Typical Thesis Structure *
Ke Ping
This file exemplifies as well as describes the
typical structure of an academic thesis. Key terms in the text are printed in unitalicized bold type and, unless fairly self-explanatory, followed by their
definitions (placed in brackets) the first time they are used. Some words,
phases, and sentences are italicized for emphasis and italicized and bolded for
further emphasis. All component parts typically found in a thesis, especially
one reporting empirical studies, are presented in the following as they should
actually appear in a thesis. (* The parenthesized headings and sub-headings may be
inapplicable to and hence not found in some theses. There are two level-one
(chapter) headings bracketed in lower-case letters: declaration and title page.
These indicate what kinds of information the relevant page carries and should
not be printed on the page by themselves.) You are
strongly advised to save this page as a MS Word document (* To save this page as a MS Word document, press Alt+F to
pull down the menu “File” in your web browser, press “a”; in the pop-up dialog
box choose “Web Page, HTML only” for the type of the saved
file and press “Save”. Change the filename extension from “.htm” to “.doc” and you
can then open, edit, and save the file as a Word document.) and draft your own thesis directly in the saved document, writing
each chapter and section under the corresponding chapter and section headings,
thereby sparing yourself tons of trouble when formatting your thesis in the APA
style as requested by the Department of English (See 英语语言文学、外国语言学及应用语言学专业语言学、翻译学、词典学方向硕博士学位论文写作规范 [Instructions for
NJU English Linguistics/Translation/Lexicography Majors on the Preparation of
Theses and Dissertations, 2015]).
This web page was
created with MS Word, using the MS Word default global template (Normal.dot)
which Prof. Ke Ping developed (2005-2020), so it includes all the
font and paragraph styles in that template (* To view which specific style a paragraph is
formatted in, you need to keep the style area visible in the Word window by
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(shortcut key: Ctrl + Shift + 5), Heading 6 (shortcut key: Ctrl + Shift + 6), Thesis/Letter (shortcut key: Ctrl
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on how to employ this template to help with accomplishing such tasks in
Translation Studies, Linguistics, and other fields.)
A concise summary of the entire thesis, which can be
retrieved and read independently of the thesis itself. It provides the same kind
of information as the thesis does, but in a highly scaled-down form.
The structure of the abstract parallels
that of the body of the thesis and consists of the following components:
(1) a concise explanation of the background of the research, including
its necessity or significance, the gap between previous researches and
the present one; a concise and clear statement of the purpose of the present research and the specific problem(s) or question(s) it addresses;
(2) a
brief description of the materials
and methodology used by the present
researcher, including the subject(s) [sb. or
sth. made to undergo a treatment, experiment, analysis, dissection, etc. (研究对象/实验对象/受试人)] and instruments [tools with
which empirical data is collected and measured (实证数据采集与工具测量工具)] used, the procedures [A series
of steps taken to accomplish an end (实施步骤)] of data collecting and measuring followed,
and the data analysis [inspecting, grouping, cleaning, your data; modeling the object of your
research on the basis of your data, etc. with the goal of highlighting useful
information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making] conducted;
(3) a
(usually technical) summary of the main research findings (results of data analysis) and an interpretation or discussion
of their implications; and
(4) a
(non-technical) statement of the final conclusion(s)
derived from the present research about the subject(s) or the topic
as well as the significance of the
research findings for the field.
Both the English and Chinese abstracts
should be composed in such a way that they can be read and used as
self-contained academic texts. (i.e. their readers can, without reading your
thesis, get a pretty good idea of what you actually started from, went through,
and discovered in the thesis research you report.)
The length of the English abstract is
limited to one page; the Chinese abstract may be longer, but usually no more
than two pages.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(LIST[S]
OF TABLES [AND FIGURES])
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION [3-5 A4 sheet]
(1.0 Key Concepts Used in the Present Study)
1.3 Organization
of the Thesis
CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY [8-12 A4 sheet]
2.3 Data
Collection / Sampling
2.4 Data Analysis
(/ [in experimental research:] Statistical Procedures)
CHAPTER THREE RESULTS AND DISCUSSION [3-5 A4 sheet]
CHAPTER FOUR CONCLUSIONS [2-4 A4 sheet]
4.1 A Summary of
Major Findings
4.2 Implications
of the Findings
4.3 Limitations of
the Study and Suggestions for Further Research
[Part 1 Introducing
the research]
State the general problem area clearly and
discuss the importance and significance of the problem area. Explain without
using jargons all key concepts involved in the research, making sure that your explanation is readily
understandable to an intelligent non-expert reader. Put the reader in the
picture by reviewing the literature and state your research purpose. You need
to catch your readers’ interest with this chapter and persuade them that it is
worth reading further.
