How to get started on a dissertation

A dissertation is something everyone seems to associate with university, along with a whole lot of stress and worry! It can initially seem extremely daunting and scary, with an incredibly long workload with no idea how to even get stuck in. Match that with the task of picking a topic you’re passionate about, researching it and doing all of your other work too it can get extremely overwhelming very fast! However, although it can initially be daunting and scary, breaking down a dissertation into much smaller chunks makes it a lot easier to digest and means you’ll still be able to smash it, along with your other university work!

One way to get started is to write down all of your dissertation deadlines, this can usually be found in your module handbook, or your lecturers and course mates will be able to help you out! After this you’ll be able to see what has to be in and when then be able to form a plan around this. A dissertation can be split into smaller sections based on the time of year and adapted to how much knowledge you have of your chosen subject area. A project plan is a great way to do this, whilst also showing your supervisor both your organisational skills and passion in the process. 

Make sure to research your project area, make sure it’s something you’re actually interested in as you’ll be putting a lot of work into it. However, don’t worry too much about your research question, as this can adapt alongside you as you delve further into your topic and be adjusted with help from your supervisor. Along with this, try to do some broad research regarding the topic area and try to find a gap in this. A dissertation is something novel as you’re attempting to solve a question no one has asked before! 

But don’t worry too much! Your allocated dissertation supervisor will be able to help you and push you in the right direction, they’re an excellent resource you should make the most of! Additionally, make sure you’re keeping in regular contact with your supervisor to update them on where you are with your project as well as asking them questions about the research area and any paperwork surrounding it. 

For example, make sure you get all of your health and safety, risk assessments and ethics forms completed as soon as possible! Once this is out of the way you’ll be able to focus more on your actual project deadlines and continue without worry. These forms are extremely important and need to be completed before any work can be started. 

Moreover, once you’ve got all of this sorted out, get writing! Your first draft can be anything but perfect and can be changed constantly according to feedback as you go. As you get writing the pressure should hopefully reduce, as you’ll then only need to focus on adjusting sections and re wording parts, rather than writing the whole thing from scratch!

A dissertation can be scary but as long as you take it small chunks and be aware of how much time you have to complete certain tasks, you’ll be able to get it done with plenty of time to spare!