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The Dissertation Finishing Mindset: How to Complete Your Study on Time

The Dissertation Finishing Mindset: How to Complete Your Study on Time

Writing a dissertation is literally the most difficult, challenging, and time-consuming academic requirement both Master’s and PhD students face in their academic careers. Some of us have the time and resources to approach our dissertation as a passion project and complete it on time. The rest of us are not so lucky due to various reasons, starting from procrastinating and the need to read more before writing to outside responsibilities that make the completion of a dissertation daunting, and even close to impossible.

While research is not easy by any means and dissertations seem to actively resist your planning attempts, there is only one major thing that distinguishes a productive and effective researcher from one who misses their deadlines. And this thing is a mindset or, let us put it this way, a dissertation-finishing mindset.

Students with this kind of mindset take a pragmatic approach to writing a dissertation. You know the sort: those students who can abandon a line of inquiry without hesitation if it does not add value to their writing or is going somewhere unproductive. Their dissertations get approved because they strictly follow their university’s content, formatting, structure, and ethical requirements. No more and no less. A successful dissertation writer is not precious about their point of view or ‘voice’, which makes them effective. All that matters for these people is that the job must be done efficiently.

One might say that experience is the best teacher and the more you write academic papers, the more you become effective and efficient in doing it. However, how could you possibly plan and complete your dissertation on time if this is the first time you face such a huge task? Indeed, few of us as students write more than one dissertation. But let’s face it: writing a dissertation is not much different from writing your ordinary essay. Of course, a dissertation is a much more complex piece of research and academic writing but your academic career has been developing up to this particular point where you need to apply the skills and competencies you have been developing since your admission. Thus, it’s not something completely new, it’s just another level of complexity.

So what do you need to develop a dissertation-finishing mindset? Well, there are several tips we can give that will help you stop procrastinating and become a more effective and efficient writer.

Other people’s opinions can be unhelpful noise 

If you want to finish your dissertation on time, you should make it a priority. However, some students’ definitions of priority may differ drastically. When we say your dissertation comes first, we mean above all commitments. Some people may be resistant to this idea and that is ok.

Your family members and friends might not get why you are so committed to your dissertation, so spending some time explaining your reasons might be a good idea to keep your relationships healthy. You should also take other people’s opinions about your study with caution. Sure, it is helpful to get some advice from recognised experts and supervisors on how to improve your thesis. However, all these people have their own pet methods and theories, so hearing how they would do it is largely pointless. Remember that they are not writing your dissertation – you are.

Finishing your dissertation ‘properly’ is a mirage

Dissertations, especially at a PhD level, open as many research issues and problems as they solve. That is why you should find a way to draw a narrow line between arriving at a useful and meaningful conclusion and a willingness to invest more resources in the study. The truth is that no dissertation is ‘complete’ in terms of its data-gathering exercise, meaning every academic study could benefit from more time, effort, and money. Developing the ability to identify this line, even if it is uncomfortable, is a useful skill that would help you become a more effective and efficient writer and complete your dissertation on time.

Do not see mistakes as a path to perfection

Making mistakes in research and academic writing is a reality we all have to bear with. Believe us when we tell you that literary every academic writer has had the experience of throwing out a piece of writing or a data set and starting all over again. One could argue that without mistakes it is impossible to learn how to become better. There is even a popular quote by Samuel Beckett who said “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better”.

However, there is no point in spending too much time dwelling on your mistakes because you can end up thinking you are dumb and you will never get your dissertation done on time. Still, sometimes we can make the same mistake over and over again, and this is something you must deal with to become an efficient writer. To do that, you should identify what went wrong. Afterwards, do what you can to rectify your mistake and move on. If the same mistake happens again, think about how you could avoid it next time.

Take care of your health and wellbeing

Sure, your dissertation should take priority over many things if you want to complete it on time. However, one thing that is more important than your dissertation is your health because it will significantly affect your research and writing abilities. Do not forsake eating organic food, drinking plenty of fluids, and exercising to keep your body healthy and your mind active. Sleep well and give yourself some rest from time to time to avoid burnout, maintain a high level of motivation and engagement.

There is a myriad of circumstances that can hinder students’ ability to finish their dissertations on time. While we all have outside commitments and responsibilities, it is crucial to have the right mindset to complete your study according to the schedule. We believe that the tips outlined in this article can help you cross the dissertation finish line without flying past the deadline.

Author Bio: Anna is Marketing Manager for online essay writing service 15 Writers. She is an expert in digital marketing and enjoys writing articles on Business, Marketing and Technology.

