How to write an introduction chapter for a thesis

 When writing a thesis, you will need to write an introductory chapter. This chapter is critical as it is the first thing that the examiner will read and it is therefore important to make a good first impression. 

A good introduction chapter should incite the reader to read the rest of the thesis by establishing the context of your topic, the motivation for undertaking your work and the importance of your research.

As a lecturer and supervisor, I have read many introductory chapters for research projects such as theses. Here is my advice to those undertaking a research project and writing a thesis.

Capture the reader’s interest

Initially you need to capture the reader’s attention with a discussion of a broader theme relating to your research. To add impact draw on research, data and quotations from international or national professional bodies, governmental organisations or key authors on the topic of study.

Give an overview of your research topic

Your discussion should then begin by detailing the broader aspects of the topic more, before focussing on the specific topic of your research. It is a good idea when you do this to assume that the reader knows nothing about your topic. Therefore definitions, drawing on key research, need to be clarified and explained. Alternatively, if having read key literature for the literature review chapter, you are not satisfied with existing definitions, then draw on these, to devise your own (but make it clear you have done this).

Detail how your research is going to make a contribution

You must then sell your idea for undertaking the research topic, demonstrating the main reasons why the research will make a significant contribution to the current body of research. This can be achieved by demonstrating a gap or limitation with existing research, then showing how your research will resolve this. There are different types of contribution (see Constructing Research Questions: Doing Interesting Research).

Explain what your interest is in the topic

Next you need to demonstrate your personal reasons for choosing the topic. These could relate to your previous research, work or experiences.

List your research objectives

You need to include your three or four overarching research objectives. Also include corresponding research questions if it is a qualitative piece of research or hypotheses if it is quantitative-based. The former are usually derivatives of the research objectives. Note though that these objectives and questions or hypotheses are fluid in nature and can be tweaked as you undertake the research.

Give a forthcoming chapter overview

The final part of the introduction is an overview of the rest of the chapters in the thesis. The other sections can go in any order, providing it is a logical sequence.

Learn from others

Look at other theses for example from White Rose etheses or your university library’s website. The majority of journal articles that you will read in the content of your topic will also provide useful insights.

Speak with your supervisor

Remember to always speak with your supervisor and have regular catch-ups. They will be able to offer guidance and encouragement, and steer you in the right direction.

source : https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-innovation/dir-record/research-blog/600/how-to-write-an-introduction-chapter-for-a-thesis

 

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SKILLS FOR LEARNING

GUIDE TO WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW FOR

DOCTORAL STUDENTS

An essential part of a thesis is the literature review, which can either be a standalone chapter or part

of the introduction. It is where you must discuss and review the studies, perspectives, theories and

bodies of work relevant to your research question(s) and, in the process, demonstrate the gaps or

shortcomings in previous research that your work will fill. In this way, it justifies the research that

your thesis goes on to discuss.

It is often useful to write two versions of the literature review – one at the beginning of your studies,

and a revised version at the end. Initially, you may find it helpful to write a draft literature review as

you begin to read around your topic in more detail and get a sense of the field. When you return to

the review at the end of your research, you will have a more sophisticated understanding of the area

and will be able to critique and evaluate previous work in a more authoritative and detailed way.

The literature review must do two key things:

 It must ‘demonstrate an understanding of both the previous research and general writings

that are relevant to your research area’

 It must ‘demonstrate to the examiners your ability to critically integrate and evaluate this

literature’ (Steane, 2004, p. 124).

DECIDING ON TEXTS FOR INCLUSION

The amount of literature published on your topic may seem overwhelming at first, and you may be

unsure about how many texts to cover. You will most likely want to include a text if:

 It deals with a theory that underpins your work

 It makes a definitive statement about an aspect of your study

 It deals with your subject area or overlaps it

 It shows your acknowledgement of the work of others

 It assists in the maintenance of a coherent argument

 It puts your work into an external context

 It defines the current state of research in your area (Brewer, 2009, p. 139).

