Every doctorate student worries a lot about the dissertation when contemplating the reality of graduate school. Both doctorate applicants and others outside of academia have many difficult questions about dissertations since they are complicated papers. However, the question of the length of a dissertation is the focus of most of these queries. This article will simplify this task because it contains all the information you need on dissertation length.
What is the average length of a dissertation?
The average length of dissertations is quite intricate, and it differs by the subject of study, like many other elements of academic life. The student’s discipline, kind of analysis (quantitative or qualitative), and study area are some of the variables that affect it.
How many pages is a dissertation meant to have?
Generally speaking, a dissertation should be between 150 and 300 pages long. However, students should take several contributing elements into account. It’s helpful to understand the factors affecting the document’s length thoroughly.
The standard dissertation content and format
How long are doctoral dissertations? Depending on the criteria of each university, the average word count of a dissertation varies. Additionally, the length relies on the subject one chooses to write about.
These papers often only contain five chapters of information. This information excludes technical elements like the table of contents, abstract, references list, acknowledgments, appendices, etc. Here’s detailed information on the dissertation format and estimated length.
Chapter 1: Introduction
This section is intended to summarize your topic and provide any pertinent information the dissertation has. First, students are implored to explain what is being investigated and the reason for the investigation. Furthermore, they are to include the contemporary relevance of the topic selected. They’re to have a few general references to other research, describing the goals and how they intend to achieve them.
Now, how long is a dissertation introduction? The dissertation introduction is approximately between 10 and 15 pages altogether. This length is usually regarded as the ideal length for concisely covering everything.
This section requires that you pique the audience’s interest by giving little details or avoiding extensive explanations in this section. The information in this section should only include the project’s what, why, and how.
Chapter 2: Literature review
For this section, you must choose legitimate research sources first. You must also assess for peer review, the publication date, and the writers’ qualifications to ensure credibility. More importantly, the relevance to your specific article is essential, so only choose the information you can utilize.
Furthermore, analyze these sources further by highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Then, group them into sets to demonstrate how they differ and what they each accomplish. It’s important to include their selection rationale, and the knowledge they add to your study is best. The average length of a literature review is 20–25 pages.
Chapter 3: Methodology
The methodology section is usually 10 to 15 pages long. The method of investigation is the main subject of interest in this section. It’s best to include the method(s) you used to contact the sample population and collect data. Furthermore, students should also add the sort of data-selection technique you utilized. It’s necessary to discuss any difficulties you experienced during this project.
Chapter 4: Results
This part often doesn’t exceed ten pages. For this section, students have to list and explain each finding they made.
Write a broad conclusion to what you looked into in this article. They should be related to the theories stated. Were they supported or disproven?
Chapter 5: Conclusion/Discussion
The purpose of the dissertation conclusion, usually between 15 and 20 pages, is to describe the significance of your study. This part may at first appear challenging since it contains elements from earlier chapters. It would be best if you drew attention to their immediate and overall meanings. How did they broaden the body of evidence already available on your subject?
This section should be straightforward and concise. Thus, it should focus on discussing any justifications, providing advice, and admitting the shortcomings of your effort.
Conclusion
Just like other aspects of a dissertation, the length of the dissertation is vital to the impression your project gives. However, the objective is to write the ideal paper that contains the information required to explain the study and support the interpretation. Thus, it’s best to avoid unnecessary digressions and overuse of the same words at all costs.