SEE ALSO: Dissertation Writing Techniques for College Students

Dissertation Writing Techniques for College Students

Dissertation Writing Techniques for College Students

What is Dissertation Writing?

Dissertation is a kind of writing that students do in between and at the end of their undergraduate degree program. It is also known as thesis or research. It is the answer of the topic that is selected by themselves or sometimes from the side of the department. It consists of a piece of writing that is about ten to twenty thousand words. If you are writing a dissertation, then it must contain the findings of the given question. The dissertation process is very important. Without following the appropriate process of research, you cannot be able to find the correct data. For writing a dissertation you need to follow some techniques and tips:

Let’s Choose a Topic

To find out the idea of a research and selection of topic is also a challenge. Always choose the topic of your interest. Choose the topic of your grip and your concept about that topic must be clear. List out the topic of your interest and understanding and if you face any trouble in selecting it, you can always get online dissertation writing services.

Personal Interest

The foremost thing that you will need to initiate your dissertation is your personal interest in the topic and the research. If the student has no interest in the dissertation and he doesn’t have personal benefit in the study then he won’t be able to make a good dissertation. It is very important for a student to stay motivated during the research phenomenon.

Clarity in the Topic

The topic of the dissertation should be clear. Your topic should be concise and specific about the research you are going to do, the learning that you have done and the process of learning. The unclarity and ambiguity can diminish your purpose of conveying information.

Uniquity of the Topic

The discussed problems and questions asked in the dissertation should be unique. The set of questions asked in the study should not be discussed before. The new findings and the new objective and questions should be included in the research, as to provide the innovation in the findings.

Making Research Proposal

The aim of writing a research proposal is to brief the worth of your research project and to show the authenticity of your work plan. A research proposal should provide the answers of these questions:

  •         What do you want to achieve in this research?
  •         How are you going to achieve your goal?
  •         Why do you want to do this research?

The elements that you need to put in your research proposals are title, introduction, abstract, objectives, significance, questions and methodology.

Introduction

After a research proposal writing and its approval you need to start your dissertation with a strong introduction. The starting section of the research includes background, literature review and methodology in it.

Background

The background is based on the context of the research. Your background should be catchy and should appeal to the reader to read the rest of your research.

Literature Review

In this section the previous works of the writers should be discussed. The relevant history from your topic and the cited statements are the main elements of it. The arrived conclusions of the writers must be added in it.

Methodology

This section will be right after the literature review in your dissertation. The methodology section must have a connection with research questions and the literature review. You have to write explicit data analyzing methodology. Your selection of the method for analyzing data should be appropriate for your topic.

Realistic Approach

In dissertation writing try to use the realistic approach, avoid any ambiguous language in between the dissertation. You must have an idea what to say and what not to say in the study.

Dissertation writing is not an easy task for you if you are a college going student. Having to cope with the daily assignments and homework plus working on your dissertation creates a mess sometimes. In order to cope with this challenge numerous students, take the help of online dissertation writing services. It may facilitate you to complete your conscious involvement in your research.

Justifications

Your aim of the topic must be justifying the method and result of the dissertation. The purpose of your readings should be fulfilled. Observe and check consciously as well as go through the outcomes and decision of topic selection again and again.

Limitations of the Dissertation

Every topic has some limitations as to keep the research context narrow. If you will broadly work on your research then it would be difficult for you to sum up the findings and draw conclusions. Usually in colleges the dissertations are narrow and easy to complete.

Data Collection

In the section of data collection, you have to analyze the measurements of the data that you collected for your dissertation. If you have selected the quantitative research type then you have to calculate the observations. In any online dissertation service, you have to provide the complete details about the data collection elements. Many students use different software that makes the process of data analysis very easy. In data collection you have to use different tools for data collection.

Drawing Conclusion

After collecting the data, you have to draw a conclusion on the basis of the findings from collected data. The conclusion step is sometimes not completely according to your expectation. You have to deal with the results rationally and draw conclusions consciously. The core idea with the findings should be added in this part.

Rechecking Part

The dissertation process needs to be proofread in the end and for that you need an expert to correct your mistakes. If you want to make your research published and awarded you need to ask for the guidance of your supervisor. The role of supervisor is crucial in dissertation writing. You can ask your friends to analyze your dissertation critically. Check your research thoroughly again and again so you could find any flaw then make it correct.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, dissertation writing is a conscious process which contains your time with the endless efforts. Many students face hurdles in their college study career just because of the dissertation writing. Before starting a dissertation, writing must gather the information and complete knowledge about it.

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