A thesis is a landmark text in any research student’s life. A lot of time and effort alike goes into drafting this document. For, this document represents the academic caliber of the individual. Given its importance, it is important for a student to know of a proper structure to follow while writing the thesis. In this blog, you’ll find an accepted and well-researched format to write the same.
Abstract
The first chapter that greets the readers is abstract. In this chapter, the researcher has to write an overview of what the thesis is trying to convey as a whole. This chapter can span between 200 and 300 words.
Introduction
Next, comes introduction. The introduction is, more or less, an extension of the abstract. This chapter should generally contain the background, context, thesis statement, approach, limitations of the study, a brief summary of the primary sources, the brief description of the theory used and the summary of the upcoming chapters (literature review/analyses).
Literature review
In this chapter, the student will have to do an “evaluation” of all the research and developments that have been made on the selected topic. Here, it is necessary on part of the student to showcase the fact that there is a gap in this area which your research thesis will try filling in.
Methods
Then, in methods, the research student has to outline all the different means that were undertaken to get the hypothesized results. Typically, in this section, the researchers have to write on what methodology was chosen and when, where and how it was carried out.
Results
In this section, the researcher has to furnish all the results that were obtained in proving the thesis. They can be presented in either text or in figures accompanied by explanatory text.
This is the most significant section of your research as it decides the validity or correctness of the hypothesis. The results section contains the facts along with statements on their significance. In addition to these, the research student also makes a deducted comment on the implications and analyses that will be made in the upcoming section, discussion.
Discussion
In this section, the researcher has to critically analyze the results from the previous section. Then, explain their meanings and implications. After that, one has to place the results in the wider context of the thesis and discuss the findings obtained. In this part, denote whether the findings were obtained as per expectations. Had one gotten results that were unexpected or contradictory, a proper explanation and reasoning are to be provided.
The findings are also required to be discussed in relation to the research that has been previously carried out in the relevant field. Here, the limitations of the study and the questions that have been left unanswered can be indicated. Here, one can detail the future directions the research may take.
Conclusion
The final and most important section of the thesis is the conclusion. In this section, the objective and thesis statement is reasserted. Then, one has to state whether the hypothesis has been proved or not. Also, reinstate the findings, limitations, contribution and the future directions of the research.