thesis section in library

How to find resources by format

Why use a dissertation or a thesis.

A dissertation is the final large research paper, based on original research, for many disciplines to be able to complete a PhD degree. The thesis is the same idea but for a masters degree.

They are often considered scholarly sources since they are closely supervised by a committee, are directed at an academic audience, are extensively researched, follow research methodology, and are cited in other scholarly work. Often the research is newer or answering questions that are more recent, and can help push scholarship in new directions.

Search for dissertations and theses

Locating dissertations and theses.

The Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global database includes doctoral dissertations and selected masters theses from major universities worldwide.

Searchable by subject, author, advisor, title, school, date, etc.
More information about full text access and requesting through Interlibrary Loan

NDLTD – Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations provides free online access to a over a million theses and dissertations from all over the world.

WorldCat Dissertations and Theses searches library catalogs from across the U.S. and worldwide.

Locating University of Minnesota Dissertations and Theses

Use Libraries search and search by title or author and add the word "thesis" in the search box. Write down the library and call number and find it on the shelf. They can be checked out.

Check the University Digital Conservancy for online access to dissertations and theses from 2007 to present as well as historic, scanned theses from 1887-1923.

Other Sources for Dissertations and Theses

Center for Research Libraries
DART-Europe E-Thesis Portal
Theses Canada
Ethos (Great Britain)
Australasian Digital Theses in Trove
DiVA (Sweden)
E-Thesis at the University of Helsinki
DissOnline (Germany)
List of libraries worldwide - to search for a thesis when you know the institution and cannot find in the larger collections
ProQuest Dissertations Express - to search for a digitized thesis (not a free resource but open to our guest users)

University of Minnesota Dissertations and Theses FAQs

What dissertations and theses are available.

With minor exceptions, all doctoral dissertations and all "Plan A" master's theses accepted by the University of Minnesota are available in the University Libraries system. In some cases (see below) only a non-circulating copy in University Archives exists, but for doctoral dissertations from 1940 to date, and for master's theses from 1925 to date, a circulating copy should almost always be available.

"Plan B" papers, accepted in the place of a thesis in many master's degree programs, are not received by the University Libraries and are generally not available. (The only real exceptions are a number of old library school Plan B papers on publishing history, which have been separately cataloged.) In a few cases individual departments may have maintained files of such papers.

In what libraries are U of M dissertations and theses located?

Circulating copies of doctoral dissertations:.

Use Libraries Search to look for the author or title of the work desired to determine location and call number of a specific dissertation. Circulating copies of U of M doctoral dissertations can be in one of several locations in the library system, depending upon the date and the department for which the dissertation was done. The following are the general rules:
Dissertations prior to 1940 Circulating copies of U of M dissertations prior to 1940 do not exist (with rare exceptions): for these, only the archival copy (see below) is available. Also, most dissertations prior to 1940 are not cataloged in MNCAT and can only be identified by the departmental listings described below.
Dissertations from 1940-1979 Circulating copies of U of M dissertations from 1940 to 1979 will in most cases be held within the Elmer L. Andersen Library, with three major classes of exceptions: dissertations accepted by biological, medical, and related departments are housed in the Health Science Library; science/engineering dissertations from 1970 to date will be located in the Science and Engineering Library (in Walter); and dissertations accepted by agricultural and related departments are available at the Magrath Library or one of the other libraries on the St. Paul campus (the Magrath Library maintains records of locations for such dissertations).
Dissertations from 1980-date Circulating copies of U of M dissertations from 1980 to date at present may be located either in Wilson Library (see below) or in storage; consult Libraries Search for location of specific items. Again, exceptions noted above apply here also; dissertations in their respective departments will instead be in Health Science Library or in one of the St. Paul campus libraries.

Circulating copies of master's theses:

Theses prior to 1925 Circulating copies of U of M master's theses prior to 1925 do not exist (with rare exceptions); for these, only the archival copy (see below) is available.
Theses from 1925-1996 Circulating copies of U of M master's theses from 1925 to 1996 may be held in storage; consult Libraries search in specific instances. Once again, there are exceptions and theses in their respective departments will be housed in the Health Science Library or in one of the St. Paul campus libraries.
Theses from 1997-date Circulating copies of U of M master's theses from 1997 to date will be located in Wilson Library (see below), except for the same exceptions for Health Science and St. Paul theses. There is also an exception to the exception: MHA (Masters in Health Administration) theses through 1998 are in the Health Science Library, but those from 1999 on are in Wilson Library.

Archival copies (non-circulating)

Archival (non-circulating) copies of virtually all U of M doctoral dissertations from 1888-1952, and of U of M master's theses from all years up to the present, are maintained by University Archives (located in the Elmer L. Andersen Library). These copies must be consulted on the premises, and it is highly recommended for the present that users make an appointment in advance to ensure that the desired works can be retrieved for them from storage. For dissertations accepted prior to 1940 and for master's theses accepted prior to 1925, University Archives is generally the only option (e.g., there usually will be no circulating copy). Archival copies of U of M doctoral dissertations from 1953 to the present are maintained by Bell and Howell Corporation (formerly University Microfilms Inc.), which produces print or filmed copies from our originals upon request. (There are a very few post-1952 U of M dissertations not available from Bell and Howell; these include such things as music manuscripts and works with color illustrations or extremely large pages that will not photocopy well; in these few cases, our archival copy is retained in University Archives.)

Where is a specific dissertation of thesis located?

To locate a specific dissertation or thesis it is necessary to have its call number. Use Libraries Search for the author or title of the item, just as you would for any other book. Depending on date of acceptance and cataloging, a typical call number for such materials should look something like one of the following:

Dissertations: Plan"A" Theses MnU-D or 378.7M66 MnU-M or 378.7M66 78-342 ODR7617 83-67 OL6156 Libraries Search will also tell the library location (MLAC, Health Science Library, Magrath or another St. Paul campus library, Science and Engineering, Business Reference, Wilson Annex or Wilson Library). Those doctoral dissertations still in Wilson Library (which in all cases should be 1980 or later and will have "MnU-D" numbers) are located in the central section of the third floor. Those master's theses in Wilson (which in all cases will be 1997 or later and will have "MnU-M" numbers) are also located in the central section of the third floor. Both dissertations and theses circulate and can be checked out, like any other books, at the Wilson Circulation desk on the first floor.

How can dissertations and theses accepted by a specific department be located?

Wilson Library contains a series of bound and loose-leaf notebooks, arranged by department and within each department by date, listing dissertations and theses. Information given for each entry includes name of author, title, and date (but not call number, which must be looked up individually). These notebooks are no longer current, but they do cover listings by department from the nineteenth century up to approximately 1992. Many pre-1940 U of M dissertations and pre-1925 U of M master's theses are not cataloged (and exist only as archival copies). Such dissertations can be identified only with these volumes. The books and notebooks are shelved in the general collection under these call numbers: Wilson Ref LD3337 .A5 and Wilson Ref quarto LD3337 .U9x. Major departments of individual degree candidates are also listed under their names in the GRADUATE SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT programs of the U of M, available in University Archives and (for recent years) also in Wilson stacks (LD3361 .U55x).

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Creating a thesis for your research paper.

View as a PDF

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement is the heart of a paper, so understanding what a thesis is and how to create one is essential for writing a solid paper. A thesis contains the central point your paper is attempting to prove; therefore, it needs to be specific, arguable, and placed within proper context.

What does a successful thesis statement do?

A successful thesis statement:

Will be supported with evidence, whether from primary sources, secondary sources, or a mixture of both.
Must have an appropriate scope– it is narrow enough that it can be argued throughout the entire essay and not too broad that it cannot be covered in the length of the essay.
Is interesting and arguable (provides a “so what?”).
Should reflect your interpretation of a text, idea, or topic.
Creates an expectation for your readers.
Will move beyond observation and into analysis (i.e., the “what” or “how” of the argument is connected to the “why”).

Steps toward crafting a thesis statement:

Before creating a thesis, you must first decide the topic of your paper. Sometimes your professor will provide a specific prompt or set of topics to choose from, while other times you will have freedom to choose from a wide range of topics. Regardless, it’s important to remember that your topic is not your thesis!

Illustration of a possible brainstorming session. "Sleep for college students" is circled in the center. Other circles branch off from it: "academic performance," "lack of sleep," "mental and physical health," and "freshman vs. seniors." Smaller circles branch off from those topics including: "connection to depression or anxiety," "effects on body and mind," "causes," "new environment," and "stress."

If you are writing a paper that requires outside research to make your argument, it is helpful to do some preliminary searches in the library databases or through Google Scholar. You may also want to do some quick searches for popular sources such as newspaper articles if your topic is related to current events.
Use your brainstorm and initial research dive to narrow your topic so that you will be able to fully answer the question or tackle the ideas within the scope of your paper’s length and requirements. One way to begin narrowing your topic is to think about categories such as population (who is affected by my topic and how? Are different groups affected differently?), location (where do people affected by my topic live or where do events related to my topic take place?), or time period (how long has my topic been relevant? When did important events related to my topic take place?).
Your thesis needs to be arguable and specific, so you will want to make sure that your thesis statement displays a position or argument about your topic. Your argument should be based on the supporting evidence you have found in the research gathering phase. Remember that your thesis should be both debatable –meaning it can be reasonably argued against–and defensible –meaning you can use clear evidence to support your claims.
One way to ensure that you are crafting a thesis statement that is specific, argumentative, and evidence-based is to use a structure that either includes a counterclaim and some indication of what your main supporting points will be.

