editing doctoral thesis

How to edit a PhD thesis (without going mad)

Jun 5, 2020

Your PhD thesis is the culmination of years of coursework and research and it can seem pretty overwhelming. Once you complete a draft, your work is far from over. Editing and proofreading are a significant part of your work on your dissertation, but after drafting your chapters, you might feel like you have no idea where to start editing. 

This is where we come in. We’re going to walk you through the dos and dont’s of editing a dissertation thesis chapter to help the process seem less daunting. If you’re ready to learn about how to edit your PhD thesis, read on. 

Do Walk Away and Take a Break

This might seem counterintuitive. You’re finished with a chapter and now you should walk away? The purpose of  taking a break  is to clear your head. Don’t just take a 10-minute break either. Take a whole day, maybe more if you can spare them, and then come back with fresh eyes and a cleared mind to begin editing. 

Don’t Edit as You Write 

You might be tempted to go back and edit after every few paragraphs or pages, but try to resist that urge. If you wait until you have an entire draft of a chapter ready, you will make things much easier on yourself.

If you can wait, you can then move entire sections, judge the quality of a paragraph or section in terms of the entire chapter, and have a better idea of the full picture of the chapter rather than just a small section.

Do Create a Plan

Before you start editing, have a plan. Start with one chapter (do not try to edit the entire dissertation at once) and lay out what you are looking for.

When you edit the first draft of your chapter, you should ask yourself questions as you go through it. You want to examine how it might be improved, what you need to add, what might need to be removed, and what might need to be moved to another section.

Set yourself up with a list of questions to ask yourself as you review each chapter. Yours might differ based on your discipline, but here are some general questions you can start with:

Whether it’s the introduction, literature review, results, or discussion and conclusion chapters, you had a purpose when writing them. That purpose should be clear at the beginning of the chapter and you should carry that through the entire chapter. Ask yourself:

• What is the purpose of this chapter?
• Did I make that clear? (i.e., is there a clearly stated purpose of the chapter at the beginning?)
• Does this chapter and the material in it logically follow the previous chapter?
• Are there places where things don’t fit or seem to come out of nowhere within the chapter?
• Am I using adequate transitions between paragraphs and sections?
• Have I used existing research to justify your process and/or explained that your research is the first on the topic?
• Is the chapter well-organised and easy to read?
• Have I appropriately used headings and subheadings to help the flow and organisation?
• Do I have a strong conclusion that isn’t just a summary of the chapter and gives the reader an idea of the content of the next chapter?
• Does the writing flow from section to section and chapter to chapter?
• Have I established myself as an academic authority on the subject?
• Can I make the writing more concise?

These questions are relevant for each chapter of your dissertation.

Your PhD Thesis. On one page.

Don’t proofread during the editing .

The editing step is focused more on big-picture items, not line edits. Sure, you can fix typos, but don’t worry too much about the small details. The  thorough proofreading  will come later.

You might even hire a  professional proofreader  to handle the line-item editing for you once your draft is finished and edited. Otherwise, the proofreading comes when the writing is done and the PhD is nearly complete.

Do Edit in Stages

The logical editing process is to focus on each chapter at a time. After each chapter is finished, you can edit it (after you’ve walked away from it a bit).

You can also choose to focus on one editorial issue at a time. For example, you could first go through to check for structure in one editing session and then check for purpose in another (this way is a bit more complex and you often find yourself focusing on everything in an editing session, so try a few different methods to see what works best for you).

Don’t Edit the Entire Thing at Once

Just like you need to walk away from a chapter and give yourself a break from it before editing, you also need to give yourself a break between editing sessions. The thought of sitting down to edit the entire dissertation, which could be several hundred pages, is probably extremely overwhelming. It’s enough to make someone procrastinate the editing process because it seems like such a daunting task.

Don’t do this to yourself! Instead, set goals. Decide how much you will edit in one day and stick to that. This will help you to manage your time and also make sure your eyes and mind are fresh as you edit. As you get fatigued from so much reading and editing, you’ll start to miss things.

You didn’t sit down to write the entire thing in one sitting, so don’t expect yourself to edit the whole thing in one sitting.

How to Edit a PhD Thesis Effectively

Unless you’ve written a dissertation before, chances are you are stuck on how to edit a PhD thesis chapter. Use these tips to make the editing process more manageable and less overwhelming. It’s a lot of work, but so is the writing process. You want your final draft to be the best it can be.

If you’re still stuck or overwhelmed, let one of our PhD-thesis proofreaders take on the editing process for you.  Get in touch  today to book your writing check-up.

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How to Edit a Thesis and Revise it Successfully

As a researcher your PhD thesis is the culmination of many years of research on a subject. It helps to showcase your subject matter expertise, academic writing skills and capabilities as an independent researcher. After having spent months and years working on a PhD thesis, most early career researchers rush to submit their work before allowing themselves to take a breather. However, experienced researchers suggest that while taking a break from your thesis might be a good idea, it is imperative to spend some time to proofread, revise, and polish your thesis before submitting it for evaluation. Most early career researchers find this daunting and often procrastinate when it comes to editing PhD thesis and revising it.

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Why Editing PhD thesis and Proofreading it is Essential

Editing and revising your PhD thesis is absolutely essential as it helps improve the clarity and coherence of the thesis. Proofreading entails reading the content to ensure that it is understandable, accurate, and well-presented. A well-written thesis is easy to follow and presents ideas in a logical and organized manner. Editing and proofreading helps to identify areas where the thesis may be unclear or where the argument may be weak. A well-edited and proofread thesis demonstrates attention to detail and a commitment to excellence, which can help to impress the thesis committee and lead to a successful defence.

This article explains the importance of editing and proofreading a PhD thesis and offers advice on how to edit and revise your work.

  Tips for Successfully Editing and Revising Ph.D. Thesis

• Take a break: Once you finish your thesis, give yourself a few days or a week to relax and recharge your energies before return to it with a refreshed perspective. Taking a break from your work can help you to approach it with fresh eyes.
• Pay attention to detail: Take time to carefully edit your PhD thesis from start to finish, stay alert to minor grammatical errors, inaccurate information or issues with formatting. Focus on removing any contradiction and add supporting information where there is a lack of adequate proof.
• Edit section-by-section: Break down the thesis into smaller, more manageable sections to check for spelling errors, citation mistakes and look for problems with structure and coherence. This can be helpful to ease the editing and proofreading process.

