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What Is a Dissertation? | Guide, Examples, & Template

A dissertation is a long-form piece of academic writing based on original research conducted by you. It is usually submitted as the final step in order to finish a PhD program.

Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you’ve ever completed. It requires solid research, writing, and analysis skills, and it can be intimidating to know where to begin.

Your department likely has guidelines related to how your dissertation should be structured. When in doubt, consult with your supervisor.

You can also download our full dissertation template in the format of your choice below. The template includes a ready-made table of contents with notes on what to include in each chapter, easily adaptable to your department’s requirements.

Download Word template Download Google Docs template

• In the US, a dissertation generally refers to the collection of research you conducted to obtain a PhD.
• In other countries (such as the UK), a dissertation often refers to the research you conduct to obtain your bachelor’s or master’s degree.

Table of contents

Dissertation committee and prospectus process, how to write and structure a dissertation, acknowledgements or preface, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review, methodology, reference list, proofreading and editing, defending your dissertation, free checklist and lecture slides.

When you’ve finished your coursework, as well as any comprehensive exams or other requirements, you advance to “ABD” (All But Dissertation) status. This means you’ve completed everything except your dissertation.

Prior to starting to write, you must form your committee and write your prospectus or proposal . Your committee comprises your adviser and a few other faculty members. They can be from your own department, or, if your work is more interdisciplinary, from other departments. Your committee will guide you through the dissertation process, and ultimately decide whether you pass your dissertation defense and receive your PhD.

Your prospectus is a formal document presented to your committee, usually orally in a defense, outlining your research aims and objectives and showing why your topic is relevant . After passing your prospectus defense, you’re ready to start your research and writing.

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The structure of your dissertation depends on a variety of factors, such as your discipline, topic, and approach. Dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a long essay , building an overall argument to support a central thesis , with chapters organized around different themes or case studies.

However, hard science and social science dissertations typically include a review of existing works, a methodology section, an analysis of your original research, and a presentation of your results , presented in different chapters.

Dissertation examples

We’ve compiled a list of dissertation examples to help you get started.

• Example dissertation #1: Heat, Wildfire and Energy Demand: An Examination of Residential Buildings and Community Equity (a dissertation by C. A. Antonopoulos about the impact of extreme heat and wildfire on residential buildings and occupant exposure risks).
• Example dissertation #2: Exploring Income Volatility and Financial Health Among Middle-Income Households (a dissertation by M. Addo about income volatility and declining economic security among middle-income households).
• Example dissertation #3: The Use of Mindfulness Meditation to Increase the Efficacy of Mirror Visual Feedback for Reducing Phantom Limb Pain in Amputees (a dissertation by N. S. Mills about the effect of mindfulness-based interventions on the relationship between mirror visual feedback and the pain level in amputees with phantom limb pain).

The very first page of your document contains your dissertation title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo.

Read more about title pages

The acknowledgements section is usually optional and gives space for you to thank everyone who helped you in writing your dissertation. This might include your supervisors, participants in your research, and friends or family who supported you. In some cases, your acknowledgements are part of a preface.

Read more about acknowledgements Read more about prefaces

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The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about 150 to 300 words long. Though this may seem very short, it’s one of the most important parts of your dissertation, because it introduces your work to your audience.

Your abstract should:

• State your main topic and the aims of your research
• Describe your methods
• Summarize your main results
• State your conclusions

Read more about abstracts

The table of contents lists all of your chapters, along with corresponding subheadings and page numbers. This gives your reader an overview of your structure and helps them easily navigate your document.

Remember to include all main parts of your dissertation in your table of contents, even the appendices. It’s easy to generate a table automatically in Word if you used heading styles. Generally speaking, you only include level 2 and level 3 headings, not every subheading you included in your finished work.

Read more about tables of contents

While not usually mandatory, it’s nice to include a list of figures and tables to help guide your reader if you have used a lot of these in your dissertation. It’s easy to generate one of these in Word using the Insert Caption feature.

Read more about lists of figures and tables

Similarly, if you have used a lot of abbreviations (especially industry-specific ones) in your dissertation, you can include them in an alphabetized list of abbreviations so that the reader can easily look up their meanings.

Read more about lists of abbreviations

In addition to the list of abbreviations, if you find yourself using a lot of highly specialized terms that you worry will not be familiar to your reader, consider including a glossary. Here, alphabetize the terms and include a brief description or definition.

Read more about glossaries

The introduction serves to set up your dissertation’s topic, purpose, and relevance. It tells the reader what to expect in the rest of your dissertation. The introduction should:

• Establish your research topic , giving the background information needed to contextualize your work
• Narrow down the focus and define the scope of your research
• Discuss the state of existing research on the topic, showing your work’s relevance to a broader problem or debate
• Clearly state your research questions and objectives
• Outline the flow of the rest of your work

Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant. By the end, the reader should understand the what, why, and how of your research.

Read more about introductions

A formative part of your research is your literature review . This helps you gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on your topic.

Literature reviews encompass:

• Finding relevant sources (e.g., books and journal articles)
• Assessing the credibility of your sources
• Critically analyzing and evaluating each source
• Drawing connections between them (e.g., themes, patterns, conflicts, or gaps) to strengthen your overall point

A literature review is not merely a summary of existing sources. Your literature review should have a coherent structure and argument that leads to a clear justification for your own research. It may aim to:

• Address a gap in the literature or build on existing knowledge
• Take a new theoretical or methodological approach to your topic
• Propose a solution to an unresolved problem or advance one side of a theoretical debate

Read more about literature reviews

Theoretical framework

Your literature review can often form the basis for your theoretical framework. Here, you define and analyze the key theories, concepts, and models that frame your research.

Read more about theoretical frameworks

Your methodology chapter describes how you conducted your research, allowing your reader to critically assess its credibility. Your methodology section should accurately report what you did, as well as convince your reader that this was the best way to answer your research question.

A methodology section should generally include:

• The overall research approach ( quantitative vs. qualitative ) and research methods (e.g., a longitudinal study )
• Your data collection methods (e.g., interviews or a controlled experiment )
• Details of where, when, and with whom the research took place
• Any tools and materials you used (e.g., computer programs, lab equipment)
• Your data analysis methods (e.g., statistical analysis , discourse analysis )
• An evaluation or justification of your methods

Read more about methodology sections

Your results section should highlight what your methodology discovered. You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses , or themes, but avoid including any subjective or speculative interpretation here.

Your results section should:

• Concisely state each relevant result together with relevant descriptive statistics (e.g., mean , standard deviation ) and inferential statistics (e.g., test statistics , p values )
• Briefly state how the result relates to the question or whether the hypothesis was supported
• Report all results that are relevant to your research questions , including any that did not meet your expectations.

Additional data (including raw numbers, full questionnaires, or interview transcripts) can be included as an appendix. You can include tables and figures, but only if they help the reader better understand your results. Read more about results sections

Your discussion section is your opportunity to explore the meaning and implications of your results in relation to your research question. Here, interpret your results in detail, discussing whether they met your expectations and how well they fit with the framework that you built in earlier chapters. Refer back to relevant source material to show how your results fit within existing research in your field.

Some guiding questions include:

• What do your results mean?
• Why do your results matter?
• What limitations do the results have?

If any of the results were unexpected, offer explanations for why this might be. It’s a good idea to consider alternative interpretations of your data.

Read more about discussion sections

Your dissertation’s conclusion should concisely answer your main research question, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your central argument and emphasizing what your research has contributed to the field.

In some disciplines, the conclusion is just a short section preceding the discussion section, but in other contexts, it is the final chapter of your work. Here, you wrap up your dissertation with a final reflection on what you found, with recommendations for future research and concluding remarks.

It’s important to leave the reader with a clear impression of why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known? Why is your research necessary for the future of your field?

Read more about conclusions

It is crucial to include a reference list or list of works cited with the full details of all the sources that you used, in order to avoid plagiarism. Be sure to choose one citation style and follow it consistently throughout your dissertation. Each style has strict and specific formatting requirements.

Common styles include MLA , Chicago , and APA , but which style you use is often set by your department or your field.

Create APA citations Create MLA citations

Your dissertation should contain only essential information that directly contributes to answering your research question. Documents such as interview transcripts or survey questions can be added as appendices, rather than adding them to the main body.

Read more about appendices

Making sure that all of your sections are in the right place is only the first step to a well-written dissertation. Don’t forget to leave plenty of time for editing and proofreading, as grammar mistakes and sloppy spelling errors can really negatively impact your work.

Dissertations can take up to five years to write, so you will definitely want to make sure that everything is perfect before submitting. You may want to consider using a professional dissertation editing service or grammar checker to make sure your final project is perfect prior to submitting.

After your written dissertation is approved, your committee will schedule a defense. Similarly to defending your prospectus, dissertation defenses are oral presentations of your work. You’ll present your dissertation, and your committee will ask you questions. Many departments allow family members, friends, and other people who are interested to join as well.

After your defense, your committee will meet, and then inform you whether you have passed. Keep in mind that defenses are usually just a formality; most committees will have resolved any serious issues with your work with you far prior to your defense, giving you ample time to fix any problems.

As you write your dissertation, you can use this simple checklist to make sure you’ve included all the essentials.

Checklist: Dissertation

My title page includes all information required by my university.

I have included acknowledgements thanking those who helped me.

My abstract provides a concise summary of the dissertation, giving the reader a clear idea of my key results or arguments.

I have created a table of contents to help the reader navigate my dissertation. It includes all chapter titles, but excludes the title page, acknowledgements, and abstract.

My introduction leads into my topic in an engaging way and shows the relevance of my research.

My introduction clearly defines the focus of my research, stating my research questions and research objectives .

My introduction includes an overview of the dissertation’s structure (reading guide).

I have conducted a literature review in which I (1) critically engage with sources, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of existing research, (2) discuss patterns, themes, and debates in the literature, and (3) address a gap or show how my research contributes to existing research.

I have clearly outlined the theoretical framework of my research, explaining the theories and models that support my approach.

I have thoroughly described my methodology , explaining how I collected data and analyzed data.

I have concisely and objectively reported all relevant results .

I have (1) evaluated and interpreted the meaning of the results and (2) acknowledged any important limitations of the results in my discussion .

I have clearly stated the answer to my main research question in the conclusion .

I have clearly explained the implications of my conclusion, emphasizing what new insight my research has contributed.

I have provided relevant recommendations for further research or practice.

If relevant, I have included appendices with supplemental information.

I have included an in-text citation every time I use words, ideas, or information from a source.

I have listed every source in a reference list at the end of my dissertation.

I have consistently followed the rules of my chosen citation style .

I have followed all formatting guidelines provided by my university.

Congratulations!

The end is in sight—your dissertation is nearly ready to submit! Make sure it's perfectly polished with the help of a Scribbr editor.

If you’re an educator, feel free to download and adapt these slides to teach your students about structuring a dissertation.

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The Graduate School

University information technology (uit), main navigation, published articles as dissertation chapters.

• Submission Procedure
• Policies for Theses and Dissertations
• Coauthored Theses and Dissertations
• Approval Requirements
• Publication Requirements
• Copyright Page
• Statement of Thesis/Dissertation Approval
• Dedication, Frontispiece, and Epigraph
• Table of Contents and List of Figures/Tables
• Acknowledgements
• General Formatting Requirements
• Parts Composed of Related Chapters
• Headings and Subheadings
• Tables and Figures
• Footnote and Reference Citations
• Appendix or Appendices
• References or Selected Bibliography
• Documentation Styles
• Writing Styles
• Print Quality
• Accessibility in the PDF
• Electronic Version Submitted for Thesis Release
• Distribution of Theses and Dissertations
• Alternate Text
• Color Contrast
• Accessibility Issues in Table Construction
• Heading Space
• Double Space
• Single Space

Previously Published, Accepted, and Submitted Articles as Chapters of a Dissertation

• Alternate Figure/Table Placement

In the case where students use a previously published, submitted, or accepted article as one or more chapters of their dissertation, the following rules apply. 

