Understanding the

structure of PhD
Thesis
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PhD Thesis Title

The title is the face of a thesis. It
denotes an identity to the project
and also gives an insight about
what the thesis is going to be
about. Hence then PhD thesis topic
lay a basic foundation of your
thesis.
While formulating a title, it must be
ensured that it clearly
communicates the idea that the
aspirant has in mind. A vague or
disconnected title may fail to
impress.
The size of the title is another point
that should be noted, if it is too

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Acknowledgements
This is a page that contains a note
of gratitude and acknowledgment
for those who may have been of
help in the process of making the
thesis.
Aspirants usually show
acknowledgement to the institute,
the mentor or the dean and at
times all three.
The format of the write up that
goes on the acknowledgement
sheet is generally in the first
person mode and the person
making the thesis, dedicates this
page to those who have been

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Table of Contents
This is an overview page for the entire
thesis.
The contents page not only gives an
insight on the topics that are covered in
the project.
Apart from showing the topics, the content
page also serves as a quick access tool for
reaching a particular point in the thesis,
without having to look through all the
pages.
The content page usually consists of serial
numbers, sub serial numbers, particulars
or sub-topics and page numbers.

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Abstract of Thesis
A window to the thesis may be
named the abstract.
As the name suggests it is an
abstract of the entire thesis and
serves as a summary of the
project.
When choosing a thesis subject, it
is first necessary to provide the
evaluator with the abstract or the
proposal of the project.
If the abstract is impressive, it may
help in getting the topic getting
approved.
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Introduction
Any topic of study needs to be
introduced to the reader.
In the case of the thesis, not only
should the introduction talk about
the subject, but it should also
provide a short background about
the topic of study so that the
project does not have an abrupt
start.
The introduction serves well in
cases when the evaluator needs to
know the thesis aspirants
understanding of the study.
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Literature Review
The literature review section helps
an aspirant express the kind of
study and research he or she has
made for the thesis.
The section should talk about the
personal inferences and ideas of
the aspirant that he or she derived
after studying various resources.
The inferences could be in the form
of comparative studies or even
descriptions, however one should
avoid writing summaries of studies
while creating a literature review.
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Research Methodology
This is one of the most important
sections in the thesis, it is because
of the methodology information
that an evaluator may be able to
know what kind of a
thesis research design or
techniques aspirant has used.
The chapter should explain in detail
the ways in which a research will
be carried out and how one
proposes to use the method.

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Data Analysis
As the name suggests, this chapter
works as an explanatory section for
any data inferences that are made.
The chapter gives a summary of
the analysis of a study that is
derived from researches and
surveys.
The data analysis that is done
should be explained in the chapter
and an evaluator should be able to
get an unambiguous account of
how one came to the conclusions
mentioned in the inferences.
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Findings and Discussions

The discussions and findings
section is a place where one can
express their study and their
findings in a more detailed manner.
One must ensure that the findings
are not repeated from the literature
review
The findings and discussions
should be more in the context of
the data analysis and by way of
examples or studies, one should
elaborate on the inferences found.
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Conclusions and Limitations

The conclusions and limitations
section is the part of the thesis
where one finishes off.
This is the part where the writer
can express his or her findings in a
new light and can talk about how
the findings of the thesis may
affect the study.
One should also talk about the
limitations of the study in this
section to show where the scope of
study was obstructed or how the
findings may be limited to the
understanding of the writer.

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Bibliography
The bibliography is the part of the
write up where one puts in the
names and resources of the places
where the study was found.
The bibliography is important in
order to make sure that no
copyright is infringed and that the
person who did the original study is
duly recognized and
acknowledged.
The section should include detailed
descriptions of all the journals,
books, websites or articles that the
information is studied and used
from.

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Appendix
This is the section where you can
use all of the information that did
not suit the flow of the thesis.
The appendix should contain only
relevant study, data or survey that
adds value to the study as a whole
or any part of the study.
The appendix or appendices are
explanatory supplements used to
explain theories or studies and
inferences.

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