Use plain, jargon-free language to clearly define and explain all key concepts/terms
you will use in the thesis. Remember that you must remain consistent in the way
these concepts/terms are interpreted and applied throughout your thesis.
Cite the literature from reputable and
appropriate sources (e.g., professional journals, books, etc.). (For a BA
thesis, a minimum of five quality English references must be cited.)
The purposes of reviewing the literature
are as follows:
(1) to introduce the background and rationale [fundamental reason for or logical basis of sth. (根本理由; 理论基础)] for the present/this (i.e. your) study ― where did the problem come from? why do you think it is important? why is it worth studying?
(2) to
state how relevant previous research
is related to this study ― what is already known about this problem? what is not yet
known, but well worthy of being found out about this problem (i.e. the research gap)? what other methods have
been tried to solve it?
(3) to
provide a conceptual framework for
viewing this study.
(1) state
precisely the research purpose (this
is the first statement of the main point of your work in your thesis);
(2) present
precisely specific research questions
that clarify what was being investigated;
(3) provide
specific research hypotheses (i.e.
your tentative answers to your research questions), anticipating the main
results of your study. The relationship
of the hypotheses to both the problem statement and literature review
should be readily understood from reading this section.
This chapter usually ends with a brief preview
of how the thesis will be organized.
[Part 2 Describing
the research]
Usually the past tense should be used in
this chapter. This chapter varies enormously from thesis to thesis, and should be written in such a way that a
competent researcher may reproduce exactly what you have done by following your
description.
State which sampling method [the way by which a representative part of a population is selected for the purpose of determining characteristics of the whole population (取样方法)] is used and why. Describe the subject(s) [sb. or sth. made to undergo a treatment, experiment, analysis, dissection, etc. (研究对象/实验对象/被试), e.g. an original and its (different) translation(s) (原文及其 [不同] 译本), bilingual corpora and term banks employed by linguists working in multilingual contexts (多语环境下语言工作者所使用的各种双语语料库与术语库), in-house translators who take different attitudes to the use of CAT tools in translation (对机助翻译工具抱持不同态度的专职译员), etc.] / sample [a group of people or things that is chosen out of a larger number and is questioned or tested in order to obtain information about the larger group (研究样本/实验样本)] accurately (where the data is collected from, their characteristics and selection).
Consider generalizability from the sample to the sampling frame [the list of people or things that form the group from which sampling units (e.g. respondents) are chosen (抽样标架). In a marketing research, e.g. telephone books and electoral rolls are commonly used sampling frames.] and population [a group of individual persons, objects, or items from which samples are taken for statistical measurement ([统计调查对象的] 总体)].
Describe, with an appropriate citation and
reference (unless you created these yourself), the instruments [tools with which data is collected and measured (数据采集与工具测量工具)] you used to collect and measure data: the
comparative reading of an original and its (different) translation(s) (对原文及其（不同）译本的比较研读), translation with commentary [or annotation translation, a form of introspective and retrospective
research where a translator writes in real time a commentary on their own
translation process, discussing the translation task, analyzing aspects of the
source text, and reasoning about and justifying the kinds of solutions they
arrived at for particular kinds of translation problems ([译者所做的] 评注式翻译)], students’ translation assignments (学生翻译作业), interview schedules [a list of questions asked of
all interviewees in a semi-structured or structured interviews to elicit some
common information (采访提纲)], questionnaires [a printed form containing a set of questions,
especially one addressed to a statistically significant number of subjects as a
way of gathering information for a survey (调查问卷)], response scales [an instrument for assessing the level of a certain
qualitative construct by assigning a score (a quantitative metric unit) to each
of the responses received from the subjects (反应量表)], tests, etc. (most of which normally included in the “Appendices” part of a thesis), and any apparatus [(U) the set of tools and machines that you use for a
particular scientific, medical, or technical purpose (仪器装备)] or special equipment you used for collecting and/or
analyzing data: dictaphones [an office machine on which you can record speech so that
someone can listen to it and type it later (口述录音机)], sonographs [an instrument that produces a graphic
representation of sound (声谱仪)], special computer programs (e.g. a
keystroke logger recording the keyboard usage of a translator, SPSS, etc.),
etc. (usually included in the “Equipment” or “Apparatus” sections of “Appendices”).
For qualitative instruments/measures,
describe in detail the procedures for collecting them.
