When to Write an Introduction to a Thesis or Dissertation?

It is common for students to write an introduction for a dissertation or thesis last or at least after completing the literature review chapter. This is because you cannot introduce a thesis or a dissertation until you have largely written your major sections, understood the whole work, and possessed exact information about what to present.

By writing an introductory part and dissertation abstract at the end of your investigation, you will be able to reflect on an entire manuscript and present it coherently and fully.

Thesis/ Dissertation Introduction Structure
Like other sections of your study, an introduction to dissertation writing follows a specific structure. While organizational patterns differ when composing your beginning chapter, these are necessary components that you will cover:

Topic
Present your focus area, state why it matters, and who will benefit from reading the work.
Context
Offer contextual and background information about your subject. You may write a brief review of existing literature. Also, include relevant concepts and theories.
Research problem
When writing a dissertation introduction chapter, you must identify which issue is being investigated. Also identify prevailing problems, shortcomings, and gaps in research.
Aims
Explain what you wish to achieve and what or how your work will contribute to the issue.
Objectives
Determine your primary goal, including an outcome you intend to achieve and specify what you will look at.
Research Questions
What is your hypothesis or research question(s)? Mention them.
Methodology
Describe your dissertation methodology and approach briefly, including which techniques you will employ in attaining your study objectives.
Significance
Explain how your work will assist in bridging the gaps you identified, solving the issue, or contributing to what is already known. Besides, include in a dissertation introduction an explanation of how your project benefits the real-world.
Limitations
. Identify any constraints you faced while conducting your investigation. These are usually outside your control.
Synopsis of the study’s structure
Offer a brief framework of your study to help readers understand its organization.

How to Write a Dissertation Introduction Step-by-Step?
Introducing your research to readers can be tricky particularly if you are unaware of how to write an introduction to a dissertation or thesis.

This section is one of the most important because it establishes a groundwork for the rest of your work. Thus, a poor start can ruin a flawless report. It should be simple, concise, consistent, and helpful. Below are 8 steps on how to write a good dissertation introduction.

1. Introduce a Topic
Start a dissertation or thesis paper introduction by announcing your topic. Doing this educates your readers about the substance and what questions you will be probing. Use a few sentences to indicate the wider issue under investigation. This hooks your audience by demonstrating what content the work will cover and encouraging them to continue reading.

You can then focus on specific points when writing introduction for dissertation, which will lead to a research question(s). If possible, mention those people who will be interested in looking at your report.

Example of hook in a dissertation introduction

This study investigates the role a CEO plays within an organizational management structure in a company in Berlin, Germany. The research examines to what extent the limitations of this role assist or hinders organizational policies and agendas.

2. Offer a Background of Your Study
This is the second part of your dissertation introduction. Here, you should set an effective scene for your work. Also, present relevant studies that have been conducted already on your dissertation topics to contextualize your project within the wider, current research. It is unnecessary to offer a lot of details in this part because this will be covered in your literature review chapter.

When writing a dissertation introduction background, identify which works informed your study, highlight how your subject developed, and recognize which knowledge gaps you will address.

Doing this informs your audience about the prevalent understanding of your focus area, why you should investigate the issue, and places your inquiry in perspective. It also offers a narrative, showing how various constructs, theories, and ideas are connected logically. For example, you can refer to specific research and describe how your investigation addresses its problems and limitations or why using alternative techniques is important.

Write this section by summarizing how you interpret previous investigations and what you intend to accomplish on your own. However, do not create a large background. The key is to show how your manuscript fills a particular gap. Learn more about how to write dissertation introduction background section by looking at this sample:

Example of dissertation introduction background

The position of CEO is considered to significantly influence the organizational success and play a proactive role in building healthy relationships between the board members. Some studies highlight why CEOs are important but fail to state the fundamental impact of CEOS on organization overall performance. Other researchers primarily focus on the principal functions a CEO fulfills. Therefore, the usefulness of this role is unclear. The present study examines various ways through which CEOs benefit or hinder organizational efficiency.

3. Present a Research Problem
The next step towards writing dissertation introduction is explaining your problem statement. For this part, state the specific issue that you will investigate and possibly solve. Consider how your work fills an existing gap.

Use one or two lines to write this section of a dissertation or thesis intro effectively before elaborating further by explaining a potential answer and why your topic requires serious attention. Remember, whatever you are researching must be so grave that it creates questions demanding urgent responses.

Your solutions will help in proving or disproving your research subject. Thus, this part is crucial in an introduction of a dissertation. State it plainly, competitively, and wholly, using prompts such as what are you investigating and what is your purpose? This helps readers understand your intentions and what to expect from the project.

Example of dissertation introduction research problem

CEOs have been shown to have a huge impact on organization performance, sustainability and maintenance at all levels. Existing empirical studies are affected by methodological issues that underestimate the influence of CEOs on firm performance and efficiency. This research seeks to address these methodological issues and redefine the impact of CEO. Understanding the relationship between the role of CEOs and firm performance will have practical advantages and contribute to further development of efficient organization management strategies.

4. Discuss Your Aims and Objectives
The next step concerning how to write a thesis introduction is identifying your aims and objectives. This involves stating broadly what findings you desire to achieve. Specifically, demonstrate what others should expect of your work and topic as well as highlight long-term outcomes. Keep in mind that aims and objectives are not the same thing.

Specifically, write your dissertation introduction by presenting a general aim or the key purpose of a project. You can then extend it by stating several research objectives in bullet points. These should be realizable, distinct, and applicable. Avoid being ambiguous and remember to explain your intentions and convey how you will answer the research question.

Also, link statements in this segment of your dissertation introduction with your subject and research problem or question to demonstrate a specific focus and your study’s scope. This helps your readers comprehend which inquiry aspects you have considered and how the study question will be answered. In particular, the number of objectives and questions should be aligned since you will need to state at the end of your work whether an objective for a specific question has been achieved. Use words such as “to assess”, “to examine”, “to study”, “to understand” or “to critically evaluate”, etc. when declaring sentences in this subdivision.

Aims and objectives in a dissertation introduction example

Aim

This study aims to determine the impact CEOs have on firm performance.

Objectives:

• Conduct surveys to gather data on CEO’s effect on firm efficiency and board performance.

• Identify whether performance is linked with such variables as age, gender and work experience in the company.

• Carry out interviews to determine qualitative information on the role of CEOs in organization performance. [Original source: https://studycrumb.com/dissertation-introduction]