Writing the Abstract to a Dissertation

Tracy Spencer reports:

"The abstract of your dissertation is the first impression readers will have of your research. It is a summary of your work and can be used to help readers decide if reading your entire dissertation would be worthwhile. A well-composed abstract can attract people to your study...The abstract is commonly placed after the title page of the dissertation, though exact placement can vary among institutions. The abstract includes the problem under investigation, the purpose of the research, the research questions and any associated hypotheses, the research methodology and design, a general description of the participants or subjects, prominent findings, conclusions and recommendations. The trick is to include all of this information in very limited space. Your dissertation committee chair can guide you to your institution's specific requirements for word count...The problem and purpose statements of a dissertation explain why the research needed to be conducted. When readers are deciding whether or not to read your study, they will want to know that your work met a specific need...In most academic studies, the identity of your participants should remain confidential, but readers who scan abstracts may need to know the type of participants involved in your research. Include descriptions of your participants in general terms...The findings and recommendations may be the most important elements for attracting an audience. These are your contributions to the field, so you may want to allot most of your space to these areas. If you have a large quantity of findings, you may need to combine some of them into categories for the abstract...Remember to save room for any related statistics if you completed a quantitative study. These details can make your abstract shine."