The presentation of research (thesis, dissertation) has a duty of linking its specific area of study with the tradition in the literature and with related and more general areas of background study.
A thesis/ dissertation should ideally have a hypothesis or set of related hypotheses (or at least strong aims) that can be broken down into clear objectives based on the following areas and yet bind these areas together. The order is suggested.
| Introduction: Introduce specific area of the study (What is it about?) Describe relationship between specific field and general area Describe general/ theoretical area of the study Give hypotheses/ aims/ theoretical framework used Justify theoretical framework Argue relevance/importance of this study |
| Review of literature and definition of terms: Describe field of study in relation to other works Outline major relevant theoretical frameworks/themes as in literature Review major relevant empirical studies Outline major themes/issues from field, theory and empirial studies Define key terms |
| Organisation and setting of the study: Outline study and discussions ahead Justify the organisation of the study itself and the techniques used Give the geographical, historical, etc, settings of the study Discuss presentation of materials Argue for the coherence of these |
| Basic Findings of the Study: Describe the basic findings Describe problems arising from analysis and organisation of study |
| Key Issues to Emerge from the Study: Isolate each finding and discuss in considerable detail Discuss according to this study Discuss according to other studies in the literature Discuss according to theories and hypotheses (Repeat for each finding) |
| Conclusions: Restate hypotheses/ theoretical areas of study and how they were met Repeat findings and their importance relating to the literature Summarise all discussions Re-emphasise relevance of areas of study Suggest directions for future research based on findings/problems |
In brief: clearly display the field of study and its contents; relate the subject matter to the knowledge of the field in the literature; outline the background to the subject area; show a good grasp of the subject area especially in the discussions and detail; justify the methodology; admit to problems; give the study a sense of narrative so that it leads towards conclusions in an organised and readable way; show how other research may develop from this.