It can also be helpful to start by identifying the main studies or texts that are most similar to your

area of interest or approach and work outwards from there, deciding on a cut-off point at which

work becomes too distant or dated to include.

Ref: LS131 | Skills for Learning |March 2018

BEING CRITICAL

It is important that your literature review critically evaluates the research that it covers; it shouldn’t

simply describe other people’s work. It is therefore necessary to think critically about the literature

as you read and make notes that are analytical rather than descriptive. Consider:

 Who is saying this?

 Why are they saying it?

 What is the basis on which they are saying it?

 Is this basis sound?

 What is the particular perspective from which the subject is approached?

 What have others said about this work?

 How does what it says relate to your research question or problem? (Brewer, 2009, p. 138).

Remember that being “critical” does not mean “criticising” – you are evaluating the literature, and

should aim to act as a ‘dispassionate investigator’ rather than trying to identify faults in everything

you read (Steane, 2004, p. 135).

STRUCTURE

Once you are ready to start writing, it is vital to think about how you will structure your literature

review, otherwise there is a risk that it will become a loose sequence of summaries rather than an

integrated and logical overview of existing work. If you don’t find that a structure develops

organically, you could try following these suggestions:

 Chronologically: this can sometimes be a restrictive or overly-simple way of presenting the

final version of a literature review, but in your first drafts it may help to arrange the

literature chronologically and trace threads, associations and connections throughout.

 Thematically: you might discuss the literature in relation to themes within your research, or

draw out comparable themes in the work you have read; take care if you use themes and

sub-themes to put in clear ‘signposts’ when moving between them.

 The wheel: if you draw on research from different disciplines, you might be bringing

together different topics or literatures that converge as part of your research – discussing

these in a review will involve connecting these different elements (or ‘spokes’ of the wheel)

and showing how they meet in relating to or supporting your research.

 The pyramid: you might want to start with a broader overview of relevant literature, before

narrowing towards discussing the texts or studies closest to your own topic.

 Structure it around your main research questions and look at how others have addressed

these (Thomson, 2016).

Once you start writing, remember to try to avoid description and work in your own evaluation and

analysis of the texts, to ensure the examiners can hear your “voice”. Reading book reviews in

journals can help to identify a formal and academic reviewing style if you are unsure how to begin.

REFERENCES:

Brewer, R. (2007) Your PhD thesis: how to plan, draft, revise and edit your thesis. Abergele: Study

Mates.

Steane, P. (2004) Fundamentals of a literature review, in Steane, P. and Burton, S. (eds). Surviving

your thesis. London: Routledge, pp. 124-137.

Thomson, P. (2016) Five ways to structure a literature review [online]. [Accessed 2 September 2016].

Available at: https://patthomson.net/2016/08/29/five-ways-to-structure-a-literature-review/

Writing a thesis

Tips on how to structure the thesis 

 Doctoral theses are mostly never written in a linear fashion. They almost certainly get done in patches and some chapters such as the Literature Review is in a lot of cases constantly updated throughout the writing process. For many doctoral students this is the first chapter to be written but often the last to be finished.

Writing a thesis involves specific chapters, usually around five or six but in some cases it may be more or less depending on the discipline or chosen style. So what tips does the Wolverhampton Doctoral College have for the writing process?

 

1. Brain dump your notes into chapter folders

Identify your chapters. Name folders correspondingly after you identify them.

Make notes as you journey through the doctorate and then drop them in the relevant chapter folder where you think they belong. For example, if you read an article on methods then put this in your Methodology or Research Design folder. Folders can either be electronic or hard copies.

Use headings and subheadings within the chapter folder to organise your notes and start moulding your chapters.

 

2. Read other theses or doctoral dissertations online

First look at the structure of a conventional thesis. To do this go to the GRASP section in Canvas and examine the slides on an outline of an educational thesis in standard format.

Go to online repositories or libraries like EThOS which houses most UK theses and read up other doctoral theses in your discipline. Look at how they are structured. Discuss alternate structures with your supervisor if you choose not to go the conventional way. Look at the different lengths of thesis chapters and take note of chapter headings and subheadings. You can imitate the style of other theses and their structure. Consider how the reference sections of other theses are put together. Also, note aspects like first or third person being used in chapters and how this might correlate to the discipline of the thesis.