Each previously published reprint and accepted or submitted article (or chapter as an article prepared for publication) is treated as a separate chapter. The dissertation must have a general abstract that covers all components. A general introduction and general conclusion are recommended. If a dissertation incorporating previously published articles as chapters is selected, references must be placed at the end of each chapter—not at the end of the manuscript. Each set of references may follow a different style guide, depending on the journal in which the chapter is published or will be published. Table titles and figure captions must be locally numbered. 

Copyright issues frequently arise with previously published material. Students need to obtain permission to duplicate copyrighted material (and, possibly, multiple author releases). A full credit line (stating “Reprinted with permission from” followed by the source) must be placed on the part-title page preceding a reprint or as a footnote on the first page of a chapter that contains a previously published article that has been reformatted to the University of Utah’s format requirements outlined herein. 

For all previously published chapters, permission to reuse or reprint or adapt must be provided by the student to the Thesis Office. Releases from coauthors must also be provided, even if the coauthors are members of the student’s committee or even if the student is the leading author. 

Reprints (published article pages inserted as images on the pages of the manuscript) are acceptable. However, some departments require that previously published articles be reformatted to match all other chapters. Check with your department and committee to see if they accept the use of reprints. 

Reprints are preceded by a part-title page. The chapter title must match exactly the title of the journal article. The part-title page must include the attribution required by the publisher. The reprints are accepted as they are except that they must fit within the thesis margins and manuscript pages must be numbered consecutively with the rest of the text. All other chapters (whether accepted, submitted, or in preparation) must fit University of Utah guidelines, as specified in the handbook (margins, subheads, figure and table placement, etc.). 

In the List of Figures and List of Tables, figures and tables from reprints are treated as if they are numbered with respect to the rest of the text. A local numbering scheme must be used. For example, in the List of Figures, the first figure in Chapter 5, which is a reprint, is listed as 5.1. 

The requirement that all print be at least 2 mm does not apply to reprints. The text may be smaller than that as long as the words, figures, and tables are of sufficient resolution to remain crisp. 

Students using reprints should check the accessibility of the document and make adjustments to the document to make sure that it is accessible to screen readers.

As for any other thesis or dissertation, students are urged to submit their manuscripts prior to the defense for a preliminary review. 

Research Guides@Tufts

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Dissertations and Theses

Dissertations and theses as a research tool.

• Graduate dissertations and theses
• Senior Honors Theses
• Resources for writing & submitting a thesis or dissertation

Obtaining theses & dissertations written at other institutions

Citing dissertations and theses, databases focused on dissertations and theses, sources indexing dissertations and theses, print dissertation indexes and bibliographies.

Theses and dissertations can be a valuable source of information for research.  They can offer the following benefits:

• Just like journal articles, conference proceedings, and other forms of literature, they present original research. Recently completed theses can provide "sneak previews" of ideas and findings that have yet to reach the public via other publication formats.
• They may be the only publicly-available work by authors who do not otherwise publish for general audiences or through commercial publishers.
• They contain extensive bibliographies.
• They provide inspiration for the formatting and presentation of ideas, graphs, charts, and other components of a document.
• They provide insight into the early work of a particular person and have value for historical and biographical purposes.

Want to borrow a thesis or dissertation written at another institution that isn't available in  full text online ? Request it via  ILLIAD , Tufts' interlibrary loan service. Choose the "Thesis" request form and provide as much descriptive information as you can. Not all theses or dissertations are available or loanable, but we'll try to find you a copy!

Some other ways you might be able to find a copy of an older dissertation:

If you can identify the author's institutional affiliation, visit that institution's webpage to see if they catalog or archive students' dissertations. 

Contact the author.  Some authors will post all or some of their dissertation on their website or have journal articles or other publications which draw heavily on this work.

Search the author's name and/or thesis title in full-text journal databases which include article references. These citations may provide clues as to how to locate the document.

Contact your  subject librarian  for assistance.

As with journal articles, books, and other sources, theses and dissertations must be properly cited in any document that references them.  Most citation styles, including APA, Chicago, and MLA, provide specific instructions for formatting these citations.  Citation Management tools, such as EndNote and Zotero, automatically format references for these sources in your selected citation style.  More information is in the Citing Sources guide.

Although requirements for citing dissertations vary according by style, they generally seek to convey the following information:  that the item is a dissertation (rather than an article or a book); the type of degree it resulted in (master's, PhD, etc); whether it was published; and which institution granted the degree.  An example of a citation for a dissertation is presented here in four major citation styles:

• APA:   Miaoulis, I. N. (1987). Experimental investigation of turbulence spectra of charge density fluctuations in the equilibrium range. Unpublished Ph.D., Tufts University, United States -- Massachusetts.
• Chicago:   Miaoulis, Ioannis Nikolaos. "Experimental Investigation of Turbulence Spectra of Charge Density Fluctuations in the Equilibrium Range." Ph.D., Tufts University, 1987.
• IEEE:   [1]    I. N. Miaoulis, "Experimental investigation of turbulence spectra of charge density fluctuations in the equilibrium range,"  United States -- Massachusetts: Tufts University, 1987, p. 98.
• MLA:   Miaoulis, Ioannis Nikolaos. "Experimental Investigation of Turbulence Spectra of Charge Density Fluctuations in the Equilibrium Range." Ph.D. Tufts University, 1987.

The following sources focus primarily or exclusively on theses and dissertations; some provide direct access to full-text.

• DART-Europe E-theses Portal "A partnership of research libraries and library consortia who are working together to improve global access to European research theses."
• Dissertations & Theses: Full Text Comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses worldwide. Of the over 2 million titles in the database, more than 930,000 are available in PDF format for free download. Those that aren't freely available can be ordered from within the database.
• DSpace@MIT Over 25,000 theses and dissertations from all MIT departments completed as far back as the mid 1800's. Note that this is NOT a complete collection of MIT theses.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) Search engine for graduate papers completed at universities both in America and abroad.
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD) Open access (OA) theses and dissertations from institutions worldwide.
• Ethos Service from the British Library for reading and ordering theses produced by students in the United Kingdom.
• Theses Canada Theses from over 60 Canadian universities, going back to 1965.
• Shodhganga@INFLIBNET Centre Digital repository of theses and dissertations from universities in India.

In the following subject-specific databases, the Advance Search option enables filtering by dissertation as the document type.

• American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies Sources on East-Central Europe and the former Soviet Union.
• ARTbibliographies Modern Sources on all forms of modern and contemporary art.
• EconLit Economic literature.
• Engineering Village For literature on all engineering disciplines.
• PsycInfo Sources on psychology and related disciplines.
• Sociological Abstracts For the literature on sociology.
• SPORTDiscus with Full Text Sources on sport, physical fitness, and physical education.
• World Shakespeare Bibliography Sources on materials published since 1971 related to Shakespeare.

A number of indexes and bibliographies of dissertations have been published, primarily in print format.  These often focus on specific historical eras, geographic regions, or topics.

• Dissertation Indexes in the Tufts Catalog
• Dissertation Indexes in WorldCat
• Dissertation Indexes in Google Books
• << Previous: Resources for writing & submitting a thesis or dissertation
• Last Updated: Nov 6, 2023 12:01 PM
• URL: https://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/theses

Revising Your Dissertation for Publication

While a dissertation’s in-depth research and analysis can provide a strong foundation for a book, the dissertation itself is not a book and will not be published by an academic press without substantial revisions. Some acquisitions editors are interested first books, especially if they bring new perspectives and fresh ideas to a field, while others do not often publish first books. If you are considering submitting your dissertation for publication, we recommend that you contact editors at university presses that publish in your subject area for guidance on revising your work. Many editors prefer to be involved in the early stages of this process so they can advise you on how to structure the book and your arguments to create a publishable book. Editors generally require changes in the length, content, tone, and style of a dissertation in order to produce a book that will appeal to buyers in the academic market. Read more about submitting a proposal in our Scholarly Publishing Guide .

Below are selected resources to help you revise your dissertation for publication as a book or journal article(s).

Advice from publishers

• Harvard University Press
• Palgrave Macmillan
• Rowman & Littlefield
• Taylor & Francis
• University of North Carolina Press
• Yale University Press
• Publisher Policies on using content in both a thesis or dissertation and an article (from MIT Libraries)
• From Dissertation to Book by William Germano (Lauinger Library, 4th Floor, PN162 .G37 2013)
• Revising Your Dissertation, Updated Edition : Advice from Leading Editors (updated edition, 2008) edited by Beth Luey (online; GU NetID and password required)
• From Dissertation to Book , Duke University (February 27, 2018)
• From Dissertation to Book ( full transcript ), Harvard University (December 17, 2010)
• How To Turn Your Dissertation into a Book , Yale University (April 6, 2016)
• From Dissertation to Book by Leonard Cassuto (Chronicle of Higher Education, May 30, 2011)
• From Dissertation to Published Book (lanugageandphilosophy.com report on an American Comparative Literature Association workshop)
• Give It a Rest by Laura Portwood-Stacer (Inside Higher Ed, August 6, 2019)
• The Stages of Revising a Dissertation into a Book by Amy Benson Brown (Journal of Scholarly Publishing, vol. 52 no. 2, 2021, p. 127-140) (GU NetID and password required)
• Turning Your Dissertation into a Book (University of Washington)
• Publishing your Dissertation (American Psychological Association)

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Dissertation 101: Tips for researching and writing a doctoral dissertation

By Elizabeth Exline

When Rose Lorenzo got close to finishing her  master’s degree  at University of Phoenix (UOPX), she came to a crossroads. She could walk away with her degree and focus on building her company,  Lorenzo Financial , or she could scratch the itch for more academic knowledge and pursue her doctorate.

Lorenzo chose the latter. (And  still  managed to build her company, lay the groundwork to  launch a new school  and eventually get accepted to law school.)

“Although I knew what I wanted to study, I wish I had known how to choose the right topic and how to narrow that topic down before I started,” Lorenzo recalls.

Lorenzo, of course, is talking about the  dissertation , that book-length document that’s both the capstone of the doctoral degree and the driving force behind a doctoral program’s years of study and academic research.

But settling on a topic is just one part of a process that can intimidate even the most determined scholar. What’s exactly involved in a dissertation? And what’s the point of one anyway? Here, we take a deeper dive into the dissertation experience.

What is a dissertation?

A dissertation is an academic document prepared by a doctoral student that contains  original research  about a topic. The student identifies the  topic, conducts the research, writes the dissertation and defends it in front of a committee led by a dissertation chair and other doctoral faculty who decide whether the research meets the doctoral level research standards. If it does, the student will successfully complete the doctoral program, have their dissertation published in ProQuest and earn a terminal degree , which means the highest education level that can be earned in a field.

The dissertation, in other words, is important. But why all the fuss in the first place? According to Rodney Luster, PhD, a dissertation can enhance society’s overall  knowledge and understanding about an issue and ignite a person’s area of interest and expertise, as well as enhance that expertise .

Luster is the chair for the Center for Leadership Studies and Organizational Research within the College of Doctoral Studies at University of Phoenix , and he points to his own dissertation by way of example. 

His research concerned what is currently known as vicarious trauma, a phenomenon he witnessed among his college students after the 9/11 attacks. His students hadn’t been anywhere near the attack, and yet he noticed they displayed classic signs of trauma. This piqued his interest.

“I was able to conduct what I understand was the first research study looking at  vicarious trauma  in the general population, and that has opened up a lot of doors,” Luster explains.

Now an expert on the concept, he has seen the phenomenon after subsequent events, such as Hurricane Katrina.

Lorenzo’s research was more tailored to her area of interest. She ultimately whittled down her topic from how leadership impacts entrepreneurial success or failure to how it impacts female entrepreneurs specifically.

Topics, in other words, offer the freedom for students to follow their curiosity and experience with the goal of potentially  solving a problem  or  adding to a field’s body of knowledge .

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Practitioner doctorate vs. PhD – 5 things to know before getting started

Dissertation vs. thesis — what's the difference.

