thesis writing chapter 2

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How to Write Chapter Two of a Thesis

In “ how to write chapter one; the introduction of thesis ” post, the way of writing the Introduction and its components were discussed.

In chapter 2 of a thesis or dissertation – a literature review or a review of the literature – generally, you need to write a background on the subject and make the conclusion that there is a gap in previous studies and you are going to fill it in your research.

In addition to the gap, the research questions and hypotheses as well as the theories that support your study should be discussed. You have to cover the purpose of your study, too.

How to start a literature review chapter?

This chapter is a component of the whole thesis, so it needs to be related to the previous and next chapters.

Start with stating the most important theories supporting your study. You may write them in Chronological order. Use the theories to emphasize the gap.

How to write subtitles of chapter two?

Your writing in chapter two and other chapters need some headings to organize your writing which are to be H3.

You can organize your thesis’s literature review based on each of these two factors:

Chronological order

It is your choice. You can organize your writing in chronological order, meaning, the timeline in which the theories were proposed. You may also choose to arrange it based on different subjects or variables.

Subjective arrangement

In this kind of arrangement, subtitles are chosen based on different subjects related to the title of your thesis. The content of each will be the theories and discussions on that specific subject.

In this case, the theories discussing in headings can be stated chronologically too.

Tips on writing the literature review chapter

Criticize the theories.

A literature review is not just a collection of previous studies or writing a brief history of them. You need to critic the theories and states made by other researchers. You can also use them in a way that shows the gap.

Support the gap

In conclusion chapter (chapter 5), some researchers propose some topics as further researches needed. Look for the gap of your study in this part and if there is one do not forget to mention it.

Emphasize the importance of the study

Everything you write in chapter two of the thesis (dissertation), should emphasize the existence of the gap as well as the importance of your study. Try to raise the research questions in the readers’ minds so that your research questions become theirs.

Write about everything

Do not forget to write on every component of your research especially the variables. Read the papers which are related to your thesis and write other researchers ideas about them. Then write your own idea (you can criticize them as it was said).

When is writing the literature review chapter done?

It is done when you have written on every topic which is discussed in your thesis. Do not leave a question in the readers’ minds.

While you are searching of some topics, it is possible that some new ideas and subtopics related to your dissertation title come up. In these cases, start a new search, read the related papers, and write about them in chapter two of your thesis too.

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How To Write Chapter 2 Of A PhD Thesis Proposal (A Beginner’s Guide)

The second chapter of a PhD thesis proposal in most cases is the literature review. This article provides a practical guide on how to write chapter 2 of a PhD thesis.

Introduction to the chapter

Theoretical review, empirical review, chronological organisation of empirical literature review, thematic organisation of empirical literature review, developing a conceptual framework, research gaps, chapter summary, final thoughts on how to write chapter 2 of a phd thesis proposal.

The format for the literature review chapter is discussed below:

This section is about a paragraph-long and informs the readers on what the chapter will cover.

The theoretical review follows immediately after the introductory section of the chapter.

In this section, the student is expected to review the theories behind his/her topic under investigation. One should discuss who came up with the theory, the main arguments of the theory, and how the theory has been applied to study the problem under investigation.

A given topic may have several theories explaining it. The student should review all those theories but at the end mention the main theory that informs his study while giving justification for the selection of that theory.

Because of the existence of many theories and models developed by other researchers, the student is expected to do some comparative analysis of the theories and models that are applicable to his study.

After discussing the theories and models that inform your study, the student is expected to review empirical studies related to his problem under investigation. Empirical literature refers to original studies that have been done by other studies through data collection and analysis. The conclusions drawn from such studies are based on data rather than theories.

This section requires critical thinking and analysis rather than just stating what the authors did and what they found. The student is expected to critique the studies he is reviewing, while making reference to other similar studies and their findings.

For instance, if two studies on the same topic arrive at contrary conclusions, the student should be able to analyse why the conclusions are different: e.g. the population of study could be different, the methodology used could be different etc.

There are two ways of organising empirical literature: chronological and thematic:

In this method, the empirical literature review is organised by date of publication, starting with the older literature to the most recent literature.

The advantage of using this method is that it shows how the state of knowledge of the problem under investigation has changed over time.

The disadvantage of chronological empirical review is that the flow of discussion is not smooth, because similar studies are discussed separately depending on when they were published.

In this method, like studies are discussed together.

The studies are organised based on the variables of the study. Each variable has its own section for discussion. All studies that examined a variable are discussed together, highlighting the consensus amongst the studies, as well as the points of disagreement.

The advantage of this method is that it creates a smooth flow of discussion of the literature. It also makes it easier to identify the research gaps in each variable under investigation.

While the choice between chronological and thematic empirical review varies from one institution to another, the thematic synthesis is most preferred especially for PhD-level programs.

After the theoretical and empirical review, the student is expected to develop his own conceptual framework. A conceptual framework is a diagrammatic representation of the variables of a study and the relationship between those variables.

The conceptual framework is informed by the literature review. Developing a conceptual framework involves three main steps:

• Identify all the variables that will be analysed in your study.
• Specify the relationship between the variables, as informed by the literature review.
• Draw a diagram with the variables and the relationship between them.

The main purpose of conducting literature review is to document what is known and what is not known.

Research gaps are what is not yet known about the topic under investigation.

Your contribution to knowledge will come from addressing what is not yet known.

It is therefore important for PhD students to first review existing literature for their area of study before settling on the final topic.

Additionally, when reviewing literature, the student should review all of the most recent studies to avoid duplicating efforts. Originality is important especially for PhD studies.

There are different types of research gaps:

• Gaps in concepts or variables studied e.g. most studies on maternal health focus on pregnancy and delivery but not on post-partum period. So you conduct a study focusing on the post-partum period.
• Geographical coverage: rural vs. urban or rural vs. urban slums; developed vs. developing countries etc
• Time: past vs. recent
• Demographics: middle class vs. poor communities; males vs. females; educated vs. uneducated etc
• Research design: quantitative vs. qualitative or mixed methods
• Data collection: questionnaires vs. interviews and focus group discussions
• Data analysis techniques: descriptive vs. inferential statistics etc

This section provides a summary of what the chapter is about and highlights the main ideas.

This article provided some guidance on how to write chapter 2 of a PhD thesis proposal as well as the format expected of the chapter by many institutions. The format may vary though and students are advised to refer to the dissertation guidelines of their institutions. Writing the literature review chapter can be the most daunting task of a PhD thesis proposal because it informs chapter 1 of the proposal. For instance, writing the contribution to knowledge section of chapter 1 requires the student to have read and reviewed many articles.

Related post

How To Write Chapter 1 Of A PhD Thesis Proposal (A Practical Guide)

How To Write Chapter 3 Of A PhD Thesis Proposal (A Detailed Guide)

Grace Njeri-Otieno

Grace Njeri-Otieno is a Kenyan, a wife, a mom, and currently a PhD student, among many other balls she juggles. She holds a Bachelors' and Masters' degrees in Economics and has more than 7 years' experience with an INGO. She was inspired to start this site so as to share the lessons learned throughout her PhD journey with other PhD students. Her vision for this site is "to become a go-to resource center for PhD students in all their spheres of learning."

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For many graduate students, especially those who have not attended university in a number of years, the thought of writing a 20-page research paper is quite overwhelming. Like most tasks, however, once the process is broken down into a series of smaller steps, the end product becomes more realistic and attainable.

Regardless of the writing project, there are several phases that most writers use. In this chapter, I focus on the first two phases: planning and drafting your paper. You should begin by establishing a direction for your paper by analyzing the expectations of the course assignment or other writing task. The next step is to refine your topic and establish a purpose for the paper. Then you begin to gather and organize your research material in a meaningful way. However, this is not your paper. This is your research for your paper!