• Refine your opening and conclusions: Pay attention to both the introduction and the conclusion of your thesis. They must be well written and impactful and must convey the details of your work in a compelling way. For better understanding and consistency, try re-organizing elements of your thesis by avoiding jargon and using clear and simple language to explain things.
• Ensure that your thesis meets submission guidelines: Most universities and departments may have guidelines and requirements for the submission of dissertations. These can include specifics on whether to use APA or MLA referencing and formatting guidelines. Being aware of these guidelines can ensure that your thesis is well-received and not returned for additional edits at a later stage.
• Check for inaccuracies in citations: Most early career researchers find themselves inadvertently making errors when it comes to listing citations. Reference management tools like Zotero and Mendeley can prove very helpful as they assistsyou with correctly linking sources and citing referenced articles.
• Be vigilant and check for inadvertent plagiarism: Plagiarism in academia is taken very seriously and can invite serious repercussions. Forgetting to insert quotation marks or citing a particular author you have paraphrased is deemed as plagiarism. When proofreading the thesis ensure that you check for these often inadvertent errors and correct them before final submissions.
• Consider using professional editing tools: There are numerous editing tools and apps available online that can be used to identify and fix common mistakes, make your writing clearer and format according to the required citation style, allowing you to submit a perfect thesis. Apps like Researcher.Life help evaluate the submission-readiness of dissertations and research manuscripts in addition to providing editing, translation, and end-to-end support through all stages of academic writing.
• Seek feedback : Having edited and proofread your PhD thesis do share it with your supervisors and request them to provide inputs and feedback. Constructive feedback can prove invaluable and help you to identify areas where you may need to make revisions or improvements. This ensures that your PhD thesis meets the high standards of academic excellence.

Finally, keep aside structured time for editing and proofreading your thesis. While you may be tempted to do so, avoid rushing through the editing and proofreading process. We hope that you will find these tips use in making your editing and proofreading process more efficient, manageable and less overwhelming.

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Upload your entire thesis and only select the pages that need proofreading and editing.

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We try our best to ensure that the same editor checks all the different sections of your document. When you upload a new file, our system recognizes you as a returning customer, and we immediately contact the editor who helped you before.

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Please note that the shorter your deadline is, the lower the chance that your previous editor is not available.

If your previous editor isn’t available, then we will inform you immediately and look for another qualified editor. Fear not! Every Scribbr editor follows the  Scribbr Improvement Model  and will deliver high-quality work.

Yes, our editors also work during the weekends and holidays.

Because we have many editors available, we can check your document 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, all year round.

If you choose a 72 hour deadline and upload your document on a Thursday evening, you’ll have your thesis back by Sunday evening!

When you place an order, you can specify your field of study and we’ll match you with an editor who has familiarity with this area.

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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Our experienced editors are available 24/7/365 to rigorously review and comprehensively improve your writing.

Microsoft Word’s Track Changes We use Word’s Track Changes feature to highlight our amendments. We have alternative options for other formats, including PDF and Overleaf/LaTeX .

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We’ll improve your style and diction to ensure that your dissertation or thesis has a confident academic tone and an appropriate register.

I’ve changed “needn’t occur” to “is unnecessary” to enhance the formality of the text. In general, contractions (needn’t, can’t, won’t, etc.) should be avoided in academic writing. Dr Smith, PhD

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We’ll correct or query awkward phrasing and ambiguity to ensure that your writing is clearly expressed and easy to understand.

I would recommend being more specific here; do the physiological properties of FES systems create a challenging control problem or do they have to solve or address a challenging control problem? Dr Smith, PhD

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When a theory or model is named after two or more entities, the nouns are conventionally joined using an en dash. The same rule applies whenever the elements of a compound are considered equivalent, so the phrases “parent–child relationship”, “cost–benefit analysis”, etc., use an en dash rather than a hyphen. Dr Smith, PhD

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We’ll ensure that your dissertation or thesis is submitted in the best possible condition by assigning it to an academic editor with expertise in your field.

Each year, our editors review more than 6,000 dissertations and theses from a range of subject areas for students and PhD candidates from all over the world. Our clients’ feedback is overwhelmingly positive, and we work hard on each order to keep it this way.

Don’t lose precious marks for weaknesses in your English and academic style

At most universities, up to 20% of your grade depends on the quality of your writing.

Our editors will ensure that you don’t lose precious marks due to weaknesses in your writing ability. We’ll improve academic tone, register, flow and structure to help ensure that your writing is well received by the grading professor.

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As current and former academics, our editors know exactly what grading professors do—and don’t—want to see in a dissertation or thesis.

Hire the experts to help

Nothing influences your final degree classification more than the mark you receive for your dissertation or thesis.

If you choose to hire us to review and improve your dissertation or thesis, you are making an investment in your education and the result of your degree or doctorate. Our previous clients will attest to this.

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When it comes to academic editing and proofreading, there simply is no substitute for subject-matter expertise. That’s why we have a robust team of over 300 editors who come from diverse academic backgrounds. From the sciences and engineering to the humanities and social sciences, our editors cover the full spectrum of academic disciplines.

This expansive range of expertise allows us to thoughtfully pair your document with a professional editor who not only is a proficient writer and reviewer but also understands the specific terms of art and nuances of your particular subject area.

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Finishing your PhD thesis to the standard it deserves is paramount to you qualifying successfully. After years of writing, it may be understandably difficult for you to see the wood for the trees. That's where we come in.

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Thesis proofreading.

Thesis proofreading includes correction for:

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We guarantee 100% language accuracy —your thesis will be free of objective language errors and adhere to all necessary requirements.

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Wordvice's thesis editors enhance the style, clarity, and tone of your writing in the following ways:

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• Chen Xi "Will use Wordvice again" Wordvice saved my master's thesis! I was stressed out because I thought I couldn't get everything done before my deadline, but my editor was so fast and their comments guided me really well through the last phase of polishing my writing. It sounds much more academic now, and I learned a lot from the feedback my editor gave me. I will definitely use Wordvice again for my dissertation!
• Ronald Yates "Best dissertation editor EVER!" I submitted my dissertation to Wordvice before handing it in, and my editor Carla G. did such an amazing job - it was much more helpful than I had expected! She was very thorough and left many detailed suggestions in the manuscript that helped me immensely with organizing and strengthening my arguments. I got my dissertation back on time and felt very self-assured when I finally handed it in. Thank you for your very professional help.

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Expert Academic Proofreading

Don’t Let Typos Undermine Your Hard Work

You may have worked on your thesis for months or years. It may be the most important academic document you will ever write. So you need it to be perfect. And this means it should be easy to read, fully referenced, and error free.

To make sure this is the case for you, why not ask the professionals? Our thesis proofreading service will help you polish your document, eliminating errors and ensuring the work you put into your research shines through.

