Unlike books and online sources, there is a wide range of considerations to make when citing a paper in APA. This article will discuss tips on how to cite a PhD dissertation and offer examples to help you master APA citations. 

How to cite a dissertation

Dissertations are among various popular sources you can use to support various arguments within your paper. Although some topics may be poorly investigated in books, you can easily trace a dissertation discussing a specific issue of interest. 

Unfortunately, many dissertations are usually unpublished, making it complicated to cite them in your papers. therefore, learning how to cite a doctoral dissertation is a skill that a learner should develop to avoid issues with their papers.

How to cite a dissertation in APA format

The format for citing an APA dissertation citation is:

 Author’s surname, I.J. (Year of publication). Title of the dissertation. Name of the institution.

E.g., Margaret, P, g. (2001). How to improve the quality of education in developing countries. The University of Neverland. 

Citing an unpublished dissertation in APA

When conducting your study, you can run upon unpublished useful sources from an author or the university repository. When referencing unpublished materials, append “Unpublished” to the description in square brackets and include the university’s name after the reference, outside the brackets.

As a result, references to unpublished dissertations may appear in your publication as: 

Sandra. K (2020). The effect of adopting tech instruments in the teaching-learning process. [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. The University of Michigan.

Citing a published dissertation in APA

On the other hand, published work will look like this: 

Author’s surname, I.J. (Year of publication). Title of the dissertation. (Document number). (Degree type, Name of the institution). Database name. 

i.e., Sandra, K. (2020). The effect of adopting tech instruments in the teaching-learning process. (567684763). Ph.D. The University of Michigan. Dept theses and dissertations. 

Turabian citation dissertation

MLA and Turabian are extremely similar. While using Turabian, you should format a dissertation you found online in your reference section as follows: 

First name last name, “Title of the dissertation”. (Masters thesis/ Ph. D. diss, university name, year of publication), page number, URL. 

Sandra Kissinger, “The effect of adopting tech instruments in the teaching-learning process”. (Ph. D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 2020), 204-256, https://www.unirepository/ Dept theses and dissertations. 

MLA dissertation citation

The Modern Language Association (MLA) is well-known in the humanities and arts. The fundamental MLA reference entry will look like this: 

Last name, first name. Title. Diss. Name of the institution, year of publication. Web. Date accessed 

Intext: (last name)

For unpublished work, the dissertation citation should be formatted as follows: 

Last name, first name, “Title of dissertation.” Diss. Place of study, year. Title of the database. Web. Date, month, and year of accessing the document.

i.e., Kissinger, Sandra. “The effect of adopting tech instruments in the teaching-learning process.” Diss. The University of Michigan. Dept theses and dissertations. Web. 19, October 2023. 

However, MLA citations for works that have already been published should be formatted as follows: 

Last name, first name. Title of diss. Diss. Place of study. Year. Place of publication. Publisher. Year of publication. 

i.e., Kissinger, Sandra. “The effect of adopting tech instruments in the teaching-learning process.” Diss. The University of Michigan. Michigan. Dept theses and dissertations.

Chicago-style dissertation citation

With the exception of the provided database identification number, Chicago is very similar to MLA. A Chicago Dissertation citation will take the following form: 

Last name, first name. “thesis/ dissertation title”. Ph.D. diss./ masters thesis, institution. Year. Database (identification number). 

i.e., Kissinger, Sandra. “The effect of adopting tech instruments in the teaching-learning process.” Ph.D. diss. The University of Michigan. Dept theses and dissertations. (67897486).

Regrettably, a lot of pupils become very confused as a result of this independence. What does the faculty consider to be insufficient? How long is too long in a paper? The clichéd advice to write your work as well as you can without considering the length is hardly any consolation if, like me, these queries bothered you. 

This article will analyze the average dissertation length to help you estimate the number of words you should use in your paper. 

How long is a dissertation paper?

The typical dissertation contains between 20,000 and 100,000 words. This word count is based on the difficulty of the research question and the approach used to test your hypothesis. 

We advise you to review earlier papers submitted to your faculty when determining the ideal dissertation length. Otherwise, choose a topic and present your outline to your instructor to get advice on any areas you might need to expand on. 

How many pages is a dissertation?

Dissertations range between 70-150 pages. However, various institutions will prescribe their preferred dissertation lengths to achieve a standard paper and ensure that each candidate prepares quality work.

