Writing a Dissertation – General Guidelines

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING AND SUBMITTING

A MASTER’S DISSERTATION

A. GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. The Significance and Main Objectives of Writing a Master’s Dissertation  

A dissertation, as part of the requirements for the award of a postgraduate degree, is an academic piece of work that includes elements of originality in specific fields of knowledge by creating new knowledge, autonomous critical thinking or by a combination of both. The students’ research skills are being assessed and supervised and this is exactly the main  aim of submitting a dissertation. To serve as a proof of the student’s advanced research skills. 

2. Other Objectives

The research work required while writing a postgraduate dissertation also involves a number of  other objectives that should be achieved, like the following:

  • Overview and critical analysis of acquired knowledge.
  • Description and interpretation of a specific phenomenon or topic.
  • Use of theoretical and methodological approaches, techniques and tools.
  • Creation of new theoretical and methodological approaches, elements of innovation in the field of interest.

Writing a Master’s dissertation enables the postgraduate students to develop and take viable scientific initiatives on a specified field of knowledge that relate to the programme. Students are encouraged to use and apply analytical and critical reasoning and not to present a mere depiction of theoretical knowledge.   

3. The Main Parts of a Master’s Dissertation

A postgraduate dissertation should include the following parts:

  1. Introduction: what led to the research question, the relevance of the question to the field of study, originality and value of the research question, how the main purpose of the research is demonstrated.   
  2. Literature review: an overview and close study of the theoretical and methodological level related to the particular dissertation, including possible applications.
  3. Methodology: planning of the research work, presentation of the methodological approach, description of the techniques used for collecting and processing primary and secondary data. 
  4.  Discussion: presentation and classification of the research findings, analysis and interpretation of the results.
  5. Conclusions: final conclusions, their role in the predetermined theoretical and  empirical framework and issues that may constitute practices for future research.                                   

       

B. STRUCTURING AND WRITING A MASTER’S DISSERTATION

1. Length and numbering of the Master’s Dissertation   

The length of a Master’s Dissertation depends on the student’s judgement, as well as on the demands and the distinct characteristics of the topic. What is more important in the process of assessment is the academic value of the research paper and not its length. It is suggested that thelength of a Master’s Dissertation should be no more than 150 pages, but not in the strictest sense. Alternatively, the text should not exceed 50,000 words, including appendices (if any), bibliography, tables, diagrams etc.

There should be continuous numbering in all pages and the numbering should start on the first page of the text up to the end of the dissertation, including appendices and bibliography. The material which precedes the main chapters, like the acknowledgements, the dedication page (if any), the table of contents, the list of tables/images/maps, the abstract (in both Greek and English) is numbered with lower case Latin numerals in this order. Latin numbering starts immediately after the page with the dissertation title (which can be followed firstly by the copyright page). The title and the copyright pages are not numbered and are not included in the word/page count of the dissertation.     

2. Paper Format

The Master’s Dissertation must be submitted in single sided printing on good quality white A4 paper, 4 cm margins on all sides and black Time New Roman font in size 12. The main text should be in 1.5-line spacing and in single space for the footnotes (or endnotes). Footnotes (or endnotes) should be in the same font but in smaller size, compared to the main text. If more than one type of font is used within the text so as to illustrate different parts of the paper, it should be easy to read and in the same font size with the rest of the text. Headings and subheadings may be in different font type and size, as long as they are easy to read and according to specifications. In general, it is advisable not to use many different fonts, colours, designs, layouts etc. in an effort to create a better aesthetic result, as all these might distract the reader’s attention from the main content of the dissertation. The format of the paper must be simple and the dissertation must be submitted in a hardbound copy.     

3. Title Page

The title page should include from top to bottom the following:

  • University of Peloponnese and Department of Economics logo.
  • Postgraduate programme title.
  • Title of the Master’s Dissertation.
  • Full name of the postgraduate student.
  • Full name of the supervisor (with his/her signature on this or on a different page) and the rest of the Advisory Committee.
  • Date of submission

4. Copyright

The person who submits a Master’s Dissertation is wholly responsible for the proper use of all material used, which is defined by the following factors:

  • the reason and the way of using all kinds of material/data (commercial, non-commercial/non-profit, educational)
  • the type of material used (extract from a text, tables, images)
  • the size and the importance of the part used, compared to the whole text, as far as copyright is concerned 
  • the possible consequences of the material used in the market and in the general significance of the text, according to copyright restrictions