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Your spellchecker might help you find some errors, but can you trust it with your thesis? Unlike software, our human proofreaders have a passion for academic writing. And, as editing professionals, we have extensive experience of proofreading MA and PhD theses. As such, we’ve been able to help countless students improve their writing and achieve the results they deserve.

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing

Thesis Proofreading

With our thesis proofreading service, we will assign your paper to an expert academic editor. When they have your document, they will:

• Correct any punctuation, spelling, and grammar errors
• Maintain an academic tone in word choice throughout
• Fix issues related to structure and readability
• Make sure your writing is clear, concise, and consistent
• Check that your references are clear and complete

And to help ensure you are always in control of the final draft, whenever possible, we will provide two copies of your edited thesis:

• A ‘Clean’ copy in the original file format
• An MS Word Track Changes  copy

This Track Changes copy will highlight any change we make to your document, so you can review and approve them at your leisure. And if your  chosen file format  doesn’t support Track Changes, we will adapt our process to match.

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Our team includes experts in various referencing styles and systems, including AMA, APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, and IEEE. No matter what style you’re using, though, we can check that your citations and references are correct and let you know if any information is missing. Visit our referencing page to learn more.

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Dissertation Editing Services: Everything You Need to Know

If you’re unsure about the quality of your dissertation writing, it’s best to get it reviewed by an expert editor. But you may have lots of questions about how this works. Do you need professional dissertation editing services? What process do they follow? What are the best dissertation proofreading services and how can you choose the right one for yourself?

In this article, we’ve answered all these questions and more. From checks to find out if a company is legit to your expected dissertation editing costs, we’ve covered it all. So without further ado, let’s get into it.  

What Are Dissertation Editing Services?

Dissertation editing services are professional services that help students refine their dissertations before submitting them. Companies that provide these services for students and researchers are also called “dissertation editing services”. Depending on the type of review, they check your thesis for coherence, clarity, syntax, grammar, and word choice.

While understanding professional editing services for dissertations, you may wonder how they work. These companies employ hundreds of academic editors from diverse fields. They use advanced software and a skilled team to assign each dissertation to an expert from the field. This way, you don’t have to waste your time hunting for a dissertation editor and you still get expert feedback.

But are dissertation proofreading and editing services really that important? Could you do without them?

Why Choose Dissertation Editing Services?

You should choose dissertation editing services because your dissertation is the most important academic text you’ll ever work on. It’s your responsibility to ensure that it’s written and formatted as perfectly as possible, and you will lose marks if there are errors in the document!

Plus, your dissertation is your original contribution to your field of study. It has to be the best reflection of your research, or it’ll undermine all your hard work. Due diligence in editing and proofreading your dissertation elevates its quality and conveys your sincerity to your work.

But why not edit your dissertation yourself? Well, there are several disadvantages of self-editing. There are even more advantages of dissertation editing services. So, what do dissertation editing services offer?

Dissertation editing services:

• Catch the most minute errors you’ll likely miss, even with several reviews.
• Improve the clarity and coherence of your writing.
• Ensure accuracy in research methods, argument logic, and use of technical terms.
• Offer expert feedback to improve your document further.
• Elevate the overall impact and quality of your dissertation, helping you score higher.

But how does this process work? A dissertation is a lengthy document, so dissertation proofreading services take a layered approach.

Dissertation Editing Process

The dissertation editing process moves from macro-level edits to micro-level edits. So, document-spanning issues such as coherence and argument clarity are considered first. More specific issues such as grammar and spelling mistakes are fixed at the end to avoid repeated work. 

Depending on the scope of the editing step and the issues looked at, there are four major types of editing. They’re undertaken in a specific order, but various services may offer them in different formats.

Types of Dissertation Editing

The four types of dissertation editing are substantive or developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, and proofreading. Does your dissertation need all four steps? Let’s take a look.

1. Substantive Editing

Substantive editing, also known as content editing or developmental editing, focuses on the content of your dissertation. It improves the structure and flow of the entire document, examining its clarity and coherence. 

A substantive editor:

• Examines the logical development of your argument.
• Ensures that your writing is clear and has a smooth flow.
• Checks the validity of your methodology and data points.
• Removes any ambiguous, redundant, or repetitive sections.
• Ensures that your dissertation aligns with your research objectives.

The substantive editor will leave comments on the document, highlighting problematic areas and suggesting improvements. Since you’re the writer, you decide which comments to work on and which ones to ignore, if any. 

2. Line Editing

Line editing is a line-by-line edit that improves the clarity, flow, and effectiveness of your academic sentences. This is a more stylistic review, focusing on meaning, tone, and word choice than grammar or punctuation. So if you want to ensure that your dissertation is engaging, coherent, and well-written, you need a line editor.

A line editor checks your dissertation for the following:

• Clear expression of the intended meaning
• Word choice and sentence structure
• Smooth flow between sentences and paragraphs
• Consistency in tone and style
• Pacing (sentence length, density of data, etc.)
• Overt language errors (not the main focus)

This step is crucial for ESL students and researchers as well as anyone who’s unsure of their writing abilities. However, providers of dissertation editing services often combine line editing with copy editing, since both these steps address overlapping concerns.

3. Copy Editing

Copy editing for a dissertation is a meticulous process that focuses on the mechanical aspects of writing such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation. In its pure form, copy editing doesn’t pay much attention to stylistic or technical aspects of your writing. So, a copy editor will fix the language errors in a sentence but not inconsistencies in writing style or pacing.

Just because dissertation copy editing is mechanical doesn’t mean it has a narrow scope, though. A copy editor checks not only writing but also graphic elements, formatting style, and referencing. A copy editor undertakes the following tasks:

• Correcting errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence construction.
• Ensuring proper sentence structure with subject-verb agreement.
• Making the text clear and readable.
• Checking the use of technical terms, abbreviations, and acronyms.
• Reviewing the labeling, formatting, relevance, and overall fitness of tables, figures, and images.
• Ensuring that the dissertation follows the prescribed style guidelines (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).
• Reviewing in-text citations and entries on the reference list; cross-checking them for accuracy and missing details.
• Checking for overall consistency in the document (formatting, word choice, and style).
• Undertaking a basic review of the page layout.

As you can see, a copy editor plays a crucial role in removing several kinds of errors from your dissertation. Compared to this, a line editor’s review seems smaller in scope. So, most dissertation copy editing service providers combine it with line editing. They correct language errors and add comments for stylistic improvements.

4. Proofreading

Dissertation proofreading is the final review that highlights any errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting. It looks only for surface-level mistakes, such as typographical or language-related errors. So, it’s like copy editing in a sense but with a smaller scope.

