What is a thesis or dissertation outline?

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organise your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation, such as:

Your anticipated title
Your abstract
Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review, research methods, avenues for future research, etc.)

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Frequently asked questions: Dissertation

How should you refer to chapters in your thesis or dissertation?: When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation.
What’s the difference between a research plan and a research proposal?: The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.
How do I know I have a good main research question?: Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement.

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

Researchability

Feasibility and specificity

Relevance and originality
What’s the difference between results and discussion?: The results chapter or section simply and objectively reports what you found, without speculating on why you found these results. The discussion interprets the meaning of the results, puts them in context, and explains why they matter.

In qualitative research, results and discussion are sometimes combined. But in quantitative research, it’s considered important to separate the objective results from your interpretation of them.
What tense should I write my results in?: Results are usually written in the past tense, because they are describing the outcome of completed actions.
Where does my abstract go in a thesis or dissertation?: The abstract appears on its own page, after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents.
Can I cite sources in an abstract?: Avoid citing sources in your abstract. There are two reasons for this:

The abstract should focus on your original research, not on the work of others.

The abstract should be self-contained and fully understandable without reference to other sources.

There are some circumstances where you might need to mention other sources in an abstract: for example, if your research responds directly to another study or focuses on the work of a single theorist. In general, though, don’t include citations unless absolutely necessary.
When should I write my abstract?: The abstract is the very last thing you write. You should only write it after your research is complete, so that you can accurately summarize the entirety of your thesis or paper.
What is the purpose of an abstract?: An abstract is a concise summary of an academic text (such as a journal article or dissertation). It serves two main purposes:

To help potential readers determine the relevance of your paper for their own research.

To communicate your key findings to those who don’t have time to read the whole paper.

Abstracts are often indexed along with keywords on academic databases, so they make your work more easily findable. Since the abstract is the first thing any reader sees, it’s important that it clearly and accurately summarises the contents of your paper.
Is a theoretical framework part of a literature review?: A theoretical framework can sometimes be integrated into a literature review chapter, but it can also be included as its own chapter or section in your dissertation. As a rule of thumb, if your research involves dealing with a lot of complex theories, it’s a good idea to include a separate theoretical framework chapter.
What is the difference between a literature review and a theoretical framework?: A literature review and a theoretical framework are not the same thing and cannot be used interchangeably. While a theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work, a literature review critically evaluates existing research relating to your topic. You’ll likely need both in your dissertation.
What is the difference between a conceptual framework and a theoretical framework?: While a theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work based on existing research, a conceptual framework allows you to draw your own conclusions, mapping out the variables you may use in your study and the interplay between them.
Where does your list of figures and tables go?: Your list of tables and figures should go directly after your table of contents in your thesis or dissertation.
Do I need a title page for my MLA paper?: Usually, no title page is needed in an MLA paper. A header is generally included at the top of the first page instead. The exceptions are when:

Your instructor requires one, or

Your paper is a group project

In those cases, you should use a title page instead of a header, listing the same information but on a separate page.
Where does your dissertation title page go?: The title page of your thesis or dissertation goes first, before all other content or lists that you may choose to include.
What should your dissertation title page include?: The title page of your thesis or dissertation should include your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date.
What is the difference between a glossary and a dictionary?: A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. In contrast, dictionaries are more general collections of words.
Is a glossary mandatory?: Glossaries are not mandatory, but if you use a lot of technical or field-specific terms, it may improve readability to add one to your thesis or dissertation. Your educational institution may also require them, so be sure to check their specific guidelines.
What’s the difference between a glossary and an index?: A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. In contrast, an index is a list of the contents of your work organised by page number.
Are citations necessary in a glossary?: Definitional terms often fall into the category of common knowledge, meaning that they don’t necessarily have to be cited. This guidance can apply to your thesis or dissertation glossary as well.

However, if you’d prefer to cite your sources, you can follow guidance for citing dictionary entries in MLA or APA style for your glossary.
What is the definition of a glossary?: A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. Your glossary only needs to include terms that your reader may not be familiar with, and is intended to enhance their understanding of your work.
Should I include lists of my tables and figures in an APA paper?: APA doesn’t require you to include a list of tables or a list of figures. However, it is advisable to do so if your text is long enough to feature a table of contents and it includes a lot of tables and/or figures.

