The literature review often determines whether a dissertation is admitted to defence without further amendments. How should this section be structured so that it does not read as a mere list of sources? What length is considered sufficient? We look at the structure and requirements for the literature review in a dissertation.
A dissertation's conclusion is the final part of a research project, and it is often what shapes the dissertation council's first impression of the results. What elements should it contain? What length is considered appropriate, and why can the conclusion not simply be copied from the conclusions given at the end of each chapter? Here we look at the structure of a dissertation conclusion and the mistakes commonly made when preparing it.
The introduction is the first section of a dissertation studied by members of the dissertation committee, reviewers and official opponents. It is here that the scholar justifies the relevance of the topic, formulates the aim and objectives, and defines the object, subject and scientific novelty of the work. Why is it the introduction, more than any other section, that most often attracts critical remarks? What errors occur most frequently – and how can they be avoided when preparing for the defence?
Before defending a dissertation, the candidate prepares not only the dissertation itself but also a concise summary of it – the author's abstract. What is this document, what functions does it serve and why is it consulted more often than the full text of the work? We examine the structure, length and preparation of the author's abstract.
The aim and objectives are the conceptual core of any dissertation, and the accuracy of all the work that follows depends on them. How do you define the main focus of a study? Which steps help to achieve it? We look at how to set out these elements correctly.
A monograph is a self-contained scholarly publication that calls for a carefully considered structure and adherence to a number of formal requirements. What length should the work be? How should the manuscript be formatted and prepared for publication? We examine the key requirements for a monograph and the typical mistakes authors make.