Academic Thesis in less than 10 minutes

In this article, we will guide you through the method of writing a complete, comprehensive, and practical thesis. These materials are provided for you in a concise, useful, and practical manner.

Writing an Academic Thesis and its Stages

1-1. The Introduction Section

The introduction section is designed to present concepts, foundations, and definitions. This section serves to prepare and provide all the concepts that should be used throughout all sections. Here you can include the initial definitions of concepts, foundations, and indicators. For example, if you are researching the compressive strength of concrete in the field of civil engineering with a focus on structures, the introduction section should address the following concepts:

• What is concrete? What are its characteristics? What types does it have? What are its functions?
• What is the definition of concrete compressive strength? How does it work? How is compressive strength measured?

In the introduction chapter, you should discuss the foundations and characteristics that will ultimately familiarize us with concrete, concrete compressive strength, and all related issues. If you write the introduction chapter well, you should be able to pose the following questions and demonstrate why your thesis can answer these questions:

• What is the necessity of the research? What problem does your thesis solve, and why should your thesis be conducted?
• What is the innovation of the research? What advantages does your thesis have over other specialists who have worked in your field? If your thesis has no innovation or advantage, you have probably taken the wrong path from the beginning!
• What are the main and fundamental objectives that your thesis aims to achieve? For example, do you want to increase the compressive strength of concrete?
• What are your research questions? What is the underlying problem that you want to address by conducting your master’s or doctoral thesis?
• What are your research hypotheses? The world of science is vast. Therefore, you need to consider hypotheses or limiting factors to demonstrate that you conducted your thesis or project under specific conditions and hypotheses. For example, you might hypothesize that you are examining the compressive strength of concrete under pressures below 30 megapascals, or that the concrete you used and tested has a specific characteristic. To conduct a good research study, it is necessary to identify your hypotheses and relevant factors before starting. If you go through all these steps correctly, it means you have effectively completed the introduction section and you are on the right path.

Principles of writing a thesis introduction

2-1. Introduction to the Literature Review Section

The literature review is your starting point before entering the main body of the thesis. It is always assumed in the realm of research that previous researchers have worked on various topics, and we are going to examine the shortcomings, flaws, or gaps that have not been addressed by earlier researchers and conduct our study on them. The main goal of the research is to expand this cycle. We are here to refine, improve, or expand upon the knowledge of our predecessors. To understand what topics we should work on, it is necessary to first review the research conducted by previous specialists.

In this section, we will examine previous research to analyze their weaknesses and gaps, allowing us to conduct our study to address the shortcomings of prior research, improve upon them, or enter a new realm of research. Consider the example mentioned in the previous section again. Suppose previous specialists have researched the compressive strength of concrete in temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius, or they have used concrete with low cement content, or they employed a simple device or method to determine concrete strength. In this case, you can ask yourself the following questions:

• Would the results be the same if the compressive strength of concrete were measured at temperatures above 10 degrees Celsius?
• What strength would concrete with high cement content have? If device A were replaced with device B, would the same results still be obtained?

These questions and many others can help you find the path for your research. Therefore you need to review the articles and research of previous specialists. Typically in the literature review section, you should study a substantial number of Persian and English sources and references. The number depends on you, but it usually should exceed 20 references. In this section, since a large percentage of what you examine consists of previous studies you must definitely reference these specialists’ studies. Another document discusses in detail how to cite references.

3-1. Research Method

In the continuation of conducting a master’s thesis as well as a doctoral dissertation, in this section, you should specify what tools and mechanisms you will use to carry out your thesis and reach your conclusions:

If your thesis and research are experimental and practical, and you are conducting laboratory work and operations, you should specify what tools, materials, devices, and equipment you will use for analysis, evaluation, and data production.

• If you are conducting simulation or modeling work, you should mention what methods, mechanisms, or software you will be using.
• If you are conducting analytical, numerical, or statistical work, you should specify what methods, formulas, and software you will use.
• If you are conducting analytical and descriptive work, you should also describe your working methods and the mechanisms you will use.