At the graduate level, you are expected to do more than simply gather information and reorganize it to meet the assignment criteria. You must review the literature with an evaluative lens and engage in critical thinking and reflection so that you are able to taking a position on the topic or issue. This position is expressed as a thesis statement, which then becomes the guide for the rest of your writing process. Your paper will be organized around this thesis and a set of key arguments designed to support that thesis. Your background research must then be synthesized and integrated to support those key arguments.

By the end of the chapter, you will have everything you need to complete a first draft of your paper. You can skip ahead to any of the topics covered by clicking on the links below.

• Phases in the writing process

Selecting a topic and defining your purpose

Generating and organizing your ideas, critical thinking and critical writing, developing a thesis statement.

• Building your argument
• Synthesis and integration of professional literature
• Drafting an introduction
• Drafting a conclusion

The writing process

There are several phases in writing a graduate paper, which I have adapted from Fowler, Aaron, and McArthur (2005). Neilsen (2009) outlined similar steps in her “Learn to Love Your Term Paper” Web page. Even though I will address them sequentially, most people do not follow a strict linear process; instead, they loop back and forth between these phases. This chapter will focus on the first two phases:

• Planning: In the first phase, you will establish a general direction for your research and writing, gather appropriate resources, and organize the ideas from these sources in a meaningful way.
• Drafting: Through critical reflection on and analysis of the professional literature, you will take a position on the topic and identify the key points you want to make, organize them within the structure of your paper, and craft your introduction and conclusion.

Chapter 3 focuses on the revision phase of the writing process:

• Revising: Once you have a draft of your paper, it is time to review and revise the content of the paper. In this phase, you are examining your own critical thinking processes and reading the paper with a view to ensuring that you have effectively communicated your ideas. You then build consistency and flow in your paper through the use of appropriate verb tense, structuring skills, and other linguistic tools.

In Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 , we move on to the editing phase, which is the predominant focus of your APA Manual :

• Editing: Although editing occurs throughout the entire writing process, you should also plan a deliberate editorial review of your paper. You must ensure, first of all, that your citations and references are correctly formatted and that they accurately reflect the sources you used. Then you will format the whole paper according to APA standards. I highly recommend that you then step back and invite peer review as part of your final editing process.

Planning your paper

Planning your paper involves selecting a topic, carefully reviewing the assignment criteria to determine the purpose of the paper, and delving into the professional literature to start gathering and organizing ideas.

The place to start writing a graduate paper is with the description provided for the particular assignment. It is possible to write an amazing paper but not address the topic or purpose targeted in the assignment or to place too much emphasis on one element at the expense of others. Take, for example, the excerpts from two assignment descriptions in Figure 2.1 below.

Sample Assignment 1

The purpose of this assignment is give you an opportunity to critically analyze and deconstruct the major tenets of psychotherapy models by engaging in a process of case conceptualization. Drawing on one of the case scenarios provided, shape your analysis through the following questions:

• What is your working hypothesis about the problem? Provide a brief analysis of the problem from the perspective of your chosen model. Draw on the model’s understanding of the nature of humans, the nature of healthy (or well-adjusted functioning), the causes of problems (or not functioning in a healthy manner).
• What is your working hypothesis about how change is likely to occur? Based on your chosen model, elaborate on the nature of change. You may want to take into account what variables or factors are targeted, what processes are involved, the role(s) of client and counsellor, and whether change occurs within or outside of the counselling session.
• What intervention might you choose? Identify a potential intervention based on your chosen model. Describe what you would do to be helpful to the client, what you would invite the client to do, what resources you would draw on, the context of your activities, etc.
• What outcomes do you anticipate? How would you describe a successful outcome for the client based on your chosen model. Be specific and creative in imagining a preferred future for this client.

Sample Assignment 2

We live in a society in which there is differential privilege, inequitable access to health resources and services, and lack of full participation in community, organizational, and social systems, based on both visible and invisible cultural identity factors and group affiliations. The purpose of this assignment is to (a) identify the types of messages that abound in popular media that either challenge or perpetuate oppression of non-dominant populations and (b) articulate a reasoned, supported, and convincing argument in support of equity, culturally sensitivity, and social justice in health service provision. Your task is to write an article that could be published in a popular magazine or newspaper.

• Choose a topic or issue related to culture and/or social justice (focused on one non-dominant population or impacting more than one population). Then, scan the popular media to see what ideas are current being discussed or what diverse positions are being argued. You can do this through news reports, magazine articles, websites providing commentaries, or other appropriate sources. Try to use online sources for easier access by your peers.
• Critically analyze the various messages you encounter . Once you are satisfied that you understand the arguments being made, write a brief paragraph (4-6 lines) that synthesizes the essence of the debate, challenge, or controversy that has captured your attention. Select 2-3 articles to reference and provide links to them.
• Decide on a position you want to take on the topic or issue . Draw from the values, principles, and/or competencies outlined in the course. Articulate a clear thesis statement that will form the foundation for your own article. This can be a rebuttal to one or more of original articles or it can further extend their positions.
• D evelop the key points in your argument . Base these on your thesis statement and integrate and synthesize the professional literature to support your position. Come up with a catchy title for your article that might encourage others to read it. Be creative about the message you want to send through your article.

Figure 2.1. Sample assignment criteria.

There is a lot of important information provided in these assignment outlines that will help you begin your writing process. In both cases, you are given an opportunity to select your topic (e.g. the psychotherapy model or the topic/issue related to culture and social justice), but the purpose of each assignment is quite different.

Before you can begin writing about a particular topic, you must clearly understand the purpose of the assignment. The purpose might be to describe a particular phenomenon, to argue a specific point of view, to reflect on personal feelings or increase self-awareness, or to persuade the reader about a particular position (Fowler et al., 2005). Understanding the purpose is a key step in planning your paper.

A well-worded assignment description will use language that is consistent with the purpose of the assignment. Many course designers draw on Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy of learning objectives as a means of providing guidance to students about the type of academic skills they expect to see demonstrated through the assignment (e.g., purpose of the learning activity). Bloom identified three domains of learning where change may be targeted: the cognitive, affective, and skills domains. Each domain is broken down into specific types of learning goals and criteria that are used to assess whether those goals have been reached.

Table 2.1. Bloom’s (1956) Taxonomy of Education Objectives

Review the two sample assignments above to pick out words that suggest the levels of learning targeted in the assignment.

For most graduate papers, you will be required to go beyond knowledge and comprehension to analyze and apply what you have learned (as in Assignment 1 above), to engage in evaluation, and to integrate and synthesize the literature (as in Assignment 2 above). If the level of learning is unclear from the assignment description, assume you are to aim for the highest levels of learning. Both of these assignments focus predominantly on the cognitive domain. In most applied health disciplines, you will also be expected to demonstrate commitment to the values of the profession (affective domain) and to implement new skills in a way that is responsive to client/patient needs and context.

Applying this lens to your analysis of the assignment gives you clues about how to establish an appropriate purpose for your paper. Table 2.2 illustrates both congruence and mismatch between levels of learning and the purpose identified for an assignment. In each case, the topic is models of client/patient care.

Table 2.2. Congruence between level of learning and purpose

Recall an assignment you have recently written or choose one from a current course. Complete Exercise 1 to practice crafting purpose statements that reflect the cognitive learning objectives. There are no right answers to this exercise because many different purposes statements could emerge from a single topic.

What is important is that you identify a purpose that reflects the levels of learning targeted by the assignment before you start conducting your research. Depending on your knowledge of the topic area, you may begin with a relatively simple purpose statement and elaborate it over time as you increase your knowledge base. Your purpose statement can be directly incorporated into your introduction later on.