5. Structure of the Main Parts

The structure of a Master’s Dissertation should follow the standards of academic research papers and studies. More specifically, the following should be included in the same order:

  • Preface/acknowledgements
  • Dedication (if any)   
  • Table of contents
  • List of tables, graphs, maps and/or any other visual aids 
  • Abstract in Greek (one page)
  • Abstract in English (one page)
  • Introduction
  • Main body (chapters, subchapters etc.)
  • Conclusion
  • Bibliography
  • Appendices (if any)

In the Preface/Acknowledgements there is a brief reference to the procedure of writing the dissertation, giving thanks to all people/bodies/organizations/companies who contributed in some way to the completion of the paper. Special thanks should also be given to the supervisor and the all the other members of the Advisory Committee or to any other person who played a major role in the completion of the dissertation.     

The Abstract constitutes a clear and brief description of the content, the methodology and the conclusions of the dissertation in no more than a page.    

The Introduction presents an extensive analysis of the following:

  1. The topic, the aims and the purpose of the research paper. More specifically, it refers to the reasoning behind the choice of the particular topic, the several objectives, the research questions or assumptions that require review and investigation. The academic aims and objectives (theoretical or applied) of the dissertation should be explained and justified.        
  2. The methodology and the techniques used for collecting, processing and analyzing data.
  3. The structure of the dissertation with a brief presentation of every chapter.   

The Main Body of the paper is divided into numbered chapters. Each chapter constitutes a separate unit, connected coherently to the chapter that follows, whereas all chapters should be parts of a whole with consistency and cohesion. The chapters can be divided into subchapters numbered according to the decimal system (eg. 3, 3.1, 3.1.1). The chapters in the main body of the dissertation constitute a thorough analysis of the topic.

There should be in-text citations of all references according to the Harvard system (eg. Massey, 1984: 145-147) and all details of the sources used should be included in the bibliography at the end of the paper. Less important or additional data, comments, clarifications, etc. are included in numbered footnotes or in endnotes at the end of each chapter.   

The Conclusion includes the presentation and discussion of the main findings of the paper, in relation to a specific area of study. There is also a reference to the difficulties involved from the beginning of the research until the final stage of the paper submission. Finally, there are recommendations about future research and the author’s last thoughts, ideas and  observations. 

The Appendices include any additional data that is considered important but can not be incorporated in the main text (eg. questionnnaires, statistics, tables, figures, maps, etc.). They follow all the rules and standards concerning the structure of the dissertation. Numbering continues from the main text in the appendices.      

The Bibliography lists all the sources used for writing the dissertation (online or printed material, books, articles, reports, journals, academic papers presented in conferences, analysis based on newspapers, archives, etc.). Sources are presented in alphabetical order, according to the name of the author(s).      

More specifically, referencing should be in the following order:

  • the author’s/organization’s name
  • date of the source (in round brackets)
  • title of the source
  • other details

Link with a page (Harvard system?)

Examples

BOOK

Becker, G. (1971) Economic Theory. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

ARTICLE IN A JOURNAL

Powell, W.W.  (1990).  Neither market nor hierarchy: network forms of organization. Research in  Organizational  Behaviour.  No.  12,  pp.  295-336.

ARTICLE IN A BOOK

Liargovas,  P.  (2006).  Economic and Social Cohesion in the Enlarged Union. Στο  Stefanou,  K., editor. Adjusting to EU Enlargement: Recurring Issues in a New Setting, Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, pp.135-148.

 INTERNET SOURCE

CEC   (1999).   ESDP   European   Spatial   Development   Perspective:   Towards   Balanced   and Sustainable  Development  of  the  Territory  of  the  European  Union.  Luxembourg:  European Commission (http://europa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/official/reports/ som_en.htm)

RESEARCH PAPERS

Koum, G. (1997). An object-based Petri net model supporting a Geographic Information System for  urban  planning.  In Proceedings  of  Athens  International  Conference:  Urban,  Regional,Environmental  Planning  and  Informatics  to  Planning  in  an  Era  of Transition. Athens 22-24/10,(edited by Sellis, T. & Georgoulis, D.), pp. 758-774.

ARTICLE (ANONYMOUS WRITER)

Anonymous (2002). Prometheus unbound: A survey of Greece. The  Economist, Oct. 12th, pp.1-20 (after p. 56).