Some people may confuse a dissertation with a thesis, but they’re not the same thing. While similar in nature in that they are both the capstone of an academic program, the biggest difference is where a dissertation and a thesis fit in the educational journey. As explained, a doctoral student completes a dissertation, while a thesis is a research paper for a master’s-level student or sometimes within a bachelor’s program. 

There are other differences as well. One is the level of research involved. Often, a thesis is based on existing research. This means that an undergrad or graduate student will compile various research findings to defend a theory or idea in a thesis. A dissertation on the other hand requires doctoral students to conduct, present and defend their own research.

The two documents differ in length too. A thesis is often much shorter and can range from 40 to 60 pages for an undergraduate thesis and from 60 to upward of 100 pages for a master's thesis. A dissertation is 150 to 300 pages, or 80,000 to 100,000 words. As noted, whether it’s presented in front of a panel of faculty or academics as an oral defense is another key difference. This is often required for a dissertation, but oral defense of a thesis may depend on the program or institution.

How to write a dissertation

Figuring out a dissertation topic is a process as individualized as the students in a doctoral degree program. Luster usually encourages candidates to  begin with a title .

“That’s going to be your selling point for everything, and it has to be understandable. It must be concise. It must have a theoretical construct in it. The title will take you a lot of places and will help lead you into the writing process.”

To this Lorenzo adds a less lofty but equally valid cross-check: She learned to really drill down any topic with the question, “ Who cares? ” If there are people who are invested in learning more about the topic (if there are, in other words, people who care), it may warrant further research.

These preliminary exercises lay a solid foundation for the dissertation process, but the actual research and writing can still feel intimidating. Luster, for example, had written a book before starting his dissertation, and points out that a dissertation “is not like any other writing that you’ve done.”

So, where do you start? At UOPX, you start in your first class.

Understanding ACCESS

The dissertation process at UOPX was revamped and rolled out in September 2019, notes Shawn C. Todd-Boone, EdD, the associate dean for ACCESS, research and residency at the College of Doctoral Studies.

Luster says the process was reimagined based on extensive feedback and on a desire to make the process more effective and efficient.

One of the first ways the dissertation process changed was with the development of  ACCESS , an acronym for “ advancing community, critical thought, engagement, scholarship and success .”

This sequence is incorporated into the first three interdisciplinary courses of any doctoral program at UOPX with an eye toward introducing doctoral candidates to what Luster calls a “theoretical mindset.”

The ACCESS program attempts to nurture a culture of inquiry that helps retain doctoral candidates while inspiring them to innovate in their fields, Boone says.

ACCESS, in other words, sets the tone for the entire doctoral process, which is founded on innovation, research and critical thinking.

The five phases of the dissertation

Writing the dissertation occurs in what Luster describes as five phases over the course of different classes. These are:

• Phase 1: Develop a  prospectus , which is an outline of the research project.
• Phase 2: Draft the first chapter of the dissertation, which is known as the  précis .
• Phase 3: Undergo a  concept review  and develop the second chapter.
• Phase 4: Focus on the  proposal , write the third chapter and review chapters one through three.
• Phase 5: Obtain the approval of the  Institutional Review Board , which evaluates research according to the University’s ethical standards.

Better together: How three friends made earning their doctorates a team sport

The uopx difference.

The five phases of the dissertation writing process aren’t ubiquitous. Doctoral students work on a dissertation while going through the program at UOPX — which was very much intentional, according to Boone.

“We have five phases in the dissertation process and a deliverable at the end of each phase to encourage students to finish and to complete on time if they commit to the process,” Boone explains.

This is a notable improvement, according to Lorenzo. “It is more effective to start your research on day one than wait, because it's easier to identify the gap in research and eliminate wasted research time on topics that are not relevant to your study, and [it] helps contribute to the literature review of the study,” she says.

But this process isn’t the only benefit UOPX students enjoy. The doctoral program has several other distinctive features:

• Once upon a time, students interviewed potential research chairs to take on the oversight of their program. The result was stressful, with doctoral candidates often casting a wide net in the hope of securing a chair and then potentially ending up with someone who wasn’t quite the perfect fit. Today, UOPX takes the stress and potential mismatch out of the equation. “Students do not search for  dissertation committee members ,” Boone says. “We assign them.”
• Dissertations from UOPX tend to focus on  functional application  more so than just theory, Luster notes. This means topics have real-world applications, and communities and industries may benefit from the research. For example, one recent dissertation explored the integration of nurse graduates into hospital settings during COVID-19.
• Doctoral candidates have access to  diverse and extensive resources . In addition to comprehensive documentation about the dissertation process at UOPX, candidates can leverage one-on-one appointments with the University’s library staff, engage in workshops with research chairs and seek opportunities to work as research assistants.
• Rather than what Luster calls a sink-or-swim approach, UOPX has invested in a  mentor-driven approach . “I think that makes us largely different and successful with students, especially adult learners,” Luster says.

In the end, that sense of a safety net — both in terms of mentorship and the doctoral community itself — is one of the biggest reassurances doctoral candidates enjoy.

Lorenzo, for example, keeps in touch with a core group of colleagues she met through the program. “No one understands what you’re going through except for [your peers],” she notes.

Or, as Luster puts it: “You don’t have to worry, because you’ll acquire this information along the way, and you have a lot of good people to help you.”

How long is a doctoral dissertation?

Most are 100 to 300 pages and organized by chapters and/or sections and subsections. There are also often requirements for text size, page size and spacing that can depend on your doctoral program.

What are the parts of a dissertation?

A dissertation generally includes a Dissertation Acceptance Certificate, a title page, a copyright statement, an abstract (detailing the objective of the research, the methods and the outcome), a table of contents, the research itself and supplemental information (either as an appendix with charts and tables or as an uploaded file with digital information). Some dissertations include front and back matter, such as acknowledgments, a dedication, a glossary, a bibliography and related features.

Is a dissertation required for a doctorate?

Not always. While most doctoral and PhD degree programs require a dissertation, some don’t, and others require a capstone project.

What's the difference between a PhD and a doctorate?

Individuals who complete a PhD focus on producing new knowledge to contribute to a theory or body of research. Individuals who  complete a practitioner doctorate , on the other hand, focuses on how to apply knowledge to a field or particular issue.

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• RIT Libraries
• Thesis and Dissertation Resources
• Databases and Websites
• Thesis Writing Guides
• Writing in Engineering and Science

Why search this literature?

It is crucial for graduate students to search the thesis and dissertation literature to make sure that an idea or hypothesis has not already been tested, explored, and published.  An additional reason to search this literature is that it is rich with ideas and information not found elsewhere.  If graduate students do not continue on as academics or if students that came after them in their programs did not continue their research, this literature may be the end of the line for scholarship on a topic.

ProQuest has published dissertation e-learning modules covering the usefulness of using dissertations as a research source.  See link below:

• Dissertation eLearning resources from ProQuest Uncover the value of dissertations.

Library Databases

All graduate students should, at minimum, search the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database (PQDT) to see if the research they are proposing to do has already been done by a student at another institution/university.  RIT dissertations and theses have been included in PQDT since approximately 2006.

• Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window Identifies Ph.D. dissertations from U.S. & Canadian universities since 1861. Abstracts from 1980. Master's theses from 1988. Many with full-text.

RIT Scholar Works

• RIT Scholar Works This link opens in a new window Scholar Works contains graduate student theses and dissertations. An electronic copy of a thesis or dissertation is required from all graduate students. A project to scan print theses and dissertations has greatly enhanced the historical content in Scholar Works and content continues to be added on a regular basis as students defend and submit to us their completed work. Students do not submit their work directly to Scholar Works. We place a copy in Scholar Works when we approve the electronic copy for submission to ProQuest.
• ProQuest - Most Accessed Dissertations/Theses

Each month ProQuest updates this list of the top 25 Most-Accessed Dissertations and Theses across all subjects, based upon total PDF downloads. Find out what is trending.

The web sites below should also be consulted as appropriate to perform a full and thorough review of the dissertation and thesis literature beyond your introductory search of ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.  Consider whether a particular country or part of the world would have an interest in your potential research topic.

Only large-scale repositories of dissertations and theses are included here. You may also need to search individual university repositories directly.

• Ebsco Open Dissertations Search thousands of open dissertations and theses from over 50 participating libraries.
• EThOS (from the British Library) EThOS offers a 'single point of access' where researchers the world over can access ALL theses produced by UK Higher Education.
• Indian Institute of Science Dissertations and theses from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
• Indian Theses and Dissertations (Shodhganga) Over 130 participating Indian universities and over 8800 ETD documents.
• National ETD Portal (South Africa) South African theses and dissertations.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). The NDLTD Union Catalog contains more than one million records of electronic theses and dissertations. Search the Union Catalog from here: http://thumper.vtls.com:6090/?theme=NDLTD
• OhioLINK ETD Center Electronic theses and dissertations from colleges and universities in the state of Ohio.
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations OATD aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 600 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes over 1.5 million theses and dissertations. RIT is included.
• Theses Canada Canadian universities voluntarily participate by submitting approved theses and dissertation to Theses Canada. Click on "Search Theses Canada" under the Introduction on the left hand side of the page to begin your search.
• TROVE From the National Library of Australia - Search Trove to explore amazing collections from Australian libraries, universities, museums, galleries and archives.
• Next: Thesis Writing Guides >>

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• Indian J Anaesth
• v.66(1); 2022 Jan

Dissertation writing in post graduate medical education

Department of Anaesthesiology, Dr. B R Ambedkar Medical College, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Mridul M Panditrao

1 Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR), Bathinda, Punjab, India

2 Department of Anaesthesiology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India

Sukhminder Jit Singh Bajwa

3 Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital, Patiala, Punjab, India

Nishant Sahay

4 Department of Anaesthesiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, Bihar, India

Thrivikrama Padur Tantry

5 Department of Anaesthesiology, A J Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kuntikana, Mangalore, Karnataka, India

Associated Data

A dissertation is a practical exercise that educates students about basics of research methodology, promotes scientific writing and encourages critical thinking. The National Medical Commission (India) regulations make assessment of a dissertation by a minimum of three examiners mandatory. The candidate can appear for the final examination only after acceptance of the dissertation. An important role in a dissertation is that of the guide who has to guide his protégés through the process. This manuscript aims to assist students and guides on the basics of conduct of a dissertation and writing the dissertation. For students who will ultimately become researchers, a dissertation serves as an early exercise. Even for people who may never do research after their degree, a dissertation will help them discern the merits of new treatment options available in literature for the benefit of their patients.

INTRODUCTION

The zenith of clinical residency is the completion of the Master's Dissertation, a document formulating the result of research conducted by the student under the guidance of a guide and presenting and publishing the research work. Writing a proper dissertation is most important to present the research findings in an acceptable format. It is also reviewed by the examiners to determine a part of the criteria for the candidate to pass the Masters’ Degree Examination.

The predominant role in a dissertation is that of the guide who has to mentor his protégés through the process by educating them on research methodology, by: (i) identifying a pertinent and topical research question, (ii) formulating the “type” of study and the study design, (iii) selecting the sample population, (iv) collecting and collating the research data accurately, (v) analysing the data, (vi) concluding the research by distilling the outcome, and last but not the least (vii) make the findings known by publication in an acceptable, peer-reviewed journal.[ 1 ] The co-guide could be a co-investigator from another department related to the study topic, and she/he will play an equivalent role in guiding the student.

Research is a creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge.[ 2 ] This work, known as a study may be broadly classified into two groups in a clinical setting:

• Trials: Here the researcher intervenes to either prevent a disease or to treat it.
• Observational studies: Wherein the investigator makes no active intervention and merely observes the patients or subjects allocated the treatment based on clinical decisions.[ 3 ]

The research which is described in a dissertation needs to be presented under the following headings: Introduction, Aim of the Study, Description of devices if any or pharmacology of drugs, Review of Literature, Material and Methods, Observations and Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Limitations of the study, Bibliography, Proforma, Master chart. Some necessary certificates from the guide and the institute are a requirement in certain universities. The students often add an acknowledgement page before the details of their dissertation proper. It is their expression of gratitude to all of those who they feel have been directly or indirectly helpful in conduct of the study, data analysis, and finally construction of the dissertation.