Now that you have a topic and a purpose, you will need to start gathering and organizing the information that you will use to build your paper. There are many techniques for developing the content of your paper. See Fowler et al. (2005) for examples. Here are some suggestions to consider:

• If you already know something about the topic, start by writing down all the points you would like to integrate into your paper. See what themes emerge and what areas you might need to explore further. Then turn to the professional literature to either confirm or redirect your thinking.
• If the topic is relatively new, then read, read, read. Start with more general information to establish a knowledge foundation and then look for critiques, analyses, or other issue-focused articles about the topic. See if others have written papers with a similar purpose. Be sure to take notes on all the points that seem relevant to your paper.

Before the days of computers, many graduate students gathered their notes on slips of paper and then arranged and rearranged them on their desk until they had a clear sense of the meaning of the literature they were reading. You may still find this a useful activity. However, I find it very easy to use a Microsoft Word file to arrange my ideas as I research a particular topic. While I was first creating the content for this eBook, I was also working on a literature review in the area of social justice. I have used this review to demonstrate how I organized information as I read and critically reflected on the body of knowledge in this area. See Organizing Your Research in the appendices of this e-book. Each of the three entries reflects one of the times that I sat down to read and make notes on this topic.

When I find a topic area that interests me, I often start by creating a document like this that covers more content than I will use in any given paper. The final paper will not necessarily follow this structure, but I will have the information to support my key points and sub-points at my fingertips. Notice that the way in which I have pulled together this information reflects higher order learning objectives. For example, I do not just list one point from one source. I synthesize and integrate ideas across sources as I read and make notes: e.g., … the shifting demographics of Canadian society and increased systemic barriers to career and life success (Arthur & Collins, 2005b) are bringing social justice back to the forefront (Arthur & Collins, 2005a; Fouad, Gerstein, & Toporek, 2006), particularly in the area of career development (Toporek & Chope, 2006) . I am also evaluating the literature: e.g., It is important to understand the way in which social class forms a cultural schemata that impacts career development values, beliefs, assumptions, aspirations, and goals (Blustein, McWhirter, & Perry, 2005; Liu & Ali, 2005) .

One of the things that I found most exciting about graduate school was the intellectually challenging climate and the opportunity to articulate and debate ideas with other people. I still seek out opportunities to work collaboratively with my colleagues on projects that will push me to think critically, creatively, and beyond my current points of view. This often creates a synergy that results in new ideas and directions I might not have generated on my own.

I hope that you will have many opportunities throughout your graduate program to engage in this type of co-constructive learning process. Engaging with the professional literature as you write your graduate papers offers you a similar opportunity if you approach it with a critical mindset. You bring your ideas, worldview, and expertise to create an interactive process that can result in exciting new perspectives. I hope that you will welcome this challenge as I do.

Drafting your paper

At this point, you should have a pretty clear sense of what the body of literature in your field has to say about the topic you have selected and you have gathered notes, paying attention to the purpose of the assignment. If you were writing a paper at a lower level of learning (e.g., in some undergraduate courses), you might simply create an outline for your paper based upon your work so far. However, at the graduate level, you are expected to go beyond simply describing what others have to say about a topic. As noted in Chapter 1 , this is where the development of your own voice becomes critical.

To support the purposes of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, you must develop the ability to both read and think critically. Review the definition(s) of critical thinking on the Critical Thinking Community Website . What I like about their approach is the emphasis on shared intellectual values across disciplines, the importance of developing the lifelong habit of thinking critically, the importance of attending to motivation in both presenting your own views and critically analyzing the perspectives of others, and the caution about attending to and suspending personal biases to read and critique with an open mind.

Take a moment to write your own personal definition of critical thinking.

Throughout your graduate program, you will be expected to openly explore alternatives and then establish a personal position on certain issues, supporting your points of view with various forms of evidence, theory, or plausible lines of reasoning that will stand up under the healthy review and scrutiny of your classmates and instructors. You will be asked to respond to your instructors – and to each other – from a place of curiosity and scepticism, key components of a scholarly attitude. Here are some suggestions for optimizing your contributions to your own scholarly and critical thinking community:

• Explore the world around you:   Each of you is surrounded by a wealth of information about human nature, health challenges, social interactions, and change processes. Take a look around. Pay attention to diversity in experience and perspectives. Talk to friends and colleagues. Listen to what your clients/patients have to tell you.
• Research and investigate : Get into the literature and find out how others have conceptualized particular issues or concepts. Seek current research as well as seminal (i.e., earlier, significant writings), non-mainstream, and related resources that comprehensively and critically address your topic. Be sure to pay attention to diversity in research paradigms and procedures.
• Reflect on your own values and beliefs: How do your own values, assumptions, beliefs, or attitudes fit with what you are reading and observing? Pay attention to those things that ring true to you. Pay attention also to the areas or issues that you react to or disengage from.
• Synthesize the material you have gathered :   Identify key themes and critical points from your exploration and research. What main issues arise for you? Draw together these diverse points in an organized conceptual framework, showing how you see them offering patterns, relationships, or models that address your subject. Make sure to note those elements that do not fit or continue to baffle you.
• Analyze the material:  Identify and question the assumptions of any knowledge claim, acquaint yourself with the critiques made about the claim, and question the evidence or means by which it was obtained, as well as any assertions made from the evidence (e.g., unwarranted leaps of logic ). Demonstrate your analyses of other research or knowledge claims in the contributions you make.
• Adopt a point of view: Establish personal positions on the issues you are exploring. This does not need to be a permanent self-statement; in fact, we hope you continue to evolve your views over a lifetime. Nonetheless, you are expected to clearly articulate your position in the here-and-now. Illustrate how your exploration of various forms of evidence and thinking supports your point of view in defensible ways. Not taking a critical position on your subject is a position that you will be expected to support.
• Express your perspective with clarity : Be clear and concise. Take the time to translate jargon and simplify difficult material. Above all, thoughtfully edit all contributions before you submit them.

A fundamental objective of critical thinking is to consider how, or whether, you might make personal and/or professional use of information. [Recall the focus on Discerning appropriate information sources in Chapter 1.] Information must hold up under critical scrutiny and offer useful understandings of some aspect of your life or work. Probing beyond the surface of any assertion requires discipline, and answering some of these questions as you read can be particularly helpful:

• What are the primary assertions being made by the author(s)?
• How clear, concise, consistent, comprehensive and coherent are these assertions? Could you make these assertions understandable to someone unfamiliar with your discipline?
• How are these assertions supported? Do you agree with the evidence offered, and the way it was obtained (i.e., the appropriateness, and proper use, of the research methods used)? Are the claims made from the evidence sound?
• What do other authors or researchers in the field think of these assertions and the evidence used to support them?
• What assumptions are implicit in these assertions? Do these have any cultural, gender, or other blind spots? Do you agree with the relevance of the assumptions to the subject?
• How well do these assertions fit with your own values, beliefs, and worldview? Do they push you to consider personal cognitive, attitudinal, or behavioural change?
• What are the relative strengths and weaknesses in the assertions being made?
• What alternative metaphors, conclusions and analogies for these assertions can you come up with? How can you develop these into other, more plausible, lines of thinking?
• Where, when, and with whom would these assertions not hold up? Why? Who else would take exception with these assertions?  Why?
• Do these assertions make a genuine contribution to better understanding the subject, even if they are different from those understandings that are a better fit for you?
• How do these assertions look in practice? Would they be recognizable and usable?

In communicating in your classes and in your written work, you are expected to go beyond what you read. Show others how you have critically made (or not made) that information your own and why you consider the information useful or not useful to you and others. If such an expectation is new for you, welcome these challenges and the excitement of academic thought and discussion.

