PhD Dissertation

1. Writing a PhD Dissertation
Academic Development Training Course
for University Teachers
Salahaddin University-Erbil
August-September 2016
Prof.Fatimah R.Hasan Bajalani

2. Acknowledgements
• Researchers thank:
-funders,
-supervisors,
-proofreaders and editors.
-Institutions that have aided the research in some
way,
-close colleagues and family,

3. Acknowledgements
Typically the structure moves from thanking
the most formal support to the least formal
thanks.

4. Examples
• Thanks to supervisors that carry a sense of
who they were in the drama, like:
• “My supervisor, who kept a sense of humor
when I had lost mine”;
• “my supervisor, whose maddening attention
to detail drove me to finally learn to
punctuate prose”;
• or “my supervisor, whose selfless time and
care were sometimes all that kept me going.”

5. Abstract
• The abstract of dissertation is the first
impression readers will have of a research.
• It is a summary of the researcher’s work and
can be used to help readers decide if reading
the entire dissertation would be worthwhile.
• A well-composed abstract can attract people
to the research study.

6. Abstract
• The abstract is commonly placed after the title
page of the dissertation.
• The department can guide the researcher to
the institution's specific requirements for
word count of abstract.
• The maximum sizes for abstracts are 150
words (Master thesis) and 350 words
(Doctoral dissertation).

7. Basic Ingredients of abstract
• The abstract includes:
1. the problem and purpose of the research,
2. the research questions and any associated
hypotheses,
3. the research methodology and design, a general
description of the participants or subjects,
4. prominent findings, conclusions and
recommendations.
• The trick is to include all of this information in
very limited space.

8. 1.Problem and Purpose
• The problem and purpose statements of a
dissertation explain why the research needed
to be conducted.
• When readers are deciding whether or not to
read a study, they will want to know that the
researcher’s work met a specific need.

9. Example
• "The dropout rate for students with behavioral
challenges has increased in the last five years.
The purpose of this study was to explore the
reasons students with behavioral challenges
leave school before graduating"
• This tells the reader that the researcher saw a
problem and used his research to find possible
solutions.
• Those potential solutions can be included as
findings and recommendations.

10. 2. Research Aims, Questions &
Hypotheses
• When writing aims, use active, measurable
terms, e.g., to identify, to characterize vs. to
study.
• A good research hypothesis is a testable,
focused, clear, declarative statement of
relationships between variables based on
previous observations.

11. Research Aims, Questions &
Hypotheses
• Sometimes working hypotheses (per aim) are
used in place of a central hypothesis.
• Sometimes research questions are used in
place of hypotheses.
• This decision is often based on common
practice in the discipline or field.

12. 3.Participants
• The researcher should include descriptions of
his/ her participants in general terms.
• For example,
• “Ten men and seven women who work in law
enforcement in an urban, southwestern
community in the United States.…”

13. 4.Findings and Recommendations
• The findings and recommendations may be
the most important elements for attracting an
audience.
• These are the researcher’s contributions to
the field.
• If there is a large quantity of findings, the
researcher may need to combine some of
them into categories for the abstract.

14. Example
• “Classroom disruptions/ interruptions” could
cover all findings related to:
- excessive/unnecessary talking,
- tardiness/lateness and texting.

15. Results of the Study
• Write the results of thesis or dissertation
before discussion section.
• Results should be arranged according to the
methods outlines.

16. Tips for Writing the Results
1. Determine which results to present /which
are relevant to the question(s) presented in
the Introduction irrespective of whether or
not the results support the hypothesis(es).
2. Organize the data in the Results section
according to the order of most to least
important.

17. Tips for Writing the Results
3. Determine whether the data are best
presented in the form of text, figures, graphs,
or tables.
4. Summarize the findings and point the reader to
the relevant data in the text, figures and/or
tables. The text should complement the figures
or tables, not repeat the same information.

18. Tips for Writing the Results
5. Provide a clear description of the amount of
a response or difference, use percentage of
change rather than exact data.
6. make sure that the data are accurate and
consistent throughout the manuscript.

19. Tips for Writing the Results
7. Summarize the statistical analysis and report
actual values for all primary analyses.
8. Use the past tense when you refer to your
results.
9. Number figures and tables consecutively in
the same sequence they are first mentioned
in the text.