Framing the research question (RQ)

It is the duty of the teacher to suggest suitable research topics to the residents, based on resources available, feasibility and ease of conduct at the centre. Using the FINER criteria, the acronym for feasibility, topical interest, novelty, ethicality and relevance would be an excellent way to create a correct RQ.[ 4 ]

The PICOT method which describes the patient, intervention, comparison, outcome and time, would help us narrow down to a specific and well-formulated RQ.[ 5 , 6 ] A good RQ leads to the derivation of a research hypothesis, which is an assumption or prediction of the outcome that will be tested by the research. The research topic could be chosen from among the routine clinical work regarding clinical management, use of drugs e.g., vasopressors to prevent hypotension or equipment such as high flow nasal oxygen to avoid ventilation.

Review of literature

To gather this information may be a difficult task for a fresh trainee however, a good review of the available literature is a tool to identify and narrow down a good RQ and generate a hypothesis. Literature sources could be primary (clinical trials, case reports), secondary (reviews, meta-analyses) or tertiary (e.g., reference books, compilations). Methods of searching literature could be manual (journals) or electronic (online databases), by looking up references or listed citations in existing articles. Electronic database searches are made through the various search engines available online e.g., scholar.google.com, National Library of Medicine (NLM) website, clinical key app and many more. Advanced searches options may help narrow down the search results to those that are relevant for the student. This could be based on synthesising keywords from the RQ, or by searching for phrases, Boolean operators, or utilising filters.

After choosing the topic, an apt and accurate title has to be chosen. This should be guided by the use of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terminology from the NLM, which is used for indexing, cataloguing, and searching of biomedical and health-related information.[ 7 ] The dissertation requires a detailed title which may include the objective of the study, key words and even the PICOT components. One may add the study design in the title e.g. “a randomised cross over study” or “an observational analytical study” etc.

Aim and the objectives

The Aims and the Objectives of the research study have to be listed clearly, before initiating the study.[ 8 ] “Gaps” or deficiencies in existing knowledge should be clearly cited. The Aim by definition is a statement of the expected outcome, while the Objectives (which might be further classed into primary and secondary based on importance) should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic or relevant, time-bound and challenging; in short, “SMART!” To simplify, the aim is a statement of intent, in terms of what we hope to achieve at the end of the project. Objectives are specific, positive statements of measurable outcomes, and are a list of steps that will be taken to achieve the outcome.[ 9 ] Aim of a dissertation, for example, could be to know which of two nerve block techniques is better. To realise this aim, comparing the duration of postoperative analgesia after administration of the block by any measurable criteria, could be an objective, such as the time to use of first rescue analgesic drug. Similarly, total postoperative analgesic drug consumption may form a secondary outcome variable as it is also measurable. These will generate data that may be used for analysis to realise the main aim of the study.

Inclusion and exclusions

The important aspect to consider after detailing when and how the objectives will be measured is documenting the eligibility criteria for inclusion of participants. The exclusion criteria must be from among the included population/patients only. e.g., If only American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I and II are included, then ASA III and IV cannot be considered as exclusion criteria, since they were never a part of the study. The protocol must also delineate the setting of the study, locations where data would be collected, and specify duration of conduct of the dissertation. A written informed consent after explaining the aim, objectives and methodology of the study is legally mandatory before embarking upon any human study. The study should explicitly clarify whether it is a retrospective or a prospective study, where the study is conducted and the duration of the study.

Sample size: The sample subjects in the study should be representative of the population upon whom the inference has to be drawn. Sampling is the process of selecting a group of representative people from a larger population and subjecting them for the research.[ 10 ] The sample size represents a number, beyond which the addition of population is unlikely to change the conclusion of the study. The sample size is calculated taking into consideration the primary outcome criteria, confidence interval (CI), power of the study, and the effect size the researcher wishes to observe in the primary objective of the study. Hence a typical sample size statement can be - “Assuming a duration of analgesia of 150 min and standard deviation (SD) of 15 min in first group, keeping power at 80% and CIs at 95% (alpha error at 0.05), a sample of 26 patients would be required to detect a minimum difference (effect size) of 30% in the duration of analgesia between the two groups. Information regarding the different sampling methods and sample size calculations may be found in the Supplementary file 1 .

Any one research question may be answered using a number of research designs.[ 11 ] Research designs are often described as either observational or experimental. The various research designs may be depicted graphically as shown in Figure 1 .

Graphical description of available research designs

The observational studies lack “the three cornerstones of experimentation” – controls, randomisation, and replication. In an experimental study on the other hand, in order to assess the effect of treatment intervention on a participant, it is important to compare it with subjects similar to each other but who have not been given the studied treatment. This group, also called the control group, may help distinguish the effect of the chosen intervention on outcomes from effects caused by other factors, such as the natural history of disease, placebo effects, or observer or patient expectations.

All the proposed dissertations must be submitted to the scientific committee for any suggestion regarding the correct methodology to be followed, before seeking ethical committee approval.

Ethical considerations

Ethical concerns are an important part of the research project, right from selection of the topic to the dissertation writing. It must be remembered, that the purpose of a dissertation given to a post-graduate student is to guide him/her through the process by educating them on the very basics of research methodology. It is therefore not imperative that the protégés undertake a complicated or risky project. If research involves human or animal subjects, drugs or procedures, research ethics guidelines as well as drug control approvals have to be obtained before tabling the proposal to the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC). The roles, responsibilities and composition of the Ethics Committee has been specified by the Directorate General of Health Services, Government of India. Documented approval of the Ethics committee is mandatory before any subject can be enroled for any dissertation in India. Even retrospective studies require approval from the IEC. Details of this document is available at: https://cdsco.gov.in/opencms/resources/UploadCDSCOWeb/2018/UploadEthicsRegistration/Applmhrcrr.pdf .

The candidate and the guide are called to present their proposal before the committee. The ethical implications, risks and management, subjects’ rights and responsibilities, informed consent, monetary aspects, the research and analysis methods are all discussed. The patient safety is a topmost priority and any doubts of the ethical committee members should be explained in medically layman's terms. The dissertation topics should be listed as “Academic clinical trials” and must involve only those drugs which are already approved by the Drugs Controller General of India. More commonly, the Committee suggests rectifications, and then the researchers have to resubmit the modified proposal after incorporating the suggestions, at the next sitting of the committee or seek online approval, as required. At the conclusion of the research project, the ethics committee has to be updated with the findings and conclusions, as well as when it is submitted for publication. Any deviation from the approved timeline, as well as the research parameters has to be brought to the attention of the IEC immediately, and re-approval sought.

Clinical trial registration

Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI) is a free online searchable system for prospective registration of all clinical studies conducted in India. It is owned and managed by the National Institute of Medical Statistics, a division of Indian Council of Medical Research, Government of India. Registration of clinical trials will ensure transparency, accountability and accessibility of trials and their results to all potential beneficiaries.

After the dissertation proposal is passed by the scientific committee and IEC, it may be submitted for approval of trial registration to the CTRI. The student has to create a login at the CTRI website, and submit all the required data with the help of the guides. After submission, CTRI may ask for corrections, clarifications or changes. Subject enrolment and the actual trial should begin only after the CTRI approval.

Randomisation

In an experimental study design, the method of randomisation gives every subject an equal chance to get selected in any group by preventing bias. Primarily, three basic types employed in post-graduate medical dissertations are simple randomisation, block randomisation and stratified randomisation. Simple randomisation is based upon a single sequence of random assignments such as flipping a coin, rolling of dice (above 3 or below 3), shuffling of cards (odd or even) to allocate into two groups. Some students use a random number table found in books or use computer-generated random numbers. There are many random number generators, randomisation programs as well as randomisation services available online too. ( https://www-users.york.ac.uk/~mb55/guide/randsery.htm ).

There are many applications which generate random number sequences and a research student may use such computer-generated random numbers [ Figure 2 ]. Simple randomisation has higher chances of unequal distribution into the two groups, especially when sample sizes are low (<100) and thus block randomisation may be preferred. Details of how to do randomisation along with methods of allocation concealment may be found in Supplementary file 2 .

Figure depicting how to do block randomisation using online resources. (a) generation of a random list (b) transfer of the list to an MS excel file

Allocation concealment

If it is important in a study to generate a random sequence of intervention, it is also important for this sequence to be concealed from all stake-holders to prevent any scope of bias.[ 12 ] Allocation concealment refers to the technique used to implement a random sequence for allocation of intervention, and not to generate it.[ 13 ] In an Indian post-graduate dissertation, the sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes (SNOSE) technique is commonly used [ Supplementary file 2 ].

To minimise the chances of differential treatment allocation or assessments of outcomes, it is important to blind as many individuals as possible in the trial. Blinding is not an all-or-none phenomenon. Thus, it is very desirable to explicitly state in the dissertation, which individuals were blinded, how they achieved blinding and whether they tested the success of blinding.

Commonly used terms for blinding are

• Single blinding: Masks the participants from knowing which intervention has been given.
• Double blinding: Blinds both the participants as well as researchers to the treatment allocation.
• Triple blinding: By withholding allocation information from the subjects, researchers, as well as data analysts. The specific roles of researchers involved in randomisation, allocation concealment and blinding should be stated clearly in the dissertation.

Data which can be measured as numbers are called quantitative data [ Table 1 ]. Studies which emphasise objective measurements to generate numerical data and then apply statistical and mathematical analysis constitute quantitative research. Qualitative research on the other hand focuses on understanding people's beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviours and thus these generate non-numerical data called qualitative data, also known as categorical data, descriptive data or frequency counts. Importance of differentiating data into qualitative and quantitative lies in the fact that statistical analysis as well as the graphical representation may be very different.

Data collection types

In order to obtain data from the outcome variable for the purpose of analysis, we need to design a study which would give us the most valid information. A valid data or measurement tool, is the degree to which the tool measures what it claims to measure. For example, appearance of end tidal carbon dioxide waveform is a more valid measurement to assess correct endotracheal tube placement than auscultation of breath sounds on chest inflation.

The compilation of all data in a ‘Master Chart’ is a necessary step for planning, facilitating and appropriate preparation and processing of the data for analysis. It is a complete set of raw research data arranged in a systematic manner forming a well-structured and formatted, computable data matrix/database of the research to facilitate data analysis. The master chart is prepared as a Microsoft Excel sheet with the appropriate number of columns depicting the variable parameters for each individual subjects/respondents enlisted in the rows.

Statistical analysis

The detailed statistical methodology applied to analyse the data must be stated in the text under the subheading of statistical analysis in the Methods section. The statistician should be involved in the study during the initial planning stage itself. Following four steps have to be addressed while planning, performing and text writing of the statistical analysis part in this section.

Step 1. How many study groups are present? Whether analysis is for an unpaired or paired situation? Whether the recorded data contains repeated measurements? Unpaired or paired situations decide again on the choice of a test. The latter describes before and after situations for collected data (e.g. Heart rate data ‘before’ and ‘after’ spinal anaesthesia for a single group). Further, data should be checked to find out whether they are from repeated measurements (e.g., Mean blood pressure at 0, 1 st , 2 nd , 5 th , 10 th minutes and so on) for a group. Different types of data are commonly encountered in a dissertation [ Supplementary file 3A ].

Step 2. Does the data follow a normal distribution?[ 14 ]

Each study group as well as every parameter has to be checked for distribution analysis. This step will confirm whether the data of a particular group is normally distributed (parametric data) or does not follow the normal distribution (non-parametric data); subsequent statistical test selection mainly depends on the results of the distribution analysis. For example, one may choose the Student's’ test instead of the ‘Mann-Whitney U’ for non-parametric data, which may be incorrect. Each study group as well as every parameter has to be checked for distribution analysis [ Supplementary File 3B ].

Step 3. Calculation of measures of central tendency and measures of variability.