Example thesis:

For this example, let’s say that our professor has told us to write a research paper in which you take a position about a topic that is of relevance and interest to college students. Since this is a broad prompt, you might begin by deciding you want to write on the sleep patterns of college students .

So now you have your topic, and maybe you’ve refined it a bit to be lack of sleep among college students . This topic is not our thesis, but rather our jumping off point for narrowing our topic, finding a research angle, and crafting an argument.
You then would move into the brainstorming phase, in which you would start to refine your topic and decide what aspect you want to focus on. After doing a hypothetical mind-mapping exercise, perhaps you decide to focus on lack of sleep among college students . More specifically, you decide to research some of the main causes of sleep deprivation as well as some of the ways it affects college students.
Now it’s time to do some research. You might decide to do some quick searches for terms such as “sleep deprivation” and “college students,” to see what you find, you might look at databases relating to psychology, and you might do some Google searches for any recent popular sources that tackle the issue. During this step, perhaps you notice multiple articles that mention issues that freshmen face with adjusting to new sleep and academic patterns, as well as sources that point out how lack of sleep results in decreased brain function. You decide that you want to focus on the ways that sleep deprivation affects the mental health and academic progress of new college students .
You can then continue to narrow your topic down until you have something within the scope of your research paper. You’ve already done some population narrowing to get to freshmen, and you may want to do some location and time narrowing by limiting your focus to the US over the last decade.
It’s time to begin crafting an argument around your narrowed topic, how lack of sleep among college freshmen affects their mental health . With this topic, your argument or position will likely be first asserting how sleep deprivation specifically impacts this student population, then arguing for a specific course of action. For this example, perhaps you decide to make the argument that lack of sleep among college freshmen results in potential mental health issues which can in turn impact these students’ overall adjustment to college academics, so colleges should prioritize services that promote wellness and sleep education .
Finally, to ensure that your thesis is as specific and argumentative as possible, you will want to rephrase your thesis statement to position your research and invention and preview some of your central supporting points. So, you might wind up with something like this: In order to combat difficulties adjusting to college life that stem from sleep deprivation in freshmen students, which include impacts to both mental health and academic success, universities should invest in services and programming that emphasizes sleep education and wellness .
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Dissertations and Theses: A Finding Guide: Introduction

Introduction.

Cornell Theses
Non-Cornell Theses
Open Access, etc.
Cornell Dissertation Guidelines

McGraw Tower @ Cornell

This guide aspires to be an exhaustive catalog of resources for finding dissertations and theses at Cornell. In addition, it contains some resources for finding theses at other universities worldwide, including those subscribed to by the Cornell University Library. It is intended to be a step-wise guide to searching--a best practices and training guide for staff and library users alike. The term thesis is used to describe work at any level, undergraduate to doctoral. Dissertation is used to describe doctoral-level work.

Find out whether the document desired is a dissertation, a master's thesis, or an undergraduate (usually honors) thesis. Different types require different search strategies.

Dissertations and theses may be available as printed loose-leaf or bound manuscripts, on microfilm, or digitized (usually in PDF) full-text online.

If you are unable to locate a dissertation or thesis, please contact the Cornell University Library reference staff for assistance. If you have additional location information about finding tools for theses that should be added to this guide, please contact Olin Library reference, [email protected].

Research Help

Permissions Information

If you wish to use or adapt any or all of the content of this Guide go to Cornell Library's Research Guides Use Conditions to review our use permissions and our Creative Commons license.

Next: Cornell Theses >>
Last Updated: Aug 8, 2024 3:25 PM
URL: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/dissertations

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Research Guides

Microsoft Word for Dissertations

Chapter and Section Numbering
Introduction, Template, & Resources
Formatting for All Readers
Applying a Style
Modifying a Style
Setting up a Heading 1 Example
Images, Charts, Other Objects
Footnotes, Endnotes, & Citations
Cross-References
Appendix Figures & Tables
Table of Contents
List of Figures/Tables
Page Numbers
Landscape Pages
Combining Chapter Files
Commenting and Reviewing
Tips & Tricks
The Two-inch Top Margin
Troubleshooting
Finalizing Without Styles
Preparing Your Final Document
Take a break

Page Contents

Microsoft Word can automatically keep track of your chapter, section, and sub-section numbering for you. Using these numbering schemes will also allow your figure/diagram/table/equations to be automatically numbered, as well.

In this part of the Guide, you'll learn:

How to set Word to automatically number your Chapters and Sections
How to customize your number style ( Section 1.1 vs. Section 1.a or Section 01.01 )
How to automatically number Appendices

Automatic Chapter and Subsection Numbering

Important Note: Not everyone needs this type of numbering; if your discipline doesn’t require it, skip this section!

Word can automatically number sections (Chapter 1, 1.1, 1.2, etc.) of your document and include the chapter number in the captions (Figure 1.2, 2.2, etc.).

Make sure each of your chapter titles are in the Heading 1 style, and then click on one of your chapter titles.
Click OK when you are finished.
If you typed in the text “Chapter #”, and now it is duplicating your efforts, delete the text you typed and leave the automatically generated chapter number.
To follow the automatically generated chapter number with the title of your chapter on a new line, click just before the text of your title, hold down the Shift key on the keyboard, and then press the Enter key.

Note: If you have any problems with word automatically adding outline numbering to parts of your front matter, simply delete it. Your chapter numbers will reset to show the correct number of chapters.

Removing the section numbering from our template

Place your cursor in the title of your Chapter 1 (which is styled with the Heading 1 style)

In some cases, you may find that Word has added "Chapter X" before some of your Heading 1 sections that aren't chapters (like Acknowledgements or Bibliography). All you need to do is go to each of those sections, place your cursor after "Chapter X", and press Backspace to delete it.

Customizing Your Numbers

You have a lot of control over numbering. for example.

you can change the numbering scheme from 1.1, 1.2 , etc... to 1.a, 1.b , etc...
you can change Arabic numbers (Chapter 1) to Ordinal (Chapter One)
you can put a colon or a tab after the numbers ("Chapter 1: ")

"The numbering scheme lives in the Heading 1"

It's easy to inadvertently create multiple numbering schemes in a document and not realize it. So it's always best to start by placing your cursor in one of your chapter headings (Heading 1). That ensures that you're making changes to the active scheme.

Use the Number style for this level: pulldown menu (A) to choose from various numeral or letter styles.
Under "Click level to modify" (B), in this screenshot we've selected level 1 (the Chapter level) and added the word “Chapter” and a space afterwards to the "Enter formatting for number" (C) field.
Then you can modify the other levels (Level 2 would be for a section in a chapter and Level 3 for a sub-section, and of course Level 4 for a sub-sub-section). You can, for example, change the period in between the level and sub-level numbers to a dash or anything you want by making the change in the "Enter formatting for number" (C) field.
In the "Follow number with:" field (D), you may also see that a tab follows the number. We suggest you change that to a space.

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Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETDs)

Submission Checklist
Formatting Requirements
Submission Deadlines

An Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) is a requirement for graduation from Doctoral programs and available to graduates from Masters programs.

What is an ETD?

An electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD) is a digital version of a thesis or dissertation that will be deposited in the JScholarship repository managed by the Sheridan Libraries and be available online to the public.

Universities and colleges in the United States and abroad have been moving toward this type of publication for the past decade. Johns Hopkins started its own ETD program beginning in the fall semester of 2013.

Who does this apply to?

Required for all PhD Students
Optional for Masters students with a required thesis; contact your graduate office for information
Other graduate degrees: Consult with your graduate office

How and when do I submit my ETD?

Submit after you have defended your thesis or dissertation and made all edits required by your committee
Follow the formatting requirements
Login with your JHED ID to the JHU ETD submission system , fill in the required metadata, and upload a PDF/A file of your thesis or dissertation
The required PDF/A file format is different from a standard PDF. Please see the formatting requirements for further instructions

Fee Payment

The ETD submission fee is $60 and may be paid by credit card or by funds transfer from your department. The fee is due at the time of submission; payment verification is required for approval.

Pay by Credit Card – $60

IMPORTANT: If the card you are using is not your own (e.g., spouse or parent’s card), proceed with the payment at the site, but then email your name, your JHED ID, and the name of the credit card owner to [email protected] so we can link your submission with the payment.

Pay by Department Funds Transfer

NOTE: This option is available at departmental discretion. Request that the department administrator fill out the PDF form and submit it to [email protected] .

Learn More about ETDs

Video tutorials.

A video tutorial of the entire ETD process can be viewed on YouTube

Frequently Asked Questions

No. If your department does not coordinate printing and binding, you might consider Thesis on Demand or PhD Bookbinding . You can upload your PDF, and they will print it, bind it, and ship it to you.

Yes. No individual file can be larger than 512 MB, and the total size of all files cannot exceed 4 GB. If your thesis or dissertation is larger than that, please email [email protected] .