Proofreading removes any lingering errors that may distract readers or undermine your hard work. It may seem like a minor step, but it’s an essential quality check and your last defense against any superficial errors. You should proofread your dissertation once all other editing steps are complete to avoid rework.

Proofreading highlights the following errors in your dissertation:

• Spelling mistakes and typos
• Punctuation errors
• Any obvious grammar errors
• Incorrect abbreviations and acronyms
• Errors in labeling or formatting tables and figures
• Referencing errors
• Problems with page formatting (such as improper margins and missing headers)

Since a dissertation proofreader has to catch such minute errors, proofreading is a painstaking and detail-oriented task. Dissertation proofreading services hire trained experts to undertake this step, saving you time and effort.

What Is Dissertation Referencing?

Dissertation referencing is the process of adding references to your dissertation. While researching, you’re bound to use information from a variety of sources, all of which you must credit in your thesis. Whether you follow the MLA style or APA format, you must add and correctly format your in-text citations and reference list entries.

Professional dissertation editors and proofreaders don’t usually undertake this step for you. They may fix one or two incorrect or missing citations, but they don’t write your reference list for you. If any APA dissertation editing services undertake this task, they may charge an additional price.

What Is Dissertation Formatting?

Dissertation formatting is the process of formatting your pages and text according to the style guidelines prescribed by your university. This is usually the MLA format for humanities students, APA format for STEM students, and Chicago style for students of business and history. Incorrect formatting in your dissertation may result in a lower score.

Like referencing, an editor does not undertake dissertation formatting for you unless as a separate task. Some companies do offer dissertation referencing and formatting services in addition to editing and proofreading.

Choosing an Editing Service: What to Look For

Now that you know what dissertation editing is, why it’s important, and how it works, it’s time to find out how to choose an editing service. There are several dissertation review services out there, old and new. Older firms have experience but are often more expensive, while newer companies are more affordable but aren’t well-known. So what signs should you look for?

1. Reviews and Recommendations

Personal recommendations from your peers or seniors are the best method when choosing an editing service. If a company has worked for them, it probably understands the requirements of your subject or university. Some universities also have tie-ups with doctoral dissertation editing services, so you should check if yours has one.

The next step is to check the company’s online reviews. Even a quick look at the reviews will give you a good idea of a company’s strengths and weaknesses. You can then make a more informed choice based on these testimonials.

Shortlist a few editing services from this initial check and refine that list as you find out more about them.

2. A Helpful but Realistic Support Team

All good editing firms have a support team that communicates your requirements to the editing team. The support staff also helps you place your order and guides you through the editing process. Ideally, the person communicating with you should be friendly, confident, and knowledgeable, but not pushy.

If you’re being rushed into placing an order or being offered dubious discounts, you should proceed with caution. So, make sure that the support team knows what they’re doing and can be relied upon. You should also remember to be very clear about your requirements and priorities in your document. This will help them target those issues in your dissertation and you won’t have to ask for any revisions.

3. Transparency and Confidentiality

Dissertation editing services must be transparent about their editing process and measures to ensure document confidentiality. At the end of your first call with the company, you should have clarity about the people who will work on your document and the process they’ll follow. If you can’t be sure of this, ask the support team for clarification. If you don’t get a satisfying answer, it’s probably best to avoid working with that particular service.

Another important aspect of dissertation editing is confidentiality. Almost all editing services have their editors sign NDAs at the time of joining, so you shouldn’t worry about that. One thing to look for, however, is the security measures the company undertakes to protect your document from outside threats. This includes 192-bit or 256-bit encryption methods, which are popularly used by dissertation editing companies.

4. Free Work Sample

Always ask for a sample edit. Editing companies don’t usually offer a sample edit unless you approach them with a major document. Since a dissertation qualifies as such, any firm worth its name should be good to offer you a one-page or 300-word free edit.

This sample edit will tell you a lot about a company’s work ethic, quality of edits, and professionalism. If you’ve shortlisted a few companies, the sample edit is probably the most reliable metric to base your final decision on. However, company policies keep changing and some established firms may have stopped offering sample edits. In this case, you’ll have to decide based on the three factors listed above.

5. A Good Offer

The final consideration is one for your pocket. Getting dissertation editing help can get expensive, and most companies understand the financial constraints on students. So, you’re likely to find big discounts during the dissertation season. If waiting that long isn’t an option for you, don’t hesitate to ask the support staff!

Once you have a quote from a few companies, compare their pros and cons and you’ll be able to choose the best dissertation editing service for you.

Be sure to enquire about the company’s revision policy. If you’re unhappy with the edit, you should be able to receive a partial or full refund. Most editing services offer one or two free revisions, so make sure to use those and get the best version of your document!

Now that we know how to choose a dissertation editing service, what are some well-known firms that fit the bill? Let’s take a look.

The Top Dissertation Editing Services of 2024

Of the many premium dissertation editing services out there, some stand out as the best of the best. In this list, we’ve considered quality of services, pricing, turnaround time, and editorial team. So, here are the best dissertation editing services of 2024:

An established name in academic editing, Scribbr is particularly popular among college students due to its online tools and resources. Their expertise and experience don’t come cheap, but you can rest assured that your dissertation will be well-edited. The best thing is that you can ask them to focus on certain aspects of your document.

If you know that your writing isn’t clear or that your structure needs to be refined, you can opt for the relevant checks. These come with a hike in price but may be helpful for those who have received targeted feedback from professors before. After all, structure, cohesion, and clarity are important factors that affect your overall grade.

Scribbr can return your edited dissertation in 12 hours to 7 days. At around $835 for a 15,000-word dissertation, however, dissertation editing with Scribbr will cost you a pretty penny.

2. Cambridge Proofreading

Cambridge Proofreading has been offering dissertation editing services for over 11 years. They employ more than 300 academic editors, all of whom are native speakers from the US and UK. Their system deletes all documents after 15 days of closing an order, which helps keep your dissertation confidential.

Cambridge Proofreading has expertise in editing dissertations from diverse fields, from astrophysics to philosophy. Recently they’ve also launched a service where they humanize AI-generated text. This is an additional boost for many students, helping them get more work done in less time.

Their dissertation editing process is fairly straightforward, but they stand out in terms of pricing. They charge dissertation editing rates of $28.90 per 1,000 words for a 24-hour delivery and $25.90 per 1,000 words for a 48-hour delivery. In terms of both the cost and turnaround time, this is excellent!

