The Purpose of a Doctoral Dissertation Abstract: 4 Things to Know

An abstract of a dissertation is its concise summary. As a part of your paper, it goes immediately after the title page, which underlines its importance. You are expected to give brief information about what you have done, what was the aim of your research, and, the most essential of all, what results you got from it.

Why Is It Necessary to Compose a Convincing Abstract for Your Doctoral Dissertation?

The main purpose of an abstract is to introduce the dissertation to the audience. Moreover, this part of your work should interest and intrigue the readers who come across it in special journals, bibliography databases, the Internet sites, and other informational resources. You'll probably have to send announcements to those who might be interested in the theme of your paper. By providing readers with a convincingly related general idea of your research, you'll evoke the desire to read the whole paper.

What and How to Write to Achieve the Aim?

While writing the condensed version of the paper, you should take into account the fact that many readers only have a general awareness of the subject of your research. Therefore, in 250-350 words, you should enlighten them of the key points and do this in plain words in an understandable manner. Here is what you should know:

  1. Let the abstract mirror the whole content of the dissertation.
  2. Its structure should follow the main sections of the paper. In the first sentences, introduce the area of the study, inform your readers about the methods that you've applied, point out the background of the problem, and what makes your research distinctive as well as significant among the other papers on this theme.

  3. Formulate the research question(s) exactly.
  4. These are the central concepts around which the whole paper is built on. Not more than three research questions should be presented just after the introduction of the field of study. They presuppose the aim of the research and explain its significance as well as your motivation.

  5. Clearly inform about the results.
  6. Present and interpret the results in conjunction with the research questions. Summarize by stating the possibility of their practical application and give recommendations.

  7. Write the first version of the abstract before you start writing the paper.
  8. This will enable you to keep in mind the whole paper by laying down the main lines along which your work will develop. Certainly, you'll have to make corrections at each stage, and the final version will appear when the whole paper is ready.

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