Within two months following degree conferral, ETDs are published to JScholarship , our institutional repository. There are separate sections in JScholarship for masters theses and doctoral dissertations . If you placed an embargo on your ETD, only the metadata (author, title, abstract, etc.) will be available until the embargo period is up.

Your ETD will be published to our institutional repository, JScholarship , within two months following degree conferral. An ETD is considered published when it is deposited in JScholarship, even if it is under embargo.

Once published, changes cannot be made to your ETD. Your ETD will be published within two months following degree conferral. You are responsible for ensuring your ETD has been thoroughly proofread before you submit to the library.

Students submitting Electronic Theses and Dissertations are responsible for determining any copyright or fair use questions. For assistance, please consult the Copyright LibGuide or contact the librarian listed on the guide.

By default, ETDs are published to JScholarship within two months after you graduate. If you wish to temporarily restrict public access to your ETD, during the ETD submission process you can embargo your document for up to four years. Please note that the title and abstract of your document will still be visible during your embargo. You may release your document from embargo early or extend it up to the four-year maximum by emailing [email protected] . Once your document is publicly accessible, however, we cannot make changes to embargoes.

Contact ETD Office

Milton S. Eisenhower Library [email protected]

ETDs on JScholarship

Electronic theses and dissertations from JHU students. Go to ETDs

JScholarship Home

Open access publications from JHU faculty and students. Visit JScholarship

Please start by reviewing the formatting requirements and submission checklist .

If you have additional questions, email [email protected] for the fastest response.

If we are unable to resolve your inquiry via email, you may request an in-person meeting. Due to the volume of ETDs, we cannot meet on deadline days, or the two days before deadlines.

Please note we do not provide formatting reviews by email, only via the submission system .

Home > FACULTIES > Information & Media Studies (FIMS) > LIS-ETD

Information & Media Studies (FIMS) Faculty

Library and Information Science Theses and Dissertations

This collection contains theses and dissertations from the Department of Library and Information Science, collected from the Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Theses/Dissertations from 2024 2024

Advancing Anti-Racism in Public Libraries for Black Youth in Canada , Amber Matthews

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Recreational nastiness or playful mischief? Contrasting perspectives on internet trolling between news media and avid internet users , Yimin Chen

Discourse, Power Dynamics, and Risk Amplification in Disaster Risk Management in Canada , Martins Oluwole Olu-Omotayo

Folk Theories, Recommender Systems, and Human-Centered Explainable Artificial Intelligence (HCXAI) , Michael Ridley

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Exploiting Semantic Similarity Between Citation Contexts For Direct Citation Weighting And Residual Citation , Toluwase Victor Asubiaro

The Use of Intimate Partner Violence Websites: Website Awareness, Visibility, Information Quality, Perceived Usefulness, and Frequency of Use , Sze Hang Lee

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

The General Artificial Intellect , Ramon S. Diab

The Public Library as Past Become Space , Greg Nightingale

Making Sense of Online Public Health Debates with Visual Analytics Systems , Anton Ninkov

Information, Employment, and Settlement of Immigrants: Exploring the Role of Information Behaviour in the Settlement of Bangladesh Immigrants in Canada , Nafiz Zaman Shuva

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Accessibility And Academic Libraries: A Comparative Case Study , Claire Burrows

The Information Practices of New Kadampa Buddhists: From "Dharma of Scripture" to "Dharma of Insight" , Roger Chabot

Narratives of Sexuality in the Lives of Young Women Readers , Davin L. Helkenberg

Strategic and Subversive: The Case of the Disappearing Diaphragm and Women’s Information Practices , Sherilyn M. Williams

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Informing care: Mapping the social organization of families’ information work in an aging in place climate , Nicole K. Dalmer

A Study of Six Nations Public Library: Rights and Access to Information , Alison Frayne

Information Freedoms and the Case for Anonymous Community , Rachel Melis

Academic Librarians and the Space/Time of Information Literacy, the Neoliberal University, and the Global Knowledge Economy , Karen P. Nicholson

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Expertise, Mediation, and Technological Surrogacy: A Mixed Method Critical Analysis of a Point of Care Evidence Resource , Selinda Adelle Berg

The E-Writing Experiences of Literary Authors , Kathleen Schreurs

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Understanding Collaborative Sensemaking for System Design — An Investigation of Musicians' Practice , Nadia Conroy

Laying the Foundation for Copyright Policy and Practice in Canadian Universities , Lisa Di Valentino

Towards Evidence-Informed Agriculture Policy Making: Investigating the Knowledge Translation Practices of Researchers in the National Agriculture Research Institutes in Nigeria , Isioma N. Elueze

Different Approaches for Different Folks , Alexandre Fortier

Creating Context from Curiosity: The Role of Serendipity in the Research Process of Historians in Physical and Digital Environments , Kim Martin

Alternate Academy: Investigating the Use of Open Educational Resources by Students at the University of Lagos in Nigeria , Daniel Onaifo

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Contentious information: Accounts of knowledge production, circulation and consumption in transitional Egypt , Ahmad Kamal

Multilingual Information Access: Practices and Perceptions of Bi/multilingual Academic Users , Peggy I. Nzomo

Words to Live By: How Experience Shapes our Information World at Work, Play and in Everyday Life , Angela Pollak

Watching Storytelling: Visual Information in Oral Narratives , James Ripley

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Africa: Investigating Information Access and Use of Information and Communication Technologies by Women-Owned Enterprises in Zambia , Daniel Mumba

Young adults reflect on the experience of reading comics in contemporary society: Overcoming the commonplace and recognizing complexity , Lucia Cederia Serantes

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Space, Power and the Public Library: A Multicase Examination of the Public Library as Organization Space , Matthew R. Griffis

Knowledge Organization Practices in Everyday Life: Divergent Constructions of Healthy Eating , Jill R. McTavish

Semantics-based Automated Quality Assessment of Depression Treatment Web Documents , Yanjun Zhang

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Making Sense of Document Collections with Map-Based Visualizations , Olga Buchel

A Critical Historical Analysis of the Public Performance Right , Louis J. D'Alton

Intellectual Property and Its Alternatives: Incentives, Innovation and Ideology , Michael B. McNally

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

The Information Practices of People Living with Depression: Constructing Credibility and Authority , Tami Oliphant

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Formatting Guidelines For Theses, Dissertations, and DMA Documents

Guidelines for Formatting Theses, Dissertations, and DMA Documents is intended to help graduate students present the results of their research in the form of a scholarly document.

Before beginning to write a master’s thesis, PhD dissertation, or DMA document, students should read the relevant sections of the Graduate School Handbook, section 7.8 for dissertations and/ or section 6.4 for master’s theses.

Candidates for advanced degrees should also confer with their advisors and members of their graduate studies committees to learn about any special departmental requirements for preparing graduate degree documents.

Members of the graduation services staff at the Graduate School are available to provide information and to review document drafts at any stage of the planning or writing process. While graduation services is responsible for certifying that theses and/or dissertations have been prepared in accordance with Graduate School guidelines, the student bears the ultimate responsibility for meeting these requirements and resolving any related technical and/or software issues . Graduation services will not accept documents if required items are missing or extend deadlines because of miscommunication between the student and the advisor.

Accessibility Features

As of Spring, 2023, all theses and dissertations will need to incorporate the following accessibility features to align with the university’s accessibility policy. When you submit your final document to OhioLINK you will be verifying that accessibility features have been applied.

PDF file includes full text
PDF accessibility permission flag is checked
Text language of the PDF is specified
PDF includes a title

Features and Other Notes

Some features are required, and some are optional. Each component is identified with a major heading unless otherwise noted. The major heading must be centered with a one-inch top margin.

Sample Pages and Templates

Templates are available for use in formatting dissertations, theses, and DMA documents. Please read all instructions before beginning.

Graduate Dissertations and Theses Templates - OSU Login Required

FRONTISPIECE (OPTIONAL)

If used, no heading is included on this page.

TITLE PAGE (REQUIRED)

The title page should include:

the use of title case is recommended
dissertation, DMA. document, or thesis
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree [insert the applicable degree such as Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Musical Arts, Master of Science, etc.] in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
Name of the candidate
Initials of previous earned degrees
insert correct name from program directory
Year of graduation
Dissertation, document, or thesis [select applicable title] committee and committee member names

COPYRIGHT PAGE (REQUIRED)

Notice of copyright is centered in the following format on the page immediately after the title page. This page is not identified with a page number.

ABSTRACT (REQUIRED)

The heading Abstract is centered without punctuation at least one inch from the top of the page. The actual abstract begins four spaces below the heading. See sample pages.

DEDICATION (OPTIONAL)

If used, the dedication must be brief and centered on the page.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

(OPTIONAL, BUT STRONGLY RECOMMENDED)

Either spelling of the word, acknowledgments or acknowledgments, is acceptable. The acknowledgment is a record of the author’s indebtedness and includes notice of permission to use previously copyrighted materials that appear extensively in the text. The heading Acknowledgments is centered without punctuation at least one inch from the top of the page.

VITA (REQUIRED)

Begin the page with the heading Vita, centered, without punctuation, and at least one inch from the top of the page. There are three sections to the vita: biographical information (required), publications (if applicable), and fields of study (required).

There is no subheading used for the biographical information section. In this section, include education and work related to the degree being received.