3. Scribendi

Scribendi was established in 1997, making it one of the oldest top dissertation editing companies. They have a separate approach to ESL writers, paying more attention to those documents. With 287 editors working at the firm, they should be able to pair you with an expert from your field.

Sribendi has ISO certification and prioritizes customer satisfaction. They can deliver your document in as little time as four hours! This isn’t feasible for longer documents like dissertations, however. For example, they can deliver a 15,000-word dissertation in 48 hours to 7 days. Their price range for this is $558–$615, putting them on the slightly expensive side of things.

You can use their dissertation editing service to refine not only complete theses but also dissertation and thesis proposals.

4. TrueEditors

Although a relatively newer company, TrueEditors is a robust and affordable dissertation editing service. They have more than 155 academic experts onboard from a diverse range of academic disciplines. The best thing is that their edit also includes dissertation referencing, dissertation formatting, and a plagiarism check!

TrueEditors offers five prices depending on the time duration. They can deliver your edited dissertation in 48 hours, but the price will be higher. If you opt for a delivery time of ten days, however, the price will be much lower.

Aside from editing and proofreading a dissertation, TrueEditors also offers:

• Paraphrasing & Rewriting
• Content Writing
• Translation

These additional services are especially useful to ESL students, who may struggle to express their ideas as eloquently in English.

Enago employs highly qualified editors and proofreaders to work on your dissertation. They offer dissertation editing services in two packages: Thesis Essentials and Thesis Pro. The Thesis Essentials package is limited to grammar, punctuation, academic style,  and expert commentary. You can get thesis formatting, reference formatting, plagiarism check, and one revision with this package as add-ons.

The Thesis Pro package includes everything in Essentials but adds a clarity check, structure check, and advanced commentary. Reference formatting and one revision round are free with this package. If you’re not sure about editing with Enago, you can get their sample edit of 200 words. They only offer this if your dissertation is over 10,000 words.

This overview of the best dissertation editing services must have given you an idea about the process and pricing. But let’s take a closer look at the average dissertation proofreading cost.

How Much Does it Cost to Edit a Dissertation?

It can cost between $400–$850 to edit a dissertation of 15,000 words. However, the cost of dissertation editing varies based on document length, complexity, and your requirements. Undergraduate and master’s dissertations, for instance, will be about 8,000–15,000 words long. PhD dissertations, on the other hand, can reach about 80,000–100,000 words in length, which hikes up the price dramatically.

Similarly, a specialized structure and quality check is likely to add a few hundred dollars to the editing cost. If you want the editing service to handle referencing and formatting on top of that, the cost will increase. The cost of dissertation editing is directly proportional to the amount of work the editor undertakes.

It’s always best to edit and proofread your dissertation a few times yourself and get an initial review from your instructor. You can then look for PhD dissertation editing services based on their feedback. If you know exactly what you need an editor to do, you’ll have to pay only for the essentials.

How Can I Get a Dissertation Editing Quote?

You can get a dissertation editing quote by visiting a company’s website. Most online dissertation editing services have their pricing readily available on their web pages. You can simply type the word count of your dissertation and get a tentative figure. Some companies ask you to upload your dissertation before offering a quote.

If you’d like to know more about a company and their style of work, you can reach out to their support team. These days, most companies have chatbots on their website and you can use them to get in touch with the team. This is a better way to get a quote since you can tell them your requirements and obtain a much better offer.

Can I Get a Discount on Dissertation Editing Services?

Yes, you can definitely get a discount on dissertation editing services. Almost every editing company will offer you a 5% to 10% discount on your first order. Some also have student discounts of up to 15%. Plus, most companies have offers going on throughout the year, such as Black Friday, Holiday Season, and Easter discounts.

If you’ve been working on your dissertation in advance, you’re likely to have a document ready when one of the big offers comes around. If you’re in a time crunch, though, you’ll probably have to make do with a 10% discount.

How Long Does it Take to Proofread a Dissertation?

It may take anywhere from 12 hours to 7 days to proofread a dissertation. If you pay for a premium dissertation editing service, they may even deliver the proofread document in a few hours! But less turnaround time usually means more expensive services. So, the time it takes to proofread a dissertation largely depends on your editing budget!

Do Dissertation Editing Services Offer Error-Free Dissertations?

Yes, dissertation editing services offer error-free dissertations—that’s their purpose! This doesn’t mean that no error can bypass an editor; such a claim would be impossible to live up to. However, dissertation editing and proofreading services undertake several reviews to find and remove as many errors as they can. This, in turn, almost always leaves your document completely error-free!

Is it Safe to Send a Dissertation for Editing Services?

Yes, it’s completely safe to send a dissertation to editing services! It is not only academically ethical but expected that you get your dissertation professionally edited. Editing companies undertake several measures to protect your document, from encryption methods to NDAs. Rest assured, your dissertation is safe in your editors’ hands!

What Types of Documents Can You Use Dissertation Editing Services For?

You can use dissertation editing services for complete theses and dissertations as well as partial drafts. Some services also consider thesis and dissertation proposals under dissertation editing services.

Who Will Be Editing My Dissertation?

An editor with expertise in your subject who matches your editing requirements will edit your dissertation. Since dissertation editing services are legally obligated to protect the identities of their editors, you can’t interact with them firsthand. You can, however, request the support staff to pair you up with a specific type of editor.

-Isabell S.

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Writing & editing advice

Writing a Dissertation: Getting a Head Start

Marc Baldwin 2024-08-28T06:34:20-07:00 August 28th, 2024 | News |

Writing a Dissertation: Dealing with Supervisor Criticism and Making Revisions

Marc Baldwin 2024-08-14T07:32:18-07:00 August 14th, 2024 | Editing Methods , Misc. Helpful Advice , Tidbits for Fellow Scholars , Tips for Grad Students , Writing Advice |

8 Tips for Publishing Your Dissertation

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At Dissertation by Design, we understand the importance of flawless academic writing in your dissertation or thesis. That’s why we offer a dedicated team of professional editors and academics with academic writing and formatting expertise. Our editors are ready to support you in those final stages of writing, ensuring that your dissertation is polished and ready for submission, allowing you to confidently meet your deadlines.

What Sets Our Editing Services Apart

Personalized Assistance : You can access our team of editors after we return your edited proposal or dissertation. Our editors are committed to providing exceptional customer service, answering your questions, and guiding you through any remaining challenges to help you complete your dissertation on time.