Measures of central tendency mainly include mean, median and mode whereas measures of variability include range, interquartile range (IQR), SD or variance not standard error of mean. Depending on Step 2 findings, one needs to make the appropriate choice. Mean and SD/variance are more often for normally distributed and median with IQR are the best measure for not normal (skewed) distribution. Proportions are used to describe the data whenever the sample size is ≥100. For a small sample size, especially when it is approximately 25-30, describe the data as 5/25 instead of 20%. Software used for statistical analysis automatically calculates the listed step 3 measures and thus makes the job easy.

Step 4. Which statistical test do I choose for necessary analysis?

Choosing a particular test [ Figure 3 ] is based on orderly placed questions which are addressed in the dissertation.[ 15 ]

Chosing a statistical test, (a). to find a difference between the groups of unpaired situations, (b). to find a difference between the groups of paired situations, (c). to find any association between the variables, (d). to find any agreement between the assessment techniques. ANOVA: Analysis of Variance. Reproduced with permission from Editor of Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, and the author, Dr Barun Nayak[ 15 ]

• Is there a difference between the groups of unpaired situations?
• Is there a difference between the groups of paired situations?
• Is there any association between the variables?
• Is there any agreement between the assessment techniques?

Perform necessary analysis using user-friendly software such as GraphPad Prism, Minitab or MedCalc,etc. Once the analysis is complete, appropriate writing in the text form is equally essential. Specific test names used to examine each part of the results have to be described. Simple listing of series of tests should not be done. A typical write-up can be seen in the subsequent sections of the supplementary files [Supplementary files 3C – E ]. One needs to state the level of significance and software details also.

Role of a statistician in dissertation and data analysis

Involving a statistician before planning a study design, prior to data collection, after data have been collected, and while data are analysed is desirable when conducting a dissertation. On the contrary, it is also true that self-learning of statistical analysis reduces the need for statisticians’ help and will improve the quality of research. A statistician is best compared to a mechanic of a car which we drive; he knows each element of the car, but it is we who have to drive it. Sometimes the statisticians may not be available for a student in an institute. Self-learning software tools, user-friendly statistical software for basic statistical analysis thus gain importance for students as well as guides. The statistician will design processes for data collection, gather numerical data, collect, analyse, and interpret data, identify the trends and relationships in data, perform statistical analysis and its interpretation, and finally assist in final conclusion writing.

Results are an important component of the dissertation and should follow clearly from the study objectives. Results (sometimes described as observations that are made by the researcher) should be presented after correct analysis of data, in an appropriate combination of text, charts, tables, graphs or diagrams. Decision has to be taken on each outcome; which outcome has to be presented in what format, at the beginning of writing itself. These should be statistically interpreted, but statistics should not surpass the dissertation results. The observations should always be described accurately and with factual or realistic values in results section, but should not be interpreted in the results section.

While writing, classification and reporting of the Results has to be done under five section paragraphs- population data, data distribution analysis, results of the primary outcome, results of secondary outcomes, any additional observations made such as a rare adverse event or a side effect (intended or unintended) or of any additional analysis that may have been done, such as subgroup analysis.

At each level, one may either encounter qualitative (n/N and %) or quantitative data (mean [SD], median [IQR] and so on.

In the first paragraph of Results while describing the population data, one has to write about included and excluded patients. One needs to cite the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) flow chart to the text, at this stage. Subsequently, highlighting of age, sex, height, body mass index (BMI) and other study characteristics referring to the first table of ‘patients data’ should be considered. It is not desirable to detail all values and their comparison P values in the text again in population data as long as they are presented in a cited table. An example of this pattern can be seen in Supplementary file 3D .

In the second paragraph, one needs to explain how the data is distributed. It should be noted that, this is not a comparison between the study groups but represents data distribution for the individual study groups (Group A or Group B, separately)[ Supplementary file 3E ].

In the subsequent paragraph of Results , focused writing on results of the primary outcomes is very important. It should be attempted to mention most of the data outputs related to the primary outcomes as the study is concluded based on the results of this outcome analysis. The measures of central tendency and dispersion (Mean or median and SD or IQR etc., respectively), alongside the CIs, sample number and P values need to be mentioned. It should be noted that the CIs can be for the mean as well as for the mean difference and should not be interchanged. An example of this pattern can be seen in Supplementary file 3F .

A large number of the dissertations are guided for single primary outcome analysis, and also the results of multiple secondary outcomes are needed to be written. The primary outcome should be presented in detail, and secondary outcomes can be presented in tables or graphs only. This will help in avoiding a possible evaluator's fatigue. An example of this pattern can be seen in Supplementary file 3G .

In the last paragraph of the Results, mention any additional observations, such as a rare adverse event or side effect or describe the unexpected results. The results of any additional analysis (subgroup analysis) then need to be described too. An example of this pattern can be seen in Supplementary file 3H .

The most common error observed in the Results text is duplication of the data and analytical outputs. While using the text for summarising the results, at each level, it should not be forgotten to cite the table or graph but the information presented in a table should not be repeated in the text. Further, results should not be given to a greater degree of accuracy than that of the measurement. For example, mean (SD) age need to be presented as 34.5 (11.3) years instead of 34.5634 (11.349). The latter does not carry any additional information and is unnecessary. The actual P values need to be mentioned. The P value should not be simply stated as ‘ P < 0.05’; P value should be written with the actual numbers, such as ‘ P = 0.021’. The symbol ‘<’ should be used only when actual P value is <0.001 or <0.0001. One should try avoiding % calculations for a small sample especially when n < 100. The sample size calculation is a part of the methodology and should not be mentioned in the Results section.

The use of tables will help present actual data values especially when in large numbers. The data and their relationships can be easily understood by an appropriate table and one should avoid overwriting of results in the text format. All values of sample size, central tendency, dispersions, CIs and P value are to be presented in appropriate columns and rows. Preparing a dummy table for all outcomes on a rough paper before proceeding to Microsoft Excel may be contemplated. Appropriate title heading (e.g., Table 1 . Study Characteristics), Column Headings (e.g., Parameter studied, P values) should be presented. A footnote should be added whenever necessary. For outputs, where statistically significant P values are recorded, the same should be highlighted using an asterisk (*) symbol and the same *symbol should be cited in the footnote describing its value (e.g., * P < 0.001) which is self-explanatory for statistically significance. One should not use abbreviations such as ‘NS’ or ‘Sig’ for describing (non-) significance. Abbreviations should be described for all presented tables. A typical example of a table can be seen in Figure 4 .

Example of presenting a table

Graphical images

Similar to tables, the graphs and diagrams give a bird's-eye view of the entire data and therefore may easily be understood. bar diagrams (simple, multiple or component), pie charts, line diagrams, pictograms and spot maps suit qualitative data more whereas the histograms, frequency polygons, cumulative frequency, polygon scatter diagram, box and whisker plots and correlation diagrams are used to depict quantitative data. Too much presentation of graphs and images, selection of inappropriate or interchanging of graphs, unnecessary representation of three-dimensional graph for one-dimensional graphs, disproportionate sizes of length and width and incorrect scale and labelling of an axis should be avoided. All graphs should contain legends, abbreviation descriptions and a footnote. Appropriate labelling of the x - and the y -axis is also essential. Priori decided scale for axis data should be considered. The ‘error bar’ represents SDs or IQRs in the graphs and should be used irrespective of whether they are bar charts or line graphs. Not showing error bars in a graphical image is a gross mistake. An error bar can be shown on only one side of the line graph to keep it simple. A typical example of a graphical image can be seen in Figure 5 . The number of subjects (sample) is to be mentioned for each time point on the x -axis. An asterisk (*) needs to be put for data comparisons having statistically significant P value in the graph itself and they are self-explanatory with a ‘stand-alone’ graph.

Example of an incorrect (a) and correct (b) image

Once the results have been adequately analysed and described, the next step is to draw conclusions from the data and study. The main goal is to defend the work by staging a constructive debate with the literature.[ 16 ] Generally, the length of the ‘ Discussion ’ section should not exceed the sum of other sections (introduction, material and methods, and results).[ 17 ] Here the interpretation, importance/implications, relevance, limitations of the results are elaborated and should end in recommendations.

It is advisable to start by mentioning the RQ precisely, summarising the main findings without repeating the entire data or results again. The emphasis should be on how the results correlate with the RQ and the implications of these results, with the relevant review of literature (ROL). Do the results coincide with and add anything to the prevalent knowledge? If not, why not? It should justify the differences with plausible explanation. Ultimately it should be made clear, if the study has been successful in making some contribution to the existing evidence. The new results should not be introduced and any exaggerated deductions which cannot be corroborated by the outcomes should not be made.

The discussion should terminate with limitations of the study,[ 17 ] mentioned magnanimously. Indicating limitations of the study reflects objectivity of the authors. It should not enlist any errors, but should acknowledge the constraints and choices in designing, planning methodology or unanticipated challenges that may have cropped up during the actual conduct of the study. However, after listing the limitations, the validity of results pertaining to the RQ may be emphasised again.

This section should convey the precise and concise message as the take home message. The work carried out should be summarised and the answer found to the RQ should be succinctly highlighted. One should not start dwelling on the specific results but mention the overall gain or insights from the observations, especially, whether it fills the gap in the existing knowledge if any. The impact, it may have on the existing knowledge and practices needs to be reiterated.

What to do when we get a negative result?

Sometimes, despite the best research framework, the results obtained are inconclusive or may even challenge a few accepted assumptions.[ 18 ] These are frequently, but inappropriately, termed as negative results and the data as negative data. Students must believe that if the study design is robust and valid, if the confounders have been carefully neutralised and the outcome parameters measure what they are intended to, then no result is a negative result. In fact, such results force us to critically re-evaluate our current understanding of concepts and knowledge thereby helping in better decision making. Studies showing lack of prolongation of the apnoea desaturation safety periods at lower oxygen flows strengthened belief in the difficult airway guidelines which recommend nasal insufflations with at least 15 L/min oxygen.[ 19 , 20 , 21 ]

Publishing the dissertation work

There are many reporting guidelines based upon the design of research. These are a checklist, flow diagram, or structured text to guide authors in reporting a specific type of research, developed using explicit methodology. The CONSORT[ 22 ] and Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) initiatives,[ 23 ] both included in the Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research (EQUATOR) international network, have elaborated appropriate suggestions to improve the transparency, clarity and completeness of scientific literature [ Figure 6 ].

Equator publishing tree

All authors are advised to follow the CONSORT/STROBE checklist attached as Supplementary file 4 , when writing and reporting their dissertation.

For most dissertations in Anaesthesiology, the CONSORT, STROBE, Standards for Reporting Diagnostic accuracy studies (STARD) or REporting recommendations for tumour MARKer prognostic studies (REMARK) guidelines would suffice.

Abstract and Summary

These two are the essential sections of a dissertation.

It should be at the beginning of the manuscript, after the title page and acknowledgments, but before the table of contents. The preparation varies as per the University guidelines, but generally ranges between 150 to 300 words. Although it comes at the very beginning of the thesis, it is the last part one writes. It must not be a ‘copy-paste job’ from the main manuscript, but well thought out miniaturisation, giving the overview of the entire text. As a rule, there should be no citation of references here.

Logically, it would have four components starting with aims, methods, results, and conclusion. One should begin the abstract with the research question/objectives precisely, avoiding excessive background information. Adjectives like, evaluate, investigate, test, compare raise the curiosity quotient of the reader. This is followed by a brief methodology highlighting only the core steps used. There is no need of mentioning the challenges, corrections, or modifications, if any. Finally, important results, which may be restricted to fulfilment (or not), of the primary objective should be mentioned. Abstracts end with the main conclusion stating whether a specific answer to the RQ was found/not found. Then recommendations as a policy statement or utility may be made taking care that it is implementable.

Keywords may be included in the abstract, as per the recommendations of the concerned university. The keywords are primarily useful as markers for future searches. Lastly, the random reader using any search engine may use these, and the identifiability is increased.

