The document provides guidance on writing the introduction and overview for a doctoral dissertation or thesis, emphasizing the importance of presenting the topic, research methodology, and significance clearly. It outlines essential components to include, such as a problem statement, theoretical context, and research questions, alongside tips for effective writing. Additionally, it suggests resources for further reading on crafting a strong introduction and understanding research methodologies.

1. Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation
or Thesis Faster
A Proven Map to Success
by E. Alana James and Tracesea Slater
Are You Ready to Write the Overview
for Your Study?

3. What is Included in an Award-Winning
Introduction/Overview Chapter
• Introduction of the Topic
Huges (2010) builds a case, step by step, that persuades her audience of the
worthiness of her topic and her consideration of it as a narrative life history,
rather than a straight qualitative or quantitative research design. While not
discussing methodology directly, she sets her case through consideration of the
human, woman oriented, life choices that would lead to career decisions.
• Introduction of the Topic and the Methodology
Pershing (2003) writes with a strict scientific orientation with an introductory
chapter that might very well stand in as a synopsis of the entire work., almost
every topic in the first three chapters was covered in brief in her introduction
chapter.

4. Three Goals for the Introduction

5. • Make your reader feel comfortable with your topic in
the context of your study.
• Discuss the logic of your research methodology.
• Persuade the reader that your study is important.

6. What to Include in Your Overview

7. • Introduction to Chapter
• Context for the Study
• Problem or Purpose Statement (or Both)
• Nature of the Study
• Theoretical Context
• Local and Societal Context and Significance

8. • Hypothesis (for Quantitative Studies) and Research
Questions (for Qualitative Studies) and Both (for Mixed
Methods)
• Operational Definitions (Explanation of Jargon if
Necessary)
• Limitations of the Study
• Delimiters
• Significance
• Summary

9. Topics Which Tie the Sections Together

10. • Discussion of Your Topic
• Discussion of Your Context
• Discussion of the Literature
• Methodological design?

11. Introduction Writing Tips: Do…

12. • Make your writing as concise as possible.
• Consider the pace of each section in relation to the one
before and after.
• Have people, who are not engaged in an academic
setting, read your introduction and tell you where they
get confused or have questions.
• Wait a week after you think it is perfect and then go back
to reread it out loud again.

13. Introduction Writing Tips: Don’t…

14. • Make sweeping or grandiose claims or write about how
things “should” be. This is one of the most common mistakes
for new academic writers, driven by passion. The world is a
complex place, and as you progress in research you will find
that many of your original assumptions don’t hold up in other
circumstances or contexts.
• Use the words many, most, some, and so forth. These are
considered vague attributions and force the reader to ask
who is involved in the many, the most, or some of the people
about whom you refer?

15. Where Should I Go to Dig Deeper?
Suggested Resources to Consider
• Bloomberg, L. D., & Volpe, M. (2012). Completing your qualitative dissertation: A
road map from beginning to end (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. These authors
do a great job of discussing the perfect introduction for a qualitatively based research
thesis.
• Sapsford, R., & Jupp, V. (1996). Counting cases: Measurement and case selections. In
R. Sapsford & V. Jupp (Eds.), Data collection and analysis (pp. xxi, 360). London: Sage
in association with Open University. Since the purpose of the introduction is to
persuade your reader that your study is valid and credible, this book’s focus on data
collection and analysis within quantitative work offers guidelines that will be helpful.
• Wallen, N. E., & Fraenkel, J. R. (2001). Educational research: A guide to the process
(2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. This is a classic for educational research
and should be seen as a total examination of the decisions and challenges of
scientific research within an educational setting. An introduction that adopts this
model would be convincing.