 

3. Arguments in theses

When reading other theses look at the way arguments are presented. When reading theses that are close to your area of study, could you think of presenting other arguments that might make your thesis more interesting. This links in with using your own voice. Again, note how other researchers present their own voice in arguments and the style used. Trafford and Lesham (2008, 24-25) suggest a list of different styles of presenting arguments such as hedging or using relational markers. This will match the discipline you might are in mostly. It is important to note that there is no right or wrong way to set up a chapter.

 

4. Chapter 1 (Introduction) structure tips

This chapter asks the question why is this research important to do and it gives an overview of the thesis. Sub headings like an introduction, background, context, aims and scope form parts of this chapter. You might also state any different set ups that your thesis might have and explicitly state the structure of your thesis.

 

5. Chapter 2 (Literature Review) structure tips

The Literature Review can be one or more chapters. In this chapter the focus is on what has been researched before, a review of past literature but also a presentation of an argument in your own voice. This voice could be critical of the strengths and weaknesses of existing literature and it could also comment on how interesting some literature might be and could go on to challenge aspects of the literature as well.

Even though similar studies might overlap with your gap in knowledge you might want to look at the literature from different angles such as from a methodological standpoint or the context in which literature makes claims.

Chapter 2 states a gap in the literature while the stated research questions provides a boundary for the thesis. It is important to remember that you too as a PGR are a master of your own work and hence you should not hesitate to challenge and question the existing body of literature.

 

6. Chapter 3 (Methodology) structure tips

This chapter focuses on the approach and theoretical underpinning of how you collect data. It also looks at the micro approach used by you as a researcher as to how you will collect data specifically for your thesis. For some researchers an ontological (a researcher’s relationship to reality or the knowledge of reality)  and epistemological approach ( the study of this reality or knowledge)  is also discussed.

Ethical frameworks and ethical issues that you anticipate can also be discussed here. The most important premise for this chapter is to ensure that you justify why you chose the particular research design or methodological approach over others. For example, why would you choose an ethnographical approach over an auto ethnographical approach.

 

7. Chapter 4 (analysis and findings or results) tips

Sometimes these chapters are merged together or written separately. This chapter should tell the reader what the findings say and mean. It should also tell the reader how you have answered your research questions and often the chapter can be structured to follow the research questions themselves.

A discussion of these findings is then written up where the findings are discussed in terms of the wider body of literature from the review in Chapter 2. Questions to answer in this chapter are how do the findings extend, add or challenge arguments in the literature review. What is your contribution to knowledge? State this explicitly and with clarity for the reader. Look at canvas resources in R2 as to how you could do this successfully and some definitions on how to state the making of a contribution.

 

8. Chapter 5 (Conclusions/recommendations) chapter tips

Since you are limited by time and space in a doctorate, in this chapter talk about your research in a wide way. What does this mean for policy and practice? You can also talk about what you have done differently too. As the doctorate is a learning experience show what you have learnt through this process. No researcher is perfect and no researcher does not learn from their own research.

You can then go on to make some recommendations for practice and/or policy. Ensure that there is a direct link between your research questions and your recommendations. Make sure you do not trash your research though by undermining it.

9. A task tip

Draw up your own thesis outline. Make sure there is a continuous story or linking sentences even if you write in bits. Share it with your supervisor and get them to comment on it.

10. Other tips

Print your thesis or if you want to be green then look at the word count of your writing to help motivate you. When you as a PGR student sees growth, you will be spurred on to write even more.

Expand each chapter of your outline and use separate pages for each chapter. Use Microsoft Word ‘Styles’ to help ensure consistency of formatting of each chapter.

Talk to your supervisors about deadlines and have an agreement and a timeline. Avoid long sentences as they often increase ambiguity and can confuse the reader. A proofreader may be used at the latter stages of the doctorate.

Finally, be proud and own your research, it is your work and after all you are the sole master of your research!

THE END