The summary most often, is either the last part of the Discussion or commonly, associated with the conclusions (Summary and Conclusions). Repetition of introduction, whole methodology, and all the results should be avoided. Summary, if individually written, should not be more than 150 to 300 words. It highlights the research question, methods used to investigate it, the outcomes/fallouts of these, and then the conclusion part may start.

References/bibliography

Writing References serves mainly two purposes. It is the tacit acknowledgement of the fact that someone else's written words or their ideas or their intellectual property (IP) are used, in part or in toto , to avoid any blame of plagiarism. It is to emphasise the circumspective and thorough literature search that has been carried out in preparation of the work.

Vancouver style for referencing is commonly used in biomedical dissertation writing. A reference list contains details of the works cited in the text of the document. (e.g. book, journal article, pamphlet, government reports, conference material, internet site). These details must include sufficient details so that others may locate and access those references.[ 24 ]

How much older the references can be cited, depends upon the university protocol. Conventionally accepted rule is anywhere between 5-10 years. About 85% of references should be dispersed in this time range. Remaining 15%, which may include older ones if they deal with theories, historical aspects, and any other factual content. Rather than citing an entire book, it is prudent to concentrate on the chapter or subsection of the text. There are subjective variations between universities on this matter. But, by and large, these are quoted as and when deemed necessary and with correct citation.

Bibliography is a separate list from the reference list and should be arranged alphabetically by writing name of the ‘author or title’ (where no author name is given) in the Vancouver style.

There are different aspects of writing the references.[ 24 ]

Citing the reference in the form of a number in the text. The work of other authors referred in the manuscript should be given a unique number and quoted. This is done in the order of their appearance in the text in chronological order by using Arabic numerals. The multiple publications of same author shall be written individually. If a reference article has more than six authors, all six names should be written, followed by “ et al .” to be used in lieu of other author names. It is desirable to write the names of the journals in abbreviations as per the NLM catalogue. Examples of writing references from the various sources may be found in the Supplementary file 5 .

Both the guide and the student have to work closely while searching the topic initially and also while finalising the submission of the dissertation. But the role of the guide in perusing the document in detail, and guiding the candidate through the required corrections by periodic updates and discussions cannot be over-emphasised.

Assessment of dissertations

Rarely, examiners might reject a dissertation for failure to choose a contemporary topic, a poor review of literature, defective methodology, biased analysis or incorrect conclusions. If these cannot be corrected satisfactorily, it will then be back to the drawing board for the researchers, who would have to start from scratch to redesign the study, keeping the deficiencies in mind this time.

Before submission, dissertation has to be run through “plagiarism detector” software, such as Turnitin or Grammarly to ensure that plagiarism does not happen even unwittingly. Informal guidelines state that the percentage plagiarism picked up by these tools should be <10%.

No work of art is devoid of mistakes/errors. Logically, a dissertation, being no exception, may also have errors. Our aim, is to minimise them.

The dissertation is an integral part in the professional journey of any medical post-graduate student. It is also an important responsibility for a guide to educate his protégé, the basics of research methodology through the process. Searching for a gap in literature and identification of a pertinent research question is the initial step. Careful planning of the study design is a vitally important aspect. After the conduct of study, writing the dissertation is an art for which the student often needs guidance. A good dissertation is a good description of a meticulously conducted study under the different headings described, utilising the various reporting guidelines. By avoiding some common errors as discussed in this manuscript, a good dissertation can result in a very fruitful addition to medical literature.

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dissertation

Definition of dissertation

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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dissertation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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1651, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near dissertation

dissertative

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“Dissertation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dissertation. Accessed 11 Nov. 2023.

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• boilerplate
• composition
• essay question
• peer review

dissertation | Intermediate English

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to improve your position by going past other people quickly or by missing out some stages

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https://www.wsj.com/science/environment/the-surprising-link-between-thunderstorms-and-asthma-9b839319

The Surprising Link Between Thunderstorms and Asthma

As severe weather events become more common, public health systems will face a challenge in treating respiratory illnesses..

Anupam B. Jena

Christopher M. Worsham

Nov. 10, 2023 1:00 pm ET

This summer was defined by record-breaking heat and dramatic storms across the U.S. Injuries and delays in medical care brought on by flooding, power outages and dangerous road conditions are among the more conspicuous health effects of storms, but they can also lead to a less obvious health problem: asthma.

In 2016, the city of Melbourne, Australia, experienced an alarming mass asthma event immediately following a thunderstorm. In the 30 hours following the storm, area hospitals saw 3,365 more medical visits for breathing problems than would be expected based on the average for the previous three years, an increase of 672%. At the peak of the crisis, calls for ambulances were coming in once every 4.5 seconds. The city’s emergency and healthcare systems were overwhelmed, resulting in 10 deaths and spurring new programs to prepare for future episodes of “thunderstorm asthma.”

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Guest Essay

American Elections Are About Abortion Now

By Tom Bonier

Mr. Bonier is a Democratic political strategist and the senior adviser to TargetSmart, a data and polling firm.

With two election cycles after the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization under our belts, it cannot be denied: Abortion rights are the dominant issue in American politics. And when supporters of abortion rights — a clear majority of Americans — see a connection between their votes and protecting what was once guaranteed by Roe v. Wade, they are more likely to vote.

With a second Trump term possibly hanging in the balance in next November’s election, these are lessons Democrats must seize.

Abortion rights won big on Tuesday night. In Ohio, a constitutional amendment enshrining protections for abortion rights was on the ballot, and in Virginia, control of both chambers of the state legislature was considered a tossup, and both parties made abortion rights the central issue of their campaigns. The pro-abortion-rights measure in Ohio passed by a wide margin . In Virginia, the Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, made his proposal for a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy the central argument for electing Republicans in the state legislature. Republicans failed to win back control in the Senate and lost their narrow majority in the House of Delegates as turnout surged to historically high levels in key swing districts.

Before this week’s elections, most of the attention of the political class and the public was focused on national polls showing Donald Trump holding a lead over President Biden in the 2024 presidential contest. But it is now clearer than ever that the backlash against the Dobbs decision — and voters’ general distaste for strictly limiting abortion access — could play a crucial role in winning Mr. Biden a second term. Certainly, there will be many other major issues at play in this election, including war and voters’ perceptions of the economy. But abortion could plausibly be the deciding factor next November.

Mr. Trump’s narrow lead in recent polls is largely due to Mr. Biden’s underperforming with younger voters and voters of color relative to his support levels in 2020. While there is evidence that these polls overstate the risk to the president’s coalition, perhaps more important, these voters have proved over the course of the past year that they are highly mobilized by abortion rights and will provide strong support to candidates who share their position on the issue. By analyzing the individual-level turnout data from post-Dobbs elections, we know that women and younger voters are most likely to be inspired to vote when they see an opportunity to defend abortion rights and that this coalition is broad and diverse, including a large segment of voters of color.

To date, the post-Dobbs political battles have been fought almost exclusively at the state level. Republicans in Congress, with control of the House of Representatives, have shown little appetite for passing a federal ban, saying the issue is best left to the states to decide. The implausible path for such legislation through a Democratic majority in the Senate, not to mention a certain veto from Mr. Biden, has spared the Republican majority in the House from any substantial pressure to advance such legislation. That said, in the immediate aftermath of seeing his state overwhelmingly support abortion rights this week, the Republican senator J.D. Vance of Ohio is urging a national Republican position on abortion in the form of a 15-week ban.

The base of the Republican Party clearly expects its candidates to prioritize abortion bans. To ignore these calls is to risk a demoralized base on Election Day next year, making the path to victory that much narrower for a party that has won the national popular vote for the presidency only once in the past 35 years. Yet at the same time, the 2022 and 2023 elections have proved that standing firm in support of abortion bans energizes progressive voters and swings independents toward Democratic candidates. Given that Mr. Trump faces the challenge of expanding his coalition beyond that of his 2020 shortfall, such a development could doom his hopes of returning to the White House.

Mr. Biden and his team have no doubt grasped this dynamic and will presumably force Mr. Trump to pick one of the two daunting paths before him. Before the Virginia elections, national Republicans clearly hoped that Mr. Youngkin had found the consensus choice, with what they emphasized as limits on abortion, not bans. These hopes were dashed in polling places across Virginia on Tuesday, something that surely did not go unnoticed in the White House.

Abortion rights have had the biggest impact on elections over the past year and a half where voters believe abortion rights to be threatened and when they plausibly see their votes as a means to protect or reinstate abortion rights, it is good news for Democrats and for expanding or protecting abortion access. States with abortion on the ballot in the form of ballot measures have seen the biggest effect, but similar effects have been felt in states like Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona, where the issue was at the forefront of campaign messaging.

While Republicans find themselves boxed into a corner on the issue of abortion, in many ways Mr. Biden is the ideal messenger to connect the dots for moderates on this issue. His personal journey on abortion rights has been well documented and mirrors that of many Americans. This year Mr. Biden said : “I’m a practicing Catholic. I’m not big on abortion. But guess what? Roe v. Wade got it right.” Polling shows a sizable portion of moderates and even conservatives more or less agree with him: They may not consider themselves activists on the issue of abortion rights, but at the same time, they are deeply uncomfortable with the Dobbs decision and how it stripped so many Americans of individual freedoms.

This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for Mr. Biden in 2024: Republicans are on the defensive when it comes to abortion rights, and are losing ground every day. Mr. Trump, in calling bans on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,” has shown he is aware of the liability the issue represents for his presidential campaign. Yet he is left without a solution that will mollify his supporters while not alienating moderates or mobilizing progressives.

Democrats exceeded expectations and precedent in key races in 2022 and 2023 by putting abortion rights and Republican extremism front and center. In 2024 all voters must understand that their votes will decide the future of abortion rights, everywhere.

Tom Bonier is a Democratic political strategist and the senior adviser to TargetSmart, a data and polling firm.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram .

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AP PHOTOS: Death, destruction and despair reigns a month into latest Israel-Gaza conflict

Palestinians celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis southern Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday. (AP Photo)

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Palestinian militants drive back to the Gaza Strip with the body of Shani Louk, a German-Israeli dual citizen, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmud)

Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Palestinians transport a captured Israeli civilian, center, from Kibbutz Kfar Azza into the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday. (AP Photo)

Palestinians transport a captured Israeli civilian, center, from Kfar Azza kibbutz into the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday. (AP Photo)

Rockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Israeli soldiers walk by civilians killed by Hamas militants in Sderot, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Blood is seen splattered in a child’s room following a massive Hamas militant attack in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Nir Oz is one of more than 20 towns and villages in southern Israel that were ambushed in the sweeping assault by Hamas on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Civilians killed by Hamas militants lie covered in Sderot, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israelis killed by Hamas militants lie on the road near Sderot, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli soldiers walk by a civilian killed by Hamas militants in Sderot, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip infiltrated Saturday into southern Israel and fired thousands of rockets into the country while Israel began striking targets in Gaza in response. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israelis inspect a damaged residential building after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, Israel, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Erik Marmor)

Smoke rises from an explosion following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Palestinians carry the body of a dead child who was found under the rubble of a destroyed house after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

Palestinians inspect the rubble of destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Palestinians evacuate wounded in the Israeli bombardment of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Palestinians react after removing a dead body from the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike in Jebaliya refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ramez Mahmoud )

Palestinians wounded in Israeli strikes are brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmoud)

Palestinians evacuate a building hit in an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Palestinians evacuate two wounded boys out of the destruction following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel over destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Palestinians carry a dead child that was found under the rubble of a destroyed house following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

Wounded Palestinians lie on the floor in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, after arriving from al-Ahli hospital following an explosion there, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. The Hamas-run Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike caused the explosion that killed hundreds at al-Ahli, but the Israeli military says it was a misfired Palestinian rocket. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

An Israeli firefighter kneels to compose himself after he and his colleagues extinguished cars set on fire by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Kenzi al Madhoun, a four-year-old who was wounded in an Israeli bombardment, lies at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah City, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Israeli soldiers move a tank at a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Palestinians inspect the rubble of the Yassin Mosque destroyed after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, early Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Israelis evacuate a site struck by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