Depending on the field and specialization you are studying, each of the above aspects can hold significance for you. Additionally, reviewing articles from other specialists can help you determine your research methodology.

4-1. Results

Now everything is ready for you. Once you have completed the previous steps of your master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation, you should practically move into the most important part of the work, which is obtaining the results of your thesis. Your most important tools in this section for presenting results are the use of charts, figures, and tables. Of course, this entirely depends on your field of study. For example, if you have studied philosophy, the results chapter may involve analytical and inferential discussions.

In this section, you will use various tools such as figures, charts, and tables to examine and analyze aspects such as increases and decreases, response changes, statistical and analytical adequacy, and the suitability of the results from numerical analyses and calculations. The results section is one of the most important parts of the thesis and serves as a prelude to the fifth section, which covers discussion and suggestions.

5-1. Discussion and Suggestions

In this section, you will focus on interpreting and analyzing the results obtained from the previous chapter. This section consists of two parts. The first part involves presenting the discussion, interpretation, and analysis of the results. The second part includes your suggestions as the thesis author for future research.

In the discussion section, you should interpret and analyze the results:

• You need to investigate the reasons behind the increase or decrease of indicator A.
• What has caused parameters A or B to be classified as permissible or impermissible?
• Compare your answers and results, and provide a logical and meaningful analysis.
• And so on…

The discussion section in Chapter 5 is a summary and synthesis of all your knowledge, experiences, analyses, and judgments regarding the results. Yes, you guessed it right! This section is likely the most challenging part of writing a thesis or dissertation.

In the second part of this section, we will focus on suggestions. As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, research should always aim to address the weaknesses, deficiencies, and areas for improvement in previous projects. To start your master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation, you need to study the research of previous scholars. Congratulations! You are now at a stage where other previous specialists once stood, and you have examined their suggestions and research before starting your master’s or doctoral thesis.

At this stage, you should present your suggestions for future research. This torch that was lit before you and has reached you must be passed on intact to the next person. The next individual will start their project based on your results and your recommendations.

6-1. Sources and References

When writing a master’s thesis and composing all five main chapters, as well as during the doctoral dissertation process, you will often need to borrow information from the research of other scholars and incorporate it into your thesis. For example, if you need to use a formula or method developed by another researcher, you must reference the article of the researcher who created the formula when mentioning it. This practice is essentially aimed at respecting copyright or authorship rights (Plagiarism). In English texts, software like Grammarly, Turnitin, and iThenticate analyze the text for originality.

For Persian texts, the IranDoc Similarity System performs a similar function. Finally, at the end of your thesis, after the discussion and recommendations section, you should list all the sources you referenced in your thesis in a section titled “References.” Various methods, including APA, Chicago, Harvard, etc., exist for listing references, which will be discussed in other articles. Additionally, two of the most popular reference management software programs are EndNote and Mendeley.

Always remember that your sources should come from a variety of types, such as Persian articles, English articles, books, guidelines, and instructions. Preferably, extract articles from the best journals and publications. Use up-to-date and recent sources, aiming to obtain most of your articles from sources published within the last three years, unless an older reference is particularly significant to your research.

2. Familiarity with the Composition and Format of the Thesis

You can download the regulations for conducting master’s theses and doctoral dissertations from the Ministry of Science’s website. After writing your thesis and doctoral dissertation, the final file of your thesis should include the following components in the specified order:

• Thesis cover design
• Blank page without writing
• Page “In the Name of God”
• Title Page (in Persian)
• Student Declaration (in which the student states that all the contents of the thesis are original and not copied from any source)
• Copyright and Ownership (which is known as copyright law)
• Dedication, Acknowledgments, or Gratitude Page
• Abstract and Keywords (in Persian, generally between 250 to 300 words)
• Signs, Symbols, and Abbreviations (referred to as Abbreviations and Acronyms)
• Table of Contents (containing all main sections mentioned in the previous part of this article, as well as all subsections)
• List of Charts, Tables, Formulas, Photos, and Maps
• Main Text of the Thesis (which includes all 5 chapters: Introduction, Literature Review, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion and Recommendations, List of Sources and References)
• Appendices (which may include questionnaires, regulations, guidelines, and any files that need to be included in the thesis if necessary)
• Declaration (in English)
• Abstract and Keywords (in English)

Final Recommendations for Writing a Master’s Thesis and Doctoral Dissertation

This section contains very important information for correctly and accurately completing a master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation, ensuring the entire process is carried out with minimal problems and maximum efficiency. The explanations in this section are based on the experiences of successful students from the best Iranian universities regarding thesis writing. Additionally, you can also use insights from the blogs of top universities worldwide as important tips. Here, you can read some key points on the Harvard University website.

