Writing research thesis and dissertations

Research is not only about discovery and questioning. Dissemination also plays an important role. When it comes to thesis or dissertations, the structure and layout of your work can help the reader to go through it more easily and to understand it better. As such, we have put together some tips and indications of how your paper CAN be presented. Note that it is a suggestion: creativity is welcomed! However, keep in mind that your work is to be read by others. Ensure that your chosen layout and structure is easily understood.

I - Layout
"Layout" refers to the presentation format that your work should follow. One of the reasons for adopting a standard layout is that all institutional libraries hold copies of theses and dissertations written by graduates from their Masters or Doctorate degree programmes. Thus a layout standard ensures a consistent identity. As a suggestion, these are the guidelines for the layout:
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Size of page margins left margin: 40mm top, bottom and right margins: 25mm Line spacing 1,5 lines Font Garamond, Helvetica, New Century Schoolbook, ITC Bookman or Times; Size of body of text - 12 Formats of title page

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The title page of the thesis shall contain the following information: 1. The full title of the thesis, and the sub-title (if any); 2.The full name of the author; 3 The name of the supervisor(s) of the thesis; 4. At the foot of the page, the statement: Submitted to Blekinge Tekniska Hgskola for the Master of European Spatial Planning and Regional Development on the day / month / year; /see note about submission date in text further down/
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Format of abstract and contents list

The thesis must be prefaced by an abstract, following the title page but preceding the table of contents and the body of the text. The abstract shall not exceed 300 words in length. Remember to place the page numbers of all the relevant chapters and subchapters in the table of contents Dedications, etc., may be included after the abstract, at the author's discretion. Students who received scholarships to study on the programme should acknowledge this in this part of the thesis.
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Format of appendices

Appendices shall be named alphabetically, and each appendix paginated consecutively but separately from the main text and from all other appendices. Example paginations for appendices include: A1, A-12, B-7, D-4, D-20
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Format of illustrations, figures and tables

All tables and illustrations must be numbered and be given a title and font. The number and title should come above the table/ figure in a bold format. The source should appear below the table/ figure with a smaller font size (ex: 10)
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Numbering systems for chapters and sections

For the main chapters, use a font size 18/20 and formatted in bold style. For subchapters, use font size 16, formatted in bold style.
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Numbering system for pages

Page numbers shall be centrally located at the bottom of the page, and approximately 20mm above the edge of the page
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Reference

list

(If

you

know

of

another

international

referencing system you are free to use it. The important thing is that you use only one system throughout all your thesis. We leave you one suggestion) Whenever a work is cited in the text of the thesis or its appendices, the citation should take one of the following forms: - For a work with a single author, (Jones, 1993); - For a work with two authors, use (Foley & Williams, 2000), and; - For a work with more than two authors, (Fred et al., 1964). The year is the year of publication of the work, and the names are authors' surnames. To cite multiple works by an author that were published in the same year, use (Jones, 1993a), (Jones, 1993b), (Jones, 1993c), etc. It is also acceptable to refer to an author or authors by name in the body of the text, e.g., ... according to Jones (1993), it is clear that ... The key is clarity, is it clear what you are citing? All cited works should have their complete references gathered together into an appendix called "References". The references list should be organised alphabetically by author. Within the references list there are some conventions as to how works should be cited. - For referenced Books use the following layout: Jones, A.B., 1993. Networking Practice. New York; - For Theses use the following: (Kartheuser, 1993): Kartheuser, B., 1993. An Investigation into the Partial Oxidation of Methane. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Limerick. - In order to make a reference to a contribution in an Edited Book, e.g., (Louis & Che, 1985) use the following: Louis, C. and M. Che, 1985. The structure of CeO2, in Reactivity, P. Barrett (ed.), 1057-1059, Amsterdam: Elsevier.

- Journal Articles may be referred to as follows, (Carey, 1975a: Carey, S.W., 1975 a. "The expanding earth; an essay review. Part 1" EarthSci. Rev., 11, 105-143. In all cases the full reference should include the title of the paper (shown above in quotes), the name of the journal in which it appears (in italics above), along with volume and page numbers. If issue information is included, for example issue 6 in volume 12, use 12(6). If in doubt, go back to the notes from the English Academic Writing course or ask your supervisor.

II - Structure
Unlike the layout, it is usually harder to find strict rules about the structure of a thesis or dissertation. However, these are some of the chapters that are usually accepted.
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Title page

where you enter the full title, and the sub-title if any, of the research work; the name of the author; a statement about the degree programme under which the dissertation is submitted; the date of submission (month and year)
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Abstract

which is usually a one page summary of the objectives of the research; the methodology used and the main findings of the work
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Table of Contents

which lists the chapter and section headings with their corresponding page numbers
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List of tables, diagrams and illustrations

which list the figure and table numbers, together with their corresponding page numbers
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Nomenclature list

which provides a list of nomenclature and definitions of acronyms used in the dissertation.
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Acknowledgements

if any are due, but it is nice gesture to acknowledge the contributions and help of sponsors (including scholarships received) and friends
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Main text

divided into chapters, with appropriate chapter headings, to include:

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a chapter to introduce the research; the motivation and the objectives; and to provide an overview of the dissertation a chapter reviewing the theoretical approach that was used a chapter or two to describe in detail the empirical work developed and its main findings a concluding chapter that summarizes the main findings of the research; statements about the main contributions of the research and recommendations for future work

Note that it is always useful for both you and the reader to have some concluding observations at the end of each main chapter or subchapter, along with some indication of what the reader will find in the following chapters. This will ensure an easier understanding of your main findings and the continuity between the different chapters and subchapters.

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References Appendices

contain those parts of dissertation that are either well known or not contribute directly to the main text, but need to be included for completeness.

Check-List
We leave you with a group of last minute points that you should check before handing-in your thesis.

Languag e

Have I checked the language for errors using the spell-check? Is the list of abbreviations (and respective explanation) complete?

Layout

Is the font always the same throughout the whole text? Are all the images/maps / tables where they are intended to be? Is the formatting of titles, chapters, subchapters, etc coherent (always the same font/size/alignment for the same importance)?

Structur e Referenc es

Are the appendices numbered? Are all my references correct and included in the reference list

Numberi ng

Do I have page numbers in the document? Do all my images, tables, etc, have titles, source and numbers?

Others