Dissertation Outline Samples and Examples

Choosing your dissertation topic is the first part of your dissertation. It needs to be relevant to your degree, it should discuss a specific problem, and it should contribute to the existing literature on the subject.

Selecting something uninteresting could cause you to lose motivation. Also, something too detailed might not capture the interest of readers. It must hold your interest because this will empower your research and keep you motivated throughout. Picking a topics is no small matter. We have dissertation experts who can suggest topics for you.

You can’t pick a topic and immediately start writing. You should write a proposal of what you intend to research and submit it to your supervisor for approval first. There should already be sufficient literature on the subject to support your study, and your chosen topic should solve a current problem or cover a gap in the literature. With these things in place, you can create your proposal.

When selecting and finalising a topic for your dissertation, ensure there is sufficient existing literature and research to back up your study. Secondly, the topic you choose should solve a current problem or cover an existing literature gap. Finally, the chosen topic should be interesting to keep you motivated throughout the process. Once you’ve finalised your topic, you will have to submit it to your tutor for approval.

When your proposal is accepted, you can start writing an outline for your dissertation. It should be thorough and should contain all the essential parts of a dissertation. It can serve as a plan for you to work through, ensuring you miss nothing, and helps readers understand what the study aims to achieve.

A dissertation outline starts with an introduction and then discusses existing literature on the subject. Next is a description of your research methods, followed by the expected outcome, and finally your conclusions. It’s academic work, so you will have to include a references list.

Start on the introduction, remember, this is just the outline; some people recommend writing the actual introduction last. This is where you discuss the background information, your aims, and your research questions. Get a feel for the requirements of sections by looking through the samples we’ve provided.

The second section is the literature review. It’s where you discuss the current relevant models, frameworks, and concepts. Your claims should be supported by prior research, which you should cite accurately. The past studies that you refer to should not be too old, we suggest not more than six years. Older studies are considered outdated.

The third section of a dissertation outline is the research methodology. This is where you explain the research method you intend to employ in your study. It should be clear about what you intend to research and justify your chosen methods. Here you should also specify which research tools and instruments you plan to use. For guidance on creating your dissertation outline, you can inspect our samples.

Your outline should have a comprehensive reference list. Your dissertation will draw on numerous sources, and you should mention every one of them. If you omit one, then whatever it was that you mentioned from that source will not count. There are several formatting styles for reference lists; your university will specify which to use.

Are you having trouble getting your dissertation approved, or do you have problems constructing your outline? Get in touch with us. Our writers can help you with selecting a topic and writing the outline.