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How to write a Dissertation
Suliman Al-Hawamdeh
Division of Information Studies
Nanyang Technological University
I realize that you don’t know much about research and
writing dissertations. But tell you what, we better start
now before it is too late…
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
LOVE IT or Hate IT
I love writing
I love researching
I learn to write and I write to learn
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
How shall I torture you today. Put you in boiling oil
or …….. hmm…I think I make you write a
dissertation..
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Getting Started
• Research Topic
• Research Proposal
• Literature Review
• Method, Procedure and Analysis
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Getting Started
Avoid this type of Jargon
• "bad", "good", "nice", "terrible", "stupid"
A scientific dissertation does not make moral
judgments
• "perfect"
Nothing is perfect.
• "an ideal solution"
You're judging again
• "lots of, kind of, type of, something like”
vague & colloquial
• "actually, really"
define terms precisely to eliminate the need to
clarify
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Style and Structure
• It is recommended that you follow certain convention
to facilitate the writing process and make your
dissertation readable.
• It is useful to look at other dissertation and get an
idea about the approach that people adopt to present
their findings and arguments.
• Do not wait for your supervisor to tell you what fonts,
size and spacing you should use. That is a a waste of
time and it shows that you did not do your homework.
• Sample dissertations are available from the ISLAB,
you can check them out.
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Font, Spacing and Length
• The preferred typeface is Times Roman (11 or 12
points).
• Other typefaces are acceptable (check with your
supervisor).
• Use 1.5 or double-line spacing for the dissertation
text.
• Each page must have a left margin of 3.7 cm to allow
for binding.
• The top, bottom and right margin shall all be 2.5 cm.
• Justify all your text in the dissertation body.
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Font, Spacing and Length
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The dissertation must not exceed 15,000 words (excluding
tables, figures and appendices).
Most dissertations are between 40 and 80 pages (double
spaced).
Figures inserted in the dissertation should appear close to
where they are referenced in the text.
The usual convention of the figure followed by the figure
title shall be followed.
Use the Chapter/Figure number convention to label the
figures in the dissertation. For example, Figure 1.2 refers to
the second figure of chapter 1.
A List of Figures and Tables must be included after the
content page of dissertation
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Documentation Style
• Select documentation style and apply it consistently
and carefully throughout your dissertation.
• For simplicity and consistency, we recommend APA
style. Recommended manuals include :
• American Psychological Association. Publication
Manual. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: APA, 1994.
• Modern Language Association. MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers. 4th ed. New York:
MLA, 1995.
• Turabian, Kate. A Manual For Writers Of Term
Papers, Theses And Dissertations. 6th ed.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
NTU Library Link http://www.ntu.edu.sg/library/index-s.htm
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Order of Presentation
• Title Page Follow exactly the NTU format.
Acknowledgments A brief ‘thank you’
• Abstract
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Content of Dissertation
• References
• Appendices
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Chapter 1: Introduction and Statement
of the Problem
• Introduce the subject area (Overview and
definition) and explain the research topic.
• State your research question(s) or research
objective(s).
• Scope and limitations of the study.
• Importance of the topic you have selected.
• This Chapter should be revised after writing
Chapter 2 (Literature Review)
• Keep introduction shorts and focused
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Chapter 2: Review of the
Literature
• It is a review of what has been published on that topic
so that you do not duplicate someone else’s work.
• Conduct a thorough literature search before designing
your methodology and collecting your data.
• The literature review should provide context and
clarify the relationship between your topic and
previous work in that area.
• When writing the literature review, present major
themes, theories, and ideas that have been published
in the area, and the findings of related studies.
• Conclude the review of the literature with a short
section that describes your topic, highlighting why it
is important to address the problem you have
investigated.
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Chapter 3: Methodology
• This chapter describes exactly the steps that you took
to investigate your research problem.
• Explains your research design
• the methodology that you selected (survey,
interviews, historical research, document analysis or
extended literature review for example),
• the instruments that you used and how they were
developed, the sample that you selected, and the
description of your data collection process.
• Copies of correspondence, instruments if you used
any (questionnaires or interview scripts), raw data if
appropriate and other items relating to the
methodology are included as appendices, with
references from the appropriate place in this chapter.
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Findings Chapter
• It describes what you found in your research,
without discussion, interpretation or
reference to the literature.
• Just the facts, presented as tables, figures,
interview summaries and/or descriptions of
what you found that is important and
noteworthy.
• The objective is to present a simple, clear
and complete account of the results of your
research.
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Discussion Chapter
• Relate your findings to your original statement of the
problem and your literature review.
• Begin by briefly summarizing the previous chapters,
then discuss what you found.
• Ask yourself why the results were what they were, and
then try to provide meaningful answers to the
question.
• Feel free to interpret objectively and subjectively and
to make references to what others have said on the
subject.
• Make sure that every conclusion you draw is
defensible and not just your own personal opinion.
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Conclusion and
Recommendations Chapter
• Summarize your conclusions from the discussion
chapter.
• Note the limitations of your study.
• Show that you are aware of the methodological
limitations of your study, for example the small size of
your sample, or the fact that you set out to examine
only one part of a bigger problem. Make
recommendations relating to the problem that you
investigated, for example by making practical
suggestions on how to improve the situation in the
organization in which your research took place.
• Make recommendations for areas that require further
study.
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
Final Remarks
 The final dissertation (3 copies) should be hardcover bounded using a Dark Blue cover with Gold
lettering (not exceeding 16 pts).
 The year (i.e MSc (19xx)) denotes the year when the
dissertation is submitted.
 The author's name is abbreviated on the spine in
the order of: full surname and initials of middle and
first names.
 The title may need to be abbreviated if it is too long
to fit the spine. Get the approval from your
supervisor on the abbreviated title.
Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh/SCI
100 points, you will pass your
dissertation….”