Recalling the levels of learning in Bloom’s (1956) taxomony, Fowler (2005) pointed to the relationship between analysis, synthesis, and evaluation:

• To synthesize material, you must first analyze it by breaking it down into its parts to understand its possible meanings.
• To evaluate material, you must first synthesize it by making connections among the parts, identifying relationships, and drawing out implications.
• Evaluation takes critical thinking a step further by making supported judgments about the quality of the arguments, the validity of the conclusions or implications, and the significance to the body of knowledge in psychology or other disciplines.

In keeping with Bloom’s (1956) emphasis on affective learning and as a member of an applied health discipline, you will also be challenged throughout your graduate program to reflect on the various lenses through which you view the world. Chapter 1 , for example, provided you with an opportunity to look at cultural biases and how those might affect the quality of your writing. The goal of self-reflection is not to move to a value-neutral position, but to move to a point of awareness where your own personal values can be consciously and temporarily suspended, so that you can most accurately hear what is being said by others. You will also be expected to critically reflect on and evaluate your own beliefs and values in light of the professional literature, ethics, and values. So, for example, you might currently believe that people are poor because they are too unhealthy to work. However, once you spend time exploring the professional literature that belief will probably be turned on its head, and you will instead embrace the opposite assumption: Poverty is most often a precursor to ill health (Friedli, 2009).

Critical thinking is the foundation and benchmark of graduate education! Your ability to read critically, think critically, and then translate your ideas into writing critically is what will ultimately make you a successful writer. You may want to explore the following online links to enhance your understanding of critical thinking processes.

• Massey University Online Writing and Learning Link – What Is Critical Thinking?
• Massey University Online Writing and Learning Link – Critical Reading
• University of Toronto Writing Workshop – Critical Reading .

If you want to learn more about critical thinking, check out the work of Kevin deLaplante of the Critical Thinker Academy . He has created a playlist in YouTube of videos on critical thinking that offer a great alternative for those of you who are more visual or auditory learners – see https://www.youtube.com/user/PhilosophyFreak/playlists .

Once you have gathered enough information and taken the time to critically reflect on your research to get a clear sense of what you would like to say about the topic, I recommend that you take a break from your research and write a thesis statement for your paper. A thesis statement is a sentence (or two) that tells the reader what you intend to argue about a particular topic. It is the main point or central idea that forms the backdrop against which the relevance of everything else in your paper is assessed.

To explore the difference between the topic, purpose, and thesis of your paper, review the following Web resources:

• Purdue University Online Writing Lab – Creating a Thesis Statement
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab – Establishing Arguments
• University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Writing Lab – Thesis and Purpose Statements
• University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Writing Lab – Developing a Thesis Statement

Let’s pick up on the purpose statements from Table 2.2 above to differentiate between purpose and thesis statements. Notice, in Table 2.3 below, that the thesis statements are also aligned with the level of learning targeted.

Table 2.3. Linking Purpose and Thesis Statement

Each thesis statement above has been evaluated against the following criteria (Fowler et al., 2005; Purdue University, 2010; University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2009):

• A thesis statement is usually a single sentence.
• It focuses on one central idea.
• It makes an assertion about the topic.
• In most cases, the assertion is debatable.
• The assertion is specific enough to provide direction for the paper.
• The thesis statement provides scope and direction for the paper.
• It provides a preview of the organization of the paper.

You will notice that a number of different thesis statements have been drawn from the topic of approaches to client/patient care. The nature of the thesis statement depends on (a) the purpose of the paper, (b) what you discover in your research, and (c) your interests and opinions about the topic.

A strong thesis statement indicates to readers the single most important idea that you want to communicate and often provides them with a preview of how your arguments will be laid out in the paper. You may revise your thesis statement as you continue to develop your paper. Normally, you position your thesis statement prominently in your introduction , often as the last line.

Complete Exercise 2 to test your understanding of how to create a strong thesis statement.

Building effective arguments

Now that you have a clear thesis for your paper, your task is to create a convincing argument in support of that thesis statement. A graduate, professional paper is organized according to a set of key points or arguments (an undergraduate paper might simply follow a topic outline based on your gathering of ideas above). The arguments you make to support the thesis of your paper should be clear, succinct, and well organized. This requires you to take a step back and consider how to best support the thesis statement you have generated.

The example in Figure 2.2 is drawn from my own research and might form the foundation for a paper I write on the topic of multicultural counselling and social justice. Apply the principles we have examined above to the purpose and thesis statements. Then consider the key arguments (in bold) and sub-points I have chosen to support those arguments. Both reflect my critical analysis of the literature and my own professional experience and perspectives (e.g., my voice ).

Topic : Multicultural counselling and social justice

Purpose : To evaluate the relative position of multicultural counselling and social justice in the profession of counselling.

Thesis Statement : Multicultural counselling and social justice are inextricably intertwined and both are central to competent and ethical practice with all clients.

• Personal cultural identity reflects a wide range of factors, including gender/gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ability, religion, socioeconomic status, and their intersections.
• Culture is co-constructed through the interface of client-environment and in the relationship between counsellor and client.
• The counsellor, the client, and the counselling relationship are all influenced by the interface of client-counsellor cultural identities.
• Infusing awareness of culture into the counselling process brings these influences into awareness and facilitates more culturally relevant and appropriate practices.
• Non-dominant cultural identity is defined, not by relative numbers, but by relative positioning in personal, interpersonal, and group power and privilege.
• There are significant discrepancies between the social, economic, and political positions of dominant and non-dominant cultural groups in North America.
• Individuals and groups who do not form part of the dominant culture are more likely to experience social exclusion, including barriers to services and resources, cultural oppression and marginalization, as well as limitation to social, economic, and political inclusion and advancement.
• In contrast, individuals and groups who reflect the dominant culture often experience unearned privileges by virtue of their social location.
• Without active attention to the relative privilege of counsellor and client, it is impossible to build an effective working alliance with the client, and there is a significant risk of inadvertently perpetuating cultural oppression within the counselling process.

Figure 2.2. Building an argument.

Although I am drawing on the research I have conducted in this area, each of the key points and sub-points are in my own words. They are my analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of the literature. This does not mean I do not need to give credit to the sources I have reviewed; I have just left them out here to unclutter the example. You will likely want to insert them as you go, however, to ensure you do not lose track of whom you need to credit to support your ideas.

A solid argument is composed of an organized and logical set of the following elements.

• Assertions about or points of view on a subject. You may break your thesis statement down into several key points or arguments, but each should be clearly connected to the position (thesis) of your paper.
• Evidence to support those assertions or points of view. You have built the foundation of your arguments by gathering information from the body of professional literature and now you will use that research to support the key points in your draft paper. Your challenge is to take a critical look at that evidence to ensure that it supports your thesis and is presented in a systemic and logical fashion.
• A response to counterarguments. In some cases, there may be arguments against your thesis statement that are important for you to address in order to provide your reader with a complete picture. By systematically identifying and responding to these counterarguments you demonstrate critical thinking and strengthen your overall argument.

Developing solid arguments requires you to effectively integrate the evidence to convince the reader of the validity of your assertion (or thesis statement). To read more about building effective arguments, review the following resources.

• The University of North Carolina Writing Center – Argument
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab – Organizing Your Argument
• Massey University Online Writing and Learning Link – Constructing an Argument

Think of each of the key points or arguments in Figure 2.2 as the outline for a paragraph or set of paragraphs in your paper. As I created my argument above, I systematically and purposefully organized each of the key points to build my overall argument. I had to reorganize my argument a number of times to make sure there was a logical flow. In this case, I have opted to move from broad assertions down to more narrowly focused points. I corrected a few flaws in the progression of my ideas as I read them through sequentially. You may want to contrast the argument outlined in Figure 2.2 with a more traditional, undergraduate paper outline in Figure 2.3. The latter is organized by topic and does not clearly lead the reader to a logical conclusion or position (thesis).