20. Tips for Writing the Results
10. Provide a heading for each figure and table.
11. Write with accuracy, brevity and clarity.

21. Discussion
• The researcher should present her/ his
interpretations and opinions,
• This section is considered the heart of the
paper and usually requires several writing
attempts.

22. Discussion
• Its main function:
• to answer the questions posed in the
Introduction,
• explain how the results support the answers
and,
• how the answers fit in with existing
knowledge on the topic

23. steps to write a good discussion
1. organize the discussion from the specific to
the general: findings to the literature, to theory,
to practice.
2. use the same key terms, the same verb tense
(present tense), and the same point of view that
are used when posing the questions in the
Introduction.

24. steps to write a good discussion
3. begin by re-stating the hypotheses that were
testing and answering the questions posed in
the introduction.
4. support the answers with the results and
explain how the results relate to expectations
and to the literature, clearly stating why they are
acceptable and how they are consistent or fit in
with previously published knowledge on the
topic.

25. steps to write a good discussion
5.address all the results relating to the
questions, regardless of whether or not the
findings were statistically significant.
6.describe the patterns, principles, and
relationships shown by each major
finding/result and put them in perspective. The
sequencing of providing this information is
important.

26. steps to write a good discussion
7. defend the answers, if necessary, by
explaining both why the answer is satisfactory
and why others are not. Only by giving both
sides to the argument that the explanation
would be convincing.
8. discuss and evaluate conflicting explanations
of the results. This is the sign of a good
discussion.

27. steps to write a good discussion
9. discuss any unexpected findings.
10. identify potential limitations, weaknesses
and comments on the relative importance of
these to the interpretation of the results and
how they may affect the validity of the findings.

28. steps to write a good discussion
11. summarize concisely the principal
implications of the findings, regardless of
statistical significance.
12. provide recommendations (more than two)
for further research.

29. steps to write a good discussion
13. explain how the results and conclusions of
this study are important and how they influence
our knowledge or understanding of the problem
being examined.
14. discuss everything, but in concise, brief, and
specific way.

30. Conclusions,Recommendations,
Suggestions
• explain the implications of research findings,
and make suggestions for future research.

31. Conclusions,Recommendations,
Suggestions
1. Restate your thesis argument in a more general
form to shows the reader you have a cohesive
argument that is evident in your work from start
to finish.
• Think of it this way: in a general sense your
thesis states “I WILL argue that…”, while your
conclusion should emphasize “I HAVE argued
that…”.
• The thesis argument is meant to establish the
direction of your study; the conclusion should
make it clear to the reader that you have kept on
track and supported your argument.

32. Conclusions,Recommendations,
Suggestions
2. Emphasize the importance of your subject by
placing it in a larger context.
• What meaning does it have in your field of
study, or even in society as a whole?
• Show how your argument might advance
knowledge in a discipline, take a position in a
larger debate, or provide solutions to a
problem.

33. Conclusions,Recommendations,
Suggestions
3. Offer suggestions for the future based on
what you have argued.
4. End on a relevant and powerful quote or
anecdote that serves to “sum up” your paper.
This way, you can get your main point across
and make it stylistically effective.

34. References
• Carter, S. (2013). Writing the acknowledgments: the
etiquette of thanking. Retrieved from :
https://doctoralwriting.wordpress.com/2013/04/18
/writing-the-acknowledgments-the-ettiquette-of-
thanking/
• Lye, M. ( 2009). How to write an effective
conclusion. Laurier Writing Centre. Retrieved from:
https://legacy.wlu.ca/forms/1676/Conclusion.pdf.

35. References
• San Francisco Edit. Twelve steps to writing an
effective results section, In:
Scientific, Medical and General Proofreading
and Editing . Retrieved from :
http://www.sfedit.net/results.pdf
• Spencer, T. How to write a dissertation abstract.
Retrieved from:
http://classroom.synonym.com/write-
dissertation-abstract-1585.html
• Research in Education by John W.

37. Contact Information
• Fatimah R.Hasan Al Bajalani, PhD
Professor in Applied Linguistics/
English Language Teaching and Curriculum
Design
• Director of Curriculum Development
Salahaddin University-Erbil, KRG
• email: fatimah.hassan@su.edu.krd
fatimah.hassan@mhe-krg.org
Facebook: Fatimah Hasan
• mobile:009647504609670

38. Thank you for your
Participation