Three Levels of Editing: We offer three levels of editing to cater to your specific needs:

• APA Editing: Our APA editing service focuses on ensuring that your dissertation adheres to the strict formatting guidelines of the APA style. Our editors will meticulously review your document, checking citations, references, headings, and overall compliance with APA guidelines. (See below for pricing)
• Developmental Editing: If you require more substantial support, our developmental editing service is designed to enhance the overall structure, clarity, and coherence of your dissertation. Our editors will provide insightful feedback and suggestions to strengthen your argument, improve the flow of your ideas, and enhance the readability of your work. (See below for pricing)
• Proofreading: Our proofreading service is ideal for those who seek a final check for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and typographical errors. Our editors will meticulously review your dissertation, ensuring that it is error-free and ready for submission. (See below for pricing)

Risk-Free Satisfaction Guarantee: We stand by the quality of our work and are committed to your satisfaction. If your committee requests revisions related to the editing we performed, we will make those revisions at no extra fee. We are dedicated to ensuring that your edited dissertation meets the expectations of your committee.

Flexible Turnaround Times: We understand that you may be working under tight deadlines. Our standard turnaround times are provided below. However, if you require expedited editing services, we are happy to accommodate your needs for an additional fee.

Click here to download our document outlining how editing works with Dissertation by Design.

Apa editing.

APA editing includes correcting typos, misspellings, punctuation, grammar, style, syntax, phrasing, transition, flow, and scholarly tone according to APA style guidelines. Our APA style experts will also format the following elements of your document:

• Margins, page numbers, spacing, and font
• Reference list entries, including crosschecking them with in-text citations*
• Lists of tables and figures
• Table of contents 

*Note: This service does not include researching and verifying references for accuracy. Our professional editors flag references and in-text citations that are incomplete or do not match. It is the client’s responsibility to verify references for accuracy.

Rate: $0.044 USD per word 

Turnaround time ~ 5-7 business days for proposals and 10-14 business days for complete dissertations

Ideal Timeline:

• Allow 10-14 days for editing and formatting
• Allocate 2-7 days to review edits and address comments left by the editor
• Reserve 4-7 days to work with the editor to correct post-editing revisions

DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING

Developmental support involves critical analysis of content or organization. 

Professional writers/scholars: We are happy to perform developmental editing to nonstudent scholars and writers in the early stages of drafting a document for professional publication. 

Students: We provide developmental feedback for clients completing a thesis, proposal, or dissertation only as part of our coaching service. If you’d like to learn more about this service, click here to read about coaching or to schedule a free consultation. 

Rate: $145 USD per hour

DISSERTATION PROOFREADING

Proofreading involves reviewing the final proof of an article or book to be sure spelling, punctuation, grammar, and formatting are consistent and accurate. 

Professional writers/scholars: We are happy to perform p roofreading for scholars in the final stage of the editing process before professional publication. Proofreading occurs after all professional copyediting revisions have been completed and the work is in its final form before publication.

Students: Proofreading for students completing a thesis, proposal, or dissertation occurs as part of the APA editing process. We do not provide dissertation proofreading as a separate service for students.  

Rate: Estimates provided on a per-job basis.

Turnaround time ~ 3-5 business days

MISCELLANEOUS DISSERTATION EDITING SERVICES

We offer a variety of assorted dissertation editing services including, but not limited to:

• Reference list editing and formatting
• Citation cross-checking
• ProQuest formatting
• Table of Contents assembly
• Table formatting
• Lists of tables and figures assembly

Rate: $145/hr USD

To receive a quote and purchase dissertation editing services:

Complete the below editing service request form and attach your doctoral dissertation or thesis as a Word file. Please specify any unique formatting needs in the message box provided. We recommend that you include a 24-hour buffer period between the return date and submitting the final doctoral dissertation or thesis to your committee so that you have time to review and address all edits and comments.

We will call you to review your request and issue an invoice via email within 24 hours. We require full payment in advance or a 25% down payment to hold time on the calendar for future dissertation work. If you are in a rush or have questions, please call us at (984) 221.8217.

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Expert Dissertation Editing Services for Perfection in Academic Papers

Your dissertation writing journey can be both daunting and exhilarating. Many students and professionals face challenges in navigating the complexities of this academic endeavour. At Regent Editing, we offer the best dissertation editing services tailored for PhD students and busy professionals struggling with the demands of creating a polished dissertation and the truth is a well-edited dissertation is no more a choice instead it is a necessary aspect of your research completion. The mere thought of going through your 150-page dissertation is a nightmare, not to mention the core expertise required to edit a dissertation - this is why professional editing services are a part of your doctorate completion.

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Dissertation Editing Services

Are you looking for guaranteed approval for your dissertation? Our editors ensure that your dissertation complies with academic writing rules and APA or other citation formats.

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Get quick IRB approval for your dissertation by opting for proofreading service. Our proofreading service combs your writing for grammar and spelling errors. You can order online in under 2 minutes.

Heavy/ESL Editing

Opt for ESL editing service if English is your second language. ESL editing ensures that your document is thoroughly overhauled for language and format compliance and guaranteed for approval.

Dissertation Editing Services – Since 2007

Is the language, writing style and format compliance draining you of the energy and research process? Are you stuck with dissertation due to continuous rejections and comments from your supervisor or IRB? Opt for our dissertation editing services and get assurance of guaranteed approval of your dissertation within three iterations or your money back.

All our editors hold a PhD and have been through the dissertation process themselves. We have edited doctoral dissertations and proposals for PhD candidates from many leading Universities including Walden, Capella, Phoenix, Columbia Southern, Texas, Northwestern, Brown, Nova Southeastern and many more. Our editors are well versed with most University templates and APA/MLA/Chicago formats. For this reason, we guarantee 100% compliance with your University template, APA style compliance and all language errors removal through our dissertation editing service. Universities like Capella, Walden, Arizona State University, Phoenix University, University of Texas at Austin, Michigan State University, University of Florida, University of South Florida, Nova South Eastern University, North Carolina State University, Oregon State University, University of Rhode Island, Portland State University, West Virginia University and Rutgers University recommend our dissertation editing services.

We strive to delight our customers and a testament to this is over 97% client recommendation rate and 38000+ documents of PhD level edited/proofread till date. Our team works with unique synergy to ensure that issues of ordering, payments, queries, invoices and well taken care of. Your documents remain confidential and secure with us as all documents are restricted for access and stored on encrypted devices. We do not share any document for any commercial or non-commercial use and have non-disclosure agreements in place with all our editors.

Why Choose Dissertation Editing Services From Regent Editing

Our team of dedicated editors, equipped with extensive qualifications and subject-specific expertise, stands ready to transform your writing into a submission-ready dissertation document. Beyond mere corrections, we offer a unique blend of editing styles, a specialized editor for dissertation apa style, swift turnaround times, and personalized feedback, setting us apart in the world of academic editing. As a PhD student who has surely gone through a painstaking process of completing a dissertation paper, you have all the right to be concerned about entrusting your hard work to anyone for corrections, well with us you will not be a stranger to the process but with constant collaboration you can bear witness to editing excellence with each milestone we cover for you. Take an important step towards completing your dissertation – discover more about our services today.

