How to Write a Thesis

The thesis is a formal document, whose sole purpose is to prove that you have made an original contribution to knowledge; a thesis is a report which concerns a problem or series of problems in your area of research and it should describe what was known about it previously: what you did towards solving it, what you think your results mean, and where or how further progress in the field can be made.

The purpose of the graduate thesis is to prove that you have made an original and useful contribution to knowledge; the examiners read your thesis to find the answers to the following questions:

• What is this student's research question?
• Is it a good question?
• Did the student convince me that the question was adequately answered?
• Has the student made an adequate contribution to knowledge?

A very clear statement of the question is essential to proving that you have made an original and worthwhile contribution to knowledge. To prove the originality and value of your contribution, you must present a thorough review of the existing literature on the subject, and on closely related subjects. Then, by making direct reference to your literature review, you must demonstrate that your question has not been previously answered, and worth answering.

The best way to get started on your thesis is to prepare an extended outline. You begin by making up the Table of Contents, listing each section and subsection that you propose to include. For each section and subsection, write a brief point form description of the contents of that section. The entire outline may be 2 to 5 pages long. Now you and your thesis supervisor should carefully review this outline.

Always remember that a thesis is a formal document: every item must be in the appropriate place, and repetition of material in different places should be eliminated; the list of contents and chapter headings below is appropriate for some theses,

Declaration:

Many universities require something like: "I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgment has been made in the text. (Signature/name/date)"

Title Page:

This may vary among universities, but as an example: title (including subtitle), author, university, department, date of delivery, research mentor, mentor's institution

Abstract:

An abstract written at different stages of your work will help you to carry a short version of your thesis in your head. This will focus your thinking on what it is you are really doing; help you to see the relevance of what you are currently working on within the bigger picture, and help to keep the links which will eventually unify your thesis.

It should be a distillation or a summary of the thesis: a concise description of the problems addressed, your method of solving them, your results and conclusions. An abstract must be self-contained

Acknowledgments:

Most research students write in a page of thanks to those who have helped as a token of gratitude

Table of contents:

The introduction starts on page 1, the earlier pages should have Roman numerals. It helps to have the subheadings of each chapter as well as the chapter titles. Remember that the thesis may be used as a reference in the lab, so it helps to be able to find things easily.

Introduction:

This is a general introduction to what the thesis is all about -- it is not just a description of the contents of each section. Briefly summarize the question, some of the reasons why it is a worthwhile question, and perhaps give an overview of your main results.

Background Information:(Optional)

A brief section giving background information may be necessary, especially if your work spans two or more traditional fields. That means that your readers may not have any experience with some of the material needed to follow your thesis, so you need to give it to them.

Literature review:

A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by other scholars and researchers. Occasionally you will be asked to write one as a separate assignment, but more often it is part of the introduction to a thesis. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been presented on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Middle Chapters:

The exact structure in the middle chapters will vary among theses. In some theses, it is necessary to establish some theory, to describe the experimental techniques, then to report what was done on several different problems or different stages of the problem, and then finally to present a model or a new theory based on the new work.

Describing How You Solved the Problem or Answered the Question:

This part of the thesis is much more free-form. It may have one or several sections and subsections. But it all has only one purpose: to convince the examiners that you answered the question or solved the problems. So show what you did that is relevant to answering the question or solving the problem.

Conclusion:

You generally cover three things in the Conclusions section, and each of these usually needs a separate subsection:

1. Conclusions are not a brief summary of the thesis: they are short, concise statements of the study/investigation that you have made because of your work. It helps to organize these as short numbered paragraphs, written in order from most to least important

2. The Summary of Contributions will be much sought and carefully read by the examiners. Here you list the outcome and  contributions of new knowledge that your thesis makes, the thesis itself must support any claims made here. There is often some overlap with the Conclusions.

3. The Future Research subsection is included so that researchers picking up this work in future have the benefit of the ideas that you generated while you were working on the project

 References:

References allow the reader to identify a source of material, so that they can find the original work themselves.

Most examiners scan your list of references looking for the important works in the field, so make sure they are listed and referred.  Most examiners also look for their own publications if they are in the topic area of the thesis, so list these too. Besides, reading your examiner's papers usually gives you a clue as to the type of questions they are likely to ask.

Appendices:

Appendix contains information that is non-essential to understanding of the paper, but may present information that further clarifies a point without burdening the body of the presentation.

Final Words:

The purpose of your thesis is to clearly document an original contribution to knowledge. You may develop computer programs, prototypes, or other tools as a means of proving your points, but remember, the thesis is not about the tool, it is about the contribution to knowledge. Tools such as computer programs are fine and useful products, but you can't get an advanced degree just for the tool. You must use the tool to demonstrate that you have made an original contribution to knowledge.

Mustafa Marhama                              

College of Information Technology