Published on
August 4, 2022
by
Tegan George
Revised on
September 29, 2022.
An appendix is a supplementary document that facilitates your reader’s understanding of your research but is not essential to your core argument. Appendices are a useful tool for providing additional information or clarification in a research paper, dissertation, or thesis without making your final product too long.
Appendices help you provide more background information and nuance about your topic without disrupting your text with too many tables and figures or other distracting elements.
We’ve prepared some examples and templates for you, for inclusions such as research protocols, survey questions, and interview transcripts. All are worthy additions to an appendix. You can download these in the format of your choice below.
Published on
June 7, 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
September 14, 2022.
A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical early steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.
Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation, such as:
Your anticipated title
Your abstract
Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review, research methods, avenues for future research, etc.)
In the final product, you can also provide a chapter outline for your readers. This is a short paragraph at the end of your introduction to inform readers about the organizational structure of your thesis or dissertation. This chapter outline is also known as a reading guide or summary outline.
Published on
May 24, 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
September 29, 2022.
A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader.
Your glossary only needs to include terms that your reader may not be familiar with, and it’s intended to enhance their understanding of your work. Glossaries are not mandatory, but if you use a lot of technical or field-specific terms, it may improve readability to add one.
If you do choose to include a glossary, it should go at the beginning of your document, just after the table of contents and (if applicable) list of tables and figures or list of abbreviations. It’s helpful to place your glossary at the beginning, so your readers can familiarize themselves with key terms prior to reading your work. Remember that glossaries are always in alphabetical order.
To help you get started, download our glossary template in the format of your choice below.
Published on
May 23, 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
September 29, 2022.
A list of abbreviations is an alphabetical list of abbreviations that you can add to your thesis or dissertation. If you choose to include it, it should appear at the beginning of your document, just after your table of contents.
Abbreviation lists improve readability, minimizing confusion about abbreviations unfamiliar to your reader. This can be a worthwhile addition to your thesis or dissertation if you find that you’ve used a lot of abbreviations in your paper.
If you only use a few abbreviations, you don’t necessarily need to include a list. However, it’s never a bad idea to add one if your abbreviations are numerous, or if you think they will not be known to your audience.
You can download our template below in the format of your choice to help you get started.
Published on
May 19, 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
September 14, 2022.
The title page (or cover page) of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper should contain all the key information about your document. It usually includes:
Dissertation or thesis title
Your name
The type of document (e.g., dissertation, research paper)
The department and institution
The degree program (e.g., Master of Arts)
The date of submission
It sometimes also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and your university’s logo.
Published on
May 15, 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
September 29, 2022.
The table of contents is where you list the chapters and major sections of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper, alongside their page numbers. A clear and well-formatted table of contents is essential, as it demonstrates to your reader that a quality paper will follow.
The table of contents (TOC) should be placed between the abstract and the introduction. The maximum length should be two pages. Depending on the nature of your thesis, dissertation, or paper, there are a few formatting options you can choose from.
Published on
May 3, 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
October 17, 2022.
The acknowledgements section is your opportunity to thank those who have helped and supported you personally and professionally during your thesis or dissertation process.
Thesis or dissertation acknowledgements appear between your title page and abstract and should be no longer than one page.
In your acknowledgements, it’s okay to use a more informal style than is usually permitted in academic writing, as well as first-person pronouns. Acknowledgements are not considered part of the academic work itself, but rather your chance to write something more personal.
To get started, download our step-by-step template in the format of your choice below. We’ve also included sample sentence starters to help you construct your acknowledgments section from scratch.
Published on
March 31, 2022
by
Tegan George.
Revised on
October 10, 2022.
An observational study is used to answer a research question based purely on what the researcher observes. There is no interference or manipulation of the research subjects, and no control and treatment groups.
Observational studies are generally used in hard science, medical, and social science fields. This is often due to ethical or practical concerns that prevent the researcher from conducting a traditional experiment. However, the lack of control and treatment groups means that forming inferences is difficult, and there is a risk of confounding variables impacting your analysis.
Published on
March 10, 2022
by
Tegan George
Revised on
July 15, 2022.
Academic integrity is the value of being honest, ethical, and thorough in your academic work. It allows readers to trust that you aren’t misrepresenting your findings or taking credit for the work of others.
Academic dishonesty (or academic misconduct) refers to actions that undermine academic integrity. It typically refers to some form of plagiarism, ranging from serious offenses like purchasing a pre-written essay to milder ones like accidental citation errors. Most of which are easy to detect with a plagiarism checker.
These concepts are also essential in the world of professional academic research and publishing. In this context, accusations of misconduct can have serious legal and reputational consequences.
