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Waiting to Get Your Dissertation Accepted?
Last Updated on: 2nd February 2024, 04:48 am
Congratulations, you’ve made it to the dissertation stage! You should be incredibly happy. However, beginning to write chapter one might be a little daunting. We’re going to cover a broad overview on chapter one here in this article so that you know the territory before you set out.
Purpose of Chapter One
The purpose of chapter one is to introduce the reader to what’s coming. Chapter one usually runs around 15 pages, and it gives the reader the highlights of what’s coming. Typically, you start with an introduction.
#1. Introduction
The introduction includes a few citations and says, “Hey, we’re going to talk about ___.” Fill in the blank with your topic (educational policy, or management handling of turnover, etc.). Also, don’t say “hey” like we did (that wouldn’t be very good academic writing).
#2. Background of the Problem
The next section is the background of the problem. I like to think of this as a very short literature review, showing the reader that there’s a foundation of scholarly research about this topic.
#3. Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
Follow that up by the theoretical or conceptual framework. Think of this as the seminal research upon which your study is based. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, for example, is an incredibly popular conceptual framework. Erickson’s theories are popular in education, and systems theory is being used in many disciplines now.
#4. Problem Statement
Next comes what many consider to be the guts or the foundation of the dissertation: your problem statement. Your problem statement is typically one line. Now it might be surrounded by a paragraph or two, but the actual problem statement is one sentence. It should begin, “The problem to be studied is…” and finish with something that directly aligns with your purpose and research questions. For example, “…we don’t know the impact of extra after school education on student grades in math,” or “…we are not aware of the perceptions of employees regarding management, changing retirement plans.”
Over 50% of doctoral candidates don’t finish their dissertations.
#5. Purpose Statement
Next comes your purpose statement. The purpose is directly related to the problem. If the problem is that the impact of management decisions on employee turnover is unknown, then our purpose would be to determine the impact of management decisions on employee turnover.
#6. Research Questions
Follow this by the research questions. Your research questions should be highly aligned with your problem and your purpose. For example, your research question could be: “what is the relationship between management decisions and employee turnover?” Or for another topic, “what are the perceptions of parents regarding teacher pay raises?”
Quick aside: You’re going to say things over and over and over again in your dissertation. Say them the exact same way. You get in trouble when you try to get interesting and use different terms, because doing so actually introduces new meanings. Be okay with sounding boring.
#7. Methodology
Next is a brief Methodology section. Am I going to use a quantitative approach? Am I going to use a qualitative approach? What sources am I going to use? Is this going to be secondary data? Am I going to interview parents? Quickly tell the reader that you’re going to have a whole chapter (chapter three) to really go further on this.
#8. Definition of Key Terms
Many chapter ones include a definition of key terms. If I’m talking about phenomenology, I’d better tell the reader what phenomenology is. If I’m talking about special ed teachers, I’m going to say what a special ed teacher is.
#9. Validity
You also may have a section in chapter one on validity. This is going to be somewhere in your dissertation, and it’s going to assure the reader that you’re following all the ethical steps and that results can be transferable.
#10. Conclusion and Segway to Chapter Two
Finally, you’re going to have a conclusion wrapping everything up, summarizing for the reader what they heard, and a segue into chapter two.