A list of tables and list of figures appear (in that order) after your table of contents, and are presented in a similar way.
What is a list of figures and tables?: A list of figures and tables compiles all of the figures and tables that you used in your thesis or dissertation and displays them with the page number where they can be found.
How can I find copyright information on tables and figures from other sources?: Copyright information can usually be found wherever the table or figure was published. For example, for a diagram in a journal article, look on the journal’s website or the database where you found the article. Images found on sites like Flickr are listed with clear copyright information.

If you find that permission is required to reproduce the material, be sure to contact the author or publisher and ask for it.
Is a list of figures and tables mandatory?: Lists of figures and tables are often not required, and they aren’t particularly common. They specifically aren’t required for APA Style, though you should be careful to follow their other guidelines for figures and tables.

If you have many figures and tables in your thesis or dissertation, include one may help you stay organised. Your educational institution may require them, so be sure to check their guidelines.

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Correction of superficial mistakes, such as typos, misspellings, punctuation errors and consistency errors. Yes!
This is the “proofreading” in Scribbr’s standard service. It can only be selected in combination with editing.

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Focus on grammar, syntax, style, tone and the conventions of the field. The editor also considers the internal logic of the text and flags any obvious contradictions. Yes!
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Focus on language, style, concision and choices. The editor helps you strengthen your story, polish your sentences and ensure that your use of language drives home your ideas. Yes!
Select the Structure Check and Clarity Check to receive a comprehensive edit equivalent to a line edit.

Developmental editing (i.e. content editing, substantive editing)
This is the first step of the editing process and applies to very early drafts. The editor helps you structure your ideas, decide what story to tell and find direction for your writing. No.
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However, our editors are language specialists, not academic experts in your field. Your editor’s job is not to comment on the content of your dissertation, but to improve your language and help you express your ideas as clearly and fluently as possible.

This means that your editor will understand your text well enough to give feedback on its clarity, logic and structure, but not on the accuracy or originality of its content.

Good academic writing should be understandable to a non-expert reader, and we believe that academic editing is a discipline in itself. The research, ideas and arguments are all yours – we’re here to make sure they shine!
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The editor has made changes to your document using ‘Track Changes’ in Word. This means that you only have to accept or ignore the changes that are made in the text one by one.

It is also possible to accept all changes at once. However, we strongly advise you not to do so for the following reasons:

You can learn a lot by looking at the mistakes you made.

The editors don’t only change the text – they also place comments when sentences or sometimes even entire paragraphs are unclear. You should read through these comments and take into account your editor’s tips and suggestions.

With a final read-through, you can make sure you’re 100% happy with your text before you submit!
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Very large orders might not be possible to complete in 24 hours. On average, our editors can complete around 13,000 words in a day while maintaining our high quality standards. If your order is longer than this and urgent, contact us to discuss possibilities.

Always leave yourself enough time to check through the document and accept the changes before your submission deadline.
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Types of editing	Available at Scribbr?
Proofreading Correction of superficial mistakes, such as typos, misspellings, punctuation errors and consistency errors.	Yes! This is the “proofreading” in Scribbr’s standard service. It can only be selected in combination with editing.
Copy editing Focus on grammar, syntax, style, tone and the conventions of the field. The editor also considers the internal logic of the text and flags any obvious contradictions.	Yes! This is the “editing” in Scribbr’s standard service. It can only be selected in combination with proofreading.
Line editing Focus on language, style, concision and choices. The editor helps you strengthen your story, polish your sentences and ensure that your use of language drives home your ideas.	Yes! Select the Structure Check and Clarity Check to receive a comprehensive edit equivalent to a line edit.
Developmental editing (i.e. content editing, substantive editing) This is the first step of the editing process and applies to very early drafts. The editor helps you structure your ideas, decide what story to tell and find direction for your writing.	No. This kind of editing involves heavy rewriting and restructuring. Our editors cannot help with this.

Frequently asked questions

What is a thesis or dissertation outline?

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Frequently asked questions: Dissertation

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