In the master’s program, students generally start working on their proposals and theses from the third semester or the beginning of the second year. For doctoral programs, this usually occurs after the comprehensive exam and halfway through the doctoral course. Be sure to consider the following points:

• Check the capacity of the faculty members in your field. Depending on the academic rank of each professor (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor), they have a limited capacity for accepting theses in an academic year and can supervise or advise only a certain number of students on theses. Be sure to investigate how much capacity your desired professor has.
• Read as many articles as you can! The hardest part at the beginning of the proposal and thesis process is choosing a topic. Usually, advisors are very helpful in assisting you with topic selection. However, recently, in some cases, professors may not help you in choosing a topic and may even avoid it! It is also important to mention that extensive reading of articles and theses will shape your mindset about topic selection. At this stage, you can also talk to your professors and seek their advice. Additionally, always keep in mind that your professors’ expertise and research areas should align with your proposed topic. It has often happened that professors have rejected a student’s chosen topic simply because it did not match their own field of work, even if the student’s proposal was very good.
• Pay attention to secondary issues when selecting a topic. Try to choose topics that have the potential to be converted into inventions, executable plans, and patents after completion. Topics that are attractive to the job market will also be beneficial for you later! If you are considering applying for educational migration, even 1%, keep this in mind when selecting a topic. To do this, you can visit the websites of reputable universities and review the academic resumes and research areas of professors in your desired faculties and departments. For example, naturally, a topic that the best professors at top universities in Canada and the United States are researching is considered current, innovative, and reputable.
• Think about the required budget, tools and equipment, laboratories and workshops, and the permits that need to be used during the process of your PhD or Master’s thesis before starting (and not after!). The budget of university professors is in line with the country’s economic conditions. As a result, you as a Master’s or PhD student are connected to a limited budget. Always keep this in mind when selecting your thesis topic. Many students rely on promises from professors or educational and research sponsors (government departments and organizations) and realize once they get involved that a large percentage of those promises will not be fulfilled! Also, laboratory equipment and analysis tools are limited in number, and one device may be shared by 10 to 20 students in a single semester. All these issues which may seem minor, if not considered, they will cause a lot of problems.
• Remember, even the greatest scientists in the world didn’t achieve their exceptional skills and expertise all at once in a Master’s or PhD thesis! The research path is a difficult and long one. So, take a deep breath and understand that you are not supposed to reach the peak of knowledge and research with a single Master’s or PhD thesis. In this journey, act more realistically than ambitiously.
• Whether good or bad, right or wrong, it must be accepted that an academic CV is largely dependent on GPA and the number of publications. To receive a thesis incentive score, calculate PhD qualifications, enhance your research CV, and improve your resume for applying and educational migration, you will need to publish an ISI article in reputable journals. Therefore, when selecting a topic and during the process of completing your Master’s or PhD thesis, always keep in mind that it is better if your work can be simplified by extracting and publishing an article from your thesis. Also, throughout the process of completing your Master’s or PhD thesis, try to become more familiar with the process of writing articles, accessing article databases, selecting journals, and the acceptance and publication process.
• After completing your Master’s or PhD thesis and finishing its writing, you must prepare for the final approval and defense session. Be aware that even the best thesis loses its value if not accompanied by a good presentation in the defense session. The importance of a good presentation during the defense is no less than writing a good thesis. Therefore, focus on the technical and visual details of your presentation file (usually made with PowerPoint or Prezi). Be sure to practice your presentation several times before the main defense session.