Use leader dots between the information and dates. The publication section follows. The subheading Publications should be centered and in title case. List only those items published in a book or journal. If there are none, omit the Publication subheading. The final section of the vita is Fields of Study, which is required. Center the subheading and use title case. Two lines below the Fields of Study subheading, place the following statement: Major Field: [insert only the name of your Graduate Program as it reads on the title page] flush left. Any specialization you would like to include is optional and is placed flush left on the lines below Major Field.

TABLE OF CONTENTS (REQUIRED)

The heading Table of Contents (title case preferred) appears without punctuation centered at least one inch from the top of the page. The listing of contents begins at the left margin four spaces below the heading. The titles of all parts, sections, chapter numbers, and chapters are listed and must

be worded exactly as they appear in the body of the document. The table of contents must include any appendices and their titles, if applicable. Use leader dots between the listed items and their page numbers.

LISTS OF ILLUSTRATIONS (REQUIRED IF APPLICABLE)

Lists of illustrations are required if the document contains illustrations. The headings List of Tables , List of Figures , or other appropriate illustration designations (title case preferred) appear centered without punctuation at least one inch from the top of the page. The listing begins at the left margin four spaces below the heading. Illustrations should be identified by the same numbers and captions in their respective lists as they have been assigned in the document itself. Use leader dots between the listed items and their page numbers. See sample pages .

BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES (REQUIRED)

Include a complete bibliography or reference section at the end of the document, before the appendix, even if you have included references at the end of each chapter. You may decide how this section should be titled. The terms References or Bibliography are the most commonly chosen titles. The heading must be centered and at least one inch from the top of the page.

Include this heading in the table of contents.

APPENDICES (REQUIRED IF APPLICABLE)

An appendix, or appendices, must be placed after the bibliography. The heading Appendix (title case preferred) centered at least one inch from the top of the page. Appendices are identified with letters and titles. For example: Appendix A: Data. Include all appendix headers and titles in the table of contents.

Other Notes

Candidates are free to select a style suitable to their discipline as long as it complies with the format and content guidelines given in this publication. Where a style manual conflicts with Graduate School guidelines, the Graduate School guidelines take precedence. Once chosen, the style must remain consistent throughout the document.

Top, bottom, left, and right page margins should all be set at one inch. (Keep in mind that the left margin is the binding edge, so if you want to have a bound copy produced for your personal use, it is recommended that the left margin be 1.5 inches.)

It is recommended that any pages with a major header, such as document title, chapter/major section titles, preliminary page divisions, abstract, appendices, and references at the end of the document be set with a 2-inch top margin for aesthetic purposes and to help the reader identify that a new major section is beginning.

The selected font should be 10 to 12 point and be readable. The font should be consistent throughout the document. Captions, endnotes, footnotes, and long quotations may be slightly smaller than text font, as long as the font is readable.

Double spacing is preferred, but 1.5 spacing (1.5 × the type size) is acceptable for long documents. Single spacing is recommended for bibliography entries, long quotations, long endnotes or footnotes, and long captions. Double spacing between each bibliography entry is recommended.

Each major division of the document, including appendices, must have a title. Titles must be centered and have at least a one inch top margin. The use of title case is recommended. If chapters are being used, they should be numbered and titled. For example: Chapter 1: Introduction. Appendices are identified with letters and titles. For example: Appendix A: Data.

PAGE NUMBERS

Every page must have a page number except the title page and the copyright page. If a frontispiece is included before the title page, it is neither counted nor numbered. The page numbers are centered at the bottom center of the page above the one inch margin. Note: You may need to set the footer margin to 1-inch and the body bottom margin to 1.3 or 1.5- inches to place the page number accurately.

Preliminary pages (abstract, dedication, acknowledgments, vita, table of contents, and the lists of illustrations, figures, etc.) are numbered with small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.). Page numbering begins with the first page of the abstract, and this can be either page i or ii (The title page is technically page i, but the number is not shown on the page).

Arabic numerals are used for the remainder of the document, including the text and the reference material. These pages are numbered consecutively beginning with 1 and continue through the end of the document.

Notation practices differ widely among publications in the sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences. Candidates should confer with their advisors regarding accepted practice in their individual disciplines. That advice should be coupled with careful reference to appropriate general style manuals.

Arabic numerals should be used to indicate a note in the text.
Notes may be numbered in one of two ways: either consecutively throughout the entire manuscript or consecutively within each chapter.
Notes can be placed at the bottom of the page (footnotes) or at the end of a chapter or document (endnotes). Once chosen, the notation style must be consistent throughout the document.
Notes about information within tables should be placed directly below the table to which they apply, not at the bottom of the page along with notes to the text.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Tables, figures, charts, graphs, photos, etc..

Some documents include several types of illustrations. In such cases, it is necessary that each type of illustration (table, figure, chart, etc.) be identified with a different numbering series (Table 1, Table 2, and so on, or Chart 1, Chart 2, and so on). For each series, include a list with captions and page numbers in the preliminary pages (for example, List of Tables, List of Charts, etc.). These lists must be identified with major headings that are centered and placed at the two-inch margin.

Each illustration must be identified with a caption that includes the type of illustration, the number, and a descriptive title (for example, Map 1: Ohio). Numbering may be sequential throughout the document (including the appendix, if applicable) or based on the decimal system (corresponding to the chapter number, such as Map 2.3: Columbus). When using decimal numbering in an appendix, the illustration is given a letter that corresponds with the appendix letter (for example, Figure A.1: Voter Data). Captions can be placed either above or below the illustration, but be consistent with the format throughout the document. If a landscape orientation of the illustration is used, make sure to also orient the illustration number and caption accordingly. The top of the illustration should be placed on the left (binding) edge of the page.

If an illustration is too large to ft on one page it is recommended that you identify the respective pages as being part of one illustration. Using a “continued” notation is one method. For example, the phrase continued is placed under the illustration on the bottom right hand side of the first page. On the following pages, include the illustration type, number, and the word continued at the top left margin; for example, Map 2: Continued. Whatever method you choose just make sure to be consistent. The caption for the illustration should be on the first page, but this does not need repeated on subsequent pages.

If an illustration is placed on a page with text, between the text and the top and/or bottom of the illustration, there must be three single spaced lines or two double spaced lines of blank space. The same spacing rule applies if there are multiple illustrations on the same page. The top/bottom of the illustration includes the caption.

All final Ph.D. dissertations, DMA. documents, and master’s theses are submitted to the Graduate School through OhioLINK at https://etdadmin. ohiolink.edu. The document must be saved in PDF embedded font format (PDF/A) before beginning the upload at OhioLINK. During the submission process, OhioLINK will require an abstract separate from your document. This abstract has a 500-word limit. You will get a confirmation from OhioLINK that the submission is complete. The submission then goes to the Graduate School for review. After it is reviewed by staff of the Graduate School, you will receive an email that it has been accepted or that changes need to be made. If changes are required, you will need to re-submit the revised document via an amended OhioLINK submission. You will receive an “accepted” email from the Graduate School once the document has been approved.

THESIS OR DISSERTATION IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

The Graduate School has no policy specifically permitting graduate degree documents to be written in a foreign language. The practice is allowed as long as it is approved by the student’s advisor and Graduate Studies Committee. Documents in a foreign language must comply with the following requirements:

The title page must be in English, but the title itself may be in the same language as the document.
If the title is in a language using other than Roman characters, it must be transliterated into Roman character equivalents.
The abstract must be in English.
The academic unit must notify the Graduate School of dissertations in a foreign language so that an appropriate graduate faculty representative can be found to participate in the final oral examination

Dissertation and Theses

The dissertation is the hallmark of the research expertise demonstrated by a doctoral student. It is a scholarly contribution to knowledge in the student’s area of specialization.

A thesis is a hallmark of some master’s programs. It is a piece of original research, generally less comprehensive than a dissertation and is meant to show the student’s knowledge of an area of specialization.

Still Have Questions?

Dissertations & Theses 614-292-6031 [email protected]

Doctoral Exams, Master's Examination, Graduation Requirements 614-292-6031 [email protected]

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Dissertations and Theses

Finding dissertations and theses
Resources for writing & submitting a thesis or dissertation

Dissertations and theses as a research tool

Obtaining theses & dissertations written at other institutions, citing dissertations and theses, databases focused on dissertations and theses, sources indexing dissertations and theses, print dissertation indexes and bibliographies.

We can help locate sources, create multimedia components, manage your data, cite sources, answer questions about copyright, and more.

Theses and dissertations can be a valuable source of information for research. They can offer the following benefits:

Just like journal articles, conference proceedings, and other forms of literature, they present original research. Recently completed theses can provide "sneak previews" of ideas and findings that have yet to reach the public via other publication formats.
They may be the only publicly-available work by authors who do not otherwise publish for general audiences or through commercial publishers.
They contain extensive bibliographies.
They provide inspiration for the formatting and presentation of ideas, graphs, charts, and other components of a document.
They provide insight into the early work of a particular person and have value for historical and biographical purposes.

Want to borrow a thesis or dissertation written at another institution that isn't available in full text online ? Request it via ILLIAD , Tufts' interlibrary loan service. Choose the "Thesis" request form and provide as much descriptive information as you can. Not all theses or dissertations are available or loanable, but we'll try to find you a copy!

