I worked out a suggested structure for one of my dissertation students, and I thought I’d share it in here too. This is a suggestion only, and you might make changes depending on your own projects. But is always helpful to at least have an idea:
Chapter 1. Introduction (1.5K – 2K)
- Background information of your context
- Why this research is important now?
- The research aims and objectives
- Describe the structure of the whole thesis
Chapter 2. Literature review (2K – 2.5K)
- Define key concepts
- What do we know about the research phenomena?
- What do we know about the context of interest?
- What are the main theories used to study this phenomenon? (you can use tables for this)
- What are the main methods used? (you can use tables for this)
- What are the research gaps (you connect the gaps with your research aims and objectives).
Chapter 3. Methodology (1.5K -2K)
- Research philosophy (Positivist/Critical Realism/ Interpretivist – discuss which one is more appropriate to your own views as a researcher and the type of research you want to do).
- Research strategy
- Data collection method (interviews/ focus groups). You need to justify the method, and discuss the steps that the literature suggests one should follow when using the method.
- Data analysis method (Since this post is about qualitative data, have a look at thematic analysis or template analysis – you also need to discuss why you are choosing one vs the other).
- Sampling strategy (purposive sampling, convenience sampling ..any other?) Justify your choice and acknowledge limitations.
- Ethical implications (consent, confidentiality, how data is going to be stored).
Chapter 4. Findings (2K – 3K)
- RQ 1 — (Add a subheading that relates to RQ1)
- Theme 1
- Theme 2
- Theme 3
- RQ 2 —- (Add a subheading that relates to RQ2)
- Theme 1
- Theme 2
- Theme 3
- RQ 3 —(Add a subheading that relates to RQ3)
- Theme 1
- Theme 2
Chapter 5. Discussion (1.5K -2K)
- You could organise this section around the same subheadings as in the findings chapter.
- The important part of this section is to connect your findings to the wider literature:
- If your findings support previous findings, need to connect with them and discuss the implications of that.
- If your findings contradict previous studies – you can theorise why this might be.
Chapter 6. Conclusion (1.5K – 2K)
- Meeting the research objectives
- Theoretical contributions
- Practical contributions (e.g. industry, managers)
- Limitations
- Areas future research