Writing research thesis and

dissertations
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Research is not only about discovery and questioning.
Dissemination also plays an important role. When it comes to thesis
or dissertations, the structure and layout of your work can help the
reader to go through it more easily and to understand it better.

As such, we have put together some tips and indications of how

your paper CAN be presented. Note that it is a suggestion:
creativity is welcomed!

However, keep in mind that your work is to be read by others.

Ensure that your chosen layout and structure is easily understood.

I - Layout
"Layout" refers to the presentation format that your work should
follow. One of the reasons for adopting a standard layout is that all
institutional libraries hold copies of theses and dissertations written
by graduates from their Masters or Doctorate degree programmes.
Thus a layout standard ensures a consistent identity.

As a suggestion, these are the guidelines for the layout:

o Size of page margins
left margin: 40mm
top, bottom and right margins: 25mm
o Line spacing – 1,5 lines
o Font – Garamond, Helvetica, New Century Schoolbook, ITC
Bookman or Times;
o Size of body of text - 12
o Formats of title page

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The title page of the thesis shall contain the following information:
1. The full title of the thesis, and the sub-title (if any);
2. The full name of the author;
3 The name of the supervisor(s) of the thesis;
4. At the foot of the page, the statement: Submitted to Blekinge
Tekniska Högskola for the Master of European Spatial Planning and
Regional Development on the day / month / year; /see note about
submission date in text further down/
o Format of abstract and contents list
The thesis must be prefaced by an abstract, following the title page
but preceding the table of contents and the body of the text.
The abstract shall not exceed 300 words in length.
Remember to place the page numbers of all the relevant chapters
and subchapters in the table of contents
Dedications, etc., may be included after the abstract, at the
author's discretion.
Students who received scholarships to study on the programme
should acknowledge this in this part of the thesis.
o Format of appendices
Appendices shall be named alphabetically, and each appendix
paginated consecutively but separately from the main text and
from all other appendices. Example paginations for appendices
include: A-1, A-12, B-7, D-4, D-20
o Format of illustrations, figures and tables
All tables and illustrations must be numbered and be given a title
and font. The number and title should come above the table/ figure
in a bold format. The source should appear below the table/ figure
with a smaller font size (ex: 10)
o Numbering systems for chapters and sections
For the main chapters, use a font size 18/20 and formatted in bold
style.
For subchapters, use font size 16, formatted in bold style.
o Numbering system for pages

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Page numbers shall be centrally located at the bottom of the page,
and approximately 20mm above the edge of the page
o Reference list (If you know of another international
referencing system you are free to use it. The important thing
is that you use only one system throughout all your thesis.
We leave you one suggestion)
Whenever a work is cited in the text of the thesis or its appendices,
the citation should take one of the following forms:
- For a work with a single author, (Jones, 1993);
- For a work with two authors, use (Foley & Williams, 2000), and;
- For a work with more than two authors, (Fred et al., 1964).
If in doubt, go back to the samples from the Academic Writing .

II - Structure
Unlike the layout, it is usually harder to find strict rules about the
structure of a thesis or dissertation. However, these are some of
the chapters that are usually accepted.

o Title page

Where you enter the full title, and the sub-title if any, of the
research work; the name of the author; a statement about the
degree programme under which the dissertation is submitted; the
date of submission (month and year)

o Abstract

Which is usually a one page summary of the objectives of the

research; the methodology used and the main findings of the work

o Table of Contents

Which lists the chapter and section headings with their

corresponding page numbers

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 o List of tables, diagrams and illustrations

Which list the figure and table numbers, together with their
corresponding page numbers

o Nomenclature list

which provides a list of nomenclature and definitions of acronyms

used in the dissertation.

o Acknowledgements

if any are due, but it is nice gesture to acknowledge the

contributions and help of sponsors (including scholarships received)
and friends.

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 o Main text

Divided into chapters, with appropriate chapter headings, to

include:

o a chapter to introduce the research; the motivation and

the objectives; and to provide an overview of the
dissertation
o a chapter reviewing the theoretical approach that was
used
o a chapter or two to describe in detail the empirical work
developed and its main findings
o a concluding chapter that summarizes the main
findings of the research; statements about the main
contributions of the research and recommendations for
future work

Note that it is always useful for both you and the reader to have
some concluding observations at the end of each main chapter or
subchapter, along with some indication of what the reader will find
in the following chapters. This will ensure an easier understanding
of your main findings and the continuity between the different
chapters and subchapters.

o References
o Appendices

Contain those parts of dissertation that is either well known or not

contribute directly to the main text, but need to be included for
completeness.

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 Check-List

We leave you with a group of last minute points that you should
check before handing-in your thesis.

Languag Have I checked the language for errors using

e the spell-check?
Is the list of abbreviations (and respective
explanation) complete?

Layout Is the font always the same throughout the

whole text?
Are all the images/maps / tables where they
are intended to be?
Is the formatting of titles, chapters,
subchapters, etc coherent (always the same
font/size/alignment for the same importance)?

Structur Are the appendices numbered?

e

Referenc Are all my references correct and included in

es the reference list

Numberi Do I have page numbers in the document?

ng Do all my images, tables, etc, have titles,
source and numbers?

Others

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