Some other ways you might be able to find a copy of an older dissertation:

If you can identify the author's institutional affiliation, visit that institution's webpage to see if they catalog or archive students' dissertations.

Contact the author. Some authors will post all or some of their dissertation on their website or have journal articles or other publications which draw heavily on this work.

Search the author's name and/or thesis title in full-text journal databases which include article references. These citations may provide clues as to how to locate the document.

Contact your subject librarian for assistance.

As with journal articles, books, and other sources, theses and dissertations must be properly cited in any document that references them. Most citation styles, including APA, Chicago, and MLA, provide specific instructions for formatting these citations. Citation Management tools, such as EndNote and Zotero, automatically format references for these sources in your selected citation style. More information is in the Citing Sources guide.

Although requirements for citing dissertations vary according by style, they generally seek to convey the following information: that the item is a dissertation (rather than an article or a book); the type of degree it resulted in (master's, PhD, etc); whether it was published; and which institution granted the degree. An example of a citation for a dissertation is presented here in four major citation styles:

APA: Miaoulis, I. N. (1987). Experimental investigation of turbulence spectra of charge density fluctuations in the equilibrium range. Unpublished Ph.D., Tufts University, United States -- Massachusetts.
Chicago: Miaoulis, Ioannis Nikolaos. "Experimental Investigation of Turbulence Spectra of Charge Density Fluctuations in the Equilibrium Range." Ph.D., Tufts University, 1987.
IEEE: [1] I. N. Miaoulis, "Experimental investigation of turbulence spectra of charge density fluctuations in the equilibrium range," United States -- Massachusetts: Tufts University, 1987, p. 98.
MLA: Miaoulis, Ioannis Nikolaos. "Experimental Investigation of Turbulence Spectra of Charge Density Fluctuations in the Equilibrium Range." Ph.D. Tufts University, 1987.

The following sources focus primarily or exclusively on theses and dissertations; some provide direct access to full-text.

DART-Europe E-theses Portal "A partnership of research libraries and library consortia who are working together to improve global access to European research theses."
Dissertations & Theses: Full Text Comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses worldwide. Of the over 2 million titles in the database, more than 930,000 are available in PDF format for free download. Those that aren't freely available can be ordered from within the database.
DSpace@MIT Over 25,000 theses and dissertations from all MIT departments completed as far back as the mid 1800's. Note that this is NOT a complete collection of MIT theses.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) Search engine for graduate papers completed at universities both in America and abroad.
Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD) Open access (OA) theses and dissertations from institutions worldwide.
Ethos Service from the British Library for reading and ordering theses produced by students in the United Kingdom.
Theses Canada Theses from over 60 Canadian universities, going back to 1965.
Shodhganga@INFLIBNET Centre Digital repository of theses and dissertations from universities in India.

In the following subject-specific databases, the Advance Search option enables filtering by dissertation as the document type.

American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies Sources on East-Central Europe and the former Soviet Union.
ARTbibliographies Modern Sources on all forms of modern and contemporary art.
EconLit Economic literature.
Engineering Village For literature on all engineering disciplines.
PsycInfo Sources on psychology and related disciplines.
Sociological Abstracts For the literature on sociology.
SPORTDiscus with Full Text Sources on sport, physical fitness, and physical education.
World Shakespeare Bibliography Sources on materials published since 1971 related to Shakespeare.

A number of indexes and bibliographies of dissertations have been published, primarily in print format. These often focus on specific historical eras, geographic regions, or topics.

Dissertation Indexes in the Tufts Catalog
Dissertation Indexes in WorldCat
Dissertation Indexes in Google Books
<< Previous: Resources for writing & submitting a thesis or dissertation
Last Updated: Aug 6, 2024 4:21 PM
URL: https://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/theses

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Knowledge Base
Dissertation

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

A dissertation is a long-form piece of academic writing based on original research conducted by you. It is usually submitted as the final step in order to finish a PhD program.

Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you’ve ever completed. It requires solid research, writing, and analysis skills, and it can be intimidating to know where to begin.

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

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

Download Word template Download Google Docs template

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dissertation examples

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

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

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

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

Your abstract should:

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

Theoretical framework

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

Checklist: Dissertation

My title page includes all information required by my university.

I have included acknowledgements thanking those who helped me.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I have concisely and objectively reported all relevant results .

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

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

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

I have provided relevant recommendations for further research or practice.

If relevant, I have included appendices with supplemental information.

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

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

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

I have followed all formatting guidelines provided by my university.

Congratulations!

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

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

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Princeton University Library

Senior thesis submission guidelines.

The information on this page will help you submit senior theses to the University's repository. Information found here is for students submitting their own senior thesis, and academic departments. If you have questions about the submission process, please feel free to contact us through the online form on the Ask Special Collections page.

Senior Thesis Submission Guidelines for Students

Thesis central - general information.

Thesis Central is a system that allows students to upload senior thesis files for retrieval by their home department (and certificate program, if applicable) and from which the files will be transmitted to the University Archives.
All students, except those whose thesis work is in the form of a performance or exhibition, should upload their thesis file (or files) to Thesis Central.
Thesis Central will be available for student submissions starting in March 25th, 2024 thru the 2024 Dean's date, May 7th, 2024. To access the site, go to the Princeton Thesis Central homepage and login with your NetID.
Allow roughly 20 minutes to complete the upload process.
Note: be sure to check with your home department for additional requirements regarding submission of senior theses, such as the submission of bound or unbound paper copies.

Thesis Central - Step-by-Step Instructions

This page lists a student's active submissions. Each student will have one in progress submission in the first row of the table. To submit your senior thesis, click the "Continue" button.
You should only click on "Start a new submission" if you made an error in your initial submission and need to resubmit your thesis, or if you are submitting two different senior theses, such as one for your home department, and a different thesis for a certificate program.
If you are resubmitting your thesis due to an error in your first submission, you should notify the undergraduate administrator that you are doing so.
Note: All submissions are timestamped to ensure that you are meeting your departmental deadline.

Student Information

Verify the information that is displayed. If your name, email address, or department is incorrect, notify us through the form on the Ask Special Collections page.
If your home department is not displayed, choose your department from the dropdown box.

Senior Thesis Type

In this section, most students should choose "Home Department Thesis."
Only choose "Certificate Program Thesis" if you wrote two different senior theses (one for your home department and one for a certificate program) and you are in the process of submitting your certificate program thesis.
This choice is typically only used for students who are in the Creative Writing Program and have written a separate thesis for that program.
If you have written one senior thesis that fulfills requirements for your home department as well as a certificate program, you should choose “Home Department Thesis.” You will have the opportunity to record the certificate program to which your thesis relates in a later step.

You must agree to the honor code statement in order to complete your submission.

On this page you will enter information about your senior thesis.

Title and Abstract

Enter your thesis title into the title field. If your thesis has an abstract, copy and paste it from your PDF. The abstract field is optional; if your thesis does not have one, leave the field blank.
If your title or abstract has special characters, see the section below on LaTex Instructions.

Multi-author

Is this a multi-author thesis?
If you are the sole author of the thesis, select "No."
If you collaborated on your thesis with others select "Yes."
If you are submitting a multi-author thesis, your senior thesis file must include all coauthors’ names; and you and your coauthors must agree on an access level. Access levels are explained on Office of Undergraduate Research Thesis Archive webpage .

Certificate Program

If your thesis fulfills requirements for your home department as well as a Certificate Program, choose the program from the list.
If this thesis fulfills requirements for more than one program, record the first certificate program in Thesis Central and use this Google form to record any additional certificate programs. If you have questions contact [email protected] .

Your Adviser/s

If your adviser is not listed, enter their name in the fields provided. Please use the form of name found in the Princeton University Directory . For example, “Anthony T. Grafton” instead of “Tony Grafton.”
If you were advised by multiple faculty members, you may add additional adviser names.
In this step you will upload your senior thesis file. Optionally, you may upload additional supplementary files that will be available along with your document after publication.
In the Thesis Central system, the primary senior thesis document must be a PDF. To upload your thesis, click on the Browse button to find the file on your device, and then, once chosen, click on the Upload button to save the file to the server.
If your senior thesis submission does not include a PDF, you can upload a placeholder_file.pdf file in the Upload Primary Document section. You can then proceed to upload other file types in the Upload Additional Files section.

Large files

The size limit for each individual file uploaded to Thesis Central is 1 GB. If your main PDF file exceeds 1 GB, you must upload the placeholder_file.pdf file so that you can complete your submission. You should then email [email protected] and your undergraduate administrator to let us know that you have taken this step. We will work with you to obtain your file through other means.
There is no limit on the number of supplementary files you may upload, though total of all files must not exceed 4 GB. Executable files (.exe) are not allowed.