An Israeli soldier walks by a house destroyed by Hamas militants in kibbutz Be’eri on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. The kibbutz was overrun by Hamas militants from Neraby Gaza Strip Saturday when they killed and captured many Israelis. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Israelis take cover from the incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

An Israeli soldier mistakenly thinks he hears an air raid siren and jumps to the ground to take cover in kibbutz Be’eri, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. The kibbutz was overrun by Hamas militants from Neraby Gaza Strip Saturday when they killed and captured many Israelis. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Eli Albag cries over the photograph of his daughter Liri during a protest demanding the release of dozens of Israelis who were abducted during last week’s unprecedented Hamas attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

An Israeli soldier hugs his partner near the border with the Gaza Strip, southern Israel, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. The Israeli military has beefed up ground forces near the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground invasion as the latest war between Israel and Hamas militants completes its second week. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Photos of Israelis missing and held captive in Gaza are displayed on a wall in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. The Israeli army says some 200 people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza in Hamas’ cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A Palestinian girl reacts as a child is carried from the rubble of a building after an airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

A wounded Palestinian woman runs away following Israeli airstrikes that targeted her neighborhood in Gaza City on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

A firefighter and a paramedic deliver oxygen to an injured cat rescued from a building struck by a rocket fired from Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Israeli security forces inspect charred vehicles burned in the bloody Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas militants outside the town of Netivot, southern Israel. The cars were collected and placed in an area near the Gaza border after the attack, in which 1,400 people were killed and some 240 people were taken hostage. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Palestinians look for survivors following Israeli airstrike in Nusseirat refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Doaa AlBaz)

Residents of Kibbutz Kfar Azza bind their hands and wear blindfolds during a rally in solidarity with friends and relatives held hostage in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. Hamas militants overran the small farming community during a bloody cross-border raid from Gaza on Oct. 7. Eighteen residents were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, among them seven children, the youngest three years old. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

An injured Palestinian boy cries as rescuers try to pull him out of the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Bureij refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

Israelis take cover in a shelter as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets fired from the Gaza strip, in Ashkelon, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A boy lights candles in the form of the Star of David in honor of victims of the Hamas attacks during a vigil at the Dizengoff square in central Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Rockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in central Israel, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A man walks past a newly painted graffiti that reads Hamas equal ISIS, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. On Oct. 7, more than 1,400 people, primarily Israeli civilians, were killed and some 230 captured in an unprecedented, cross-border attack by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Antonio Macías’ mother cries over her son’s body covered with the Israeli flag at Pardes Haim cemetery in Kfar Saba, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. Macias was killed by Hamas militants while attending a music festival in southern Israel earlier this month. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in front of the morgue in Deir al Balah, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. ( AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Mourners gather around the five coffins of the Kotz family during their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. The family was killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 at their house in Kibbutz Kfar Azza near the border with the Gaza Strip. More than 1,400 people were killed and some 200 captured in an unprecedented, multi-front attack by the militant group that rules Gaza. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Palestinians stand around the bodies of children killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in a morgue in Khan Younis, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Israeli forensic experts work on bodies of Israelis killed by Hamas militants in the National Center for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Mourners gather around the graves of British-Israelis Lianne Sharabi and her two daughters, Noiya,16, and Yahel,13, during their funeral in Kfar Harif, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Lianne Sharabi and her two daughters were killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 in kibbutz Be’eri near the border with the Gaza Strip. More than 1,400 people were killed and some 200 captured in an unprecedented, multi-front attack by the militant group that rules Gaza. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in a morgue in Khan Younis, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. ( AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Friends and relatives of Yonat Or carry her coffin during her funeral at Kibbutz Palmachim, Israel, on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Or was killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, in Kibbutz Be’eri near the border with the Gaza Strip. More than 1,400 people were killed and some 220 captured in an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel by the militant group that rules Gaza. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli soldiers and Shlomit Lipshitz, center, mother of Staff Sgt. Lavi Lipshitz salutes over her son’s grave during his funeral in the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Lipshitz was killed during a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. Israeli ground forces have been operating in Gaza in recent days as Israel presses ahead with its war against Hamas militants. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Mourners embrace during the funeral of Meni and Ayelet Godard, in Kibbutz Palmachim, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. The Israeli couple were killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 in kibbutz Be’eri near the border with the Gaza Strip. More than 1,400 people were killed and some 220 captured in an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel by the militant group that rules Gaza. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli tanks head towards the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel on Thursday, Oct.12, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip sit by a fire in a UNDP-provided tent camp in Khan Younis, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

An Israeli man wearing a prayer shawl prays next to houses destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. The kibbutz was overrun by Hamas militants from the nearby Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, when they killed and captured many Israelis. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Palestinian woman collects seawater to wash clothes at the beach in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Thursday, November 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Palestinians walk by the buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment on al-Zahra, on the outskirts of Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmoud)

Death, destruction and despair.

For the past month it has reigned on both sides of the border separating Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Grief is in the tears of Israelis burying the 1,400 people — mostly civilians, including babies — slain by Hamas militants who stormed into Israel on Oct. 7 .

It is in the anguished screams of Palestinians as the bodies of some of the more than 10,000 people reportedly killed by Israeli airstrikes — 40% of them children — are pulled from the wreckage of shattered homes.

Images are heart-wrenching and horrific.

An elderly Israeli woman is spirited away from a kibbutz to Gaza on the back of a motorcycle, sandwiched between a driver and a militant pointing a rifle to the sky.

Israeli soldiers walk past at least nine bodies strewn on a sidewalk next to a bus shelter with bags and belongings scattered around them. A child’s bunk bed is covered in blood.

Early scenes of Palestinian men raising their arms in victory atop an Israeli tank set ablaze during the raid quickly give way to ones of devastation: whole blocks of Gaza reduced to black-and-white wastelands as relentless missile strikes light up the night sky in balls of flame and glowing clouds of smoke.

The decapitated dome of Yassin Mosque rests atop the collapsed roof of the house of worship, one of many destroyed in Gaza.

In the aftermath of explosions, men dig with bare hands in mountains of shattered concrete blocks in the search for survivors.

Two wounded boys, one with a trickle of blood running from his scalp, cry as they grasp each while being rushed for help on a stretcher.

A rescuer standing near the teeth of a giant backhoe lifts up the limp body of a dead little girl. Two bare feet poke out from under a slab of concrete and rebar next to pair of dirt-covered legs that dangle from the rubble.

The dead are not forgotten .

In Israel, the flag-draped coffins of five members of a family whose bodies were found embracing each other in death are laid to rest side-by-side after a military funeral attended by hundreds.

In Gaza, adults crowd around the corpses of seven small Palestinian children lying next to each other wrapped in plastic and covered in sheets in the Khan Younis morgue. They would appear to be sleeping if not for the bloodstains on their faces.

Palestinians transport a captured Israeli civilian, center, from Kibbutz Kfar Azza into the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo)

Palestinians transport a captured Israeli civilian, center, from Kfar Azza kibbutz into the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo)

Israeli soldiers walk by a civilian killed by Hamas militants in Sderot, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Wounded Palestinians lie on the floor in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, after arriving from al-Ahli hospital following an explosion there, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

An Israeli soldier walks by a house destroyed by Hamas militants in kibbutz Be’eri on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

An Israeli soldier mistakenly thinks he hears an air raid siren and jumps to the ground to take cover in kibbutz Be’eri, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

An Israeli soldier hugs his partner near the border with the Gaza Strip, southern Israel, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Photos of Israelis missing and held captive in Gaza are displayed on a wall in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Residents of Kibbutz Kfar Azza bind their hands and wear blindfolds during a rally in solidarity with friends and relatives held hostage in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A man walks past a newly painted graffiti that reads Hamas equal ISIS, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Mourners gather around the five coffins of the Kotz family during their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Mourners gather around the graves of British-Israelis Lianne Sharabi and her two daughters, Noiya,16, and Yahel,13, during their funeral in Kfar Harif, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Lianne Sharabi and her two daughters were killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 in kibbutz Be’eri near the border with the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Friends and relatives of Yonat Or carry her coffin during her funeral at Kibbutz Palmachim, Israel, on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Or was killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, in Kibbutz Be’eri near the border with the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli soldiers and Shlomit Lipshitz, center, mother of Staff Sgt. Lavi Lipshitz salutes over her son’s grave during his funeral in the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Lipshitz was killed during a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Mourners embrace during the funeral of Meni and Ayelet Godard, in Kibbutz Palmachim, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. The Israeli couple were killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 in kibbutz Be’eri near the border with the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

An Israeli man wearing a prayer shawl prays next to houses destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Full AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Dissecting Research Articles

This session focuses on developing the thinking skills associated with becoming critical consumers of research literature. Through these learning experiences, you will be able to identify key research concepts and utilize these research concepts to begin evaluating research articles more critically. These critical thinking competencies are directly applicable to your coursework and to each aspect of the research process that you will continue to encounter as you advance in your program of studies.

Track Competencies

These sessions directly support the following Track 1 competencies:

• Apply the concept of scholar-practitioner to a professional problem or opportunity.
• Demonstrate the ability to think critically and analytically through interactions and applications in course work and at Track 1 residency.
• Evaluate the credibility of scientific research literature and apply to course work activities.
• Identify and address a research problem and question.
• Understand the role of researcher within respective disciplines.

Appendix Resources

Throughout the session, you will be using two research articles. They will be referred to as Article 1 and Article 2. Article 1 is an example of a quantitative research study and Article 2 is an example of a qualitative research study. You will find links to the articles in the courseroom activities, Dissecting a Quantitative Article and Dissecting a Qualitative Article.

Upon completion of these sessions, you will be able to:

• Identify the key research concepts that form the foundation of the research.
• Identify the research questions formulated in research articles.
• Distinguish between scientific and nonscientific evidence.
• Assess how well a literature review familiarizes readers with a research topic and provides information about how the study fills a gap in the knowledge base.
• Identify the independent and dependent variables in a quantitative study.
• Differentiate between quantitative or qualitative research designs.
• Explain the role and importance of the research questions.
• Describe sampling strategies and the process for recruiting and selecting participants.
• Determine what the differences are between the ways quantitative and qualitative findings are presented and how these differences relate to the overall goals of the research designs.
• Critique the authors’ interpretation of the findings.
• Describe the role of the implication and application sections of a research article.

Identifying a Peer-reviewed Journal

When evaluating research articles, there may be varying opinions on the credibility of the evidence presented. A beginning step for graduate learners is to determine if the article under scrutiny is a peer-reviewed research article.

• Peer review refers to the formal process that determines whether an article will be published. A journal is peer reviewed or refereed when a group of reviewers and an editor read and evaluate manuscripts (Beebe, 1993).
• According to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2010), peer review is conducted by a panel of scholars in the subspecialty of the submitted article. The peer review process focuses on the quality of a submitted manuscript in regards to the work being "original, valid, and significant” (p. 225).

Although one could make a case for only using peer-reviewed journals, there are many important published studies that have not gone through the rigorous process of peer review. Therefore, a graduate learner needs to understand how to judge the credibility of research studies.

Developing Your Research Skills

Knowing how to evaluate research does not happen naturally. Throughout life, individuals make decisions about truth based on nonscientific methods. Examples of nonscientific evidence are opinions, value judgments, personal experiences, unsupported assertions, and second-hand reports. Therefore, learning to distinguish between nonscientific evidence and scientific evidence is a learning process that requires self awareness and practice. As a graduate student, recognizing nonscientific methods and learning how to apply critical thinking skills to the dissection and evaluation of research articles is an essential tool for your educational success.

In this session, obtaining a comprehensive understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis is not the objective. The focus is on helping you achieve a basic understanding of key research concepts that form the foundation of the research process. This session will help you to develop the foundation of knowledge and understanding that you will continue to build upon as you complete coursework in your doctoral program.