Dissertation format

1. Abstract

This portion of your essay covers the key idea of your paper and shows the hypothesis, thesis statement, and key argument corroborating your findings. This section usually ranges between 250-350 words and should be written in prose form.

2. Introduction

The introduction acts as a teaser to pique the reader’s interest in reading the full work. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce your reader to the subject matter of your essay, clarify why it is significant, and provide background information for your argument. 

To keep your readers’ attention without revealing your point, your section should be between 10-15 pages long. Moreover, be sure to define any terms and ideas that are the foundation of your article and to highlight the goals of your research. 

3. The body 

The body of your doctoral dissertation constitutes the majority of the document because it has all the sections that are necessary to present your argument and evaluate the many pieces of supporting evidence. 

Your paper’s methodology, results, and discussion sections are all found in the body. 

4. Literature review

This section should analyze your sources for their strengths and weaknesses and their relevance to the topic. The section should range between 20-25 pages.

5. Methodology

The methodology should describe how your theory was tested and proven, as well as how your sample group was selected. The length of this material should be between 10 and 15 pages.

 Secondly, describe your experiment’s process in clear, easily replicable detail and include any difficulties you ran into as well as how you overcame them. 

6. Results

This section contains charts and other statistics from your experiment. Also note that the results section, including a summary of your findings, should not be longer than ten pages.

7. Discussion

The discussion, which comprises the majority of your paper, brings together a number of components to demonstrate your thesis and support your assertions with relevant evidence. Depending on the length of your argument, this part could be anywhere from 15 to 20 pages long. 

8. Conclusion

The introduction, which is the last part of your work, should summarize your thesis and discuss the implications of your research. You might also discuss some opposing viewpoints and emphasize how your research refutes these claims. The conclusion of your dissertation shouldn’t take up more than fifteen pages overall.

Despite the fact that the methods section’s only purpose is to emphasize the steps you took while conducting your research, many students find it difficult to write this chapter. This may be because they lack the writing skills necessary to do so or they believe the paper is intended for professionals in the subject and thus present a shallow account of the research design.

In this post, we will examine the most typical errors made by students while writing the methods section of a dissertation, to assist you in overcoming these stumbling blocks and preparing an amazing paper.

Common mistakes when writing a methodology in dissertation

1. Shallow explanation of the research methods

When conducting your research, we highly advise you to discard the notion that your reader is familiar with your research objectives. As a result, emphasize all the pertinent details of the data collection and analysis processes to enable the replication of your research.

Be sure to mention all the factors that were investigated as well as any assumptions that were made during the research. Also, it’s critical to highlight any other approaches that were used in your research and to provide an explanation for choosing to use a qualitative, quantitative, or hybrid strategy in your study.

By doing this, you can convince the reader to back your research strategy and dismiss any doubts they may have about it. When adopting a qualitative method, it’s crucial to explain your selection criteria for the data source and provide specifics on the initial data collection process.

Moreover, explain why you selected data from a specific source over data from other sources that also touched on the subject. By providing the reader with this knowledge, you demonstrate to them your familiarity with the field of study, which can lessen any potential criticism of your research strategy.

2. Wrong choice of tenses

Another widespread mistake in dissertation research methods is the choice of tenses. Using different tenses can make it unclear to your reader when your research was conducted.

The methods section should ideally be written in the simple past tense since it emphasizes actions that have already been taken. Yet, since the study proposal outlines the measures you want to take to evaluate specific objectives, it should be written in the future tense.

3. Failure to provide background information

The methodology chapter of your research paper should, like the previous chapters, relate to the main idea of your study. Hence, describe the world view you used in your research (such as positivism, pragmatism, critical realism, interpretivism, and postmodernism).

To help your reader understand the criteria you utilized to arrive at your conclusions, you should also talk about the importance of your approaches to filling in the research gaps. Be careful not to include any extraneous information and include ancillary materials like surveys from your study in the appendices section.

4. Using active voice

The methods section deviates from the general recommendation made by several universities that academic papers be written in the active voice. The thesis methodology section should be written in the passive voice, emphasizing the action more than the doer.

To cut any unnecessary words from your techniques, be thorough in your editing as the passive voice has a tendency to be wordier than the active voice. Make sure your approaches chapter doesn’t account for more than 15% of the total word count.