Below is a list of preferred file types for supplementary files:

Audio files: MP3 format (.mp3)
Video files: MP4 format (.mp4), and encoded in H.264/MPEG-4 compression format. See Video Compression Instructions for H.264/MPEG-4 format
Still images that are separate from a PDF: JPEG (.jpg), JPEG2000 (.jp2), or TIFF (.tif) format
Websites: see our Guidelines for Designing Preservation-Friendly Websites . Students whose entire senior thesis project is a website should complete a submission in Thesis Central using the placeholder.pdf file (entering the thesis title, abstract (if applicable), and adviser names) and contact [email protected] to discuss options for capturing the website.
On the confirm and submit page, you will see all of the information that pertains to your thesis. You can edit any of the information that you supplied by clicking on the edit links, such as “edit your senior thesis information.” You can also view the file/s that you uploaded by clicking on the file links. You can change the file that you have uploaded by clicking on the “edit your uploaded files” link.
Once you hit Confirm and Submit you will no longer be able to make edits to this submission. If you find that you have made an error in your submission, you should create a new submission with the correct information, and contact your undergraduate administrator explaining the reason that you have multiple submissions.
Your senior thesis will be added to the Princeton University Archives' senior thesis digital archive hosted by Dataspace . This resource enables Princeton students, faculty, and staff and other authorized users of Princeton University's computing network to access copies of senior theses online. Senior theses are not freely accessible online outside of the Princeton computing network.
The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) offers options for students to further restrict their theses. Visit the OUR webpage on the digital archiving of senior theses for complete details. If you have questions about these options, please contact [email protected] .
To make a restricted access request, complete and submit a Restricted Access Form to the Office of the Dean of the College by 11:55 p.m. on commencement day. More information can be found on the Thesis Archive on the Office for Undergraduate Research webpage.

If you have mathematical formulae or scientific expressions in your title or abstract that you cannot create using your keyboard, we ask you to use some basic LaTeX markup in the senior thesis submission site so that the characters will display properly in our digital repository. In most cases, the characters that need encoding are subscripts and superscripts, arrows and other symbols, and letters of the Greek alphabet. In order to display these characters, you must create an expression that begins and ends with the following tags: $ and $, and then insert the code for the character or symbol within the tags.

See these common examples:

Subscript: Na$_{2}$ displays as Na 2
Superscript: Na$^{2}$ displays as Na 2
Left facing arrow: $\leftarrow$ displays as ←
Greek letter Delta: $\Delta$ displays as Δ

To find the code you need, see the ShareLaTeX website , especially in their documentation of superscripts and subscripts (see the Reference Guide section), and their library of codes for symbols and Greek letters. Another helpful site is the LaTeX Wikibooks page. The Senior Thesis Submission Site contains a preview page to test how your markup will display before you enter it into the submission form.

If you have trouble with your markup, make a note in the comments of the submission form and submit your thesis. It is more important to submit your thesis on time than to have the markup exactly right!

Senior Thesis Submission Information for Academic Departments

Senior theses in the university archives.

The University Archives in the Seeley G. Mudd Library is Princeton University’s central repository for senior theses submitted in fulfillment of undergraduate degree requirements. Each senior is required to submit a copy of their thesis to the University Archives as prescribed on the policies and resources website for Undergraduate Announcements under the section "Independent Work." The Senior Thesis Collection consists of more than 73,000 theses and serves as an important resource for undergraduate research.

Since the early 1990s, the academic departments have partnered with the University Archives to ensure that all senior theses are submitted for degree fulfillment are represented in the University Archives.

Instructions for collecting, reviewing and approving senior theses for the University Archives are available in the upper-right of this page, under "Downloadable documents."

The Thesis Central website portal opens for submissions beginning on March 25, 2024.

Thesis Central open to submissions March 25, 2024
Last day for students to submit to Thesis Central is May 7, 2024 (Dean's Date)
Review and approvals must be complete by June 24, 2024
Senior Theses are published in DataSpace between late June and prior to the start of the fall semester

Thesis Central is the online system that acadmic departments use to collect senior theses from students. The Thesis Central website allows students to upload senior thesis files for retrieval by their home department and from which the files will be transmitted to the University Archives.

In addition, Thesis Central :

Replaces the need to collect senior theses from students via email or Blackboard
Enables tracking of which students have or have not submitted their files
Allows downloading and sharing of theses with faculty
Provides a way to make a list of students and thesis titles
Offers a simple review and approve process for transmitting theses to the University Archives

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 .

Dissertation structure and layout - the basics

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.

A dissertation's structure reflect the research process

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?

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 ...

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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Librarianship Studies & Information Technology blog thanks, Sandra K. Roe (Sandy Roe) , chief editor, Cataloging & Classification Quarterly journal for suggesting some useful resources included in this list. This article is inspired by her vision of a compilation of a bibliography of research works (dissertations and theses) in the field of library cataloging, classification, and metadata.
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Sandra K. Roe (Sandy Roe), Librarian, Illinois State University, Editor, Cataloging & Classification Quarterly [July 17, 2016, e-mail] -- Wow. This is an amazing compilation, complete with search instructions - and such a great idea to solicit other sources from the community. Brilliant!
Stephen Abram, Librarian and principal with Lighthouse Consulting Inc., and executive director of the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries [August 1, 2016, in his blog Stephen's Lighthouse] - Great list of sources – fee and free.

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The JNU library has over 22,000 theses and dissertations, which belongs to Humanities, Social Sciences & Sciences discipline awarded by the University and its affiliated Institutes. The collection contains approximately 19,000 unique theses and dissertation titles. The Library has digitised all M.Phil/Ph.D. Theses covering over 30 lacs pages and the metadata has been captured as per MARC21 standard. The full text of M.Phil./Ph.D. Theses and Dissertations can be access through JNU Web-OPAC on the intranet. For any information please contact Mr. Amar Professional assistant Ph:011-26704543

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Creating an Effective Thesis Outline: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Creating a thesis outline might seem like a big job, but it makes the whole writing process a lot easier. This guide will show you each step to make a good thesis outline. From understanding why you need an outline to avoiding common mistakes, this article will help you stay organized and focused. By following these steps, you can make a strong outline that will guide your research and writing.

Key Takeaways

A thesis outline helps you organize your thoughts and makes the writing process smoother.
Start with initial research to find key themes and questions for your thesis.
Structure your outline logically to ensure a clear flow of ideas.
Revise your outline regularly to make sure it stays relevant and focused.
Avoid common pitfalls like overloading with information or ignoring feedback.

Understanding the Purpose of a Thesis Outline

Creating a thesis outline is a crucial step in the academic writing process. It serves as a roadmap for your research , helping you organize your thoughts and structure your work logically . This section will delve into the purpose of a thesis outline, its importance in academic writing , and how it guides the research process.

Preliminary Steps Before Creating a Thesis Outline

Student planning thesis with papers and laptop

Before diving into the creation of your thesis outline, it's essential to take some preliminary steps. These steps will lay a solid foundation for your research and ensure that your outline is both comprehensive and effective.

Structuring Your Thesis Outline

Creating a well-organized thesis outline is crucial for a successful thesis. It helps you structure your thoughts and ensures a logical flow of information. Here are the key steps to structuring your thesis outline effectively :

Choosing the Right Format

Selecting the appropriate format for your thesis outline is the first step. Common formats include alphanumeric, decimal, and full-sentence outlines. Choose a format that best suits your research and writing style. This decision will guide the organization of your major sections and sub-sections.

Organizing Major Sections

Divide your thesis into major sections such as the introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. Each section should have a clear purpose and contribute to your overall thesis argument. Use headings and subheadings to break down each section into manageable parts.

Ensuring Logical Flow

A logical flow is essential for maintaining the reader's interest and understanding. Arrange your sections and sub-sections in a way that naturally progresses from one idea to the next. This will help you build a coherent argument and make your thesis more persuasive.

By following these steps, you can create a structured and effective thesis outline that will serve as a roadmap for your research and writing process.

Developing the Introduction Section

Crafting a compelling opening.

Your introduction should grab the reader's attention right from the start. Use a hook, such as a surprising fact or a thought-provoking question, to draw them in. This section sets the stage for your entire thesis, so make it engaging and relevant.

Presenting the Research Question

Clearly state the research question your thesis aims to answer. This question will guide your entire study and keep you focused. Make sure it is specific and researchable.

Outlining the Scope and Objectives

Provide an overview of the scope of your research. Explain what you will cover and what you will not. This helps set clear boundaries for your study. Additionally, outline the main objectives you aim to achieve with your research. Setting clear objectives will help you stay on track and ensure your research is focused and relevant.

Outlining the Literature Review

Colorful thesis outline with literature review highlighted.

Summarizing Existing Research

When outlining your literature review , start by summarizing the existing research related to your topic. This involves gathering and synthesizing information from various sources, such as books, journal articles, and online databases. A well-summarized literature review provides a comprehensive overview of what has been done in your field and highlights the key findings and methodologies used by other researchers.

Identifying Research Gaps

After summarizing the existing research, the next step is to identify the gaps in the literature. These gaps represent areas where further research is needed and can help you position your study within the broader academic context. Look for questions that have not been answered or areas that have not been explored in depth. Identifying these gaps will not only justify the need for your research but also guide your research questions and objectives.

Establishing Theoretical Frameworks

Finally, establish the theoretical frameworks that will underpin your study. This involves selecting and discussing the theories and models that are relevant to your research topic. The theoretical framework provides a foundation for your study and helps to explain the relationships between different variables. By clearly outlining the theoretical frameworks, you can ensure that your research is grounded in established knowledge and contributes to the ongoing academic discourse.

Detailing the Methodology

Selecting research methods.

