations of your data and discuss any limitations that might have influenced the results.

The discussion should reference other scholarly work to show how your results fit with existing knowledge. You can also make recommendations for future research or practical action.

The dissertation conclusion should concisely answer the main research question, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of your central argument. Wrap up your dissertation with a final reflection on what you did and how you did it. The conclusion often also includes recommendations for research or practice.

In this section, it’s important to show how your findings contribute to knowledge in the field and why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known?

You must include full details of all sources that you have cited in a reference list (sometimes also called a works cited list or bibliography). It’s important to follow a consistent reference style . Each style has strict and specific requirements for how to format your sources in the reference list.

The most common styles used in UK universities are Harvard referencing and Vancouver referencing . Your department will often specify which referencing style you should use – for example, psychology students tend to use APA style , humanities students often use MHRA , and law students always use OSCOLA . M ake sure to check the requirements, and ask your supervisor if you’re unsure.

To save time creating the reference list and make sure your citations are correctly and consistently formatted, you can use our free APA Citation Generator .

Your dissertation itself should contain only essential information that directly contributes to answering your research question. Documents you have used that do not fit into the main body of your dissertation (such as interview transcripts, survey questions or tables with full figures) can be added as appendices .

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Dissertation Essentials

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The Dissertation Essentials area houses guides, manuals, and templates to assist you in your doctoral journey.  There is also a section specifically for rubrics for each of the chapters as well as the proposal and manuscript.  Along with these items, there are additional resources provided for the ASC, Library, technology, accessing published dissertations, and even some school specific resources.

  • DSE Manual (Previously Handbook) Use this guide throughout the dissertation process to support you in understanding the courses, deliverables, and expectations of students and the dissertation committee.
  • Dissertation Proposal/Manuscript Template You will use this templates to write all chapters of the dissertation.
  • PhD-DS Dissertation Proposal/Manuscript Template Students in the PhD Data Science program will use this template to write all chapters of the dissertation.
  • DSE Dissertation Revision Timeline Use this template to create a timeline for deliverable revisions in the dissertation.
  • SOBE Best Practice Guide for Qualitative Research and Design Methods
  • SOBE Best Practice Guide in Quantitative Research and Design Methods

If you are working on your CMP course, your course will provide information on how to format your prospectus/portfolio.

  • DSE Chapter 1 Rubric Use this rubric to guide you when writing Chapter 1 of your dissertation.
  • DSE Chapter 2 Rubric Use this rubric to guide you when writing Chapter 2 of your dissertation.
  • DSE Chapter 3 Rubric Use this rubric to guide you when writing Chapter 3 of your dissertation.
  • DSE Dissertation Proposal Rubric Use this rubric to guide you when combining Chapters 1-3 into the Dissertation Proposal.
  • DSE Chapter 4 Rubric Use this rubric to guide you when writing Chapter 4 of your dissertation.
  • DSE Chapter 5 Rubric Use this rubric to guide you when writing Chapter 5 of your dissertation.
  • DSE Dissertation Manuscript Rubric Use this rubric to guide you when combing all five of your dissertation chapters to produce your Dissertation Manuscript.

Not yet at the Dissertation phase?  Getting ready for your CMP course?  Check out the CMP Course Frequently Asked Questions document below:

  • CMP Course Frequently Asked Questions

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Library Dissertation Toolbox Workshop Series

The  Library Dissertation Toolbox Workshop Series  consists of engaging, skill-building workshops designed specifically for doctoral students. Students will learn how to effectively locate, evaluate, and use information relating to their dissertation research topics. Each toolbox session features a new research focus- sign up for the entire series, or just those that most appeal to you:

  • Research Process Guide by NU Library Outlines important steps in the research process and covers topics such as evaluating information.
  • Managing and Writing the Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation Dr. Linda Bloomberg's newest edition Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation: A Road Map From Beginning to End is out now. This resource includes an interview between Methodspace and Dr. Bloomberg.

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Elektrostal Hotel

Our team has selected for you a list of hotel in Elektrostal classified by value for money. Book your hotel room at the best price.



Located next to Noginskoye Highway in Electrostal, Apelsin Hotel offers comfortable rooms with free Wi-Fi. Free parking is available. The elegant rooms are air conditioned and feature a flat-screen satellite TV and fridge...
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Located in the green area Yamskiye Woods, 5 km from Elektrostal city centre, this hotel features a sauna and a restaurant. It offers rooms with a kitchen...
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Ekotel Bogorodsk Hotel is located in a picturesque park near Chernogolovsky Pond. It features an indoor swimming pool and a wellness centre. Free Wi-Fi and private parking are provided...
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Surrounded by 420,000 m² of parkland and overlooking Kovershi Lake, this hotel outside Moscow offers spa and fitness facilities, and a private beach area with volleyball court and loungers...
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Surrounded by green parklands, this hotel in the Moscow region features 2 restaurants, a bowling alley with bar, and several spa and fitness facilities. Moscow Ring Road is 17 km away...
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Elektrostal Nearby

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Elektrostal Page

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DB-City.comElektrostal /5 (2021-10-07 13:22:50)

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Flag of Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast, Russia

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  20. Elektrostal Map

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