Address both the reliability [the extent to which an experiment, test, or measuring procedure yields the same results on repeated trials (信度)] and validity [the quality that a measure measures what it is supposed to measure (i.e. getting results that accurately reflect the concept being measured) or that a test predicts what it is designed to predict (效度). Validity implies reliability (accuracy). A valid measure must be reliable, but a reliable measure need not be valid. There are two kinds of validity in a test or experimental study: the internal validity (the extent to which the claimed cause-effect relationship between the investigated objects can be accounted for by the variables investigated [内在效度]) and the external validity (the extent to which the test results or findings of a research are applicable to contexts beyond the sample group investigated [外在效度]).] of all of your instruments and measures. For reliability, you must specify what estimation procedure(s) (估算方法) [estimation: in statistics, any of numerous procedures used to calculate the value of some property of a population from observations of a sample drawn from the population. A point estimate (点估算值), for example, is the single number most likely to express the value of the property. An interval estimate (区间估算值) defines a range within which the value of the property can be expected (with a specified degree of confidence) to fall. (EB 2010 [DVD-ROM])] you used. For validity, you must explain how you assessed concept validity.
Describe the process of data collection / sampling, state how the instruments/apparatus were used to collect
and measure research data, i.e. how the study was conducted.
Describe the process you went through to inspect, group, clean your data; to use them to model [make a simplified theoretical description of a system or process in order to understand it or explain how it works or how it might work] your research object, etc. with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making. In other words, you process and scrutinize [examine or inspect closely and thoroughly] your data to find out what your research data revealed about your research topic.
[Part 3 Interpreting
the research]
Summarize the grouped data and the results
of the analyses (i.e. research findings), and discuss the research findings.
This chapter may be organized in different
ways in different theses, but should usually include sections that:
(1) summarize the grouped data [quantitative data presented in the form of a frequency distribution or classes (分组数据)];
(2) summarize the results of data analysis (i.e. research findings);
and
(3) discuss
the research findings: provide direct
answers to research questions as clarified in 1.2.
Two criteria for research findings: research
findings should be true “findings” in the sense that
■ they
explain something others do not yet know;
■ they
should be findings of some value, i.e. they should explain something that
others can benefit from.
In statistical
studies, this technical summary is often done through the use of tables or
figures for the sake of economy.
Remember that your results don’t have to confirm your hypotheses: disconfirming a hypothesis and showing that your assumptions were wrong can be as effective as a confirming one.
Your discussion of the research findings
may be conducted with reference to the following questions:
■ What
do these findings mean?
■ How
do they fit into the existing body of knowledge?
■ Are
they consistent with current theories?
■ Do
they give new insights? Do they suggest new theories or mechanisms?
Indicate the theoretical and practical
implications of your work. State if your work suggests any interesting further
avenues for investigation and if there are ways in which your work could be
improved by future workers.
This chapter is usually longer than the
English abstract, but reasonably short. As
with the introduction, it is a good idea to ask someone who is not a specialist
to read this section and to comment.
Reflects
on the results of analyses in nontechnical terms.
Explain why you
think your work, or some aspect of it, is valuable. Discuss the significance of
your study in a general context. (The thesis expands from a narrow focus on this study
itself to a broader focus on how this study fits into the world of research.)
Be self-critical and realistically modest
about what you have achieved, claiming your own strengths and acknowledging weaknesses. Consider where
more research is needed and what new problems
arise as a result of your work, and present some suggestions for possible
future research which would be sensible based on the results of your
investigation.
[Part 4 Back
matter]
List here ALL AND ONLY references cited in the text of your
thesis. (Use APA style for a thesis on linguistics and Translation Studies.)
…
…
________________________________
* This is basically the structure an empirical research report will assume. For a conceptual (theoretical) study, the structure may be somewhat different. It is necessary for the researcher first to report some existing theory, to describe the research methods, then to report what was done on the research problem(s) or different stages of the problem(s), and finally to present a new model or a new theory based on the new work. For such a thesis, the chapter headings might be:
Theory
Methodology
Work on problem 1
Work on problem 2
…
Proposed theory/model
Conclusions
This text was partly informed by Ting Yen-ren and Maurice Hauck’s Linguistics for English Learners (Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. 2001. Chapter 8, pp. 380-392) and Joe Wolfe’s “How to Write a PhD Thesis” (Retrieved May 26, 2009, from http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw). I would like to give my most sincere thanks to Profs. Ting and Hauck, and Dr. Wolfe for some concepts and statements which I adopted from their work.
(Page created: 2008. Page updated: April, 2011; March 6, 2012; March 8, 2012; February 18, 2015; March 13, 2015; May 15, 2016; May 9, 2018; May 28, 2019)