You will apply your knowledge of the research process when reading research articles for your courses and comprehensive exam papers, and when designing your dissertation proposal. As you continue in the transformational process, you will become increasingly sophisticated in critically evaluating the claims of authors in research articles, and be able to separate out scientifically verified claims from unsubstantiated claims. "Research can be regarded as a process of asking a question (or a related series of questions) and then initiating a systematic process to obtain valid answers to that question" (Meltzoff, 2001, p. 13). A research article describes the research design and the results of the study conducted.

Components of Research Articles

• Abstract — A 120-150 word summary of the entire article. It captures the essence of the entire article.
• Introduction (Background) — An introduction sets the backdrop of the specific research topic and the study, and identifies the research question(s).
• Literature Review — This section provides a summary of the literature on key themes of the specific research topic. It also gives readers a sense of what has been written in the field about the specific research topic.
• Methodology — This section is a detailed description of how data was collected. For example, it describes the overall blueprint of the study (research design), how the research participants were recruited (sampling), what measurements or instruments were used, and how the data was collected once the participants were recruited (data collection procedures).
• Data Analysis — This section explains how the data was analyzed.
• Findings — This section is a write up of the findings. After the researchers collect the data, they write up the findings or the results.
• Discussion — In this section, the researchers interpret the results that were presented in the previous section and the implications of the research findings.
• References — In this section, the articles and literature used throughout the article are cited.

In activities Dissecting a Quantitative Article and Dissecting a Qualitative Article, you will evaluate each of these components of a research article. The activity documents will identify the evaluation questions you will ask. For now, remember that the key things to look for when evaluating research are:

• Whether the terms and methods are clearly described.
• Whether the literature review shows a need for the study and the background of the methodology.
• Whether the methods and procedures used were consistent with the literature and with the research question.
• Whether the findings—including their implications—are clearly presented.
• Whether there are any ethical challenges in the study that may have affected the results.

Abstract, Introduction, Hypothesis, Research Question, and the Literature Review

The first step to dissecting and evaluating a research article is the review for clarity and consistency. The abstract, the introduction, the problem statement and the research hypothesis or research question should not only be clearly stated, they should be consistent. The reader should be able to understand the relationship between each component. These components set the stage for the rest of the document.

Quantitative Methodology – Research Design, Methods and Procedures, and Sampling

The method section describes in detail how the study was conducted. The evaluation of the methodology consists of reviewing the research design, how the research participants were recruited, and the data collection procedures. Different research methodologies have different reporting requirements. The evaluation of a research article will vary somewhat depending on whether the research article is quantitative or qualitative. Article 1 is a quantitative study.

According to Creswell (2003, p. 18), "A quantitative approach is one in which the investigator primarily uses positivistic claims for developing knowledge (i.e., cause and effect thinking, reduction to specific variables and hypotheses and questions, use of measurement and observation, and the test of theories), employs strategies of inquiry such as experiments and surveys, and collects data on predetermined instruments that yield statistical data. The goal of quantitative research is to support or disprove the hypotheses."

Quantitative research designs attempt to find relationships between and among variables. The essence of quantitative research studies involves numbers and measurement. So the data collected involves numbers and, ultimately, statistics are used to analyze those numbers. Quantitative research is aimed at verification. Examples of quantitative designs are:

• Experiment — An attempt to determine a cause-and-effect relationship. It involves the manipulation of an independent variable and measures the effect(s) on the dependent variable(s).
• Quasi-experimental design — A research design used when you cannot randomly assign your participants to the groups, but the researcher does manipulate an independent variable and measure the effect(s) on the dependent variable(s).
• Non-experimental design — A research design used when one is interested in measuring the difference in some variable between a number of groups, whether one or a combination of variables predicts a certain outcome (another variable), or the relationships (correlation) between two or more variables.

In order to dissect and evaluate research articles, there is a need to have knowledge of research methodology. Being able to critique a research study is not based on your personal beliefs or ideas, but on the scientific soundness of the study. As you progress through your graduate program, you will develop the skills necessary to critique a research article. As you continue to read research articles, the following questions will guide you in developing your skills for critically reading and evaluating research articles.

Variables in Quantitative Studies

Successful evaluation of a research article, in the case of quantitative studies, requires a basic understanding of variables—what they are and how they are described. Variables are specific concepts that are being studied. They vary along a continuum in terms of its characteristics (continuous variables) or they have at least two categories (categorical variables). For example, let us say the study is to examine gender differences in levels of morality. Gender is one variable in the study, and the other variable is frequency of exercise .

Gender has two categories: (1) male and (2) female.

Frequency of exercise can vary along a continuum. In this case, let us say frequency scores can range from zero to 10 times per week, with higher scores reflecting higher frequency of exercise.

In some studies, the variables can be divided into two categories: independent and dependent variables. The independent variable causes or influences some change in the dependent variable. The dependent variable is the outcome variable and must be measurable. You can use this formula to help you differentiate between the independent and dependent variable:

X influences Y where X is the independent variable (IV) and Y is the dependent variable (DV). For example, a researcher might ask whether a particular intervention causes a desired result. The intervention would be the IV and the desired result the DV.

In the case above, gender might be considered the independent variable and frequency the dependent variable, but since gender cannot really be a cause of something like one's exercise regime, most methodologists do notuse the term IV and DV in such cases, preferring terms such as criterion variable and outcome variable .

An important class of variables is named extraneous variables. An extraneous variable can create problems for the researcher. Extraneous variables are undesired variables that can influence the dependent variable and change or invalidate the results of an experiment. For example, suppose a researcher is investigating whether a particular training experience improves performance on some task. She assigns participants from an organization randomly to either the experimental group or the control group. Training is then provided to the experimental group, but not the control group. But the fact that some of the participants may have more experience with the task than others could be an extraneous variable—it could confuse the results because the more experienced participants score higher, not as a result of the training, but as a result of their having more experience.

Extraneous variables are the chief reason for controlled studies—studies designed to reduce or eliminate the influence of extraneous variables.

Qualitative Methodology – Research Designs, Methods and Procedures, and Sampling

Creswell (2003, p.18) describes qualitative research as follows:

"…a qualitative approach is one in which the inquirer often makes knowledge claims based primarily on constructivist perspectives (i.e., the multiple meanings of individual experiences, meanings socially and historically constructed, with an intent of developing a theory or a pattern)…The researcher collects open-ended, emerging data with the primary intent of developing themes from the data."

Essentially, qualitative research provides descriptions of experiences in the participants' own words, which are then analyzed and interpreted by the researcher. Put the simplest way, where quantitative data are numbers, qualitative data are words.

The goal of qualitative research is to gain an understanding of the experiences of the individuals who participate in the research study. Qualitative research is aimed at discovery, understanding, meaning, and developing knowledge from the perspective of first person accounts of the experience under inquiry. Examples of qualitative research methodologies are:

• Phenomenology - concentrates on the study of phenomena as experienced by the individual, with the emphasis on exactly how a phenomenon reveals itself to the experiencing person in all its specificity and concreteness. The participant experiencing a phenomenon is required to attend to it exactly as it appears in consciousness, without prejudgment, bias, or any predetermined set or orientation.  A prominent expert in phenomenological research is Amedeo Giorgi (2009).
• Grounded theory - is a descriptive research approach that attempts to develop theories of understanding of processes based on data from the real world. The ultimate goal of this approach is to derive theories that are grounded in the data collected. Kathy Charmaz (2006) is an emerging leader in grounded theory research.
• Case study - is an in-depth description, using many kinds or sources of data, of a single research subject - a program, an event, an activity or group of individuals. Stake (1995) is a good introduction to qualitative case study research.
• Ethnography - is a descriptive research approach that involves becoming a part of the culture you study. This model is based in the anthropological tradition of research. In this approach, the researcher would spend a long time becoming immersed in the “culture” of the population being studied.
• Heuristics - a research model that places special emphasis on knowing through the self, by becoming one with the topic and experiencing it, as it exists in the world. Eric Craig (1978) defines heuristics in The Heart of the Teacher as:  "A private discovery oriented approach to understanding how individuals experience themselves and their world" (p. 22).  A foremost proponent of heuristic research is Clarke Moustakas (1990).  Note that not all schools or departments approve heuristic research.
• Generic or basic qualitative inquiry—basic qualitative methodology—an approach to eliciting opinions, attitudes, beliefs, or descriptions of experiences that is oriented toward issues external to the participants.  An open-ended subjective opinion survey about people’s political beliefs would be an example.  Caelli, Ray, and Mill (2003) provide an excellent introduction to generic qualitative inquiry.
• Other qualitative designs are approved by different schools. To find acceptable qualitative designs, click your school's link on the iGuide Research in Your School page, and then view the "Acceptable Methods Document."

When presenting the results of a qualitative research study, there needs to a clear and detailed description that includes direct quotes from data collected from the participants. One way in which the quality of the research results can be judged is by the reaction of the reader. Are the results believable? The reader should be able to say, "I understand," or "That makes perfect sense." The presentation of the data should convince the reader of the credibility of the data analysis.

The results section of a qualitative study is a written presentation that includes the voices of the participants, the reflections of the researcher and an interpretation of the answer to the research question and problem (Creswell, 2007).

"A weak or unconvincing analysis can also stem from a failure to provide adequate examples from the data... The researcher needs to make sure that their interpretations and analytic points are consistent with the data extracts" (Braun & Clarke, 2006, pp. 94–95).

Analysis, Findings, Discussion, and Ethics

When evaluating the research findings, first look for the scientific research evidence. Examples of nonscientific evidence are opinions, value judgments, personal experiences, unsupported assertions, and second-hand reports.

When you are dissecting the findings of the study or what the researcher wants you to believe, how do you decide what evidence to believe? The following questions are helpful:

• What is the proof?
• Where is the evidence?
• How do you know that is true?
• Why do you believe that?
• Can you prove it?
• Is the research evidence relevant to the key points?
• Does the researcher draw the correct conclusion from the evidence?
• Is information missing?

Researchers are susceptible to confirmation bias, meaning that there can be a tendency to find one's personal beliefs confirmed by the data. This is true of both quantitative and qualitative research. When evaluating a research article it is important to be aware of possible confirmation bias, and of your own personal beliefs, so that you can objectively decide whether the results have been reasonably presented and interpreted.

The results section must thoroughly explain how the data was collected and what statistics were used to analyze the data. The results must be described in enough detail to justify the conclusions.

Ethics in research is of particular importance. For a thorough presentation of ethics in research visit the Web site of your discipline's professional association and review their research ethics. You can find these Web sites listed on the iGuide Research at Capella: Ethical Foundations page. From this page, click the appropriate link under "Professional Associations and Organizations."

For the purpose of this session, some fundamental concerns are listed:

• Informed consent should be in the form of a written statement that fully informs the participant of the nature of the research project and what is expected of them. The researcher has the informed consent form signed by the participant.
• Harm and loss of dignity refers to the right to self esteem and protection from harm. Involvement in the study should not be physically or mentally harmful to the participants.
• Privacy and confidentiality relates to procedures to ensure that information is stored in locked areas and no one outside of the researchers will have access to participants' records. The researcher must protect the anonymity of the participants.
• Participants should be informed that they have the right to decline or withdraw from the research at any time without consequences.

Directions for Completing the Activities

When you are finished with each activity, please review your answers.  If you answered Neutral to more than a couple of questions, consider your knowledge of the evaluation of research articles to be below standard for Track 2, and discuss with your faculty instructor ways to improve your understanding.

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. ISBN: 9781433805622. Beebe, L. (1993). Professional writing for the human services . Washington, DC: NASW Press. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2), 77–101. Caelli, K., Ray, L., & Mill, J. (2003). 'Clear as mud': Toward greater clarity in generic qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2 (2), 1–24. Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing ground theory: A practical guide though qualitative analysis . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Craig, E. (l978). The heart of the teacher . Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International. Creswell, J. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Giorgi, A. (2009). The descriptive phenomenological method in psychology: A modified Husserlian approach . Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press. Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2005). Practical research: Planning and design (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0131108956. Meltzoff, M. (1998). Critical thinking about research . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Moustakas, C. (1990). Heuristic research . Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Stake, R. (1995). The art of case study research . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Doc. reference: phd_t1_u02s6_h01_dissect.html