{"id":5342,"date":"2026-07-17T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/?p=5342"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:43:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T13:43:21","slug":"the-ultimate-dissertation-survival-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/2026\/07\/17\/the-ultimate-dissertation-survival-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Dissertation Survival Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ultimate Dissertation Survival Guide<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The mention of the word \u2018dissertation\u2019 alone is enough to drive fear and dread into the hearts of any final-year student studying at university level. With the depth of research required to effectively write a dissertation, as well as the often very high word count and number of references needed, it is understandable that many students will find this to be one of the most daunting assignments they will write and complete during their university career. It can essentially be defined and seen as an extended essay and detailed research project exploring a specific and often niche subject or area of research within academia. Fear not \u2013 we have compiled a short-but-sweet dissertation survival guide for all undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students. This will include some brief advice and useful links to academic guidelines regarding how to structure, write and add references to your dissertation as well as tips on how to look after your own wellbeing and manage stress whilst working on such a significant and often challenging piece of work.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to Structure, Write and Add References<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The structure and references used in your dissertation hold just as much importance as the information, analysis and arguments written and included in it as well. The structure of any dissertation can often vary, but a standard structure usually consists of the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Table of Contents<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Introduction<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Literature Review<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Methodology<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. Results<\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. Discussion<\/strong><\/li>\n
  7. Conclusion<\/strong><\/li>\n
  8. Reference List<\/strong><\/li>\n
  9. Appendices<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Sections<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Each section of your dissertation will normally be divided into chapters rather than short paragraphs. You can find recorded tutorials in our Workshops<\/a> page on our My Napier webpages. These go into much more detail about what you should do and what is recommended to include in each chapter and section. Our LibGuide<\/a> also has more information, useful tips, and guidelines on critical thinking, literature review, and APA 7th edition referencing. Effective referencing is also a fundamental part of writing a good dissertation. This is not just measured by the quantity of references but also the quality and variety used as well. Using a wide range of credible and varied sources and sources of evidence to back up your main arguments and points will definitely get you some bonus points later on!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    References<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    For dissertations, the number of references and variety of material you will be expected to reference will far exceed what you are expected to in a standard essay. This can sometimes mean that managing and ensuring that you include all of those references can be a very overwhelming task when writing up and annotating your dissertation. Reference Management software such as EndNote and Mendeley can help you with this \u2013 these reference management systems allow you to import, organise and store references in a reference library for you to automatically extract and input references into your work as well as generate a bibliography or reference list as well. More information and guidelines can be found in our Reference Management LibGuide<\/a> webpages as well as our Training and Events Calendar,<\/a> where upcoming tutorials and workshops regarding how to use both reference management systems are advertised frequently. You can also sign up for these sessions through our Libcal as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Managing Stress and Wellbeing\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    One of the most difficult parts of writing or working on any significant and lengthy piece of work is starting. It can be very easy to feel overwhelmed by the big word count or extensive volume of work required to write a dissertation. Nevertheless, here are some useful hints and tips below which may help you with managing stress and your wellbeing whilst conducting research for and writing your dissertation:<\/strong><\/p>\n