The vast majority of students in the world will end up doing at least one dissertation in their life. However, not everyone has a clear idea of what exactly a dissertation is.
In some countries and schools, the dissertation is called a thesis, which ultimately is a research paper completed as part of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.
The thesis or dissertation is a project that students have to complete to obtain their university degree. This project is an opportunity for each student to show their work and what they've learned during their years in school.
It doesn't matter if you are a science major or a literature major, you will have to write a dissertation to graduate and obtain your degree. Writing is a big part of our academic education, regardless of our department or field of interest.
The majority of undergraduate degrees will require a dissertation, but sometimes students are given the option of doing an internship instead. On the other hand, graduate, P.h.D, and doctoral students will always be required to do one.
Typically, a dissertation gives students the chance to discuss their research in response to a question or thesis that they've selected themselves.
Students have the freedom to pick a topic to research and they work hand in hand with a dissertation advisor who will give them tips, help them with a methodology, guide them with any question they student has, provide a review of a first draft, and overall an advisor will provide the student with advice on their project.
Continue reading and learn how long it will take you to write a dissertation, find tips on how to pick a topic, do your research, do the writing portion of the dissertation, and more.
Find an experienced dissertation coach here on Superprof.
Pick a topic
People often struggle when it comes to starting a big project. They don't know where to get started, what step to take first, or what methodology to follow.
Students in university (undergraduate or graduate) tend to get frustrated because they don't know how to start and they only think about how long it'll take them.
To get past this, first, know that if you organize yourself and come up with a clever plan to execute every step of writing a dissertation, you'll be done in no time!
Writing a thesis or dissertation from start to finish usually takes an entire school year. Some people who are getting their undergraduate degree do their thesis in under six months. But anyone getting a graduate or doctoral degree will take at least a year.
The first step has to do with asking questions. What would you like to research? What could be a good topic to dedicate time to? What am I interested in? What kind of research do I have the capacity of doing?
By answering all of these questions you'll have a better idea of what topic to choose. Make sure you explore different ideas before settling on one topic.
After picking a topic, you can write a proposal and show it to your advisor. You can review it with your advisor to get an idea of how long every stage of your dissertation will take, the advisor can help you find an example or several examples of similar work, and come up with ideas on methodology, process, analysis, and more.
Keep in mind that you can also find help while writing your dissertation right here on Superprof. There are over a hundred tutors on Superprof offering their wisdom to people who need help writing their thesis or in any other part of the process.
Doing the research
Once you've picked a topic, you need to get your hands dirty and start doing the research. The research portion of any proposal won't take only a day. You'll be working on your research for a minimum of a month, depending on your university department (science or social science).
If you are doing an academic dissertation you'll have to sit down and read a book, recollect data, find examples, find doctoral literature, and you'll probably spend all day in the library with other study partners.
However, if you are doing a scientific dissertation, there are plenty of different questions you'll have to answer using the scientific method. You'll do experiments and trials, and you'll possibly be working in a lab recollecting data all day.
This is why there are different types of dissertations, time frames for their completion, and processes of what to do. Keep in mind that it is very common for your original proposal to change once you've gathered data and you see that you aren't going anywhere.
People tend to get frustrated when this happens, but keep in mind that you can always find support during this process right here on Superprof.
Tutors who guide students with their dissertations have experience in finding a way around obstacles. A tutor can guide you in the process, give you advice, help you through your analysis of data, find important academic literature for you to read, and so on.
Don't forget that the research part of your dissertation has nothing to do with the analysis of your research. The analysis will last through the entirety of your project. You'll have to analyze data, information, results, examples, and so on.
Sit down and write!
Once you're done with the research and you have all the results you require you can start writing your dissertation. Many people believe that writing a dissertation takes more time than the actual work. However, this is not true.
If you learn to work efficiently, you can finish writing in no time. People who are stuck in the writing portion because they aren't organized or are procrastinating.
But, if you are organized and plan out every chapter of the dissertation from the introduction to the conclusions, and plan how long you'll take per chapter, there's no need to make this process longer by procrastinating or being disorganized.
To stay on top of things you can work with the help of a tutor from Superprof and ask them to help you set deadlines and help you stay on track. Tutors might have more tips or advice on how to become organized, for example.
A tutor can also give you tips on what not to do while writing each chapter of your dissertation. For example, you should avoid going back to do research. If you've concluded doing the research then you should focus on writing the introduction of your paper. Remember to take the process step by step.
We also recommend you search for tips that'll help you become a better and faster writer if you feel like writing is not your strong suit. However, since you'll be writing about something you know (since you'll be responsible for developing every chapter of the project), it won't be hard to do it.
All you have to do is explain your project and your research and put it down on paper. It can be long and it can take weeks and months, but it is not like you have to write a novel about something you know nothing about.
Don't forget citations
Since dissertations are research projects, you need to keep track of all of your sources. It is very common for students to be rushed and stressed by the end of their writing process because they don't have their citations.
Many are obligated to go back to the library and go through every book to find the one book they used for their research. You can save yourself this pain by keeping track of every reference and resource you use. This way you can already have your citations ready to go even before you start writing.
Keeping track of your citations will help you save time because by the end you'll have everything ready to go instead of having to go back and spend time going over things you've already gone over.
Remember that each university has its parameters and formats for citations; there's MLA, APA, and so on. Make sure you are using the format required by your school or else you might end up losing points or get in even bigger trouble.
Citations are important because it helps you show what work is yours and what is the intellectual property of someone else.
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