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Our seasoned team of over 570 PhD editors brings unparalleled subject expertise, ensuring your dissertation is refined with precision and adherence to academic standards.

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Experience a personalized touch with our diverse PhD editing services, crafted to suit the unique requirements of your dissertation. We go beyond corrections to enhance your writing style.

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Meet tight deadlines with confidence. Our efficient editing process ensures a swift turnaround, allowing you to submit your dissertation promptly without compromising on quality.

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Benefit from editors well-versed in various disciplines. Our subject-specific mastery ensures your dissertation is thoroughly understood, accurately edited, and aligns with industry standards.

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Join the ranks of satisfied clients with our 97% recommendation rate. Our commitment to client satisfaction extends from the editing process to seamless handling of queries, ensuring a positive experience.

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Why Seek Dissertation Editing Services in the First Place?

Unbiased Evaluation

Gain an objective analysis of your dissertation with our services. Editors provide impartial and constructive feedback, ensuring your work meets the highest standards of academic excellence.

Academic Credibility

Enhance the academic credibility of your dissertation. PhD Editing services contribute to the professionalism of your work, reinforcing the credibility of your research in the eyes of academic supervisors, peers and committees.

Time Conservation

Save valuable time in the dissertation process. With efficient editing and proofreading services expedite the refinement of your work, allowing you to focus on research and other critical aspects of your academic journey.

Access to Expertise

Leverage the expertise of seasoned editors. Benefit from insights, suggestions, and corrections that go beyond basic editing, enhancing the substance and coherence of your dissertation.

Heavy/ESL Editing Service

For authors with English as a second language, Heavy/ESL Editing Service goes beyond grammar correction. Native English PhD editors provide detailed suggestions, rewrite lengthy sentences, and ensure logical flow, enhancing your document to meet publication standards with precision.

Adherence to Guidelines

Ensure strict adherence to academic guidelines. Editing services guarantee that your dissertation complies with university templates, citation styles, and formatting requirements, eliminating the risk of rejections based on technicalities.

Enhanced Approval Odds

Increase your chances of dissertation acceptance. With meticulous editing and proofreading significantly improve the overall quality, presenting your research in the best possible light.

Stress Reduction

Alleviate the stress of perfecting your dissertation. Expert editing provides a reliable support system, giving you the confidence that your document is polished and error-free, reducing the anxiety associated with submission.

Why should you work with us?

Approvals or money back.

We offer guaranteed approval for your document / manuscript / dissertation if you opt for our editing or ESL editing service. Guarantee is to comply with all language based corrections within three iterations.

Lowest Price Guarantee

Our rates are fairly priced and amongst the lowest in our industry. If you find any service offering lower than our prices, we will match it

Experience & Expertise

We have edited 35000+ documents for PhD candidates since 2007. Leading Universities, Doctoral review committees, Dissertation Chairs recommend our service.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. how long does it take to edit a dissertation.

The time required to edit a dissertation can vary based on factors such as the length of the document, the complexity of the content, and the specific editing requirements. Generally, projects take a minimum of 3-5 days and varying on the length and type of editing can extend to 12 business days or more. For a more accurate estimate, you can contact our support team with details about your dissertation.

2. What is the role of the editor in a dissertation?

The role of the editor in a dissertation is crucial for ensuring clarity, coherence, and adherence to academic standards. Editors at Regent Editing meticulously review your document for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting errors. They also focus on refining the writing style, checking for proper citation and references, and ensuring overall consistency. The goal is to enhance the quality of your dissertation, making it polished and ready for submission.

3. What is dissertation editing?

Dissertation editing involves a comprehensive review of your dissertation to improve its overall quality. The focus is on refining language, checking for structural coherence, and ensuring compliance with academic writing standards. This process goes beyond simple proofreading, addressing issues related to writing style, formatting, and content flow. The goal is to present a well-crafted and error-free dissertation that meets the highest academic standards.

4. What are the best dissertation editing and proofreading services?

The best dissertation editing and proofreading services should offer a combination of expertise, reliability, and affordability. Based on these parameters some other options you have are Thesis India, 24x7 Editing, Chanakya Research, Dissertation India and IThesis Edit.

5. What sets Regent Editing apart from other editing services?

The reasons we stand out as the best choice for dissertation editing has several reasons but here let us just focus on how we collaborate with you on one-of-a-kind web software Rapid Collaborate - when taking help with any service your primary concern is how your project moves forward, will you be able to constantly address changes, how will you contact them whenever you need and so on - all these are valid concerns and to simplify this complex and irritating issue we bring you on the Rapid Collaborate platform where your editing project can be tracked like never before and you will feel as much a part of the process as you would when doing it yourself.

6. I have a tight deadline - can you please edit my dissertation in 24 hours?

We care about deadlines which is why it is decided when your project starts. We have dealt with many instances when clients have requested tight deadlines - keep in mind that to salvage a project with such timelines is humanly impossible and without complete manual editing a doctoral dissertation is in danger of being rejected - so the question is how much quality are you willing to sacrifice. In this case, it is best you bring your project to our attention as soon as possible to seek out the best option.

7. I need help placing an order for editing.

Placing a dissertation editing order with us is as simple as it can be. Simply click on the order now button and the form will take care of all the necessary details. If you still need help or have any queries please contact us ( https://www.regentediting.com/contact ) - you can do this by our contact form, email or just give us a call.

8. My research is in a highly specialized subject area. Will you be able to edit it?

Our team has successfully edited and proofread documents spanning various disciplines, including highly specialized fields. We recommend you take a look at the expertise of our editors and when you submit your specialized document for editing, we carefully match it with an editor who possesses expertise in the relevant subject area. The collaborative approach further can address any concerns you may have during the editing of your specialized work.

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How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

• Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
• Find a unique and valuable research topic
• Craft a convincing research proposal
• Write up a strong introduction chapter
• Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
• Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
• Present the findings of your research
• Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

• Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
• See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
• If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
• Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

• Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
• Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
• Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
• Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

Need a helping hand?

Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

• You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
• You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
• You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

• A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
• A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
• Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
• The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

• You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
• You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
• You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

• Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
• Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
• Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
• Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

• If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
• If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

• If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
• If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
• If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

• Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
• Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

• Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
• Find a unique (original) and important research topic
• Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
• Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
• Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
• Undertake your own research
• Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

20 Comments

thankfull >>>this is very useful

Thank you, it was really helpful

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Thanks Derek Jansen|GRADCOACH, I find it very useful guide to arrange my activities and proceed to research!