5. Failure to acknowledge limitations

Students frequently refrain from expressing any difficulties they had while conducting their research out of concern that admitting the limitations of their study could lead to criticism of their papers.

Albeit, addressing the difficulties you ran into in your research and the methods you used to solve them provides credibility to your conclusions. Giving a detailed account of your study’s flaws will also help other researchers build on your work by modifying their research plans to take these issues into account.

The sample size and any inherent flaws in the approach you chose are some of the constraints your research may encounter.

6. Poor structure and flow between sections

We strongly advise using an outline when working on PhD research methodologies to make sure you give all the important information in the correct sequence. Writing with an outline, as opposed to freewriting, helps you group ideas into pertinent subsections, producing a logical flow and preventing reader confusion.

Moreover, be careful to include transitional phrases in the techniques section to provide the reader a fluid summary of the actions conducted during the research.

Final take

We hope that these pointers have helped you enhance your writing skills in the methodology part. To become more familiar with the stages involved in creating a dissertation methods section, make sure to look at a thorough example of methodology in dissertation.

Regardless of the strength of your essay’s ideas, a weak opening might easily convince the reader to disregard your work. Determining how to write an effective introduction for a dissertation is therefore essential if you want to draw in readers who are interested in the concepts you will discuss in your paper. 

Fortunately, our knowledge gained from writing dissertations has allowed us to pinpoint certain essential guidelines for a strong dissertation opening. Continue reading for a thorough explanation of writing a dissertation introduction that has the greatest impact on the reader. 

What is the purpose of an introduction?

The opening chapter of your dissertation serves to acquaint the reader with the goals of your study, its significance, and the consequences of your findings. So, many readers utilize this chapter to assess the suitability of your paper for their purposes by evaluating your methodology and conceptual framework. 

As a result, the introduction needs to be clear and compelling to get the reader interested in your work. 

Tips on how to write an introduction in a dissertation

Some of the tips that we suggest for you when writing an introduction to a dissertation include:

1. Write the introduction last

Revising your introduction every time you modify your approach to an argument can be a time-consuming effort. Save your introduction for after you’ve finished writing your dissertation. At this point, you are better able to accurately describe your dissertation and highlight the major concepts of your research. 

2. Use simple language

Avoid overusing jargon in your introduction for the most impact on the reader. Ideally, speak in simple terms as if your audience is unfamiliar with the subject. By doing this, you will eliminate any ambiguity for your reader and enable them to decide for themselves whether or not to read your piece. 

3. Provide ample context

When writing an introduction for a dissertation, be sure to mention prior work to draw attention to any knowledge gaps that call for further study. This context introduces the reader to the existing breadth of information before highlighting the perspective from which you wish to study a topic. 

When introducing your methods, make sure to highlight the problem in the field and avoid assuming that your reader is an expert on your topic. 

4. Provide ample justification for your research

Moreover, be sure to highlight the originality of your study’s subject and its significance for the area. Discuss the ramifications of your research for the field as well to help the reader connect your work to the themes that interest them. 

5. Define your objectives

To help the reader understand the direction of your research, your introduction should also outline the objectives of your study. Also, the objectives make clear the parameters of your research, which aids the reader in defining the ideas they can anticipate reading about in your work. 

6. Start with a hook

A bland introduction is bound to bore your reader, causing them to lose interest in your work from the get-go. Ideally, start your research paper with a hook that evokes your reader’s curiosity, pushing them to interact with your paper further to satisfy their curiosity. 

7. Prepare an outline

We advise you to first create an outline for your introduction, just like you would for your dissertation. This will assist you in gauging the flow of ideas in your introduction and rearranging various concepts for maximum impact on your reader. 

8. Be precise 

Be careful when crafting your introduction to keep it under 10% of the overall word count. Every line in your essay needs to be clear and essential to the development of your theoretical framework and research justification. 

9. Provide a brief description of the paper’s structure

Give the reader an outline of the paper’s structure as you wrap up your introduction so they can see how your dissertation has been put together. 

10. Define important terms and ideas 

Finally, underline the crucial ideas and terminology in your essay. Additionally, be sure to include any counterarguments you want to make in your analysis of the issue, as well as how you plan to apply a concept in your research. 

Final take

We hope that the tips discussed in this article have helped overcome any confusion you had regarding your essay. Feel free to engage our experts for a dissertation introduction example highlighting all these elements in action.