how to write the dissertation

How to Write the

Dissertation ?

Mr. Phinoj K Abraham, MOTh (Neurosciences)

Assistant ProfessorSRM University

2

“A Journey of thousand miles

begins with a single step”

- Chinese Proverb

Occupational Therapy Research - PHINOJ

3

Effective Writing

Establish a routine

Set clear goals for each week/day

Use your outline & be organized

Use short & Simple phrases

Clear English & good grammar

Seek help from experts


4

Structuring your Thesis FRONT MATTER

Title page

Approval page

Abstract

Table of Content

List of Tables

List of Figures

List of abbreviationsOccupational Therapy Research - PHINOJ

5

Structuring your Thesis Contd…

Ch. 1: Introduction Ch. 2: Review of Literature

Related Literature (Descriptive literature) Literature Review

Ch. 3: Methods Ch. 4: Results Ch. 5: Discussion Ch. 6: Conclusion Ch. 7/ 6.1: Limitations & Recommendations Ch. 8/ 6.2: Clinical Implication


6

Structuring your Thesis Contd…

END MATTER

References

Appendices

Consent form

Instrument used

Master Chart

Acknowledgement


7

Anatomy of a Thesis

Introduction : Why did you do it ?

Methods : What did you do?

Results : What did you find ?

Discussion : What does it

mean ? Occupational Therapy Research - PHINOJ


8

Formatting

Chapter Heading 18pt Bold

Main heading 14pt Bold

Subheading 14pt (Bold + Italics?)

Text 12pt

Font Arial

9

Checklist for proofing

People first (Person with MS)

Grammar

Spelling, Punctuation

Abbreviations

Clarity & Organization


10

Title

Make it Specific; Include key words

Avoid potentially unfamiliar acronyms &

ambiguous terms.

Revise for conciseness & to rephrase

In Short, make it

“Short & Sweet”


11

Writing Introduction

Introduce the broad research area & topic.

State the research problem or question.

Establish its significance.

Mention existing solutions & their limitations.

Outline the proposed new solution.

Note: Use present tense

Why did you do it ?


12

Writing Introduction Contd…

Background

Lacunae of

research

Purpose of the study


Gross

Un Known

Fine

Known

13

Writing Introduction Contd…

Justification & Need of the study

Carry out a thorough literature review

Clearly state the research question

Aims & Objectives

Aim : What to do?

Objectives : how to do?

Hypothesis

Alternative (H1)

Null (H0) Occupational Therapy Research - PHINOJ

14

Introduction Common Mistakes

Not enough information : The reader

cannot understand the rest of your thesis.

Too much information: You are not

writing a textbook..!!

Too few Reference: Less legitimacy


15Ch. 2 Review of Literature

1. Descriptive Literature (Related

Literature)

Theoretical backgrounds mainly from

textbooks / editorials etc…

2. Literature Review

Reviewing previous research in same

area Occupational Therapy Research - PHINOJ

16

Ch. 2 Review of Literature Contd..

Literature Review Contd..

Critical Analysis of key studies

Point out the flaws or gaps in research

Cite every article or book

Avoid plagiarism

Use summaries

Quotations

Broad highly relevant work/ known unknown


17Ch. 2 Review of Literature Contd..

Some Additional Points

If possible / relevant, Select article from

various related professional literature sources

about the same topic of interest.

Categorize your search under various sections

Add a summery of review at the end of each

section or at the end of review.


18Reviewing the LiteratureUse appropriate Tenses;

Researchers action – past tense

Smith (2012) studied…; Pell (2004)found….

Research in general – present perfect

Research has shown…; has been studied…


19

Ch. 3 Methodology

Describe how the experiment was planned

Sufficient details to allow repetition.

What did you do ?Occupational Therapy Research - PHINOJ

20

Methodology

Summarize the research findings

Qualitative / Quantitative

Describe the research setting & sample

Sample population, sample size, sampling

method & recruitment etc…

Explain the intervention, procedures and

tools for data collection & analysis.


21

Methodology Key Points

Past tense

Follow a logic order

Include relevant details

Reference standard methods

Refer to manufacturer’s instructions

Describe additional steps / Changes

Contd…


22

Methodology Key Points Contd…

Detail experimental controls

use correct abbreviations

Leave a space between numbers & Units

Use appendices when appropriate


23

Methodology Common Mistakes

Essential details are missing

Incorrect word usage

Providing a recipe list


24

Ch. 4 Results

Results are the core of you thesis

What Happened ?

What did you learn ?

What did you find..?


25

Results - Organization

Clarify your aims

What have you been trying to do ?

Connect findings to your research question,

objectives & hypothesis


26

Results – Key Points

Past Tense

Arrange your results logically

Make use of graphs & tables to

summarize your data

Give facts no opinions


27Results – Common Mistakes

Including Methods

Including irrelevant results

Writing results in a chronological not

logical order


28

Ch. 5 Discussion Present principles, relationship & generalization

shown by the results

Agreement or contrast with the previous research.

Point out lack of correlation

State your conclusions

Give reasons for your conclusions

Discuss implications of your results.

What does it Mean ?Occupational Therapy Research - PHINOJ

29

Discussion Key Points

Past tense

Restart your aims

Focus then discuss the bigger picture

be critical of the literature


30

Discussion Common Mistakes

Repetition : Introduction & Results

Lack of organization, no logical flow

Not addressing the key points


31

Ch. 6 Conclusion Key Points

Limitation of your work

Suggestion for future research


32

Reference

Referencing is a standard method of

acknowledging source of information & ideas

that you have used in your text in a way that

uniquely identifies their sources.

Direct quotations, facts & figures, as well as

ideas & theories, from both published &

unpublished works, must be referenced -Occupational Therapy Research - PHINOJ

-APA

APA

33

Reference Style

Vancouver Style

Ref:

APA (American Psychological

Association) Style

Ref:


34

Vancouver Style

It is commonly used in medical & scientific

journals

References are listed in numerical order in

the reference list at the end of the paper

Ex:


35

Steps involved in Referencing


TEXT BOOKS Author Title Edition Place of

publication Publisher Date (Year)

JOURNALS Author Title of Article Journal Title Date Volume number Issue number Page number

Note down the full bibliographic details including

the page number(s) from which the information

taken

36

Example of citing book Vancouver Style


37

Example of citing Journals Vancouver Style


38

Appendices

Consent form

Master Chart – Data

Permission Letter

Questionnaire / Scales

Acknowledgement (?)


39

When in doubt…ask !


Questions ?


40


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