Thesis Statement : No thesis statement created

• Personal cultural identity
• Co-construction of culture
• Interface of client-counsellor cultural identities
• Infusing awareness of culture
• Definition of non-dominant cultural identity
• Discrepancies between dominant and non-dominant cultural groups
• Social exclusion
• Unearned privilege
• Attention to relative privilege of counsellor and client
•  …

Figure 2.3. A topical outline (in contrast to the argument required in graduate writing).

It would be very difficult to write a solid argument based on the topical outline in Figure 2.3. You would be much more likely to end up with a descriptive paper (e.g., one that demonstrates only knowledge and comprehension according to Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy) than one that takes a particular position and systematically supports that position. There are a number of other common traps that students fall into in developing their arguments. Please review the following documents to ensure that you do not make similar errors.

• The University of North Carolina Writing Center – Fallacies
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab – Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion

Table 2.4 provides another example of an argument on the topic of our food supply (and compares it to a traditional outline). I have stated each key point clearly in one sentence. The logical flow between the key points is clear. I have nested (indented) the key points and sub-points to make the flow of the argument clear. I based this sample argument on a book I was reading.

Table 2.4.  Contrast between an argument and a traditional outline

Note. Adapted from “ The end of food: How the food industry is destroying our food supply – and what you can do about it ,” by T. F. Pawlick, 2006, Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre.

Critically analyzing and extrapolating the argument presented by another writer, as I have demonstrated in Table 2.4, is a good way to summarize the ideas that you may want to incorporate into your own paper. It forces you to think critically and to synthesize the information into succinct statements (using your own words). However, do not use this as the argument for your paper as if it reflects your own ideas. Copying another author’s argument is another form of plagiarism.

Take a few minutes to come up with a purpose and thesis statement that might fit for the argument above. Then complete Exercise 3 to put into practice the principles you have learned.

Synthesis and integration of the literature

At this point, you have a clear argument drafted with key points and sub-points to support the thesis of your paper. Make sure that each paragraph (or group of paragraphs) relates to one of the key points in your argument. You may want to copy each of your key points to the first line of the paragraph that elaborates on that point. The key point becomes the topic sentence for that paragraph and ensures that the reader can easily follow the flow of your argument.

If you have effectively tracked the sources of your ideas, you may find that you have already clearly supported some of the key points and sub-points in your argument; in other cases, you may need to revise the paragraph(s) to provide sufficient evidence to support the key point. This might mean going back to the ideas you generated and organized through your preliminary research on the topic or you might have to go in search of additional sources to inform and support your points.

Students sometimes have difficulty understanding how the purpose of the paper (e.g., the levels of learning targeted) should influence how they integrate material from other sources and word the points and sub-points in their paper. Figure 2.5 provides you with some examples of the kinds of statements you might make if you were attempting to demonstrate Bloom’s (1956) levels of learning. Read the criteria associated with each level and then analyze the statements on the right to see how well they reflect these criteria. Notice how the nature of the statements changes as the level of learning targeted increases. Remember, it is difficult to accomplish all the goals associated with a particular level in one or two statements; these are simply intended as examples. I have not included the skills domain, because this would rarely be assessed through a paper. I have now added fictional citations to reinforce the importance of synthesizing the professional literature to support your points. You will learn how to accurately cite your sources in Chapter 4 . Notice that even when you are speaking about your own attitudes, beliefs, and values (e.g., affect), it is important to tie your assertions to the professional literature.

Table 2.5.  Synthesis of the Literature To Reflect the Level of Learning Targeted

Complete Exercise 4 to practice writing in a way that reflects the levels of learning targeted. Writing that reflects analysis, synthesis, and evaluation will make the difference between a poor grade and a great grade on graduate papers.

You now have an almost complete draft of your paper. Carefully read through it to ensure that the criteria for demonstrating critical thinking identified in your course assignment are met through your writing. You may want to actually write in the margins the levels of learning you are demonstrating with each key point: evaluation, synthesis, awareness, and so on. If you cannot clearly identify which criteria apply, rethink and rewrite that section.

At some point in our lives, most of us have lost work because we did not save documents regularly or back up our system. Be sure to set the auto-save function in Microsoft Word. Go to Word on the menu bar and select Preferences. Click on Save and then check “Save autorecovery info every ___ minutes.” I suggest you set this to save every 5 minutes. You never know when you might have a brilliant idea or word something perfectly!

Drafting a clear introduction

Now that you have pulled together the literature to support your argument, take a step back to ensure that your purpose and thesis statements are still a good fit with your draft of the paper. You may find you need to massage them a bit based on new research you have discovered or the evolution of your argument. Then you are ready to craft your introduction. Drawing on (Fowler et al., 2005), at minimum, your introduction should

• introduce the topic of the paper,
• describe your purpose in writing the paper, and
• state your thesis.

You may also want to

• describe why the topic is important,
• indicate your attitude toward the topic,
• provide an example, a scenario, or a dilemma to capture the reader’s attention,
• set the context or provide relevant background information,
• define key terms or concepts, and/or
• describe how the paper is organized (if not indicated in your thesis statement).

I typically begin by introducing the topic and stating the purpose of my paper, add any additional information, and then conclude with the thesis statement. The Massey University Online Writing and Learning Link – Essay Introduction provides a clear overview of how to write an introduction that incorporates your thesis statement. I have crafted a sample introduction in Figure 2.4 based on the topic, purpose, and thesis in Table 2.6 below.

Table 2.6. Sample topic, purpose, and thesis statement

Figure 2.4 . crafting an introduction..

As you become more confident in your writing, you may want to add a significant quote to your introduction that leads into your thesis statement or an image that provides a context for your paper.

Complete Exercise 5 to practice drafting introductions based on the topic, purpose, and thesis statements used in earlier exercises.

Drafting your conclusion

The conclusion to your paper is just as important as the introduction. Your conclusion will typically begin with a brief summary of the arguments presented. It should link to your thesis statement to demonstrate how the main point of the paper has been supported through the body of your writing. Rather than simply copying your thesis statement, restate it in a new and interesting way. You may then choose to include the following, depending on the nature of the paper:

• implications or significance of the ideas presented,
• directions for further research or development,
• personal reflections or applications, and/or
• a call for action.

Review the sample conclusion below. It is based on the topic, purpose, and thesis from Table 2.6 that was used above to craft the introduction.

Figure 2.5 . Crafting a conclusion.

For more tips on creating an effective conclusion, see the Massey University Online Writing and Learning Lab – Essay Conclusion .

Complete Exercise 6 to create a conclusion for the imaginary papers that begin with the introductions you drafted in Exercise 5.

Planning and drafting your paper are the most demanding tasks in the writing process. They require you to carefully analyze the assignment criteria, shift into a critical thinking mode, and demonstrate your ability to engage in higher order learning. Some students skip this critical thinking phase of their writing entirely by simply gathering ideas from other sources, rearranging them into some logical order, and assuming they have created a draft paper. However, the cornerstone of graduate and professional writing is the insertion of your own voice, your own critical analysis, and your own position on or assertion about the topic.

Once you have completed the first draft of your paper, use the following checklist to ensure that you have met all of the criteria below. I have drawn many of these ideas from Fowler et al. (2005).