Choosing the right research methods is crucial for the success of your thesis. Start by deciding whether your study will be qualitative, quantitative, or a mix of both. Qualitative methods often include interviews and observations, while quantitative methods might involve surveys and experiments. Your choice should align with your research objectives and the type of data you need to collect.

Justifying Methodological Choices

Once you have selected your methods, it's important to justify why these methods are appropriate for your study. Explain how they will help you answer your research questions and achieve your objectives. This step is vital for gaining approval from stakeholders and ensuring the success of your project.

Describing Data Collection and Analysis

Detail the process of data collection and analysis . Describe the tools and techniques you will use, such as surveys, interviews, or software for data analysis. Make sure to explain how you will ensure the reliability and validity of your data. This section should provide a clear roadmap of how you will gather and interpret your data, ensuring that your research is both credible and replicable.

Presenting Research Findings

Organizing data logically.

When presenting your research findings, it's crucial to organize your data in a logical manner. This can be done by structuring your findings around key questions, hypotheses, or the overall structure of your study. Clear organization helps your audience understand your results without confusion. Consider using tables to present quantitative data succinctly.

Highlighting Key Results

Focus on the most significant results of your research. Highlight these key findings to ensure they stand out to your readers. This not only emphasizes the importance of your work but also makes it easier for others to grasp the core contributions of your study. Remember, clarity is essential in effective communication.

Using Visual Aids Effectively

Visual aids such as charts, graphs, and tables can greatly enhance the presentation of your research findings. They provide a visual representation of your data, making complex information more accessible. Ensure that your visual aids are well-labeled and directly related to the findings you are discussing. This will help in stripping the dread from data interpretation for your audience.

Analyzing and Discussing Results

Interpreting findings.

When you interpret your findings, you need to connect your analysis to your research questions and hypotheses. This involves making sense of statistical significance and drawing meaningful conclusions. Interpreting your findings helps you understand the broader implications of your research and how it contributes to the existing body of knowledge.

Comparing with Existing Literature

To provide context for your results, compare them with similar studies mentioned in your literature review. Highlight whether your findings align with or differ from previous research. This comparison can help validate your results and show how your work fits into the larger academic conversation.

Discussing Implications

Discuss the broader implications of your findings. Consider how they impact your field of study and what they mean for future research. This section should also address any limitations of your study and suggest areas for further investigation. By doing so, you demonstrate the significance of your research and its potential to influence future work.

Concluding Your Thesis

Summarizing key points.

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key points of your research. This involves revisiting the main arguments and findings discussed in your thesis. By doing so, you provide a clear and concise overview of your work, ensuring that the reader understands the significance of your research.

Restating the Thesis Statement

Restate your thesis statement in a fresh way , reflecting on how your research has supported or challenged it. This is crucial for reinforcing the main idea of your thesis and demonstrating how your work contributes to the broader field of study. Remember, a well-restated thesis can leave a lasting impression on your readers.

Suggesting Areas for Future Research

Finally, suggest areas for future research. Identify any gaps or limitations in your study and propose how future research can address these issues. This not only highlights the importance of your work but also encourages further exploration and development in your field.

Revising and Refining the Outline

Seeking feedback.

Before finalizing your thesis outline, it's crucial to seek feedback from your advisor or peers. They can provide valuable insights and identify areas that may need improvement. Don't hesitate to ask for their opinions on the structure and content of your outline. This step ensures that your outline is clear and logical.

Making Necessary Adjustments

After receiving feedback, take the time to make necessary adjustments. This may involve reorganizing sections, adding or removing content, or clarifying certain points. A reverse outline can be particularly helpful in this stage. It involves outlining an existing draft to assess its structure and coherence. This technique allows you to see if your ideas flow logically and if any sections need further development.

Ensuring Cohesion and Coherence

Finally, ensure that your outline is cohesive and coherent. Each section should connect logically to the next, and your main points should be clearly articulated. Use a checklist to verify that your outline meets these criteria. This step is essential for creating a well-structured thesis that effectively communicates your research findings.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Overloading with information.

One common mistake is trying to include too much information. This can make your thesis overwhelming and difficult to follow. Focus on the most relevant data and arguments to support your thesis statement. Remember, quality over quantity is key.

Lack of Clear Focus

A thesis that lacks a clear focus can confuse readers and weaken your argument. Make sure your thesis statement is specific and that each section of your outline directly supports it. Staying focused will help you create a more compelling and coherent thesis.

Ignoring Feedback

Feedback from advisors and peers is invaluable. Ignoring it can lead to missed opportunities for improvement. Take the time to consider and incorporate constructive criticism . This will not only enhance the quality of your thesis but also help you grow as a researcher.

Writing a thesis can be tricky, and many students fall into common traps. Don't let stress and confusion hold you back. Our step-by-step Thesis Action Plan is here to guide you through every stage. Ready to make your thesis journey smoother? Visit our website to learn more and get started today!

Creating an effective thesis outline is a vital step in the thesis writing process. It helps you organize your thoughts, stay focused, and ensure that your research is thorough and well-structured. By breaking down your thesis into manageable sections, you can tackle each part with confidence and clarity. Remember, a well-crafted outline not only makes the writing process smoother but also enhances the overall quality of your thesis. Stay dedicated, seek guidance when needed, and take pride in your progress. With a solid outline, you are well on your way to producing a compelling and academically rigorous thesis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do i need a thesis outline.

A thesis outline helps you organize your ideas and ensures your writing is structured and focused. It breaks your project into smaller, manageable parts, making the writing process faster and less stressful.

What should I do before creating a thesis outline?

Before creating a thesis outline, conduct initial research, identify key themes and questions, and set clear objectives for your study.

How should I structure my thesis outline?

Your thesis outline should include the major sections: introduction, literature review, methodology, research findings, discussion, and conclusion. Ensure each section flows logically into the next.

What is the best way to start the introduction section?

Start your introduction with a compelling opening, present your research question, and outline the scope and objectives of your thesis.

How do I organize the literature review?

Organize your literature review by summarizing existing research, identifying research gaps, and establishing theoretical frameworks relevant to your study.

What should I include in the methodology section?

In the methodology section, describe your research methods, justify your methodological choices, and explain how you collected and analyzed your data.

How can I present my research findings effectively?

Present your research findings by organizing data logically, highlighting key results, and using visual aids like charts and graphs to make the information clear and engaging.

What should I do if I get stuck while writing my thesis?

If you get stuck, take a break, seek feedback from peers or advisors, and revisit your outline to ensure your thesis remains focused and coherent.

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EBSCO Open Dissertations makes electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) more accessible to researchers worldwide. The free portal is designed to benefit universities and their students and make ETDs more discoverable.

Increasing Discovery & Usage of ETD Research

With EBSCO Open Dissertations, institutions are offered an innovative approach to driving additional traffic to ETDs in institutional repositories. Our goal is to help make their students’ theses and dissertations as widely visible and cited as possible.

EBSCO Open Dissertations extends the work started in 2014, when EBSCO and the H.W. Wilson Foundation created American Doctoral Dissertations which contained indexing from the H.W. Wilson print publication, Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities, 1933-1955. In 2015, the H.W. Wilson Foundation agreed to support the expansion of the scope of the American Doctoral Dissertations database to include records for dissertations and theses from 1955 to the present.

How Does EBSCO Open Dissertations Work?

Libraries can add theses and dissertations to the database, making them freely available to researchers everywhere while increasing traffic to their institutional repository. ETD metadata is harvested via OAI and integrated into EBSCO’s platform, where pointers send traffic to the institution's IR.

EBSCO integrates this data into their current subscriber environments and makes the data available on the open web via opendissertations.org .

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Within dissertations and theses is a wealth of scholarship, yet it is often overlooked because most go unpublished. Uncover new ideas and innovations with more confidence and efficiency. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global delivers a focused path for researchers by tapping into a global network of connected research.

Dissertation references can be a treasure trove for obscure topics, here students discover shorter works like articles.

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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) Global provides visibility of cutting-edge research from the world’s premier universities.

ProQuest’s vast collection of >5.5million post graduate dissertations and theses now discoverable on Web of Science

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global with the Web of Science™ enables researchers to seamlessly uncover early career, post-graduate research in the form of more than 5.5 million dissertations and theses from over 4,100 institutions from more than 60 countries, alongside journal articles, conference proceedings, research data, books, preprints and patents.

The integration and introduction of the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index , eliminates the need for researchers to search multiple databases, allowing them to streamline their workflow and focus more on their academic success and research advancements.

To further enhance accessibility, direct full text linking from the Web of Science to the ProQuest platform is available for joint subscribers of the Web of Science and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

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Provides credible research on unique, niche, and trending topics, often not published elsewhere
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UNCOVER the value of dissertations

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Progressing STEM Studies with a Critical Primary Research Source

Author, Technologist, and Doctoral Student, Ida Joiner shares her story on leveraging dissertations to engage with current trends, cite a comprehensive foundation and build towards her own research goals.

Avoiding Bias by Starting at the Source

Dr. Terri D. Pigott, Ph.D., of the School of Public Health at the College of Education, Georgia State University, on Avoiding Bias by Starting at the Source.

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Professor Terri Pigott Ph.D. discusses the expectations she presents to her students on meta-analysis and unbiased research requirements and how the use of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global helps to ensure that comprehensive data sets are included in new research outputs.

