Writing a Master’s Dissertation: Basic Guidelines for Novice Researchers

by Abla BENBELLAL, PhD student at Algiers 2 University (see the bottom of this page for Abla’s bio)

Writing a dissertation is one of the most challenging tasks for the majority of students all over the world let alone novice researchers who have never done research before or written a paper of more than 50 pages. Thus, the aim of this short article is to provide graduate students with some basic guidelines on writing a master’s (MA) dissertation. It explicitly defines and describes the main components of the following sections and chapters in an MA dissertation: the abstract, the introductory section, the literature review chapter, the research design chapter, the results and discussion of the results’ chapter and the general conclusion.

1. Abstract:

This is generally the first section examiners read as it provides a short summary of the dissertation’s content. A good abstract consists of the following elements:

• A short background: here the writer needs to describe the problem under investigation briefly
• Purpose of the study: it answers the question (WHAT did the researcher do?) by stating the aim of the whole study in one or two sentences.
• Methods: it answers the question (HOW did the researcher do it?) by briefly stating the research design used, the target population and the research setting (without excessive details)
• Findings: it answers the question (WHAT did the researcher find?) by briefly stating the major findings of the study (i.e. those results which answer the research question(s)
• Conclusions: it answers the question (WHAT did the researcher conclude?) by interpreting the results and drawing inferences (i.e. explaining what the results mean

2. Introduction:

The general introduction is one of the most important sections in a dissertation as It aims at grabbing readers’ attention and interest to carry on reading your work. Thus, writing the introductory section requires a careful consideration from the writer. This section should include the following major elements:

 Background to the study:

in this section, the writer should establish context for his/her research by reviewing some related studies. To do so, the writer should answer the following questions:

• How did s/he become aware of the problem?
• Are there any related theories or concepts that might be unfamiliar to readers and require further explanation?
• Are there any previous studies that should be shared to provide context on why the current issue emerged?

Statement of the problem:

In this section, the problem being studied should be described and explained as clearly as possible. The statement of the problem should be clear and concise. It should include all the variables to be considered (if it is a quantitative study) and state the central idea/concept of the research (if it is qualitative). In addition, it should provide information about the research setting and the target population.

The research rationale (significance of the study):

In the section, the writer should explain why his/her research is important by providing valid argument. Also, s/he should identify the gap in the literature and show how her/his study could fill that gap and contribute to the development of knowledge in the area of interest.

Purpose of the study (or purpose statement):

In this section, the writer states the overall aim of the study (i.e. what does s/he intend to do?). the following are some common introductory phrases for purpose statements:

The current study investigates the relationship between……………
The main purpose of this study is……………………..

The present study is designed to examine………………….
The primary concern of this research is………………………
The purpose of this study is to address the problem of ………..
The purpose of this study is to advance understanding of…………..

Research question(s):

A good research question(s) should be:

• Clear: in order to help the researcher direct his/her research
• Focused and specific: in order to be well covered in the space provided
• Appropriately complex: that is, it should not be that simple but rather it should be a question that requires research and analysis

Definitions of key terms:

In this section, the writer defines the most important concepts and terms in his research to avoid ambiguity.

Layout of the dissertation:

In this section, the writer presents the structure of the dissertation by telling, briefly, the content of each section and chapter in the dissertation.

3. The literature review chapter:

This chapter should describe and synthesize the main theories and major studies related to the topic being studied. In this chapter, the writer should:

Focus on addressing the key issues and concepts related to his/her topic.

Report on the major findings of the studies and provide details about the researchers (who), the methods used (how) and the context (where).

Comment critically on the benefits and major flaws of the studies being reviewed.

4. The research design chapter:

In this chapter, the writer needs to provide information about the following elements:

• The research design: the writer should identify and define the research design adopted (qualitative, quantitative or mixed-methods), and provide valid arguments on why a particular type of design is appropriate to reach the objectives of the study.
• Sampling techniques: the writer should provide a detailed description of the participants who took part in the research and how they were selected (i.e. randomly or non-randomly)
• Data collection instruments: the writer should describe, in details, the tools research s/he used (i.e. questionnaires, interviews, experiments…etc) how they were used to collect data and how issues of validity and reliability were addressed.
• Data analysis procedures: the writer should explain the procedures s/he followed to treat and analyze qualitative and quantitative data.

5. The results and discussion chapter:

This chapter involves three main sections:

• Data presentation: the writer presents all the findings of the study. These findings are presented using descriptive summaries (for qualitative data) and tables and figures (for quantitative data).
• Data discussion: in this section, the writer comments on the results by linking the study’s findings to the previous literature in the field and research question(s) investigated. S/he can also evaluate the results of the study by stating the strengths and weaknesses and assessing their generalizability to others populations.
• Implications: based on the results of the study, the writer provides recommendations and suggests pedagogical implications that would help solve the problem addressed.
• Limitations: in this section, the writer evaluates the study by showing the advantages and highlighting the challenges that were faced while conducting the study.

6. The general conclusion:

The conclusion summarizes the major points dealt with in the dissertation (summary of the research problem, purpose, the methodology, the key findings….etc)

Author bio

Abla BENBELLAL is a PhD student at Algiers 2 University, Algeria. She started her PhD in applied linguistics and teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in November 2016. She is currently working as a teacher of Academic writing and Research Skills at Blida 2 university (Algeria). She started teaching at this university in 2015 when she graduated with a Master’s degree in didactics. Her research interests include writing dissertations and theses in English as a foreign language, teaching academic writing in EFL contexts and all what is related to research methodology.

Suggested reading:

Evans, D., Gruba, P. & Zobel, J. (2014). How to Write a Better Thesis. Switzerland: Springer

Galvan, J.L & Galvan, M.C. (2017).  Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. New York: Taylor & Francis

Lunenburg, F.C. & Irby, B.J. (2008). Writing a Successful Thesis or Dissertation: Tips and Strategies for Students in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Corwin Press.

Paltridge, B. and Starfield, S. (2007). Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language: A Handbook for Supervisors. Routledge.