• Have you clearly stated the topic and purpose of your paper?
• Is the main thesis of your paper clear and well-constructed?
• Have you positioned your thesis statement in a way that takes a position, is arguable, and makes your voice clear?
• Does your introduction include the purpose and thesis statements?
• Does your introduction capture the reader’s attention and provide the reader with a sense of direction and context for the paper?
• Does your argument clearly flow from and support the thesis statement?
• Is the body of your paper divided into clear points and sub-points that support the central thesis of the paper?
• Do you demonstrate critical thinking throughout the paper?
• Do you state each of the key points in a clear and concise manner?
• Have you organized the key points in your argument in a systematic and logical fashion?
• Have you presented your key points and sub-points in a way that reflects the levels of learning required (e.g., analysis, synthesis, evaluation)?
• Have you linked each paragraph in some way to the thesis statement?
• Have you structured each paragraph in a deliberate way to support the key point?
• Do your sub-points provide sufficient examples or evidence to support the key points?
• Have you effectively integrated the professional literature base?
• Have you identified theories or concepts that influenced how you framed your thesis and arguments?
• Have you clearly defined all terms you use?
• Does your thesis statement lead logically through your key arguments to the conclusions you draw?
• Is your point of view clear to the reader?
• Does your conclusion wrap up the key points in the paper?
• Does your conclusion succinctly restate the thesis in a new way?

Chapter 2. How do I generate and position my ideas? Copyright © 2016 by Sandra Collins is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Guidelines in writing thesis chapter 2

Our consultants will help you review printed research for relevancy for your subject suggest topics associated with the space within the understanding that may be incorporated within this chapter. Besides summarizing, your consultant will help you critically evaluate, compare, and synthesize prior research to create a foundation for the current research.

The objective of review from the literature would be to prove that nobody has studied the space within the understanding outlined in Chapter 1. The topics within the Overview of Literature must have been introduced without anyone’s knowledge from the Condition in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 isn’t a textbook of subject material loosely associated with the topic of the research. Every study that’s pointed out should in some manner bear upon the space within the understanding, and every study that’s pointed out should finish using the comment the study didn’t collect data concerning the specific gap within the understanding from the study as outlined in Chapter 1.

A lot of institutions within the last ten years are allowing graduated pupils to parse research that was already made by taking a current study and slightly altering one element, like the geographic location, when the study is incorporated in the social sciences. Altering the geographic location doesn’t represent robust, original research. Rare is really a social sciences study today that has a national or worldwide study, particularly one of the online universities. Leadership research is rarely not redundant as leadership includes a lengthy, completely researched history. Original research within the sciences is harder to parse however, a sciences study can frequently be piggybacked on existing research should there be unknowns in the finish of previous studies. The advice for future research in the finish of the dissertation make the perfect place to locate a subject that remains studied.

Empirical literature printed inside the previous five years or fewer is reviewed to demonstrate no reference to the specific gap within the understanding that’s the subject from the dissertation is incorporated in the body of understanding. Good sense should prevail. Frequently, to supply a good reputation for the study, it’s important to cite studies over the age of five years. The item would be to acquaint the readers with existing studies in accordance with the space within the understanding and describe that has done the job, where and when the study was completed, and just what approaches were utilised for that methodology, instrumentation, record analyses, or many of these subjects.

If hardly any literature exists, the wise student will write, essentially, a several-paragraph book report by citing the objective of the research, the methodology, the findings, and also the conclusions. If there’s a good amount of studies, cite only the newest studies. Firmly establish the requirement for the research. Defend the techniques and operations everything about the other relevant studies that implemented similar methodologies. It ought to be frequently stated towards the readers why a specific study didn’t match the precise reason for the dissertation.

Classically, review of Literature ought to be written just before Chapter 1 because it will make sure original research in the end possible similar research has been investigated, but unskilled advisors allow students to setup every detail of Chapter 1 for only a really preliminary overview of the literature. When the student finds a sizable body of literature regarding the subject from the dissertation, the probability is high that the topic of the dissertation was already studied.

Review of Literature ends having a Conclusion that clearly claims that, in line with the overview of the literature, the space within the understanding that’s the subject from the study is not studied. Keep in mind that a “summary” differs from a “conclusion.” An Overview, the ultimate primary section, introduces the following chapter.

Regrettably, some institutions have started to “require” no under 30 pages of literature review for any dissertation, which results in students who write a textbook summarizing general information from the concept of study, and advisors who overview this disastrous practice with righteous indignation when the student struggles to generate the needed quantity of pages. This leads students to “pad” the discussion with unfocused verbiage, and can lead to students applying the concept of crating pages simply to create pages. This might lead student to consider a dissertation is really a glorified school assignment. Requiring a collection quantity of pages is fallacious. When the gap within the understanding is, actually, symbolized by an unbalanced or incomplete body of literature, then your overview of literature might only need three pages of fabric in the only relevant empirical studies.

Review ought to be specified by major sections created by business generalizations. An business generalization could be a subheading as long as the final sentence from the previous section introduces the readers as to the the following section contains. The objective of this chapter would be to cite major conclusions, findings, and methodological the process of the space within the understanding from Chapter 1. It’s written for knowledgeable peers from easily retrievable sources of the very most recent issue possible.

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Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

*The Caveat *

In this post, we’ll be discussing a traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout, which is generally used for social science research across universities, whether in the US, UK, Europe or Australia. However, some universities may have small variations on this structure (extra chapters, merged chapters, slightly different ordering, etc).

So, always check with your university if they have a prescribed structure or layout that they expect you to work with. If not, it’s safe to assume the structure we’ll discuss here is suitable. And even if they do have a prescribed structure, you’ll still get value from this post as we’ll explain the core contents of each section.  

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

• Acknowledgements page
• Abstract (or executive summary)
• Table of contents , list of figures and tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Results
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• Reference list

As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure. For example, they want an additional “personal reflection chapter”, or they might prefer the results and discussion chapter to be merged into one. Regardless, the overarching flow will always be the same, as this flow reflects the research process , which we discussed here – i.e.:

• The introduction chapter presents the core research question and aims .
• The literature review chapter assesses what the current research says about this question.
• The methodology, results and discussion chapters go about undertaking new research about this question.
• The conclusion chapter (attempts to) answer the core research question .

In other words, the dissertation structure and layout reflect the research process of asking a well-defined question(s), investigating, and then answering the question – see below.

To restate that – the structure and layout of a dissertation reflect the flow of the overall research process . This is essential to understand, as each chapter will make a lot more sense if you “get” this concept. If you’re not familiar with the research process, read this post before going further.

Right. Now that we’ve covered the big picture, let’s dive a little deeper into the details of each section and chapter. Oh and by the way, you can also grab our free dissertation/thesis template here to help speed things up.

The title page of your dissertation is the very first impression the marker will get of your work, so it pays to invest some time thinking about your title. But what makes for a good title? A strong title needs to be 3 things:

• Succinct (not overly lengthy or verbose)
• Specific (not vague or ambiguous)
• Representative of the research you’re undertaking (clearly linked to your research questions)

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

• The broader area of the research (i.e. the overarching topic)
• The specific focus of your research (i.e. your specific context)
• Indication of research design (e.g. quantitative , qualitative , or  mixed methods ).

For example:

A quantitative investigation [research design] into the antecedents of organisational trust [broader area] in the UK retail forex trading market [specific context/area of focus].

Again, some universities may have specific requirements regarding the format and structure of the title, so it’s worth double-checking expectations with your institution (if there’s no mention in the brief or study material).

Acknowledgements

This page provides you with an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped you along your research journey. Generally, it’s optional (and won’t count towards your marks), but it is academic best practice to include this.

So, who do you say thanks to? Well, there’s no prescribed requirements, but it’s common to mention the following people:

• Your dissertation supervisor or committee.
• Any professors, lecturers or academics that helped you understand the topic or methodologies.
• Any tutors, mentors or advisors.
• Your family and friends, especially spouse (for adult learners studying part-time).

There’s no need for lengthy rambling. Just state who you’re thankful to and for what (e.g. thank you to my supervisor, John Doe, for his endless patience and attentiveness) – be sincere. In terms of length, you should keep this to a page or less.

