For young researchers, starting work on a dissertation may seem like the most difficult stage: which topic to choose, how to formulate the problem and select appropriate literature? In this article, we have prepared a step-by-step guide that will help systematise the preparation for writing a dissertation and also avoid possible mistakes.
Step 1: Choosing a topic and academic supervisor
Firstly, you need to decide on the topic of your research. It should be relevant, possess scientific novelty, and correspond to your interests and competencies.
Before choosing, evaluate how actively your topic has been studied by other researchers and identify a direction that will allow you to make an original contribution to science by filling existing gaps in knowledge. Make sure that it has practical value and addresses a specific problem in your discipline.
Another key stage is choosing an academic supervisor. He will not only help you properly formulate the topic and choose the research direction but also coordinate you throughout the process.
Step 2: Formulating the problem and justifying relevance
At this stage, it is necessary to formulate the dissertation problem. Which questions remain unresolved in existing studies? Justify why your work is relevant and important for the scientific community, describe knowledge gaps, practical applications, and potential contributions to science.
How to do this? Compile a preliminary list of literature (10–20 sources) and analyse them. Highlight problem areas or unexplored aspects. Relevance can be supported by statistics or practical examples.
In fact, this information will become the basis for the introduction of the dissertation. It is necessary to approach its writing responsibly, since it is the introduction that forms the first impression of your work, sets its tone, and demonstrates the justification of the research before the dissertation committee.
Step 3: Defining the object, subject, goals, and objectives
At this stage, young researchers often make mistakes because they do not fully understand the difference between the subject and the object of research:
- object – a broader concept that covers the general area, phenomenon, or process within which the research is conducted;
- subject – a narrower concept, a specific aspect or part of the object on which you focus in your work. The subject determines what exactly you study within the chosen object.
Also, clearly formulate the main goal of the scientific work. It should answer the question: what do you want to achieve? After defining the goal, divide it into 4–6 objectives that will correspond to the sections of the dissertation.
Step 4: Compiling the dissertation plan
The dissertation plan is the “skeleton” of your work. Without it, you will not be able to systematise the writing and conduct research qualitatively. The plan includes the structure: introduction, chapters, conclusion, references. Describe the methodology, expected results, and timeline.
Structure of the plan:
- Introduction (relevance, goals, objectives)
- Main part (2–3 chapters: theoretical basis, analysis, own results)
- Conclusion (findings, recommendations)
- Appendices and bibliography
Compiling the plan helps to clearly define the direction of the work, agree it with the academic supervisor, and ensure compliance with the requirements of the dissertation committee.
Step 5: Collecting and analysing literature
At this stage, it is necessary to move on to an in-depth study of sources. Collect at least 100–150 works: monographs, articles, dissertations. For this, you can use databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, the Google Scholar search engine, or electronic libraries.
How to systematise literature list:
- use reference management software such as Zotero or Mendeley to organise sources and automate citation formatting
- conduct critical analysis of the literature, highlighting strengths and weaknesses of studies to determine what to focus on in your dissertation
- create a table to systematise sources, indicating authors, key ideas, methods, and critical notes to simplify literature analysis
Step 6: Choosing methodology and planning research
The choice of methods is a key point, as the reliability and reproducibility of the results depend on them. At this stage, it is necessary to determine the approaches that will allow you to achieve the goals of the dissertation and accomplish the set objectives.
Methods can be empirical (for example, surveys, experiments, observations), theoretical (analysis, modelling, systematisation), or combined, depending on the nature of your research. Make sure that they strictly correspond to your objectives.
Step 7: Starting writing and regular monitoring
After completing all the above steps, you can begin writing the dissertation. To make this process less stressful, divide the work into separate stages and write regularly. This way you can avoid haste and devote more attention to the quality of the text and the logic of its presentation, as well as make timely corrections based on feedback from your academic supervisor.
By following our recommendations, you will be able to competently plan your work and prepare a high-quality dissertation without unnecessary stress. Also, remember that publishing research results in scientific journals is a mandatory requirement for admission to the defence. This will not only increase your academic reputation but also strengthen the significance of your work in the scientific community.
Company Scientific Publications is ready to help you with publishing an article in Scopus and Web of Science. Our specialists will select a journal for you and accompany you at all stages of work until the successful indexing of the article. Would you like to receive a free consultation? Fill out the form below, and our manager will contact you shortly. Together towards new scientific achievements!
