A dissertation is probably the most important piece of writing you would ever do. Many students find it an overwhelming and difficult task. Perhaps the most difficult aspect to a dissertation is making it different from the thousands churned out every year.
So how does one go about making their work unique? Dissertation Avenue reveals you the solutions in this article. Here they are:
1. Put Effort Into The Topic
Needless to say, your topic is the first thing that represents your dissertation. When you start your work, then, be sure to start it in an outstanding manner. Your topic should not just be eye-catching, but thought-provoking.
Moreover, your topic should be one that justifies your research. It should be a way of inspiring yourself to work as well as inspiring others to read it. Plus, it would get your supervisor or advisor more interested in your work. They would then be even more willing to help you contribute to their field.
2. Own The Topic
When you finally choose the topic, make sure it is unique or recent enough to hold interest. This is especially important because you need to make your topic your own. It should not be a follow up of anyone else’s work.
However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t be inspired by the masters. If you have taken your main idea from someone else in the field, acknowledge it. However, you do need to justify why this idea is important, and why your contribution is necessary. Of course, don’t forget to give credit where it’s due.
3. Quality Over Quantity
This might be a bit of a cliché, but many students do make the mistake of having a plethora of references. Too many sources and research material would most likely take up a lot of your time. Additionally, it would prevent you from narrowing down your topic. There is also a lot of shoddy work out there, and refining something like that would bring down your respiration.
Hence, be very picky in what you choose as your references and sources of research. You have to ask yourself who the author of that book or paper is. Are they good at what they do, or a joke among their peers? One good way of finding out the value of a reference is to ascertain whether any other works have used them.
So when you’re making your literature review, or just have a pile of material in front of you, start sorting. Throw out anything that may weaken your argument through its poor research or lack of authenticity. Moreover, look at the reviews of the books you have instead of reading all of them. You can also check the references of a certain source, or consult your professors for advice.
Being careful at this stage is not a bad idea. It could mean the difference between your dissertation being accepted or rejected.
4. Research With A Passion
One of the benefits of having an interesting topic is that you would enjoy your research. However, this doesn’t mean that the research isn’t work. You have to view your research as the outcome of a lot of effort. It is obviously also a process in itself.
Don’t be afraid to collect everything that could tie in with your topic at first. Don’t just go after books or papers, either. Anything could give you valuable information on your subject, even videos or social media accounts. For instance, you could find out what people, especially influential people, are speaking about a certain topic. You could then research the most relevant details from scholarly articles for a professional view.

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