Abstract or executive summary

The dissertation abstract (or executive summary for some degrees) serves to provide the first-time reader (and marker or moderator) with a big-picture view of your research project. It should give them an understanding of the key insights and findings from the research, without them needing to read the rest of the report – in other words, it should be able to stand alone .

For it to stand alone, your abstract should cover the following key points (at a minimum):

• Your research questions and aims – what key question(s) did your research aim to answer?
• Your methodology – how did you go about investigating the topic and finding answers to your research question(s)?
• Your findings – following your own research, what did do you discover?
• Your conclusions – based on your findings, what conclusions did you draw? What answers did you find to your research question(s)?

So, in much the same way the dissertation structure mimics the research process, your abstract or executive summary should reflect the research process, from the initial stage of asking the original question to the final stage of answering that question.

In practical terms, it’s a good idea to write this section up last , once all your core chapters are complete. Otherwise, you’ll end up writing and rewriting this section multiple times (just wasting time). For a step by step guide on how to write a strong executive summary, check out this post .

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

This section is straightforward. You’ll typically present your table of contents (TOC) first, followed by the two lists – figures and tables. I recommend that you use Microsoft Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate your TOC. If you’re not familiar with this functionality, the video below explains it simply:

If you find that your table of contents is overly lengthy, consider removing one level of depth. Oftentimes, this can be done without detracting from the usefulness of the TOC.

Right, now that the “admin” sections are out of the way, its time to move on to your core chapters. These chapters are the heart of your dissertation and are where you’ll earn the marks. The first chapter is the introduction chapter – as you would expect, this is the time to introduce your research…

It’s important to understand that even though you’ve provided an overview of your research in your abstract, your introduction needs to be written as if the reader has not read that (remember, the abstract is essentially a standalone document). So, your introduction chapter needs to start from the very beginning, and should address the following questions:

• What will you be investigating (in plain-language, big picture-level)?
• Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original?
• What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter).
• What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will and won’t you cover ?
• How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt?
• How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

These are just the bare basic requirements for your intro chapter. Some universities will want additional bells and whistles in the intro chapter, so be sure to carefully read your brief or consult your research supervisor.

If done right, your introduction chapter will set a clear direction for the rest of your dissertation. Specifically, it will make it clear to the reader (and marker) exactly what you’ll be investigating, why that’s important, and how you’ll be going about the investigation. Conversely, if your introduction chapter leaves a first-time reader wondering what exactly you’ll be researching, you’ve still got some work to do.

Now that you’ve set a clear direction with your introduction chapter, the next step is the literature review . In this section, you will analyse the existing research (typically academic journal articles and high-quality industry publications), with a view to understanding the following questions:

• What does the literature currently say about the topic you’re investigating?
• Is the literature lacking or well established? Is it divided or in disagreement?
• How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
• How does your research contribute something original?
• How does the methodology of previous studies help you develop your own?

Depending on the nature of your study, you may also present a conceptual framework towards the end of your literature review, which you will then test in your actual research.

Again, some universities will want you to focus on some of these areas more than others, some will have additional or fewer requirements, and so on. Therefore, as always, its important to review your brief and/or discuss with your supervisor, so that you know exactly what’s expected of your literature review chapter.

Now that you’ve investigated the current state of knowledge in your literature review chapter and are familiar with the existing key theories, models and frameworks, its time to design your own research. Enter the methodology chapter – the most “science-ey” of the chapters…

In this chapter, you need to address two critical questions:

• Exactly HOW will you carry out your research (i.e. what is your intended research design)?
• Exactly WHY have you chosen to do things this way (i.e. how do you justify your design)?

Remember, the dissertation part of your degree is first and foremost about developing and demonstrating research skills . Therefore, the markers want to see that you know which methods to use, can clearly articulate why you’ve chosen then, and know how to deploy them effectively.

Importantly, this chapter requires detail – don’t hold back on the specifics. State exactly what you’ll be doing, with who, when, for how long, etc. Moreover, for every design choice you make, make sure you justify it.

In practice, you will likely end up coming back to this chapter once you’ve undertaken all your data collection and analysis, and revise it based on changes you made during the analysis phase. This is perfectly fine. Its natural for you to add an additional analysis technique, scrap an old one, etc based on where your data lead you. Of course, I’m talking about small changes here – not a fundamental switch from qualitative to quantitative, which will likely send your supervisor in a spin!

You’ve now collected your data and undertaken your analysis, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In this chapter, you’ll present the raw results of your analysis . For example, in the case of a quant study, you’ll present the demographic data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics , etc.

Typically, Chapter 4 is simply a presentation and description of the data, not a discussion of the meaning of the data. In other words, it’s descriptive, rather than analytical – the meaning is discussed in Chapter 5. However, some universities will want you to combine chapters 4 and 5, so that you both present and interpret the meaning of the data at the same time. Check with your institution what their preference is.

Now that you’ve presented the data analysis results, its time to interpret and analyse them. In other words, its time to discuss what they mean, especially in relation to your research question(s).

What you discuss here will depend largely on your chosen methodology. For example, if you’ve gone the quantitative route, you might discuss the relationships between variables . If you’ve gone the qualitative route, you might discuss key themes and the meanings thereof. It all depends on what your research design choices were.

Most importantly, you need to discuss your results in relation to your research questions and aims, as well as the existing literature. What do the results tell you about your research questions? Are they aligned with the existing research or at odds? If so, why might this be? Dig deep into your findings and explain what the findings suggest, in plain English.

The final chapter – you’ve made it! Now that you’ve discussed your interpretation of the results, its time to bring it back to the beginning with the conclusion chapter . In other words, its time to (attempt to) answer your original research question s (from way back in chapter 1). Clearly state what your conclusions are in terms of your research questions. This might feel a bit repetitive, as you would have touched on this in the previous chapter, but its important to bring the discussion full circle and explicitly state your answer(s) to the research question(s).

Next, you’ll typically discuss the implications of your findings . In other words, you’ve answered your research questions – but what does this mean for the real world (or even for academia)? What should now be done differently, given the new insight you’ve generated?

Lastly, you should discuss the limitations of your research, as well as what this means for future research in the area. No study is perfect, especially not a Masters-level. Discuss the shortcomings of your research. Perhaps your methodology was limited, perhaps your sample size was small or not representative, etc, etc. Don’t be afraid to critique your work – the markers want to see that you can identify the limitations of your work. This is a strength, not a weakness. Be brutal!

This marks the end of your core chapters – woohoo! From here on out, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

The reference list is straightforward. It should contain a list of all resources cited in your dissertation, in the required format, e.g. APA , Harvard, etc.

It’s essential that you use reference management software for your dissertation. Do NOT try handle your referencing manually – its far too error prone. On a reference list of multiple pages, you’re going to make mistake. To this end, I suggest considering either Mendeley or Zotero. Both are free and provide a very straightforward interface to ensure that your referencing is 100% on point. I’ve included a simple how-to video for the Mendeley software (my personal favourite) below:

Some universities may ask you to include a bibliography, as opposed to a reference list. These two things are not the same . A bibliography is similar to a reference list, except that it also includes resources which informed your thinking but were not directly cited in your dissertation. So, double-check your brief and make sure you use the right one.

The very last piece of the puzzle is the appendix or set of appendices. This is where you’ll include any supporting data and evidence. Importantly, supporting is the keyword here.

Your appendices should provide additional “nice to know”, depth-adding information, which is not critical to the core analysis. Appendices should not be used as a way to cut down word count (see this post which covers how to reduce word count ). In other words, don’t place content that is critical to the core analysis here, just to save word count. You will not earn marks on any content in the appendices, so don’t try to play the system!