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This was straightforward. Thank you!

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Very educating.

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

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Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

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How to submit the final version of your PhD thesis

At the end of the examination process all successful PhD and MPhil candidates are required to submit the final version of their thesis to the appropriate College Postgraduate Office.

COVID-19 Update

The requirement for one hard copy thesis to be submitted has been waived during the current circumstances which require remote working for most staff/students. Submission of PhD theses will be electronic only.  A signed declaration is not required in the final version when the submission is deposited in Pure. This concession from the regulations about physical thesis submission will continue for the foreseeable future, and will be reviewed by Academic Services once the pandemic is over. 

Before you submit your thesis

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It is highly recommended that you discuss with your primary supervisor the implications of publishing your thesis online in ERA . If your thesis contains confidential or sensitive data it may not be appropriate to make the full text freely available online. Similarly if there is the intention to publish the whole, or extracts from, your thesis you may want to restrict access to the electronic version.

Submitting the PDF version

• Go to Pure and log in with your EASE account
• Click on the green ‘Add new’ button on the top right and select ‘Doctoral Thesis’, or alternatively click on ‘Student theses’ on the left-hand-side navigation bar followed by ‘Doctoral Thesis’
• The record should be auto-populated with most of your thesis award information. Please check for completeness, and add in the title of your thesis in the appropriate box.
• Upload your electronic thesis files by clicking on the ‘Add document’ button. If you require an embargo for the PDF add the date and reason in the appropriate boxes. The initial embargo length is one year from date of graduation. The date will be checked by Library staff and changed if a different value is added without permission.
• Please remove any signatures, personal postal and email addresses from the PDF version.
• Upload your Access to Thesis form alongside your thesis files.
• Supplementary data can be added alongside the thesis text. Change the ‘Type’ to ‘Supplementary materials’ and upload the files as described above. The record Visibility needs to be set to ' Backend - Restricted to Pure users ' 
• To finish, set the status to ' Entry in progress ', click the blue ‘Save’ button at the bottom of the screen and the submission is ready for validation by college office staff.

Submitting the final hardbound version is not required

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If your thesis has supplementary data (for example images, videos, source code or analytical data) we would like to store a copy of this data alongside the thesis text. We do this to try and preserve the fullest record of the work as possible. Datasets should be supported by good accompanying documentation which is appropriate to your subject discipline. The UK Data  Service offers some specialist advice in this area. We do not routinely allow public access to this data; however, if you wish to share your data with others we recommend the Edinburgh DataShare service.

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If you have a lot of supplementary files - for example lots of images, data in multiple spreadsheets or video formats - we don't recommend depositing them in PURE. Instead, contact the Scholarly Communications Team and we can advise the best way to send them to us.

Redacting material from your thesis

If you wish to make your thesis available to the public to consult, but there are  problematic elements that cannot be openly shared then it is possible to submit a redacted version. We typically recommend partial thesis redactions are suitable for the following scenarios:

Third-party copyright

Where third party copyright has not been obtained, students may submit an edited thesis, as an alternative to requesting an embargo. 

Sensitive material 

If the thesis contains confidential or sensitive information, e.g. transcripts of interviews, which cannot be shared or anonymised.

Photographs

If your thesis contains photographs of people and you do not have their permission to publish their image online.

It is possible to design your thesis in a way which means the problematic material is easy to remove. For example, if you are planning to use a large number of photographs, you could layout your thesis with the photographs in a separate appendix which can be  easily removed.

Students who have chosen to submit a redacted version of their thesis would also need to submit a full unedited copy which will be securely kept stored by the Library. This is important to preserve the integrity of the academic record of the University. Both versions of the files should be uploaded to the Thesis Module in Pure with the files clearly named to differentiate between the two. We recommend the following file naming convention:

<Last name><First initial>_<Year>_COMPLETE    

<Last name><First initial>_<Year>_REDACTED

e.g. SmithJ_2023_COMPLETE.pdf  

Reasons for requesting an embargo period

If the redaction option is not possible then students are permitted to embargo their thesis under certain conditions described below:

Planned publication

Normally a longer embargo period may be granted when there are firm publication plans in place, e.g. where a manuscript has been submitted to a publisher and is in a formal stage of publication (submitted, accepted, in press). Vague plans for publication are not normally accepted.

Commercial confidentiality

There may be contractual restrictions imposed by a sponsor, which could include industrial sponsors or governmental agencies.

Patent application

Patent applications can be rejected by the premature publication of research. Where the research might lead to a commercial application or patent then we recommend that the Intellectual Property needs to be protected.

Contains personal data

Where a thesis contains personally identifiable or ethically sensitive data or where material obtained in the thesis was obtained under a guarantee of confidentiality we would consider placing an embargo. These issues should have been addressed at an early stage of the research project.

Where third party copyright has not been obtained, students may submit an edited thesis, as an alternative to requesting an embargo. They would also need to submit an unedited hard copy which will be secured kept.

Publication could endanger health and safety or prejudice national security

The thesis contains sensitive material (political or otherwise) which could put at risk the authors or participants if made openly available. These issues should have been addressed at an early stage of the research project.

How to request a Thesis Restriction

How to request a 12 month embargo.

You can restrict access to the electronic version of your thesis for one year without any special permissions. If an embargo is required, this must be indicated on the Access to Thesis form, otherwise, the thesis may be made publicly available. This form should be deposited in Pure alongside the full text of the thesis.

At the end of the embargo period, the University is under no obligation to contact you about extending the period of restriction. If towards the end of your embargo period you have any concerns that the forthcoming public availability of your thesis would be problematic please contact the Library ( [email protected] ) and the Scholarly Communications Team will be able to help.

Embargo requests longer than 12 months

Requests for embargoes that exceed 12 months starting from the date the work is added to the Library’s collection require Head of School approval and must be accompanied by a clear rationale as to why a longer period is required. Complete Section 2 of the Access to a Thesis form to request an extended embargo. Extended embargoes beyond five years will not normally be approved unless there are very exceptional reasons. Normally any relevant evidence to support a request for an extended embargo should be attached to the request, e.g. publishing contract or correspondence from industrial sponsors.

Click here to download the  ACCESS TO THESIS & PUBLICATION OF ABSTRACT FORM  , or visit the general  Doctoral Thesis Submission webpages for more information.

Further help and information

Scholarly Communications Team

Contact details.

• Email: [email protected]

Availability

This article was published on 2024-08-21