Using Dissertations as a Primary Source

Student researcher and published author Ida Joiner discusses how she uses ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global as a core resource that helps her to build towards her own research goals.

Improving Diversity in Curriculum by Uncovering Unheard Voices

Psychology Professors and Research Scientists come together to build a course and write a supplemental text for Psychology curriculum emphasizing the dissertations by women of color prior to 1980, filling research gaps in the early history of psychology.

The Erasure of Drag Contribution in Performance History

Dr. Lady J, Ph.D., documents the historical impact, influence, contributions that drag performers have made to politics, music, film, fashion, and popular culture in her dissertation. Her goal is to document and make this history available for broad educational outreach.

Text and Data Mining Projects

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is one of the most requested data-sets for text and data mining because of its broad historic to present-day coverage and deep and comprehensive data results found in the full-text records. TDM Studio can be used alongside PQDT to easily and efficiently extract data and analyze it. See the list below for articles and projects published by scholars who used ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global data:

TDM Studio ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Case Studies
Mapping Research Trends with ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (Univ. North Carolina)
Indiana University using Dissertations Data for Research
ProQuest Dissertation Database Provides Critical Information for Research Projects Across the US
City University of New York

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Trends in the Evolution of Research and Doctoral Education

Bruce A. Weinberg, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Public Affairs from The Ohio State University shares how text and data mining of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global allows researchers to understand doctoral career trajectory patterns.

Improving Graduate Student Outcomes

Dr. Jearl (Ken) Helvey, Assistant Professor of Education – Doctoral Program at Texas Wesleyan University on how incorporating dissertations into the curriculum improved the doctoral student success at Texas Wesleyan University.

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Dissertations and theses
Those doctoral dissertations still in Wilson Library (which in all cases should be 1980 or later and will have "MnU-D" numbers) are located in the central section of the third floor. Those master's theses in Wilson (which in all cases will be 1997 or later and will have "MnU-M" numbers) are also located in the central section of the third floor.
Creating a Thesis for Your Research Paper
Develop a position or make an argument about your narrowed, researched topic. Your thesis needs to be arguable and specific, so you will want to make sure that your thesis statement displays a position or argument about your topic. Your argument should be based on the supporting evidence you have found in the research gathering phase.
Dissertations and Theses: A Finding Guide: Introduction
Dissertation is used to describe doctoral-level work. Find out whether the document desired is a dissertation, a master's thesis, or an undergraduate (usually honors) thesis. Different types require different search strategies. Dissertations and theses may be available as printed loose-leaf or bound manuscripts, on microfilm, or digitized ...
Theses and Dissertations
A thesis is a long-term, large project that involves both research and writing; it is easy to lose focus, motivation, and momentum. Here are suggestions for achieving the result you want in the time you have. The dissertation is probably the largest project you have undertaken, and a lot of the work is self-directed.
Chapter and Section Numbering
While the context of this Guide is dissertations, the many useful features described here will also help you format research papers, conference abstracts, journal articles, and other complex documents. ... click the Multilevel List icon and select the one with the words Chapter 1 in it from the List Library section. If you need subsections ...
Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETDs)
An electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD) is a digital version of a thesis or dissertation that will be deposited in the JScholarship repository managed by the Sheridan Libraries and be available online to the public. Universities and colleges in the United States and abroad have been moving toward this type of publication for the past decade.
Library and Information Science Theses and Dissertations
Theses/Dissertations from 2012 PDF. Making Sense of Document Collections with Map-Based Visualizations, Olga Buchel. PDF. A Critical Historical Analysis of the Public Performance Right, Louis J. D'Alton. PDF. Intellectual Property and Its Alternatives: Incentives, Innovation and Ideology, Michael B. McNally. Theses/Dissertations from 2010 PDF
How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Introduction
How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Introduction. Published on September 7, 2022 by Tegan George and Shona McCombes. Revised on November 21, 2023. The introduction is the first section of your thesis or dissertation, appearing right after the table of contents.Your introduction draws your reader in, setting the stage for your research with a clear focus, purpose, and direction on a relevant ...
What Is a Thesis?
Revised on April 16, 2024. A thesis is a type of research paper based on your original research. It is usually submitted as the final step of a master's program or a capstone to a bachelor's degree. Writing a thesis can be a daunting experience. Other than a dissertation, it is one of the longest pieces of writing students typically complete.
Formatting Guidelines For Theses, Dissertations, and DMA Documents
Guidelines for Formatting Theses, Dissertations, and DMA Documents is intended to help graduate students present the results of their research in the form of a scholarly document. Before beginning to write a master's thesis, PhD dissertation, or DMA document, students should read the relevant sections of the Graduate School Handbook, section ...
Dissertations and theses as a research tool
Although requirements for citing dissertations vary according by style, they generally seek to convey the following information: that the item is a dissertation (rather than an article or a book); the type of degree it resulted in (master's, PhD, etc); whether it was published; and which institution granted the degree. An example of a citation ...
What Is a Dissertation?
A dissertation is a long-form piece of academic writing based on original research conducted by you. It is usually submitted as the final step in order to finish a PhD program. Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you've ever completed. It requires solid research, writing, and analysis skills, and it can be intimidating ...
Senior Thesis Submission Guidelines
Each senior is required to submit a copy of their thesis to the University Archives as prescribed on the policies and resources website for Undergraduate Announcements under the section "Independent Work.". The Senior Thesis Collection consists of more than 73,000 theses and serves as an important resource for undergraduate research.
Dissertation Structure & Layout 101 (+ Examples)
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: Title page. Acknowledgments page. Abstract (or executive summary) Table of contents, list of figures and tables.
Library and Information Science Dissertations and Theses
This entry Library and Information Science Dissertations and Theses is expected to be the most comprehensive listing of sources of information on LIS dissertations and theses.It will enable LIS researchers with wider dissemination of information leading to improved referral and citation. It will not only bring more visibility and greater recognition to the researchers and their work but also ...
Computer Science Library Research Guide
How to search for Harvard dissertations. DASH, Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, is the university's central, open-access repository for the scholarly output of faculty and the broader research community at Harvard.Most Ph.D. dissertations submitted from March 2012 forward are available online in DASH.; Check HOLLIS, the Library Catalog, and refine your results by using the Advanced ...
Theses and Dissertations
The JNU library has over 22,000 theses and dissertations, which belongs to Humanities, Social Sciences & Sciences discipline awarded by the University and its affiliated Institutes. The collection contains approximately 19,000 unique theses and dissertation titles. The Library has digitised all M.Phil/Ph.D. Theses covering over 30 lacs pages ...
Creating an Effective Thesis Outline: A Step-by-Step Guide
This section will delve into the purpose of a thesis outline, its importance in academic writing, and how it guides the research process. Preliminary Steps Before Creating a Thesis Outline. Before diving into the creation of your thesis outline, it's essential to take some preliminary steps.
Dissertations
Over the last 80 years, ProQuest has built the world's most comprehensive and renowned dissertations program. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (PQDT Global), continues to grow its repository of 5 million graduate works each year, thanks to the continued contribution from the world's universities, creating an ever-growing resource of emerging research to fuel innovation and new insights.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) is an online database that indexes, abstracts, and provides full-text access to dissertations and theses.The database includes over 2.4 million records and covers 1637 to the present. [1] [2] It is produced by ProQuest and was formerly known as ProQuest Digital Dissertations.The bibliographic database (without full-text dissertations) is known as ...
Open Access Theses
CAS DSpcase Thesis. The College of Arts and Sciences eTheses Repository is a web-based service for the management and dissemination of electronic theses and dissertations. The system also provides self-archiving, and access for global visibility of the college scholarly research and to store and preserve other digital assets.
EBSCO Open Dissertations
EBSCO Open Dissertations makes electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) more accessible to researchers worldwide. The free portal is designed to benefit universities and their students and make ETDs more discoverable. Content Includes: 1,500,000 electronic theses and dissertations. 320 worldwide universities that have loaded their ...
Library Guide: Theses & Dissertation Collection: Home
Finding Theses. Copies of all University of Malaya PhD and Masters theses are held in the Minda Hall, Level II of the Main Library. All theses are catalogued and have an entry in Pendeta Discovery. UM Students' Repository - Provides an online archive for the written work of University of Malaya students such as academic exercises, dissertations ...
Dissertation examples
Dissertation examples. Listed below are some of the best examples of research projects and dissertations from undergraduate and taught postgraduate students at the University of Leeds We have not been able to gather examples from all schools. The module requirements for research projects may have changed since these examples were written.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global with the Web of Science™ enables researchers to seamlessly uncover early career, post-graduate research in the form of more than 5.5 million dissertations and theses from over 4,100 institutions from more than 60 countries, alongside journal articles, conference proceedings, research data, books, preprints and patents.

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Circulating copies of master's theses:

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Dissertations and Theses: A Finding Guide: Introduction

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Formatting Guidelines For Theses, Dissertations, and DMA Documents

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FRONTISPIECE (OPTIONAL)

TITLE PAGE (REQUIRED)

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ABSTRACT (REQUIRED)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS (REQUIRED)

LISTS OF ILLUSTRATIONS (REQUIRED IF APPLICABLE)

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