Time to recap…

And there you have it – the traditional dissertation structure and layout, from A-Z. To recap, the core structure for a dissertation or thesis is (typically) as follows:

• Acknowledgments page

Most importantly, the core chapters should reflect the research process (asking, investigating and answering your research question). Moreover, the research question(s) should form the golden thread throughout your dissertation structure. Everything should revolve around the research questions, and as you’ve seen, they should form both the start point (i.e. introduction chapter) and the endpoint (i.e. conclusion chapter).

I hope this post has provided you with clarity about the traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or feel free to get in touch with us. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the  Grad Coach Blog .

Psst... there’s more!

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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36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

Glad to hear that, Arun. Good luck writing your dissertation.

Such clear practical logical advice. I very much needed to read this to keep me focused in stead of fretting.. Perfect now ready to start my research!

what about scientific fields like computer or engineering thesis what is the difference in the structure? thank you very much

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

Very helpful and accessible. What I like most is how practical the advice is along with helpful tools/ links.

Thanks Ade!

Thank you so much sir.. It was really helpful..

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

You’re most welcome. Good luck with your dissertation.

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

Many times Clarity and vision of destination of dissertation is what makes the difference between good ,average and great researchers the same way a great automobile driver is fast with clarity of address and Clear weather conditions .

I guess Great researcher = great ideas + knowledge + great and fast data collection and modeling + great writing + high clarity on all these

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

Morning. Where will I write the definitions of what I’m referring to in my report?

Thank you so much Derek, I was almost lost! Thanks a tonnnn! Have a great day!

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

This was very helpful. Clear and concise. I know exactly what to do now.

Thank you for allowing me to go through briefly. I hope to find time to continue.

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

Very interesting! It will definitely set me and many more for success. highly recommended.

Thank you soo much sir, for the opportunity to express my skills

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

My stress level just dropped at least 15 points after watching this. Just starting my thesis for my grad program and I feel a lot more capable now! Thanks for such a clear and helpful video, Emma and the GradCoach team!

Do we need to mention the number of words the dissertation contains in the main document?

It depends on your university’s requirements, so it would be best to check with them 🙂

Such a helpful post to help me get started with structuring my masters dissertation, thank you!

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

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Chapter 2 in Thesis Writing for IT/CS Students (with Sample)

(Review of Literature and System)

-is a proof that no one studied the gap in the knowledge outlined in chapter 1 . Hence, his will state the previous study that is also related to your study to build more foundation . Take note that the format of the study vary from one school to another or one course to any course so better finishes first the chapter 1 before proceeding to this chapter.

In this chapter , you must start with a brief introduction  about the investigations of the researcher on the review literature and system about the problem.Here, you must get your data from any book, magazines and much more. Most of all, label your published material with local or foreign sources.

Things to consider in writing chapter 2:

• First, include only those references that have immediate connections or relevance for the study and to the system.
• Second, be explicit in stating the relevance of all cited literature and system.
• Third, the review should be in the form of an assimilated presentation of all materials.
• Next, it must not contain a simple listing ( annotated bibliography ).
• Also, when comparing and summarizing studies , be sure to note possible differences between samples, measurement techniques and much more, s ummarize only those truly comparable sources .
• Then, it is best that your sources is updated and is finished in the most recent years. Probably, more effective if the material should not be older than 5 years.
• the selection of the problem
• delimiting the scope of the problem
• demonstrating the relationship of the study to previous knowledge
• indicate the contribution of the study , and
• examine the tools and methods in investigating the problem.
• In addition, the researcher must be selective with respect to the quality of the sources cited.
• Finally, this chapter may contain both conceptual and research literature and system.

You Can download the Chapter 2 Example CHAPTER-2

Note : Chapter 2 is encrypted with a password. Send me an email for the password.

20 thoughts on “Chapter 2 in Thesis Writing for IT/CS Students (with Sample)”

please send a password for chapter 2

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Password: itsourcecode

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Supporting Bachelor Thesis Management in Computer Science: A Comparative Study of Large Language Models in Academic Advising

• First Online: 07 June 2024

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• Juanan Pereira 9 ,
• Juan-Miguel López-Gil 9 ,
• Xabier Garmendia 9 &
• Maider Azanza 9  

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Educational Technology ((LNET))

Writing a successful computer science bachelor’s thesis requires extensive advisor support. This need for guidance is especially pronounced given the complexity and technical nature of computer science, where students struggle with scope definition and task planning for these first-time major projects. Large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 and Claude might help by giving personalized advice. This study tested these two AIs with a sample thesis project to see how well they could plan the work and a 300-h schedule. Four people reviewed the AIs’ recommendations for accuracy, relevance, clarity, and practical utility. The results showed that Claude is better at making accurate schedules, while GPT-4 is good at conceptualizing larger ideas. However, this was a small test, so we cannot be certain this will always be true. The initial results look promising for using AI to help advise students, but more research is needed. Future work should focus on how to best combine human and AI advice in computer science bachelor thesis management.

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Pereira, J., López-Gil, JM., Garmendia, X., Azanza, M. (2024). Supporting Bachelor Thesis Management in Computer Science: A Comparative Study of Large Language Models in Academic Advising. In: García-Peñalvo, F.J., Sein-Echaluce, M.L., Fidalgo-Blanco, Á. (eds) Innovation and Technologies for the Digital Transformation of Education. Lecture Notes in Educational Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-2468-0_2

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2024 Theses Doctoral

Social Network Effects on Health and Emotional Wellbeing

Stanoi, Ovidia Andreea

Humans’ social relationships determine to a large degree their trajectories in life. Despite strong evidence for the impact of interpersonal relations on wellbeing, the causal links between the two are not yet fully understood. This dissertation offers a new perspective on the mechanisms through which social ties influence negative (excessive drinking) and positive (participation in recreational activities) health behaviors. In three studies employing a unique combination of social network, fMRI, and experience-sampling methods, we propose that health decisions are the result of complex computations involving prior social experiences, perceived social norms, social comparison processes, and current feelings of connections. Each chapter of this dissertation discusses one of these three studies. Chapter 1 provides evidence that past social experiences shape valuations of new information by showing that pairs of students that drink often together tend to have more similar neural responses to novel alcohol cues in regions associated with affective self-generated thought. In addition, this Chapter suggests that researchers must consider the intricate interplay between individuals’ personal goals and their communities’ norms to understand the influence of social environments on neural representations. The degree to which students aligned their neural response patterns to alcohol with those of their peers depended on interactions between their individual motives for drinking and their group’s approval of this behavior. Chapter 2 presents novel findings that people spontaneously represent social information from multiple networks (e.g., popularity and leadership) at a neural level in social cognition (right TPJ, dmPFC) and valuation (vmPFC) regions. Importantly, individuals who display higher neural sensitivity to status differences are also more likely to align their drinking behavior with their group norms in daily life. Together, our results provide insight into the neural mechanisms through which social comparison processes shape conformity and suggest social cognition and valuation regions as important hubs orchestrating this process. While Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 focus on the influence of social ties on drinking, Chapter 3 discusses the protective role of close relations during difficult times. We provide evidence that close college friendships, even if afar, helped young adults cope with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Follow-up between- and within-individual analyses reveal that this buffering effect could be explained by differences in the quality of online interactions (e.g., via phone, text messaging), instances of personal disclosure, and participation in enjoyable activities. All in all, this dissertation advances our understanding of why measures of social wellbeing are the best predictor of health trajectories in life, by highlighting the important role social ties play in shaping valuation of new information, guiding behavior to meet social goals, and protecting against stress by allowing people to engage in recreational activities.

• Social networks--Health aspects
• Drinking of alcoholic beverages--Social aspects
• COVID-19 (Disease)--Social aspects
• Health--Decision making
• Social status
• Cognition--Social aspects
• Mental health--Social aspects

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